Local Peace Committees (LPCs) are village-based bodies responsible for maintaining peace and social cohesion by seeking endogenous solutions and preventing potential threats (extremist movements, proliferation of dangerous messages, etc.). They contribute to early warning, conflict prevention and management, as well as the prevention of radicalization and violent extremism.
Alert, prevent and manage conflicts peacefully (search for consensual solutions), giving priority to the common interest over individual interests, with a view to restoring peace and quiet;
Maintain social cohesion through the search for endogenous solutions accepted by all.
Prerequisites for implementing the approach
Presence of reputable community leaders and socio-professional representatives in the village
Based on the palaver tree model, the CLP needs no formalization or administrative recognition to guarantee its effectiveness.
Implementation process
Inform local players (community leaders, religious and customary leaders) about the creation of conflict management committees and involve them in the process;
organize a meeting to designate representatives of social strata;
set up the CLP at a general meeting and
training CLP members in topics such as the culture of peace, early warning, conflict prevention and management, human rights, etc.
Stakeholders in the implementation
Endogenous animators, community leaders, trainers
Direct beneficiaries
The protagonists in a conflict, the socio-professional strata or communities in conflict
Indirect beneficiaries
The people of the village
Benefits
The endogenous solutions sought and adopted during conflict resolution by the CLPs are consensual, facilitating their application and guaranteeing the conflict resolution a certain durability.
The proposed solutions resolve the dispute while preserving the present and future relationships of the protagonists in the conflict;
As a monitoring and warning tool, the CLP helps prevent conflicts.
