Democratic Progress Institute (DPI)

DPI provides expertise combining research and practicable approaches to broaden bases for wider public involvement in promoting peace and democracy building.

[Democratic Progress Institute (DPI) @DPI_UK]

@DutchMFA @erikwest73 In collaboration with @DutchMFA, we close a constructive and memorable weekend in the Netherlands, with representatives across the political spectrum engaging openly with one another. Dialogue, underpinned by honesty and mutual respect, remains central to progress. #Türkiye

[Democratic Progress Institute (DPI) @DPI_UK]

This weekend, in partnership with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, @DPI_UK convened political figures and key actors from across Türkiye's political landscape for 'Crucial Conversations' - a dialogue programme on sensitive, high-stakes conversations. #Türkiye @DutchMFA

[Democratic Progress Institute (DPI) @DPI_UK]

@DutchMFA Director for Europe at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs @erikwest73 facilitates discussion on what crucial conversations require: navigating disagreement, listening to differing truths and finding common ground in complex settings. #PeaceThroughDialogue #DiyalogYoluylaBarış

[Democratic Progress Institute (DPI) @DPI_UK]

@simonyazgi On what comes next: build public awareness, develop concrete options and ensure each group understands what is asked of them - and what they stand to gain.

For those yet to be convinced, a credible vision of the process is what will compel engagement.

#DDR #Türkiye

[Democratic Progress Institute (DPI) @DPI_UK]

Discussion I: Legal Principles, Guarantees and Relevance to the peace process. Participants examine the core principles of a legislative framework for disarmament and reintegration, identifying the legal obstacles requiring urgent amendment. Moderated by Prof Dr Sevtap Yokuş #DDR

[Democratic Progress Institute (DPI) @DPI_UK]

@simonyazgi Sensitisation is critical, says Simon Yazgi. Each group - combatants, political actors, communities - requires specific and targeted communication.

Uncertainty breeds reluctance. Clarity builds trust. #DDR #PeaceThroughDialogue #DiyalogYoluylaBarış

[Democratic Progress Institute (DPI) @DPI_UK]

Every peace process carries its own fingerprint. No two are alike in their stages, actors, or context.

Yet, in the comparative work of @DPI_UK, one truth endures: the principles that underpin lasting peace are shared #DDR #PeaceThroughDialogue #DiyalogYoluylaBarış #Türkiye

[Democratic Progress Institute (DPI) @DPI_UK]

Simon Yazgi: DDR draws on the security component of any peace agreement, but to last, it must be underpinned by legal, political and judicial foundations. #PeaceThroughDialogue #DiyalogYoluylaBarış @simonyazgi

[Democratic Progress Institute (DPI) @DPI_UK]

Demobilisation is a profound change of status - from combatant to civilian. With it comes the right to feel secure, to not be discriminated against and to participate in politics. Simon Yazgi: that shift is as much psychological as it is legal. #DDR #Türkiye

[Democratic Progress Institute (DPI) @DPI_UK]

@simonyazgi Colombia's peace agreement was a landmark in sequencing: political party registration, assembly of forces, disarmament, and transitional justice all calibrated. Simon Yazgi: progress on handing over weapons was directly linked to progress in political life. #DDR

[Democratic Progress Institute (DPI) @DPI_UK]

Simon Yazgi - Peace and Security Specialist, Senior Non-Resident Fellow at @UNIDIR, member of the @UNDP Advisory Group on People-Centred Security, and former Head of the DDR Section at the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations - delivered the keynote presentation. #DDR

[Democratic Progress Institute (DPI) @DPI_UK]

@simonyazgi In Colombia, the FARC refused to hand weapons to the government. They handed them to the UN. They marched into demobilisation zones under their own banners. Simon Yazgi: managing the psychology of disarmament is inseparable from the process itself. #DDR #Colombia

[Democratic Progress Institute (DPI) @DPI_UK]

Language matters: In Colombia, combatants did not "disarm" - rather, they used a new term "dejación de armas" to describe laying down weapons.

In Northern Ireland: decommissioning.

In Nepal: cantonment.

How a process is named shapes how actors engage with it. #DDR

[Democratic Progress Institute (DPI) @DPI_UK]

Kezban Hatemi captures the unique role of @DPI_UK in gathering those from profoundly different political backgrounds, creating the conditions for shared understanding at one of the most consequential moments in the peace process. #DDR #Turkiye @kezbanhatem

[Democratic Progress Institute (DPI) @DPI_UK]

Opening with a deeply personal reflection, @kezbanhatem recalls witnessing the laying down of arms, and the heartbreak of seeing people return to the caves rather than back into society. Women, she reminds us, approach these moments differently. #DDR #peacebuilding

[Democratic Progress Institute (DPI) @DPI_UK]

The roundtable opens with a welcome from Kezban Hatemi, Lawyer and Member of @DPI_UK's Council of Experts. Participants from across bar associations and political parties in Türkiye have gathered to engage with the legal dimensions of the peace process. #DDR @kezbanhatem

[Democratic Progress Institute (DPI) @DPI_UK]

Today @DPI_UK convenes lawyers, bar association presidents, political representatives and legal expertsin Istanbul for a roundtable on Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration in Türkiye. As the peace process enters a new legal phase, peace through dialogue is essential #DDR