U.S. Institute of Peace Peace Watch

E D U C A T I O N A N D T R A I N I N G

Conflict Resolution Training from Southeastern Europe to the Americas

Participants
at a recent ICREST seminar.

he U.S. Institute of Peace recently conducted three intensive International Conflict Resolution Skills Training (ICREST) seminars for U.S. and southeastern European foreign affairs professionals and for military officers from the Americas. The Institute identifies and works with groups that can benefit most from conflict resolution training, but that are also likely to have the largest impact on conflict resolution internationally, says Pamela Aall, acting director of the Institute's Education and Training Program, which organizes the training seminars.

For example, notes Harriet Hentges, executive vice president and head of the Institute's Bosnia initiative, the November training for officials from the Balkans and southeastern Europe reflects the Institute's focus on post-conflict reconciliation in Bosnia and conflict resolution in the Balkans more generally. "It was clear from discussions with participants from the region that they are keenly aware of how conflict can spill over from one area to another," she says. "Bosnia was a wake-up call for them, and they are concerned about tensions in Kosovo, Macedonia, Cyprus, and other tense parts of the region. They were eager to learn about the potential and techniques of conflict resolution."

Recent ICREST Trainings

On December 11-16, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Peacekeeping Institute, the Institute of Peace conducted its fourth annual seminar on "Managing Conflict in Complex Emergencies," which focused on post-settlement transition issues. Participants included 30 foreign affairs professionals representing the U.S. Departments of Defense and State, U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Information Agency, and a variety of international governmental and nongovernmental organizations, including United Nations (UN) headquarters staff. Program officer Lewis Rasmussen organized the event with program officer Jeffrey Helsing and Col. James McCallum of the Peacekeeping Institute. Institute of Peace board member Phyllis Oakley, assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research, was the keynote speaker.

On November 14-18, in cooperation with the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, the Institute led its third annual seminar on "Toward Conflict Resolution in Southeastern Europe," in Delphi, Greece. This session dealt with issues of mediation and the challenges of working with other actors in situations of conflict. Participants included 25 foreign affairs professionals from the region's ministries of defense and foreign affairs, as well as from such international organizations as NATO, the European Union, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, and from several national and international nongovernmental organizations. The training sessions emphasized developing negotiation and third-party mediation skills, with opportunities for participants to assume the roles of mediators and members of international organizations and nongovernmental organizations for the purpose of role-playing exercises. Rasmussen organized the program, in conjunction with Hentges, Aall, and senior fellow John Menzies, former U.S. ambassador to Bosnia.

On November 3-7, in cooperation with the Inter-American Defense College (IADC), Fort McNair Army Base, Washington, D.C., the Institute presented its fourth annual seminar, which focused on the importance of conflict resolution skills for building better civil-military relations. Participants in the training—organized by program officers Barbara Wien and Helsing—included 59 military officers from 18 Latin American countries, Canada, and the United States. The armed forces of most of the Latin American countries have been undergoing enormous changes since the 1980s and have shown a strong interest in new methods of resolving conflicts without resorting to force, particularly in the fields of mediation and negotiation. The training program placed a strong emphasis on hands-on interaction, including simulations, role-plays, and a mix of dialogues and plenary sessions with a broad range of mediators, international human rights lawyers, and peacekeeping officials.

While the Institute's conflict resolution training recognizes that each conflict has a life of its own, Aall notes, the ability to recognize patterns of escalation and de-escalation allows practitioners to consider different options for preventing, managing, or resolving conflict and to identify opportunities for moving a peace process forward.

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