CPR Newsletter: Securing development, peace and justice for all

Promoting Conflict Prevention with Dialogue
Building multi-stakeholder consensus
By Celine Moyroud, Conflict Prevention Advisor, BCPR

The United Nation’s experience in peace building has shown that democratic governance is central to lasting peace. Participatory, accountable and transparent institutions and processes are vital to the peaceful and lasting management of internal disputes and tensions. As such, the need for multi-stakeholder consensus on critical issues has never been greater and, increasingly, leaders are turning to dialogue as an important tool to strengthen governance and consolidate peace. For instance, in the context of economic and social crisis in Argentina, dialogue was instrumental in reducing tensions in the country. In Afghanistan, support for a participatory, nationally owned process to build consensus on a new system of governance led to the country’s first legitimate constitution and government since 1973. In Mauritania, a civic dialogue centered on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals provided the framework to develop a common vision of Mauritania’s future and opened deeper discussion of issues related to democratic values and citizenship.

These examples emphasize the importance of processes that build multi-stakeholder consensus (such as national, civic, and constitutional dialogues) in preventing conflict, sustaining peace and furthering reconciliation. Dialogues have been particularly effective in strengthening governance in conflict-prone settings by creating new bases for respect and collaboration among key segments of society, increasing national capacity to constructively resolve issues, and developing a collective knowledge base that surpasses individual approaches. In this context, building on its capacity to provide a neutral forum to engage key actors, UNDP has facilitated or supported multi-stakeholder dialogues on potentially divisive issues. In particular, this has meant:
* Convening and facilitating (as appropriate, with the support of the UN system, and in collaboration with the UN Department of Political Affairs and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs) multi-actor dialogues to build consensus on national priorities, development policy, or frameworks for governance in conflict prone settings; and
* Supporting participants in dialogue processes with acquiring the necessary conflict transformation skills and in establishing joint mechanisms for the implementation of the dialogue outcomes.

Increasingly, UNDP has adopted a dialogic approach to the design and implementation of conflict analysis processes on the ground. For instance, UNDP Indonesia developed an innovative approach to conflict analysis that focused on creating dialogue on peace and development as a specific outcome of this process. This initiative was designed not only to formulate a developmental response to post-conflict contexts, but also as a tool to address the causes of violence and build sustainable peace.

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