PAX in the Middle East

PAX has been working in the Middle East since the 1990s. Since 2000, our primary focus has been on local civil society and individual activists who can play a role in social and political change in the region. We concentrate on augmenting trust and normalising relations. We work on dialogue and exchange within and between communities to create a resilient society.

In the Middle East, we work according to the objectives:

• Resolving sectarian, ethnic and tribal conflicts facilitates security, justice, freedom, dignity and civil rights.
• Local governments create a favourable and inclusive environment for civil society to strengthen social cohesion. They increase the scope of democracy as an instrument to sustain minority rights.
• Regional mediation structures or regional organisations (like the Arab League) prevent the risk of violent regional conflicts and operate from a search for peace that involves all.
• International actors like the EU, UN or European states develop their Middle East policy on the principle that preventing conflict and maintaining security must coincide with a positive response to the call for freedom and dignity coming from the citizens of the Arab world.

PAX is currently active in the MENA region in Palestine, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. For more information, please visit www.paxforpeace.nl.