Peace and Security

Peace is more than the absence of war and violence. People are only truly “safe” when they can freely develop their potential. Positive peace and human security are the concepts on which our peace and security policy commitment is based.

In concrete terms, globally, this means that we are committed to disarmament, dialogue, and cooperation.

We intervene if necessary. We also advocate a reform of the United Nations so that it can respond quickly, effectively, and impartially to conflicts. In many countries, we work with our partners to improve democratic oversight of security structures and actors. The public must also be able to hold officers and police officers accountable for their actions.

In Nigeria, particularly, our programmes under this thematic focus on Strengthening Civil-military Relations; Security Sector Reforms and Governance (SSR/G); Research and Policy Advisory, and the mainstreaming of Women and Youth agency into Peace and Security Architecture through activities that facilitate knowledge exchanges such as multi-stakeholder forums, and policy reforms around human rights, justice, social inclusion, and human security.

For us, social democratic peace policy is much more than security policy. The United Nations' 2030 Agenda with its 17 development goals makes it clear: Peacebuilding is an integral part of all policy areas - from economic, social, and environmental policy to cultural policy, in both rich and poor countries.