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Building peace in a context marked by war basically involves ending armed hostilities, safeguarding people’s security, bringing to justice those responsible for the most serious crimes, making reparations to the victims and rebuilding the social fabric with measures that encourage reconciliation and promote social coexistence without collective amnesia, exclusion or distrust. It also involves creating conditions that allow for the transformation of those structural factors that provoked the conflict and degenerated into violence and armed confrontation.

Although there is no single approach, the peace processes of the last thirty years have provided valuable experiences and knowledge that have been systematized to identify good practices, outstanding challenges, threats, errors and opportunities.

This accumulated knowledge is essentially based on transitions to peace after armed conflict. However, statistics show that for some years now the number of violent deaths in situations “outside the context of war” has globally exceeded the number of deaths in armed conflicts. Latin American cities and territories occupy the most alarming positions in international homicide rankings.

These situations of violence in non-war settings have mostly been dealt with from the logic of security, with a conceptualization of security that is closer to “securitization” than to human security. Faced with this reality, we find ourselves in dire need of visions, instruments, methodologies and a culture of peace that will facilitate truly transformative processes to ensure that people can live dignified lives in cohesive societies.

With the aim of contributing to further reflections on the necessary conditions for peacebuilding in contexts of chronic violence, ICIP has organized a seminar series entitled “Latin America: Tackling violence through peacebuilding.”

The series will begin on Thursday 4 March with an opening lecture by John Paul Lederach, researcher at Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, and will feature seven sessions that will address security policies, dialogue, mediation with violent actors, mechanisms of truth, justice and restoration, and nonviolent social and resistance movements in the face of violence.

The debates will count with the participation of experts as Jenny Pearce, Mariano Aguirre, Geoff Thale, Lucía Dammert, Miguel Garza, Gláucia Foley, Marisol Ramírez Sánchez, Raul Calvo Soler, Achim Wennmann, Angélica Durán, Falko Ernst, Guillermo Trejo María Camila Moreno, Esperanza Hernández, Sabine Kurtenbach, Verónica Zubillaga, Luis Jorge Garay and Robert Muggah.

The series will be streamed on the ICIP YouTube channel.  The sessions will take place on 6 -13 March, 13 -27 April, 11 – 25 May, and 7 June, from 6-7:30 PM (CET).

This activity is part of the “Violence in non-war settings” area of work.

ICIP has published on February a new issue of Peace in Progress e-magazine “Redirecting security from Feminism” with the aim of  highlight the contributions of feminism to the definition of a new security model.

This monograph includes seven articles in depth by Nora Miralles, journalist and researcher at Centre Delàs d’Estudis per la Pau; Marissa Conway, cofounder of the Center for Feminist Foreign Policy; Ana Velasco, feminist security analist and member of Women in International Security (WIIS); Swati Parashar, Associate Professor in Peace and Development Research at the School of Global Studies, Gothenburg University; Carme Colomina, journalist and researcher at CIDOB; Pinar Bilgin, Professor of International Relations at Bilkent University; and Shamin Meer, feminist activist, researcher and writer. This last articles is collectively written with WoMin.

The magazine also includes an interview with philosopher and feminist activist Judith Butler, who focuses on security, freedom and nonviolence, and on the increasing vulnerability in the pandemic world. Lastly, this monograph includes a series of recommendations of books, papers, projects and references to online seminars that aim to increase knowledge and contribute to the debate on feminist security.

Online discussion

The ICIP has organized an online discussion with five of the authors to present the monograph publically. The session is avaliable in English in the ICIP YouTube channel.

From this webinar the ICIP has published a graphic summary with the main analysis and messages.

These materials and analysis are part of the ICIP field of work “Alternatives of security” which has the goal to build an alternative discourse to the prevailing conception of security by disseminating the strategies and tools that feminism and nonviolence provide to address conflict. In particular, ICIP seeks to rethink security from a human and environmental perspective.

ICIP has opened a public call for the production of a series of podcasts (minimum five episodes) that will contribute to disseminate and draw attention to the gender perspective of the Colombian exile in Europe, focusing on the impact of exile on women and their processes of resistance and transformation.

The project is part of the work that ICIP carries out as Technical Secretariat of the Colombian Truth Commission in Europe, in which one of the functions is to accompany the work of the Commission’s Internodal Gender Group.

With the conviction that the truth of the Colombian conflict cannot be complete without the contribution of women, this group meets to work on impacts and resistances on exiled women; to characterize specific problems of exile and migration; to promote training, artistic and advocacy activities as well as activities related to the construction of memory of exile; to support and design events of recognition; and to draw attention to the work of women at a personal, organizational and political level.

The call is open until Monday, 5 April 2021. Those interested in participating should send their proposals to splana@icip.cat with “Elaboration of podcasts on gender and exile” in the subject line.

The production and broadcast of the podcasts will take place between the months of April and June 2021.

The ICIP Board of Governors has decided to grant the ICIP Peace in Progress Award 2020 to the activist for human rights, peace and security in the Democratic Republic of Congo Julienne Lusenge, for her work on the “prevention and reduction of sexual and gender-based violence, and the strengthening women’s participation in peacebuilding” in the African country.

Lusenge is founder and currently president of the organization SOFEPADI (Female Solidarity for Integrated Peace and Development), which provides integral attention to victims of sexual and gender-based violence, and she is executive director of Fund for Congolese Women, which offers financial and technical support for the empowerment of Congolese women and girls to become agents of change within their families and their communities. She is also founder of hospital Karibuni Wa Mama, in Bunia, which provides holistic services to sexual violence survivors and their children, having served over 7,000 survivors to date.

Originally from eastern Congo – a region devastated by war started in 1998 and by atrocities committed by armed groups against local communities and, in particular, against women and girls- Lusenge has experienced this violence herself and has emerged as a voice to denounce injustices and support the victims. From the organizations where she works, Lusenge has pushed the Congolese government and the international community to act against sexual violence and to put women at the centre of peace and security processes and foster the political rights of women and girls. She has advocated for the adoption of Resolutions 1820 and 1325 on women rights at the UN Security Council and for the creation of the Special Relator to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Due to her activism and leadership she has been repeatedly threatened by former members of armed groups and she has been forced to relocate several times.

ICIP Peace in Progress Award
The ICIP Peace in Progress Award consists of public recognition, a sculpture created by the Nobel Peace Prize winner, artist and activist, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, called Porta del sol, and 6,000 euros.

In previous editions, the award was granted to the Mexican organization Cauce Ciudadano (2018), the activist Arcadi Oliveres (2017), Peace Brigades International (2016), the Capuchin friar Joan Botam (2015), WILPF (2014), the ex-general Jovan Divjak (2013), Madres de Soacha (2012), and the struggle of conscientious objectors and “insubmisos” (people who refuse to do military service or any substitute social work) represented by Pepe Beúnza (2011). The same year, 2011, in an extraordinary edition of the award, the Parliament of Catalonia was honored for representing the continuity and legacy of the institutions “Pau i Treva” and “Consolat de Mar.”

The ICIP Peace in Progress Award recognises the activist for human rights, peace and security in the Democratic Republic of Congo Julienne Lusenge, for her work on the “prevention and reduction of sexual and gender-based violence, and the strengthening women’s participation in peacebuilding” in the African country.

Lusenge is founder and currently president of the organization SOFEPADI (Female Solidarity for Integrated Peace and Development), which provides integral attention to victims of sexual and gender-based violence, and she is executive director of Fund for Congolese Women, which offers financial and technical support for the empowerment of Congolese women and girls to become agents of change within their families and their communities. She is also founder of hospital Karibuni Wa Mama, in Bunia, which provides holistic services to sexual violence survivors and their children, having served over 7,000 survivors to date.

Originally from eastern Congo – a region devastated by war started in 1998 and by atrocities committed by armed groups against local communities and, in particular, against women and girls- Lusenge has experienced this violence herself and has emerged as a voice to denounce injustices and support the victims. From the organizations where she works, Lusenge has pushed the Congolese government and the international community to act against sexual violence and to put women at the centre of peace and security processes and foster the political rights of women and girls. She has advocated for the adoption of Resolutions 1820 and 1325 on women rights at the UN Security Council and for the creation of the Special Relator to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Due to her activism and leadership she has been repeatedly threatened by former members of armed groups and she has been forced to relocate several times.

The ICIP ceremony award took place on Monday 20 September 2021 at the Parliament of Catalonia.

The ICIP has presented the “Coexistence and polarization in Catalonia” ICIP 2020 Survey at a press conference given by ICIP director Kristian Herbolzheimer. The poll, coordinated by political scientist Berta Barbet, was conducted in July based on 2,010 online interviews, with the aim of assessing the perception of coexistence in Catalonia and the dynamics of polarization, accentuated by the current territorial conflict.

This is the first survey conducted in Catalonia that analyzes the emotional polarization of its citizens. The sample was segmented by sex (1,019 men and 991 women), age and geographical location.

The results of the survey show that the majority of the population values the level of coexistence in Catalonia positively. Specifically, 67 % consider coexistence in Catalonia to be good or very good, with an average score of 7.1 points on a scale of 10. This percentage increases to 76% when coexistence applies to the immediate surroundings (municipality or neighborhood), with an average score of 7.5 points. The levels of social trust are also positive, since the degree of trust of the Catalan population in the rest of the population (5.9) is higher than the levels in Spain as a whole (5.6) and the European average (5.5).

Ideological and emotional polarization
The survey analyzes the situation of ideological polarization in Catalonia based on various issues. The results indicate that the territorial conflict is currently the issue that generates the most polarization. Of the people surveyed, 44% fall into the two most extreme positions, while 17% are in an intermediate position; thus, there are three main blocks. This is not the situation perceived with respect to other topics dealt with: the economy, response to Covid-19, feminism, language use, social class and immigration.

The survey also indicates the perception that political parties and the media are much more polarized than society itself. Specifically, 43% of respondents believe that political parties are highly polarized, while only 11% believe that society in general is highly polarized.

In the case of the territorial conflict, it is the only issue in which ideological polarization has a certain impact on emotional polarization, linked to those people who feel that their way of life or their culture is threatened. Nevertheless, radicalism in political positioning does not translate into more negative emotions towards those who think differently.

Regarding emotions that are felt for people who think differently, respect is the most widely shared emotion among respondents, followed by impotence. At the same time, 26% say they don’t feel empathy or trust for those who think differently.

Regarding perceptions of aggression, 16% of respondents have felt attacked from within their circle of friends, 13% at work and 10% in their family environment. This perception of aggression increases in non-direct relationship spaces: it goes up to 22% on social media, while 46% say they have felt attacked by institutions.

There is also a widespread perception that the Catalan and Spanish governments have made mistakes which have hindered, rather than facilitated, a possible solution to the territorial dispute.

Perspectives of social and political dialogue
The survey also assesses the population’s preferences for possible solutions to the territorial conflict. Seventy-nine percent of the citizenry are in favor of political dialogue and 50% believe that this dialogue should not be limited to the framework of the Spanish Constitution. Despite this predisposition, the survey finds that a third of the respondents are skeptical about the outcome of this dialogue.

In terms of social dialogue options, friends (67%) and family (65%) are the most conducive environments for dialogue, ahead of the work environment (42%), neighbors (37%) and social media (24%).

ICIP proposals
Given the results of the “Coexistence and polarization in Catalonia” survey, ICIP concludes that we cannot talk about a social divide in Catalonia in the sense of two communities that do not interact, since the position on the territorial conflict does not correspond to the position on the other issues dealt with. However, there are a significant number of people who have felt attacked, especially by institutions, or who feel that their way of life or their culture is threatened with regards to the territorial conflict. In this context, ICIP proposes the following:

-The people leading the political confrontation have the responsibility to articulate discourses and make conciliatory gestures that help us overcome our differences and live together in harmony.
-The inability of institutions to resolve the territorial conflict suggests there should be greater involvement of civil society actors to seek inclusive and creative ways out of the impasse of territorial conflict.
-We must pay attention to emotional wounds because they affect many individuals and, as a result, society as a whole. We must learn to overcome our differences and live together, and to pay attention to our emotions in order to deal with them with CARES: Curiosity about different opinions; And Respect for people, regardless of their opinions; plus Self-criticism, because no one has the absolute truth.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2020 to the humanitarian organization World Food Programme (WFP), of the United Nations, for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for preventing the use of hunger as a weapon of war.

It is a valuable recognition that places the fight against hunger on the international agenda, a key issue, as the lack of access to food remains today one of the scourges of humanity, affecting millions of people. It is important to remember that there is hunger in the world, not because of a lack of food, but because its production and distribution is not guaranteed for the entire population.

This award also reminds us of the dangerous link that exists between wars and famine: armed conflict causes hunger, while hunger causes armed conflict. The current internationalization of conflicts, for example in Afghanistan, Yemen or Libya, has resulted in an increase in the responsibility of countries that support the parties in conflict for generating hunger, and the consequences that this has for millions of people.

Finally, the Nobel Peace Prize 2020 is also a tribute to multilateralism at a time when international solidarity and mutual support are in crisis, and when the COVID-19 pandemic has become a global challenge.

ICIP, within the framework of its “Memory, coexistence and reconciliation” line of action, aims to address the experiences, tools and opportunities for building peace in societies undergoing transition. The program focuses on the study of the processes of reconciliation and reconstruction of the social fabric; the processes of political, economic, and social transition from a peace perspective; transitional justice tools; public policies and social initiatives that promote coexistence and memory; and the analysis of the rights and needs of victims.

Specifically, the voice and role of the diasporas as active agents in peacebuilding projects can be a key element in conflict transformation and reconciliation processes in their countries of origin. Thus, the participation of the diaspora in post-conflict settings, through their experiences and narratives, can prove to be a fundamental element for transitional justice processes, for guaranteeing the effective implementation of peace agreements, and for social transformation through a culture of peace.

In this regard, ICIP has a long history of supporting the Colombian diaspora in Catalonia and Europe, and currently acts as Technical Secretariat in Europe of the Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence and Non-Recurrence of Colombia. In this capacity, the Institute provides methodological support to the process of taking testimony, coordinates working groups in various European countries, and promotes actions in recognition of the victims.

ICIP intends to boost the line of action described above and continue exploring the role of diasporas in processes of peace and memory, and in the design of strategies that contribute to coexistence and reconciliation. The fundamental objective is to continue fostering theoretical and practical reflection with the aim of supporting the exchange of various experiences and methodologies among different diasporas, focusing particularly on the role of women.

With this aim the ICIP opens a call for the production of a report on the potential of diasporas in the field of memory building, dialogue and reconciliation. the general objective is to summarize existing information through a bibliographic review, from various sources, in order to gauge the state of the art and identify the conceptual contributions regarding the role of diasporas in memory building and in processes of dialogue and reconciliation, and to identify actors with experience in this field.

The deadline for submiting proposals is 9th October 2020. Proposals should be sent to the attention of Maria Fanlo (mfanlo.icip@gencat.cat), with “Report on Diasporas, Memory and Reconciliation in Europe” in the subject
The proposal that obtains the best assessment will be awarded the contract, without prejudice to the fact that ICIP may cancel the recruitment if none of the bids presented meets the minimum quality requirements.

Barcelona, 21 September 2020.- The ICIP Peace in Progress Award ceremony took place in the Parliament of Catalonia this afternoon, coinciding with the International Day for Peace. The International Catalan Institute for Peace (ICIP) presented the ICIP Peace in Progress Award 2019 to the Coalition of Families of the Disappeared in Algeria (CFDA) “for their determination and courage in denouncing enforced disappearances in Algeria, the fight against impunity and their contribution towards the establishment of a peaceful transition in the country.” The organization was founded in 1998 by a group of mothers of disappeared persons in order to raise national and international awareness regarding the cases of enforced disappearance that took place during the civil war that ravaged this North African country in the 1990s.

ICIP president Xavier Masllorens opened the ceremony, which was presided over by the president of Parliament, Roger Torrent. The ICIP president recalled that this was the first time that the ICIP Peace in Progress Award traveled to the southern shore of the Mediterranean, which he described as an “act of justice in which a European peace institution supports the struggle for truth and justice of a social organization from one of the Arab countries of the Maghreb.”

During the ceremony, a video about the award-winning organization was screened and the president of the Institute for Human Rights of Catalonia, David Bondia, read an account of the organization, recalling its principles of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence. Bondia defended memory as an essential step in clarifying the truth. “We need a memory that is not conducive to oblivion, that guarantees a genuine place in history for the thousands of victims of state terrorism and their families.”

He also underlined that the ICIP Award “should serve the purpose of paying tribute to the invisible victims of the Algerian state; it should serve the purpose of making them visible to national societies and to international civil society.”

In her speech, the founder of the award-winning organization, Nassera Dutour, defended the fight against impunity and in favor of freedom of expression of thousands of Algerian families who were victims of enforced disappearances; ultimately, she defended the rule of law because “without democracy there can be no truth.” Dutour described the case of her son Amine, who disappeared in 1997 when he was 21 under circumstances which have never been clarified: “We live between hope and despair,” she acknowledged.

At the closing of the event, the president of Parliament, Roger Torrent, praised “the brave and necessary work” of the Coalition of Families of the Disappeared in Algeria and highlighted the “historic and constant” commitment of Parliament and Catalan citizenry with peace, on the day marking 40 years since its restitution following the Franco dictatorship. In their speeches, the president of Parliament and the president of ICIP paid tribute to the political leaders in prison and in exile, especially to Carme Forcadell and Raül Romeva who, three years ago, presided over the ICIP Peace in Progress Award 2016 ceremony.

ICIP Peace in Progress Award
The ICIP Peace in Progress Award consists of public recognition, a sculpture created by the Nobel Peace Prize winner, artist and activist, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, called Porta del sol, and 6,000 euros.

In previous editions, the award was granted to the Mexican organization Cauce Ciudadano (2018), the activist Arcadi Oliveres (2017), Peace Brigades International (2016), the Capuchin friar Joan Botam (2015), WILPF (2014), the ex-general Jovan Divjak (2013), Madres de Soacha (2012), and the struggle of conscientious objectors and “insubmisos” (people who refuse to do military service or any substitute social work) represented by Pepe Beúnza (2011). The same year, 2011, in an extraordinary edition of the award, the Parliament of Catalonia was honored for representing the continuity and legacy of the institutions “Pau i Treva” and “Consolat de Mar.”

Due to the pandemic crisis of Covid, the ICIP Library is closed to the public but it allows users to return and borrow books on set appointments. To schedule an appointment please contact us by email at biblioteca.icip@gencat.cat.

The Library has 9.000 volumes on peace culture, nonviolence, security and conflict analysis. It supports ICIP and researchers and experts in the field of peace, and is in permanent contact with similar centers and institutions from around the world. It is part of the network of specialized libraries of the Generalitat and is included in the University Union Catalogue of Catalonia (CCUC).

In the meantime, we invite you to browse the Library catalogue online and the latest acquisitions.

The Library will be closed from July 31st until September 14th, so book loan service will not be available – even on set appointments. All loans will be automatically extended until this same date, sept 14th.

The COVID-19 pandemic crisis forced the Library to close last March. Reopening is scheduled to take place next September as long as the public health measures allow for it to happen.

In the meantime, we invite you to browse the Library catalogue online and the latest acquisitions. The Library has over 9000 volumes on peace culture, nonviolence, security and conflict analysis. The Library supports ICIP and researchers and experts in the field of peace, and is in permanent contact with similar centers and institutions from around the world. It is part of the network of specialized libraries of the Generalitat and is included in the University Union Catalogue of Catalonia.

ICIP would like to underscore the commitment to peace of the commissioners of the Truth Commission of Colombia, and of its president, Francisco de Roux, in the face of discrediting remarks made by the former Defense Minister, Juan Carlos Pinzón Bueno.

The Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence and Non-Repetition of Colombia was established under the Peace Agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC as a mechanism to shed light on the events that took place in the context of the armed conflict, contribute to the clarification of the violations committed during this dark period, and offer a comprehensive explanation of the complexity of the conflict to the whole of society.

ICIP, in its role as Technical Secretariat of the Commission in Europe, collaborates with the principles of truth, justice, reparation and non-repetition, and underlines the commitment of the Commission and its members to peace and coexistence in Colombia. In addition, it recognizes the importance of transitional justice proceedings in order to achieve a stable and sustainable peace in the country.