Civil Society and Peacebuilding - the New Fifth Estate?
Mari Fitzduff | GPPAC | 2006
Topic: Friedensförderung und EZ
Region: Global
NGOs form a rich, if untidy community, with members ranging across the spectrum, from the huge international professional body, to the local grassroots organization. They come in an array of shapes and sizes, focusing on distinct issues, with a range of foci, expertise and approaches to achieving their goals. What distinguishes them is the fact that they are mostly independently funded and are therefore often free from state and political control. They often differ among themselves in their analyses of problems and the interventions necessary to achieve their goals. Nevertheless in the current world context of conflict NGOs have, in many places, become significant political actors and this heterogeneous group has increasingly made its presence felt at the local, national and international level. Their growth particularly over the last decade has been phenomenal and their increasingly active and positive role is one which has been gratefully received by organizations such as the United Nations who have recognized the critical role that such organizations can play in assisting them in their goals e.g. in his report to the United nations in 1999, Kofi Annan commented that:
‘…national and international civil society organizations have played an increasingly active role in conflict prevention, management and resolution. In addressing volatile situations that could lead to violent confrontation, Governments are increasingly working in partnership with civil society organizations to defuse tensions and seek creative resolutions to what are often deep seated problems’
In further suggesting as he did in 2001 that NGO’s with an interest in conflict prevention should organise an international conference for local, national and international groups on their role in conflict prevention and future interaction with the United Nations in the field the Secretary General reaffirmed his belief that NGO’s have a critical role in helping to manage and resolve conflict problems in divided societies around the world.
NGO’s themselves, particularly in the last five years, have also been responding to this challenge. They have increased their effectiveness at networking and at learning from and with each other about the useful roles that they can play in conflict prevention and peace building, many of which are outlined in the latter half of this paper. They have also been undertaking the challenging task of ensuring their even greater effectiveness of their interventions in the field by involving themselves in processes of evaluation and learning so as to ensure that their work continues to grow in strength and value, and thereby developing many essential ’Lessons l\Learned’ of use also to non NGO agencies in the field. In many cases this maturation of the field has been assisted by the co-organisers of this organization, the European Centre for Conflict Prevention to whom I believe the field owes a great deal of gratitude.
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