NZAID

Peace building and conflict prevention

Snapshot

Meeting between Christian and Muslim village leaders.

A reconciliation meeting between Christian and Muslim village leaders in Ambon, the capital of Maluku.

Preventing conflict and promoting peace is essential to creating an environment which supports the fulfillment of basic needs and sustainable livelihoods. Increasingly, armed conflict is taking place within rather than between states.

In 2004 NZAID's Conflict Prevention and Peace Building policy was completed. The policy guides our development programmes in partner countries at risk of, or suffering or emerging from conflict. The policy is also used to guide decisions on the application of ODA to peace building and conflict prevention activities.

Our current focus for this area is working towards a strategy for implementing the policy in the 2005/06 period.

NZAID priorities

"Helping strengthen the capacity of a society to manage tensions and disputes without violence should form the cornerstone of all development cooperation and strategies." OECD DAC Guidelines.

NZAID's long-term development commitment seeks to prevent conflict by helping its partners build structural stability in their societies. It does this through:

Preventing conflict: by promoting good governance and respect for human rights, improving basic social services and promoting economic development.

Supporting communities:

  • developing leadership
  • valuing women
    women often play a central role in creating and maintaining peace at the community level
  • educating young people
  • preventing HIV/AIDS
    international experience shows that the rate of HIV/AIDS infection increases during and after conflict
  • informing communities
    independent and professional media are essential for providing impartial and reliable information to communities
  • strengthening law and justice

Addressing the triggers: by monitoring elections and encouraging disarmament.

Providing immediate relief: during and immediately following conflict a community's ability to provide for basic needs is limited. NZAID places priority on the delivery of humanitarian assistance by national and international specialised agencies.

Emerging from conflict: assisting with post-conflict reconstruction and the disarming of combatants.

NZAID on the ground

Building peace and preventing conflict in Indonesia

In Indonesia, NZAID partners with four local, and two international NGOs to enhance conflict prevention through a variety of strategies. NZAID's support for research by the International Crisis Group raises the intellectual discourse on the causes and solutions of conflict in Indonesia.

NZAID focuses its peace building efforts on eastern Indonesia. Most peace building projects are in the province of Maluku, however one gender-focused NGO partner, KAPAL Perempuan, conducts peace building activities across 17 provinces. Another local NGO, Bina Swadaya, works to build peace between communities in Maluku through activities for youth. Activities include the joint management of a community radio station and games that emphasise similarities between the communities.

Another NZAID partner who is aiming to reduce the economic causes of conflict is the Foundation for a Prosperous Indonesia. The Foundation promotes sustainable livelihoods in three of Indonesia's eastern provinces, utilising a revolving credit scheme to finance community crop and poultry farming activities. The Foundation also builds community capacity in conflict mediation.

NZAID recently assisted two leading Indonesian academics in the field of conflict resolution to present a joint paper at the Sixth Biennial Conference of the Asian Association of Social Psychology in April 2005 in Wellington. This opportunity also allowed for a network of seven Indonesian universities specialising in conflict resolution (ILMIA) to create linkages with universities in New Zealand.

The Indonesian Peace Institute works to build peace at the village level in post-conflict areas, and informs relevant ministers in the Indonesian Government on peace building issues. This project has been recognised by the United Nation's Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict.

The Peace Institute is also a partner of NZAID.

Relevant link: PDF. NZAID Policy: Preventing Conflict and Building Peace (311k)

Relevant link: PDF. NZAID Publication: Preventing Conflict - Building Peace (185k)

Page Last Reviewed: 2 July, 2006

Document URL: http://www.nzaid.govt.nz/what-we-do/peace-building.html