What we do on the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict
Checkpoint on the line of separation between Georgia and Abkhazia at the Inguri river
Conciliation Resources has worked on the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict and peace process since 1997, supporting people trying to make positive changes within their societies and across the conflict divide.
At the heart of the conflict is a contest between territorial integrity and self-determination: Georgia seeks to keep Abkhazia within its borders, whereas Abkhazia wants its secession from Georgia recognized. Since the war in 1992-93 negotiations have swung between dialogue and deadlock, with periods of heightened tension. A lasting peace agreement remains elusive.
We deliberately work at different levels of society with diverse organizations and individuals, including NGO activists, young people, politicians, journalists, displaced communities and officials. Our work is based on consultation and analysis with partners and key civic and political institutions and individuals. We focus on:
- making the peace process more inclusive and tackling the root causes of conflict by developing civil society, encouraging activism and enabling marginalized groups to find a political voice, for example through support to a network of IDPs in Georgia and several NGOs in Abkhazia
- influencing peacemaking strategies through briefings and consultations and by exposing Georgians and Abkhaz to other peace processes, for example through study visits to Northern Ireland
- shifting public opinion about the conflict and challenging stereotypes by encouraging public debate and TV discussions, jointly-produced Georgian-Abkhaz films and the jointly-edited Panorama newspaper, as well as radio diaries recorded by ordinary people and broadcast throughout the South Caucasus and, for 2008, a calendar, Twelve Artists, One Town, featuring paintings of the Abkhaz capital, Sukhum/i by Abkhaz, Georgian, Russian and Tartar artists.
- broadening horizons by stimulating debate among young people, holding an annual international relations summer university, doing research on identity and multiculturalism and providing training opportunities
- creating opportunities for dialogue within communities and across the conflict divide, through organizing the informal Schlaining political dialogue meetings
We are also working with a group of international and national NGOs on a three-year project addressing the conflict between Armenians and Azerbaijanis over Nagorny Karabakh.