The Hindu : `Citizen Diplomacy' mooted for Indo-Pak peace process

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 03, 2003

Other States

Other States - New Delhi

`Citizen Diplomacy' mooted for Indo-Pak peace process

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI NOV. 2. In the context of the Indo-Pak peace process, an attempt should be made to encourage innovative dialogue on the ways in which members of the public can strengthen the peace process through people-to-people contact or "Citizen's Diplomacy".

This was stated here today by Edy Kaufman, Executive Director and Senior Research Associate at The Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, The Hebrew University and Senior Researcher at the Centre for International Development and Conflict Management, University of Maryland, College Park.

During his 45-minute presentation on "Citizens Diplomacy in South Asia: Innovative Possibilities for Peace", Dr. Kaufman, who is also the founder member of B'tselem, an Israeli Human Rights Organisation that exclusively monitors occupied territories, shared strategies and ideas for engaging in track-II diplomacy based on his extensive experience of working in the Middle East, South America and Africa.

"Citizens' diplomacy can be an effective tool for conflict resolution and transformation," said Dr. Kaufman, arguing that peace-building efforts by civil society often prepare the ground for peace-making efforts by those involved in track-I diplomacy. "With citizen's participation, a lot of innovative solutions emerge," he added.

Having led conflict resolution workshops in various regions around the world, Dr. Kaufman gave the example of Jerusalem where unique ideas of space sharing of places of worship in a vertical structure or joint management of river waters through a mutual sharing agreement have all been suggested as solutions. "Some of the lessons learnt from these peace processes could be applied for conflict resolution in South Asia," he said, adding, however, he has had no experience of working in the region.

The discussion with the acclaimed conflict resolution practitioner and theorist was organised by Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace (WISCOMP) and the United States Education Foundation in India (USEFI) and it provided a unique opportunity for students, diplomats, scholars and conflict resolution practitioners to engage in a dialogue with him. "Retired diplomats have been involved in track II diplomacy in many countries," said Dr. Kaufman, pointing out that the future belonged to student leaders who too need to get involved in building peace in a big way.

On the occasion, there was an interactive session with participants during the course of which Dr. Kaufman revealed that a centre for conflict resolution was being established in BITS, Plain. "Non-government organisations have played a very important role in furthering citizens diplomacy worldwide. But sometimes, they are perceived to be taking sides. On the other hands, Universities hold a neutral position and therefore, it was time they came forward in a big way to establish conflict resolution centres so that both the academia and conflict resolution practitioners can benefit," he said.

Dr. Kaufman's lecture on Sunday was part of the ongoing effort by the Foundation for Universal Responsibility to invigorate the discourse on peace building and non-violence in South Asia under its Peacemakers series. His insights into building peace in South Asia will also be featured in the book that the Foundation plans to publish after the series gets over.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Other States

News Update

Stories in this Section

Liquor worth Rs. 6 lakhs seized

Prostitution racket smashed

U.N. award for Indian photojournalist

`Citizen Diplomacy' mooted for Indo-Pak peace process

EC expects great rush for nominations

`Mayawati has allied with Cong.'

72 more dengue cases reported

Four held for punting