Civil Peace Service: Preventing violence and promoting peace

Context

War and violence determine the lives of millions of people worldwide. Above all, violent conflicts within society – such as civil wars, fights for resources or as a result of failing states – cause physical and emotional suffering to people.

Civil society representatives make decisive contributions to the peaceful resolution of conflicts. Governments cannot achieve this on their own.

Objective

State and civil society representatives in the cooperation countries jointly promote peaceful conflict resolution. They contribute to changes in society based on human rights.

Approach

The Civil Peace Service (CPS) is a programme that works to prevent violence in regions affected by conflict and crisis and to promote peace. It advocates for a world in which people settle conflicts without violence. The CPS’ thematic focal points include mediation and dialogue, dealing with the past, psychosocial support and conflict-sensitive media work. Nine German peace and development organisations implement the CPS together with local partners. The CPS is funded by the German Government.

The individual CPS organisations have multiple approaches, experiences and access to partners in the countries of assignment. At the same time, they share the same values and principles and apply a common strategy to their CPS work.

Experts from CPS support local people in the long term to promote dialogue, human rights and peace. As outsiders, they introduce new perspectives, which help to initiate and assist with peace processes. CPS work focuses on changing attitudes, behaviour and relationships, which in turn should have a positive influence on structures, institutions and the conflict culture of a society. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH participates in the CPS with more than 110 international and local experts in 21 countries.

Last update: October 2023