COCAP
Collective Campaign for Peace (COCAP) is a nationwide coalition comprising 43 non-governmental organizations dedicated to promoting Peace and Human Rights in Nepal. Founded in 2002, COCAP organizes campaigns and conferences at both national and provincial levels, centering on themes concerning Peace, Human Rights, Social Protection, and Civic Engagement. These initiatives are executed in collaboration with member organizations and allied groups. COCAP benefits from a substantial volunteer base that enthusiastically engages in various facets of its endeavors.
Our Vision
COCAP aspires to create a Nepal characterised by peace, social justice, democracy, and inclusivity.
Our
Mission
COCAP’s mission is to advance the promotion of human rights, peace, and democracy in Nepal by working in partnership with civil society organisations that are socially responsible and transparent throughout the nation.
Our
Goal
Enhance the peace process in Nepal by advancing the social security framework, reinforcing democratic principles, and fostering a culture that upholds human rights
Our
Objectives
- The objective is to enhance the capabilities of COCAP volunteers and Member Organizations by offering diverse training and networking opportunities, thereby fostering a culture of volunteerism within Nepali civil society organisations. 2:To enhance networks dedicated to peace advocacy, a platform will be established for professionals, youth, women, and marginalized groups to facilitate learning, sharing, and the initiation of collaborative peacebuilding efforts.
Core Values
VOLUNTEERISM
Volunteerism is at the core of COCAP’s ethos. COCAP has been actively mobilizing its pool of hundreds of volunteers to collectively engage in the pursuit of peace, human rights and justice in Nepal.
TRANSPARENCY
COCAP has consistently guaranteed that its operations, decision-making procedures, and financial dealings are carried out with the highest level of transparency and responsibility.
INCLUSIVENESS
Inclusiveness serves as a core principle for COCAP, evident in the organizations comprehensive framework, which encompasses the board, staff, volunteers, and the beneficiaries and target groups.
COLLECTIVE ACTION
COCAP is committed to the principle of collective action, acknowledging that the societal challenges we encounter necessitate the united efforts of diverse stakeholders, which encompass individuals, civil society, and governmental entities.
Working Issues
Conflict Transformation and
Peace-building
Social Security/Protection
Strengthening our Institutional Capacity
History
COCAP is a network born out of a national symposium on conflict transformation and peace building in June 2001. This symposium was organized by National Peace Campaign (NPC), Centre for Social and Economic Development (CESOD) and Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC). Resource persons for the symposium was provided by the Washington DC based organizations, Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy (IMTD), and Institute for International Mediation and Conflict Resolution (IIMCR). It was originally conceived as a loose, informal forum for information sharing among participants of the symposium. The objectives and structure of the network changed after a series of informal meetings in late 2001 and early 2002.
Originally, all the members of the network were from Kathmandu. Conscious efforts were made to give it a ‘national’ character by increasing the number of out-of-Kathmandu members. Now, over 90% General members as well as executive committee members are from outside of Kathmandu.
A national convention of prospective COCAP members was held in Chitwan in May 2002. The convention decided that the network should be registered with the government so that it would have a legal status of a social organization. This was considered essential for institutionalization of the network. The convention also decided that the network should take a proactive role in coordination of human rights and peace initiatives among members, facilitate information sharing, and also undertake a few national level peace advocacy and research projects, which the network is better placed to do than individual members. The most important decisions were, however, related to COCAP’s proactive transparency and organizational structure policies, which have been incorporated into the COCAP’s Memorandum of Association, statute, registered with the government in December 2002. These policies were further concretized by the first formal Convention after registration of COCAP with the government held in Pokhara in June 2003.
With a view to increase the representation of members from marginalized areas, COCAP decided to induct new members from Karnali and Madhesh. Eventually, two organizations from Karnali got membership in 2007 and five members from Madhesh/Terai in 2008. Thus the COCAP’s membership has reached 43 covering 29 districts and all the geographical as well as administrative divisions.