“…to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
— Nelson Mandela
CDR acts as a catalyst for resolving national and intranational conflicts. We bring parties to the table who want to devise ways to implement peace agreements—even if they’re not talking and negotiations have failed.
We help build peace by training participants and intermediaries in interest-based negotiation and mediation. When appropriate, we play intermediary roles. For countries and people emerging from intense controversy and violent conflicts, we design new institutional systems to promote democratic participation, manage and resolve interethnic or interreligious differences, and address a range of post-peace accord problems.
A large part of our work involves rebuilding torn relationships among people, groups, and institutions that have undergone massive social change or violent conflict. Our assistance and guidance helps bolster the stability of peace agreements. Additionally, we often return to assess and refine peace initiatives once they’re in place.
Some of our peacebuilding efforts include:
- Training negotiators in the Middle East and Latin America in effective strategies to address ethnopolitical conflicts
- Designing post-conflict land and property dispute resolution systems in Sri Lanka, East Timor, and Guatemala
- Capacity building for leaders to address interreligious conflicts between Christians and Muslims in Ambon, Indonesia
- Developing multicultural cooperation initiatives and institutions for ethnic Bulgarians, Turkish Bulgarians, and Roma
- Consulting on the design and capacity building for the National Peace Accord Structures in South Africa to manage potentially violent political conflict
