Belun and EWER

Belun is a local non-governmental organization, founded in 2004 at the initiative of East Timorese civil society representatives. Belun’s 2023-2028 strategic plan guides Belun in achieving its vision of a Timor-Leste society with the tools and creative strategies to strengthen peace and development. Belun’s work is comprised of three main pillars: conflict prevention; community capacity strengthening; and research, policy development and advocacy.

Work within the aforementioned pillars enables Belun to contribute to strengthening the resilience of local communities and the state. One program at the intersection of the three pillars is Belun’s Early Warning and Response (EWER) system. The EWER system, established 15 years ago, contributes to conflict prevention, peacebuilding and development at the local, regional and national level. It does so by enabling Belun and its partners within state institutions and civil society organizations to understand the social, political, economic and external factors that are contributing to tensions in society. It also establishes a variety of pathways and mechanisms to respond to these challenges, including dialogue, community programming, advocacy and policy change.

Belun believes that its EWER program is a critical contributor in enabling the people and state of Timor-Leste to achieve long-term sustainable development by working to address conflicts before they turn violent. EWER also strengthens coordination and cooperation among partners at the government, local and international community level through Belun’s involvement in the networks that have been established with Belun’s support.

The strength of the EWER System can be found first in its monitoring of and reporting on data on violent incidents at the community level. The data are then cross-referenced with other indicators of socio- economic and political well-being so that direct action can be taken to prevent tensions from escalating into violent conflict. Its work contributes to preventing gender-based violence and domestic violence by participating in referral pathways and by seeking synergies with Belun’s other programs including the Women, Peace and Security program as well as the Spotlight Initiative program.The EWER System encourages community participation, especially by strengthening existing community networks and through Belun’s work in establishing the Conflict Prevention and Response Networks in particular. Moreover, EWER also provides an essential opportunity for institutional capacity strengthening, staff development, and for strengthening the relationship with partners from other countries. It has provided opportunities for women and youth to develop their skills for conflict response, and decision making and also their ability to contribute to peace. For example, Belun has been becoming a platform for reporting cases related to domestic and sexual violence. Belun supports referring such cases to partner organizations to further investigate and take actions.

In addition, Belun has been supporting the national police department in providing recommendations to prevent conflict in risk areas in Timor-Leste. Furthermore, together Belun and partners work to reduce community challenges in line with the recommendations of the Chega! Report1 as well as the vision of g7+ of building peace through community dialogue. Over the long-term, Belun seeks to respond to the social challenges in-country and also to serve as a peace-building model for the other post-conflict countries, including by contributing to the reconciliation process with our neighbor, Indonesia. The EWER System is critical to learning about any obstacles to peace that exist within Timor-Leste, and helps Belun to identify what is contributing to tensions within communities. Most importantly, Belun has created and remains committed to developing mechanisms for individuals, civil society organizations, the government and development partners to respond to tensions by actively working to support peaceful relations and community development.

Chega! is the final report of the Timor-Leste Commission for Reception, Truth, and Reconciliation.  Link: http://www.chegareport.org/chega-10/Importance of Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) System for Strengthening Peace in the Community

For further information or if you are interested in supporting Belun’s EWER system, please access the Facebook: belun or by email: