Draft:International Communities Organisation

• Comment: External links should be removed or converted to inline citations where appropriate. Greenman (talk) 11:23, 3 December 2025 (UTC)

• Comment: www.linkedin.com. is not a reliable source Theroadislong (talk) 11:30, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

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International Communities Organisation (ICO)

International Communities Organisation

Abbreviation	ICO
Formation	2016
Type	Non-governmental organisation (NGO)
Legal status	Specialist Consultants to UN Economic and Social Council, since 2021
Headquarters	London, UK
Region	Worldwide
Fields	Peacebuilding, Development, Capacity-building, Inclusive Governance, Economic Revitalisation
Founder and Executive Committee Secretary General	James Holmes
Website	https://internationalcommunities.org/

ICO is a London-based international organisation that works to achieve peace and reconciliation within divided societies through diplomacy and other activities, advocating on behalf of minority rights to facilitate the collaborative construction of 'a shared vision for a better future'. Founded in 2016 by James Holmes, ICO was later appointed to hold Special Consultative Status by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 2021.

ICO's 2024 Annual Report.

With the foundational values of independence, neutrality, and reliability, ICO’s programmes (their Country Programmes, the UN UPR work, the General Assembly, and the Research Centre) work to advance the rights and participation of marginalised communities and Peoples in peace and policy processes, while also working with governments to adopt more inclusive and accountable mechanisms. This approach seeks to deliver more inclusive dialogue mechanisms, reduce drivers of conflict through economic revitalisation and deliver representative, durable, and credible peace agreements.

ICO operates across 4 pillars: capacity building, inclusive governance, dialogue and economic revitalisation. The capacity building pillar refers to ICO’s support of local stakeholders and grassroots initiatives that build confidence and local ownership. In the Inclusive Governance Pillar, ICO supports institutional reforms that expands access to rights and strengthens mechanisms for minority and People's participation in decision-making. Through its Dialogue pillar, ICO convenes stakeholders discreetly and publicly and provides technical expertise to encourage workable agreements. Finally, through its Economic Revitalisation Pillar, ICO supports economic initiatives aimed at reducing inequality between groups, which can act as a source of tension.

ICO Country Programmes

Kosovo

On the 23rd of January 2024, ICO signed an agreement with the government of Kosovo to address minority rights issues. This agreement preceded the launch of the ‘Forum for Non Majority Communities’, inaugurated by former Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo Emilija Redzepi, which was intended as a mechanism for the participation of non-majority communities in policy development. ICO’s agreement with the government of Kosovo stands a long culmination in over a decade of engagement with the state, particularly in Mitrovica working to encourage cross-community collaboration at the local level.

Cameroon

ICO has been working with local councils in Cameroon’s North West and South regions since 2022. This capacity building initiative has focused on improving local governance resilience to conflict as the Anglophone crisis continues. A key accomplishment of this partnership has been the collaborative development of new local community structures, centred on increasing the participation of women in decision making and ensuring local council initiatives are gender responsive. Since the creation of the Coordination Committee on Gender (CCG), the council has reported improved capacity to understand and address issues facing women and girls as a result of the ongoing conflict. ICO has also established a strategic partnership with the Office of the Public Independent Conciliator (PIC). This partnership works to strengthen governance and promote human rights in Cameroon by strengthening PICs’ ability to address citizens’ complaints arising from interactions with local and regional authorities, offering a rights-based approach to dispute resolution, and advocating for good governance. ICO thereby facilitated a benchmarking study that produced a best-practice matrix to drive sustainable and representative institutional improvement.

Israel-Palestine

The ICO Middle East team, led by Dr Gershon Baskin and Mr Samer Sinijlawi, facilitated talks between Former Foreign Minister of Palestinian Authority Nasser Al-Kidwa and Former Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Olmert in May 2024, which led to the publication of the Olmert and Al-Kidwa plan. The plan was positively welcomed and ​​helped reawaken international attention to the two-state solution. The key elements of the discussion, facilitated by ICO, were the need for a ceasefire in Gaza, the potential roles of international and Arab forces in the region, and the importance of establishing a legitimate, effective, and non-corrupt Palestinian Authority; the former leaders concluded with an agreement that 'an Israeli withdrawal and a Palestinian, technocratic governing council linked to the PA is necessary in the Gaza Strip'.

Cyprus

In Cyprus, ICO is partnered with local organisation Cyprus Peace and Dialogue Centre (CPDC). ICO supported CPDC’s work to encourage a peaceful resolution within Cyprus and promote a solution acceptable to both sides. ICO has supported a series of economic cooperation initiatives including Building Bridges, a networking initiative to promote new business relationships, joint ventures, and partnerships across the divide. ICO funded the production of a report on the feasibility of cross-community investment in Cyprus, which was launched with the support of UNFICYP. Additionally, ICO supported CPDC’s policy working group which brought together former officials, academics, and civil society stakeholders from both communities to engage constructively on the Bicommunal Bizonal Federation (BBF) model. This work led to a joint bi-communal public position through the CPDC-Determination for Peace declaration, signalling unified support for a settlement. ICO also helped to secure EU Aid Programme funding for the project “Addressing Discriminatory Human Rights Violations in Cyprus Which Arise as a Result of the Conflict as a Vehicle for Reconciliation”. The project established a bi-communal initiative specifically tackling discriminatory human rights violations stemming from the Cyprus conflict.

ICO and the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR)

ICO participates in the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process to promote the rights of minority groups, marginalised communities, and Indigenous Peoples. The organisation supports both with the submission of stakeholder reports to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), that reflect locally defined community priorities, and with the implementation of UPR recommendations at national and local levels through partnerships with governments, civil society organisations, and community networks. The organisation conducts surveys, consultations, and needs assessments through collaboration with the ICO Research Centre. In the words of the organisation's founder "ICO recognizes that the current global system lacks the tools and mechanisms to allow Peoples to study, do research, and seek the advice and mentoring they need to make good decisions that are based on international law and that are most likely to be acceptable to other peoples and to their governments" (Holmes, James (2019) "Foreword," New England Journal of Public Policy: Vol. 31: Iss. 2, Article 3).

UPR Implementation Case Studies

In Nigeria, ICO has been working with the office of the Senior Special Advisor to the President on Community Engagement (North Central) to implement peacebuilding oriented UPR recommendations. In October 2025, the organisation worked to establish local community peace structures by holding events in the Kogi, Plateau, and Benue states, which brought together over 400 stakeholders to discuss the implementation of these social cohesion structures within their respective regions, and beyond.

In Sierra Leone, ICO held a UN UPR Engagement capacity building workshop at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Freetown, Sierra Leone, attended by 50 ministries, human rights institutions and civil society organisations. Following this, ICO held a National Stakeholder Consultation to ensure community voices and needs were included in the National Report.

ICO General Assembly

File:ICO GA logo.png

ICO General Assembly logo

The ICO General Assembly (GA) is a community consultation platform for minority groups, community leaders and Indigenous Peoples to share personal testimonies, expose ongoing injustices and present strategic recommendations. The ICO GA works by using its UN status and expertise to support civil society organisations, NGOs, community representatives, tribal leaders, and other local actors with directly raising key issues facing their communities at the United Nations. ICO, in collaboration with members, conducts surveys, consultations, and needs assessments to understand the most pressing human rights issues and thematic concerns. ICO then works with its General Assembly members to create UPR Stakeholder reports, in collaboration with the ICO Research Centre, to raise new issues facing their Peoples and make new, well-informed recommendations.These meetings are held online, so as to remove any obstacles to global participation. Mr Abdulla Shahid, former President of the 76th United Nations General Assembly, attends all of these meetings as the current International Ambassador of ICO.

In July 2024, the General Assembly work led to an ICO Joint Statement advocating for structural reforms at the 17th session of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP). The statement advocated for a permanent Indigenous seat at the Human Rights Council.

ICO Research Centre

The ICO Research Centre provides expert guidance to governments and leads the organisation’s evidence-based contributions to the UPR process. The centre is responsible for conducting in-depth analysis, combining local evidence with international best practice research reports, and collaborating with marginalised communities in order to submit recommendations as part of the UPR reporting cycle of UN member states. Crucially, ICO listens to the recommendations that these communities want to present to their government, the UN, and the wider international community. The Centre’s work has contributed to UPR submissions for Serbia, Nigeria, Liberia, Malawi, Libya, Israel, Honduras, Guinea-Bissau, Cyprus, Cabo Verde, Burkina Faso, Paraguay, Namibia and Belize, with additional reports currently under development for Papua New Guinea.

The Research Centre supports governments in implementing UPR recommendations through comparative analysis and regional best-practice studies, focusing on the translation of international commitments into national legislation and policy reform. Currently under construction, the Vienna Centre will soon be the new home of the ICO Research Centre and Archives.

ICO's UN Submissions

• Recommendations to Reduce the Risk of Human Rights Violations and to Ensure Safety of Tamils, Various Ethnicities and Religions in Sri Lanka submitted to the 51st session of the Human Rights Council, 2022
• ICO's input for the Agenda Item 6: Application of the principles of effective governance for sustainable development at the subnational level submitted to the 21st session of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration, 2022
• Submissions made to the 43rd, 44th, and 45th sessions of the Human Rights Council’s UPR Working Group, on Belize, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cyprus, Guinea Bissau, Honduras, Israel, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Paraguay, and Serbia
• ICO's input to the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues submitted to the UN General Assembly, 2024
• ICO and CPDC’s collaborative input to the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development , 2024
• ICO’s input to the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions: Killing of LGBTIQ+ persons, 2024
• ICO's input to the preparation of the “Promotion and protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Africans and of people of African descent against excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officers through transformative change for racial justice and equality” published by the OHCHR, 2024
• ICO's Side Event Concept Note submitted to the 17th Session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 2024
• ICO's List of Issues Prior to Reporting for Cameroon submitted to the 142nd session of the Human Rights Council, 2024
• ICO and CPDC's joint submission to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for the 76^th pre-sessional working group session, 2024