Capacity Building Programme

This Nepali initiative by the Children's Welfare Society - Khotang (CWS) equips local people with the skills needed to handle conflict without resorting to violence.

Description

The Capacity Building Programme provides peace education and training to minimise human rights violations. The programme aims to foster a culture of peace instead of the culture of violence created by the Maoist conflict.

Aims / Objectives

Since the beginning of the Maoist conflict, the Nepali people (including children) have been exposed to regular violence, and violence has become the main means to solve differences and disputes. To combat this, the initiative aims:

• To promote human rights and a culture of peace;
• To strengthen civil society organisations working for human rights and peace;
• To develop and support people working on post-conflict peace-building;
• To motivate people to resolve local problems through peaceful means; and
• To develop children as peace lovers.

How it is Articulated

CWS provides training on conflict transformation, peace-building, and on human rights. It makes people aware of peace through informal classes on the subject. It has also established a Peace Council in the district as an institution of peace.

The council coordinates the peace activities of various organisations in the district and supports the ongoing peace process by promoting peace at a local level. It also documents and publicises cases of human rights violations in order to build pressure on those concerned to stop these (and other) violations.

Achievements / Learning Points

CWS consider the following their most notable achievements:

• The establishment of nine active peace councils (five in schools and a further four at the Village Development Council level);
• The education of around 5,000 people on peace issues;
• The development and dissemination of information and other materials on peace;
• The launch of peace campaigns in schools;
• The training of 32 representatives from 25 civil society organizations on conflict transformation and mediation;
• The establishment of a network for peace and human rights in Khotang that is now working effectively in the district. The network co-ordinates and strengthens the peace and human rights activities in the district. It also supports the peace-building process in the post-conflict phase, which the nation entered in May 2006;
• Local people mobilising to establish Khotang district as a peace zone; and
• The creation of an environment in which people displaced by the conflict can return home.

Geographical Area of Operation

The Khotang district in Sagarmatha zone

Funding Resources

German Development Service (DED)

Organisations Involved

• Human Rights and Environment Development Centre (HURENDEC), Udayapur;
• NGO Federation; and
• People in Need, Nepal (PIN-Nepal).