Difference between revisions of "Peace NGO Sector"
From NGO Handbook
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Peace NGOs also encompass the wide variety of anti-war organizations. More recent examples include organizations opposed to the U.S.-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. NGOs like the American Friend Service Committee (AFSC), founded in 1917, use educational activities, awareness-raising, and mobilizing members in letter-writing campaigns to politicians to oppose war and explore alternatives. Other organizations, like the US-based War Resister’s League (WRL), employ more direct methods, organizing a counter-recruitment program that educates high schoolers about alternatives to joining the army. | Peace NGOs also encompass the wide variety of anti-war organizations. More recent examples include organizations opposed to the U.S.-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. NGOs like the American Friend Service Committee (AFSC), founded in 1917, use educational activities, awareness-raising, and mobilizing members in letter-writing campaigns to politicians to oppose war and explore alternatives. Other organizations, like the US-based War Resister’s League (WRL), employ more direct methods, organizing a counter-recruitment program that educates high schoolers about alternatives to joining the army. | ||
| − | ==Research and | + | ==Research and Policy-Oriented NGOs== |
| − | Other NGOs will use research and policy recommendations to promote peaceful outcomes. Organizations like the UK-based Saferworld use research on issues such as the arms trade as well as the training of governments and civil society to provide alternatives to armed violence. The Berghof Research Center for Constructive Conflict Management in Berlin is another example of an NGO that combines original research on conflict origins and prevention strategies with policy recommendations and active support of workers in the field. Another notable example is The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, a South Africa-based NGO. According to its mission, the “rebuilding of relationships…whether these are racial, ethnic, religious or gender-based…continue to play a critical role in the evolution of conflict and potential for violent perpetration and victimization in South Africa.” This should be accompanied by institutional transformation and a “’positive peace’…premised on more than just the absence of violence,” with social, political, and economic justice being key to a true peace. | + | Other NGOs will use research and policy recommendations to promote peaceful outcomes. Organizations like the UK-based Saferworld use research on issues such as the arms trade as well as the training of governments and civil society to provide alternatives to armed violence. The Berghof Research Center for Constructive Conflict Management in Berlin is another example of an NGO that combines original research on conflict origins and prevention strategies with policy recommendations and active support of workers in the field. Another notable example is The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, a South Africa-based NGO. According to its mission, the “rebuilding of relationships…whether these are racial, ethnic, religious or gender-based…continue to play a critical role in the evolution of conflict and potential for violent perpetration and victimization in South Africa.” This should be accompanied by institutional transformation and a “’positive peace’…premised on more than just the absence of violence,” with social, political, and economic justice being key to a true peace. |
==Peace and Conflict Resolution NGOs and the United Nations== | ==Peace and Conflict Resolution NGOs and the United Nations== | ||
Revision as of 10:02, 5 August 2008
Contents
Introduction
Peace and conflict resolution NGOs are non-governmental organizations which work in areas “relating to the reduction and elimination of destructive conflict,” or in another definition “promote peace, reconciliation, and coexistence” (Gidron, 3). Organizations under this broad category use a variety of approaches and methodologies to work on international, intra-state, or local conflicts.
Like the larger NGO world, organizations working on peace and conflict resolution issues are a heterogeneous group, varying widely in size, approach, and commitments. Peace and conflict resolution NGOs often draw upon common activist strategies–-ranging from petitions, letter writing, direct action and civil disobedience to diplomatic talks, treaties, and policy recommendations, as well as education, media coverage, and raising awareness in the general public--to further their work. Many organizations use a combination of these methods.
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