Conflict-Sensitive Programming

WelcomeThe starting page. Conflict SensitivityProvides theoretical information on conflict-sensitive approaches. Regional ApplicationPresents regional experience with conflict-sensitive approaches. Consultancy ServicesExplains the types of services on offer. Sharing ExperienceAllows you to bring in your own experience. MaterialsProvides useful material on conflict-sensitive planning. ContactHelps you to get into contact with others. ImprintJust for the lawyers.

Responsible Person: Rolf Grafe
last reviewed on July 31, 2008

Programming in Situations of Violent Conflict

Conflict-sensitive project planning is possible. The "Do No Harm" framework for relief or development interventions and the "Reflecting on Peace Practice" concept for direct peace building offer two highly effective tools for working in situations of violent conflict. Only if planners and implementers are aware of the interaction between their programmes and the surrounding environment can they improve on their work. And only if the various factors influencing war situations are understood can peace builders be successful.

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Conflict-Sensitive Programming

When working in a situation of violent inter-group conflict, project interventions in relief or development programmes have to take into consideration this specific environment. Their resources will become part and parcel of this context, their policies and guidelines will be perceived as being supportive to specific groups, and the behaviour of their staff will influence the mentality and the attitudes of the population in the area of fighting.

Conflict-sensitive project planning is considered by many as an obligatory approach when working in countries like Sudan or Somalia or in the Great Lakes region, but also in seemingly peaceful areas of Kenya, Uganda or Ethiopia. Caught between rigid routines and strict deadlines, it is unfortunately left out far too often.

Our mandate is to help organizations put conflict sensitivity into practice and make it an integral part of their planning, monitoring and evaluation systems.

Worldwide Experience

Main source of our experience has been the work of the "Local Capacities for Peace Project in the Horn of Africa", which had tried to integrate the "Do No Harm" concept into the work of the partner organizations of the German Church Development Service (EED) in Kenya, Ethiopia and Sudan. We feel obliged to continue the work of this project, which closed in December 2006, and consider ourselves at the same time part of a global network of others engaged in similar efforts.

The experience generated in the Horn of Africa has been of great importance for conflict-sensitive programming elsewhere. As a consequence, we have conducted workshops and trainings in many other parts of the world, ranging from other regions of Africa through the Middle East to South Asia. All these activities have contributed to a wealth of knowledge on the applicability of the "Do No Harm" approach in various types of conflict settings and in highly divergent cultural environments.

Consultancy Services

As mentioned above, we consider conflict-sensitivity an obligation for any actor in the fields of emergency assistance and development cooperation. It is our concern to provide services needed for a more sustainable, more appropriate, and more sensitive way of delivering "aid" in situations where violent conflicts have affected the well-being of people. Assistance from outside should be provided in a way that negative side-effects are avoided by all means.

To achieve this, we offer the following services:

- Workshops and Seminars, both on "Do No Harm" and on "Reflecting on Peace Practices"

- Trainings of Trainers and Trainings of Implementers

- Assessments and Evaluations

- Conflict-Sensitive Programming of Project Interventions