Sida's work with peaceful and inclusive societies
War and violent conflict cause poverty and and make it more difficult to reduce poverty. Sida works for sustainable peace and human security by preventing armed conflict, addressing the causes of conflict, strengthening peacebuilding and social cohesion in communities that have experienced violent conflict.
Why do Sida work for peace and security?
Peacebuilding reduces poverty
Violent and armed conflict is one of the biggest obstacles to development. Three quarters of all people living in extreme poverty live in fragile, often conflict-affected areas and the number is expected to increase.1 Armed conflict causes enormous human suffering and economic losses.
Conflict prevention reduces hunger and famine disasters
Most hunger and famine disasters are linked to armed conflict. The number of people living in displacement has never been higher. In 2022, 35 million people were displaced, compared to 27 million the year before. This is mainly due to war and armed conflict.2 Conflict is also responsible for 80% of people’s humanitarian needs.3
A concerted effort to turn the tide in a peaceful direction
The number of armed conflicts in the world has reached record levels in recent years. The number of people killed in conflict and large-scale organised violence increased dramatically with Russia’s war of invasion against Ukraine and the war in Ethiopia in the same year (2022).4
Ukraine, Ethiopia, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Somalia, Mali, Myanmar, Syria, Israel and Palestine, Yemen and Azerbaijan are examples of armed conflicts in the world around us and the list goes on. A concerted effort is needed to turn things around in a more peaceful direction.
Examples of what Sida has contributed to
Implementation of peace agreement in Mozambique
Sida has supported the implementation of the peace agreement between the armed organisation and the government of Mozambique. The last military base was closed for good in June 2023. An important part of the work has been to disarm the organisation and to support former soldiers back into society.
Peaceful border trade reduces conflict
Sida is strengthening border trade between DR Congo and neighbouring Rwanda and Burundi. The project strengthens women’s economic empowerment and livelihoods and has led to fewer conflicts within families and between communities along the trade routes.
Environmental cooperation for peace between India and Pakistan
Sida supports cooperation on environmental issues between India and Pakistan. Environmental experts, business leaders and peace builders work together to solve environmental challenges such as air pollution and agricultural waste in India and Pakistan’s Punjab state and province. As well as benefiting the environment, the collaboration is helping to reduce tension in the fraught relationship between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan.
Sida's work for peaceful and inclusive societies
Sida’s work for peaceful and inclusive societies aims to reduce people’s vulnerability to armed violence. This is done by building peace, preventing violence and conflict, and maintaining peace. It reduces global poverty and creates better conditions for peaceful development.
Sida supports organisations in civil society and through the UN, both within countries and internationally, that work to build peace. Sida strengthens the rights, participation and influence of women and young people in peace processes. When the entire population – women, young people, persons with disabilities and minorities – participate in the peace process, it becomes better anchored and more sustainable. Sida also supports transitional justice, disarmament and the reintegration of people who have been involved in conflict.
Sida’s work on peace and security contributes to strengthening respect for international humanitarian law and thereby increases the protection of people affected by conflict. Mine clearance, training civilians on how to protect themselves from mines, and working against the uncontrolled spreading of small arms and light weapons are also included.
Conflict occurs in all societies and can be positive as long as it is managed in a constructive and peaceful way. Identifying the causes of conflict sometimes prevents it from turning into violence or escalating into war. Armed conflicts often have several interacting causes.
Preventing conflicts before they become violent reduces human suffering and costs significantly less than rebuilding devastated communities after an armed conflict. Here are some examples of projects Sida supports:
Sida supports International Alert, which works to prevent conflict and build peaceful communities in some 20 countries, including by identifying and resolving local conflicts over natural resources. Sida’s support to International Alert has contributed to bringing together key actors in Kenya and Mali to develop methods for sustainable water management to promote peace. Through the Water, Peace and Security Partnership (WPS), International Alert and other organisations have developed a global tool to anticipate water-related conflicts.
Through the Life and Peace Institute (LPI) in Somalia, Sida supports meeting and dialogue platforms that challenge local power structures. The project increases the inclusion of women and youth. LPI also works with local authorities to support peacebuilding processes.
The Puntland Development and Research Centre (PDRC) Peace and Reconciliation Programme reduced conflict in Puntland, Somaliland and Galmudug. The PDRC has also provided innovative digital tools to strengthen cross-border peacebuilding efforts.
In Myanmar, 40 percent of the population belongs to ethnic minorities, who are often discriminated against and denied access to basic social services.4
Sida supports organisations working to give people from ethnic groups a voice in political negotiations and in the development of a new constitution that will fairly distribute the extraction of natural resources in a future Myanmar.
Ethnic armed groups control large parts of the country. The organisations that Sida cooperates with work to influence the rulers in ethnically controlled areas in a more democratic direction. They also work to hold armed groups accountable for crimes that have been committed.
In Rakhine, Sida has contributed to the formation of peace committees in villages where people from different minorities live. By bringing people together to solve common challenges, bridges are built across religious and ethnic divides.
The organisation Mercy Corp works in crisis-affected areas of Mali to prevent the further spread of violence and seeks to mitigate conflicts peacefully. The programme includes land and natural resource management, income generation, conflict prevention and increased capacity to resolve conflicts. Through support to land commissions, Sida contributes to the resolution of land conflicts. The UN Trust Fund also implements peace-building projects in the agricultural sector.
For a peace process to lead to sustainable peace, all members of society must be involved in deciding how to rebuild society after a conflict. In many cases, however, women, young people and other marginalised groups do not have sufficient influence in peace processes, even though the decisions made concern their lives and future.
Sida supports projects that increase the participation of women, youth, people with disabilities and minorities in peace processes and peace negotiations. Here are some examples:
Through Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), MADRE and Kvinna till Kvinna, Sida strengthens the participation of young people and women in peace processes through global advocacy and locally through cooperation and support to local organisations and activists.
The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) is working with state actors and civil society to increase women’s participation in conflict prevention and peacebuilding. Civil society organisations provide expertise on psychosocial support to girls and women living as refugees in their own country. Preventing the recruitment of young people at risk into armed groups is another important part of the work.
Through its support for the civil society platform West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), Sida contributes to strengthening civil society’s ability to work for peace at the regional level. WANEP conducts advocacy work towards the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Through a special campaign, young people in Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea, Benin, Togo, Niger, Mali, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Sierra Leone and Liberia have been mobilised in peace groups. Among other things, they have made demands for quotas for young people in peace and state-building processes in the region to leaders of ECOWAS member states.
At the global level, Sida supports the youth-led United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY), which brings together more than 120 organisations from 65 countries to work together for the protection of young people and for their meaningful participation in decision-making and peace processes.
In Colombia, Sida’s support has helped young actors in the vulnerable areas along the coast of Santander de Quilichao and Buenaventura to have a closer dialogue with local decision-makers and to be more actively included in the region’s development plans.
Human security is a prerequisite for long-term peace and development. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and personal security. Human security is threatened by armed conflicts, poverty, environmental and climate-related crises, as well as economic crises and disease epidemics. Human security is part of the work for peaceful and inclusive societies and focuses on freedom from the fear of violence.
Sida supports projects that increase human security and protect civilians. These include projects that support the reintegration of children used as child soldiers by armed groups, and projects that increase people’s physical security, such as mine clearance. Here are some examples of projects Sida supports:
A serious problem during and after armed conflicts is that mines and other explosive devices remain in the ground and can injure and kill people long after the conflict has ended. Organisations such as the Danish Demining Group (part of the Danish Refugee Council) clear land of mines in many countries, including Ukraine. These organisations also educate the public on how to protect themselves from the risks of mines.
In Syria, the long conflict, economic crisis and food shortages have pushed millions of people into poverty. Sida supports the organisation Geneva Call, which works to get armed groups to commit to comply with international humanitarian law and change their conflict behaviour to protect civilians in north-western Syria, where large areas are controlled by the armed opposition and numerous conflicts between the groups often put civilians at deadly risk.
Through Sida’s support, four different armed groups have returned six school buildings that had been used as military bases for years. Now around 3,000 children aged 7-12 can attend school in the newly opened schools. The military bases have been relocated to remote parts of the region to reduce the risk of human casualties. Two armed groups have signed agreements pledging to protect children in conflict.
Through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Sida has contributed to the development of plans for disarmament, disarmament, and the resettlement and reintegration of people who have left armed groups. The support includes livelihoods for civilian life.
Through support to Peace Direct’s agricultural initiatives, young ex-combatants have been able to earn a living. The initiative has increased social cohesion and contributed to fewer young people joining armed groups.
Sida’s support to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has helped children who have been used as soldiers by armed forces and groups to reintegrate into society.
In areas of violent conflict, people’s rights are violated. Many lose relatives, friends, homes and the ability to earn a living or go to school. Even when a conflict is over, mistrust between people and groups can persist and destroy the bonds that hold communities together.
Sida helps victims obtain redress through transitional justice and seeks justice for missing persons, which is an important part of the process of reparation and reconciliation for survivors. Here are some examples of projects that Sida supports:
The civilian population in Colombia is severely affected by war and violence. Sida’s support has contributed to the conviction of several abuses during the conflict within the transitional justice system. Through Sida’s support to the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM), former FARC members have been included in the work of mapping and searching for missing persons. This increases the chances of finding missing people, which is an important part of reparation and reconciliation.
Sida supports peace and reconciliation by supporting transitional justice through our long-standing engagement with the International Criminal Court (ICC) Trust Fund for Victims. Both the number of cases linked to the ICC and the programme activities of the ICC Trust Fund for Victims have grown significantly over the past two years, allowing more victims to receive compensation as well as access to medical treatment, trauma counselling and psychosocial services, among others.
Sida’s assistance in this area goes to:
- strengthened capacity to prevent armed conflict
- peace and reconciliation
- peacebuilding, dialogue and inclusive peace processes
- human security and freedom from violence
- Statistics on people in fragile and vulnerable communities 2022 on OCED DAC website
- Famine and armed conflict statistics on the World Food Project (WFP) website
- World Democracy Report 2022 on the V-DEM Institute website
- Facts and statistics on freedom in the world on the website of the organisation Freedom House
- Research on the role of civil society in peace processes on Inclusive Peace website
- Statistics and facts on armed conflicts in the world on the Institute for Economics & Peace website
- Statistics on conflicts in the world on the Uppsala Conflict Data Programme website
- On sexual violence in conflicts 2022 on the Global Protection Cluster website
Updated: November 20, 2023