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2. Just and Durable Peace by Piece European Union 7 th Framework Programme
- Author:
- Olga Martin-Ortega, Chandra Lekha Sriram, and Johanna Herman
- Publication Date:
- 05-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre on Human Rights in Conflict
- Abstract:
- Following the end of violent conflicts, whether by military victory or negotiated settlement, international actors such as the European Union and the United Nations play an increasing role in peacebuilding, through a range of security, governance, and development activities. These may or may not be mandated by a peace agreement or other formal settlement, and may or may not follow or work in tandem with a peacekeeping mission. International, regional, national, and local actors may work in a more or less collaborative, or coherent fashion. Nonetheless, many of the key challenges of peacebuilding remain the same, and a familiar set of policies and strategies have emerged in contemporary practice to address these. Chief among the challenges of contemporary peacebuilding is that of addressing demands for some form of accountability, often termed transitional justice (discussed in section 3). However, as this guidance paper explains, the demands of transitional justice and its relation to broader peacebuilding activities, involve not just decisions about accountability, but a complex set of policy and institutional choices about security and governance as well. Thus, this guidance paper examines peacebuilding and transitional justice as a set of linked policies and strategies regarding not just accountability, but security sector reform (SSR), disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) of ex-combatants, and development of the rule of law.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Political Violence, Government, Peace Studies, United Nations, and War
- Political Geography:
- Europe
3. Just peace? Peacebuilding and rule of law in Africa: Lessons for policymakers
- Author:
- Olga Martin-Ortega, Chandra Lekha Sriram, and Johanna Herman
- Publication Date:
- 09-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre on Human Rights in Conflict
- Abstract:
- Rule of law promotion is integral to peacebuilding, but not always well integrated It is important to distinguish between technical delivery of rule of law assistance and access to justice as perceived by the population Rule of law promotion and transitional justice may be complementary, or competitive Despite emphasis on the formal sector, informal justice processes are often most accessible to the vast majority Such informal processes may be transformed both by conflict and by peacebuilding activities Emphasis on state institutions in rule of law promotion can inadvertently undermine equal access to justice Given these challenges, the international community faces serious dilemmas about whom to engage, and particularly whether to engage the informal sector at all.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Peace Studies, and Poverty
- Political Geography:
- Africa
4. Peace as governance? Critical challenges to power-sharing peace deals
- Author:
- Chandra Lekha Sriram
- Publication Date:
- 06-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre on Human Rights in Conflict
- Abstract:
- Power-sharing may involve not only political power-sharing, but shared governance over economic resources or the security sector, and in some cases territorial autonomy arrangements. There are at least five critical challenges to negotiating a peace agreement involving power-sharing: Mistrust may outweigh the influence of the power- sharing incentives offered. The third-party guarantee needed to overcome mistrust is not available. The incentives that are offered may not be the right ones. If there are no measures to address the original causes of conflict, incentives may not be enough. Incentives cannot induce so-called spoilers to participate in a peace process. There are far more potential challenges to implementing power-sharing agreements in practice: Agreements may be violated because incentives were insufficient or can be obtained more easily outside the agreement. Agreement fails because a group was less interested in, or unable to reap the benefits of, specific incentives. Old patterns of mistrust and cheating are imported into governance processes and state institutions. Instead of creating a grand coalition, power-sharing may create incentives for extremism and ethnic or hardliner outbidding. Incentives such as territorial autonomy may encourage secessionist tendencies. Parties may have committed to agreement out of short-term pragmatism rather than long term interest or policy. Exclusion of groups from benefits may encourage new grievances and even conflicts. Competition may turn violent amongst former allies. Violent regions or the interference of neighbouring states may undermine agreements.
- Topic:
- Security, Economics, Peace Studies, Treaties and Agreements, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Sudan and Sri Lanka
5. Beyond justice versus peace: transitional justice and peacebuilding strategies
- Author:
- Olga Martin-Ortega, Chandra Lekha Sriram, and Johanna Herman
- Publication Date:
- 08-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre on Human Rights in Conflict
- Abstract:
- This article seeks to examine the challenging and complex relationship between transitional justice and peace building. Some scholarly analysts, and indeed some policymakers, continue to view “peace” and “justice” as simply in conflict with each other, while their relationship in practice is far more complex. This article will analyse the relationship between transitional justice and peace building in order to consider how programming and practitioners of each might engage more constructively with each other in pursuit of more just and durable peace.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, Peace Studies, and Law
6. Evaluating and Comparing Strategies of Peacebuilding and Transitional Justice
- Author:
- Olga Martin-Ortega, Chandra Lekha Sriram, and Johanna Herman
- Publication Date:
- 05-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre on Human Rights in Conflict
- Abstract:
- Following the end of violent conflicts, whether by military victory or negotiated settlement, international actors such as the European Union and the United Nations play an increasing role in peace building, through a range of security, governance, and development activities. These may or may not be mandated by a peace agreement or other formal settlement, and may or may not follow or work in tandem with a peacekeeping mission. International, regional, national, and local actors may work in a more or less collaborative, or coherent fashion. Nonetheless, many of the key challenges of peace building remain the same, and a familiar set of policies and strategies have emerged in contemporary practice to address these. Chief among the challenges of contemporary peace building is that of addressing demands for some form of accountability, often termed transitional justice (discussed in section 3). However, as this guidance paper explains, the demands of transitional justice and its relation to broader peace building activities, involve not just decisions about accountability, but a complex set of policy and institutional choices about security and governance as well. Thus, this guidance paper examines peace building and transitional justice as a set of linked policies and strategies regarding not just accountability, but security sector reform (SSR), disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) of ex-combatants, and development of the rule of law.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Human Rights, Peace Studies, and War
- Political Geography:
- Europe
7. From Promise to Practice: Strengthening UN Capacities for the Prevention of Violent Conflict
- Author:
- Karin Wermester and Chandra Lekha Sriram
- Publication Date:
- 05-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- While the promise of conflict prevention has risen to the fore of international policy agenda since the end of the 1990s, its practice and effectivenes remain elusive. Following in the footsteps of peacebuilding, conflict prevention is a loose conceptual framework for the increasingly broad range of actors engaged in conflict-affected zones. The concept of conflict prevention expands the scope of peacebuilding temporally and spatially, calling for the early prevention of violent conflict and the prevention of further outbreaks through "structural" as well as "operational" initiatives. It promises cross-cutting approaches to mitigate the sources of potential conflict rather than merely the symptoms at arguably a lesser cost and with great potential for lasting peace than other forms of intervention. The challenge, of course, is that violent conflict can be hard to predict, especially in the early phases when efforts to prevent its escalation might be most valuable. More, it is harder to prevent effectively, and further to demonstrate that preventive initiatives have been successful.
- Topic:
- International Organization, Peace Studies, and United Nations
8. Sharing Best Practices on Conflict Resolution
- Author:
- John Packer, Augustine Toure, Albrecht Schnabel, and Chandra Lekha Sriram
- Publication Date:
- 04-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- The UN does not act alone in conflict prevention. It is important for the UN to identify other actors with comparative advantages in certain aspects of conflict prevention, and to partner wisely with them. These may include regional and subregional organizations as well as local actors such as states or civil society organizations. Increased coordination between the UN and regional, subregional and civil society organizations might enable better linkages between national, regional and international conflict prevention efforts and improve planning at the field and headquarters level. Regional and subregional organizations offer important opportunities for partnering for the UN, but are quite varied in terms of resources, the political will that they can mobilize, and institutional capacity. Development of institutional capacity within nations to manage conflict peacefully can be assisted and encouraged by regional organizations and others. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's High Commissioner on National Minorities may be one example; the work of Organization of African States in democratization and human rights is also instructive. UN and World Bank development activities are increasingly being viewed through a conflict-prevention lens; their evaluations may help in not only identifying early warning signs, but also in developing strategies that mitigate the potential for violent conflict. Such analyses and approaches could be usefully adapted by regional and subregional organizations. The UN Staff College training course in early warning and preventive measures has sought to develop analytic skills in staff such that early warning can be translated into specific policy guidance. Such training will be available to some regional organization staff; the courses might usefully be adapted by such organizations for their own use.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, International Cooperation, Peace Studies, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Europe