Crisis Prevention

In the United Nation’s Millennium Declaration, the international community of states committed itself to encouraging peace and development all over the world. Yet around the globe diverse wars and violent clashes between and within states continue to rage. Many other countries are on the brink of civil war, and violence repeatedly flares due to social, economic or political conflicts. Development is only possible, however, in peaceful, stable societies. Development policy must therefore do its best to prevent violent conflicts and support the peaceful reconciliation of divergent interests.

This can in part be done by strengthening the structural stability of countries in crisis regions and developing the local capacity to peacefully resolve conflicts. For this to work, experts and executives must have the skills to analyse and understand the real reasons for specific conflicts. This creates a foundation upon which possible solutions can then be developed, and at the very least this process can contribute to preventing the expression of tension in violence. A key element of this process is starting prevention as soon as possible, for the earlier crisis prevention and tension reduction begins, the more successful the measures applied are likely to be.

Countries in crisis regions are certainly not the only ones who profit from this process. Conflict prevention is also advantageous to partners in industrialised countries, for wars and violent conflicts influence stability of the entire world, far beyond the national borders of the countries directly involved. Unstable nations are ideal breeding grounds for international terrorists or organised crime. This is why crisis prevention is such an important element of Inwent’s work. We are committed to conflict prevention and peaceful conflict resolution, to the reducing poverty and increasing sustainable development. Our support takes the form of numerous programmes to develop stable societal and political structures using instruments for conflict resolution and the management of non-violent societal change.

The Development Diplomacy Programme (DDP) is just one example of our commitment. It provides executives and young professionals with the know-how they need to represent their country’s interests in international discourse. We even the playing field. Security and peace policy are central themes here, in particular within the context of regional and international cooperation. In a training course offered as part of the DDP at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Ghana, government employees from sub-Saharan countries concentrate on African and international security and peace policy. Inwent works in close cooperation with the KAIPTC, which has developed into one of the most important institutions in West Africa for crisis prevention and peace research since its founding in 2003.

Another programme with which Inwent contributes to developing the structures needed to prevent conflict is capacity building for lay judges in the Andes region, in Peru and Ecuador in particular. Here in the rural regions, an informal justice system has developed in response to deficits in the government justice system. It has now been recognised by the state constitution. But the indigenous judicial systems cannot always ensure that human rights are preserved. Inwent advanced training seminars therefore work on adjusting the standards of indigenous judicial systems so they uphold international human rights.

Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre 

United Nation’s Millennium Campaign