Formation 1994 Purpose Peacebuilding Location Geneva, Switzerland | Type INGO Headquarters Geneva, Switzerland Website www.interpeace.org | |
Interpeace is an international non-governmental peacebuilding organization. Interpeace works with local partner organizations with the aim of building long term peace. The organization is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It has regional offices in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire); Guatemala City (Guatemala); Nairobi (Kenya); and representation offices in Brussels (Belgium); New York City (United States).
Contents
History
The origins of Interpeace date back to 1994, when the United Nations conducted a peacebuilding pilot project, called the 'War-torn Societies' project. The project then transitioned to become an independent non-profit organization in 2000 now named Interpeace. Interpeace still has a strategic partnership with the United Nations. It can operate as either an independent NGO or as a United Nations initiative.
Organizational structure
The organization was founded by Matthias Stiefel. Since 2005, Scott M. Weber has been the Director-General of Interpeace. He was re-appointed for a second term as Director-General in 2010.
Governing Council
The Interpeace Governing Council is the highest decision-making body of the organization. Since 2009, former President of Ghana John A. Kufuor has been the chairman of the Interpeace Governing Council. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari was chairman of the Interpeace Governing Council from 2000–2009. Since 2009, Ahtisaari has been Chairman Emeritus and a Special Advisor.
Governing Council members are elected and can serve two terms. Current Interpeace Governing Council members are:
Advisory Council
The Interpeace Advisory Council is a forum to debate peacebuilding issues.
Members include:
Ambassador Rubén Zamora - Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the United Nations
Ambassador Päivi Kairamo - Permanent Representative of Finland to the United Nations in Geneva
Mr. Jelte Van Wieren - Director of the Stabilisations and Humanitarian Aid Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
Ambassador Veronika Bard - Permanent Representative of Sweden to the United Nations in Geneva
Ambassador Ridha Bouabid - Permanent Representative of the OIF to the United Nations in Geneva
Additional members are currently being recruited.
Finances
Interpeace's work is funded by contributions from governments, multilateral organizations and private donors.
In 2012 Interpeace's expenditure was USD $20.3 million. The projected budget for 2013 is USD $20 million.
Since 2009, Interpeace's financial reports are prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). In 2010, Interpeace received ZEWO certification from the Swiss charity evaluator.
Programmes
Interpeace currently works in the following countries and territories:
Interpeace also works on constitution-making for peace. In 2011, Interpeace released a constitution-making handbook outlining the options for a constitution-making process.
Past programmes include: