Difference between revisions of "Peace NGO Sector"
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==Issues== | ==Issues== | ||
| − | “Questions are increasingly asked about who elects the CSOs | + | “Questions are increasingly asked about who elects the CSOs [Civil Society Organizations]. To whom are they accountable? How can they prove they speak with authenticity for particular constituencies or on specific issues? What is their level of integrity?” (Clark, 68). |
| − | As the role of NGOs in conflict resolution and peace building increases, there has been increasing scrutiny and debate over the role that these organizations play in conflict situations. Some commentators see NGO and other grassroots efforts as being most effective at stimulating changes at the community level, while “primary responsibility for conflict prevention rests with national governments”(Barnes, 13). | + | As the role of NGOs in conflict resolution and peace building increases, there has been increasing scrutiny and debate over the role that these organizations play in conflict situations. Some commentators see NGO and other grassroots efforts as being most effective at stimulating changes at the community level, while “primary responsibility for conflict prevention rests with national governments” (Barnes, 13). |
| − | Governments have sometimes taken critical stances against NGOs | + | Governments have sometimes taken critical stances against NGOs. For example, Russia’s 2006 law requires foreign NGOs operating in Russia to “produce endless notarized documents, including passport numbers and home addresses and telephone numbers back in home countries” seen in response partly to the role of international NGOs in highlighting abuses in the breakaway region of Chechnya. |
| − | There are also questions of how international or Western NGOs interact with each other and with local organizations. There is a concern that international NGOs “shift debates on structural issues away from national parliaments (which can help to strengthen the accountability of governments) to international forums organized around multilateral agencies and inter-governmental meetings… | + | There are also questions of how international or Western NGOs interact with each other and with local organizations. There is a concern that international NGOs “shift debates on structural issues away from national parliaments (which can help to strengthen the accountability of governments) to international forums organized around multilateral agencies and inter-governmental meetings…[which] tend to be inaccessible to less wealthy [NGOs], especially those in the global South and for those with less experience or language skills for effective participation” (Barnes, 23). |
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| + | One sensitive task for civil organizations is the need to take into account differing worldviews and even of the “culture of conflict” that conflicting parties have, which may differ from the intervening organization's ideas of conflict and its resolution (Fisher, 18). For “many cases of intervention, the third-party comes from a different (and often dominant) culture from that of the parties, who are often themselves from different cultures…” (Fisher, 18). Like the case of the UN Shir initiative in Somalia cited earlier, even seemingly well-meaning attempts can fall short due to misapplication of local methods or politicization of traditional forms of mediation. | ||
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==Conclusion== | ==Conclusion== | ||
| − | Many commentators see “the growth and confidence of NGOs working in coexistence | + | Many commentators see that “the growth and confidence of NGOs working in coexistence in conflict resolution work [has] dramatically increased over the past three decades and that their influence on governments and IGOs [Inter-Governmental Organizations] is increasing” (Fitzduff, 1). NGOs “have been able to gain access, build relationships, and offer mediation services in situations where more formal diplomacy has not been immediately welcomed… War-torn countries also may be more receptive to organizations that have already provided humanitarian or development assistance to them.” Like the larger NGO movement, organizations working on peace and conflict resolution issues will continue to grow in size and number, and continue to arise in conflict areas. |
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| + | Some scholars argue for increased linkage between local and international NGOs, that “the cries of local NGOs need to be amplified by NGOs with international constituencies, that collaboration by NGOs across national borders is helpful, and that mass-based organizations can yell louder and with greater effect than more narrowly focused groups, however worthy” (Gidron, 264). These linkages can then serve to defuse potential conflicts before they arise, as well as bring attention to situations where political, religious, ethnic, or economic causes create the conditions for armed conflict. | ||
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==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
Latest revision as of 11:14, 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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