NGOs are an effective force in processes of conflict resolution and healing. Discuss using examples - Essay Example

Role of NGOs in Conflict Resolution and Healing Non-governmental organizations are well known for the provision of humanitarian services in times of disasters or calamities, both natural and man-made. However, their role in conflict resolution and healing has not been recognized until recently by even the United Nations, but following recent events the effectiveness of these organizations in resolving conflict is coming up. As a result, a focus at this role backed by evidence to indicate how effective these bodies are in conflict resolution is necessary. This effectiveness is based on a number of aspects that range from types if NGOs to their different roles and structures as discussed below. Types of NGOs In modern times, there has been the emergence of Non-governmental organizations also known as NGOs and these have played numerous roles in this modern society. This is especially with the registration and recognition, as well as integration of NGOs into the United Nations to assist in provision of services to marginalised areas and even serve the needs of minority groups (Crowe p.1796). Some of the roles that are played by NGOs include; provision of humanitarian services that would otherwise not be available to certain parts of the human population. In addition, provision of a platform for the population to air its grievances to the rest of the world and even leaders, and serve as a bridge between the rest of the world and local communities in which these NGOs work from and within. Because of this, there are different types and forms of NGOs that serve different purposes and in different localities for various populations. As such, based on the definition of NGOs as non-profit organization, they can be categorized into community-based organizations, which are small intimate organization that are run exclusively by members and based out of locally available resources. Another type of NGO is the intermediary NGO that involves the use of paid staff to provide social services to individuals and other organization, while there is another type, which is the intermediary NGO focussing on policy and advocacy which reflect the needs of both local communities and other NGOs, as well as organizations (Nesbit p.9). The last type of NGO is the one that deals in international relief and development, and consists of professional staff and is found in many countries through branches and chapters. Humanitarian Efforts With the above information, it simple to come up with different roles of NGOs as these categorizations spell out what each organization does and at what level. Consequently, in conflict resolution and healing, NGOs roles can be explained and illustrated following their structure. The first way in which NGOs are an effective force in the process of conflict resolution and healing is following their humanitarian services provision to populations that need them. With this in mind, the key role is the healing process and not on conflict resolution, although from a different perspective this is achieved. By providing humanitarian services such as medical supplies and health services, where those that are affected or affected communities are served with services that eliminate human suffering in both warring camps of communities in conflict. As such, the first category of NGOs is well versed in this by being the immediate source of these humanitarian services where they use only what they have to provide for their own people and even others form the camps in conflict. Through this, the warring population is brought together by human suffering especially concerning diseases and injuries, as well as wounds to make peace and cooperate for their own wellbeing (Clapham p.522). This is evident in cases of Sierra Leone, where community based NGOs came together and served to mitigate the effects or outcomes of the conflict in the country. This was through providing medical services to the wounded and even reusing service to those that came later until an amicable agreement was reached to avoid fuelling the conflict or even participating in it (Silova and Gita p.37). Besides this, NGOs are also effective in conflict resolution in the aforementioned perspective of refusal of service and creation of a haven for all wounded persons and even those under threat from warring factions. A look at third world countries is indicative of this, where the second and third types of NGOs; intermediary NGO focussing on policy and advocacy and intermediary NGO come together to work hand in hand with affected communities but not entirely for humanitarian services and saving lives. Instead, it can be said that ring with them humanitarian services at a stiff price of peace for warring factions, in which case conflicting parties can only receive humanitarian services in the event of a ceasefire between or amongst them. This way, NGOs resolve conflict through the requirement that there must be a safe environment from which they can operate to serve the needs of the society and provision of security for the personnel of the organization. This creates a threatening environment for conflict concerning possible denial of service for those deemed to be participants in conflict as these NGOs gather non-participants in a central point and provide for their basic needs such as food, shelter and clothing in refugee camps. These camps could be of internally displaced persons or of people fleeing conflict across international borders creating events of voluntary isolation from conflict. Intermediary NGO focussing on policy and advocacy serve as facilitators for the creation of these isolative barriers that allow for the protection of those that voluntarily dissociate themselves with conflict. The above acts as an incentive for not engaging in conflict through provision of basic needs at no cost except working towards peace and wooing other conflict players into resolution. Illustrative of this is the creation of Peace coalitions in Northern Ireland, which was done by grassroots organizations or community based NGOs facilitated by intermediary NGO focussing on policy and advocacy. In addition, humanitarian services are indicative of how conflicting sides are susceptible to same aspects of life as the other as they suffer from the same consequences of conflict proving their human nature rather than having to fight for no apparent reason. From this angle, NGOs apply the rationale that when people look at their problems and realize how meaningless their fight is, especially in ethnic wars and factions in multi-ethnic nations, they are bound to put aside their differences and embrace peace. Humanitarian services in such situations are the best facilitators as they bring together the warring sides to look at what they are doing to themselves and all for leaders who are selfishly waiting for the outcome and are not involved in the conflict at all. This is especially the case in political and social conflicts over supremacy where there is involvement of arms however crude or sophisticated. Humanitarian services hereby allow communities to come together, often seen in grassroots NGOs, where they assemble the people together under a common goal of resolution and perception of sensible means to give to the community and themselves what they deserve and not what their leaders think they deserve. It is from this that Northern Ireland comes into play again through creation of Peace Coalitions in the community by NGOs to eliminate supremacy conflicts although not ethnic. Empowerment In some cases, conflicts amongst populations take place due to lack of empowerment or over empowerment of single communities at the expense of others and eve peace. It is partially for this reason that NGOs have become a force to reckon with in conflict resolution and healing processes through creation and advocating empowerment programs for the under empowered. As such, some NGOs serve to provide resources to local communities in the grassroots to ensure that they are equally empowered through creation of opportunities for investment and even training (Hakena, Peter and Bert p.53). Minority and marginalized populations are the ones that mostly face this challenge of under empowerment and even lack of empowerment altogether, and NGOs provide opportunities for all and this is spearheaded by intermediary NGOs focussing on policy and advocacy such the American civil society in the 1960s fighting for equal rights of all races in America. This saw the cessation of conflict between African-Americans and Native Americans, as well as the government at the same time due to formulation of policies sponsored by NGOs towards recognition of minorities and their inclusion in governance of the country. In addition, empowerment leads to healing when done by NGOs as they focus on the entire society and not just select communities for empowerment to eliminate the potential and even the presence of conflict within it. With this in mind, NGOs have been known to come up with education and training programs in post-conflict communities, where they hold events inviting formerly conflicting parties to engage in the for reconciliation (Nicolien, Lakshmi, Katerina, Karen and Martin p.167). Art is a common thing used by NGOs to reconcile warring communities or ones that are highly polarised by political and other differences, as was the case of Rwanda and Kenya with the Rwandan Genocide and Kenyan Post-election Violence Respectively. In the Rwandan case, NGOs became a force of concern towards healing in post-conflict Rwanda through participation in artwork such as paintings, films and documentaries, as well as music (Johnson). The warring communities were brought together at the end of the conflict to participate in healing by expressing themselves in documentaries highlighting the height of the genocide and painting that which they felt represented the actual events of the genocide. This has contributed towards healing the nation of its differences and has by far prevented a repeat of similar events for almost two decades; all thanks to the efforts of NGOs bringing the Hutu and Tutsi communities together with a common goal of reminiscing what happened to their country. Platforms NGOs have also become an effective force I the process of conflict resolution and healing through providing platforms for the international community to intervene in ridding societies of conflicts (Foblets p.61). This occurs by NGOs highlighting the plight of conflict ridden societies to the rest of the world, where this occurs through a distinct chain that is not necessarily of command but based on how different types of NGOs rank in areas of operation and roles. As such, community based NGOs identify the problems that communities face leading to conflict when there are already confrontations and this is passed on to intermediary NGOs, which serve both individuals and community based individuals. This serves as an effective platform for the resolution of community based issues when grassroots NGOs cannot resolve them and they escalate to full blown conflicts. It is from this that should governments intervene and take sides that NGOs return in humanitarian aid providers. As such, they take full accountability for the wellbeing of the people under them; that is part of the population not participating in conflicts. The above takes place in events of international NGOs that have professional staff since this is usually in collaboration with grassroots NGOs. From this, they all play a crucial role in finding a solution to the conflict, as was the case in Lebanon, Bosnia, Rwanda and Tajikistan (Clemens p.337). The plight of these societies came to the limelight as a result of the efforts of non-governmental organization in rehabilitating the countries after severe armed conflicts Other platforms offered by NGOs in conflict resolution and healing processes include rehabilitation and reconstruction programs, as these organizations tend to be more effective as compared to government agencies. This is especially so in developing countries where NGOs are oriented to develop projects that allow the population to overcome the situations that cause conflict, which brings up the issue of empowerment. These projects are meant to build capacity for all communities and people involved in conflict so that there is no more room for hostility, but increase hospitality and sociability amongst warring factions. Communities that have faced such situations have received the assistance of NGOs to become self-sufficient and ensure that even after conflicts occur and sources of livelihood destroyed, they still have a means of getting by peacefully and earning a living albeit at a minimal level (Clemens p.179). One such means of ensuring that, in post-conflict communities, they get buy just fine is through looking into the establishment of watchdogs with punitive measure for those that fail to uphold the state of peace within isolated communities in conflict. This is through human rights issues and the use of government agencies to take care of punishing such individuals, as is the case in Rwanda, where there are local courts meant for reconciliation after the genocide. In this case, NGOs leave the plight of those involved in conflict from within NGO jurisdiction to the local community to correct them. Research NGOs also contribute towards conflict resolution and healing out of conducting studies on communities so that they can establish the cause of conflict in the societies from which they operate. With this in mind, NGOs, especially the international ones are known to send researchers to the grassroots to collected data and conduct feasibility studies on the likelihood of violence and conflict occurring in communities that are known to have volatile relations with one another (Nicolien, Lakshmi, Katerina, Karen and Martin p.167). This research diverge the causes of conflict in society and makes recommendations to interested parties and governments on how to avert potential crises. This is similar to gathering intelligence on how societies relate with one another and how problems can be averted. In this case, Recommendation usually involves the use of security personnel to tighten security in said areas and communities, as well restructuring social institutions to mitigate these conflicts (Mawlawi p.391). One such example of such a role of NGOs in preventing conflict and bringing about healing is in Georgia, where there have been successful attempts by NGOs to prevent chaos due to unsettled territorial conflicts emanating from the breakup of the Soviet Union. From research by NGOs in the republic of Georgia, peacekeepers were sent to conflict prone areas over territorial woes and there has been tension, albeit non-consequential (Bernen 251). It is from this that NGOs become a force to reckon with in enforcing resolution of conflict from reasonable grounds of research and interventions to prevent full blown armed and unarmed conflict. ­­­­­­­­­­­ Bridging the Gap Over time, the gap between conflicting parties and the international community has been left open meaning that there has been no room for the international community to assist in resolving conflict except through invasions that always appear politically motivated. It is for this reason that NGOs come in handy by bridging the gap effectively thanks to the presence of non-partisan resources and lack of political or feudal motivations and interest in intervention. As such, most NGOs have adequately trained personnel to act as mediators between feuding parties, and in cases of government and rebel movements and it is as a result that the international community has recognized the role of these NGOs in bridging the gap between them and conflicted communities. A good illustration of this is El Salvador, where NGOs conduct humanitarian operations serving civilian communities affected by anti-government militants. It is by this that governments have served to protect humanitarian NGOs from the reach of militants lest they recruit more people since controlling humanitarian aid workers and the aid supply chain indicates who has the power between the government and the militants. From this, the international community, especially the UN has recognized the role of NGOs in conflict resolution as it allows direct communication between conflicting sides. In addition, Somalia serves a similar purpose in exposing the effectiveness of NGOs in resolving conflict and facilitating the healing process due to the enrolment of locals to bring about amicable agreements between warring factions. Beside these, there is also the inclusion of international community due to the presence of NGOs out of mistreatment and kidnapping of aid workers, where the international comes in to rescue its citizens from hostile parties. Conclusion NGOs are effective means of bringing about conflict resolution and healing warring or feudal communities due to the presence of resources from these bodies as well as the recognitions they get. This is due to provision of humanitarian aid or services that depict the suffering that each side undergoes thus ending senseless conflict. They also take non-partisan stances in resolution in addition to having qualified mediators to take care of the conflict resolution. It is all these that curb conflict by even forecasting conflict and taking mitigation measures to ensure that future conflict are eliminated such as the highlighted case of Georgia. Therefore, there is NGOs conclusive evidence to say that NGOs are effective forces in the process of healing and conflict resolution following enormous roles as discussed. Works Cited Nesbit, Becky. The Role of NGOs in Conflict Resolution in Africa: An Institutional Analysis. Indiana University, Bloomington. 2003. Print. Nicolien Kop, Lakshmi Ramarajan, Katerina Bezrukova, Karen A. Jehn and Martin Euwema. "Relationship Between Peacekeepers And Ngo Workers: The Role Of Training And Conflict Management Styles In International Peacekeeping." International Journal Of Conflict Management 15.2 (2004): 167-191.  Mawlawi, Farouk. "New Conflicts, New Challenges: The Evolving Role For Non-Governmental Actors." Journal Of International Affairs 46.2 (1993): 391.  Crowe, Sam. "United Nations And Non-Governmental Organisations Try To See Eye-To-Eye." Lancet 351.9118 (1998): 1796.  Clapham, Christopher. "Sovereignty And The Third World State."Political Studies 47.3 (1999): 522. Foblets, Marie. Healing the wounds: essays on the reconstruction of societies after war. Oxford: Hart, 2004. Print. Hakena, Helen, Peter Ninnes, and Bert A. Jenkins. NGO's and post-conflict recovery: the Leitana Nehan Women's Development Agency, Bougainville. Canberra: Asia Pacific Press :, 2006. Print. Clemens, Walter C.. Dynamics of international relations: conflict and mutual gain in an era of global interdependence. 2nd ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2004. Print. Silova, Iveta, and Gita Khamsi. How NGOs react: globalization and education reform in the Caucasus, Central Asia and Mongolia. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press, 2008. Print. Johnson, Yolanda. "Using the Arts as a Method of Healing, Post-Conflict." DPI NGO. N.p., 13 Dec. 2012. Web. 10 Aug. 2013. Read More