A 490/12

The European Union has announced the launch of the second phase of the civil society programme European Partnership for the Peaceful Settlement of the Conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh (EPNK).
This programme aims to support peace-building efforts concerning the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh by facilitating dialogue between civil society, media and policy-makers.

Established under the Instrument for Stability – the EU's special financial instrument created to support the peaceful settlement of conflicts, de-escalation of tensions and post-conflict rehabilitation worldwide – EPNK is a consortium of five European NGOs, which seeks to work with local partners in the South Caucasus on a wide range of peace-building projects and to help improve conditions for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement process.

The programme promotes a dynamic dialogue between a broad range of policymakers, media and civil society from all sides of the conflict. It also supports a wider participation of conflict-affected people in the peace process, including women, youth, internally displaced persons and refugees.
Programme activities are arranged around three main themes: media, public policy and conflict affected groups. They aim to:

· Broaden the base of participation in peace-building initiatives, with special attention given to marginalised groups;

· Build confidence between all sides of the conflict through increased people-to-people contact;

· Promote fresh analysis and new ideas that challenge existing discourses on the conflict with peace-oriented visions of the future, and

· Actively engage civil society in dialogue with policy makers at national and international levels on the transformation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.