Since the mid-1990s, conflict prevention has become an increasingly urgent priority for the international community, particularly in multilateral fora.

The horrors of Rwanda, Srebrenica, Darfur and elsewhere serve as stark reminders that the immediate and long-term human costs of not preventing armed violence are colossal.

In his 2006 Report on the prevention of armed conflict, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan described conflict prevention strategies as falling into several categories.

Structural prevention refers to proactive measures that ensure that crises do not arise, such as the work done by CIDA to advance conflict prevention through development assistance.

Operational prevention refers to measures that are applicable in the face of immediate crisis, such as mediation.

Systemic prevention refers to measures that address global challenges. DFAIT’s conflict prevention work largely falls under this category.

Working Multilaterally

Through policy development and capacity building, DFAIT focuses its efforts on enhancing multilateral cooperation and political will and improving regulatory systems and frameworks to prevent and resolve conflict.

Since the UN Secretary-General’s 1992 report An Agenda for Peace, Canada has worked to support the integration and coordination of prevention approaches within the UN system.

Canada joined other UN Member States in adopting the landmark resolution 57/337 (2003), which committed states to working towards the prevention of armed conflict, and laid out the roles of states, UN agencies, civil society, and the private sector in preventing armed conflict. Canada was actively involved in contributing to the negotiations, serving as one of ten countries to facilitate the process.

In addition to supporting key UN resolutions on conflict prevention, Canada supports the Peacebuilding Commission, created in 2005, which will marshal resources at the disposal of the international community to advise and propose integrated strategies for peacebuilding.

According to former United Nations High Commissioner Mary Robinson (Romanes Lecture, Oxford University, 11 November 1997),"...today's human rights violations are the causes of tomorrow's conflicts." For this reason, Canada is also a strong supporter, and member, of the Human Rights Council. Created in March 2006, the Human Rights Council replaces the UN Commission on Human Rights.

In addition to the UN, Canada works with a range of organizations and partners to strengthen multilateral capacity to prevent and resolve violent conflicts. For example:

Canada spearheaded the convening of the first Ministerial Conference of the Francophonie on Conflict Prevention and Human Security (Web site in French), in Saint-Boniface, Manitoba in May 2006.
DFAIT supports the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict, an international network of over 500 civil society organisations working for conflict prevention and peacebuilding worldwide, as well as civil society organizations’ individual projects.
Through the Human Security Program, DFAIT has provided assistance to the Institute for Security Studies to establish a civil society early warning focal point to complement the work of the Continental Early Warning System (CEWS) of the African Union.

Supporting Operational Research

DFAIT also conducts focussed research on creative mechanisms and options for implementing conflict prevention initiatives within regional and multilateral institutions.

In March 2006, DFAIT conducted a ‘Fast Talk’ on human security and conflict prevention asking experts to provide insights into current thinking about approaches to conflict prevention, emerging issues and knowledge gaps in the field.

Through the Human Security Program, DFAIT is also supporting Réseau francophone des opérations de paix (Web site in French) to promote research and information exchange in the French-speaking world on conflict prevention and peace operations, in line with the commitments Canada made at the Saint-Boniface Ministerial Conference.

Research will also focus on under-studied dimensions of contemporary conflict, such as the privatization of security.

Current Agenda
	Protection of Civilians Conflict Prevention: Human rights and minorities Small arms War economies and targeted sanctions Peace Operations: Governance and Accountability Public Safety

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