THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CONFLICT PREVENTION TOOLS AND SDGs IN SOUTH CAUCASUS

Published documents have been prepared within the annual 2019-2020 Caucasus Programme of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) (www.gppac.net). The Programme has been implemented by the International Center on Conflict and Negotiation (ICCN), GPPAC's Caucasus Regional Secretariat. The programme aims at the contribution to conflict prevention in the region and proactive engagement of civil sector in this process. The documents are based on the monitoring and desk researches of the state policy documents and regulations in Georgia and Armenia on the subject of existence of conflict prevention instruments. The documents analyze effectiveness of conflict prevention tools in the respective policy documents.

The research has revealed that despite differing specificities in Georgia and Armenia regarding political decision-making and institutions in charge of conflict prevention, several structural problems and challenges related to conflict prevention are quite common. There is a coincidence of considerations of Georgiana and Armenian CSOs about the ways and means for addressing the revealed problems.

Nowadays, Georgia and Armenia, though to varying degrees, either don’t have or have insufficiently developed tools of direct and strategic conflict prevention. Both countries experience deficiency of structural approach to conflict prevention from the state agencies. Respective state institutions pay insufficient attention to the early signals for conflict prevention coming from the various actors, including civil society organizations. Operative response to the early warnings is feeble as well as making adequate decisions by the respective state structures. The degree of inter-agency coordination and system of exchange of information leave a room for improvement.

Although to different degrees, the issues of prevention of internal and external conflicts are still insufficiently reflected in Georgian and Armenian legal acts, state strategies and programs as well as in a practical work of the executive power.

Representatives of Georgian and Armenian civil society sectors involved in the research consider that conflict prevention issues should constitute a separate section in the security strategies and concepts of both countries. They consider expedient for the governments to elaborate national strategies of conflict prevention and making it obligatory. According to the researchers, the document must clearly define the entities responsible for conflict prevention; determine accurately their terms of reference and functions as well as mechanisms of monitoring and evaluation.

Results of the research reveals once again that the knowledge and experience accumulated by the local CSOs and international organizations working on peace issues for years is critically important for effective implementation of conflict prevention at all levels.

Effectiveness of Conflict Prevention Instruments and Sustainable Development Goals in Georgia, by International Center for Conflict and Negotiation (ICCN); (Georgian)

On Conflict Prevention Tools and Their Effectiveness in Georgia, by Ms. Anna Dvali, Invited Programme Expert; (Georgian)

Issues of Conflict Prevention / Conflict Escalation in the Practice of State Structures of the Republic of Armenia, by the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Armenian Committee; (Russian)

Fulfillment of Goal No.16 of the UN Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals until 2030 in the Context of External and Internal Challenges of Armenia, by Ms. Natalia Martirosyan, expert; Armen Ohanyan, expert, HCA-Armenia. Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Armenian Committee; (Russian)