Reconciliation Programs

Description

Reconciliation programs provide opportunities for adversaries to reconcile differences, build trust, and work toward shared goals of resolving potential, ongoing, or recent conflicts; address divisions that stem from unequal levels of power and access to resources; and create opportunities to build relationships.

Use of Funds

Funds provide training and support “people-to-people” conflict mitigation—convening individuals of different ethnic, religious, class, or political backgrounds from areas affected by armed conflict. Partners work in a range of fragile and conflict-affected countries.

Justification

• Violent conflicts drive 80% of humanitarian needs worldwide.
• The world’s poor will increasingly be concentrated in fragile and conflict-affected countries, estimated to reach over 50% of the global total by 2030.
• Evaluations consistently find that reconciliation programs increase trust, enhance cooperation, increase conflict resolution values, decrease aggression and loneliness, and mitigate hazardous environmental and health conditions among project participants.
• As of mid-2021, reconciliation programs have supported nearly 330 peacebuilding projects across 42 countries, awarding over $230 million in grants for “people-to-people” reconciliation programs and activities.