Our Projects:
The Fund for Peace Around the Globe

 

 
 
Below is a sampling of some of FFP's work worldwide. Please note that although FFP is active in many countries, we do not maintain a permanent presence outside of our Washington, D.C. headquarters; any permanent presence abroad is in coordination with local partner organizations.
 

Key: Projects performed by FFP's Conflict Early Warning & Assessment Program Projects performed by FFP's Sustainable Development & Security Program Projects performed by FFP's Transnational Threats Program

Argentina A prominent Southern Cone regional power, from the 1960s to the early 1990s, Argentina had an aspiring nuclear energy and technological development program, although it never produced nuclear weapons. Puerto Iguazú, as part of Argentina’s virtually lawless Tri-Border Area (TBA), is home to substantial smuggling and other illicit activities. The Fund for Peace has conducted extensive research in the TBA as well as interviewing officials in Buenos Aires from the Ministries of the Interior, Defense, Foreign Affairs, the police and gendarmerie, and the military about the Argentine response to terrorism and illicit activities emanating from the TBA.

Armenia Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union Republic of Armenia has become a popular origin for nuclear materials trafficking over the past twenty years, and continues to be threatened by smugglers of nuclear and other material derivatives of weapons of mass destruction. In cooperation with the Regional Studies Center and the Caucasus Institute in Yerevan, the TNT program has conducted research since 2008 in Armenia and the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of its research project in the South Caucasus and nuclear trafficking routes throughout the region.

Australia In Australia, FFP has performed workshops on conflict assessment, based around our CAST framework, for various Australian military and government agencies as part of a program in conjunction with the Asia-Pacific Civil-Military Center of Excellence based just outside of Canberra.

Azerbaijan Over the past several decades, oil-rich Azerbaijan has become one of the key players in the Caucasian region in promoting regional security, particularly given its strategic location between Russia and Iran. To address illicit smuggling and security issues in the South Caucasus, and possible threats of nuclear trafficking coming from the neighboring restive part of the Russian region Dagestan and Iran, the TNT program in Azerbaijan since 2008, most recently with assistance from the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy (ADA) and the Center for Strategic Studies (SAM) in Baku. Recently, particular focus has been paid to the cooperation between the US and Azeri border officials and trainers as part of the State Department’s Export Control and Related Border Security Program (EXBS).

Brazil Brazil had a covert of nuclear technology development program, which included construction of an unsafeguarded uranium enrichment facility and a missile program, during its rivalry with nuclear developing Argentina between the 1960s and 1990s. Despite this, and like its neighbor Argentina, Brazil has never developed nuclear weapons and has become a state party to several non-proliferation treaties. As part of the three countries sharing the restive and lawless Tri-Border Area (TBA), the FFP has focused on Brazilian initiatives at combating illicit crime and terrorism emanating from the TBA, with particular attention paid to Brazil’s role in counterterrorism and fighting money laundering initiatives in the region.

Cameroon In Cameroon, FFP is working in partnership with a U.S. oil company to provide human rights training to the Bataillon d'Intervention Rapide, the elite forces of the Cameroonian military that are charged with the responsibility of protecting the country's oil fields. The human rights training, which places special emphasis on the concepts of respect and honour, includes both a formal person-to-person training that is provided to the rank-and-file combatants as well as graphical training materials.

Canada In Canada, FFP worked in partnership with Monkey Forest Consulting and a Canadian oil company to create a comprehensive security and human rights training curriculum for the company's staff in operations in North America, South-East Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. The program included the development of a multi-day training program, training materials and a program of training senior leaders to impart the knowledge throughout the company.   In Canada, FFP has performed workshops on conflict assessment, based around our CAST framework, for various Canadian military and government agencies as part of a program in conjunction with the Peace Operations and Fragile States Policy Division within the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in Ottawa.

Colombia In Colombia, FFP partnered with International Alert and the Government of Colombia to host workshops on the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. These workshops included a multisectoral dialogue of government, civil society and government and culminated in the publication of a Guidance Note on National-Level Implementation for the Voluntary Principles, available here.

Ethiopia Ethiopia has a poor domestic commitment and capacity for nuclear security, probably due to a lack of institutional history regarding nuclear energy and related materials. However, its proximity to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden - both of which are heavily transited waterways - make it an ideal transshipment corridor for nuclear materials and other illicit goods. The TNT program, as part of its focus on terrorism and illicit trafficking in the Horn of Africa, has conducted research in Ethiopia since 2010, including interviews with officials of the African Union, located in Addis Ababa.

Georgia Including Abkhazia and South Ossetia Georgia, and its breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia (the latter currently controlled by Russia), form part of the political tense South Caucasus region with a Soviet legacy of decommissioned nuclear facilities. Due to its positioning on the strategic land-bridge in the Caucasus, Georgia is has steadily become an important transit point for nuclear materials and other illicit markets. Despite worldwide efforts to eliminate proliferation, there have been multiple nuclear smuggling incidents on Georgian territory since 2007. In partnership with the Georgia Foundation for Strategic and International Studies (GFIS) and Tbilisi State University, the FFP has had active research projects in Georgia, including the two breakaway regions, since 2005, with a strong focus on bi-lateral Georgia-US partnerships for nuclear and chemical weapons security and border initiatives. We have also held three workshops in Tbilisi with the participation of individuals from across the region on the role of civil society in combating illicit trafficking.

Guatemala In Guatemala, FFP is working in partnership with a mining company to review implementation of the Voluntary Principles and support cross-departmental and cross-location learning. FFP is also working in partnership to provide human rights training to all company staff throughout all operations and locations.

Indonesia In Indonesia, FFP partnered with the Public Health Institute to adapt its Roundtable model to develop a Health & Business Roundtable in Indonesia focused on increasing partnerships. FFP also, together with companies operating in Indonesia, introduced the Voluntary Principles on Security & Human Rights to support the creation of a multistakeholder dialogue in Jakarta focused on their national implementation. The workshops were a key step in the continuing process of Government of Indonesia's increasing involvement in the Voluntary Principles.

Iraq* On Iraq, FFP convened a multistakeholder dialogue in Amman, Jordan on national-level implementation of the Voluntary Principles. The workshops led to the drafting of a suggested way forward for continuing engagement of Iraq on the Voluntary Principles.

Kenya Although a non-nuclear weapons state, Kenya is thought to be a major transit point for illegal weapons destined for sub-Saharan and East Africa. supports all efforts to increase the security and stability in the region, but has expressed some interest in starting a nuclear energy program in the future. Its border with lawless and fragile Somalia and its role as host to tens of thousands of refugees also makes it particularly vulnerable. As part of its Horn of Africa research initiative, the FFP has conducted research in Kenya since 2010, with particular focus on border security and the trafficking of potential dual-use chemical weapons.

Laos In Laos, FFP has observed the operations of a mining company with a focus on community development and environmental sustainability projects.

Liberia Ten years after Liberia’s devastating civil war, FFP has engaged civil society organizations across the country for participatory conflict assessment and early warning, tracking trends in social, economic, political, and security pressures which could lead to renewed tensions. This information is shared with the wider peacebuilding community, including the Early Warning Working Group, and is mapped on the Early Warning and Response Network site.

Libya In Libya, FFP partnered with the Government of Canada to host a multistakeholder dialogue in Tripoli that brought together local and foreign governments, civil society and the corporate sector on the issue of responsible investment in post-conflict Libya, with particular emphasis on the oil sector. The dialogue also featured a workshop on security and human rights, and the importance of responsible business operations, particularly in a sensitive post-conflict environment. The workshops culminated in the publication of a suggested course of action on responsible investment and national-level implementation of the Voluntary Principles in Libya, available here.

Malaysia In Malaysia, FFP worked in partnership with Monkey Forest Consulting and a Canadian oil company to create a comprehensive security and human rights training curriculum for the company's staff in operations in North America, South-East Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. The program included the development of a multi-day training program, training materials and a program of training senior leaders to impart the knowledge throughout the company.

Mexico In Mexico, FFP is working in partnership with a mining company to support implementation of the Voluntary Principles at various sites and encourage cross-departmental and cross-location learning. FFP is also working in partnership to provide human rights training to all company staff throughout all operations and locations.

Nigeria Nigeria is a key focus country for FFP, across both the Sustainable Development & Security program and Conflict Early-warning & Assessment program. FFP's programs promote sustainable development and human security in the Niger Delta region, an area that is socially and politically complex and is heavily impacted both economically and politically by oil production. FFP's projects in the Niger Delta focus on civil society engagement, peacebuilding initiatives and conflict assessment.   Since 2010, FFP has been cultivating a participatory conflict assessment and early warning network, with the aim of promoting social capital among civil society and multi-stakeholder information sharing. Incidents catalogued by the UNLocK participants are integrated with data compiled by other initiatives and mapped on the P4P Peace Building Map.

Panama In Panama, FFP is currently partnering with Partners for Democratic Change to work closely with local organizations and leaders from different sectors to encourage technical, neutral, productive and ongoing dialogues on the controversial issues surrounding sustainable development and the extractive industry. Previously, FFP worked in partnership with a Canadian mining company on a variety of issues, including multistakeholder engagement, community and human rights monitoring, crisis management training and relations with public security forces.

Paraguay Paraguay’s Ciudad del Este, the country’s second largest city, borders Argentina and Brazil in the Tri-Border Area, and is known for its lax government control and highly-developed underground economies. The city’s unparalleled daily border crossings places an emphasis on smuggling of any kind, including nuclear materials smuggling, with many estimating the value of the black market at five times the national economy. It is also known to be a prime global location for “identitiy laundering” with incidents of known members of global terrorist groups traveling to the region to have their physical appearances as well as identity documents altered. The weakest member of the three TBA countries and plagued by endemic corruption, the FFP has focused its research since 2007 on how US and other bi- and multi-lateral assistance and training programs can counter these threats and halt the flow of illicit goods and persons through the region.

Philippines In the Philippines, FFP has engaged with local civil society to identify local partners to generate a program of multistakeholder dialogue that is aimed at supporting national-level implementation of the Voluntary Principles.

Romania Since the fall of Ceaușescu’s communist regime and the Iron Curtain, Romania has seen several nuclear material smuggling incidents in the 1990s and 2000s. A NATO and EU member state, Romania has been active in the Black Sea regional initiatives to combat nuclear trafficking and has strong domestic legislation seeking to hamper the unsanctioned movement of illicit materials. In partnership and with assistance from the Ministry of Defence’s Institute of Political Studies and Defence and Military History and the SECI Law Enforcement Centre in Bucharest, the TNT has performed extensive research in Romania since 2006 with a focus on military, police and gendarmerie initiatives to combat crime and trafficking in the Black Sea Region.

Somaliland Somaliland is an unrecognized and de facto state widely considered part of Somalia. Although it has seen less instability and security issues than the restive southern Somalia, the Somaliland region is feared to be a possible transit point due to Somalia’s virtually nonexistent proliferation safeguards. Due to Somalia’s poor record-keeping, it is difficult to note the foothold of arms trafficking and other black markets, though they are thought to be multitudinous due to the low reach of the government and formal economy. As part of its Horn of Africa research, the TNT staff visited Hargeisa in 2009 to interview relevant government and border officials on the threat of piracy and regional trafficking in Somaliland.

South Korea FFP has worked in Korea, assessing pressures on stability, tailoring the CAST framework for this unique challenge.

Spain In Spain, FFP previously partnered with a Canadian mining company on reviewing community relationships and development. FFP also supported the creation of an independent expert water panel at the site.

Sudan Despite having no nuclear reactors or research facilities, Sudan’s relatively unmonitored movement of goods into and out of the country may facilitate greater black market activity. Sudan’s lax import and export regulations, for instance, have made it potentially easy for smugglers to transport dual-use nuclear equipment. The TNT staff performed research in Khartoum in 2009, interviewing governmental officials and representatives from multilateral organizations and corporations on Sudan’s role in combating trafficking and terrorism in East/the Horn of Africa.

Tanzania There are currently no nuclear programs in Tanzania, though several sizeable uranium deposits were discovered in the spring of 2013. Given the continued issues with emerging domestic Islamist militancy and sectarian groups in the country, the close proximity of the uranium storage sites may pose a risk to the security of the state and the region. As part of its Horn of Africa research, TNT performed research in Dar-es-Salaam and interviewed officials from the Ministries of Defense, Interior and Foreign Affairs in 2009.

Turkey Although Turkey is not known to possess nuclear or weapons programs, and it is a state party to all major non-proliferation treaties, as its territory has been used as a significant transshipment route for nuclear smuggling from the former Soviet Union. In order to promote the security on its borders, and to reduce the numbers of nuclear trafficking incidents, Turkey become very active in proliferation prevention efforts taking place in a number of initiatives and programs. The FFP has performed extensive research in Istanbul and Ankara since 2007, meeting with Turkish governmental officials and representatives from civil society. We have also worked closely with the NATO Centre for the Defence Against Terrorism in Ankara, a leading research and education facility.   FFP previously partnered with two mining companies on community and human rights impact assessments and the development and improvement of company-community relations.

Uganda Since the Juba peace talks in 2008, FFP worked with civil society across Uganda’s Greater North, to engage them in a network for participatory conflict assessment and early warning. Employing a train the trainers approach, participants imparted the framework to their partners at the local level. The UNLocK mechanism served as a platform by which affected communities could identify priorities and concerns around the promotion of sustainable human security.   Despite stringent gun laws, Uganda has faced substantial illicit arms trafficking over the last few decades, fueled by decades of war with the Lord’s Resistance Army, officially classified as a transnational terrorist entity. Although not a destination or country of origin for nuclear trafficking, Uganda is a key US ally in the region and has, at times, hosted US forces on its territory in an attempt to capture or kill LRA leader, Joseph Kony. The TNT project spent time in Kampala in 2010 talking to Ugandan and US forces about border security and training initiatives aimed at combating transnational crime and terrorism in the region.

United States Due in no small part to the location of FFP's headquarters, FFP frequently performs various projects within the United States. An example of the kind of work undertaken by FFP in the United States is the organization's long-standing involvement in Nine Innings, a program facilitated by the U.S. Marine Corps. As part of the Nine Innings program, FFP has conducted conflict assessment workshops, developed and gamed planning and contingency scenarios, and provided expert advice. The Nine Innings program is a critical multi-agency and multi-national program that provides practical learning on conflict assessment in the context of contingency operations for the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, USAID, Department of State and many militaries from other countries.   In the United States, FFP convened meetings in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah that brought together international human rights experts to observe mining and oil operations. The program fostered multistakeholder dialogue, allowing the international experts to discuss the impact of mining and oil operations in the United States with local communities and civil society.

* - asterisk denotes countries where FFP's work was conducted out-of-country (i.e., in neighboring or third countries) due to security and/or practical considerations.