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Northern Ireland.

“The tragedies of the past have left a deep and profoundly regrettable legacy of suffering. We must never forget those who have died or been injured, and their families. But we can best honour them through a fresh start, in which we firmly dedicate ourselves to the achievement of reconciliation, tolerance, and mutual trust, and to the protection and vindication of the human rights of all. ”

— From the Good Friday Agreement, p2

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Northern Ireland was for a long period seen as one the world’s ‘intractable conflicts’, with little hope of a political solution to the violence between Catholic and Protestant communities. Happily, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 brought together political enemies in an agreement that offers hope for a sustainable, peaceful future for Northern Ireland. The Good Friday Agreement has often been taken as the end point of ‘The Troubles’, as the conflict in Northern Ireland is known. However, the recent killing of a police officer and two soldiers by dissident Republicans indicates that peace is not entirely secure.

Northern Ireland offers a hopeful example of the impact that local peacebuilding can have on violent conflicts. Local NGOs were vital in creating spaces for the dialogue and the constituency for political agreement that eventually brought about the Good Friday Agreement.