International Alert was created more than 20 years ago in a very different era. The 1980s were characterised by a struggle for world power between the USA and USSR. War and peace were largely depicted in relation to that global rivalry, and determined by who took what side, with what forces. While conflicts between nations were decreasing towards the end of the Cold War, internal conflicts were dangerously increasing.

In this environment, efforts to promote sustainable development in many parts of the world were often undermined by violent conflict. A connection was seen between group conflict, stagnation of development, and gross violations of human rights. Governments realised that development programmes could not progress while violent conflict and human rights violations prevailed. At the same time, human rights workers recognised that the protection of political rights in conflict zones was not simply about identifying and highlighting individual violations – but also required preventative strategies and action. A different approach was desperately needed.

In 1984 and 1985, two consultations explored the potential role for non-government actors in preventing and resolving internal conflict. Unlike governments, these organisations were able to ask questions and provide information without appearing to intrude in other states’ affairs. The discussions brought together people from varying backgrounds, including internationally renowned experts in human rights, international law and conflict studies; NGOs and development agencies; and ministries of foreign affairs and politicians. They concluded that a forum should be created to address internal violence and to alert governments and world opinion to developing crises.

Bridging theory and practice

International Alert was born of this urgency to focus attention on problems of group conflict which violate human rights, inhibit development and result in mass killings and genocide. It was launched in April 1985 as The Standing International Forum on Ethnic Conflict, Development, and Human Rights (SIFEC). The organisation not only believed meaningful action should be based on solid research, it also understood it was not enough to tackle symptoms without coming to grips with root causes. Thus, it aimed to analyse the causes and effects of internal violent conflict, draw attention to their dangers, propose solutions, and provide opportunities for discussion and mediation.

SIFEC merged with the US organisation, International Alert on Genocide and Massacres, and established the first International Alert Board of Trustees in April 1986. Underlying this merger was a shared concern for human suffering, violations of human rights, and economic and social disruption. The merging of the two NGOs resulted in a pooling of resources, information, and public support with the potential to address the world’s most intractable problems.

Contributing to peace in Sri Lanka

International Alert grew out of a particular interest in Sri Lanka, a country plagued with violence since the late 1970s due to political and ethnic tensions. In 1985, following an eruption of mass violence in the country, an international committee was formed to contribute to a peaceful settlement between the Tamil and Sinhalese parties. This approach – still evident in Alert’s work today – sought to identify, from a non-partisan point of view, the specific characteristics of the conflict, as well as the root causes of violence, including: religious dimensions, socio-economic and political developments, attempted military coups, and unfair elections. Alert understood that while international action and support for Sri Lanka would help, it must be linked to progress on the peace process.

A 1988 consultation in Norway brought together people with diverse points of view, including Buddhist monks, Tamil groups, politicians, scholars and development experts. One recommendation was that serious and immediate attention should be paid to the worsening human rights violations in the south of Sri Lanka, where selective and arbitrary killings were taking place at an accelerated rate. The resulting report, Political Killings in Southern Sri Lanka, not only named those who had been killed in the conflict, but attempted to explain, in the words of the principal actors in the events, the background and motivation for the continuing tragedy. Taken together with Alert’s 1986 report on the Tamils, this work was an early demonstration of Alert’s rounded approach and impartiality in the Sri Lankan context.

The peacebuilding work in Sri Lanka was only the beginning for this new, dynamic organisation, and Alert quickly diversified its programmes into new areas in Asia, as well as Africa. In an era where ‘conflict resolution’ did not exist as a sector, Alert and its partners would build upon their human rights traditions to address human rights abuses in areas of increasing violent conflict.

The early years for International Alert were not only the beginning of a new organisation, but a new era for international relations. No other organisation concerned specifically with violent internal conflict existed at the time. The procedures for resolving internal conflict and a framework of acceptable international conduct remained undeveloped. Alert was thus established to encourage the creation of procedures and structures for resolving and preventing violent conflict.

Early on, members of Alert forged ahead with personal commitment and dedication to the cause of alleviating human suffering and combating the systemic violation of human rights that occurred in violent conflicts. The charisma, experience and network of Martin Ennals, its only full-time staff member in the early days, helped put Alert on the map, with high level involvement in international human rights discussions. Soon others would join the cause, issuing reports and investigations into some of the world’s thorniest conflicts.

Fuelled by this passion and sense of mission, the small kitchen-table operation faced many new challenges and questions. Alert knew that there were too many conflicts for any one organisation to tackle effectively. Furthermore, it was not clear what could be done and how, by whom.

Finding solutions for civil war in Uganda

In its formative years, Alert sent fact-finding missions to areas that were at risk of violence or were experiencing worsening conflict between ethnic communities. Typically these missions were requested by people directly affected by the conflict in question. At an international seminar in Norway in October 1986, for example, the President of Uganda invited Alert to examine the internal conflicts afflicting that country. The ensuing conference held in Kampala in September 1987 provided a platform for open debate on internal problems in Uganda. The Inspector General of the Ugandan government affirmed that it brought out relevant issues that were not being discussed, such as how to bring peace in the face of the continued active insurgency.

A 1989 mission to northern Uganda, where conflict continued to wreak havoc with both food and security, revealed an approaching famine. These realities and others were discussed at an international conference in Oslo in April 1989 and published in a report, You Can’t Eat Peace: The Aid Gap in Northern Uganda Today. While Alert’s involvement in Uganda came to a close, it opened the door to subsequent work in Africa.

Waging peace in Asia-Pacific

Filipino peace workers participating in the conference on Uganda encouraged International Alert’s early engagement in the Philippines. Alert became involved in supporting that country’s struggle in the aftermath of the people’s power experience of 1986 and the subsequent ratification of a new constitution. An international conference was held in the Philippines in December 1988, and was considered a success by the Filipino participants. The wide cross-section of participants made it possible for the military and others to listen to different views and become aware of public opinion. The conference was followed by a widely circulated report, Waging Peace in the Philippines./p>

Another early programme focused on establishing constitutional provisions in Fiji to protect democracy and equality of all citizens following the military coups of 1987. Alert played a role in establishing a UK-Fiji Committee to look at Fiji’s proposed new constitution, considered by some to be so racially biased as to be a ‘time bomb’ of future ethnic violence. The constitution was passed before Alert’s work could bear fruit but in 1992 a heartening change took place. Influenced by Alert, the President of Fiji announced a review of the National Constitution. Between 1993-94, Alert organised consultations that recognised the indigenous, Indo-Fijian and minority interests and established a new consensual approach to constitution drafting.

Addressing causes of conflict

From the outset International Alert envisaged that its role should include looking at generic thematic issues common to many conflicts – including racism and self determination. Alert launched a project on racism in Europe to respond to increased racist violence. The New Expressions of Racism conference in Amsterdam in 1987 aimed to produce a permanent, interdisciplinary lobby to ensure equality of rights and treatment for all people. The programme continued into the 1990s, addressing the risks endemic in countries where discriminatory laws and practices existed and where minorities and their rights went unprotected.

During this time, nearly 50 countries were experiencing conflicts related to self-determination, prompting Alert to focus on this theme. ‘The violence that accompanies those conflicts, the xenophobia and racism that result, the ethnic cleansing, genocides and assassinations that follow… are clear evidence that the drive for selfdetermination remains a powerful mobilising force’, explained an early report.

One place where Alert explored this theme was Tibet. The organisation published a report in 1988 to provide information without taking a position on the actual status of Tibet. This work helped establish dialogue with the Chinese authorities, the Dalai Llama and other Tibetan groups.

Just as Alert’s thematic and country-specific work gained momentum, the global order shifted with the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. The collapse of a bi-polar world meant that conflicts were no longer contained within the framework of the Cold War. In this new transitional environment, the young organisation would soon face other hurdles, as one of its founding members and first Secretary General fell ill with cancer. Alert would thus enter a new phase.

Faced with dramatic changes within the organisation and in the outside world, International Alert’s viability and survival were tested in the early 1990s. With the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991, a wave of nationalism swept through Southeast Europe, Russia and Central Asia. In the post-Soviet vacuum of power, desires for self-determination provoked civil war in many countries. A new world order was emerging in which the UN had far more capacity than before to deploy peacekeeping operations and offer its good offices for peace negotiations. The role of non-governmental organisations also began to be better understood and more widely accepted.

Meanwhile, instability troubled Alert at home with the tragic death of its first Secretary General. This was not only a tremendous loss for the peace and human rights community, but to an organisation just growing into its own, gaining credibility around the world. Alert faced a crossroads and, revisiting the vision of the founding members, it undertook a strategic review that assessed its own role, points of entry in conflict, and new ways to stimulate funding. In particular, Alert evaluated its response to the new global context, with emphasis on areas where there were political and military developments or an escalation in the level of human rights violations.

With several years of achievements owing to the hard work and networking of its founders, Alert was just at the point of becoming more confident and assured. This period of reflection gave the organisation space to now take a more strategic and systematic approach to its programmes. New standards were developed to scrutinise each programme and thus create a priority approach based on programme balance and other agreed criteria. This included ensuring that all future programmes had the potential for a positive contribution by Alert, that funding and programme capacity were available, and that no other body was playing a comparable lead role – criteria that still hold today.

By the end of 1992, Alert had restructured its governing body, discussed a business plan, and made concrete plans for future direction. It appointed Kumar Rupesinghe, a long-standing Alert board member, as its new Secretary General. The organisation focused on developing a stronger support base to carry out its vision through increased staffing, funding for core activities, and the creation of a positive work environment.

Responding to a new world order

The end of the Cold War had a significant impact on the global conflict landscape, further provoking intra-state conflicts characterised by ethnic and political divisions. In 1992, Alert began its programme in the former Soviet Union following a formal request by the Russian Federation Minister for Nationalities to monitor the situation in regions of possible and on-going conflict. Alert organised a series of fact-finding missions to Tatarstan, the North Caucasus and outer Mongolia, as all three regions, though geographically and ethnically distinct, shared common aspirations and grievances. By 1993, Alert also was exploring a role in facilitating negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorny Karabakh.

The importance of on-going analysis and the ability to respond flexibly to changing situations became paramount in such a fluid landscape. What were to be regarded as ‘frozen’ conflicts towards the end of the 1990s were, at this stage, very active.

Healing wounds in southern Africa

While International Alert’s longest-established and best-developed programme at this time was in Asia, the organisation was increasingly exploring work in Africa, where many countries were emerging from long internal conflicts. Much of this work focused on southern Africa, where Alert co-organised a major conference, The Consequences of Organised Violence in Southern Africa in Harare, Zimbabwe, in September 1990. The conference aimed to identify and focus attention on the direct consequences of apartheid, destabilisation, imprisonment, torture, and other related traumas in southern Africa. In a regional context marked by prolonged internal conflict, this was an exercise both in peacebuilding and in ‘early warning’, as it not only addressed the consequences of organised violence in the region, but also problems that could emerge in the future.

The Harare conference resulted in additional fact-finding missions to explore other work in the region. Of particular note was Alert’s evaluation of the National Peace Secretariat in South Africa, which brought together an international and cross-cultural fact-finding team and produced a detailed and well-received analysis. Beyond southern Africa, fact-finding missions were sent to Kenya, Sudan and Ethiopia, although this work was affected by sweeping political/military changes in these countries.

The expansion of Alert’s work into the former Soviet Union and across Africa demonstrated how the organisation emerged from its re-evaluation period with renewed clarity of direction and focus. By 1993, Alert had tripled its previous year’s funding and increased staff from 10 at the start of the year to 35 at the end. More confident and assured, Alert was on its way to a much higher profile in the growing field of peacebuilding.

In the second half of the 20th century, the world changed at unprecedented speed and in varied ways. Yet many global concerns and problems went essentially unaltered – particularly those relating to peace and justice. International Alert’s first decade of work confirmed the importance of the insights and commitment that brought it into existence; tragedies in internal conflict, such as Chechnya, Bosnia and Rwanda, showed that international institutions were still struggling to prevent violence.

While the international community saw the need for organisations such as International Alert, it was a trying time for the peacebuilding sector – struggling in comparison with the global reach of many development agencies. Alert, like other peacebuilding organisations, continued to search for its niche and role in an increasingly violent and warring world.

A strong effort to increase and stabilise funding enabled Alert to secure major grants and increase income six-fold during this period. With improved funds, Alert began to push the boundaries of peacebuilding work. While new organisations had emerged throughout the world with a focus on conflict-related issues, Alert remained a pioneer, continuing to raise awareness of issues surrounding violent conflict – and encouraging others to take part.

Pushing regional boundaries

As a direct response to the increasing number of violent internal conflicts affecting many African societies, International Alert expanded its engagement on the continent, including the Great Lakes region of Africa, Sierra Leone and Liberia. A high-profile international conference in Ethiopia in 1994 discussed challenges ahead for Africa and how organisations such as Alert could help to address some of these problems.

In 1995 Alert was invited by Ambassador Ould Abdallah, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative to Burundi, to bring together influential and senior figures from the highest levels on both sides of the divide. At the same time, Alert started a programme to stimulate more equal participation by Burundian women in civil society. Alert realised a peaceful society was only possible by working at both a high level as well as the ground level – and linking the two together. The capacity-building work with women’s groups in Burundi sparked further interest in Rwanda in 2001, where Alert was asked to train female judges to participate in the traditional Gacaca justice tribunals. The programmes in the Great Lakes region continue today.

Alert’s work in West Africa started in 1993. While working on the problems occasioned by armed conflict in Liberia, Alert realised that there could be no viable solution to that protracted conflict without taking into account what was happening in the country’s neighbourhood. In Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Ivory Coast, fighting often would overflow state borders, engulfing other communities and states. This focus then expanded to include the war in Sierra Leone.

Alert’s engagement in Sierra Leone was based on a multi-track approach involving facilitation of peace negotiations, assisting a national peace constituency and building an international support group. During this period, Alert helped to encourage dialogue that enabled hostages held by the rebels to be freed. Subsequently, its interventions focused increasingly on the peace negotiations of 1996. Alert was involved in the pre-negotiations and the formal negotiations, which saw changes in the government and led, finally, to the signing of the historic Abidjan Accord in November 1996.

Although Alert played an important role in the different events and processes leading up to the peace agreement, it became tangled in the politics of the country and received a number of serious criticisms of its involvement. During the following period, Alert reflected on these criticisms, learned from its experiences, and sought to correct the various misunderstandings of its decisions and actions.

High level advocacy and training

With 10 years of history and experience, International Alert started a more high-profile advocacy strategy. Alert staff attended meetings and spoke at conferences to call for support and adoption of preventive diplomacy measures at the highest policy levels. In addition there was increasing collaboration at every level with bodies such as the OAU, the EU and the UN to achieve policy changes and bring about better coordination of peacebuilding efforts.

Around this time, Alert began to design its own conflict resolution training programmes. The training was originally created to strengthen theory and practice of conflict resolution and support emerging civil societies within Russia and other areas of the former Soviet Union. In the years to follow, Alert’s training expanded, reaching peacebuilders in the North Caucasus; Lebanon; the Basque region of Spain; the former Yugoslavia; Kenya; and Zimbabwe. To meet the need for training materials specific to violent social and political conflicts, Alert developed a substantial Resource Pack for Conflict Transformation in 1996; a tool which is still used widely today.

By the late 1990s new organisations focused on conflict-related issues started to emerge, further pushing the issues of internal conflict on to the international political agenda. After a period of reflection upon profound events, Alert would go through a process of evaluation and learning that was in keeping with the growing scale of its ambitions and funding. Alert re launched itself and created the groundbreaking Code of Conduct to provide principles which would guide the organisation in the pursuit of its future objectives.

‘[Alert’s] increasing involvement with conflict prevention and resolution must be seen as part of a wider process whereby such activities have become an important and rapidly expanding area for aid agencies’, wrote the Christian Michelsen Institute in its first donor evaluation of a conflict prevention NGO in 1997. ‘It has largely inspired the entry of NGOs into this area of work’. The report provided some tough criticism of Alert’s recent work in Sierra Leone, as well as praise for its work in the Great Lakes.

Under the new leadership of Kevin Clements, who joined the organisation in early 1999, Alert strove to deepen its understanding of how it could best contribute to the peacebuilding sector. This increased professionalism also helped ensure legitimacy and accountability in a growing field of conflict resolution. To that end, the organisation created its Code of Conduct in 1998, providing an ethical framework for those involved in conflict transformation work.

Business and security

The new world order created new questions for international policy-makers, which encouraged Alert to deepen the synergy between its policy and peacebuilding work on the ground. Its advocacy and thematic programmes looked at the inclusion of women in peacebuilding, the role of humanitarian agencies and the EU in addressing conflict, preventative diplomacy and early warning, as well as conflict resolution training. In addition, two initiatives focused on the role of business in conflict and the issue of small arms.

A new area for Alert concentrated on the economic dimension of internal conflict and how businesses could contribute to conflict prevention rather than escalation. Started in 1999, the programme explored the accountability, responsibility, and peacebuilding capacity of multinational companies, in particular those involved in oil, gas and mining. The programme quickly grew a sound expertise, expanding to different regions across the globe, including Azerbaijan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. It would later expand its focus to include local business initiatives as well. In 2000 the programme co-published The Business of Peace, a report which followed extensive research and consultation with the business community, governments and NGOs, and drew upon Alert’s field experience in Azerbaijan.

Another programme focusing on security issues provided high level advocacy to the UN. By this time Alert had become one of the leading organisations working for control of small arms and light weapons. It not only started the well-known umbrella organisation IANSA (the International Action Network on Small Arms), but it had significant involvement in the development of Biting the Bullet, a partnership of organisations to monitor the implementation of the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons. This programme grew to examine privatisation of security and security sector reform, conducting a multi-country mapping and assessment throughout many regions of the world. In 2002, Alert published a study, Security Sector Reform; The Challenges and Opportunities of the Privatisation of Security./p>

Investing in regional programmes

At the turn of the century, Alert continued to strengthen its areas of existing work in the Great Lakes region of Africa, Sri Lanka, West Africa and the Caucasus. In Sri Lanka, the programme shifted focus to achieve its objectives through a low profile, facilitating role with effective local partners. The ‘Cost of War’ project helped to increase awareness of not only the economic cost of the Sri Lankan conflict but also the human and social cost. Another important milestone was Alert’s facilitation of a visit from a Sri Lankan cross-party group to Northern Ireland and the Philippines, which enabled discussions about developing a common negotiating strategy.

The West Africa regional programme was formalised in 1997 and continued to work with religious leaders and the Liberian media around the elections. Alert contributed to the development of a peacebuilding constituency in the Mano River area involving civil society groups. It also supported ECOWAS (The Economic Community of West African States) which included regional initiatives to prevent violent conflict as a key aim alongside its original mandate of economic integration.

Alert’s work in the former Soviet Union continued in 1999, with the bulk of its work in Georgia and Abkhazia. By bringing various group to the table through the Caucasus NGO Forum, it was possible to open a space for dialogue where none existed before. Through this period of consolidation, Alert’s resolve and willingness to change fuelled a quiet and managed growth. A more certain organisation would emerge, well-positioned to continue leading the way in peacebuilding. Yet there would be even more challenges for Alert as the global context changed once again following 9/11.

The tragic events of 11th September, 2001 completely altered the geo-political landscape. While much of Alert’s programming was not shifted by the attack on the Twin Towers, these events reinforced the need to address the underlying causes of violence. Terrorism played more greatly than ever before and engaging in a debate about the ‘war on terror’ now became a requirement. The new language labelled many insurgent groups as terrorists, contributing to a hardening of positions and making it more difficult to bring sides together and achieve negotiated settlements.

Nine-eleven was a reminder that there are no absolutely secure states. It also remained clear that the dynamics of internal conflict are complex, embedded in history and incredibly destructive. There are no simple, quick-fix solutions to the resolution of violent conflict. The need for an organisation like International Alert, committed to keeping conflict prevention firmly on the international agenda, remained strong.

Under the leadership of its new Secretary General, Dan Smith, Alert underwent a strategic review to reflect on its approach to new and continuing tasks, to strengthen its work, and to further improve its effectiveness. This series of discussions and cumulative decisions led Alert to a period of growth and expansion. By the end of 2005, it had more than 40 projects with over 170 partner organisations in 20 countries, reflecting, in part, an increased demand for the skills and experience found in Alert staff and partners.

New work in Nepal; growth in Sri Lanka

In Nepal, the royal takeover in February 2005 marked a new phase in the gradual deterioration of the political and security situation since the escalation of the civil war in 2001 and the dismissal of elected government in late 2002. International Alert started its Nepal programme in 2001. It consulted with individuals and organisations on the costs and benefits of the Maoist conflict, as well as analysed the role of the private sector and women in peacebuilding. This work led to the formation of Friends for Peace, a peace research centre based in Kathmandu to help address factors that led to the failure of previous negotiations between the government and the Maoists. In 2005 Alert also started its ‘Rethinking Aid’ project aimed at helping the international community create a careful and more coordinated response to the growing crisis in Nepal.

Alert’s original, founding programme in Sri Lanka went through a shift between the late 1990s and early 2000s. Where historically much of its work had been focused on encouraging the formation of citizens’ advocacy groups, it reconcentrated its efforts on local business leaders to contribute to conflict transformation and economic, social and political stability. By helping to establish the Business for Peace Alliance, Alert concentrated on increasing the peacebuilding capacity of the private sector. It also helped recovery efforts for the devastation left by the tsunami that hit Sri Lankan shores at the end of 2004.

In the Caucasus, Alert built on established programmes in the region, taking the lead in a consortium of international NGOs to address the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorny Karabakh. The project focused on generating trust between significant civil society leaders. Alert also began encouraging and facilitating dialogue between the private sector and NGOs. With partners in Azerbaijan, Alert helped to establish the Business Development Alliance, a group of oil companies, local businesses, NGOs and international actors to help combat the potential negative impacts of the oil industry.

Expanding on global issues

While its regional programmes continued to deepen and expand, International Alert’s thematic programmes also took off, and sharpened their ability to produce quality training materials and conduct thorough conflict analyses. One area that forged new paths was the work with development and humanitarian aid organisations.

Alert continued its programme to help partner NGOs, governments, bilateral agencies and intergovernmental organisations adopt conflict-sensitive approaches to all their activities – by addressing real policy and operational dilemmas. To this end, Alert contributed to research, the development of tools, skills transfer, and advocacy and lobbying work. In 2004, a resource pack was launched to provide operational guidelines for conflict-sensitive approaches to humanitarian assistance and development. This work proved to have an impact, with conflict prevention and ‘sensitivity’ to conflict issues now being mainstreamed into the thinking of decisionmakers all over the world.

In this area, Alert also provided assistance to new EU presidencies. Understanding that the EU as a positive force for peacebuilding had yet to be fully realised, Alert provided advice and lobbied EU decision-makers with specific policy recommendations. This work, which began in the early 1990s, would have a significant impact on EU policy. In the years to come, the European Commission’s 2001 Communication on Conflict Prevention (their guiding legislation) drew heavily on Alert’s work, as did the Development Council’s conclusion on countries in conflict, which was adopted in 2002.

For Alert and its work, the external environment kept changing, marked by a growing preoccupation with terrorism and reaching close to home with the July 2005 bombings in London. Alert continued to evolve and adapt, re-affirming its commitments. These efforts have become essential to ensuring that the 21st century is less violent that the 20th.

Twenty years have come and gone with a succession of new challenges. There will surely be more to come. Violent conflict will not disappear but will instead take new forms as the global context changes and problems within and between differing societies continue to build.

Economic globalisation, increased pressure on the world’s natural resources, and social marginalization amid population growth are creating rapid social and economic changes and tension – especially within poorer countries. If affluent nations respond to this tension with force, problems will only worsen and the direct human price will increase. It is therefore essential that these cycles of violence are broken rather than fed.

International Alert has made a modest, but effective, contribution to addressing some of the gravest armed conflicts on the planet. Now we need to build on our strengths: our people, our activities and our approach. Our work would not be possible without the knowledge, expertise and dedication of our staff and partners. And this work would not be as effective if our activities and approach were not rooted in a dual focus on policy and local efforts. Over the coming years, we will continue to deepen our understanding of peacebuilding issues by creating stronger links between our field programmes and our advocacy work. This is what Alert was founded on, what has seen us prosper and what makes us unique.

New areas, new challenges

Like other NGOs, International Alert requires sustainable funds and a solid business plan to meet the needs of project and programme activities, as well as core costs. To this end, we will continue to improve our financial management and budget discipline. We also will continue to strengthen our institutional fundraising capacity and develop a more active outreach programme.

Our future success is dependent on success in the wider peacebuilding sector as well, particularly its effectiveness and credibility. The sector needs to be more proficient in both gauging and explaining the impact of peacebuilding. For Alert, this means increasing public
awareness of the issues involved in peacebuilding and of the work of peacebuilding organisations. Alert will aim to do this among key groups that influence opinion and policy.

A larger preoccupation will be balancing our geographical presence and scale: how best does one organisation impact the wide-scale problem of violent conflict? Often, funding constraints and other factors have meant operating on too small a scale and in the margins of the key issues. Alert will need to ensure that we are working on a scale that is commensurate with the problems we address. We also expect to see a greater field presence relative to our London-based staff to better assist local efforts for peace.

To remain a vibrant organisation, to contribute to strengthening the peacebuilding sector, and to remain abreast of the evolving international agenda, Alert needs to continue embracing new challenges. To carry out new work, Alert can both mobilise existing capacities and develop new ones as necessary. We must look at engaging in new countries and regions, including: Central Asia, the Middle East, Sudan and Latin America.

What is certain for the future is that Alert must remain prepared and able to change and innovate, as it has done in the past. The road to a peaceful world is a long one, and the organisation must build its strength increasingly on its ability to communicate effectively. The field of peacebuilding is becoming more recognised and respected. Alert will continue to help strengthen the sector, sharing the learning of the last 20 years and helping to find new ways of making peace possible.

We will continue to integrate lessons learned and successes into future work, building upon our strategic peacebuilding approaches through continued planning, assessment and evaluation. We will continue our aim to make a difference – to enhance the prospect of a better life for people now living under the daily threat of violence.

‘Without peace, there is little hope for human rights’.

Martin Ennals was not only the first Secretary General of International Alert, he was the source of Alert’s early energy, inspiration and development. His untimely death in 1991 was a severe blow to the organisation – and a great loss to the field of human rights.

A champion of human rights

As a pioneer of the human rights movement, Martin Ennals inspired many with his tireless devotion and life-long commitment to individual justice. Throughout his career, Ennals was involved with a wide range of activities in his search for peaceful solutions to conflict and his defence and promotion of equal rights for all. He was instrumental in the founding or early development of many noteworthy organisations including Amnesty International, HURIDOCS, Article 19 and International Alert.

As Secretary General of Amnesty International from 1968 to 1980, Ennals saw the organisation grow in a manner which could not have been dreamed of at its inception in 1961. During his stewardship, Amnesty was awarded the Erasmus Prize, the UN Human Rights Award and the Nobel Peace Prize – recognition of its credibility and authority throughout the world.

Ennals was a founding member of International Alert and its first secretary general from 1986 to 1990. From his vision – to address the widespread violations of human rights inherent in violent internal conflicts – Alert embarked on its path to become one of today’s leading peacebuilding NGOs. Friends say it was Ennals’ modesty, boundless energy, and contagious commitment that attracted support to his projects and allowed them to succeed. ‘He infected people with his own enthusiasm, harnessing others to his beliefs’, recalls Leah Levin, a long-standing board member.

Sadly, International Alert would be one of Ennals’ last contributions to the field. He died of lung cancer in 1991, aged 64, leaving many in the human rights community shaken. Two years later, the Martin Ennals Foundation was established to honour his legacy and, since 1994, the Martin Ennals Award has been distributed in recognition of human rights defenders who share Ennals’ vision and drive. Through the award that bears his name – and through the work of so many organisations he shaped and supported over a life-time – Ennals will be remembered.