Photo credit: REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah
Saferworld's annual review 2019–20
We believe in a world where everyone can lead peaceful, fulfilling lives, free from fear and insecurity.
Our 2019–20 annual review shares highlights from some of our work including how we are working to build equal partnerships; bringing power closer to marginalised communities in Nepal; helping young people make their voices heard in Kyrgyzstan; and supporting COVID-19 responses in countries affected by conflict.
Download our annual review
Paul Murphy
Executive Director
The pandemic is making the harsh realities of our world more visible but it’s also highlighting the exceptional work of activists and people committed to change. It is because of our partners’ extraordinary work that we’ve chosen to shine a light on our partnerships throughout this annual review. I hope you also find our partners’ stories inspiring.
Read more
A message from...
Stephanie Blair
Chair of the Board
This report illustrates the difference Saferworld makes – not only in our achievements of the last year where we’ve faced unprecedented challenges, but also in contributing to longer-term peacebuilding. I am so proud of the incredible impact of our remarkable organisation, and I salute the tireless efforts of Saferworld’s devoted staff and partners to transform the future.
Read more
Building equal partnerships
We believe that people and communities in conflict-affected countries should lead long-term efforts for structural change and lasting peace. Over the last year we worked with over 60 civil society partners in conflict-affected contexts, and with a wider number of national activists, networks and coalitions. Our legitimacy and ability to engage in conflict-affected situations depends upon working in partnership. In the current environment support for partners – political and financial – is more important than ever.
In February 2020, we published a research report, commissioned by Save the Children Sweden: Turning the tables: Insights from locally led humanitarian partnerships in conflict situations. The report – which presents learning from several successful partnership models for locally led crisis response from Myanmar, Syria and Uganda – demonstrates that locally led responses to crisis are not only necessary, but that they can also be more sensitive to conflict dynamics and more attuned to opportunities for building peace and social cohesion.
“We benefitted a lot from this fund to build and coordinate community incentive groups to implement together, to solve issues and threats in our societies and build a link between the communities and related governments offices.” Noman Abdullah Saif Hakami, Chair of Youth Organization for Development & Democracy, Taiz, Yemen.
In January 2020, we rolled out Saferworld’s Yemen Civil Society Solidarity Fund. Through this fund, we provided ten Yemeni civil society organisations with small grants of up to USD$45,000 each to run projects that they believe are a priority for their communities; and to strengthen their own organisations. These small grants are designed to support peacebuilding projects, enhance organisational capacities by renovating office spaces and purchasing equipment, and support Yemeni civil society organisations’ running costs towards becoming more financially sustainable. Through the process of grants and providing training and mentoring, Saferworld is supporting locally led initiatives in a way that is most appropriate for them and helps Yemen’s path to peace to be Yemeni-owned.
Working with partners around the world in 2019–20: highlights
"Through project activities, local and sub-national authorities and security and justice actors have begun to see the value of working collaboratively and are seeking the support of communities to carry out the security, justice and governance services."
Saw Albert, Field Director of Saferworld’s partner Karen Human Rights Group, Myanmar.
South and South East Asia highlights
Bringing power closer to marginalised communities in Nepal
For ten years, Saferworld has worked in Nepal alongside communities and organisations such as women’s groups, young people’s groups, and peacebuilding organisations, to improve public participation in governance. Here we meet women’s rights activists who are leading on change in their communities.
Since Nepal’s decade-long conflict officially ended over ten years ago, the country has so far avoided falling back into violence. However, the rights of people from marginalised ethnic, religious and gender minority groups – including Dalit, Tharu, Madhesi and Muslim communities – continue to be violated. Women in particular face high levels of gender-based violence, exclusionary patriarchal norms, and harmful social practices including child marriage.
Basundhara Gaire is a women’s rights activist and a member of a Saferworld-supported group that works to address concerns raised by her community in the Mahagadhimai municipality of Bara district in Province 2: “To empower women, first they need to be self-dependent. When they are fully educated, they realise that they can face their problems on their own. To fully empower women, education is a must.”
“To empower women, first they need to be self-dependent. When they are fully educated, they realise that they can face their problems on their own. To fully empower women, education is a must.” Basundhara Gaire
Women from Madhesi, Dalit and other poorer communities suffer significant inequality in access to health services and endure higher neonatal and infant mortality rates. Basundhara travels daily to reach Dalit women and women of other minority groups. She provides vital services, such as postnatal care and one-to-one support on financial management and independence.
“I try to reach each and every family in my village, especially those with pregnant women or young nursing mothers,” explains Basundhara. “I teach the mothers about child nutrition and health, and how they can better take care of themselves and their children. I also inform them about the vaccinations available at public health posts, and I share community health-related information with the local municipal and ward offices.”
Improving access to vital services
Nila Ram is a Dalit community activist and member of a Saferworld-supported community group. “Dalits are marginalised politically, financially, socially and educationally,” says Nila. “Dalit representatives are seldom invited to any programmes or meetings. They must be allowed to speak up and their voices must be respected. If they are treated equally, I believe it will be easier for local governance to work.”
For people from marginalised groups, it’s not just having their voices heard that’s important – vital access to services also makes daily life safer. For example, marginalised communities often face life-threatening unsanitary conditions with poor sewage systems, as Mina – a woman who lives in Birgunj’s Chhapkaiya settlement – explains: “There is no drainage system...If there is heavy rain or too much water in the drain, it overflows and floods the street and even enters our home.” Another woman, Fulihari, says: “Other settlements do not have problems like ours. This problem only exists in Dalit settlements.”
Future work for long-term peace in Nepal
While the introduction of a quota system at the 2017 elections significantly increased the number of elected representatives from marginalised ethnic, religious and gender groups, they still lack power in decision-making. Saferworld’s work moves beyond increasing the number of representatives to meaningful participation. We also support their leadership, so that representatives can challenge existing power dynamics and remain resilient even during crises.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, community groups and NGOs are essential in building community resilience and responding to crises. Government responses need the support that civil society can offer in mobilising and informing communities, not only to prevent the escalation of crises, but also to avert longer-term risks to stability and security.
“Because they didn’t know their rights”: Helping young people make their voices heard in Kyrgyzstan
With support and training from Saferworld, youth committees brought young people from different ethnic groups together and advocated for their rights in the Bazar Korgon region – an important initiative in an area that was affected by inter-ethnic violence in 2010. Saferworld spoke to 20-year-old Odina Mamadalieva about her work.
Odina Mamadalieva has wanted to participate in social movements since she was a child, but her parents wouldn’t allow it. “They argued that I’m a girl, and I was little,” she says. Odina has come a long way since then, and is now working for the Bazar Korgon district administrations. She recently participated in a youth camp organised by Saferworld, joining a diverse group of young women and men in Osh to learn more about tolerance and democratic values, as well as to take part in training, simulations and debates.
When the camp participants split into groups to discuss issues relevant to their specific regions, Odina was chosen as the facilitator for Bazar Korgon. After the camp, using the skills gained there and drawing on her contacts from her work in the local government, Odina continued to mobilise young women and men in her district to raise their security concerns. She now feels more confident in voicing her opinions and ideas: “I began to have faith in my local government. Before I thought that if I say something, [the government] will just pretend to listen or won’t listen at all. And I have faith in other young people now. When I went to the camp in Osh for the first time, I didn’t know any of the other members of our group [in Bazar Korgon]. I thought there were no other young people like me at all.”
Odina and her group succeeded in forming an official youth committee in Bazar Korgon and they established a permanent office to work from. They were also able to secure 400,000 Som (around £4,400) in funding from the government to support their initiatives, including sports and cultural events. These activities brought young people together across ethnic and religious lines. For a community that was directly affected by violence in 2010 and where tensions between Kyrgyz and Uzbek ethnic groups remain high, this was an important step towards long-lasting peace.
Knowledge is key: understanding rights on labour migration
As part of the youth committee initiative, Odina researched an important issue facing young people in Bazar Korgon: labour migration. She looked at the dangers facing migrants, and the underlying causes of why so many young people from her community are leaving to work on construction sites in Russia, often without finishing school.
Odina found that in some cases, young migrants – including her classmates – had suffered permanent injuries in workplace accidents or worked long hours in dangerous conditions, only to be cheated out of their pay “because they didn’t know their rights”. She and her group raised this concern with the government, effectively advocating for more support to young people wishing to migrate: “In March [2020], we raised this question at the regional level [in Jalal-Abad province]. We took part in a roundtable, and it included the governor, the deputy head for migration for the region, and specialists and sotspedagogy [social educators] from each district...We learnt that this problem isn’t just in Bazar Korgon district, but in the whole region. As a result of the roundtable, counsellors for migrants were funded…This had existed before but had been removed in budget cuts. It’s important that, before they [migrate], people can receive effective consultation about their rights and responsibilities, about who they can turn to if they find themselves in a difficult situation.”
Adapting the global COVID-19 response in countries affected by conflict: South Sudan
Civil society organisations are at the heart of responses to COVID-19 around the world. Here, our partners in South Sudan explain how they are handling the pandemic and how they are continuing to work with communities for peace. “There is a common question being asked around the streets: ‘Is it better to die of hunger or to die of COVID-19?’” says David Achiek, Programme Coordinator for Church and Development (C&D) in the town of Bor, South Sudan.
Despite the relaxation of preventive measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 in South Sudan, many people are still unable to make a living due to fear of contracting the virus. People are having to make a choice between risking infection to put food on the table, or staying at home and going hungry.
Food prices have risen dramatically, as the closure of borders with neighbouring countries has affected the supply of goods into South Sudan. “We need to support people with food while they’re in their houses,” says David. “We need to support them to work for themselves, like helping them produce their own food while in lockdown.”
Community outreach
C&D is one of many civil society organisations in South Sudan playing a critical role in responding
to COVID-19. One initiative it supports is ‘Coronavirus Response Bor’, a community awareness-raising project led by young volunteers. Through door-to-door outreach, radio talk shows and public speaker systems, the group raises awareness of the dangers of COVID-19, its symptoms and how to reduce the risk of infection.
“COVID-19 is something we have to live with, and we must use all of our efforts together to understand it and make sure the communities we live in also understand it,” explains David. With misinformation about COVID-19 rife in South Sudan, challenging myths is essential to help halt the increase in cases. From public speaker systems to posters, most of the messages about the pandemic from the South Sudanese government and the World Health Organization are passed on to communities in English, rather than in Arabic or local languages – meaning that many people are missing out on vital information. Our partner in Juba, the Organization for Children’s Harmony (TOCH), is filling this critical gap in areas including Kuajok, Warrap State, and Rumbek, Lakes State – by communicating important messages in the languages people actually understand.
“When we did our radio programme, communities were able to call back and ask questions or give comments,” explains Laker Joyce Patra, Head of Programmes at TOCH. “Many were saying that was the first radio show organised in their local language and were asking us to let these messages reach other communities who do not have access to radios.”
A double threat
In countries affected by conflict like South Sudan, people are not only facing COVID-19 but also the threat of violence – both within and between communities. These dual dangers are perpetuating an ongoing cycle of suffering. South Sudanese civil society organisations, such as TOCH and C&D, have years of experience and expertise in responding effectively to crises, but due to measures to restrict movement to slow the spread of COVID-19, they are prevented from accessing areas that are experiencing violent conflicts. “As we fight COVID-19, we also need to support communities to help them live a good life, harmoniously,” says David.
Conflict also affects access to information. Community and door-to-door outreach becomes much more dangerous for staff, volunteers and community members. “In the event of conflict in an area, it means that the area becomes inaccessible – so information would only be linked to the media which is the radio,” says Laker. “If there is peace, there will be increased access to information on COVID-19.”
Global policy and advocacy highlights
We have a track record of challenging policymakers through advocacy and amplifying the voices of those affected by conflict. We work in collaboration with local and national organisations to try and effect change at regional and global levels. Read more below about our work:
Saferworld recognises how the easy availability of arms can fuel, prolong and intensify conflict, with devastating consequences for people’s lives. We work to strengthen national, regional and international controls on the global transfer of arms.
In 2019–20 we continued to provide technical expertise to partners, governments, parliaments, civil society organisations and businesses to expose and challenge irresponsible arms transfers. We co-chaired the international NGO coalition Control Arms during its restructure; and we’re increasingly working with lawyers on litigation related to government decision-making on arms. We provided technical support to the legal challenge in respect of UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia. In June 2019, the Court of Appeal found the UK government was acting unlawfully and irrationally in issuing licences for arms exports to Saudi Arabia without taking proper account of the risk that they could be used in breach of international law in Yemen.
Other highlights included our work around the review of the EU Common Position on arms exports, with some of our recommendations being picked up by member states. We will continue to work with the more progressive EU members for more robust arms export control. We also launched a resource manual on Strategic trade control outreach and industry compliance and used this as a basis for training almost 40 freight forwarders in Malaysia on strategic trade control – a new joint venture for the arms and China programmes.
COVID-19 has put some upcoming projects on hold, but we are looking forward to working with the Government of Lebanon to conduct an Arms Trade Treaty capacity assessment. We also plan to hold the next Arms Trade Treaty Expert Group meeting in Kenya to build support for the treaty in East Africa.
We continue to work with partner organisations through our country programmes and globally to ensure our work on gender, peace and security is embedded in our policy and advocacy, communications, research and programmes, as well as in our internal policies and procedures.
This year, building on our Gender analysis of conflict toolkit, we developed a participatory gender-sensitive conflict analysis methodology with partners. Our teams in South Sudan, Somalia, Uganda, Bangladesh, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan piloted this methodology, using their findings to strengthen their programmes from a gender-transformative lens. In Bangladesh, Myanmar, Uganda, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, we conducted training on gender-related issues including gender norms and roles, and gender-based violence.
In 2020, we published a report highlighting the gendered drivers and impacts of conflict for displaced South Sudanese refugees and host communities in northern Uganda. We also conducted research on access to justice for women and girls in Bangladesh.
On an advocacy level, we continued to work through networks in the UK, the EU and the US to influence policy and practice relating to women, peace and security. In the UK, and in partnership with Gender Action for Peace and Security (a network of development, human rights, humanitarian and peacebuilding NGOs), we substantially contributed to policy papers and shadow reports including: the UK National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security; COVID-19 and Gender Equality, Global Peace and Security; and Turning Women, Peace and Security Commitments into Action.
Global responses to violence and conflict remain heavily invested in military, technical, financial and diplomatic ‘security’ initiatives that often end up worsening and perpetuating the very conflicts they are supposed to stop or prevent. Decisions about these initiatives are made without consulting the people they affect or those working to promote peace and rights. Saferworld’s work on peacebuilding responses is pushing back on these approaches, amplifying the voices of those most affected by conflict, and promoting alternatives that support peace and human rights.
In 2019–20, through an increased dedication to strengthening partnerships, we co-founded the Security Policy Alternatives Network (SPAN) – a network of over 50 civil society organisations, many from places affected by conflict, ranging from Afghanistan to the Sahel. By working with organisations in the countries most affected by negative security policies, we have been able to share concerns and priorities with policymakers. This has led to SPAN members presenting evidence at the UN Security Council, and has prompted collaborative efforts to alter EU funding decisions around migration.
Alongside the strong partnerships we have built through SPAN, we have been working with a group of civil society organisations – including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch – on incorporating peace and human rights into the UN’s approaches to counter-terrorism.
We continued to invest in new research, which included a notable piece on migration that was published in The Guardian and Foreign Policy magazine. Our analysis of the links between COVID-19 and securitised responses was also published.
Over the past year, we provided support to 256 community groups, 117 civil society organisations and 174 authorities to research, discuss, prioritise and advocate for changes in the provision of security and justice.
For example, in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, we worked with our partners to support 44 young people’s groups and women’s groups to identify, prioritise and develop initiatives to address security issues such as youth crime, cross-border tensions and harmful gender norms. With our partners in Somalia, we supported 13 community action forums in Mogadishu, Kismayo and Baidoa to improve community safety and security and to strengthen poor relationships between government authorities, police, civil society organisations and communities.
With partners, we provided training on community security and peacebuilding, gender and conflict sensitivity for community groups, civil society organisations and authorities in all ten states of South Sudan. This has helped people to come together to resolve conflict and security challenges – particularly the concerns of women and young people – while building partnerships with other organisations to advocate on peace and security at the sub-national and national level.
We continued research on the effectiveness and legitimacy of informal security and justice systems, looking at how and why people access these services, how they could be more inclusive and accountable, and how they interact with formal systems. The research informed a number of learning events with government officials as well as practitioners, where we discussed the implications for policy and programming on security and justice.
Making sure that aid does not contribute to inequalities and grievances that drive violent conflict is a vital priority for aid agencies. COVID-19 has made this mission both more challenging and urgent. Over the last 12 months, we have helped major bilateral and multilateral organisations and aid agencies to navigate this difficult terrain, by supporting them in embedding conflict sensitivity within their processes and strategies.
In 2019–20, we completed our 100th helpdesk task for Sida, the development arm of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. These tasks helped shape Sida’s strategies and work across Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. We also strengthened our partnerships with the Austrian Development Agency and the European Investment Bank, and continued our helpdesk services to support them to maximise peace in the places they work.
Recognising the stark implications of COVID-19 in South Sudan, the Conflict Sensitivity Resource Facility (CSRF) has been helping organisations adapt public health messaging and ensure their humanitarian responses are informed by conflict dynamics. As part of the CSRF, we set up a mentorship programme with organisations and staff in South Sudan, as well as a national staff network to exchange learning and shape how organisations operate.
Influencing global policy through…
Since 2017, Conciliation Resources, International Alert and Saferworld have been collaborating on the Peace Research Partnership (PRP). In 2019–20, Saferworld’s PRP research focused on inclusion – particularly the participation of women, displaced people, non-state actors and clans. Each research process was designed and implemented in collaboration between Saferworld research advisers, country teams and national partners. Once data was gathered and analysed, Saferworld teams returned to the research sites to validate the findings.
In northern Uganda, we carried out research on how gender norms among South Sudanese refugees and Ugandan host communities are being affected by the experience of displacement. In South Sudan, we examined the role of non-state security and justice institutions, exploring their legitimacy in the eyes of citizens, as well as their inclusiveness. In Somalia, we looked at inclusivity within the process of federalism for various identity groups, such as different clans and genders, as well as for displaced people.
The research identified implications and practical recommendations for policymakers, NGOs and governments to support more inclusive approaches to security and justice. We engaged with a range of policymakers to share the recommendations and lessons from the research.
In July 2020, Saferworld published a briefing paper on the role of the security sector in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing on research conducted as part of the PRP into the inclusiveness, legitimacy and accountability of security and justice institutions.
As China plays a major role in the majority of the conflict-affected and fragile countries where Saferworld works, we aim to support China in making positive contributions to conflict prevention and peacebuilding.
Since late-2019, we have had a leading role in the implementation of a three-year Africa-China-Europe dialogue and cooperation project on preventing the diversion of arms and ammunition in Africa. This EU-funded project is currently the most advanced trilateral cooperation dialogue on issues related to peace and security in Africa. In September 2019, we achieved an important milestone in our work to support the effective regulation of the international arms trade, when China announced that it had initiated legal procedures to join the Arms Trade Treaty.
We also promoted conflict-sensitive approaches to the implementation of the China-led Belt and Road Initiative (an ambitious project to connect Asia with Africa and Europe, with the aim of improving regional integration, increasing trade and stimulating economic growth). In March 2020, we opened a Saferworld office in Beijing to support socially aware businesses on conflict analysis and monitoring and evaluation, and to facilitate a more systematic process of involving communities, civil society and Chinese businesses in countries along the Belt and Road Initiative.
Europe has a vital role to play in championing conflict prevention and human rights, but it is increasingly focused on securitised responses to conflict and migration. We advocate for the EU and EU member states to devise alternatives to these militarised, short-term and often counterproductive approaches, so as to address the long-term drivers of conflict and to promote lasting peace.
In 2019–20, we organised five advocacy trips with Sudanese partners, who travelled to Brussels for high-level meetings with member states, parliamentarians and the European External Action Service (EEAS). Their discussions contributed to stopping harmful EU projects that would have provided support for and implicit legitimisation of Sudanese security forces involved in violently repressing demonstrators.
We published ground-breaking research on the impacts of Europe’s outsourced migration controls, and used this to hold events on migration in Brussels and Rome to advocate for policy change.
We were invited to be part of a task force on Women, Peace and Security with the EEAS, the European Commission and member states, and we significantly influenced the EU’s Strategic Approach to Women, Peace and Security and its Action Plan. These have both been adopted by the EU, and as a result of input from Saferworld and our allies, they now include the need to ensure analysis on gendered drivers of conflict and meaningful, diverse participation of women.
Together with Saferworld’s Conflict Advisory Unit, we built strong relationships with the European Commission, delivered training and presentations to European officials about conflict sensitivity, and contributed to the European Commission staff handbook and its publication, Evaluation in Hard-to-Reach Areas. Our work contributed to the European Commission adopting conflict sensitivity in all evaluations of its future programmes.
We have been closely involved in negotiations regarding the creation of the European Peace Facility (EPF), an instrument to allow the EU to provide security training and weapons to its partners in conflict-affected areas. Through strategic communications, briefings and advocacy, both directly with member states and together with our partners, we contributed to the EU member states’ decision to reduce the budget of the EPF by half and to include safeguarding mechanisms in security assistance, emphasising the importance of human security and conflict sensitivity.
In what was another politically unpredictable year, we continued to adapt our advocacy in the UK, taking the opportunity to promote conflict prevention and to challenge harmful security policies. Saferworld staff gave evidence to parliament on the Sustainable Development Goals ahead of the UK's Voluntary National Review.
As the EU continues to shift responsibility for migration to countries beyond EU borders, threatening the rights of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, Saferworld built upon our landmark study on the impacts of Europe's harmful outsourced migration controls. The risks to peace and to people’s rights, as articulated by the study, were covered in The Guardian and cited by parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee in challenging UK policy.
The snap election called in December 2019 led to a change of tactics in our advocacy. Drawing on our previous work, we offered recommendations to the major political parties on how to improve the UK's contribution to peace overseas. We achieved particular success with the Labour Party's manifesto, which reflected several of our recommendations.
Saferworld has long-defended the Department for International Development's conflict prevention expertise, and pushed for it to have a greater role in government. With fellow peacebuilding organisations, we responded to rumours of its demise in 2019 by highlighting in the national media the dangers to UK conflict prevention interests. Over the coming year, we will urge the government to put conflict prevention at the heart of the new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and the Integrated Review of Security, Defence and Foreign Policy.
Saferworld USA pushed for the US government to play a vital role in conflict prevention, end securitised responses to crises and threats, and listen to the voices of peacebuilders in conflict-affected countries.
In 2019–20, we worked as part of a coalition organised by the Alliance for Peacebuilding and Mercy Corps to successfully influence and pass the US Global Fragility Act. A watershed moment in US peacebuilding policy, the act re-orientates US policy towards preventing violent conflict before it occurs, by addressing poor governance, exclusion, impunity and rights abuses. Passed by Congress and signed into law by the president in December 2019, the act authorises up to $200 million a year to be spent on conflict prevention for the next five years. Saferworld educated policymakers and advocated within the coalition on the need to focus on the root causes of violent conflict rather than focusing narrowly on ‘extremism’ and international terrorism.
We also continued to build direct links between our US policy centre, our programmes and our partners. Staff from our policy and Somalia teams travelled to Washington to brief the US State Department and other government officials on the upcoming renewal of the African Union Mission in Somalia mandate. This helped shape the US position, which became more supportive of a political settlement to end Somalia’s conflict. Our partners from the Security Policy Alternatives Network working in and on Egypt, Iraq and Yemen also briefed congressional staff and national security officials on security and conflict developments in their contexts.
Vienna serves as a growing advocacy hub for Saferworld. It is a centre of international diplomacy and, for the past 40 years, has hosted one of the four headquarters of the UN.
Through our presence in Vienna, we have consolidated a partnership with the Austrian Study Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution to develop projects focusing on the peace and security implications of the China-led Belt and Road Initiative. Thanks also to Saferworld-organised activities, Vienna has emerged as the centre of international dialogue on the role of business in addressing peace in conflict-affected and fragile countries impacted by the Belt and Road Initiative.
Over the last year, we worked in many different ways to amplify the voices of national civil society partners at the UN.
Using learning from our programmes over the past three years in the Horn of Africa, we produced a guidance document and a call for action, Time to invest: how to support action on SDG16+, to push for increased ownership of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly SDG16+ on peace, justice and inclusion. We shared this call at major policy events in 2019, including at an SDG16 Expert Group Meeting in Rome, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Forum, and the annual showcase for SDG16 in Timor-Leste. Our collaborative campaign – The Voices of SDG16+ – also highlighted the importance of civil society perspectives at the UN’s High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
In 2020, we spearheaded a coalition to host the first-ever Central Asian consultation for the 2020 Review of the UN Peacebuilding Architecture. The consultation brought together civil society organisations and UN practitioners from five Central Asian states in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and resulted in an official input for the review process.
We also made the case for peace- and rights-based approaches at the UN, drawing attention to the negative impacts of the UN’s Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. Showcased at various policy events, our research has helped to build momentum at the UN for an honest reflection on counter-terrorism, as the organisation approaches its 75th anniversary.
Bringing civil society voices to counter-terrorism advocacy at the UN
Introducing the Security Policy Alternatives Network (SPAN)
Since 9/11, states have invested huge political, financial and military resources to wage a ‘war on terror’ – with catastrophic effects. Over 800,000 people have been directly killed by this ‘war’ – at least 335,000 of them civilians. Add to these figures recent estimates that over 37 million people have been displaced due to the war, and the true costs of the unending war on terror are extraordinary.
For almost 20 years, security policies framed around a war on terror have been failing the world. To try and change these damaging approaches, we worked with a range of partners to co-create a new network, the Security Policy Alternatives Network (SPAN), with over 50 member organisations representing peacebuilding, development, humanitarian and human rights sectors. The network aims to build political support for less militarised peacebuilding responses.
Sending a clear message
“For the past five years, there was the feeling we had in South East Asia that those that are critical of the militarised approaches to security felt that we are alone. And that we are a lonely dissenting voice. To be in a space – and we don’t have to be in a room – for those issues to be aired out…means a level of security that participants feel in this space.” Marc Batac, a member of SPAN and the Institute for Inclusive Dialogue.
Over the past few years, the counter-terror agenda has grown at the UN. This is a worry for many civil society and peacebuilding organisations, who see the risks to the UN’s ability to promote human rights, build peace, and contribute live-saving humanitarian aid. To begin to address this, Saferworld and SPAN partners helped organise a conference – the first of its kind –to discuss why counter-terrorism at the UN needs to be reformed. Held in June 2020 with hundreds of civil society organisations and over 1,000 people attending (virtually due to COVID-19), the conference sent a clear message that civil society around the world is deeply concerned about the counter-terror agenda and that there is an urgent need for a new approach.
A first step: Malian women’s voices at the UN Security Council
In October 2019, Assitan Diallo, SPAN partner and president of the NGO AFARD which promotes the rights of women, briefed the UN Security Council’s open debate on Mali. This was a first step towards efforts to expose UN policymakers to the experiences and perspectives of women’s rights organisations working for peace and justice at a national level.
“The solution to the complex dynamics of the current conflict in Mali will not be found on the battlefield, but must come from dialogue and responding to the concerns of ordinary people.” Assitan Diallo.
The Security Council debate on Mali recognised that the country has endured not only a bloody conflict since 2012 but a decade of violence and instability. Assitan highlighted how women and young people have paid the highest price for war. She raised three key goals: access to justice for survivors of gender-based violence; women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in all aspects of peace and security; and ensuring that the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali and G5 Sahel are able to respond to the security needs of communities.
Between April 2019 and March 2020, we continued to deliver our ambitious programme of action under our organisational strategic plan 2017–21. We grew our core non-programmatic teams, across human resources, safeguarding, auditing, and safety and security. Our new and improved policies and procedures have helped promote a safe, harmonious and healthy working environment.
Read how we are strengthening Saferworld in practice below:
Saferworld has a zero-tolerance policy for any type of abuse, exploitation or harassment. This year, we continued to improve our safeguarding policy and practice to work towards an environment where our staff, partners and everyone we are working with feels safe and protected from harm and abuse.
- We recruited a Safeguarding Coordinator in October 2019 to lead on the implementation of safeguarding measures in day-to-day operations across the organisation.
- We established a global network of safeguarding focal points in every Saferworld country office.
- Our safeguarding working group met regularly to ensure that safeguarding standards were integrated across the organisation.
- Following a comprehensive review of our safeguarding policies in October 2019, we established an overarching global safeguarding policy covering all types of harm and abuse, including bullying in the workplace.
- The global safeguarding policy was rolled out across the organisation through a series of webinar sessions for all country teams, as well as training for management and leadership staff and safeguarding focal points.
- We produced awareness-raising and educational materials on safeguarding policy and procedures, to be displayed and available in our offices.
- As part of our commitment to safe recruitment, we signed up to the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme.
- We appointed a lead trustee for safeguarding. This trustee will provide guidance and advice to the board on safeguarding matters, ensuring it remains a governance priority.
We adapted our policies and procedures to help promote a safe, harmonious and healthy working environment.
- We provided our staff with mental and physical well-being support through the Employee Assistance Programme.
- We hired a Global Security Adviser to help our People and Culture Team be better equipped to provide policy advice and to manage day-to-day concerns related to operations, especially during COVID-19.
- During the past year, we restructured internally to create two new teams: the Programme Support and Learning Team and the Research and Learning Team. We also created a Knowledge and Learning Platform to ensure that programmes, advocacy and research are more closely aligned.
- We completed the implementation of the priorities set out in our Finance System Improvement Plan, with updated finance policies and procedures, an improved cost-management system, internal controls and compliance oversight.
We continue to be recognised as a leading organisation for outcome harvesting, sharing expertise with a range of partners, international NGOs and donors. We presented our outcome harvesting approach and delivered taster training to more than 60 staff from the UK Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, and we responded to increased demand for support by delivering training sessions for participants from 26 different organisations. We are providing bespoke support for Humanity United, Tearfund and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, among others.
We also worked to implement our partnership approach in practical ways across the organisation. After holding internal reviews and conversations with colleagues and partners, we developed an internal resource for all Saferworld staff – a ‘partnership in practice’ microsite that we will be launching soon – to provide guidance and templates for working in partnership.
We have also standardised and updated the financial management and administration sections of our organisational capacity assessments for partners. We merged the two processes to create a transparent and consistent two-way financial process, reducing the burden on both parties and supporting partners in specific priority areas.
This is a top-line summary of Saferworld’s income and expenditure in 2019–20, taken from our full audited accounts. You can see our full accounts in our Report and accounts here. You can also download them from the Charity Commission website.
Organisations we worked with this year