Dialogue and Community Building

"In 2001, the UNDP Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean (RBLAC) established the Democratic Dialogue Regional Project based in Guatemala. Since then, this project constitutes an active service instrument to dialogue initiatives promoted by the country offices of Latin America and the Caribbean. It develops, disseminates and applies diverse social technologies to support conflict prevention and management efforts, as well as consensus-building initiatives in the region. It compiles and systematizes experiences, lessons learned and good practices, provides specific technical advice to country needs by means of a support network integrated by a multidisciplinary professional team, and establishes partnerships with other regional and world institutions committed to democratic dialogue."

1.1 Characteristics of Deep-Rooted Conflict

In recent years a new type of conflict has come increasingly to the fore: conflict that takes place within and across states, or intra-state conflict, in the form of civil wars, armed insurrections, violent secessionist movements and other domestic warfare. The change has been dramatic: in the last three years, for example, every major armed conflict originated at the domestic level within a state, rather than between states. Two powerful elements often combine in such conflicts. One is identity: the mobilization of people in communal identity groups based on race, religion, culture, language, and so on. The other is distribution: the means of sharing the economic, social and political resources within a society. Where perceived imbalance in distribution coincides with identity differences (where, for example, one religious group is deprived of certain resources available to others) we have the potential for conflict. It is this combination of potent identity-based factors with wider perceptions of economic and social injustice that often fuels what we call “deeprooted conflict”.

A striking characteristic of such internal conflict is its sheer persistence. And this arises, above all, because its origins often lie in deep-seated issues of identity. In this respect, the term ethnic conflict is often invoked. Ethnicity is a broad concept, covering a multiplicity of elements: race, culture, religion, heritage, history, language, and so on. But at bottom, these are all identity issues. What they fuel is termed identity-related conflict – in short, conflict over any concept around which a community of people focuses its fundamental identity and sense of itself as a group, and over which it chooses, or feels compelled, to resort to violent means to protect that identity under threat. Often, such identity-related factors combine with conflicts over the distribution of resources – such as territory, economic power, employment prospects, and so on. Cases where the identity and distributive issues are combined provide the opportunity for exploitation and manipulation by opportunistic leaders, and the highest potential for conflict.

1. Importance of Democratic Institutions
Democracy provides the foundation for building an effective and lasting settlement to internal conflicts. Therefore making appropriate choices about democratic institutions – forms of devolution or autonomy, electoral system design, legislative bodies, judicial structures, and so on – is crucial in building an enduring and peaceful settlement.

2. Conflict Management, not Resolution
There needs to be move away from thinking about the resolution of conflict towards a more pragmatic interest in conflict management. This handbook addresses the more realistic question of managing conflict: how to deal with it in a constructive way, how to bring opposing sides together in a co-operative process, how to design a practical, achievable, co-operative system for the constructive management of difference.

3. The Importance of Process
The process by which parties reach an outcome impacts significantly on the quality of the outcome. Attention must be paid to every aspect of the process of negotiations in order to reach a durable outcome.

1.6 Process and Outcome
The third theme of this handbook is that the process of designing negotiations is critical to the success and durability of the outcome. In thinking about the search for settlement, a useful distinction can be made between process and outcome. Process is the business of negotiation and dialogue. If conflicting parties now need to discuss the elements of a solution, how exactly should that discussion be structured? For example, would the intervention of a third party be useful or distracting? what types of third-party intervention might be used, and how have they worked, or failed, in the past? Who exactly should participate in the talks process? Leaders only? Political parties? Non-governmental agencies? Outside observers? Would a time-limit on talks help or hinder the process? Should the talks be secret or public? What are the issues involved in choosing a venue for negotiations? These and many other pertinent questions need to be addressed in order to design the optimum process, the one that offers the best hope of a successful outcome.

"USAID is an independent federal government agency that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State. Our Work supports long-term and equitable economic growth and advances U.S. foreign policy objectives by supporting:

1. Principle of Self-Determination. Recognizes that indigenous peoples have a right to self-determination (or local determination for traditional and local communities) and that researchers shall as appropriate acknowledge and respect such rights. Culture and language are intrinsically connected to land and territory, and cultural and linguistic diversity are inextricably linked to biological diversity: therefore, the principle of self-determination includes: (i) the right to control land an territory; (ii) the right to sacred places; (iii) the right to own, determine the use of, and receive accreditation, protection and compensation for, knowledge; (iv) the right of access to traditional resources; (v) the right to preserve and protect local language, symbols and modes of expression, and (vi) the right to self-definition.
2. Principle of Inalienability. Recognizes that the inalienable rights of indigenous peoples and local communities in relation to their traditional lands, territories, forests, fisheries and other natural resources. These rights are both individual and collective, with local peoples determining which ownership regimes are appropriate.
3. Principle of Minimum Impact. Recognizes the duty of scientist and researchers to ensure that their research and other activities have minimum impact on local communities.
4. Principle of Full Disclosure. Recognizes that it is important for the indigenous and traditional peoples and local communities to have disclosed to them (in a way that they can comprehend), the manner in which the research is to be undertaken, how information is to be gathered, and the ultimate purpose for which such information is to be used and by whom it is to be used.
5. Principle of Prior Informed Consent and Veto. Recognizes that the prior informed consent of all peoples and their communities must be obtained before any research is undertaken. Indigenous peoples, traditional societies and local communities have the right to veto any programme, project or study that affects them.
6. Principles of Confidentiality. Recognizes that indigenous peoples, traditional societies and local communities, at their sole discretion, have the right to exclude from publication and/or be kept confidential any information concerning their culture, traditions, mythologies or spiritual beliefs and that such confidentiality will be observed by researchers and other potential users. Indigenous and traditional peoples also have the right to privacy and anonymity.
7. Principle of Active Participation. Recognizes the critical importance of communities to be active participants in all phases of the project from inception to completion.
8. Principle of Respect. Recognizes the necessity for Western researchers to respect the integrity of the culture, traditions and relationships of indigenous and traditional peoples with their natural world and to avoid the application of ethnocentric conceptions and standards.
9. Principle of Active Protection. Recognizes the importance of researchers taking active measures to protect and enhance the relationships of communities with their environments, thereby promoting the maintenance of cultural and biological diversity.
10. Principles of Good Faith. Recognizes that researchers and others having access to knowledge of indigenous peoples, traditional societies and local communities will at all times conduct themselves with utmost good faith.
11. Principle of Compensation. Recognizes that communities should be fairly, appropriately and adequately remunerated or compensated for access to and use of their knowledge and information.
12. Principle of Restitution. Recognizes that where, as a result of research being undertaken, there are adverse consequences and disruptions to local communities, those responsible will make appropriate restitution and compensation.
13. Principle of Reciprocity. Recognizes the inherent value to Western science and humankind in general of gaining access to the knowledge of indigenous peoples, traditional societies and local communities and the desirability of reciprocating that contribution.
14. Principle of Equitable Sharing. Recognizes the right of communities to share in the benefits accruing from products or publications developed from access to, and use of, their knowledge, and the duty of scientists and researchers to equitably share these benefits with indigenous peoples

The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is a public corporation created by the Parliament of Canada in 1970 to help developing countries use science and technology to find practical, long-term solutions to the social, economic, and environmental problems they face. Support is directed toward developing an indigenous research capacity to sustain policies and technologies that developing countries need to build healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous societies.

"Conflict over natural resources — such as land, water, and forests — has for ages been widespread. Whether it be a local dispute between farmers and ranchers or an international clash over shared resources, people everywhere compete for the natural resources they need to ensure or enhance their quality of life. The conflict may unfold as a simple war of words, or it may escalate to armed confrontation with massive loss of life.

While the dimensions, levels, and intensity of conflict can vary greatly, so too can the opportunities for conflict resolution. Cultivating Peace presents original case studies from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, interspersed with essays on the cultural dimensions of conflict, the meaning of stakeholder analysis, the impact of development interventions on peace and conflict, and the policy dimensions of conflict management. The case studies present important developing-world experience on moving from conflict to collaborative modes of management. The accompanying essays draw on the case studies, grounding theory in hard-won experience. This cross-fertilization of practical experience with conceptual insight creates a unique dialogue on lessons learned and identifies strategic gaps in our understanding of this complex and important issue.

Cultivating Peace will appeal to researchers, scholars,and students in political science, natural resource management, anthropology, development studies, and conflict resolution; donors, development organizations, and development practitioners working in the areas of natural resource management or conflict resolution; and citizens concerned with development issues, especially as they apply to the preservation of our natural resources and the increasing incidence of international conflict over access to natural resources."