International Communities
Organisation
International Communities Organisation (ICO) is a London based international organisation working with minority groups to secure their access to the rights set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
These documents outline communities' right to self-determination; their right to realise their economic, social and cultural ambitions. ICO seeks to empower communities, who feel that their rights are being infringed on, by giving them tools so that they may autonomously develop their ideas and use peaceful channels to set out their demands. We hope this will create an environment of cross-cultural cooperation and respect within and among communities.
"We believe that the process of building peace is not about ensuring that one group’s views prevail over another but about constructing a shared vision for a better future".
ICO hopes to create a space for this shared vision to flourish by bringing together diplomats, academics, lawyers, policy practitioners, researchers and representatives of organisations, to create a consortium of experts with one goal: a more peaceful and just world.
We’re not here to take sides, we’re here to enable, to give communities an opportunity to work for themselves towards achieving better outcomes for the next generation. We hope that these communities will err on the side of collaboration and compromise, but for those who believe they do not have the opportunity to determine their future as they see fit, ICO will guide them to express themselves peacefully.
Diplomacy
We support diplomatic discussions at the highest level, mediating disputes, building trust and providing the space needed to address issues positively and constructively.
By providing a private, open environment for individuals to hold conversations and build trust, we can help people arrive at innovative and practical solutions to protracted problems. The aim is to develop workable agreements which will change the status quo and allow the communities to heal together.
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Cross-community Dialogue
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We work with community leaders that are experienced in facilitating inter communal contact and understand the realities on the ground. In collaboration with local stakeholders, we organise events, activities and meetings for children and young people, women, the business community and other groups to help them better understand each other and discover their common humanity. To build grassroots resilience and long-lasting cross community linkages we also strengthen the capacity of grassroots organisations
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Capacity Building, Education Economic Development
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Inequalities between groups can sit at the root of conflict, be exacerbated by conflict and be perpetuated even after violence ends. Inequalities between groups are therefore worrying for long term peace. This is we work to fund projects that can show measurable improvements in the lives of communities across societal lines, develop educational content free of charge to support those in need and empower local governance mechanisms that serve marginalised communities with capacity building.