Rethinking Conflict
Belfast peace-building charity applying lessons of the Northern Ireland peace process in Northern Ireland, Israel/Palestine and the United States; income £280,136 in 2025, mainly from Porticus and the Department of Foreign Affairs
| Rethinking Conflict
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Unincorporated charity (constitution) |
| Founded | 2021-12-10 (registered with CCNI) |
| Registration ID | NI charity 108056 |
| Headquarters | PO Box 2328, Belfast BT5 9GX |
| Area served | Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Israel, Occupied Palestinian Territories, United States |
| Website | http://www.rethinkingconflict.com |
Rethinking Conflict is a Belfast charity, registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland on 10 December 2021. It aims "to work in current zones of conflict and post conflict using the principles of conflict transformation, peace building and reconciliation to develop new and lasting relationships".[1] Its 2025 report says it works in "three main geographic spaces – Northern Ireland, the Middle East (Israel and Palestine) and the United States of America".[2] The public contact on the register is Rev. Dr. Gary Mason.[1]
Objects and activities
The register lists beneficiaries as "academics, NGOs, those who have been involved in the security forces and non-state actors who have been involved in political violence, as well as members of the general public who are interested in peace building" in Ireland (north and south), Israel, Palestine and the United States.[1] For Israel, Palestine and the United States, the stated benefits include "Greater understanding of the Good Friday agreement and the British/Irish peace process" and "A desire to build peace and reduce racism through peaceful means".[1]
The 2025 report describes:[2]
- weekends in Dublin described as "quiet below the radar strategic engagements" between the two traditions, and a "Compass Points" dialogue group with about 100 people on its books;
- an emerging young leaders group (about 70 people), with "a similar group ... developed in the Israeli Palestinian theatre";
- hosting "a number of very significant change-makers and influencers across both political and religious bodies, both Palestinian and Israeli";
- work with universities, think tanks and academics in the US and "in the Israeli Palestinian region". The report adds that "Our Executive director has been involved in some very key below the radar conversations particularly, around the Middle East".
Trustees
Trustees on the register and in the 2025 report. The charity is unincorporated and has no Companies House entry.[1][2]
| Trustee | Appointed | Chair | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debbie Watters | Chair | ||
| Marisa McMahon | Marisa Louise McMahon | ||
| John McGrath | |||
| Deborah Crooks | Deborah Suzanne Crooks |
Historical trustees
No earlier trustee lists were examined beyond the 2023–2025 accounts.
Finances
| Financial year end | Income | Expenditure |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-12-31 | £214,998 | £280,948 |
| 2023-12-31 | £341,897 | £352,270 |
| 2024-12-31 | £347,824 | £281,646 |
| 2025-12-31 | £280,136 | £298,742 |
Source: accounts for 2023 and 2025 (with comparatives).[2][3]
Restricted income in 2025 was £168,409: Porticus £80,000 (2024: £162,339), the Department of Foreign Affairs £77,485 (2024: £74,986) and "UCF" £10,924. In 2024 the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation gave £25,031. Unrestricted donations were £111,727.[2] Spending of £298,742 included payroll and professional costs of £133,172 (two employees), seminars £43,426, accommodation £26,346, travel and meetings £22,240 and a "USA Trip" of £9,997.[2] Funds at the year end were £259,143. The independent examiner was Tony Clarke FCPA, Belfast, and the fee was £360.[2]
Funding in Israel
The accounts show no grants to Israeli or Palestinian organisations; the charity's Middle East work consists of its own dialogue activity and hosting.[2]
Israeli partners
No partner is named.[2]
Activity beyond the Green Line and support for the IDF
Findings are graded by confidence. "Partner" findings concern the recipient organisation, not proven use of the charity's funds.
| Finding | Confidence |
|---|---|
| Dialogue work with Israelis and Palestinians; no place or partner beyond the line is named.[2] | Not established |
Support for the IDF: No IDF or military funding is stated.[2]
Controversies and regulatory action
- No CCNI inquiry report or Gazette notice naming the charity was found.[4]
- Payment to a trustee. Note 6 says "one trusree [sic] received £2,200 for professional services provided (2024 - £4,200)", yet note 10 states "There were no related party transactions during the year".[2]
Other registers and records
Scotland and Northern Ireland
CCNI registration 108056. Returns "Received: on time"; 4 trustees, 2 employees.[1] No Scottish or England and Wales registration was found.[5]
The Gazette
No Gazette notice matches "Rethinking Conflict".[4]
Grants recorded by 360Giving
No grants to the charity are published in 360Giving data, although its funders include the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, which publishes to 360Giving.[6]
Sanctions screening
The charity's name, its trustees and its public contact were screened. No match was found.[7]
Land and property
The charity is unincorporated, uses a PO box and shows no fixed assets. No title registers were bought.[8]
Parliament
Hansard exact-phrase searches for "Rethinking Conflict" returned no contributions.[9]
Web archive
The Internet Archive holds captures of rethinkingconflict.com from 2016 to 2026.[10]
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, Rethinking Conflict (108056) Register of Charities, retrieved 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, Rethinking Conflict: Trustees' report and financial statements, year ended 31 December 2025 (PDF), retrieved 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, Rethinking Conflict: financial statements, year ended 31 December 2023 (PDF), retrieved 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Gazette: notices matching 'Rethinking Conflict' and the insolvency notice feed, The Gazette (London, Edinburgh and Belfast editions), searched 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission for England and Wales, Register of Charities public extract (charity table), extract dated 14 October 2026; searched by name and by the Scottish/Northern Ireland charity names in this batch – no England and Wales registration was found.
- ↑ 360Giving API, grants received by GB-NIC-108056, 360Giving, queried 20 October 2026 – 0 grants returned.
- ↑ Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK Sanctions List (CSV, downloaded 17 October 2026); Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets (ConList.csv, 17 October 2026). Screening for the Scotland/Northern Ireland batch covered 93 name strings (the 12 charity names, current and former register trustees, trustees and officers named in the accounts read, and Companies House officers); no full-name match was found and 2,208 surname- or token-only hits were reviewed and rejected.
- ↑ HM Land Registry, UK companies that own property in England and Wales (CCOD) and Overseas companies (OCOD) datasets, October 2026 full files, searched by proprietor name and company number. No title registers were purchased.
- ↑ UK Parliament, Hansard search API: contributions matching the exact phrase "Rethinking Conflict" Hansard, queried 20 October 2026 (Spoken and Written endpoints; quoted-phrase searches for "Rethinking Conflict"). 0 contributions.
- ↑ Internet Archive Wayback Machine, CDX index queried 20 October 2026 – rethinkingconflict.com: 11 years with successful captures, first 2016-04-02, latest 2026-01-12.