Conflict Mitigation Through Empowerment of Local Communities

This initiative supports local community involvement in the ongoing peace process in Nepal, at the same as attempting to build local capacities and redevelop village infrastructure.

Description

This initiative seeks to empower local communities for mobilising in the peace-building process at the local level. The main thematic areas of the initiative are community empowerment, education, livelihood, primary health, and infrastructure development. Regarding the current peace process the initiative has focused on community empowerment for conflict transformation and peace-building. This initiative upholds that for the existence of a peaceful society, human rights and international humanitarian law must be respected. Rebuilding infrastructure that has been destroyed in conflict and empowering people through education are other key components of peace-building that this initiative supports.

Aims / Objectives

• To develop confidence building measures for conflict mitigation and to improve the socio-economic condition of the vulnerable population;
• To enhance the confidence and capabilities of local people for conflict mitigation and peace-building;
• To increase the availability of basic services and livelihood opportunities; and
• To more generally support the vulnerable and conflict-affected people in the community.

How it is Articulated

• Selection and recruitment of local facilitators;
• Selection of participants and CBOs;
• Training (human rights/international humanitarian law, conflict mitigation, conflict transformation and peace-building, leadership and institutional development, income generation);
• First aid training;
• Advocacy and lobbying for smooth delivery of medicine and health services;
• Skill development training (training on management of production, marketing and coordination with financial institutions for the provision of loans to CBOs for agricultural works); and
• Interaction and meetings at the village and district level.

Achievements / Learning Points

The initiative 'Conflict Mitigation through Empowerment of Local Communities' began in January 2006 and will run until December 2007. INSEC has noticed during this period that the above-mentioned goals have gradually been realised through different channels such as programme reports, evaluative survey, formal and informal sharing etc. It will have the following achievements by the end of the projects:

• Beneficiaries will be able to raise collective voices for minimising the effects of violent conflict;
• Identified basic needs of the vulnerable population will have been fulfilled;
• At least 123 CBOs and 300 individuals involved in conflict mediation at local level will have received training;
• About 5000 grassroots people will be newly aware of human rights/international humanitarian law and peace-building issues and will continue to pressurise concerned parties to follow respected norms and principles;
• Average income of the local community people will have increased by 15% in the project areas following skill development training;
• Increase in health care services received by local people; and
• At least one development infrastructure project (e.g. water irrigation, school) per village council will have been built or repaired and be functional.

Geographical Area of Operation

Six districts: Bardiya, Banke, Dang, Pyuthan, Jarjarkot and Surkhet of the mid-western region of Nepal

Funding Resources

European Union (EU)