In Syria, White Helmets volunteers are contributing to the protection of the local population and performing rescue operations after military attacks. Some 68% of people feel safer since the activities of the White Helmets started, before this figure was 27%. Naturally, there are more factors that affect people’s sense of security in war situations.

In the Mine Action and Cluster Munitions programme (MACM) in Lebanon, Syria, Libya and South Sudan, 87% of the respondents felt safer after mines were removed and the local population was informed about the risks.

The Netherlands is the eighth-largest donor in the field of humanitarian demining worldwide. Some 87% of mine victims in 2017 were civilians, with 47% being children. Humanitarian demining removes physical risks and reduces the number of victims of landmines and explosive remnants of war (SDG 16.1). This eventually encourages a sense of security among citizens, making humanitarian demining a condition for the safe return of the displaced and for socio-economic rebuilding activities to begin after conflict. Demining of critical infrastructure also improves access to basic facilities and increases safe access for humanitarian aid organisations and peace missions. With a strong focus on gender and local capacity building, men and women from affected areas are recruited and trained to perform demining activities. In addition to providing them with a source of income, it also anchors the sustainability of the Dutch efforts.

Our partners worked with at least 79 national and local institutions in areas affected by armed conflict. This involves 28 formal institutions, such as government bodies, and 51 informal organisations, including NGOs. A total of 6,644 professionals were trained and are now able to better perform their work in protecting the local population. The training therefore has a long-term positive impact on the local security situation.

UN Women trained 40 female military officers, which gives them a better chance of participating in a United Nations peace operation. The participation of female soldiers contributes to the success of the mission, since a more diverse team is better able to make contact with the local population. This strengthens the flow of information and local support for the UN operation.

The Dutch demining partners trained national and local authorities involved in the demining process. This enabled the partners to better perform their work and improve the local security situation. In Iraq, the Mine Action Group employed the country’s first all-female demining team.

The Netherlands promotes citizens’ access to (in)formal legal systems in various countries, including Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories, Mali, Rwanda, Kenya, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Burundi, Jordan, Pakistan and South Sudan.

In Jordan, nearly 5,000 people benefited from improved access to justice. This was realised via a Mercy Corps project, which helped people to gain access to legal services. The UNICEF, UN Women and UNDP’s Sawasya programme in the Palestinian territories provided 8,998 people (mainly women) with legal aid. In Kenya, the number of cases processed by the judicial authorities increased by 63%, representing a considerable positive impact on access to justice. Partner organisation IDLO contributed by training the judicial authorities and assisting them in adapting their systems. In Afghanistan, UNDP helped to develop a handbook on sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) to align the working methods of the various institutions involved in SGBV cases.

The Netherlands strengthened 43 judicial institutions (including informal organisations), through support to The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL). It achieved this by bringing together various stakeholders in the justice sector to discuss evidence-based policy priorities and to develop joint visions. For example, in Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon, Bangladesh and Nigeria, HiiL created platforms to discuss innovative solutions and joint strategies to address some of the key judicial challenges, such as how to improve access to justice in remote areas.

In South Sudan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi, Cordaid supported civil society organisations to develop proposals for judicial reforms and to conduct assessments of the codes of conduct for magistrates. To improve the effectiveness of judicial institutions, the [http://www.minijust.gov.rw/home/]Ministry of Justice in Kigali[/url] (Rwanda) implemented an electronic system for the management of court cases. Furthermore, partner IDLO further strengthened the Commission for Human Rights in Uganda and an additional 24 judicial institutions were established in Mali.

With support from the Netherlands, major steps were taken to improve transitional justice and justice for large-scale human rights violations in countries such as Syria, Colombia and Tunisia.

The International Center of Transitional Justice (ICTJ) established the Save Syrian Schools project as part of which ten Syrian organisations from Turkey and Lebanon jointly documented the devastating consequences of attacks on schools in Syria. During a public hearing in Geneva, the stories of the victims and their families were shared with the international community. This helped the organisations generate extra attention for the attacks.

UNDP also promoted transitional justice, for example in Tunisia and Colombia. In Tunisia, the Truth and Dignity Commission organised eight public hearings during which victims were able to tell their stories. Furthermore 46,302 victims were interviewed individually. In Colombia, initiatives in various communities were implemented to fulfil the right to reparation of 20,486 victims of the armed conflict.

Examples of results achieved under this indicator include:

• Cessation of Hostilities Agreement and the development of an implementation plan to support the peace dialogue between Sudan and South Sudan (UN DPA).

• In the Sahel (Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso), more than 75% of the total of 392 conflicts between nomads and communities along the border identified by the CHD (Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue) were resolved.

• In Togo, 37 local peace committees were established, which are effective in resolving conflicts (UNDP-DPA).

• Thanks to support from local mechanisms, 156 local conflicts were resolved in South Sudan (CARE).

• In South Sudan, support led to a peace agreement between cattle farmers and farming communities, which caused a substantial reduction in the number of conflicts due to migrating cattle (VNG).

Targets for this indicator will be established in 2019.

Examples of results that contributed to achieving this indicator, in which the results were significantly interrelated:

More than 100 young diplomats from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Egypt (UN DPA) trained in conflict mediation.

80 young people in border areas in the Ukraine trained to work towards peace-building in their communities (International Alert).

Female Somali leaders from civil society organisations trained in the field of conflict resolution and mediation (UN PBF).

632 people (including 237 women) trained in conflict mediation and negotiation of peace agreements, plus representatives of parties on opposite sides of the spectrum (Clingendael Mediation Facility).

These figures involve programmes by NIMD, CARE, Cordaid, VNG International and the UN-DPA Conflict Prevention Programme. They comprise a wide variety of debates in terms of both content and level (local, regional or national). The benefit is that participants now have the opportunity to exchange thoughts and ideas. A condition is that everyone should be willing to enter into the dialogue and give each other the opportunity to express concerns.

Examples include:

Debates on the position of women in countries such as Afghanistan and Rwanda. A visible result is an emerging change of social norms among religious leaders and national policy guidelines regarding the political participation of women (CARE).

Debates in South Sudan between local leaders and governments to discuss cases of sexual violence – a theme that was added to the National Action Plan for UN Resolution 1325 (protecting women) (Cordaid).

Targets for these indicators will be established in 2019.