Mission
Global Majority promotes non-violent conflict resolution education, mediation and advocacy. We believe that principled dialogue is imperative and must replace violent conflict if humankind is to thrive.
Vision
the Problem
The planet is plagued by conflict. Conflict that is not managed can lead to social, economic, and political strife that is often violent, destructive, and self-perpetuating. The most horrific examples of unresolved conflict are manifest in regional conflict, civil war, acts of terror, and the development and deployment of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
Unresolved conflicts lead to secondary humanitarian and environmental crises including military and civilian deaths, forced migration, unemployment, destruction of families, environmental and natural resource degradation, and the failure of health, educational, and other social security systems.
As a measurement of the GNP of the world’s national economies, an inordinate amount of resources are invested in small arms, weapons systems and other military expenditures. This misdirection of resources has direct and indirect impacts that detract from the building of healthy communities. The militarization of developed and developing economies is rooted in insecurity but justified by leaders as necessary for their national security.
Combined with the militarization of national economies, the doctrines of pre-emption and unilateralism in international relations have resulted in the erosion of multilateral agreements, treaties, and international legal norms. Because of this erosion of international norms, the world is becoming more fractionated, polarized, and less secure.
The Solution
While conflict is ever-present as a result of economic, political, social, and cultural difference and disparity, conflict can be managed through structured negotiation and mediation. In the past twenty years, the art and science of principled, interest-based negotiation, mediation, and arbitration systems have been developed to resolve conflicts of all types. From domestic legal systems to international commercial and political forums, the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) has been successfully employed to avert or end violence and other destructive forms of conflict. In fact, virtually all wars are brought to an end through a process of negotiation or mediation. The challenge is to redirect the resort to violence to new forums of negotiation and principled conflict management.
Despite the successful development and practical application of non-violent conflict resolution mechanisms, the promotion of training programs and first use of ADR techniques in avoiding and averting potentially damaging conflict is drastically under funded and underutilized.
The growing role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as key actors in the formulation of national and international policy has created new opportunities for negotiation and mediation of conflicts in many regional and global arenas. But, the training of skills in the art and science of non-violent conflict resolution as well as the promotion of mediation training and use of mediation in the international arena has not been prioritized.
Combined with the need for an expansion of non-violent conflict resolution training and forums, the global community must formulate an international call rooted in the principles of non-violence that will be effective in confronting governments and alliances that have become reliant on the militarization of conflict to the detriment of humanity. A new manner of thinking and acting is crucial to the survival of humankind. A global movement that promotes non-violence can give voice to the global majority who seek to live in peace. Such a movement can also provide concrete education, training, and mediation services based upon specific skills and applications practiced by those who are culturally sensitive and committed to the development of processes that promote the non-violent resolution of disputes.
Given the enormity of the challenges that face people and communities in so many parts of the world, the vision must also be big. We expect that the vision will be shaped by those who embrace a part of it in their community, nation, or region of the world. We will learn by doing as we advance a shared vision that knows no national or regional boundaries.
The General Proposal
The Global Campaign for Non-Violent Conflict Resolution (“the Campaign”) is a project of Global Majority which seeks to develop:
- A global network of trained negotiators and mediators who can work with governments, businesses, and NGOs to promote training and the use of non-violent conflict resolution mechanisms.
- Resources to expand Track II and other forms of dialogue through mediated settings that can be used to promote and advance the principled resolution of disputes.
- Resources to enable representatives of government, business, and NGOs to explore, discuss, and design programs and campaigns to build sound alternatives to violent or destructive conflict.
- Resources where the documented concerns and proposals of diverse NGO, government, business and organized labor representatives can be presented to policy makers where such policy concerns are currently without voice. The function of an international campaign to promote the non-violent resolution of conflict contemplates the articulation of a broadly agreed upon set of moral principles based on the respect for life and fundamental human rights. Procedurally, such a campaign seeks to bring parties in conflict to the negotiating table or a supervised mediation process.
- Educational and practical mechanisms to work with governments, non-state actors, and others who may be prone to violence to demonstrate peaceful alternatives through nonviolent conflict resolution methods.
- A broad alliance of organizations and global citizens committed to the non-violent resolution of disputes through negotiation, mediation, and other forms of conflict resolution.
- A broad alliance of organizations and global citizens committed to the non-violent resolution of disputes through negotiation, mediation, and other forms of conflict resolution.
The Call
We acknowledge that these objectives are idealistic and will be viewed by some as thoughts normally relegated to the province of dreamers. However, our conviction in the pursuit of these objectives is bolstered and reinforced by the necessity to bring reason and method to the resolution of conflicts in a manner that will empower the creative and peace-loving aspirations of all people and cultures. The ultimate success of this articulated vision may be difficult if not impossible to measure. A single success in the aversion and avoidance of violent conflict will be one measure of fulfillment of this vision. Another measurement of success will be the empowerment and involvement of those individuals, communities, and organizations who embrace, shape, and advance this vision as part of a true global majority that will give life to a Global Campaign for Non-Violent Conflict Resolution.
This call has been developed and advanced by an internationally diverse group of individuals who share a common vision, the genesis of which is rooted in shared cross-cultural experience, conflict resolution training, and a high regard and respect for the fundamental principles codified in the International Declaration of Human Rights.
