Municipal Peacebuilding and Sub-National Peace Processes

Cities, towns and urban areas are often the worst affected by war. From civilian casualties to destruction of infrastructure, urban areas experience a massive cost of violence. They are increasingly a if not the principal site of battles and destruction in many armed conflicts. Until recently they have also been largely neglected by many peacebuilding programmes and peace processes – which often focus on national-level or rural, community-based processes. At the same time, the potential for sub-national mediation and peace processes bringing about agreement between conflict parties, armed forces/militias and key stakeholders within specific regions, states or sub-sections of a conflict is significant – and the track record of locally owned and driven efforts to stop fighting, prevent violence, and improve security and stability is impressive. PATRIR’s Municipal Peacebuilding and Sub-National Peace Processes programme addresses this.

Drawing upon experiences in areas affected by armed conflict, armed violence and war world-wide, the programme builds upon several key components including:

  • Conflict Analysis and Social Risks, Tensions and Opportunities Analysis
  • Urban, Municipal and regional / sub-national early warning and prevention systems
  • Support for municipal authorities and sub-national peacebuilding stakeholders including: professionals, civil society organisations, business actors, militias and former combatants, youth, women, clan and tribal leadership
  • Tailor-made support to UN Missions and Agencies, Governments, and National and International Organisations for designing municipal and sub-national peacebuilding, mediation and peace process support
  • Facilitation or support for the development of community, municipal, district and state-level coordination bodies and mechanisms to improve collaboration and cooperative efforts
  • Development of Municipal and sub-national infrastructure for peace and mediation, prevention and peacebuilding capabilities
  • Customised trainings, capacity building, and technical support and assistance

PATRIR’s programmes are practical, hands-on, and in all cases customised to the exact needs and context. Our team have in-depth experience supporting municipal/urban and sub-national peacebuilding, mediation, peace processes and peace consolidation efforts in: Iraq, Syria, Libya, Nepal, Northern Ireland, and Mexico, and have assisted UN missions and agencies in: Darfur Sudan, South Sudan, Liberia, Somalia, Lebanon, and Nepal. We have also worked with local and national stakeholders and partners, as well as international peacebuilding agencies and organisations, to provide training, coaching, tailored support for improving programming and development of evaluation frameworks and support.

Testimonial

“I am feeling more confident when talking about armed conflicts and peace building in different settings and recognise that more knowledge gives more confidence in believing in positive changes and searching for them in every day life. I have increased interest in learning in this area. I have also increased confidence in dialoguing and interest in finding about that. A strong wish for contributing to peace building.”

– Annette Giertsen
Senior Adviser, Save the Children Norway

PATRIR’s Department of Peace Operations has a special team of international experts and practitioners to assist development, implementation or support for regional, municipal and sub-national peace processes. For more information or to explore if PATRIR could provide meaningful support or assistance for your programmes please contact us at: [email protected].