A civil way forward

Brot für die Welt (Bread for the World) is one of nine German organisations which have put the programme into practice. Since 1999, trained CPS professionals have been supporting people on the ground in their long-term commitment to dialogue, human rights, and peace – successfully so.

Peace can only be achieved jointly by all parties to a conflict and the people affected. It often requires all those involved to overcome deep divisions. Trust and reliable relations, which are so important for reconciliation and lasting peace, grow only slowly.

At the heart of CPS activities is civil conflict resolution. It takes place primarily at the grassroots of society: here, people analyse conflicts, persuade those affected to sit at the negotiating table, develop non-violent solutions, and thus pre-empt the outbreak of violence. If peace can be achieved in this way, it has a chance to grow long-term.

The CPS programme works, as a matter of principle, with local, mostly civil-society organisations. The reason is that they are firmly embedded in their respective societies and cultures and often have access to all groups of the population affected by and involved in the conflict.

CPS professionals support local partners with their expertise in civil conflict resolution, providing an outside perspective. They make an effort, for example, to:

• communicate methods and concepts of civil conflict resolution and management;
• bring conflict parties together and help to balance their interests;
• dismantle enemy images;
• strengthen the rule of law at the local level;
• advocate for human rights;
• provide psychological and social counselling to victims of violence;
• reintegrate former combatants into society;
• support disadvantaged groups to have their concerns heard;
• and train journalists to defuse rather than fuel tension by conflict-sensitive media reporting.

The CPS programme is funded by the German government.

The CPS programme is a combination of secondment of international peace workers (CPS professionals) to local partner organisations and financial support for project activities. The majority of partners that Brot für die Welt cooperates with in CPS country programmes are partners that Brot für die Welt has known for many years and has worked with in other projects.

The German organisations deploy their CPS workers under the German Development Worker Act which only allows for German and European Union citizens to be deployed.