Conflict sensitivity/Do No Harm (DNH) through an everyday peace lens: analysing a Rohingya–Rakhine program in Myanmar

Abstract

This paper examines conflict-sensitivity/DNH through the lens of everyday peace. It draws on data from a local non-government organisation program working on development and peacebuilding between Rohingya Muslim and Rakhine Buddhist communities in Rakhine State, Myanmar. That program is framed around the everyday peace concept, the social practices commonly adopted by ordinary people as they seek to get on with daily life in ways that minimise risk, and perhaps work to deepen inter-communal relationships. Everyday peace thus has obvious overlaps with the DNH concept of “local capacities for peace” (LCPs). This paper analyses this program to make several contributions to the understanding of conflict-sensitivity from this framework, including expanded conceptions of LCPs and new warnings of potential harm inherent in what are often perceived as LCPs, unless power imbalances are concurrently addressed. These findings aim to improve conflict-sensitivity/DNH practice.