This document provides recommendations for preventing ethnic violence, including establishing laws against inciting ethnic differences and penalties for politicians and media outlets that do so. It also suggests promoting civic engagement through organizations that bring groups together, countering rumors, and influencing leaders. Targeting youth through education promoting integration and a shared national identity is also recommended. Reinforcing social norms and appreciating the factors that contribute to positive peace, like safety, equality, participation in governance, access to needs, and equal opportunity, can help build resilience to conflicts. More research is still needed to understand how to best prevent ethnic violence.

1. ETHNICVIOLENCE
PREVENTION

2. • Complementing efforts to shift cultural and political norms surrounding identity,
sanctions need to be created and applied to those actors who continue to attempt
to exploit ethnic differences toward divisive ends.
• Two groups are critical here: the media and politicians. Penalties would take the
form of a national law criminalizing the incitement of ethnic differences by
political actors and public officials.These laws then need to be enforced.
• An independent body, whether the electoral commission or a human rights
council along the lines of Ghana’s CHRAJ, would be given responsibility for
investigating charges of ethnic incitement—and the authority to assess penalties
including fines and bans from holding public office.
• The symbolism generated from a few highly publicized cases would go far toward
shifting these norms.

3. Control the media
• The media also play a unique role in communicating information and impressions
in society
• As such, they have an indispensable function in a democracy to foster dialogue
and debate. Unfortunately, in practice, it is common in Africa for certain media
outlets to be controlled by politically influential individuals who are willing to whip
up identity divisions to support their interests—greatly elevating the potential for
ethnic conflict.
• Media also have the potential to escalate a local conflict to the national level—
raising the stakes for violence as well as complicating the task of resolution.
• Given the unique potential that media have for shaping social attitudes and mass
mobilization, most societies accept that media must meet certain standards for
responsible behavior.

4. Civic engagement
• civic engagement through legitimate organizations can prevent violent episodes,
especially in urban areas.
• Inter-group communication on an everyday basis is important, and the power of
formal associations to bring different groups together, police neighborhoods,
discredit false rumors and centralize communication is of paramount importance.
• These organizations can promote shared business interests among different
groups, or exert a more powerful influence on political leaders.
• Reinforcing social norms

5. targeting youth
• targeting youth is particularly important for breaking intergenerational attitudes
regarding ethnicity.
• Youth is the population group most easily mobilized to violence.A comprehensive and
deliberate educational system designed to promote integration and coexistence with
emphasis on civic lessons on citizenship and what it means to be a nation will foster this
concept of a common people with a common destiny.
• A social marketing campaign also brings this unifying message directly to the people
rather than relying on ethnic or political leaders (who may be benefiting from the
perceived divisions).
• This campaign, paralleling the successful efforts of legendaryTanzanian leader Julius
Nyerere, would simultaneously help build a common national identity (which so many
African countries still lack) while taking the ethnicity card off the table for political actors

6. Appreciating factors that promote peace
• We believe that peace is more than just the absence of violence.While the period after fighting stops and a return to
normality is welcome, stability frequently masks the reality that grievances or other causes of conflict have not been
addressed and may erupt again. Peacebuilding organisations such as Alert ultimately strive to promote what is described
as ‘positive peace’.
• To understand peacebuilding, we need to appreciate the factors that contribute to peace, the absence of which can
potentially lead to conflict. Positive peace is when:
• everyone lives in safety, without fear or threat of violence, and no form of violence is tolerated in law or in practice
• everyone is equal before the law, the systems for justice are trusted, and fair and effective laws protect people’s rights
• everyone is able to participate in shaping political decisions and the government is accountable to the people
• everyone has fair and equal access to the basic needs for their wellbeing – such as food, clean water, shelter, education,
healthcare and a decent living environment
• everyone has an equal opportunity to work and make a living, regardless of gender, ethnicity or any other aspect of
identity
• These are the factors that, taken together, provide people with the resilience that allows them to deal with their
differences and conflicts without violence.

7. Conclusion
• More research needs to be done in order to better understand how violence is
perpetuated in different communities, and what methods are effective in
preventing ethnic violence.
• Going forward, the differences between distinct communities must not be seen as
a reason for violent oppression, but rather an opportunity for collaborative
empowerment throughout all dimensions of the human experience.