The November 2006 Comprehensive Peace Accords (CPA) formally ended the decade-long armed conflict and marked the beginning of the path to sustainable peace and development.  However, the country’s progress on political reforms remains slow and the underlying drivers of conflict, impediments to reconciliation, remain unchecked.  Community level tensions that put local peace and stability at risk involve a number of different groups, including neglected and dissatisfied youth, former combatants, and other disenfranchised, marginalized populations.  Some young people are already active in radical youth movements and armed political-ethnic and criminal groups.  Further, the state has limited capacity to ameliorate the social-economic problems and increasing levels of crime and insecurity.  In this context, trust and peace must be strengthened at the grassroots for constructive engagement across conflict lines that lead to tangible benefits.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW 

Implemented by Saferworld, CICU is a three-year, $1,139 million program to foster understanding and cooperation between conflicting groups in 15 VDCs in the conflict-affected districts of Kailali, Bardiya, Surkhet, Banke, and Sunsari.  In partnership with two local organizations, Child Workers in Nepal and the Informal Sector Service Centre, the project will engage 9,000 at-risk and conflict-affected youth, including ex-combatants and their communities.  Using a “people-to-people” approach the project will break down barriers for peaceful dialogue, and build on healthy relationships to identify and collaborate together on community development activities.  CICU will simultaneously raise district and national level actors’ awareness on conflict sensitive development and rehabilitation programming.

Read More: Community Initiatives for Common Understanding (CICU) project Factsheet 

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