Community Based Strategies for

Peace and Security (CBSPS)

By Lawrence E. Mitchell Jr.

Abstract

There are many theories concerning peace and security and the concept of peace
building. There is a wealth of knowledge and research available to gain a good
understanding of peace-building and its importance to peacekeeping. Such
knowledge would be a great asset to anyone embarking on peace-building
strategies. Peace building takes individuals, political commitments, institutional
involvement, and financial commitments for communities to rebuild after
conflicts. Peace-building agents have to operate successfully at every level to
achieve a lasting peace. Community based strategies are mechanisms used by
agents to achieve peaceful solutions to the root causes of conflicts. There is a
basic assumption that, all societies desire to find ways to create an environment
where working together is more desirable than violent conflict and, they have a
strong desire to work towards a lasting peace. Therefore, with some direction and
support, fractured societies can be assisted to reach this goal. This research
examines community based strategies that operate as bridge builders for
successful peace-building objectives. This research is not all inclusive, but a
guideline to basic principles needed to sustain peace and security in post-conflict
environments.

Introduction

The United Nations Charter the foundations for the United Nations concepts of
peace and security can be found in the historical accounts of the drafting of the
Declaration by United Nations on January 1, 1942. This document first used the
term “United Nations” and it spelled out the primary intentions of the 26 nations
that came together.

This declaration of human rights set the stage for a larger interpretation for the
need for peacekeeping and its relation to human security. The need for human
security is a vital part of peacekeeping. “While not understanding the complexity
of the peacemaking task, it would be a fair proposition that a peace that is not
accompanied by strategies for the promotion and protection of human rights is
unlikely to be a lasting peace”. In the years after this declaration the United
Nations and the international community further defined the needs of
peacekeeping and peace-building.

The Concept of Peace-building

The evolutionary history of social interaction shows that individuals and groups
have always been peace-builders. After any conflict between individuals or groups
there is a time of peace-building to repair psychological and physical damage
from the conflict situation. Even in nature there is a sort of peace-building process.
If a large tree falls in the forest, plants that were dormant responding to the new
light begin to grow. For a time these plants come into conflict with each other
competing for the new space. Then after a time the peace-building process begins
where plants depend on each other for light, shade, nutrients, and water. Human
interaction is no different. When new or old space and resources become
available, individuals and groups compete and come into conflict with each other
and ‘when the dust settles’, there is the need for peace-building.

In the areas of nations and groups peace-building resembles this natural theory.
There are various questions related to the concept of peace-building,

• Is peace-building about removing the root causes of a conflict or about finding

• Is peace-building primarily security, humanitarian, economic or political

• Are the strategies for peace-building short, medium, or long-term goals?

• Should international involvement in peace-building have time limits?

• Are the main actors in peace-building - indigenous or external actors?

Security

Community based strategies can build local ownership in the peace process and
provide a progressive approach to long term success of policies and programs.
When communities commit to the peace-building processes they help avoid the
reemergence of the conflict and move towards a sustainability of peace. The
community based strategies that address post-conflict situations should, “identify
and support structures which will tend to strengthen and solidify peace to avoid a
relapse into conflict.” The Security Council has primary responsibility for the
maintenance of international security under the Charter of the United Nations. If
a complaint is brought before the Council the first course of action would be to
resolve the issue by reaching an agreement by peaceful means. The Council “may
appoint special representatives or request the Secretary-General to do so or to
use his good offices. It may set forth principles for a peaceful settlement.”

If a dispute leads to violence the Council could issue cease-fire directives or send
in peacekeeping forces to limit the spread of the conflict. There are other
techniques that the Council could use under their authority to try and resolve the
conflict. However, the broad reach of the Security Council still cannot at times
stop the violence and, even when the violence is stopped and the peace building
process begins, the need for “human security” remains important in the post
conflict stage. Additionally, human security at the community level can be a
catalyst for preventing violent conflicts and securing lasting peace.

Evaluation of community based strategies for peace and security

At the start of this study concerning community based strategies for peace and
security there were basic questions concerning peace-building and these
questions provided a general look at what issues are associated with peace-
building. A crosssection of individuals, organizations, and governments has
realized that peace-building is a vital element in sustained peace and security.
There is one common principle found in all the various sources of information on
peace-building. The sources have agreed that peace-building is a ‘practice’ that
must be sustained over a long period of time to be effective. With this guiding
principle community based strategies can be launched into action to help
societies in post-conflict situations. Here are some other brief answers to the
initial questions.

Conclusion

On August 29, 2005, when hurricane Katrina struck the southern cost of the
United States the region was engulfed in a natural disaster. Individuals hit by the
devastation found themselves in communities that were destroyed. The
communities lacked food, water, security, and minority groups were
disenfranchised. In the years since the disaster most of the residents or refugees
who fled or were forced out of their communities have not returned. The political
structures failed and the communities found themselves needing a peace-building
plan. When the disaster hit this powerful industrialized nation the United Nations
offered help in this catastrophe and assisted with some relief efforts. In January
2008, Walter Kalin, a United Nations official toured the areas hit by Katrina and he
said, "Whether you're displaced in a rich country or a poor country, what remains
the same is you need to get the help, the assistance of the authorities, of the
communities, to be able to restart a normal life, and the people I have met are
not there yet," said Walter Kalin, the UN secretary general's representative on the
human rights of internally displaced persons.” The community strategies for
peace and security discussed in this thesis is not ideas for the less developed
nations of the world. These are strategies for people struggling for the return to
the normalcy of life interrupted by either natural or man-made disasters.

Source: https://cdn.peaceopstraining.org/theses/mitchell.pdf