Week 4: Do No Harm
Before doctors begin their medical practice, they take an oath to do no harm. Similarly, lawyers owe their clients duties of loyalty and zealous advocacy. Both doctors and lawyers understand that they are in positions of power and have the potential to change lives for the better, or the worse.
But until recently, peacebuilders didn't take quite the same approach to their work, even though the work they do could help groups broker peace, or cause devastating new conflicts to arise. In my conflict analysis course, we have been spending a lot of time learning about the "do no harm" principle as it applies to the peacebuilding field. Part of conflict analysis requires introspection and self-awareness. This inward-facing aspect of conflict analysis is crucial in being able to understand the external aspect of intervention work.
We also discussed the need to understand all the actors and drivers in a conflict situation. A responsible intervention into a conflict zone will always include a discussion of how those involved perceive and understand the origins of the conflict. Often, this is even more important than understanding the objective facts.
Everyone has their own version of the truth that is real to them. One group may perceive the conflict as being initiated and perpetuated by the other group, while the other group may see it as the opposite. Just as an x-ray may reveal an injury but not the underlying cause--only the patient can allow the doctor to understand the cause--an analysis that focuses only on objective facts may overlook subjective factors that prove crucial in resolving the conflict for good. Not looking at these perceptions and insisting the parties focus on the objective facts could cause more harm than good. "There is no neutrality without consequences."
I have really enjoyed taking the conflict analysis course through USIP. To me, it's a great reminder that even when we have the best of intentions as peacebuilders, we always need to set aside our biases and our egos. There is always something to learn, even when we become experts in our field, and even though every person shares commonalities as part of our humanity, we all have vastly different experiences that inform our actions, thoughts, beliefs, and responses. Understanding these differences while keeping in mind our common unifier is, in my opinion, the only way to be humble and ultimately effective peacebuilders.