CONFLICT EARLY WARNING AND EARLY RESPONSE PRACTITIONERS GUIDE
Acknowledgements
The production of this guide has been made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The agency provided financial and technical support to the Safeguarding Democratic Space in Kenya (SADES-K) programme implemented by FHI 360. In turn, FHI 360 gave
a grant to KECOSCE for specific activities, including the development of this guide. The SADES-K programme has also supported efforts in Tana River and Mombasa counties to strengthen the sub-national EWER structures that KECOSCE is implementing. These initiatives include multi-stakeholder forums and police-community engagements to build a culture of reporting violations that threaten peace.
KECOSCE would also like to thank the SADES-K team at FHI 360 for its advice and inputs in shaping and improving this guide. Specific recognition goes to Phyllis Ombonyo, the Chief of Party, Maureen Omondi, the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, and George Obanyi, the Communication Officer, for their constant support to this project.
We also recognise Dominic Pkalya of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) and Peter Mwamachi from the National Steering Committee on Peacebuilding and Conflict Management for their support in the content development and review of the document. We also thank Elvi Agunda from the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) for her reviews and inputs.
Special gratitude goes to KECOSCE Executive Director Phyllis Muema, who provided technical leadership in the conceptualisation and development of this guide. We also acknowledge KECOSCE programme staff Joseph Syanda and Zed Mkalla, who spearheaded the data collection and drafting of the guide.
Foreword
Kenya has been a relatively peaceful country since attaining independence in 1963. Its economic, social and political stability has largely contributed to holding the nation together. Kenya’s contribution to peacebuilding and conflict management responses has been achieved largely in its strategy to build partnerships and collaboration with
critical partners, including civil society organisations, whose contribution to peacebuilding has been immense.
Over the years, the Government of Kenya has set up mechanisms to ensure that conflicts are adequately addressed at different levels of the society. This has been done through strengthening of institutions, formulation and implementation of policy and legislative frameworks, as well as providing various guidelines for resolving conflicts.
The Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, where the National Steering Committee for peace building and conflict management is domiciled, coordinates peacebuilding and conflict management.
The NSC has strengthened its partnership with the Kenya Community Support Centre (KECOSCE) since 2012, when the centre established the Coast Early Warning and Early Response Mechanism. The mechanism is an effort to bring various actors in the peace and security sector together to work towards proactive human rights and people- centred approaches to conflicts.
KECOSCE’s Conflict Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) is a critical tool in contemporary conflict prevention and peace building. At the heart of the functionality of the EWER mechanism is data collection, analysis and the timely dissemination of information and knowledge to the right people and institutions. Its success should be determined not by its ability to predict conflict, but rather, its ability to facilitate the prevention of conflict through timely and relevant response.
The system also includes a feedback loop, whereby results and information from interventions can inform and improve the overall EWER system itself. Therefore, effective prevention — as well as proactive conflict management and resolution — must be informed by an equally dynamic and integrated early warning system. Such a system
should include government, community, and civil society actors as part of a systematic and multifaceted process of data collection, information sharing and verification. This guide shows us how the State and we can advance our commitments to work for peace and cohesion.