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An Afghan boy peering between two soldiers from the peacekeeping troops. Copyright: photothek.net

Peace

Development for Peace: A Task for Development Policy

As the Millennium Declaration makes clear, development and peace are inextricably linked. That is why the Federal Republic of Germany assists its partner countries in mitigating the structural causes of conflicts and adopting measures to prevent escalation into a full-blown crisis at an early stage. It supports governmental and civil society actors in non-violent conflict management, and contributes to peacebuilding in post-conflict situations and to preventing a relapse into violence.

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Crisis Prevention: Preventing Violent Conflicts from Erupting

In 2008, there were more than 40 wars and armed conflicts being fought around the world, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives, and injuring and displacing millions of people. War can reverse decades of development in a country or region. The aim of crisis prevention is therefore to prevent violent conflicts from erupting. Accurate information about the causes of the crisis and the interaction between them is essential as the basis for crisis prevention programmes.

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Conflict Management: Developing Non-Violent Solutions

An important aim of German governmental policy is to help partner countries in crisis situations to resolve conflicts non-violently. Targeted measures are intended to help defuse the situation and develop a peaceful solution together with local actors. Political dialogue at government level and capacity-building among decision-makers in politics, state and society to enable them to develop cooperative solutions are key points of departure for development cooperation. Comprehensive programmes make provision for the participation of different population groups. This ensures that the measures do not take place in isolation from the social discourse.

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Peacebuilding: Reconciliation and Reconstruction

To secure a lasting peace, it is not enough to end overt violence. If the underlying causes of the conflict are not removed, violence can flare up again at any time. Reconstruction must therefore start in people’s minds. Germany supports the restoration of devastated infrastructure and the development of state structures. The aim is to build the state’s capacities to resume its proper functions vis-à-vis its citizens. In doing so, it is rarely appropriate to re-establish the old structures unchanged. In most cases, a new start is essential, for the old institutions and infrastructure often reflect the inequitable distribution of resources and power which must be overcome.

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Security Sector Reform: Vital for Peace and Development

There has been a growing recognition in the international community in recent years that security sector reform (SSR) is a key prerequisite for peace, respect for and protection of human rights, and sustainable development. The aim is to enforce the state's monopoly of force and bring about democratic control of the security sector. Supporting security sector reform in developing and transition countries is not only a task for international foreign and security policy; it is also a field of action for development policy.

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Children in Armed Conflict: Both Victims and Perpetrators

Unlike in the past, nowadays civilians – especially children – are the main casualties of violent conflict. Around two million children have lost their lives in armed conflict over the last ten years, and the number of children injured is many times higher. Of the 5.8 million persons forced to flee their homes worldwide, some 40 per cent are children or young people under the age of 18. Children are all too often forced to become soldiers. It is estimated that some 250,000 minors are being deployed as combatants and ancillary labour by armies and armed militia worldwide; many are sexually abused as well, or forced to commit atrocities.

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The Civil Peace Service: Experts in the Service of Peace

The Civil Peace Service (CPS) was established by Germany in 1999 as a new instrument for peacebuilding and crisis prevention. Its specially trained experts mediate in conflicts, raise public awareness of the concerns of disadvantaged groups, help ease former combatants back into civilian life, work with traumatised victims of violence, and enable refugees to return to their homes. They always work with local organisations and initiatives.
The Civil Peace Service is a successful model of cooperation between governmental and non-governmental agencies engaged in development and peace work.

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Fragile States: A Challenge for Development Policy

Fragile states, in which the principles of good governance are not being practised, pose a risk to regional and global security and undermine international efforts to attain the Millennium Development Goals. Yet despite their bad governance, the international community must not exclude these countries from all forms of cooperation but must work sensitively to improve the situation. Development policy plays a key role in this context.

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Further Information

Here you can find links to documents and web pages which offer further information on peace and related topics.

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