I. PLENARY DISCUSSION

1. BASIC THEMES

      With the growing number of actors engaged in conflict prevention activities today, we have witnessed a wide variety of efforts for preventing conflicts on the ground. The key to successful preventive measures is how to achieve the optimum coordination among those actors, based upon their respective roles and comparative advantages. This symposium is one of the follow-ups to the G8 Miyazaki Initiatives for Conflict Prevention, which emphasized a comprehensive, integrated approach. In addition to these well-known aspects of a better approach to conflict prevention, concrete suggestions were made on two issues, the collection and destruction of small arms and light weapons in Cambodia, and reconciliation and development in East Timor.

2. THE NEED FOR A SYSTEMATIC STRATEGY EMBRACING ALL ACTORS

      At present, there exists inadequate coordination and insufficient communication among multiple-actors working at conflict prevention, resulting in ineffectiveness and failure, with the actions of some actors canceling out those of other actors. On the other hand, solid coordination could serve to alleviate or eliminate difficulties faced by the actors concerned, ensuring that resources are applied in a more efficient manner, and that assistance reaches communities that are most in need.
      Therefore, we recommend that best practices should be established with the advantages and diversity of different actors, ensuring that our undertakings move more effectively toward the same coherent goal. At the same time, it was noted that excessive efforts on coordination on procedural issues could hamper dynamism and initiatives of various actors.

3. LONG-TERM STRUCTURAL PREVENTION & SHORT-TERM CRISIS MANAGEMENT

      It is generally understood that we have been witnessing two approaches to conflict prevention activities. The first type of these activities are those addressing the root causes of conflict and building the foundations of peaceful and stable societies. These activities take a variety of forms, such as broad, comprehensive development, participatory governance, equitable use of natural resources, educational systems, etc. Situations of severe poverty, especially in societies divided by ethnicity or religion, are a breeding ground for violent conflict, often triggered by political extremism or sudden economic downturn. Post-conflict peace building is essential for the prevention of the recurrence of conflict.
      Short-term crisis management or preventive diplomacy involves identifying as early as possible where and how violent conflict may erupt, and acting or responding as quickly and decisively as possible. This can involve a variety of actions, ranging from preventive diplomacy to coercive measures as necessary.

4. KEY ELEMENTS IN A CULTURE OF PREVENTION

      The key elements necessary for establishing a culture of conflict prevention are, among others, the collection and destruction of small arms, the return and reintegration of refugees, reconciliation and community development, social and economic measures to generate an atmosphere for co-existence or to cure root causes of conflicts, and building local capacities for good governance and equitable and sustainable development.

5. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTORS

      The UN and other international organizations should continue to advocate new initiatives and norms. In particular, they should take the lead in designing and promoting international efforts in this area. Recent examples include the restriction on the illicit trade of diamonds in conflict areas, and restrictions on the small arms trade.
      UN, other international organizations and governments are urged to contemplate involving responsible NGOs in the design and conceptualizing stages of conflict prevention policy. It is not enough just to try to cooperate in times of crises.
      Therefore, a greater effort should be made to bring together all the stakeholders in conflict prevention.
      The UN and other international organizations are invited also to take the lead, as appropriate, in coordinating the whole range of actors involved in conflict prevention. They should also further promote internal coordination, including at the field level. It is recognized that coordination be best promoted at the outset of operations.
      Governments are requested to increase flexibility in their management of ODA and to share information, with a view to assisting and encouraging NGOs engaged in conflict prevention.
      Local civil society actors including NGOs can play a key role in 'bottom-up' strategies of conflict prevention. For example, in education, or possibly in reconciliation, a major capacity-building initiative should be directed at enhancing the positive role that local and international NGOs can play, whilst allowing them to maintain their autonomy and identity. NGOs, however, should base their activities on their own expertise. In view of the complexity of local political and humanitarian challenges, NGOs could benefit from strengthening their expertise, including their analytical capacity.
      Promoting a culture of prevention in non-conflict countries should include efforts to ensure that the viewpoint of international cooperation should be taken into consideration in school education. The media can also play a major role in dissemination of information on conflict prevention among the wider public, and their role should be exercised carefully and responsibly if they are to be useful and effective. Indeed, evidence has shown that sometimes the media is used to incite conflict.

II. SUB-GROUP MEETINGS

1. SUB-GROUP 1

(Key-Note Presentations)

      In Sub-Group 1, discussions were focused on the problem of excessive and destabilizing availability of small arms and light weapons, more specifically on the collection and destruction of such weapons in Cambodia where long-lasting civil wars finally came to an end, because the excessive availability of such weapons seriously threatens internal security, stability and economic and social development.
      Prior to the Sub-Group meeting, at the end of the plenary session yesterday morning, we all listened to the very important key-note presentation by H. E. Lt. Gen. HOK Lundy, Director General of Cambodian National Police, in which we were briefed about the overall efforts the Royal Cambodian Government is making in the collection and destruction of weapons. More than a hundred thousand weapons have already been collected, and about one third of them destroyed. Efforts are also made to prevent their proliferation to neighboring countries. Becoming aware of the courageous efforts being made by the Royal Government of Cambodia, the international communities and non-governmental organizations including indigenous NGOs like the Working Group for Weapons Reduction are now coming to cooperate and assist with such efforts, but since it will take longer and greater efforts to resolve the problem, much more efforts for assistance and cooperation by actors other than the Cambodian government are required.
      Following this presentation made by H. E. Lt. Gen. HOK Lundy, Sub-Group 1 started its deliberations by receiving three more presentations, one by H. E. Mr. UNG Samy, Governor of Pursat Province on the present situation and the challenges of the problem of small arms in his Province, secondly by Brigadier General (ret.) Henny J. van der Graaf, project manager of the European Union Assistance in curbing Small Arms in Cambodia (EU ASAC) on his activities in Cambodia, particularly on several concrete projects now underway, and finally by Mr. Osanai, one of the Deputy Director-Generals of the Japanese Foreign Ministry on the Japanese policy to assist Cambodia in some of the projects related to small arms.

(Summary of Discussions)

• First, it should be reiterated that the it was the Cambodian government and the people of Cambodia who started to take the initiative to make intensified efforts for disarmament and demobilization since several years ago, because without such efforts internal peace and security, and social and economic development cannot be secured or put on the right track.
• Second, for the purpose of the collection and destruction of weapons, a number of initiatives and projects are already underway or about to be launched in Cambodia.
• Third, what is of great importance in such efforts is the establishment of a reliable police and security system that would reassure ordinary citizens that they would not have to keep arms for the protection of their lives and property.
• Fourth, with respect to the illicit trafficking of small arms across the borders with neighboring countries, effective measures to eradicate such trafficking will have to be taken, because unless the supply of such weapons are stopped any efforts to reduce their excessive availability are bound to end up in a failure.
• Fifth, a comprehensive approach encompassing not only disarmament and demobilization but also social and economic development has to be promoted.
• Sixth, the important role civil societies can play in raising public awareness was stressed by all the participants.
• Seventh, the coordination of various efforts by various actors is a matter of great importance.

2. SUB-GROUP 2

   The sub-group on "conflict and development in East Timor" canvassed a wide range of issues before focussing specifically on the question of reconciliation and its relationship with development in East Timor. Among the suggestions of a general nature made were:

• There should be a high level of participation by local communities in projects, and good coordination is essential among all actors in development projects.
• Contingency measures should immediately be put in place to deal with the economic dislocation expected when the UN administration leaves. It is especially important to develop measures to deal with the expected sudden rise in unemployment that will occur and to develop projects in rural areas that will mop up this unemployment.
• More concentrated efforts should be made to encourage the return of "old" NGOs that operated in East Timor under Indonesian rule.
• International community should strongly support East Timor's nation building efforts as a strategy to manage the expected rise in conflict and social tension immediately after independence.
• Better training of police (including training in how to use increased crime-fighting powers to ensure that they do not infringe on the rights of citizens).
• Gender equity is important and very specific strategies need to be developed to promote gender equity including long-term capacity building projects for women.

   On the question of reconciliation to the development of East Timor, the sub-group saw two dimensions of the reconciliation issue: reconciliation among the East Timorese themselves and reconciliation between East Timor and Indonesia.

   In order to promote reconciliation among the East Timorese themselves the group regarded the following ideas as important:

• reconciliation and development go together and expanding economy and growing prosperity are safeguards against the rise of conflict.
• reconciliation and justice must go hand in hand, but because the interface between the two is problematic there needs to be well funded study of the coordination between reconciliation and justice.
• the role of community mediation councils such as already exist in Covalima should be expanded to embrace reconciliation. The feasibility of one-stop legal advice centers should be investigated.
• strategies need to be developed to encourage informal reconciliation practices as well as strategies to ensure that current judicial mechanisms are truly sustainable after the departure of the UN.
• East Timor's future membership of ASEAN is an important strategy for consolidating reconciliation between Indonesia and East Timor and the admission of East Timor to ASEAN needs to be supported by the international community.
• Trade relations between Indonesia and East Timor, especially trade across the border, is critical to the success of reconciliation between the two countries and this trade needs to be facilitated by the international community.
• The mass media, especially radio, are important for the promotion of reconciliation in East Timor. Radio and print media need to be strengthened. There is an urgent necessity for reliable information on security and economic conditions in East Timor to be disseminated among East Timorese refugees and West Timor. It is desirable that refugees in West Timor have access to newspapers and radio broadcasts from East Timor.
• Indonesia should be persuaded to honour its commitment to investigate and report reliably on the wishes of East Timorese refugees in West Timor or alternatively to allow an independent assessment of the wishes of the East Timorese refugees.

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