Invitation FES/EKD: Peace Report 2023, Brussels, 24 October, 12:00 at the EKD premises

Invitation

Currently, the EU deploys 13 crisis management missions to promote global security and respond to crises. They aim to strengthen partner countries’ civilian security capacities, monitor borders in conflict zones, provide advice to national institutions or in certain cases take on an executive role. HR/VP Josep Borell underlines that civilian crisis management missions are an essential component of the EU's engagement in the world. Moreover, the EU countries are still among the biggest donors of humanitarian aid worldwide.

Humanitarian aid, development cooperation and peacebuilding belong together. Still, given for example the wave of military coups in recent months in several African countries, the effectiveness of these measures is put into question. Without real reform and transformation resilience remains a hollow concept. In the light of the watershed moment for international security and defence policy due to the war in Ukraine there is also the danger of military logics taking more space in the context of international interventions and of humanitarian aid being linked to security interests. How can we ensure that development cooperation, humanitarian aid and crisis management effectively increase the governance quality and accountability of governments? Which lessons can be learned from past experiences? Is there best practice at hand to build on?

Against this background we would like to discuss the findings and recommendations of the Peace Report 2023. The Peace Report is the joint yearbook of the German Institutes of Peace and Conflict Research (BICC / HSFK / IFSH / INEF). Researchers from various disciplines investigate the realities of conflicts in various countries around the world. Their analyses call for a new concept of European and cooperative security and a strategy for the time after the war in Ukraine.

The offices of the EKD and FES in Brussels are delighted to invite you to a panel discussion to present the report to an interested audience in Brussels.

Programme

12h00     Registration and Light Lunch

12h30     Welcome Remarks

Katrin Hatzinger, Director Brussels Office of the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD)

and Christiane Kesper, Head of FES EU office

12h40     Panel Discussion

Prof. Dr. Tobias Debiel, Vice-Director, Institute for Development and Peace

Prof. Dr. Michael Köhler, Deputy Director-General, DG Echo

Sonya Reines-Djivanides, Executive Director, European Peacebuilding Liaison Office (tbc)

Followed by discussion with the audience chaired by Sidonie Wetzig, Policy Officer, FES EU Office

14h00     End of the programme

The conference will be held in English. There will be no interpretation.