A sensitive approach to conflicts: the challenge of development cooperation

Staff members of Welthungerhilfe in Sudan.
© MeissnerOvercoming conflicts plays a leading role in Welthungerhilfe's work. Welthungerhilfe uses the "Do no harm concept", developed by Mary B. Anderson, to ensure that it adopts a conflict-sensitive approach in its measures. Do-no-harm on the one hand assumes that in every social conflict there are forces that encourage or maintain violence (violence potentials). On the other hand it also assumes that there are peace potentials that can be used for finding peaceful solutions. The aim is to neutralise or reduce any factors that escalate conflicts. Factors that support a non-violent resolution of conflicts should be strengthened.

The "Do no harm analysis" is an important instrument for improving conflict-sensitive planning and implementation of interventions and a component of approaches for crisis prevention. "Do no harm" heightens awareness for positive und negative effects of one's own behaviour in conflict situations. This also means learning from negative experience within the course of humanitarian aid work. The concept is above all used in projects that do not directly deal with the conflict itself but wish to react sensitively to it.

Welthungerhilfe's "do no harm" instrument

Welthungerhilfe anchors the conflict-sensitive project management as a cross-sectional issue in its foreign programmes. "Do no harm" is an important instrument for involving all participants in the planning and implementation of development projects right from the outset and for reacting in a conflict-sensitive way.

"For peace" is written on the
poster behind the columbian
girl. © WHH

Conflicts through development cooperation

The objective of the development cooperation (DC), to improve the economic, social, ecological and political living conditions of disadvantaged groups, also includes the reduction of structural causes of conflicts. However, promoting disadvantaged groups also harbours the danger that conflicts could be unintentionally heightened. This is because latent existing conflicts, such as the continual suppression or discrimination of minorities, the social exclusion of groups or the refusal to grant them political, economic, social or cultural rights, are smouldering potential flashpoints for violence in the coexistence of a society.