In response to the UN Secretary-General's Report on the Prevention of Armed Conflict (2001), the worldwide conflict prevention community has formed a ‘Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict’, for which the ECCP acts as a secretariat. This Global Partnership is conducting a programme on ‘The Role of Civil Society and NGOs in the Prevention of Armed Conflict’. This programme entails a two-year integrated programme of research, discussion and network building to take place all over the world. Fifteen regional conferences will focus the experience of each region and lead on to a major international conference at UN Headquarters in 2005. In the framework of the EU presidency of the Irish Government in 2004, the Irish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the ECCP, in co-operation with the Irish NGO Steering Committee, are organising the regional conference for the Northern, Western and Southern European region in Dublin.

Aims of the Dublin conference
&Mac183; To raise the profile of conflict prevention and the involvement of civil society in conflict prevention activities
&Mac183; To enhance and stimulate the interaction between civil society and NGOs with governments, the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN)
&Mac183; To stimulate interaction between different civil society and government actors in order to develop better mechanisms for co-operation
&Mac183; To develop a regional perspective and Action Agenda which will
&Mac183; Formulate goals in the field of conflict prevention
&Mac183; Make recommendations to the European Union, the United Nations, and civil society organisations
&Mac183; Help to inform the report on ongoing implementation of the EU’s Programme for the Prevention of Violent Conflicts (2001) to be presented by the Irish EU Presidency at the June 2004 European Council
&Mac183; Feed into the global process leading towards an international Action Agenda
Note: The conference will have a primary focus on the enlarged European Union. We are aiming to organise regional conferences in the Balkans, Western CIS/Eastern Europe, and Caucasus, where we can have a more in depth programme on those regions.

Participants in the Dublin conference
EU Member States (Ministries for Foreign Affairs and Development Co-operation Ministries); Representatives from the EU, the UN and other governmental bodies focusing on security issues and/or conflict prevention activities; Civil society-actors and NGOs active in the field of conflict prevention and peacebuilding from all over Europe; Irish NGOs in the field of conflict prevention and peacebuilding; and Members of the International Steering Group of the ‘Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict’.

Format of Dublin conference
The conference will last three days in total and will be held in Dublin Castle, Dublin. The first two days will be organised by the ECCP in co-operation with the Irish Government and the Irish NGO Steering Committee. The third day will be a high-level meeting with governmental representatives, organised by the Irish Government, in co-operation with the ECCP (and the Irish NGO Steering Committee).

Content of Dublin conference
During the Dublin conference a Draft Action Agenda will be discussed in general, and on an issue-basis. The Action Agenda will be a set of Recommendations for the EU, UN and civil society organisations, to be presented to the governmental representatives on Day 3.
The working groups for the Dublin conference will be, among others, on:
&Mac183; What can civil society actors do to prevent armed conflict and create just societies? The role of Education and the promotion of a ‘Culture of Peace’
&Mac183; Strategies and mobilising for effective action: Lobby and Advocacy; and Development and Peace building
&Mac183; Interaction: coherence in CSO, Government and IGO engagement: EU Civilian Crisis management and conflict prevention; EU Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP); Interaction between the UN and civil society; and Interaction between Governments and civil society.
&Mac183; More specific issues: the Irish Peace Process; the Role of Diaspora; the ‘War on Terrorism’; and Networking.

Getting involved in the European Process
&Mac183; Programme: suggest interesting topics, speakers, background material for the working groups
&Mac183; Action Agenda: organise national level meeting to brainstorm on input for the Draft Action Agenda; individual NGOs and civil society actors are asked to give written input for the Draft Action Agenda
&Mac183; Research: share experiences in conflict prevention that can feed into the research agenda of the programme


For more information, please contact the ECCP Project Officer Dublin Conference: b.kamphuis@.conflict-prevention.net

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