Public Participation in Peacemaking

From Conciliation Resources' publication series Accord: An International Review of Peace Initiatives, this 6-page brief outlines the possibilities and promise that inclusive peace negotiations with structured opportunities for broader public participation hold. By looking at the specific cases of participatory models of peacemaking in Guatemala, Mali, Northern Ireland, Papua New Guinea-Bougainville, the Philippines, and South Africa, the brief shows the benefits of this strategy in: widening the range of issues addressed, including the structural causes of conflict; helping produce broadly legitimate peace agreements; strengthening the capacity for inclusive political participation in future governance; and facilitating a degree of political reconciliation.

As detailed here, there is no single model for public participation in peace negotiations. Three basic modalities are outlined:

1. Representative participation through political parties. Examples include: South Africa's all-inclusive multi-party negotiations to agree on the principles for the transition and constitutional reform, followed by an elected constituent assembly to negotiate the new constitution; Northern Ireland's model of directly electing political parties to the multi-party negotiation process, followed by a public referendum on the agreement.
2. Consultative mechanisms where civil society has an opportunity to voice views and formulate recommendations. Examples include: Guatemala's Civil Society Assembly, which operated in parallel to the official negotiations mandating diverse sectoral groupings to develop detailed proposals for substantive provisions that were incorporated into the final agreement; the Philippines National Unification Commission's provincial, regional, and national consultations on the causes of the country's multiple conflicts and how they could be addressed.
3. Direct participation where all interested individuals engage in a process of developing and implementing agreements to address the conflict, usually at more local levels. An example is Mali's series of inter-community meetings, which resulted in local ceasefires and agreements on contested issues that, over time, led to the end of the protracted civil war.

Despite its potential advantages, public participation in peacemaking poses a number of dilemmas, as detailed in the brief. External actors - whether governmental, inter-governmental, or non-governmental - are tasked with asking questions such as: In light of security concerns, does public participation slow down the process of reaching agreements on ending the violence? Does public participation put at risk the confidentiality and coordination that many mediators believe to be crucial to building trust and effective negotiations between belligerent parties? How can process mechanisms deal with the heterogeneous nature of "the public" so as to integrate diverse voices? How can the process be designed to enable the effective participation of traditionally marginalised social groups? Given inevitable imbalances of power, how can it be ensured that public participation is meaningful rather than a superficial public relations exercise?

In light of these challenges, general principles for international actors include: (i) supporting processes that are socially and politically inclusive, promoting transparency, and encouraging the accountability of those involved in negotiations; and (ii) cultivating sensitivity to and support for local initiatives. The brief describes approaches for providing external support to prepare for negotiations, including capacity-building: "Provide technical assistance and other support to key groups so that they can develop strategies and skills to articulate their aspirations, shape the negotiating agenda, develop consensus positions and negotiate effectively." Finally, strategies for enabling participation in formal political negotiations are described, such as working "to ensure there are public information campaigns that speak effectively to the variety of different constituencies represented at the negotiations." Also highlighted here as key for democratising peacemaking are efforts to open the process where appropriate, such as by ensuring that the concerns of non-combatant groups - including women, youth, minorities, and displaced people - are considered in the negotiating agenda.