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Conflict and Postconflict
Reconstruction:
Conflict and Postconflict
Reconstruction:
Background and Issues
By Monika Wroz
The Integrated-perspectives Approach toConflict and Peace Issues
The Integrated-perspectives Approach toConflict and Peace Issues
Human Rights
Social Development
Ecological
Global
The Integrated-perspectives Approach toConflict and Peace Issues
The Integrated-perspectives Approach toConflict and Peace Issues
• Changes in warfare have brought about the need for aid and social workers to engage in conflict and postconflict situations
• To achieve more lasting peace, social work must improve its capacities in:
• community building
• social cohesion
• reconciliation
• rebuilding communities
• building stronger, harmonious, multicultural societies
The Integrated-perspectives Approach toConflict and Peace Issues
The Integrated-perspectives Approach toConflict and Peace Issues
1. Global Perspective:
• Creating a Global Civil Society is Essential
• Prevalence of conflict makes it a global issue
• Among the causes of conflict are the inequitable distributions of wealth, trade, aid
• Response must be global as reconstruction requires well-coordinated international efforts and requires helping professionals to share resources
2. Human Rights Perspective:
• Common causal factor
• Must be emphasized over the economic and political
• Social workers must protect the rights of marginalized/overlooked persons
3. Ecological Perspective:
• Damage often an intentional consequence of conflict
• Usually affects the poorest population
• Ensure rebuilding of communities is sustainable
• Opportunity to rectify past ecologically damaging tendencies
4. Social Development Perspective:
• Reconstruction should be development not relief-driven
• Provides a multilevel, multidimensional and comprehensive approach
The Integrated-perspectives Approach toConflict and Peace Issues
The Integrated-perspectives Approach toConflict and Peace Issues
The Extent and Nature of Modern Conflict The Extent and Nature of Modern Conflict
Causes:• colonial legacy• ethnic/religious tensions in pluralisticStates• interference in national affairs byforeign states• territorial disputes•development process
Impact:• social/personal• economic• developmental• structural
Characteristics:• focus on civilians• use of mercenaries• focus on destroying Infrastructure• displacement oflarge numbers• use of torture and rape• involvement of childsoldiers• landmines• no stated “rules ofengagement” – lack of protocol
The Role of the United NationsThe Role of the United Nations
• Traditionally has been to keep peace and assist in providing aid
• Has faced increasingly more pressure by global community to intervene in conflict areas
• Decisions influenced by member states who:
• provide financial support
• provide personnel
• have voting rights
The Role of Global Civil SocietyThe Role of Global Civil Society
• More nongovernmental agencies are becoming involved and are initiating their own programs
• Many NGO’s play a role in UN decisions (Red Cross, Medecins sans Frontieres, Amnesty Int.)
• Collaborative work between agencies is difficult but should be pursued
The Postconflict ResponseThe Postconflict Response
Recommend: The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein
• Continuation of activities begun during conflict
• Response to conflict might include:
– diplomacy
– provision of armaments
– training
– profiteering UN
should to take control ASAP
• Humanitarian response
– needs of persons affected
• Human Rights
– monitoring abuses
– involved in reconciliation
– involved in peace agreements
• Influx of various organizations
– Humanitarian goals
– Economic development
– Service provision
– Exploiting needs
The Postconflict Situation and the Postconflict Agenda
The Postconflict Situation and the Postconflict Agenda
The Postconflict Situation: An Analysis
The Postconflict Agenda
The Comprehensive Postconflict Agenda
• Comprehensive Agenda is endorsed in theory:
– Must be linked and coordinated
– Must be sustainable
– Must build on existing and on-going goals of society and its people
– Benefits of sustained peace and even development are worth economic costs
– Is multilevel: can be applied nationally or locally
– Includes interlocking “peacebuilding tasks”
The Postconflict Agenda
A cumulative process
Predisposing Factors
Conflict
Precipitating Factors
Postcolonial Situation
Areas of Need – to Rebuild
Populations With
Specific Needs
Significance of International context
Significance of location of conflict
The Postconflict Situation: an Analysis
The Comprehensive Postconflict Agenda
•All activities undertaken in such a way that they
contribute to establishing a firm
foundation for ongoing development of
the society
•All activities undertaken in such a way that they
contribute to establishing a firm
foundation for ongoing development of
the society
•Immediate needs of individuals and families generally
•Immediate needs of populations with specific needs
•Immediate needs of communities
•Immediate needs of society
•Immediate needs of individuals and families generally
•Immediate needs of populations with specific needs
•Immediate needs of communities
•Immediate needs of society
•Enforcement of Peace Agreement
•Return of displaced persons and their
reintegration
•Demobilization of soldiers and their reintegration
•Reconciliation
•Enforcement of Peace Agreement
•Return of displaced persons and their
reintegration
•Demobilization of soldiers and their reintegration
•Reconciliation
Peacekeeping for an interim Period and
Provisional Governmentor Administration
Peacekeeping for an interim Period and
Provisional Governmentor Administration
ComprehensiveApproach to
People’s Well-being
ComprehensiveApproach to
People’s Well-being
Root Causes of Conflict at all Levels, Including
Predisposing andPrecipitating Factors
Root Causes of Conflict at all Levels, Including
Predisposing andPrecipitating Factors
Erin Baines is the research director at the Liu Centre for Global Issues at UBC.
• Spent 3 years with the Acholi people of Northern Uganda.
• Children are the target for abduction by the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army)
• She is looking at how Acholi traditional rituals can help to re-integrate former child soldiers back into society.
The Postconflict Agenda: example
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2saj4gJ4Lvw
• To better understand complexity of humanitarian aid, social workers should specialize in this area of activity
How might we do this?
The Humanitarian Aid DebateThe Humanitarian Aid Debate
Social Workers and Humanitarian Aid
Understanding Humanitarian Aid TodayUnderstanding Humanitarian Aid Today
Expansion and
Dimensions ofHumanitarian
Aid
Expansion and
Dimensions ofHumanitarian
Aid
Key Agencies
Involved in Humanitarian
Aid
Key Agencies
Involved in Humanitarian
Aid
Centrality of Politics
Centrality of Politics
The Limitations
And Dangers of
HumanitarianAid
The Limitations
And Dangers of
HumanitarianAid
Complex Nature
Of Many Humanitarian
Disasters
Complex Nature
Of Many Humanitarian
Disasters
Humanitarian Aid and its Associated PrinciplesHumanitarian Aid and its Associated Principles
• Humanity
• Impartiality
• Neutrality
• Only possible if the underlying principle of Independence is present or it will only serve the objectives of political forces providing it
• Is it possible to distinguish institutional interests from those of the people the institutions are pledged to assist ?
• The current objectives of humanitarian aid are multifaceted & interconnected
– Alleviation of human suffering
– Colonial ambitions
– Human Rights commitments
– Power and influence
– Appeasing consciences
• Media assists in selling the technical and enterprising aspects of aid
• As social workers we must make sure humanitarian aid is not “reduced to its’ technical components for the sake of proving efficiency to donors, thereby demeaning the ideas on which humanitarian action is based”
The Temptation and Dangers of Turning Humanitarian Aid Into a The Temptation and Dangers of Turning Humanitarian Aid Into a Technical EnterpriseTechnical Enterprise
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWUFEx2uwW4
Institutional Constraints to Learning in the Humanitarian Aid ContextInstitutional Constraints to Learning in the Humanitarian Aid Context
• Do we need to rethink our humanitarian response to global crises?
• In order to secure aid it often needs to be “commercialized” CNN factor
• Need to make situation seem worse than it is
• Need to make aid given seem faultless
• Results in:
• “institutional preservation”
• various & unhealthy coping strategies adopted by staff
• not questioning actions and thus, not learning from past mistakes
How are we influenced in our work?How are we influenced in our work?• Group 1: What are the needs of these children and what approach
would you use to provide aid in their situation?
• Group 2: What knowledge and tools might you use to analyze this situation to build a postconflict agenda in this area?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekigsvTDJXo
The Importance in Humanitarian Aid of Looking Ahead to After the The Importance in Humanitarian Aid of Looking Ahead to After the EmergencyEmergency
• Criticisms or “Negative” aspects of aid:
– Often perceived as creating dependency
– Reducing healthy levels of self-reliance
– Aid assumes responsibilities of state governments (basic welfare services)
• To achieve the ideals or “Positive” aspects of aid, these objectives need to be achieved:
– Sustainable outcome and long term recovery
– Cannot be given as an end in itself but for the well-being of its’ recipients
What can we do to achieve this?
To Achieve Sustainable Peace there must be International Accountability, New Strategies for the Disbursement of Relief and
Development Assistance
Acknowledge structural conditions promoting
violence
Avoid intervention &become selective
political tool
Establish anindependentinternational
monitoring system
Mitigate and resolve structural and
political violence
Give conflict-affectedcommunities a voice
Develop framework of Int. law promoting rights of victims of
violence &underdevelopment
Strategies fordisbursement of
relief and developmentassistance
The Importance in Humanitarian Aid of Looking Ahead to After the The Importance in Humanitarian Aid of Looking Ahead to After the EmergencyEmergency
Personnel in Humanitarian Aid Responses to CrisesPersonnel in Humanitarian Aid Responses to Crises
• Who are the “aid workers” and what do they do?
– Often “faceless”
– Need different skills than in the past
– Need to be trained and prepared to perform their job effectively
Conflict analysis& management
negotiations Human Rightsmonitoring
Working with UNmilitary
Propaganda & humanitarianbroadcasting
Longevity of emergencies
& need of developmental
paradigm
Being a country
specialist
Working inurbanterrain
Peace-building&
rehabilitation
Personal security&
Emotional health
Armed guards &
protection