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Human Rights and Conflict Transformation
A programme to integrate human rights principles into all community conflict resolution work.
Description
The Human Rights and Conflict Transformation project was launched with an international conference in Belfast in November 2002. Since that time the project has involved a range of activities including conferences, papers, training and networking.
Aims / Objectives
The aims of the project are:
- To encourage dialogue, discussion and increased understanding between people working within the broad Community Relations and Human Rights sectors within Northern Ireland;
- To develop training activities that will help community relations workers to integrate human rights principals and practices into their work and vice versa; and
- To place the inter-relationships between community relations and human rights in Northern Ireland within a wider international context.
What Does It Involve?
ICR are currently working with the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission to develop and deliver an introductory Human Rights training programme for conflict resolution workers.
ICR and the NIHRC are planning to produce a training back based on the materials developed and piloted through the HRCT programme.
The participants are members of local communities with whom leaders ICR previously built links and trust.
Achievements / Learning Points
Dialogue and Discussion:
- An international conference, funded by the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland, including speakers from Northern Ireland, the USA and South Africa, was held at the offices of the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA) in November 2002.
- A series of meetings were held with the Committee for the Administration for Justice (CAJ) and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) in November 2002.
- We convened workshops on the theme of human rights and community relations at Community Relations Council (CRC) conferences in October 2003 and November 2004 and at the Human Rights Commission conferences in November 2006 and September 2007.
Training
- ICR co-ordinated two training sessions for the Parades Commission's Authorised Officers in May and September 2003; and
- ICR organised for a member of staff from the Human Rights Commission and an independent trainer to attend a training-for-trainers programme in Cape Town in March 2004. This was funded by CRC.
International Context
- ICR hosted a conference near Belfast in May 2003, funded by the Fletcher School of Law, to convene an international network of people working on HRCT. The network currently involves approximately fifteen individuals from Norway, Denmark, UK, USA, South Africa and Uganda. A second HRCT network conference took place in Nottingham, England in December 2004 and subsequent events were held in the USA in 2005.
- Two papers on the theme of Human Rights and conflict Transformation in Northern Ireland have been produced for publication.
ICR is most proud of the training manual produced after a pilot programme with NGOs with no previous experience in Human Rights, which was subsequently incorporated into the mainstream Human Rights Commission booklet.
Learning points: The training, which is given in the form of role plays, has to be adapted to each particular group and to the issue that is to be tackled.
Geographical Area of Operation
Funding Resources
Small grants given by local organisations.
Organisations Involved / Partners
- Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
- Institute for Conflict Research