Co-Organizers: The United States Institute for Peace (USIP), Peace Direct, and the International Peace Institute (IPI)
Date: Thursday, 12 April 2018
Time: 1 - 2 45 PM
Venue:
Trygve Lie Center for Peace, Security & Development
International Peace Institute
777 United Nations Plaza, 12th Floor
(Corner of 1st Avenue and 44th Street)
About the event:
The United States Institute for Peace (USIP), Peace Direct, and the International Peace Institute (IPI) are pleased to invite you to a policy forum on “The Role of Grassroots Nonviolent Movements in Building a Just Peace.”
Welcoming Remarks:
Maria Stephan, Director, Program on Nonviolent Action, USIP
Speakers:
Idrissa Barry, Coordinating Committee Member, Balai Citoyen
Ala Oueslati, Fellow, Women Deliver
Quscondy Abdulshafi, Fellow, Peace Direct
Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, Assistant Secretary-General, UN Peacebuilding Support Office (TBC)
Moderator:
Lesley Connolly, Senior Policy Analyst, IPI
Closing Remarks:
Bridget Moix, Senior US Representative and Head of Advocacy, Peace Direct
The UN sustaining peace resolutions underscore the need for inclusive approaches to strengthen the social contract between people and their governments and to “build a common vision of a society, ensuring that the needs of all segments of the population are taken into account.” The recent UN/World Bank Pathways for Peace report builds upon this idea by highlighting the important role that grassroots movements can play in addressing grievances, preventing and de-escalating violence, and promoting human rights.
Rooted in communities and relying on collective action, nonviolent action or civil resistance is a powerful tool for ordinary people to address injustice and advance a just and inclusive, or positive, peace. In a study of 323 major violent and nonviolent campaigns from 1900 to 2006, researchers found that nonviolent campaigns were twice as successful at achieving their goals as armed insurgencies. The most important variable in determining the success of these campaigns was the size and diversity of participation—or the level of inclusiveness of the campaign. It is thus no surprise that countries that have experienced nonviolent “people power” are much less likely to return to civil war than those in which conflict was violent.
In anticipation of the UN High-Level Meeting on Sustaining Peace, this event seeks to amplify grassroots voices and deepen our understanding of the intersection between local peacebuilding and nonviolent action strategies and how these approaches can be implemented to advance the sustaining peace agenda. Participants will also discuss how the UN can better support grassroots activists and peacebuilders involved in building coalitions and organizing broad-based movements to promote positive peace.
Please click here for the concept note.
RSVP here.
**You must register to attend this event
For questions contact:
Beatrice Agyarkoh, or 212-225-9628