Formation | August 1999 |
---|---|
Type | Non-governmental organization |
Purpose | Conflict prevention and resolution |
Headquarters | Geneva, Switzerland |
Executive Director | David Harland |
Website | www |
The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), otherwise known as the Henry Dunant Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, works to prevent and resolve armed conflicts around the world through mediation and discreet diplomacy. [1] [2] [3] [4]
A non-profit organisation based in Switzerland, HD was founded in 1999 on the principles of humanity, impartiality and independence. HD is supervised by an independent board, regularly reports to donors and undergoes financial audits every year. [5] [6]
HD was awarded the Carnegie Wateler Peace Prize for 2022 "for its track record of finding the means, including mediation, to bring parties together and end conflicts”. [7] [8] [9]
HD runs multi-track mediation and peacemaking projects in Africa, the Middle East, Eurasia, Asia and Latin America. HD engages with political actors, armed groups and other influential parties at international, inter-state, country and local levels while supporting communities and marginalised groups to play active roles in peace processes. [10]
It works with the United Nations, regional organisations, governments, civil society groups and other partners to mediate between conflict parties, support peace negotiations and strengthen the mediation efforts of others. [11]
HD also supports humanitarian efforts by helping to secure the safe passage of aid in high-risk areas [12] and has been expanding thematic mediation around the environmental, inclusion and criminal factors that intensify and complicate many conflicts. [13]
To reflect the impact of social media on conflicts and the geopolitical risks from sophisticated cyber operations, HD has a dedicated Digital Conflict team that supports peace processes and pursues multilateral engagement with policymakers, technology platforms and the mediation community. [14] [15]
HD conducts research and analysis to support its operational work and publishes a variety of public reports and guidance materials to further international mediation and peacemaking efforts. [16]
HD seeks to promote the sharing of experience and knowledge by co-hosting The Oslo Forum with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Launched in 2003, the Forum is a series of retreats for the international mediation and peacemaking community to reflect on current practices, work on new approaches and advance their negotiations. [17] [18]
Indonesia: In its first mediation project soon after its founding in 1999, HD laid the groundwork for the successful negotiation of a final peace agreement in 2005 between the Indonesian government and GAM separatist rebels in the province of Aceh. [19] [20] [21]
Spain: For 15 years, HD discreetly helped to resolve decades of violence, ending with the Basque armed group ETA disbanding. ETA’s final declaration was made public at HD headquarters on 3 May 2018. [22] [23]
Black Sea Grain Initiative: During talks between Russia and Ukraine to restart the flow of vital food shipments, HD provided advice and close support to the process led by the United Nations and Türkiye. [24] [25] [26]
Sahel: In a region faced with political instability, jihadist attacks and conflict over water and land, HD has brokered various agreements around the sharing of natural resources and set up a network of mediators across Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Chad. [27] [28] [29]
Nigeria: HD is convening dialogue among various groups to address conflicts over land, water and political power in Middle Belt states. In 2021, HD secured the first social media peace accord between communities in conflict and has since achieved a peace agreement based on the sharing of natural resources. [30] [31] [32] [33]
Libya: As part of its support for the peace process in Libya, HD brokered an immediate ceasefire in August 2020 and an agreement among major Libyan stakeholders to recommit to political talks. This led to a formal ceasefire and UN-brokered political deal with a new interim government, a roadmap for elections and substantial women’s representation in the future cabinet. [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39]
Philippines: Since 2004, HD has helped efforts to end the conflict in the southern Philippines, including support for successful peace talks in 2014 and ratification of the law establishing the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, along with community dialogue sessions and training of mediators. [40] [41] [42] [43]
South China Sea: HD has convened two tracks of dialogue – on preventing violent escalation between coastguards and on avoiding a collapse in fish stocks. These resulted in operational principles to prevent incidents at sea and in scientific consensus on fisheries management between China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. [44] [45] [46] [47]
Tunisia: HD facilitated the Charter of Honour for Elections, an agreement between all major political parties in Tunisia that allowed the 2014 elections to proceed peacefully. [48] [49]
Senegal: In Africa’s oldest insurgency, HD has been working since 2014 to create an inclusive and legitimate negotiating platform between the government of Senegal and the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC). Under the auspices of Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and with the support of HD, the government of Senegal and the southern factions of the MFDC signed a roadmap for disarmament in 4 August 2022 . [50] [51]
Among its various public and confidential peacemaking activities, HD has also been involved in Sudan, [52] Syria, [53] Kenya, the Central African Republic, Liberia, [54] Somalia, [55] Timor Leste, [56] Burundi [57] and Nepal. [58]
HD was founded to pursue the humanitarian vision of Henry Dunant, co-founder of the Red Cross and co-recipient of the first Nobel Peace Prize, by using mediation and dialogue to reduce the suffering caused by armed conflict. The initial intention of HD was to serve as a discreet venue for dialogue on humanitarian issues. [3]
The organisation evolved to include negotiations in support of humanitarian objectives and quickly broadened, at the behest of conflict parties in Aceh, to include the resolution of the conflict through mediation and conflict prevention. [59]
In July 2015, HD was granted a special status by the Federal Council of Switzerland that confers certain privileges and immunities intended to enable its peacemaking efforts worldwide. [60]
Martin Griffiths was the founding executive director of HD and led the organisation from 1999 to July 2010. [20] He was replaced for a brief period (July 2010 to March 2011) by Angelo Gnaedinger, then HD’s regional director for the Middle East and a former director general of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
David Harland, a former New Zealand diplomat and UN official, was appointed as HD’s executive director in April 2011. [61]
HD receives a combination of strategic support and targeted project funding from various governments and private foundations. [62]
In 2021, HD’s annual income was 46 million Swiss francs. [2]
The Free Aceh Movement was a separatist group seeking independence for the Aceh region of Sumatra, Indonesia. GAM fought against Indonesian government forces in the Aceh insurgency from 1976 to 2005, during which over 15,000 lives are believed to have been lost.
The Casamance conflict is an ongoing low-level conflict that has been waged between the Government of Senegal and the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) since 1982. On May 1, 2014 the leader of the MFDC sued for peace and declared a unilateral ceasefire.
CMI– Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation is an independent Finnish non-governmental organisation that works to prevent and resolve conflict through informal dialogue and mediation. Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari founded CMI in 2000. CMI has offices in Helsinki and Brussels as well as a presence in selected countries. CMI transformed from an association to a foundation on 1 May 2021. The organisation is officially registered as CMI– Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation sr.
The insurgency in Aceh, officially designated the Rebellion in Aceh by the Indonesian government, was a conflict fought by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) between 1976 and 2005, with the goal of making the province of Aceh independent from Indonesia. The aftermath of a strong military offensive in 2003 and the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake brought a peace agreement and an end to the insurgency.
Peacemakers are individuals and organizations involved in peacemaking, often in countries affected by war, violent conflict, and political instability. They engage in processes such as negotiation, mediation, conciliation, and arbitration – drawing on international law and norms. The objective is to move a violent conflict into non-violent dialogue, where differences are settled through conflict transformation processes or through the work of representative political institutions.
Conciliation Resources is an independent organization working with people in conflict to prevent violence and build peace, providing advice, support, and practical resources. It also takes the lessons learned to government decision-makers and others working to end the conflict to improve peacebuilding policies and practice worldwide.
The Panel of the Wise (PoW) is a consultative body of the African Union, composed of five appointed members who each serve three year terms. Its mandate is to provide opinions to the Peace and Security Council on issues relevant to conflict prevention, management, and resolution. Representatives are chosen for the North, East, South, West, and Central regions of the continent.
Shadia Marhaban is an international mediator, capacity builder and activist from Aceh, Indonesia.
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) is a United Nations (UN) advanced mission in Libya, created in the aftermath of the Libyan Civil War. UNSMIL is a political mission, not a military mission. The main elements of its mandate defined by the UN include supporting Libyan transitional authorities in "post-conflict efforts", providing mediation in implementing Libyan political agreements, supporting key Libyan institutions and monitoring and reporting on human rights. UNSMIL is led by the UN Department of Political Affairs.
Hannes Siebert is an international peace process and negotiations adviser and facilitator, who is known for his work on national peace structures, the role of media in conflict resolution, authentic negotiations processes and local/regional conflict interventions in several countries.
The Syrian peace process is the ensemble of initiatives and plans to resolve the Syrian civil war, which has been ongoing in Syria since 2011 and has spilled beyond its borders. The peace process has been moderated by the Arab League, the UN Special Envoy on Syria, Russia and Western powers. The negotiating parties to end the conflict are typically representatives of the Syrian Ba'athist government and Syrian opposition, while the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria is usually excluded at the insistence of Turkey. Radical Salafist forces and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have not engaged in any contacts on peaceful resolution to the conflict.
Ghassan Salamé is a Paris-based Lebanese academic. He served as the Lebanese Minister of Culture from 2000 to 2003. He was the Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) and professor of International Relations at Sciences Po. Salamé served as the head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya from 2017 to 2020.
David Harland is a New Zealand diplomat who has been the executive director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), a Geneva-based foundation that specialises in the mediation of armed conflict, since 2011. Harland served as a witness for the prosecution in a number of cases at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
The National Reconciliation and Peace Centre, formerly known as the Myanmar Peace Centre, was an organization to provide technical support to the peacemaking process in Myanmar (Burma), including implementing and managing ceasefire agreements and facilitating dialogue on political issues. The centre was renamed the NRPC in July 2016, with the promulgation of Order 50/2016 by President Htin Kyaw. The centre was dissolved in February 2021 by authorities, in the aftermath of the 2021 Myanmar coup d'etat.
The Oslo Forum convenes senior conflict mediators, high level decision makers, key peace process actors, analysts and experts in an informal and discreet retreat to share their experiences, identify challenges and reflect on mediation practice." The retreat is held annually in June in Oslo, Norway, and is co-hosted by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), a private diplomacy organisation based in Switzerland. Participation is by invitation-only. All discussions take place under the Chatham House Rule.
The Libyan peace process was a series of meetings, agreements and actions that aimed to resolve the Second Libyan Civil War. Among these were the Skhirat agreement of December 2015 and the plans for the Libyan National Conference in April 2019 that were delayed because of the 2019–20 Western Libya campaign.
The Sudanese peace process consists of meetings, written agreements and actions that aim to resolve the War in Darfur, the Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, and armed conflicts in central, northern and eastern Sudan.
The Tigrayan peace process encompasses the series of proposals, meetings, agreements and actions that aim to resolve the Tigray War.
There have been several rounds of peace talks to halt Russia's 2022 invasion in Ukraine and end the Russo-Ukrainian War in an armistice. The first meeting was held four days after the start of the invasion, on 28 February 2022, in Belarus. It concluded without result, with delegations from both sides returning to their capitals for consultations. A second and third round of talks took place on 3 and 7 March 2022, on the Belarus–Ukraine border, in an undisclosed location in the Gomel region of Belarus. A fourth and fifth round of talks were respectively held on 10 and 14 March in Istanbul, Turkey.
On 2 November 2022, a peace treaty was signed between the government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), where both parties agreed to a "permanent cessation of hostilities" to end the Tigray War. The agreement was made effective the next day on 3 November, marking the two-year anniversary of the war.