13 October 2020

Joining forces with UNITAR to build peace online

The Kofi Annan Foundation is partnering with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) on the creation of a new digital platform to strengthen the capacity of the peacebuilding and mediation community in truth-seeking, reconciliation and accountability for crimes committed during conflict.

Safe and easy access to peacebuilding knowledge and good practice have become even more essential at this time of Covid-19 crisis. Delayed diplomatic initiatives and halts to mediation processes have in many cases prevented divided societies from receiving the support they need to establish effective approaches to lasting peace.

This joint effort will benefit from the Foundation’s extensive research findings on peace and transitional justice, and from UNITAR’s considerable experience in designing and delivering online training.

Societies emerging from violent conflict face many challenges as they aim for political stability and socio-economic development. Above all, these societies have to deal with the legacy of the past: widespread human rights violations, continuing communal or ethnic tensions, the collapse of the justice system, the failure of the security services and the erosion of state legitimacy. Countries have sought to manage that legacy with the support of the international community using various approaches such as truth-seeking, reconciliation initiatives and transitional justice mechanisms. These approaches have become part of the standard framework of peace agreements and processes. But do these approaches work? The Kofi Annan Foundation questions current practices and proposes ways that better help war-torn societies to build lasting peace.

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Joining forces with UNITAR to build peace online

Peace & Trust

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