NP SHARES UNARMED CIVILIAN PEACEKEEPING OVERVIEW WITH UNITED NATIONS MEMBER STATES - 7 July 2008

UNITED NATIONS 7 July 2008 - Members of Nonviolent Peaceforce last month made an historic presentation here to members of the United Nations outlining the political, economic and social impact of unarmed civilian peacekeeping practices.

Nonviolent Peaceforce is an unarmed, professional peacekeeping force composed of trained civilians who not only work to establish dialogue among conflicting groups, but also incorporate innovative strategies to ensure lasting peace. It is the world's only paid and trained unarmed civilian peacekeeping force.

With international headquarters in Brussels and administrative headquarters in Minneapolis, Nonviolent Peaceforce has worked in the conflict areas of Sri Lanka, Mindanao, Palestine and Guatemala. Among other activities, it has created space for local groups to enter into dialogue and seek peaceful resolution. Its members include veterans of conflict zones and experienced peacekeepers.

On June 24, Nonviolent Peaceforce representatives shared with U.N. member states - including some on the Security Council and the Peacebuilding Commission - as well as with U.N. agencies and other officials, an overview of unarmed civilian peacekeeping. Their intention with the presentation: to encourage the U.N. to consider unarmed civilian peacekeeping as an indispensable tool in their conflict mitigation efforts.

Presenters included: 

Liam Mahony, author of Proactive Presence: Field strategies for civilian protection and Unarmed Bodyguards: International Accompaniment for the Protection of Human Rights. Mahony consults on protection and human rights with a wide range of United Nations agencies and international NGOs.

Atif Hameed, director of the Nonviolent Peaceforce's Philippines (Mindanao) project. Hameed is a former peacekeeper of Nonviolent Peaceforce's  Sri Lanka program. He is Pakistani and practices Sufism, a nonviolent form of Islam.

Betsy Crites, former director for The Nonviolent Peaceforce's Guatemala project. She also is the former director for Witness for Peace, a longstanding civilian peacekeeping project in Central America.

Mel Duncan, co-founder and executive director of Nonviolent Peaceforce.

"People around the world are calling for alternatives to military intervention," Duncan noted in his presentation. "Given the changed nature of war and violent conflicts, their high human and economic cost, and the resulting humanitarian crises, interest is growing to try out a variety of effective peacekeeping methods.

"Usually, the notion of peacekeeping conjures up images of UN-sponsored Blue Helmets or other armed military or police forces deployed in areas of violent conflict in poor countries," Duncan added. "But unarmed peacekeeping by civilian members of global non-governmental organizations who employ proven strategies is an under-appreciated but cost-effective complement. It is sometimes even a valid alternative to the current dominant approach of armed peacekeeping.

The Nonviolent Peaceforce also shared the organization's long-term vision: By 2015, with support from individual donors, foundations, governments and international organizations such as the U.N., the organization hopes to field 5,000 peacekeepers - gender proportionate - to areas of violent conflict worldwide.

"Much still needs to be learned (about unarmed civilian peacekeeping)," Duncan also said. "But we believe that the time is ripe for bold action. Some would even contend that it is long overdue."