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Forum Crisis Prevention at a glance – institutionalisation of Pro UNCOPAC
Forum Crisis Prevention was founded as a non-profit society based in Brunswick (Braunschweig), Germany. It operates on a national and international level and aims to cooperate with people from all countries on the subject of civil crisis prevention. Since January 1st , 2006 Forum Crisis Prevention has become the supporting and institutionalized organization of the Initiative Pro UNCOPAC (www.pro-uncopac.info). Therefore, one main objective of FCP is to continue bringing the proposal for a UN Commission on Peace and Crisis Prevention (UNCOPAC), published in April 2003, up to political discussion. Based on a group of scientists, experienced workers in conflict prevention from civil society, and the existing early warning systems, the recommended UN body UNCOPAC would have the task to develop detailed suggestions for an on time, non-military handling of regional crises through the United Nations. The statute of Forum Crisis Prevention suggests a wide range of activities, the focus lies on the strengthening of existing structures and on the development of new international structures whose main goal would be the prevention of violent conflicts or wars and the containment of crises of all types. The Forum supports the multifaceted efforts of civil society organisations which analyse and reflect on the ideas of civil, non-military conflict resolution. A very important point is that especially international cooperation with ”local ownership” will be established and / or maintained. The target group of Forum Crisis Prevention are non-governmental organisations working for peace, development, human rights, ecology, globalisation and the media, according to the competences that are required for the Scientific Staff of the UN Commission proposed in article 16.2 of the model statute of UNCOPAC. Furthermore, FCP tries to engage experts and responsible actors from politics, parties and science in the discussion. It aims at contributing to the development of a 'reframed' infrastructure of cooperation and 'architecture of interaction and dialogues' between governments and non-governmental actors, in civil conflict prevention. Forum Crisis Prevention was triggered by the same impulses that formed the basis for the development of a Culture of Peace (UNESCO) as well as by the many endeavours resulting from the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World. The widespread experiences in the processes of democratisation and development on the regional and global level, the manifold measures in the area of post-conflict peace building make it possible to develop new strategies of prevention. The Forum will communicate the results and, at the same time, work for the implementation and further development of the Global Agenda 'People Building Peace' adopted in New York. In 2005 the UN agreed on a Peace Building Commission for post-conflict situations. In the partial area of relapse prevention some of the minor aims of Pro UNCOPAC can possibly be considered to have been achieved by the implementation of that commission. However, the aim of pro-active prevention, i. e. the prevention of the beginning of wars, still seems to be far away. Forum Crisis Prevention, in agreement with other initiatives, is convinced that we all have to try hard to extend the mandate of the Peace Building Commission to pro-active prevention in close cooperation with civil society. At the same time the Forum will continue to encourage ideas and strategies to implant pro-active prevention on the UN level if the envisaged extension of the mandate is not realized. Apart from those basic tasks Forum Crisis Prevention will engage in early non-military crisis prevention in single cases in order to gain experience from applying the proposed instruments. This will enrich the general debate on the necessary and realizable structures of pro-active prevention. Forum Crisis Prevention is affiliated to the following organisations: 1) Platform for Peaceful Conflict Management, Berlin 2) European Platform for Conflict Prevention and Transformation, Utrecht 3) Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), Western European Steering Group. Forum Crisis Prevention online: www.crisis-prevention.info For further information please contact: Steinweg, Reiner, president, Linz branch of the Austrian Study Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Stadtschlaining, Austria , reiner.steinweg@liwest.at Schöbel, Frieder, Bank account: |
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