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Nonviolent Peaceforce is anti-cynicism pill for many peace activists who are trying to create a peaceful world. Two human rights activists, Mel Duncan and David Hartsough, founded NP in 1999. Today it operates like a mini-United Nations in the heart of the Twin Cities. Tucked away in a house on Oak Grove Street opposite the Walker Art center, NP staff monitors the activities of its peacekeeping forces in conflict areas such as Sri Lanka, Guatemala and the Philippines as well as preparing its next deployments to Uganda and Colombia.

In 2000, 11 countries requested peacekeepers. By 2003, with a budget of less than $500,000, NP trained 15 civilian peacekeepers in Thailand and deployed its first peacekeepers to Sri Lanka, a country torn by civil war for more than 20 years. By 2008, NP had over 70 peacekeepers in four countries.

At its founding, NP was organized with the help of more than 130 representatives from 40 organizations world-wide. Since 2002, nearly 100 organizations from over 50 countries have joined the NP.

Representatives from these organizations hold a conference every three years and elect council members.

“Sometimes, we are the only international presence in a conflict region,” said NP staff member Erika Shatz, who runs the NP USA fund-raising arm. “That alone can stop a conflict from escalating.”

Nonviolent Peacekeeping forces live and work among the civilian population in violent regions.

“Our peacekeepers protect local human rights leaders and civilians working under threat as they advance peace in their country. There are people who are trying to silence these individuals and part of our job is to prevent that silencing,” Shatz said.

The more fear in a society, the fewer people who will speak out and participate in building a better community, she said.

The Nonviolent Peacekeepers are paid forces. NP does its work without weapons. Instead they are armed with knowledge of their surroundings and the training they received from NP. Peacekeepers are trained to practice nonviolence in what ever situation they face in the field. Basic training is six weeks long and includes training in local language, the area’s culture, the nature of the conflict and ways to engage participants peacefully. Classes also include three weeks of intensive education in the principles of nonviolent civilian peacekeeping, team awareness, communication and problem-solving skills. Each field team member commits to serving for two years.

Some of its work includes assessing and documenting the conflict. It also provides a place for people in conflict to meet. It facilitates negotiations and sometimes monitors elections.

The group is modeled after the work of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and other nonviolent peace workers. NP’s vision is to create a large-scale nonviolent peacekeeping force through deployment, training, education and advocacy, according to its website.

“What we are doing today will offer hope for future generations,” said Tom Sullivan, who has been volunteering with NP since 2003. “I volunteer and I believe in NP and the work they are doing because I want my grandchildren and their grandchildren to have a bright future but also to live in a peaceful world.”

NP has been in Sri Lanka since 2003. More than 64,000 people have been killed and 1.6 million are displaced in the civil war that has ravaged the country since 1983. Today, there are four NP offices in Sri Lanka with a total of 50 NP peacekeepers living in the middle of the conflict. In 2005, NP recruited, trained and coordinated more than 100 international workers to monitor the election. It also trained 16,000 Sri Lankans who volunteered to be election observers.

NP is also credited for bring the issue of child abduction into military service from both sides of the conflict to the UN. Children as young as eight are abducted and forced into military service in Sri Lanka. In 2006, NP brought this problem to the attention of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees. The UN then put pressure on Sri Lanka government and rebel groups. Since then child abduction has been reduced in that country.

One in five countries is in a war, according to the United Nations And civilians are more at risk than ever. In 1920, civilians killed in armed conflicts comprised 10 percent of the total death toll, which increased to 70 percent in 2000.

“War is not working. There are more civilian deaths compared to military deaths,” Shatz said. “This is a civilian issue. We want to create an alternative to violence and war.”

NP is working to change global peace and security strategies by using negotiating strategies to conflicts. (More wars have been ended by negotiations than by military victory).

According to Uppsala Conflict Data Program in Sweden, 42 wars were ended by negotiated settlement and 23 ended by military victory in the 1990s. In wars between 2000 and 2005, 17 have been settled through negotiation and four by military victory.

NP is funded by the United Nations High Commission on Refugees and governmental and humanitarian aid organizations in Germany, Netherlands, U.K., Spain and Australia. Most of its funding is from 4,000 individuals in the United States. Last year they gave a total of $2,000,000.

My dollar would not probably accomplish anything close to what these donors do but it makes me feel better that I at least put it down for a good cause.