by Dot Maver, Executive Director
 

Hi all, having returned from the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) Conference in the Hague last night, I fell into one of those deep sleeps that resets your body clock…and dreamt of reviewing peacebuilding proposals from all over the world. No coincidence, as throughout these past days we heard from Civil Society Organizations, government officials, and Foundation representatives about the peacebuilding work in fifteen regions around the globe. It was a joy to represent The Peace Alliance and Global Alliance, and we were very well received.

In this brief report, I will share a bit of background, a few reflections on the event, and my talking points from the final roundtable on government and civil society partnership.

In 2001 UN Secretary General Kofi Annan issued a Progress Report on the Prevention of Armed Conflict A/60/891 and called upon civil society to help coordinate partnership and cooperation between and among governments, civil society and UN agencies. He further suggested that a conference be organized to bring together civil society actors to review lessons learned in the field of peacebuilding and conflict prevention, and together to determine next steps.

In direct response to this call to action, GPPAC was born. The Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict is active in 15 regions around the globe and provides a network and cooperative support for all groups who are involved. In July 2005, GPPAC organized the largest gathering ever of civil society focused on peacebuilding and conflict prevention, and it was held at the UN. This conference has spawned deep cooperation and significant regional and local action plans that are being implemented quite successfully.

Paul Van Tongeren, Executive Director of ECCP, European Centre for Conflict Prevention, and Founder and Secretary General of GPPAC, was present at the London Summit where the Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments of Peace was founded. His report on the 2005 UN gathering sparked much interest in the participating groups of the Global Alliance and a cooperative partnership was born.

As part of an international consortium the Global Alliance and GPPAC cooperate to support government and civil society partnership and the call for structures in governments that focus on peacebuilding and peace process, i.e. ministries and departments of peace.

This past week in the Hague, GPPAC member CSOs from all regions met together with government and donor foundations to report on where we are and where we are going with our mutual work in the field of peacebuilding and conflict transformation. As a partner with GPPAC we were invited to present our work in the United States as we advocate for legislation that supports a culture of peace, specifically our campaign for a US Department of Peace. I also attended as the liaison from the Global Alliance as we call for ministries and departments of peace in governments throughout the world.

The experience was very moving and made visible both the opportunities and challenges we face as a global network. One thing for sure, there is no doubt that the peacebuilding community is a strong and vital part of bringing forth the principles and values we share as a human family and this is making itself known in every walk of life at this time. At the heart of this conference was the confident realization of a coordinated network of peacebuilders dedicated to working together, and calling on government and funders from all sectors to be part of this next phase.

Thursday evening we were invited to a reception at City Hall where the Mayor of the Hague offered his congratulations and support, and reminded us that Den Haag is the international city of peace where so many peacebuilding efforts have been birthed and sustained.

Following are the talking points from my sharing at the final roundtable:

Dot Maver, Executive Director, The Peace Alliance campaign for a US Department of Peace; steering committee – the Global Alliance for Ministries and Department of Peace

Talking points for roundtable presentation October 12, 2006

The Peace Alliance and our campaign for establishing a US Department of Peace – our mission and our call for a secretary of peace…

Where we are  - civil society is responding more and more effectively to shift from triangle of direct/structural/cultural violence to triangle of direct/structural/cultural peace and GPPAC is a good demonstration and serves as a blueprint for cooperation and infrastructure.

What we know –Programs that work to reduce violence and cost; peacebuilding and conflict transformation around the world; we know what works and where to place more attention on research, development and implementation; this requires a shift in focus.

Where we are going – peacebuilding community needs a partner in government; some structures are already in place; civil society necessarily leads the way

What can help us get there –
In order to have direct/structural/cultural peace government will necessarily fulfill its part in the structural point of the triangle...

…thus the call for ministries and departments of peace –
What purpose will they serve?

Summits, i.e. possible first of a kind Philippine Summit in 2007– bring together post-war/conflict countries with structures now in place to resolve conflict, along with CSOs to review lessons learned. We are in discussion with OPAPP.

The intention is clear; the design is in place (in some countries there already exist structures that focus on peacebuilding). However, it is not yet mapped out how civil society partners with government in a way that puts a focus on peacebuilding and conflict transformation.

We bring the possibility of governments extending a hand in cooperation. Civil Society is very well established (GPPAC, Nonviolent Peace Force, many, many more). We the people have the shared responsibility of making this visible, and creating opportunities to demonstrate what is possible. For example, in the US in our court system mediation is now an accepted and preferred method of resolving disputes, woven throughout the fabric of our system; in Germany peace education is part of the democratic education curriculum; and you and I could name hundreds more fine examples.

Our challenge is that these appear to be isolated instances and there is not yet a comprehensive weave in government infrastructures, locally, nationally, or internationally, to ensure that peacebuilding and conflict transformation are at the heart of learning and living.

It is time. And we are answering the call.

The uniqueness of the Global Alliance is the call for specific structures in government for ministers and secretaries of peace whose responsibility it will be to offer real and proven conflict transformation options to dealing with conflict, recognizing that while conflict may be a given at this point in our evolution, violence is not; and we have structures in civil society than can inform this as we choose to work together, as we are doing here.

Funding – in order to ensure the sustainability of what we know works there must be a partnership with government and civil society – one of the best examples in the US is the  Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management, offering a blueprint for govt/civil society partnership – they are funded by the state government and provide resources for communities throughout the state to offer conflict resolution training – they do not offer the training themselves; they offer the support to make it happen.

Thus ideally, the blueprint of the future is a government / civil society / funder partnership with governments recognizing the importance of the peacebuilding infrastructure and supporting both the civil society efforts and making possible Summits, Conferences, Symposiums and other means of research, articulation, implementation and dissemination in this fast-growing field that will soon yield visible jobs for our leading thinkers and researchers, and be recognized as the way through to living together on this planet in peaceful, sustainable and just communities.

Next Steps
Fact finding commission…programs, best practices, processes
What is out here?
What is working?
Lessons learned – Possible Philippine Summit / Roundtables

Offer ourselves as a coalition of the willing…willing to work together in the spirit of freedom in unity – we are the change and it begins with each one of us.