Conflict Sensitivity Aid is neutral in contexts of conflict. When resources are brought into a context, those resources and their means of transfer will affect circumstances and relationships among people in that context. Following the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and the emerging realization that aid often contributes to increases in violence and conflict (Aiding Violence, Uvin, 1998), academics and practitioners began to focus more attention on how aid affects conflict dynamics. Soon several methodologies, frameworks and tools emerged to assist aid practitioners in designing and implementing interventions that would be conflict sensitive. Three of the most influential include: Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment (Bush, 1998), which focuses on the effects of projects on structures that enhance peaceful coexistence; Conflict Impact Assessment Systems (Reychler, 1998), which focuses on supporting coherent peacebuilding policies and developing tools for policy makers to ensure effective aid efforts; and Do No Harm (Anderson, 1999), which focuses on the modalities of aid delivery and strengthening local capacities for peace. These and other conflict sensitivity frameworks help organizations: Understand the context of conflict in which they operate; Understand the interaction between their programs and the context; and Act upon this understanding in order to avoid negative impacts and maximize positive impacts on the conflict. They demonstrate that conflict sensitivity can be applied to any type of aid intervention. It is a set of techniques for designing and implementing programs that minimize negative effects and maximize their positive effects on the relationships among groups in a context.
Conflict Sensitivity Aid is neutral in contexts of conflict. When resources are brought into a context, those resources and their means of transfer will affect circumstances and relationships among people in that context. Following the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and the emerging realization that aid often contributes to increases in violence and conflict (Aiding Violence, Uvin, 1998), academics and practitioners began to focus more attention on how aid affects conflict dynamics. Soon several methodologies, frameworks and tools emerged to assist aid practitioners in designing and implementing interventions that would be conflict sensitive. Three of the most influential include: Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment (Bush, 1998), which focuses on the effects of projects on structures that enhance peaceful coexistence; Conflict Impact Assessment Systems (Reychler, 1998), which focuses on supporting coherent peacebuilding policies and developing tools for policy makers to ensure effective aid efforts; and Do No Harm (Anderson, 1999), which focuses on the modalities of aid delivery and strengthening local capacities for peace. These and other conflict sensitivity frameworks help organizations: Understand the context of conflict in which they operate; Understand the interaction between their programs and the context; and Act upon this understanding in order to avoid negative impacts and maximize positive impacts on the conflict. They demonstrate that conflict sensitivity can be applied to any type of aid intervention. It is a set of techniques for designing and implementing programs that minimize negative effects and maximize their positive effects on the relationships among groups in a context.