Building peace in conflict affected societies

Building peace in conflict affected societies is a long and complex process. There are currently two main approaches to building peace in such societies: institutional and relational. The two are interlinked. Institutional peacebuilding focuses primarily on:

• (re) building of institutional infrastructure and capacity,
• holding of elections,
• (re) vitalisation of the economy, and
• creation and installation of a functioning governance structure.

Relational approaches to peacebuilding (often named as reconciliation) focus upon creating or repairing the social relationships that forms the glue, which holds society together. Activities that support and promote the rebuilding of trust and relationships at community level will maximise the effectiveness of the endeavor. Relational approaches are all necessary components of any reconstruction process and these are facilitated through:

• fostering dialogue between former parties to the conflict,
  
• conflict resolution and mediation training,
  
• joint social and economic development projects,
  
• psycho social support and trauma counseling, and
  
• through various educational initiatives.
  

The Friendship Agreements can be seen as key factors in building peace at a relational level. They focus on creating links across cultures and across sectors of society. They offer the opportunity to build trust and relationships between Australians and Timorese and also between different sections of Timorese society and Australian society.