News

The 2010 regional steering group meeting of the GPPAC network in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), will be remembered as a major milestone in the consolidation of GPPAC in this region. The meeting held in Beirut on 29th and 30th January, hosted by Permanent Peace Movement (PPM), as GPPAC's regional secretariat, brought together CSO representatives from different countries in the region including Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, Egypt, Tunisia, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, Syria, among others, as well as organizations based in the West Bank / Palestinian Authority area.

One of the key decisions taken during this conference was to transform the ‘Arab Partnership for Conflict Prevention' into the MENA Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict, MENAPPAC. This will allow room to include organizations from non-Arab countries who have expressed their interest in joining GPPAC, providing for a broader regional remit.

During the meeting, the participants defined the main work priorities for the region and created different commissions to work in the areas of advocacy, awareness raising, knowledge sharing and training and conflict prevention. The idea is to align the work in the region with the strategies undertaken by the GPPAC programmes at the global level. Preparations are also starting for a regional conference on non-violence to be held next year.

Added on February 8, 2010

The Istanbul Process Continues

The August 2008 war between Russia and Georgia has altered the geopolitical situation in the Caucasus and has heavily affected a broad range of security issues in Eurasia. Since then, there has not been any visible progress in Georgia-Russia relations, which has resulted in further polarization of public perceptions between all sides involved in the conflict.

In November 2008, following the crisis in the region, a meeting of prominent independent political experts and opinion leaders from Georgia and Russia was organised by the International Center on Conflict and Negotiation (ICCN) within the framework of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC). Held in Istanbul, Turkey, the symposium was entitled: "Georgia-Russia Relations: Ways Out of Crisis" . Participants analyzed the fundamental causes of the conflict and the key factors which triggered the eruption of violence and discussed the mechanisms to support the strategies to stabilize relations.

The members of this unique initiative have decided to continue their work together under the title of the "Istanbul Process". For this reason, a second round of dialogue meetings was organized in November 2009 with participation of the enlarged groups on both sides. Participants in the process assessed the current state of relations between Georgia and Russia, presented very detailed analyses of the root causes and possible scenarios of further geopolitical development in the region and have identified future steps that should be taken in order to overcome the crisis. One of the key messages that clearly came out of the meeting was that the dialogue process between Russia and Georgia has to be continued on different levels, and that civil society should play a more active role in this process.

Following the two day discussion on a broad range of issues the participants have come to the following conclusions:

For more information about the Istanbul Process please contact

Dr. George Khutsishvili, Director,  International Center on Conflict and Negotiation; GPPAC Regional Initiator for the Caucasus: george@iccn.ge

Zahid Movlazadeh, Regional Coordinator for the Caucasus, Central Asia, Western CIS, Middle East and North Africa, ECCP: z.movlazadeh@conflict-prevention.org

Added on November 19, 2009

Prior to the Regional Steering Group (RSG) meeting, a workshop was organized for local level Central American organizations, dealing with environmental and climate issues that often result in unrest and sometimes in conflict. The participants, often struggling with complex local issues, had a chance to not only share experiences, but also benefited from presentations and support materials. During the RSG meeting itself, several current topics such as the Honduran crisis and the stance civil society could take were discussed, and plans were made for activities in Bolivia, Cuba, Paraguay and several Central American countries.

In the light of the development of GPPAC's Preventive Action strategy, the creation of a work plan for the second phase of the Mobilizing Early Response Project (MERP) in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua was an exciting step from the assessment to an Action Plan. In a way, it forms a first example on how to bridge the gap between Early Warning and Early Response in the GPPAC network. The work plan was drafted in a workshop, during an open discussion and developed in more detail by two separate working groups. Another exciting element was the workshop on Context Analysis. During the work on the Assessment Report, the first phase of MERP, the capacity for analysis was identified as an area of improvement. Peacebuild in Canada provided a capable expert, who led a day-and-a-half-long exercise providing background and methodologies on Context Analysis.

Honduras formed the most dominant topic throughout the week. The developing topic on the complex political conflict was often used as an example in the different sessions and workshops. It found a climax in a round table discussion on Honduras, facilitated by Frank. The discussion ranged from frustration over not foreseeing the coup to the role civil society can play and the implications for neighboring countries. It showed once again that civil society still has a lot of work to do in preventing conflict.

FemLINKPACIFIC 's partners in Bougainville, Buka based Leitana Nehan Women's Development Agency is gearing up for the local launch of the regional women's network's 2nd annual policy document "Women, Peace and SecurityPolicy for Peace in Our Pacific Region" and the DVD "The Thirteen 25 report" on Friday 6th November 2009.

Aside from the President of the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG), James Tannis, other members of the ABG will be present alongside civil society partners including the Bougainville Inter-Church Women's Forum, Catholic Family Life, and Bougainville Aids Council as well as development partners NZAID, UNDP and AUSAID. Representatives of the Bougainville Police Department, the Council of Chiefs and churches will also attend.

By Suzanne Jimbul.
Buka, Bougainville (PNG)

To read full article click here

Added on November 02, 2009

Celebrations for the 21st of September, the United Nations International Day of Peace, were held all over the world. Like every year GPPAC collected news of celebrations everywhere, giving voice and a global echo to people and organizations commemorating the event all around the world. If you would like to have a look at how the International day of Peace was celebrated in different countries of the world you can have a look here .

Furthermore, this year, for the first time, GPPAC also promoted a global campaign for the International Day of Peace, aimed at involving people in the international call for peace. People were asked to send us a picture of themselves symbolizing that "Peace is possible", along with a short sentence or a slogan. We have created a video out of the pictures collected, which gives a visual idea of how big the global call for peace is. You can have a look at the results of our campaign here: 

We would still love to hear how you celebrated the 21st of September. If you would like to share the news of your event and to have it posted on our People Building Peace website, send a short report - with pictures if you have them - to People Building Peace at pbp@conflict-prevention.net

Added on October 26, 2009

Yet, women are much more than victims. They play an active role in how conflicts evolve. Sometimes in their escalation or prolongation, but more often in their prevention and resolution. The enormous importance of the role that women play in conflict prevention and peacebuilding has long been recognized, amongst others through UN Security Council Resolution 1325 . In 2010, 1325 will celebrate its 10th anniversary. A moment to reflect and review the effectiveness of the resolution.

GPPAC has always recognized the role of women and has affirmed its belief in the importance of 1325.

Close to sixty GPPAC peacebuilders from all over the world came together from September 30th to October 7th in Davao City and Manila, the Philippines, and worked on developing new strategic directions and plans for the coming years. The group also met with different parties and actors involved in the armed conflicts that continue to destroy lives, especially in Mindanao.

During these meetings the importance of the role of women in conflict prevention and peacebuilding came up again and again: the Mindanao Commission on Women stated that ‘gender equality is an important goal in itself and a crucial factor for achieving sustainable peace'. In meetings with representatives of various Negotiation Panels, discussions touched upon the importance of women's participation in official peace processes and the change in dynamics such involvement brings to a peace process.

Taking all of these developments into account, GPPAC re-emphasized its recognition of the importance of gender equality. During its strategic planning process, the network agreed upon a renewed gender framework and appointed Ms. Sharon Bhagwan Rolls of FemLINKPacific as the new Gender Liaison Person of the GPPAC International Steering Group.

GPPAC believes that the suffering and destruction of war and violence can be prevented. Yet, for peace to be sustainable, it is essential to ensure the involvement of women at all levels of conflict prevention and peacebuilding work. Together we can make peace possible.

Added on  October 14, 2009

From GPPAC / Initiatives for International Dialogue

DAVAO CITY - After more than 25 years of armed conflict, the civil war in Sri Lanka ended in May 2009.

The military victory of the Sri Lankan government over the rebel Tamil Tigers is now touted by hardliners and hawks as a model for resolving festering armed conflicts in the world. In fact, some government and military officials in the Philippines have been advocating the same "Sri Lanka solution" in ending the armed insurgencies in the country.

But did the conflict really end in Sri Lanka? A gathering of peacebuilders from all over the world meeting in Davao City this week believes that this solution is not applicable nor even workable. In fact, it would spell disaster if applied in the Philippine or Mindanao contexts.

Representatives from the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) met with peace advocates from Mindanao for learning sessions on peacebuilding amidst ethnic differences, and experiences with early warning and early response at the Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao.

Sri Lankan Professor Amal Jayawardane said that the Sri Lankan solution should not be a model for other nations seeking to achieve peace.

Jayawardane, the Executive Director of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies, GPPAC regional secretariat for South Asia, based in Colombo, Sri Lanka said that the conflict ended neither as a military victory nor with a successful peace agreement.

The Government of Sri Lanka declared victory in May this year over the secessionist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) when they captured the last remaining LTTE stronghold and killed their leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran, ending decades of bloody civil war. However, the defeat of the LTTE did not address the root causes of the conflict. It is essential to find a political solution for these urgently, Jayawardane said.

Other areas dealing with conflict can learn from the experience of what happened.

The disengagement of the LTTE from the negotiations, left no other option for the government than an all-out military response. Jayawardane warned legitimate revolutionary armed groups in Mindanao, "If you want to prevent what happened in Sri Lanka from happening to you, it is essential to continue to engage in dialogue." He at the same vein said that government must also leave room for the same.

The learning session was attended by participants from Burma, South Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Philippines and Vietnam. GPPAC South Asia, Caucasus, Western Balkans and West Africa and the GPPAC Global Secretariat also took part in the session with members of the Mindanao Peaceweavers (MPW), an organization of civil society groups in Mindanao and Manila active in conflict prevention and peacebuilding.

The Davao-based IID is the Regional Initiator of GPPAC in Southeast Asia. From September 30 - October 7 the different peacebuilders of GPPAC met to update each other and plan activities for the coming years. Part of this work is learning from each others' experiences. The GPPAC delegates visited conflict-hit communities in Central and Southern Mindanao, local government and military officials and armed groups.  

Added on October 6, 2009

GPPAC's International Steering Group, Regional Liaison Officers and Southeast Asia Regional Steering Group are currently meeting in Davao, Mindanao, the Philippines.

On Friday October 2nd, the GPPAC Executive Committee, consisting of Emmanuel Bombande (WANEP, West Africa), Raya Kadyrova (FTI, Central Asia), Augusto Miclat (IID, Southeast Asia) and Florence Mpaayei (NPI-Africa, Central and Eastern Africa), GPPAC Secretary General Paul van Tongeren and the global secretariat's executive director Peter van Tuijl undertook a mission to Cotabato. The area has been affected by the conflict between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) since its inception in the 1960s. A peace process has been ongoing since 1997 but has not yet been concluded

The GPPAC delegation met with MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ibrahim, Chair of the MILF Negotiating Panel Mohagher Iqbal and MILF Secretariat Head Jun Mantawil along with other members of the MILF Central Committee.

The delegation offered GPPAC's involvement in the International Contact Group of the peace process between the MILF and the GRP. The MILF leadership expressed its gratitude for the offer, and will respond following further discussion with various stakeholders.

The group later met with Major Carlos T. Sol Jr., Head of the Secretariat of the Government Coordinating Committee for the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) and Toks Ibrahim of the MILF CCCH.

DAVAO CITY - A global network of peacebuilders is offering its help to break the impasse in the peace process between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and also sustain it.

Gus Miclat, executive director of Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID) said the Global Partnership for the Prevention of the Armed Conflict (GPPAC) is offering itself as a potential member of the International Contact Group (ICG) of the peace process. The IID is the regional secretariat for GPPAC Southeast Asia.

Miclat said the group can share its experience and knowledge from peace processes in other conflicts in its involvement with the ICG if chosen as a member. The ICG will be a body of both governments and international non-government organizations that aims to restore the mutual trust between the GRP and MILF.

The GRP and the MILF both agreed to the formation of the ICG during their talks held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last September 15.

The IID is hosting the annual meeting of the GPPAC-International Steering Group in Davao City, Manila and Jakarta between October 1-9, 2009, bringing together around 55 peacebuilders from around the world.

The peacebuilders will visit local communities in Mindanao, particularly those affected by the conflict, and meet with various local peace organizations, policymakers, donor and diplomatic communities in Manila.

The group hopes to meet with President Macapagal-Arroyo and the MILF leadership to discuss issues of peace and conflict prevention in general and specifically its offer to join the ICG. Then they will go to Jakarta to meet with Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Dr. Surin Pitsuwan.

Tatjana Popovic, peace education programme coordinator at Nansen Dialogue Center-Serbia, pointed the similarities between the conflicts in Mindanao and the Western Balkans. She said that sharing experiences and approaches to conflict can be very beneficial for civil society organizations to develop more effective peacebuilding mechanisms,.

Marte Hellema, program manager awareness raising of the GPPAC Global Secretariat, emphasized that sharing and learning from each others' experiences in conflict prevention and peacebuilding is indeed one of GPPAC's key strengths.
This is the capacity that the network would bring to the table if joining the ICG. "Together we can make peace possible. Also for Mindanao." (PR)

Click here to read the article in the Mindanao Times

Added on 29 September 2009

The world celebrated the UN International Day of peace on 21 September. Many events were organized all around the world to commemorate the day, raising awareness on the importance of peace and conflict prevention.

If you would like to know more about the International day of Peace, how the event has been celebrated this year or during the past editions, have a look at the People Building Peace website www.peoplebuildingpeace.org. We will be adding more events and news as it comes in, so check back frequently! If you have organized an event, or know of one, that you would like us to post on the website, please send an e-mail to Chiara Massaroni at pbp@conflict-prevention.net

Get Involved

This year, GPPAC coordinated a common activity that was taken up by many people celebrating the International day of Peace around the world, namely collecting their pictures and messages of peace. The aim of our campaign was generating a link between everyone marking the day, and give a visual representation of how huge the call for peace is in every corner of the world.

Even though the 21st of September is already passed, you can always join our campaign! All you have to do is take a picture of yourself - either individually or as a group - that symbolises Peace to you. How do you see peace, how do you know that peace is possible? It is completely up to every individual to choose how to represent this. The pictures should be accompanied by a short caption explaining the picture, as well as include the country where the picture was taken.

You can see the pictures that have been collected here. They will also be available as a video on  GPPAC's Youtube channel, where you can watch or download it. The final slide show will be a testimony of the call for peace worldwide.

If you want to take part in the activity, send your picture, your message and any questions you may have to Chiara Massaroni at pbp@conflict-prevention.net.

Also, the International Day of Peace saw the launch of iblogforPeace.org, an online platform which aims at broadening the discourse on peace by providing a space for civil society, particularly the blogging community, to take part in the conversations in their own contexts and to engage in dialogues with likeminded individuals and groups. It will attempt to aggregate blog articles, videos and podcasts primarily on ordinary peoples' take on peace, stories of victims of war and of individuals and organizations working for peace. It also offers a regular channel for peace journalists to showcase their stories, video-documentaries and photo essays. The blog will be running until the 2010 International Day of Peace and will be set up, hosted and maintained by  Initiatives for International Dialogue, the Regional Secretariat of GPPAC for Southeast Asia

The blog is open to anyone who wants to participate although its targeted primarily to bloggers, peace journalists and members of GPPAC.

Added on 23 September 2009

The event drew the attention of several representatives of the different diplomatic missions of Latin American countries in Washington DC, as well as officials from the OAS and NGOs from the area working in the field of conflict prevention and peacebuidling, who brought their particular insights to the debate.

From October 17 to 21, 10 young people aged 18 to 22 from Thailand, India, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines will take part in the SIGNIS Video Journalists (VJs) project. Under the guidance of professional communicators, the VJs will cover the activities of the Congress and produce daily video reports. The project aims to offer the VJs a unique media training experience which will foster collaboration and team spirit and develop a critical awareness of issues on Children's and Human Rights.

The SIGNIS World Congress 2009 will take place in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from October 17 to 21, 2009. Hundreds of communication professionals from all over the world are expected to attend the 4-day event built around three strands: Current Global Issues on Human Rights and Children's Rights, Emerging Perspectives on Media and Social Transformation and The Challenges of Growing Up in a Digital Age.

GPPAC and the Initiative on Conflict Prevention through Quiet Diplomacy, in cooperation with the Folke Beranadotte Academy, organised a workshop to explore and enhance the possibilities for civil society organisations to constructively engage with regional and sub-regional intergovernmental organisations in various ways. This event, which was held in July 9-11 at the Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul, is envisaged as the first in a series of events with the goal of building a community of confidence and knowledge within GPPAC and among Inter-governmental Organisations representatives.

The workshop brought together representatives of civil society organisations (CSOs) from regions belonging to the GPPAC network to explore the possibilities for constructive CSO engagement with regional and sub-regional intergovernmental organisations (RIGOs) in various ways. Reflecting critically on their own experiences of engaging - or seeking to engage - RIGOs, participants considered challenges, opportunities and successes, and identified lessons learned.

This cross-regional exchange contributed to the identification of concrete rationale and options for engagement, including through approaches for contact, confidence-building and collaboration. Specific activities such as advocacy, information gathering and analysis, early warning and early action were discussed. Participants also identified a menu of options for consideration by civil society actors in their engagement with RIGOs. Consideration of the role and capacity of GPPAC in facilitating and supporting members' engagement with RIGOs also led to the identification of some specific functions and actions that GPPAC might undertake in the short, medium and longer terms.

On 26-28 of June, the key Partner of GPPAC in Central Asia – “Dolina Mira” (Valley of Peace) Network held a workshop on analysis of the situation in Ferghana Valley in Kyrgyzstan, Issyk-Kul. Dolina Mira is a network of civil society organizations from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan working together to address the tensions arising in Ferghana Valley and to prevent the outbreak of violent conflict. The network is supported by the Danish Refugee Council and became a member of GPPAC in 2006.

As part of the workshop conducted in cooperation with UNDP-Kyrgyzstan, the members of Dolina Mira network identified the key impediments to lasting peace in Ferghana Valley, discussed the challenges and identified the core strategic directions and action points. During the General Assembly of Dolina Mira, which took place on 30 June, the key strategic decisions were confirmed, the number of working groups were formed and new members were accepted. 

Dolina Mira continues to be a strong example of how a regional network can work effectively in addressing regional conflict issues, and where there is a strong potential for GPPAC to complement and enhance the impact of the current regional work.

Added on 4 August 2009

In early January 2009 in Montenegro, the Ministry of Education of Montenegro signed a Memorandum on Cooperation with GPPAC Regional Secretariat for the Western Balkans, the Nansen Dialogue Centre MontenegroSupport to Education System Reform Process in Montenegro. The memorandum includes exchange of materials, news, relevant info on capacity building, and research within GPPAC and South East European Mediation Forum (www.seemf.eu). concerning the programme

In May 2009, the programme Support to Education System Reform Process in Montenegro, including Nansen School of Dialogue and School Mediation programmes got official certification by the Bureau for Education Services in Montenegro, which gives an institutional recognition to the programmes.

In April 2009, in Serbia, the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Serbia released a letter to the Nansen Dialogue Centre Serbia stating official support for the continuance of the Mediation in Schools in the South of Serbia programme. This programme started in 2007 as part of Lillehammer - Bujanovac Schools' Cooperation Project with the aim of strengthening conflict resolution skills through the enhancement of non-violent communication. With the participation of both teachers and students this programme is contributing to a safe school environment.

This beginning of a partnership of understanding and cooperation between the Ministry of Education and the schools provides great motivation for the region and is a positive step towards support for Peace Education curriculum being implemented in schools in the region.

Added on 16 July 2009