International Alert is a 27-year old independent peacebuilding organisation. We work with people who are directly affected by violent conflict to improve their prospects of peace. And we seek to influence the policies and ways of working of governments, international organisations like the UN and multinational companies, to reduce conflict risk and increase the prospects of peace.
We work in Africa, several parts of Asia, the South Caucasus, the Middle East and Latin America and have recently started work in the UK. Our policy work focuses on several key themes that influence prospects for peace and security – the economy, climate change, gender, the role of international institutions, the impact of development aid, and the effect of good and bad governance.
We are one of the world’s leading peacebuilding NGOs with more than 200 staff based in London and 15 field offices. The organisation is led by our Secretary General, Dan Smith OBE, and the Senior Management Team.
HOW WE WORK
Peace is when people are anticipating and managing conflicts without violence and are engaging in inclusive social change processes that improve the quality of their lives. They are doing so without compromising the possibility of continuing to do so in the future, or compromising the possibility of others to do so.
We can recognise peace by evidence that people are resolving conflicts and differences without violence and also by a web of five interlocking factors in society which we believe contribute to peace:
PEACE FACTORS
- Power. A peaceful culture of power is critical: one which encourages people to modify the power held by their leaders and to guide the decisions they make. The right of all people – men and women from all parts of society – to be heard is balanced by a responsibility to contribute to society. Individuals and groups living in peaceful societies feel that their contribution is valued, and they are respected.
- How people make a living. Peace also depends on a healthy and functioning economy in which no one is excluded from opportunities because of his or her gender, ethnicity or any other aspect of identity.
- Fair and effective laws. In a peaceful society, laws are designed and justice serves to protect human rights and reduce people’s n