Peacebuilding
Encyclopedia
Peacebuilding is a term used within the international development community to describe the processes and activities involved in resolving violent conflict and establishing a sustainable peace
.
It is an overarching concept that includes conflict transformation, restorative justice
, trauma healing, reconciliation, development, and leadership, underlain by spirituality and religion. It is similar in meaning to conflict resolution
but highlights the difficult reality that the end of a conflict does not automatically lead to peaceful, stable social or economic development. The word has gained substantial meaning through the actions of organizations such as United States Institute of Peace
and The Alliance for Peacebuilding. A number of national and international organizations describe their activities in conflict zones as peacebuilding.
Peacebuilding includes:
The United Nations Peacebuilding Commission maintains Peacebuilding Fund projects in Burundi
, Central African Republic
, Comoros
, Côte d'Ivoire
, Guinea
, Guinea Bissau, Liberia
and Nepal
. In 2010, it conducted a review of its work with the first four countries on its agenda. An independent journalism review also highlighted some of the PBC's early successes and challenges. Today, the PBC works with six countries, while the PBF works in more.
In 2010, at the request of the Security Council (UN SCr 1889, Operational Paragraph 19) the Secretary-General issued a report on women's participation in peacebuilding (A/65/354-S/2010/466). The report outlines the challenges women continue to face in participating in recovery and peacebuilding process, and the negative impact this has on them and societies more broadly. To respond to these challenges it contains a comprehensive 7-point action plan, covering the following commitment areas: mediation; post-conflict planning; financing; civilian capacity; post-conflict governance; rule of law; and economic recovery. The action plan is pragmatic and holds significant promise to facilitate progress on the women, peace and security agenda. The report can be found here - http://daccess-ods.un.org/TMP/53603.51.html. The monitoring of the implementation of this action plan is now being led jointly by the Peacebuilding Support Office and UN Women.
One definition of peacebuilding as used by the Alliance for Peacebuilding
is:
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
.
It is an overarching concept that includes conflict transformation, restorative justice
Transitional justice
Transitional justice generally refers to a range of approaches that states may use to address past human rights violations and includes both judicial and non-judicial approaches. They include series of actions or policies and their resulting institutions, which may be enacted at a point of...
, trauma healing, reconciliation, development, and leadership, underlain by spirituality and religion. It is similar in meaning to conflict resolution
Conflict resolution
Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of some social conflict. Often, committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest...
but highlights the difficult reality that the end of a conflict does not automatically lead to peaceful, stable social or economic development. The word has gained substantial meaning through the actions of organizations such as United States Institute of Peace
United States Institute of Peace
The United States Institute of Peace was created by Congress as a non-partisan, federal institution that works to prevent or end violent conflict around the world...
and The Alliance for Peacebuilding. A number of national and international organizations describe their activities in conflict zones as peacebuilding.
Peacebuilding includes:
- Providing technical assistance for democratic development
- Promoting conflict resolutionConflict resolutionConflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of some social conflict. Often, committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest...
and reconciliationEnvironmental peacebuildingPeacebuilding is both the theory and practice of identifying the conditions that can lead to a sustainable peace between those who have previously been adversaries, and assisting adversaries to move towards a sustainable peace. Environmental peacebuilding examines and advocates environmental... - Re-integrating former combatants into civilian society
- Strengthening the rule of lawRule of lawThe rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
- Improving the standard of livingStandard of livingStandard of living is generally measured by standards such as real income per person and poverty rate. Other measures such as access and quality of health care, income growth inequality and educational standards are also used. Examples are access to certain goods , or measures of health such as...
and protecting human rights - Security sector reformSecurity sector reformSecurity Sector Reform is a concept to reform or rebuild a state's security sector that emerged first in the 1990s in Eastern Europe. It starts where a dysfunctional security sector is unable to provide security to the state and its people effectively and under democratic principles. Even worse,...
The United Nations Peacebuilding Commission maintains Peacebuilding Fund projects in Burundi
Burundi
Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
, Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
, Comoros
Comoros
The Comoros , officially the Union of the Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar...
, Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
, Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
, Guinea Bissau, Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
and Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. In 2010, it conducted a review of its work with the first four countries on its agenda. An independent journalism review also highlighted some of the PBC's early successes and challenges. Today, the PBC works with six countries, while the PBF works in more.
In 2010, at the request of the Security Council (UN SCr 1889, Operational Paragraph 19) the Secretary-General issued a report on women's participation in peacebuilding (A/65/354-S/2010/466). The report outlines the challenges women continue to face in participating in recovery and peacebuilding process, and the negative impact this has on them and societies more broadly. To respond to these challenges it contains a comprehensive 7-point action plan, covering the following commitment areas: mediation; post-conflict planning; financing; civilian capacity; post-conflict governance; rule of law; and economic recovery. The action plan is pragmatic and holds significant promise to facilitate progress on the women, peace and security agenda. The report can be found here - http://daccess-ods.un.org/TMP/53603.51.html. The monitoring of the implementation of this action plan is now being led jointly by the Peacebuilding Support Office and UN Women.
One definition of peacebuilding as used by the Alliance for Peacebuilding
Alliance for Peacebuilding
Alliance for Peacebuilding is a 501 non-profit membership organization based in Washington, DC. The stated mission of the Alliance for Peacebuilding is to build sustainable peace and security worldwide...
is:
See also
- International AlertInternational AlertInternational Alert is a London-based charity and international non-governmental organisation working to prevent and end violent conflict across the globe that marked its 20th anniversary in 2006...
- International Crisis GroupInternational Crisis GroupThe International Crisis Group is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization whose mission is to prevent and resolve deadly conflicts around the world through field-based analyses and high-level advocacy.-History:...
- Irish Peace InstituteIrish Peace InstituteThe Irish Peace Institute was established in 1984 by Dr. Brendan O'Regan. The Institute was created in order to promote peace & reconciliation on the island of Ireland, and to draw on the experience of conflict resolution in order to learn lessons that could inform other conflicts.The IPI is a...
- Nonviolent CommunicationNonviolent communicationNonviolent Communication is a communication process developed by Marshall Rosenberg beginning in the 1960s. NVC often functions as a conflict resolution process...
- Peacebuilding PortalPeacebuilding PortalThe Peacebuilding Portal is the Information Communication Technology component of the . It aims to promote collaboration and consultation among organizations and individuals working in conflict prevention and peacebuilding....
- Peace DirectPeace DirectPeace Direct is a charity based in London, England which supports grassroots peacebuilders in areas of conflict. Peace Direct focuses on supporting grassroots peacebuilders who are local to the conflict and have a clear vision of what needs to be achieved. Peace Direct funds this work, promotes it...
- PeacekeepingPeacekeepingPeacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
- PeacemakingPeacemakingPeacemaking is a form of conflict resolution which focuses on establishing equal power relationships that will be robust enough to forestall future conflict, and establishing some means of agreeing on ethical decisions within a community that has previously had conflict. In order to do so there...
- Peaceworkers UKPeaceworkers UKPeaceworkers UK is part of the Peacebuilding Issues Programme of International Alert. Previously an independent non-governmental organisation, PWUK became part of International Alert in 2006. PWUK focuses on raising standards in the field of conflict prevention, crisis management and peacebuilding...
- Seeds of PeaceSeeds of PeaceSeeds of Peace is a peacebuilding youth organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1993. As its main program, the organization brings youth from areas of conflict to its international camp in Maine. It also provides regional programming to support Seeds of Peace graduates, known as...
- United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY Peacebuilders)
- University for PeaceUniversity for PeaceThe University for Peace was established in Costa Rica in 1980 "to provide humanity with an international institution of higher education for peace and with the aim of promoting among all human beings the spirit of understanding, tolerance and peaceful coexistence."At present, the UPEACE Costa...
- Creative PeacebuildingCreative PeacebuildingCreative Peacebuilding is the larger name for creative therapies used to create peace, within individuals, groups, and societies. These therapies are used with many different demographic groups and in various types of situations...
- Environmental PeacebuildingEnvironmental peacebuildingPeacebuilding is both the theory and practice of identifying the conditions that can lead to a sustainable peace between those who have previously been adversaries, and assisting adversaries to move towards a sustainable peace. Environmental peacebuilding examines and advocates environmental...
External links
- Beyond Peace Deals: The UN's experiment in peacebuilding
- What is Peacebuilding? - Alliance for Peacebuilding
- Peacebuilding 3.0 - Whole-Systems Peacebuilding - http://www.wholesystemspeacebuilding.com (in development)
- Building Cultures of Peace: Transdisciplinary Voices of Hope and Action, Elavie Ndura-Ouédraogo and Randall AmsterRandall AmsterRandall Amster is an author, activist, and educator in areas including peace, ecology, homelessness, and anarchism. Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1966, Amster has worked as an attorney, judicial clerk, professor, and academic administrator during his professional career...
(eds.), UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009. - Photo Gallery: What Is Peacebuilding? From Catholic Relief Services
- The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Conflict Management Toolkit
- United Nations Peacebuilding Commission http://www.un.org/peace/peacebuilding/
- United Nations Rule of Law: Peacebuilding, on the relationship between peacebuilding, the rule of lawRule of lawThe rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
and the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. - University for Peace Global Network for Upeacebuilders