Feds’ global pandemic response must support local peace building

The Colombian region of Chocó is one of the rainiest places in the world. When the region’s rivers flood, whole communities find themselves displaced, and in need of assistance. But providing humanitarian support to these communities isn’t a simple matter of getting supplies where they need to go—Chocó is also one of the areas that has suffered the effects of Colombia’s armed conflict most deeply, resulting in limited access to many of its communities, and an economy in which 80 per cent of residents rely on the informal sector. Both emergency humanitarian assistance, in the case of floods—and now COVID-19—and long-term development, work require navigating a complex web of relationships between communities, government, mining interests in the resource rich territory, and armed groups. Within this complex environment, the Mennonite Brethren Church in Chocó has successfully managed to provide valuable emergency assistance, as well as small-scale agricultural projects for decades. The church’s long-term presence and denominational structure allow them to be physically present in rural areas and urban centres alike, which, in turn, allows them to deliver humanitarian aid, help get crops to market, provide training and processing services for farmers, and co-ordinate conflict resolution and psychosocial support over a geographic area far larger than any non-local NGO could cover. Local civil society organizations like the church in Chocó are best placed to lead peace and development efforts in their own communities. Their lived experience and deep knowledge of the local context means they can navigate complicated and often dangerous contexts in a way that reinforces the foundation of lasting peace necessary for sustainable development. As Canada considers its role in long-term global COVID-19 recovery, it needs to pay careful attention to ensuring that support for local initiatives that address long-term peacebuilding, development and humanitarian initiatives are a fundamental part of its response. Over the course of 2019, many countries in Latin America, including Colombia, witnessed worrisome increases in conflict and violence and, at the same time, shrinking space for democratic participation. Then, in February 2020, COVID-19 arrived in the region. Colombia’s first case was recorded in March. In the months since, national and international policies limiting mobility and keeping ordinary people at home may have limited the spread of COVID-19, but they have done nothing to improve the social problems that were already at a boiling point in 2019. Since the beginning of Colombia’s social-distancing measures in March, 210 people have been killed in 54 massacres, 16 of them in September alone, part of a rising wave of violence against social leaders and human rights defenders. While serious human rights abuses have not been reduced, what has changed is the ability of local and international organizations to organize and accompany affected communities, and to monitor and denounce these abuses. In some cases, it has been impossible for human rights defenders to travel to remote communities or open their doors to people fleeing violence. In other situations, the international funding that keeps many of these grassroots organizations afloat has dried up, diverted to at-home recovery efforts. The result of decreased visibility and distracted policymakers means many already precarious human rights situations are deteriorating. In Chocó, the Mennonite Brethren Church has been able to use their pre-existing relationships and presence to respond to COVID-19 in a way that meets the unique needs of the communities. For example, since the beginning of the pandemic, they’ve partnered with the local government to increase farmers’ access to processing services, like milling rice. They’ve also been able to distribute humanitarian assistance, now in response to COVID-19, in the same way they always have— by using local resources, balancing communication with, and independence from local authorities, offering much-need psychosocial support, and maintaining relationships with community leaders, which allows them to maintain a position of impartiality and respect that ensures aid goes to the people who need it most, and not into the pockets of armed groups or corrupt officials. As violence rises in Colombia and the economy suffers the impacts of COVID-19, this combination of peacebuilding, development, and relief provided by the church in this hard-to-access region of Colombia will only become more necessary as we move into 2021. Funding local peacebuilding and development that takes place alongside essential humanitarian support—the kind that’s being carried out by the Mennonite Brethren Church in Chocó—is one significant way Canada can continue to advance the cause of global peace and development, as recent commitments to additional development assistance in the Throne Speech are implemented. As we have seen in Chocó, successful peacebuilding efforts take development issues like access to basic needs for water, food, land, and health care into consideration. Successful humanitarian and development efforts, in turn, must address existing and potential conflict to be truly sustainable. Development, humanitarian relief, and peace all need to be planned and carried out by local leaders and organizations in a context in which their activities are not hindered by international actions. By ensuring support for local organizations working at the intersections of humanitarian relief, development and peacebuilding, Canada can play an important role in long-term global COVID-19 recovery, as well as ongoing efforts to build sustainable peace and security throughout the world. Annalee Giesbrecht is the context analyst and advocacy and communications co-ordinator for Mennonite Central Committee in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Hill Times