1988-1990: The Early Years

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.

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.

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Last updated: July 2006

■ Work in Latin America commences with a report on Suriname exploring conflict potential, followed by a mission in March 1989.

■ International conference on Biharis (stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh), in London

■ First Waging Peace Conference is held in Manila, the Philippines.

■ Conference on Uganda in Oslo to report on fact-finding mission regarding the conflict and impact on food and security issues.

■ Missions to Fiji to help prevent ethnic violence and develop a more democratic constitutional framework.

■ Widely distributed report, Political Killings in Southern Sri Lanka, is published.

■ Series of early warning advocacy seminars in Oslo and Geneva.

■ Alert holds talks with the government and separatists in Papua New Guinea.

■ International consultation on Tibet in London to concentrate on the issue of self-determination for the Tibetan people.

■ Conference on political violence in southern Africa takes place in Harare, Zimbabwe.