Prevention Up Front

At the heart of any peaceful country is a vibrant civil society empowered to engage decision-makers, influence policy, and affect change.

The Prevention Up Front (PUF) Alliance strengthens the capacity of civil society organisations (CSOs) to advocate for conflict prevention, by supporting our member organisations in their advocacy for locally-grounded and inclusive approaches. The alliance is comprised of GPPAC and the World Federalist Movement-Institute for Global Policy (WFM-IGP), in partnership with the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

In 2015, the Netherlands' MFA entered into strategic partnerships with 25 alliances as part of its new ‘Dialogue and Dissent’ 2016-2020 programme.

This Alliance brings together GPPAC's network and the two networks coordinated by WFM-IGP: Coalition of the International Criminal Court and International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect.

PUF focuses on 3 core issues:

1. Strengthening conflict prevention mechanisms and infrastructures. The aim is to mainstream policy frameworks based on the principles of human security, and successfully implement them in conflict prevention practices and advocacy through capacity building activities and training.

2. Reducing impunity. The aim is to strengthen the international peace and justice system to prevent the recurrence of violence, and end impunity for crimes that occur in conflict and post-conflict situations.

3. Increasing access, political space and opportunities for civil society to engage. The aim is to secure access for CSOs to operate, advocate, and lobby at high level political arenas, whether among national governments or negotiations at the UN. Ultimately, PUF seeks to combat the ‘shrinking space’ that civil society is currently facing globally, and to protect localised voices from increased intimidation and pressure.

Priority regions for the alliance include: Eastern Africa/Great Lakes Region; Western Africa; MENA; Europe; Southeast Asia; as well as institutional headquarters in New York, Geneva, The Hague, and Addis Ababa.