THE DO NO HARM APPROACH
Working in Conflict
Organisations working in a situation of tensions or violent conflict need to take this aspect into account when planning their intervention. Humanitarian and development agencies have to make sure that their interventions do not have negative effects on local relationships when supplying their assistance, and so should make sure to apply the “Do No Harm” approach in programming. This could at least assure that activities would not exacerbate tensions or fuel conflict but rather help people disengage from the violence that surrounds them, even though peace-building is not the explicit objective. For peace organisations, “Do No Harm” is also of relevance, particularly when projects with a general objective linked to peace and justice are being implemented in contexts of intergroup conflict. In such cases, specific activities may have to be adjusted based on the details of those contexts.
Member organisations of the Civil Peace Service in Cameroon, Congo, Liberia and Sierra Leone have all been exposed to “Do No Harm”, and several individuals have been further capacitated as “Do No Harm” trainers.
A full description of the “Do No Harm” approach can be downloaded here.
For more information, go to the website www.donoharm.info
The First “Do No Harm” Trainers in the CPS Network
Capacities for training on “Do No Harm” are now also available among partner organisations themselves. A number of candidates from the four countries have undergone a two-weeks intensive Training of Trainers in Kenya, where they have not only learnt everything about the approach itself but also about facilitation techniques, different training formats and the application of conflict-sensitive programming in practice. The training also included a workshop conducted by the new trainers themselves for participants of Kenyan development organisations. In the meantime, the new trainers have also facilitated workshops in their home countries. Following are the names of the local trainers:
Cameroon: Ntui Oben, Makarios Fandio and Ngalle Nelson
DR Congo: David Kiseke and Maphie Tosha
Liberia: Samuel Darpolor and Sartu Doe
Sierra Leone: Pious Mannah, Salamatu Conteh, Makarios Fandio and Ngalle Nelson
