Catalytic Peacebuilding: Transforming Communities in South Sudan, Colombia and Madagascar
9 June 2023
In regions impacted by conflict and violence, catalytic peacebuilding initiatives have been instrumental in fostering positive change and transforming communities. Through collaborative efforts involving government ownership, United Nations’ agencies, development partners, and civil society organizations, the Peacebuilding Fund’s (PBF) projects have helped address the sources of marginalization and enhance social cohesion in three diverse contexts: South Sudan, Colombia and Madagascar.
Impactful Partnerships for Lasting Change: Strengthening Peacebuilding and Reintegration in South Sudan -?Building on lessons from two earlier PBF-funded projects, the European Union (EU) Delegation in South Sudan is collaborating with IOM, UNICEF and WFP in a joint project titled ‘Strengthened Access to Education and Livelihoods and Enhanced Reintegration and Community Cohesion in Areas Affected by Displacement and Returns’. With a total budget of $25 million, a key component of the project addresses peacebuilding, social cohesion and reconciliation in areas affected by displacement, through dispute resolution and conflict mitigation concerning housing, land and property (HLP).
The preceding projects address youth and conflict issues. ‘Youth Action for Reduced Violence and Enhanced Social Cohesion in Wau, South Sudan’, implemented by IOM and UNESCO, provided vocational support to over 400 at-risk young people and gang members. At least 75% of the 413 young people empowered through the project have continued to sustain and steadily expand their small businesses.? Young individuals have changed their lifestyles and invested in their future. Many of these activities can now be sustained through the EU project.
The other PBF-financed project, ‘Community Action for Enhanced Capacity for Peaceful Resolution of Housing Land and Property Disputes and Conflict’, is still ongoing and is implemented by IOM and FAO. It addresses housing, land and property disputes. It strengthens communities’ resilience by building the capacity of both formal and informal institutions. This includes conducting gender-sensitive reviews of customary laws, strengthening the effectiveness of local dispute resolution mechanisms and rehabilitating community-prioritized infrastructure and services. This PBF project also serves as a co-funding source for the EU project, contributing $1.5 million. This enables the EU-funded project to advance its overarching objective of strengthening sustainable reintegration, community cohesion, livelihoods, and access to education and critical services in areas affected by displacement. The PBF’s funding plays a pivotal role in complementing and leveraging activities between the two projects. By providing $1.5 million to help fulfill the EU’s co-funding requirement of $5 million, the PBF helped catalyze an additional $20 million in funding for South Sudan. The synergies between these projects strengthen the collective efforts to address challenges related to displacement and foster sustainable peacebuilding in South Sudan.
Transforming Transitional Justice: Promoting LGBTIQ+ Rights in Colombia's Peacebuilding Process: In a significant stride in adopting an LGBTIQ+-centered approach in Colombia, the country’s three transitional justice institutions have emerged as pioneers, both nationally and internationally. These institutions include the Truth Commission (CEV), the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) and the Unit for the Search for Disappeared Persons (UBPD). By strengthening civil society and promoting engagement with these institutions, the PBF project titled "Women and LGBTIQ+ people paving a path from justice and memory towards sustaining peace in Colombia" catalyzed transformative change. Implemented by Christian Aid Ireland in 2021, the project provided timely support to incorporate an LGBTIQ+ approach into the mandates of three transitional justice institutions established under the 2016 Peace Agreement.
As a result, Colombia’s Truth Commission became the world’s first to commission a study specifically recognizing the distinct forms of violence experienced by LGBTIQ+ individuals during the armed conflict. Through collaboration with Colombia Diversa and the UBPD, experts are providing specialized guidelines for the search for LGBTIQ+ persons. Moreover, the JEP became the first transitional justice body to investigate violence motivated by discrimination or prejudice against LGBTIQ+ individuals as punishable acts. This contributed to the initiation of “macro-case 11” which prioritizes the investigation of sexual violence and other crimes driven by gender, sex, orientation, or gender identity of the victims during the armed conflict in Colombia.
Violence against the civilian population during the Colombian armed conflict marked distinct geographic patterns, with 70% of the acts of violence occurring in eight of Colombia’s 32 departments, including Cauca, Valle del Cauca, Choco, and Putumayo. Within these territories, marginalized communities including LGBTIQ+ individuals endured high levels of sexual violence and internal displacement, often going unnoticed. The 2016 Final Peace Accord (FPA) marked a crucial turning point by acknowledging the violence inflicted upon LGBTIQ+ persons during the armed conflict.
Catalyzing Peace in Southern Madagascar: Since 2017, the Malagasy Government and the United Nations, have been working together in the Southern Madagascar region (referred to as ‘le Grand Sud’) to address marginalization, tensions and strengthen state presence, security and resilience for vulnerable communities. While the needs in this vast and remote region remain immense, PBF’s investments have made a meaningful impact over the years by reducing insecurity and promoting social cohesion in the former red zones around Betroka and parts of the Andriry Massif region. To date, the Fund has invested $10 million in various peacebuilding initiatives in the region, implemented by 缅北禁地agencies including UNFPA, UNDP, IOM, FAO, UNCDF and UNESCO in partnership with authorities and civil society organizations.
Enhanced security infrastructure, consisting of eleven gendarmerie outposts constructed and equipped in areas of high security, has not only increased security presence but has also fostered improved relationships between gendarmes and communities through cultural initiatives aimed at building trust and confidence. The peacebuilding projects have engaged with young men and women from diverse communities, including marginalized groups, offering them training opportunities to collaborate and develop as community leaders and youth ambassadors. Over 6,000 young individuals, with nearly half of them women, joined various community associations and organized a wide range of cultural and sporting activities. Moreover, the PBF-funded projects have created economic opportunities for those who were most in need, such as young people and vulnerable groups who often face poverty and exclusion. These economic activities, including enhanced access to local markets, have been supported through joint community dialogues that prioritize community needs.?
In this remote area with little state presence, the projects have facilitated exchanges between representatives of state services and the communities to gain a better understanding of local needs. This has resulted in improved delivery of essential local services in isolated areas where state services were not always available. Mobile legal clinics have played a critical role in providing vital information, raising awareness and offering legal advice, processing over 5,000 cases of disputes within communities. Efforts to improve administrative presence have made it possible for people to obtain essential documents like birth certificates and other key state services.
Benefiting from the Fund’s programming, other development partners have been able to initiate and expand interventions in the South of Madagascar that had been previously quite difficult to engage in due to high levels of insecurity, criminality, and lack of confidence between the communities and the state. For example, the peace plans developed by the communities and local authorities, with support from the PBF through inclusive consultation processes are now being integrated into the Local Development Plans funded by the , by the World Bank for four years and totaling $200 million.
The PBF focused on promoting more inclusive local planning as a critical step towards strengthening the social contract between the state and the communities. Through a series of facilitated dialogue platforms, the municipalities developed peace plans that reflected the needs and aspirations of the communities.
The establishment of local consultation committees has paved the way for more inclusive and collaborative governance by ensuring that one-third of the members are women and one-third are young people. These committees, along with the joint development of the peace plans, have enabled people to discuss, identify and prioritize their most pressing needs, while fostering improved communication with government officials.
The enhanced trust established between the security forces and the community representatives through dialogue and reconciliation activities in the targeted municipalities has enabled the World Bank’s flagship MIONJO project to expand its reach into those zones. Furthermore, the youth ambassadors and associations trained by the 缅北禁地programs have been recognized as valuable partners by the Bank’s project, building upon the groundwork laid by the PBF through investments in local dialogue mechanisms.