fbpx
Every dollar matched up to $50,000 until December 31! Give today.
Our SpeakUp® Mechanism
Nonviolent Peaceforce logo with blue dotDonate

Putting nonviolent boots on the ground

Date: January 18, 2013

Press Clip Source: Pelican Rapids Press
Written By: Louis Hoglund
Date: January 16, 2013
Read Original Article: Here

Global ‘Peaceforce’ organization co-founder spreads his time between Pelican, South Sudan, Sri Lanka and other spots on the globe.

 
            He has given presentations about peace and non-violence throughout the world; and his boots have been on the ground on some of the most troubled places on the globe– but his Jan. 8 appearances in Pelican Rapids were a cakewalk.
            Literally.  

            Peace activist Mel Duncan walked no more than a couple of friendly blocks from his home on the Pelican River, just west of downtown Pelican Rapids last week.  He delivered a Powerpoint presentation on the “Nonviolent Peaceforce” at the Pelican Public Library, and at the Pelican Area Rotary meeting earlier in the day.  He also spoke recently at the Uniterian Fellowship in Underwood.

More than 1.5 billion people live in nations that face repeated violence.  At least 75 percent of those victims are not soldiers, but civilians.
Political, religious and territorial disputes have brought Duncan and some 200 Nonviolent Peaceforce workers to South Sudan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, among other locations.  “This is a new way of dealing with violent conflicts in the world,” said Duncan, to a group of nearly 30 for his presentation at the library. “Our job is not to chose sides in the conflict. Our job is to protect civilians.”

Trained Peacekeepers are unarmed and act as third party mediators in localized conflicts, said Duncan, who is director of advocacy and outreach for the Nonviolent Peaceforce non-profit organization. “If you model non-violence, it brings it out in other people,” said Duncan, who is co-founder of the Nonviolent Peaceforce.

            An overarching strategy for Peacekeepers is to “enter the heart of the enemy,” said Duncan.

•They have brought rival chieftains to the bargaining table, resolving territorial disputes between cattle-grazing groups and crop-farmers in South Sudan.

•Peacekeepers have helped set up patrols, cell phone networks and worked with armed United Nations units to eliminate the rape of women in the Congo.

•Rival religious factions in Sri Lanka have been brought under control–largely due to intervention and negotiation with Peacekeepers. They have also nearly eliminated the abduction of young boys, to serve as soldiers.  Worldwide, there are an estimated 350,000 “child soldiers” who have been forced into combat.
         
•For journalists and other threatened individuals, they have served as unarmed “bodyguards” by accompanying them in high risk situations in Guatemala.
        
“It is important for us to be visible at a location.  It is up to us to communicate...and it is important for us not to take sides,” said Duncan, a lifelong activist and a stocky, former football player during his college days at Macalaster in the Twin Cities.  He and well-known Pelican Rapids community volunteer Joannie Ellison are both Macalaster graduates and longtime friends.

Mel and his wife Georgia have a home in Pelican, though for much of the year Mel is traveling to far-off locations. But the couple have been visible transplant-citizens when they are in town. Little do most Pelican area residents know that, living among them, is  an activist with a global resume and United Nations connections.     

A lifelong proponent on behalf of  “peace, justice and the environment,” Duncan has worked for reforms at the state and federal level and he also campaigned for the late Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone.

At a budget of $7 million, the Nonviolent Peaceforce operates on a shoestring–considering its global reach. Its head office is in Belgium, with the U.S. office in Minneapolis. “It’s a cost effective way to reduce violence.  It is much cheaper than sending in soldiers to keep the peace,” said Duncan, adding with a chuckle. “In this era of budget restraints, we’re the fiscal conservatives.”
Most of the organization’s funding comes from other non-profits, such as UNICEF, the United Nations, the European Union, and specific governments, such as Germany.  The Nonviolent Peaceforce has no substantial corporate donor at this time, but much of its funding depends on small, individual donors, said Duncan. Peacekeepers are salaried, though it is a relatively modest income–which is typically sent to a seperate account outside of the conflict area.  Stipends are paid for living expenses.

Much of Duncan’s time is spent at the United Nations, working for recognition of the organization and seeking funding. Russia, Saudi Arabia and the U.S., to name just a few, are “tripping over each other to sell arms” to rival factions around the world, said Duncan.  Yet, an organization dedicated to bringing peace has a difficult time raising money.

When asked how often he has been in potentially dangerous situations, Duncan said with a laugh, “I’m much more afraid of budget shortfalls...But yes, there have been a few times I have found myself memorizing prayers.”

Though it is hard to imagine that a handful of Peace Corps-style activists would have any impact on gun-wielding combatants, the Nonviolent Peaceforce has been effective for many reasons.  
 •Typically, half of the trained Peacekeepers are from the country in which the conflict is occurring, which is an asset because of their local connections and to overcome language barriers.
 •Women Peacekeepers are often the most effective in the field, said Duncan.
 •The organization often works with the United Nations to increase patrols locally, and advocate at the international level to negotiate a settlement.
 • “The power of presence” is the main focus of the peacekeepers.  If they are highly visible, they are effective in resolving conflict.

 •Generally, the perpetrators of the violence in countries like South Sudan are not acting alone.  They are following orders from tribal chiefs or higher authorities within the faction, said Duncan.  Nonviolent Peaceforce workers  put pressure on the decision makers who are higher on the chain of command.

 •Often, “those at the top are worried about their international image,” said Duncan. Because of this, those higher on the chain of command can be persuaded to halt violence.
 • “International Criminal Courts” have become more prominent globally, even in remote, violence-torn areas, said Duncan. The impact of international courts of law, such as war criminal actions in conflicts such as those in Serbia and Bosnia, are carrying more weight internationally.
 •Peacekeepers can and will serve as witnesses for international courts–which also gives the activists additional  leverage.
 •In nearly a decade of work in conflict zones, Peacekeepers have only sustained two injuries, said Duncan.
 •Peacekeepers are trained to follow a strict security protocol.  “They are not there to stop a bullet...that only works once,” said Duncan.  

The work of Peacekeepers never seems to end, and almost certainly won’t end during Duncan’s lifetime. The deck is always stacked against them.  Some of the most violent factions and leaders in the world–from Sudan to Sri Lanka–actually contract with the most powerful lobbying firms in America, according  to Duncan.
Those firms are, in effect, lobbying against peace–right in the halls of the U.S. Congress.

 

You can protect civilians who are living in or fleeing violent conflict. Your contribution will transform the world's response to conflict.
arrow-right