IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN SKILLS AND EXPERTISE IN CONFLICT PREVENTION
KHUSHBOO FARID KHAN GHORI*

It is a reality that human skills which includes diplomats, researchers conflict manager conflict preventors, ambassador and experts can play an important role in conflict prevention (CP) and they have great importance in CP. Main question is that how and why these human skills can play important role in CP. Answer to that question is very simple by dividing conflict and humans skills at 4 levels we can easily find out that how they can play important role in CP.
(i) at Individual level (ii) at societal level (iii) at Sate/Nation level (iv) at global level

(i) At Individual level: Violence and aggressions are basic instincts, deep rooted in human nature, one famous saying “war begins in human mind” can justify that conflict begins at individual level due to clash of interest. On the basis of individual level of analysis, we can say that ‘idiosyncratic element’ of human nature is very important in prevention or starting any conflict. So to prevent conflicts at individual level human skills should develop in positive manner. Enlighten, moderate educational system should be provided to an individual at grass root level to develop his skills in creative and positive directions. Also culture of acceptance and tolerance should be promoted in societies at grass root level. Different kinds of sports, debates and discussion has to be arranged and entertainment should be provided to the individuals and discussion has to be arranged and entertainment should be provided to the individuals to dilute there aggressive and violent tendencies and to promote there skills in productive, creative and positive way to prevent conflicts in the societies.

(ii) At Societal level: Societies are composed of individuals. So conflicts in the societies are inevitable, but expertise and conflict managers can prevent conflicts at societal level as well. The most useful unit of analysis in prevention of social conflict situation is to identify groups. Experts and managers need to built data bank on ethnic ground, religious, cultural and other groups if they want to understand better the phenomena of needs, interests and motivations of parties in prevention social conflict situation. By knowing the root causes, dynamics and sources of conflict peace experts, researchers and strategist can provide ground and alternatives for CP. Also introduction of ideas like democratic process for solving social issues, acceptance of changing process, pluralism in the societies and culture of acceptance and tolerance by experts and researchers can prevent conflicts among societies, also democratic behavior of governmental officials can maintain some degree of freedom of thoughts, expressions opinions and association in human skills to prevent conflict among societies.

(iii) At Sate/Nation level: In international relations conflicts/crisis are mostly occur at state/nation level. States are represented by diplomats, ambassadors, envoys and ministers which play important role in managing, resolving or preventing conflicts among states. There diplomatic skills, art of negotiations, art of bargaining are very much important in conflict prevention. These experts should have complete command on communication skills and terminology they use to prevent or manage conflict to take any violent form. Language and concepts clarification of these experts diplomats, envoys, or ambassadors are also so much important to prevent any violent conflict among nations/states. Structure of interaction and language of negotiations should be known by experts. If they have skills, capabilities and abilities to negotiate diplomatically through diplomatic terminology they could play important role successfully to prevent conflict. These experts they are mediator, diplomats, envoys or ambassador, they should emphasize on the need to build consistituencies among conflicting parties and they should prevent and manage conflict in a sustained way. These experts when perform as diplomat for CP they should be multi-track instead of either Track I or II, addressing elites and grass root operating at structural constitution as well as relational community level with cooperation between involved international and internal agencies and a sustained commitment to the conflict.

(iv) At Global level: Efforts made by Secretary General, Experts, envoys and representatives of LON, UN and other IGO's and NGO's are the classical examples of institutionalization of prevention of conflict among states at global level in which they attempt to solve crisis and prevent conflicts at interstate and intra state level and tackle problems through peace process and resolutions. Sometimes there are big contributions of individuals personal skills in solving crisis and preventing conflicts.

Conclusion
On the basis of given analysis we can conclude that human skills, experts and researchers have great importance in conflicts prevention at any level. These human skills are very much important but apart from that, also important thing is that now much they are interested and committed to prevent conflict situation and also how much their determination is working for preventing or managing any conflict what are the skills, tactics and diplomatic techniques they use to deal with the particular conflict situation. How much they have ability and potential to deal with the particular conflict situation.
Experts and researchers and human skills are important in preventing conflict, it is evident by the history of Europe that there is no major aggressive event or crisis occur after second world war because lot of research have been made in the field of Conflict Resolution and Conflict Prevention they have experts in research field of CR & CP and experts in their Foreign offices who know art of negotiations, bargaining and conciliation and they have complete command on diplomatic skills through which they prevent the conflict among themselves and manage their disputes through diplomatic means. Also at societal level, they have transformed their human skills towards creativity and diverted violent and aggressive tendencies of societies to the well being and well of human beings through process of social change, by developing skills and knowledge which increase possibilities of greater social and political cooperation, they increase dialogue process and reduce ignorance & suspicion among their societies. They develop human skills by facilitation political discussion between communities that diver their aggressive tendencies and prevent conflict in their societies and are now most peaceful and civilized nation of the world.
So element of hate speech should be eliminated from societies, Education also plays an important role to develop human skills in creative and positive directions and that can prevent conflict and aggression in the societies, also culture of pluralism should be introduced in the society at grass root level to develop positive human skills to prevent aggression, violence and conflict.

* Student, B.A. (Hons) IIIrd Year, Department of International Relations, University of Karachi

All content (C) Department of International Relations, Karachi University

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