Conflict Resolution by t A

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PEACEBUILDING.

Introduced by the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General in An Agenda for Peace in 1992, theconcept of peace building is now gaining widespread acceptance in academic and political

circles. It was conceived as an integral part of UN efforts to promote peace and found its place

among the organisations more traditional instruments: preventive diplomacy, peacemaking andpeacekeeping. According to the United Nations (UN) document An Agenda for Peace, peace-

building consists of a wide range of activities associated with capacity building, reconciliation,

and societal transformation. Peace-building is a long-term process that occurs after violentconflict has slowed down or come to a halt. Thus, it is the phase of the peace process that takes

place after peacemaking and peacekeeping.

Despite, the positive reception that the notion received, the precise definition of the term

peacebuilding has remained unclear. As actors ranging from non-governmental organisations

(NGOs) to defence ministries embraced the concept, each made their own contributions to the

discourse. As a result, there are several significant differences in its interpretation.

The blurred nature of peacebuilding has been acknowledged by Roland Paris, who holds that

"scholars have devoted relatively little attention to analysing the concept of peace-building itself,including its underlying assumptions."

5Robert Miller of the Canadian Peacebuilding Initiative

recently indicated that the term peacebuilding, being in its etymological adolescence, has

remained rather gangly and undefined

There are divergences in the current usage of the term peacebuilding. Six dimensions of

variable usage of the term peacebuilding can be identified. These dimensions correspond to a listof questions:

The aim of peacebuilding: Is peacebuilding about removing the root causes of a conflictor about finding ways to resolve old and new disputes in a peaceful fashion? The means of peacebuilding: Do peacebuilding efforts primarily entail security,

humanitarian, economic or political intervention or all of these at the same time?

The temporal (time) aspects of peacebuilding: Are the measures employed inpeacebuilding short to medium term or long-term ones? Should international involvement

in peace-building be a short-to-medium term or long-term effort?

The main actors of peacebuilding: Who are the main actors in peacebuilding indigenous or external actors?

The process/action dimension of peacebuilding: Does the word peacebuilding refer to aset of concrete actions taken or is it a generic concept that refers to an overarching,

aggregate process?

The organisation of peacebuilding: Should peacebuilding be viewed as a top-down orbottom-up process, as a planned and co-ordinated process, or as one that, to a large
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extent, is initiated locally and pursued by a multitude of actors in their field of concern

and comparative advantage?

Dimension Tendency 1 Tendency 2

Aim ofpeacebuilding

Promote good governance and

dispute settlementmechanisms

Address root causes ofconflict

Means ofpeacebuilding

Primarily politicalintervention

Broad intervention in

political, economic, security

and humanitarian spheres

Temporal aspectof peacebuilding

Short-term Long-term

Main actors of

peacebuildingInternational community Indigenous actors

Process/action

dimension

Peacebuilding equated to the

actions undertaken

Peacebuilding seen as the

result, as the aggregateprocess

Organisation ofpeacebuilding

Peacebuilding is centralised

under the auspices of the UN,more stress on co-ordination

than on diversity

Peacebuilding is facilitated

by a multitude of actors,more stress on diversity than

on co-ordination

Peace-building is a process that facilitates the establishment ofdurable peace and tries to preventthe recurrence of violence by addressing root causes and effects of conflict through

reconciliation, institution building, and political as well as economic transformation. Thisconsists of a set of physical, social, and structural initiatives that are often an integral part of

post-conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation.

To further understand the notion of peace-building, many contrast it with the more traditional

strategies of peacemaking and peacekeeping. Peacemaking is the diplomatic effort to end the

violence between the conflicting parties, move them towards nonviolent dialogue, and eventuallyreach a peace agreement. Peacekeeping, on the other hand, is a third-party intervention (often,

but not always done by military forces) to assist parties in transitioning from violent conflict to

peace by separating the fighting parties and keeping them apart. These peacekeeping operations

not only provide security, but also facilitate other non-military initiatives.

The creation of such an environment has three central dimensions: addressing the underlying

causes of conflict, repairing damaged relationships and dealing with psychological trauma at theindividual level. Each of these dimensions relies on different strategies and techniques.
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The Structural Dimension: Addressing Root Causes

The structural dimension of peace-building focuses on the social conditions that foster violentconflict. Many note that stable peace must be built on social, economic, and political foundations

that serve the needs of the populace. Thus, in order to establish durable peace, parties must

analyze the structural causes of the conflict and initiate social structural change. The promotionof substantive and procedural justice through structural means typically involves institution

building and the strengthening ofcivil society.

Political structural changes focus on political development, state building, and the establishment

of effective government institutions. This often involves election reform, judicial reform, power-

sharing initiatives, and constitutional reform. It also includes building political parties, creatinginstitutions that provide procedures and mechanisms for effectively handling and resolving

conflict, and establishing mechanisms to monitor and protect human rights.

Economic peace-building targets both the micro- and macro-level and aims to create economic

opportunities and ensure that the basic needs of the population are met. On the microeconomiclevel, societies should establish micro-credit institutions to increase economic activity and

investment at the local level, promote inter-communal trade and an equitable distribution of land,and expand school enrollment and job training. On the macroeconomic level, the post-conflict

government should be assisted in its efforts to secure the economic foundations and

infrastructure necessary for a transition to peace.

The Relational Dimension

A second integral part of building peace is reducing the effects of war-related hostility through

the repair and transformation of damaged relationships. The relational dimension of peace-

building centers on reconciliation, forgiveness,trust building, and future imagining. It seeks tominimize poorly functioning communication and maximize mutual understanding.

Many believe that reconciliation is one of the most effective and durable ways to transform

relationships and prevent destructive conflicts. The essence of reconciliation is the voluntary

initiative of the conflicting parties to acknowledge their responsibility and guilt. Parties reflect

upon their own role and behavior in the conflict, and acknowledge and accept responsibility forthe part they have played. As parties share their experiences, they learn new perspectives and

change their perception of their "enemies. There is recognition of the difficulties faced by the

opposing side and of their legitimate grievances, and a sense of empathybegins to develop. Each

side expresses sincere regret and remorse, and is prepared to apologize for what has transpired.The parties make a commitment to let go of anger, and to refrain from repeating the injury.

Finally, there is a sincere effort to redress past grievances and compensate for the damage done.

This process often relies on interactive negotiation and allows the parties to enter into a newmutually enriching relationship.

Indeed, a crucial part of peace-building is addressing past wrongdoing while at the same timepromoting healing and rule of law. Part of repairing damaged relationships is responding to past
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human rights violations and genocide through the establishment of truth commissions, fact-

finding missions, and war crimes tribunals.

The Personal Dimension

The personal dimension of peace-building centers on desired changes at the individual level. Ifindividuals are not able to undergo a process of healing, there will be broader social, political,

and economic repercussions. The destructive effects of social conflict must be minimized, and its

potential for personal growth must be maximized. Reconstruction and peace-building effortsmust prioritize treating mental health problems and integrate these efforts into peace plans and

rehabilitation efforts.

After an experience of violence, an individual is likely to feel vulnerable, helpless, and out of

control in a world that is unpredictable. Building peace requires attention to these psychological

and emotional layers of the conflict. The social fabric that has been destroyed by war must berepaired, and trauma must be dealt with on the national, community, and individual levels. At the

national level, parties can accomplish widespread personal healing through truth andreconciliation commissions that seek to uncover the truth and deal with perpetrators. At the

community level, parties can pay tribute to the suffering of the past through various rituals orceremonies, or build memorials to commemorate the pain and suffering that has been endured.

Strong family units that can rebuild community structures and moral environments are also

crucial.

There are wide arrays of techniques used in peace building whether at the interpersonal level, the

community or national level. Processes of conflict resolution generally include negotiation,arbitration, mediation, peace building and diplomacy. In many cases, crises arise out of systemic

roots. These root causes are typically complex, but include skewed land distribution,

environmental degradation, and unequal political representation. If these social problems are notaddressed, there can be no lasting peace.

A. NEGOTIATIONNegotiation generally refers to a communication process we use to reach an agreement or

resolve conflicts. Negotiation is a voluntary attempt to resolve conflicts that arise from

competing needs, interests and goals. It is a problem solving approach in which parties

seek agreement, rather than resort to violence and force. In situations where relationships

have been threatened or have been harmed, high mistrust exists and violence has

occurred, negotiation as a problem solving approach is particularly difficult but all the

more relevant. In negotiation, two key issues need to be understood and these arePOSITIONS and INTEREST.

POSITIONS: Positions are a partys stated solution to the conflict. It is what they say

they want, for example in a labour dispute; a union may say the need 10 percent salary

increase.
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INTERESTS: They are the basic needs, concerns, fears or values which underlie their

position in a conflict. In the above labour dispute, the interests are what lead them to

make a certain demand.

TYPES OF INTERESTS

Substantive; which relate to physical resources such as money, land or time. Psychological; which relates to issues of thrust, fairness and respect. Procedural; which relate to the way the dispute will be resolved, who will be

involved and how decisions will be made.

The three types of interests are interrelated and all must be considered in the

negotiation processes. For example, consider a project which is designed to meet the

needs of a squatter community. Their substantive interests may be related to housing,

electricity and water and sanitation facilities. They may have other psychological

interests such as fairness, respect. They might also have procedural interest as to howdecisions are made, about what is going to be developed and how the new resources

are located.

TYPES OF NEGOTIATION

POSITIONAL: negotiation refers to a competitive process in which parties make offersand counter-offers which they feel will resolve the conflict. Positional negotiations start

with parties making an offer which will maximize their benefit. Each party attempts to

draw the other into their bargaining range by using a series counter-offers and

concessions. These exchanges of offers typically start to either converge on a solution

which both parties find acceptable.

Parties use positional negotiation:

-When the stakes are high

-When parties are negotiating over resources which are limited such as money or time

-When there is little or no trust between parties

-When the parties need for a continuing cooperative relationship is of lesser priority than

a substantive win at the table.

-When a party is perceive that it benefits from making the other party lose.

INTEREST- BASED NEGOTIATION: Is designed for parties who have a need to createor maintain healthy relationships. In this type of process, parties discus the issues thatface them and express the interests, values and needs that they bring to the table. Instead

of focusing on competitive measures and winning the negotiation, parties collaborate by

looking to create solutions which maximize the meeting of all parties interests, values

and needs. This cooperative process focuses parties away from their positions and onto

using interests and objective criteria for making decisions. Parties use interest-based

negotiation:


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-When parties have interdependent interests, desires and concerns.

- When it is possible to create integrative solutions which provide mutual gains for parties

(win/win).

- When an ongoing relationship between parties is important.

- When parties need to switch from adversarial interaction to more cooperative ones

-When there are principles (e.g. human rights standard) which parties are bound to

uphold.

During the negotiation process the following caveats must be held:

Negotiation should be conducted in good faith The parties need to agree on the date, time and venue for the initial meeting. The parties formulate ground rules to regulate the meetings such as:

- Agree on how to address themselves and when and how to speak.- Agree to show respect for each other- Agree to limit themselves to issues at hand and to avoid personal attacks- Agree to share relevant data and information.

The parties are encouraged to- Focus on interests rather than positions- Generate options that would eventually lead to settlement of the dispute- Be flexible and to work towards just and fair settlements.

B. MEDIATIONMediation refers to a process through which a third party provides procedural assistance

to help individuals or groups in conflict to resolve their differences. Mediation processes

vary throughout the world in form and underlying philosophy. In Western societies the

mediator is usually independent, impartial person who has no decision-making authority.

In other societies, it may be more important that the mediator is known and trusted by the

parties to the conflict rather than being seen as impartial.

Mediation is a voluntary process and its success is linked to the vesting of decision

making authority in the parties involved in the dispute. The mediator structures the

process in a way which creates a safe environment for parties to discuss the conflict and

find solutions which will meet their interests.

Mediation typically starts with an introduction which includes, among other things, adescription of the process and ground-rules which provide behavioural guidelines for

participants. Parties are then, in turn, given the opportunity to present their understanding

of the conflict. After this, a list of issues is created and an agenda is devised to guide

parties through the resolution process. The mediator then helps parties negotiate solutions

to the issues they have identified. As specific solutions are reached, parties are asked to

confirm their acceptance.


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FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS OF MEDIATION

1. The process is voluntary. Parties cannot be coerced into mediation and they may optout of the process at any time.

2. The mediator must be acceptable to all parties involved in the process.3. The mediator offers procedural assistance rather than substantive assistance. That is

the mediator controls the process of resolving the conflict while the content is the

domain of the parties.

4. Potential solutions and decisions on agreements are determined by the parties. Whilethe mediator may suggest possible solutions, the parties decide what outcomes will

best meet their interests. The mediator does not serve as a judge or arbiter.

5. Mediation is an interest-based method. That is, it seeks to reconcile the substantive,psychological and procedural interests of the parties.

6. The mediator must remain impartial. The mediator must be able to set aside his/heropinions on what the solution to the conflict should be. The mediator must be neutraland he/she should not be in the position to benefit from the continued conflict directly

(in the form of compensation) from one of the parties.

C. ARBITRATIONIt is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts where parties to a

dispute refer it to one or more impartial persons for final and binding award (decision).

The arbitration process starts with a pre-hearing. At the Pre-hearing, the following are

resolved:

The Date, time, Place, language, form of notice and estimated duration of proceedings The need for discovery, production of documents or the issue of interrogatories and to

establish how these should be done.

The applicable laws and rules of evidence. The exchange of witness statements and all other related issues. The form of award. Costs and Arbitration fees and Any other issues relating to the arbitrationArbitration Hearing

The arbitrator may at the beginning of the hearing ask for opening statements fromparties to clarify the issues involved in the arbitration.

Unless otherwise agreed by parties, hearing of the arbitration proceeding shall beprivate

Subject to the discretion of an arbitrator to vary the order of presentation, theclaimant shall first present evidence in support of his claim and this shall be followed

by the respondent


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The arbitrator shall give the parties sufficient advance notice of any hearing and anopportunity to inspect documents and other properties relevant to the dispute.

An arbitrator may at the request of a party grant an interim relief that the arbitratorconsiders necessary for the protection or preservation of property.

Unless otherwise agreed, a party may be represented by a lawyer, or any other expertor any person.

The arbitrator shall decide the dispute in accordance with the law or such otherconsiderations as may be agreed by the parties.

An arbitration award shall be binding on the parties and any person claiming throughor under them.

An arbitrator may refuse to deliver the award to the parties until there is full paymentof fees and expenses of the arbitration.

Enforcement

An award made by an arbitrator pursuant to an arbitration agreement may by leave ofcourt be enforced in the same manner as judgment or order of court to the same effect.

An arbitral award may be set aside on application to the court on stated grounds.The Agreement: Agreements must be clear, unambiguous and certain, stating in clear terms

who must do what and at which point in time (when).

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