Healing the War: ILO Joins IOM Efforts
Two ILO/CRISIS officials participated in the Healing the War International Conference in Rome from 19 to 21 June. The conference, subtitled “Psychosocial perspectives and experiences in conflict-torn areas,” grappled with the overlooked mental effects of armed conflict, especially in the Mediterranean region and the Balkans. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs Directorate General for Development and Cooperation co-sponsored the event.
ILO/CRISIS sat on a panel entitled “Third parties in conflict and post-conflict situations: roles, approaches, practices.” This focused on the actions of outside actors who intervene in conflicts. As the conference overview states, these actors, in trying “to help in the re-establishment of ‘normality,’ inadvertently can contribute to the obstruction of the individual and collective ‘healing’ processes by imposing and implanting external models without proper attention to psychological, social, historical, cultural and political dimensions belonging to each specific context.”
On this panel, ILO/CRISIS made two presentations: one on the Post Emergency Centre, an inter-agency initiative brokered by the ILO, and the second on the transition from emergency to reconstruction. The unit’s presence at the event demonstrates its commitment to tailor interventions and activities to the precise needs of those affected by each conflict. Decent work and socio-economic progress respond not only to the physical damage caused by war but also to the need for self-reliance and dignity. ILO/CRISIS continues to promote these ideals with its interventions in post-conflict situations worldwide.
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