Nonviolent Peaceforce
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Nonviolent Peaceforce is an international NGO composed of a federation of 94 member organisations from across the world in order to create a trained, international civilian unarmed peace force that can be sent to conflict areas called in by local groups to protect human rights and allow them the space to struggle non-violently, enter into dialogue and seek peaceful resolution.
Nonviolent Peaceforce is supported by hundreds of individuals and organizations. Nobel Laureates, peace activists, communities of faith and many others around the world have endorsed its goals and projects.
On December 2002, 130 delegates from 47 nations chose Sri Lanka as the site of the first Nonviolent Peaceforce Pilot Project. Nonviolent Peaceforce has recruited, trained, and sent international civilian peacekeepers to help establish a foundation for sustainable peace in Sri Lanka since 2003.
To that end, several Sri Lankan organizations invited Nonviolent Peaceforce to support and amplify the work of local and national peacemakers. Nonviolent Peaceforce has established formal partnerships and developed its intervention strategy with local groups.
In expressing support for the Nonviolent Peaceforce project, Baddegama Samitha, a Member of Parliament in Sri Lanka, said:
"I warmly welcome the Nonviolent Peaceforce because we need international peace activists to help defuse our situation."
Nonviolent Peaceforce's presence has been requested by local groups and preparatory work has begun towards deployment in conflict areas such as northern Uganda, Mindanao island in the Philippines, Colombia and Sudan.
[edit] In the field
Nonviolent Peaceforce is one of the few non-governmental agencies devoted exclusively to peace and protection work in Sri Lanka. From the capital city of Colombo, the international team operates five field sites:
Mutur - a town in the East which has seen the highest number of civilian causalities from inter-ethnic rioting since the cease-fire called in 2001.
Valaichchenai - another town in the East with high causalities from ethnic violence.
Jaffna - the principal city in the North of Sri Lanka over which the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have fought since the conflict began in 1983.
Trincomalee - is a port city on the northeast coast of Sri Lanka, about 110 miles northeast of Kandy. It's demographic makeup is unique in Sri Lanka, having roughly equal members of Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese.
Batticaloa - is on the east coast, 314 Km from Colombo.
[edit] External links
- http://www.peaceworkers.org.uk Peaceworkers UK] Peaceworkers UK organises trainings for potential peaceworkers, and is a member of the Nonviolent Peaceforce