Peace Building

Performance areas

• Conflict mapping
• Community-based dialogue, facilitation and mediation
• Rapid response interventions
• Consolidation of peace building across communities
• Subnational/regional mechanisms
• Grants management

Pact's approach
Pact leads efforts to create a demand for peace, enhance stability, and manage conflict. Our approach is three fold: to increase the ability of local communities to plan and manage activities that build peace; to increase the ability of local organizations to assist communities in implementing peace-building plans, and to increase the ability of civil society and faith-based networks in building, consolidating and safeguarding peace. Our approach encourages reconciliation and healing as soon as possible, even before larger-scale conflicts are fully resolved, and favors traditional conflict resolution methods over imported ones.

Conflict mapping
Pact facilitates communities in mapping the structure and nature of conflict, including root causes; historical, spatial, and issue-based antecedents; triggers; and the interrelation between conflict factors. Based on analysis of findings, "entry points" are identified. The entry point may take the form of a forum for dialogue and reconciliation between divided communities, an agreement to create a participatory community peace plan, or addressing a basic community need, which, if unaddressed could lead to conflict.

Community-based dialogue, facilitation and mediation
Pact facilitates dialogue and reconciliation aimed at addressing conflict and building peace. In all cases priority is given to traditional conflict resolution mechanisms. Reconciliation agreements and action plans stemming from the dialogue are drawn up and signed in the presence of independent witnesses. A series of ongoing dialogues may culminate in larger peace conferences organized around similar themes or issues.

Rapid response interventions
Rapid response interventions can be small or medium scale (ranging from a bicycle, to a water point, to a community building) and often pay quick dividends in the peace process. Recommendations on interventions flow from the facilitated community dialogues. They frequently can be implemented directly by the communities themselves or through contracted services on their behalf.

Consolidation of peace building across communities
Communities are encouraged to move away from personal grievances towards issues that require cooperation and inter-dependency. Several approaches are utilized, including community peace plans that require the engagement of a variety of stakeholders, including civil society groups and local civil administrators and capacity building of local governance structures, including the police, judiciary, civil administration, and traditional systems of governance. Special peace committees and councils may also require capacity building. Larger interventions, such as water projects, health care services, infrastructure development, etc, can further consolidate the peace as well as can dissemination of timely and accurate information and linkages among community groups.

Support mechanisms at subnational/regional levels
Pact strengthens the capacity of civil society fora, religious networks, and national peace building networks to build an enduring framework for peace. A key component is the development of a conflict early warning and information sharing system. Other skill building includes use of media, advocacy, messaging, and access to policy level decision makers.

Grants management
Pact awards small grants of short duration to CBOs and NGOs for specific peace building activities. Grantees may receive additional instruction, training and support to strengthen programmatic capacity.

Tools and products
Conflict Vulnerability and Peace Mapping
CPMR Trainers Manual and Tool Kit
Guidebook for civil society and civil authority engagement
Community-based conflict early warning training module
Impact Evaluation Report on Pact Ethiopia Training in Conflict Prevention and Management. Pact Ethiopia. 2002.
Traditional Mediation Mechanism: The Ethiopian Experience. Pact Ethiopia. 1998.
Manual for Effective Dispute Resolution. Pact Ethiopia. 1999.

Links to projects
Sudan Peace Fund
Southern Sudan Transition Initiative
ISGM, Kenya

Some key results
In southern Sudan, following five Pact-supported grassroots peace building conferences attended by over 10,000 people, local peace committees now are resolving disputes, sentencing criminals who have abducted children or raided cattle, addressing water needs, and working to ensure peaceful resettlement of those uprooted by the war.

In Kenya four cross-border peace committees supported by Pact employed traditional conflict resolution mechanisms to promote peace in a conflict-prone area along the Kenya-Ethiopia border. Cross-border livestock trade has increased, animal raids have decreased, and border communities now share grazing land and water and carry out cross-border disease surveillance.

Contact information
Sabrina Atwater, Capacity Building Program Manager, Pact HQ
202.466.5666
satwater@pacthq.org