Causes: Civil Rights, International, International Human Rights, International Peace & Security
Mission: We protect civilians in violent conflicts through unarmed strategies. We build peace side by side with local communities. We advocate for the wider adoption of these approaches to safeguard human lives and dignity. We envision a worldwide culture of peace in which conflicts within and between communities and countries are managed through nonviolent means.
Programs: Globally the status quo for protection and security is rooted in violence. Overwhelmingly, nations, institutions and neighborhoods resort to use of force or weapons in addressing violent conflict, leading to displacement, death and prolonged cycles of violence. As a global non-governmental organization, we protect civilians affected by violent conflict without weapons and enhance the capacity of local communities to build peace.
Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP) has years of experience working with communities who are already working to keep themselves safe. It is not NP’s task to prescribe what security should look like, but to draw out pre-existing capacities, strengths, and local practices. Drawing from the methods of Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP), NP equips communities with actionable skills and shared frameworks to take security into their own hands and realize a system of public safety that does not rely on threat or use of force.
NP’s work is driven by two interconnected objectives:
(1) Enhance protection for civilians in armed conflicts and strengthen local peace processes through program implementation and expansion. NP is currently working in the Mindanao area in the Philippines (2007), South Sudan (2010), Myanmar (2014), Iraq (2017) and the United States (2020) (details below).
(2) Mainstream nonviolent protection practices as an effective response to violent conflict. We can reduce violence by providing a nonviolent alternative to militarism, policing and peacekeeping by force.
Field programs: NP teams continued to operate in the Philippines, South Sudan, Myanmar, Iraq and most recently the United States. We are seeing increasing need for and interest for programming in the United States. Spurred by George Floyd’s murder and uprisings for racial justice around the country and globe, we saw opportunities to bring what we have learned in our program locations home and facilitate knowledge-sharing between peace leaders in the Global South and Global North. Throughout 2021, we will be working to change the approach to community safety and illustrate how community engagement leads to safer communities. The United States office also provides support for new project exploration and start up, and providing staff welfare support for field teams. These activities are essential for due diligence and effective programming and to obtain field project funds.
Advocacy: Nonviolent Peaceforce advances the understanding of and policy and funding support for Unarmed Civilian Protection at the United Nations through briefings, meetings with United Nations officials and staff of UN agencies and missions. Two examples were the requested consultation of NP for the UN high level peace operations review panel, and the writing of the first comprehensive curriculum for Unarmed Civilian Protection, working in partnership with the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). NP advocated for the inclusion of Unarmed Civilian Protection language and concept in a variety of UN resolutions, guidance documents, non-governmental UN parallel events and conferences.
Outreach:NP seeks to expand the field of Unarmed Civilian Protection through education—not only increasing the understanding and practice of UCP among governments and international institutions, but by teaching conflict resolution in schools and promoting young people’s involvement in security.
In 2020, NP developed an e-learning course on UCP built around a comprehensive manual of core competencies and skills. We partnered with five colleges and universities in the U. S. , France and Indonesia to engage students in applied learning.
In addition, we offered a course to Darfuri youth, activists, and peace practitioners as part of the joint United Nations - African Union’s Silencing the Guns initiative. Now, the participants are organizing for peace in their communities. One participant and activist reflected “Since I finished the course, UCP values, principles and methods became a part of my life. I now use them in all aspects of life: it influences the way I think, behave, believe and act. " We are seeing more and more requests to offer our UCP course in different regions and languages.
We are working with students in Minneapolis to become school safety advisors and formalize their participation in new safety plans that affirm belonging for all students and staff.
NP provides background information to and consulted with UN agencies and missions on Unarmed Civilian Protection and violence prevention. NP also works with other similar organizations to identify good practices in the field and bridge the gaps between the theory and practice of UCP.
Mission: We protect civilians in violent conflicts through unarmed strategies. We build peace side by side with local communities. We advocate for the wider adoption of these approaches to safeguard human lives and dignity. We envision a worldwide culture of peace in which conflicts within and between communities and countries are managed through nonviolent means.
Programs: Globally the status quo for protection and security is rooted in violence. Overwhelmingly, nations, institutions and neighborhoods resort to use of force or weapons in addressing violent conflict, leading to displacement, death and prolonged cycles of violence. As a global non-governmental organization, we protect civilians affected by violent conflict without weapons and enhance the capacity of local communities to build peace.
Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP) has years of experience working with communities who are already working to keep themselves safe. It is not NP’s task to prescribe what security should look like, but to draw out pre-existing capacities, strengths, and local practices. Drawing from the methods of Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP), NP equips communities with actionable skills and shared frameworks to take security into their own hands and realize a system of public safety that does not rely on threat or use of force.
NP’s work is driven by two interconnected objectives:
(1) Enhance protection for civilians in armed conflicts and strengthen local peace processes through program implementation and expansion. NP is currently working in the Mindanao area in the Philippines (2007), South Sudan (2010), Myanmar (2014), Iraq (2017) and the United States (2020) (details below).
(2) Mainstream nonviolent protection practices as an effective response to violent conflict. We can reduce violence by providing a nonviolent alternative to militarism, policing and peacekeeping by force.
Field programs: NP teams continued to operate in the Philippines, South Sudan, Myanmar, Iraq and most recently the United States. We are seeing increasing need for and interest for programming in the United States. Spurred by George Floyd’s murder and uprisings for racial justice around the country and globe, we saw opportunities to bring what we have learned in our program locations home and facilitate knowledge-sharing between peace leaders in the Global South and Global North. Throughout 2021, we will be working to change the approach to community safety and illustrate how community engagement leads to safer communities. The United States office also provides support for new project exploration and start up, and providing staff welfare support for field teams. These activities are essential for due diligence and effective programming and to obtain field project funds.
Advocacy: Nonviolent Peaceforce advances the understanding of and policy and funding support for Unarmed Civilian Protection at the United Nations through briefings, meetings with United Nations officials and staff of UN agencies and missions. Two examples were the requested consultation of NP for the UN high level peace operations review panel, and the writing of the first comprehensive curriculum for Unarmed Civilian Protection, working in partnership with the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). NP advocated for the inclusion of Unarmed Civilian Protection language and concept in a variety of UN resolutions, guidance documents, non-governmental UN parallel events and conferences.
Outreach:NP seeks to expand the field of Unarmed Civilian Protection through education—not only increasing the understanding and practice of UCP among governments and international institutions, but by teaching conflict resolution in schools and promoting young people’s involvement in security.
In 2020, NP developed an e-learning course on UCP built around a comprehensive manual of core competencies and skills. We partnered with five colleges and universities in the U. S. , France and Indonesia to engage students in applied learning.
In addition, we offered a course to Darfuri youth, activists, and peace practitioners as part of the joint United Nations - African Union’s Silencing the Guns initiative. Now, the participants are organizing for peace in their communities. One participant and activist reflected “Since I finished the course, UCP values, principles and methods became a part of my life. I now use them in all aspects of life: it influences the way I think, behave, believe and act. " We are seeing more and more requests to offer our UCP course in different regions and languages.
We are working with students in Minneapolis to become school safety advisors and formalize their participation in new safety plans that affirm belonging for all students and staff.
NP provides background information to and consulted with UN agencies and missions on Unarmed Civilian Protection and violence prevention. NP also works with other similar organizations to identify good practices in the field and bridge the gaps between the theory and practice of UCP.
info@nonviolentpeaceforce.org
2610 University Avenue, St Paul, MN 55114
612-871-0005
Civil Rights
St Paul
