Fundamental Rights Programme

WCF established the Fundamental Rights Programme to tackle what they saw as the widespread linguistic, cultural and religious discrimination Tamil people in Puttalam face, particularly from government institutions. Many government officers speak only English and Sinhalese, causing communication problems, and effectively leaving Tamils live without basic education, healthcare, and legal protection.

Initiated in 2003, this project aims to involve Tamils and government officers to raise awareness of fundamental human, children’s, and group rights. By informing the two groups about rights and responsibilities, WCF hope to improve the relationship between them – easing the current tension and creating a significant and long-lasting impact on ethnic conflict in the area.

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They conduct ‘cultural sharing’ programs and educational programs to promote ethnic cooperation between Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims and to facilitate a better understanding on the conflict.

Tamil Youth Radio

This project provides a radio program in Tamil for the plantation community, particularly aimed at young people. It gives young people a space to access information, exposing them to outside sources – widening their perspective and giving them new approaches to solving conflicts and contributing to the peace building process by giving out unbiased information. Further, the initiative supports them in solving problems such as finding employment outside the plantations, corresponding with government officials in Sinhala, and participating in higher education.

Young Women’s Empowerment Programme

The Young Women’s Empowerment Programme targets talented young women who are interested in politics, and provides training and education intended to develop the participants into future political leaders of the plantation community. The hope is that the project leads to the inclusion of their voice in legislative structures such as Provincial Councils, widening the discussion of the conflict and peace process by including an as yet neglected voice.

Community Social Mobilisation Initiative

Although they form a large percentage of Tamils in Sri Lanka, the voice of the plantation workers is not very well represented in discussions related to ethnic conflict and peace process. In order to strengthen the voice of the plantation workers, this project aims to mobilise them into small groups, empower them through training and education, and encourages them to unite together as larger, stronger organisations. Training is provided to raise awareness of the ethnic conflict and related issues, and to provide them with the skills to organise, speak out and take action. Other programmes are also run which aim to ease tensions and improve the relationship between plantation workers and the surrounding communities.

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The Nepal Rapid Response Fund (RRF) was set up in March 2007 bringing together Nepalese civil society organisations working in areas most at risk from renewed conflict. The RRF works round the clock to respond to conflict outbreaks, consolidate Nepal’s 2006 Comprehensive Peace Agreement and give Nepalese communities a chance of a conflict free future.

The RRF is made up of two organisations, Karnali Integrated Rural Development and Research Centre (KIRDARC), Youth Alliance for Peace and Environment (YAPE). Together they develop immediate responses to outbreaks of violence while training their communities to deal effectively with their own conflicts. A third organisation, SAATHI, contributed to the first phase of the fund.

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1. Hope Diminished for Writing a New Constitution Nepal is currently in political stalemate, over three issues: civilian supremacy,...

Rappers who speak their minds in the name of peace

As part of The Independent’s 2010 Christmas Appeal, Katherine Butler reports on how the Permanent Peace Movement is using Hip-hop music is helping heal the wounds in post-conflict Lebanon

The mission of the Permanent Peace Movement (PPM) is to nurture and spread a culture of peace through Lebanon and the wider region. PPM promotes the transformation of conflict through training, advocacy, and dialogue. The main activities of PPM currently focus on conflict resolution and non-violence training, children’s rights, and social and economic empowerment.

Stop Child Soldiers

As part of the International Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, PPM launched the Stop Child Soldiers project with the aim of raising awareness of the use of child soldiers in Lebanon and across the Middle East & North Africa. Along with awareness raising initiatives, PPM campaigns for the adoption and implementation of aspects of the Convention on the Rights of the Child that deal with the involvement of children in armed conflicts.

Hip Hop for Peace

Hip Hop for Peace teaches young people to use arts – specifically Hip Hop and Graffiti – as well as practical skills such as conflict prevention and resolution, to spread a culture of peace amongst their peers. Hip Hop for Peace, aims to bring young people from different religious backgrounds together, through a shared love of hip hop culture, and give them the skills to express themselves, voice their concerns, and become messengers of peace.

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The Collaborative met again in December 2006 to share their experiences of disseminating information about Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) to different groups, with 26 organisations attending. Findings were shared with donors and the UN, including representatives of UN Radio and UN Political Affairs.

A third meeting in Juba included a session on working with the media and an opportunity to discuss a draft strategic plan for the Collaborative for 2007-11. This focuses on empowering citizens to assert and realise their rights and will allow time for monitoring and evaluating the effects of peacebuiling activities.

The Collaborative aims to promote the sharing of information, experience and materials to contribute to a well informed and peaceful citizenry in Sudan. It seeks to build strong partnerships to secure resources and protect the work of its members. The ultimate goal is a robust civil society that is able to mobilise citizens to influence policies, programmes, regulations and institutions that affect their lives. Core values are trust, cooperation, generosity, transparency, accountability, open-mindedness, inclusivity, a non-partisan stance, participation and innovation.

Workshop on the role of the community in peacebuilding – Kurmuk

Post-conflict, the return of IDPs and demobilised soldiers can put a lot of strain on communities. CfPS wanted to encourage people both to find individual ways to contribute towards the peace process and to work together on shared projects.

They invited around 30 community representatives from a range of backgrounds to attend, including women, community leaders and government officials. An independent consultant of the Blue Nile University, who is experienced in working with IDPs, spoke about the challenges facing returnees, how they can be slowly gradually reintegrated and how to avoid conflict. The second day of the workshop comprised of a group discussion and a football match between the Kurmuk national team and the development society team. The match was used as an opportunity to discuss peace and sustainability with large numbers of audience members in the local language.

The workshop led to the creation of a voluntary ‘Sustainable Peace’ committee to hold meetings and events. This group has now met for a year without any funding and is currently planning a major project on preventing election-related violence.

Workshop on the role of young people in peacebuilding

CfPS invited people from different groups, including women, community leaders, members of the native administration and those who supported various political parties to one in a series of four workshops in the Blue Nile state. The aims of the workshop were to emphasise the crucial role of young people in peacebuilding, invite them to express their hopes and ideas for the peace process and create links between young people and peacebuilding organisations. The workshop ended with the election of a ‘Youth For Peace’ committee to continue the work in the area.

CfPS: Building peace across Sudan

The work of CfPS involves local groups working for peace across the country, Rasha, local correspondent for Sudan, shares stories of their success.

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• Mentoring and advice on community development or training;
• Room and equipment hire;
• Consultancy;
• Assistance with funding applications;
• Financial advice and payroll services; and
• Help with marketing, events management, staff development, etc.

Migrant Workers’ Support Project

The Migrant Workers’ Support Project was founded in 2001, when various individuals began offering voluntary advice and guidance to new migrant workers in the Dungannon area. Initially, most migrant workers were Portuguese speakers (from Brazil, East Timor, Portugal, Cape Verde etc), but a much wider range of nationalities now make up the migrant workforce, including many Polish, Czech and Lithuanian people.

In May 2006, STEP launched a Migrant Workers’ Support Network to allow groups working in the field to share information, ideas and resources. This includes organisations across Northern Ireland and south of the Border. They aim to support migrant workers in all aspects of the process of integration, in the hope this will contribute to a diverse, fair and tolerant society in which human rights are respected.

Some of the main areas of work are a Migrant Support Centre, work on employment rights, training and language support, immigration advice and community development work. The Migrant Support Centre offers free information, advice and guidance for migrants about accessing basic services. Most service users have little knowledge of English, so there are three bi-lingual support workers at hand (speaking Polish, Lithuanian and Portuguese / Tetum). The centre also offers English courses.

STEPs employment rights activities aim to expose exploitation and discrimination. Migrant workers can receive advice on work, social and economic issues, and in 2004 a campaign was launched to raise awareness of the Workers’ Charter of Rights.

Footprint Training Services

Footprint is STEP’s training programme for marginalised community members. The services are tailored to the needs of each individual, helping them to achieve personal development. STEP’s aim is to build an inclusive, fair and peaceful society, and to do this, this project aims to enhance the skills of individual learners and encourage them to engage in training and education.

Footprint offers a wide range of courses ranging from digital photography to languages, childcare and food hygiene. The project delivers information and computer technology training to people with disabilities, and business training to individuals who have faced barriers of social exclusion or poor education.

Community Development

Community Development initiatives have always been a main focus of South Tyrone Empowerment Programme (STEP). The aim is to help migrant and marginalised people in South Tyrone integrate into the local community, in order to build a more peaceful and cohesive society.

To STEP, community development means capacity building, community building, promoting economic development, and securing access to housing, education and health services. These are the most basic requirements for people to be able to integrate as full members of society.

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Peace Committees in Markets

CAFA operates peace committees in the markets of Omdurman, a city home to people from all over Sudan. These informal committees provide a place to discuss Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the upcoming elections. By operating in markets, CAFA aims to reach local people who may not be reached in other ways and talks to them in the language of the market, rather than the sometimes impenetrable jargon associated with peace agreements. Using the local tradition of “Guor shakheet” – drawing a line in the middle of the street to signal to people you want to say something – CAFA volunteers give information about the CPA and invite discussion between shoppers and shopkeepers. The success and popularity of the project has led to the election of local people from the market to organise talks independent of CAFA.

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Activities include workshops on capacity building and conflict resolution; seminars on the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), looking at its principles and how people will benefit from this agreement; and education programmes.

Conflict Resolution Between the Golfan and Hawazma Tribes

The Golfan and Hawazma tribes have a reoccurring conflict over water resources and rearing areas. Generally receiving little attention from government, disagreements have periodically led to violence. For just over 2 weeks in 2007 Turath was involved in direct conflict resolution between the two tribes. A group of volunteers that had participated in similar conflict resolution activities were chosen to form a problem-solving group and mediate between the two sides. They went into each community, talking to and, crucially, listening to grievances and looking for areas of potential cooperation. Meetings, workshops and discussions are held with each group individually to elaborate on the points of cooperation, before the two groups were brought together in a series of workshops on peace and coexistence, ending in the signing of a written agreement.

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WIGG raise women’s awareness of their rights as women and as participants in political processes. They have learned that local level women have a strong voice but lack the education, experience and confidence to be wholly effective on the political scene. WIGG projects have helped develop their political understanding and increase their self-belief, helping them become influential at a national level.

Rights-Based Political Advocacy for Female Leaders

This project aimed to provide female political leaders and Constitutional Assembly (CA) members with a good working knowledge of the constitutional process. To ensure inclusive, participatory, and effective democracy, WIGG’s strategy was to strengthen the capacity of female CA representatives through seminars and events. They wanted to mobilise women as political actors both locally and nationally, creating both horizontal and vertical links between civil society, activist groups, and various local, national, and international organisations.

WIGG organised intensive, inclusive and informed workshops and events, delivered by lawyers, activists, political scientists, professors, and human rights advocates. And, as an example of their success, sixteen women who attended WIIGG workshops have been elected CA members.

Improving female leaders’ understanding of federalism and state restructure

This project aimed to equip female activists in the Eastern and Central Development Regions with an improved understanding of federalism and state structures, in order to allow them to engage fully in Nepal’s current state restructuring, securing their formal contribution the peace process. WIGG created a bank of experts on federalism and the constitution, and engaged these in producing user-friendly materials and delivering workshops for female activists and political leaders.

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TV for All

This initiative seeks to combat the spread of misinformation and false claims from politicians by establishing television transmission in the rural areas of Kosovo, removing sources of ethnic tension and helping to bring the Bosniak community more fully into Kosovan life and out of “media darkness”.

Kosovo may be a 21^st Century country, but it can be difficult to see in the South and East where many residents cannot receive a signal from the national television station, Kosovo Television, leaving those that can afford it relying on expensive satellite services, and those that can’t without. VKBIK research has shown that for many people in the region it is the latter, creating a huge barrier to the delivery of reliable information, as misinformation spreads across the area adding to already fragile tensions and conflicts. This is exacerbated by the fact that the majority of people affected by the lack of a free public service are of the Bosniak community, a group who already perceive themselves to be deliberately isolated from the rest of Kosovo society.

TV for All was established to address this problem. Beginning in the municipalities of Zupe and Dragash, where many people have no alternative but to listen to Serbian radio, or watch Serbian TV, hearing most of their information about Kosovo only from a Serbian perspective, TV for All sought to organise influential parties in Kosovo to arrange a deal with TV Kosovo to build a television infrastructure in order for people to enjoy a free public service.

VKBIK has so far carried out this work in only these two small municipalities, with the problem still existing across the rest of the region. It estimates that to build enough transmitters would cost approximately €130,000, and is currently looking at furthering its fundraising strategies to bring the whole region out of “media darkness”.

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