Carnegie Commission says 'mass violence is not inevitable.'.

• Author: Rutsch, Horst
• Position: Includes related articles

In December 1997, after a comprehensive three-year study of violent conflict, costing some $9.5 million and involving a large number of international scholars and policy makers, the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict released a 257-page, final report. Taking a long-term, global view of violent conflicts and utilizing a functional health policy model for disease prevention, the report examines the principal causes of deadly ethnic, nationalist and religious conflicts, both between and within States, and seeks to determine the requirements of an effective system for preventing mass violence. It also looks at ways in which international organizations, and the United Nations in particular, can contribute to developing a coherent international system of non-violent conflict prevention. The three major conclusions offer a cautiously hopeful view on the possibilities of preventing deadly conflict: mass violence is not inevitable; there is an urgent need to prevent deadly conflict; and successful preventive action is possible.

The report emphasizes three preventive imperatives, the first two under the principle of operational prevention: preventing the emergence of violence through early warning and effective reaction to signs of an immediate crisis; and preventing the spread of violence through extended efforts to resolve underlying root causes of violence. The third strategy, under the principle of structural prevention, aims to prevent the recurrence of violence through international and regional arrangements and through social development that establish long-term conditions of security, well-being and justice.

The Carnegie Corporation will spend the next two years promoting the Commission's findings in an effort to effect internationally a large-scale shift in the political will of Governments towards preventing violent conflict.

The Commission, set up in May 1994, was co-chaired by Cyrus R. Vance, former United States Secretary of State, and David A. Hamburg, President Emeritus of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Among its members were 16 eminent international leaders and scholars with long experience in conflict prevention and resolution. They were supported by a distinguished 42-member Advisory Council.

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