News and Insight

The Somali Regional State of Ethiopia (SRS – also known as Ogaden region) has a long history of armed conflict - inter-state wars, clan clashes, insurgencies and counter-insurgencies. Since 1994, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) has been waging an armed insurgency against the Government of Ethiopia in the region. It’s a conflict that has threatened the stability, security and development prospects of Ethiopia, but is often overlooked – both regionally and internationally. But in the last two months, the SRS is hitting the headlines – and there seems to be some good news.

In 2016, Dieudonné was kidnapped by a group of armed men as he returned home from working the fields with his family. Along with twenty five other young people from his village, he was forced to march to the training camp of the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

Pioneers of peace often come from communities experiencing violence. Living at the hard-edge of conflict, they feel its effects every day – and are often best placed to understand its causes.

Matar Chaib lives in a war zone. His town of Bria, in the Central African Republic, has been controlled by warring armed groups since 2013. Despite living at the heart of conflict, he knew that peace was possible, and knew that he could make a change to help protect the people of the town.

Warmonger, despot, brutality, warfare - all of these words are in the dictionary, and for good reason. It’s important to have the words to express the world around us, particularly those related to violent conflict, which is on the rise around the world.

Mohammed was the leader of a violent armed gang in northeast Nigeria - a Youth Peace Platform helped him turn his life around.

The destruction caused by the Boko Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria is visible everywhere. Suspicion and mistrust within society is rife and relationships between young people and their elders are broken. Young people are frequently targeted and groomed by Boko Haram. All have witnessed atrocities or had loved ones killed. This is Badawiya’s story.

This year, the UN’s International Youth Day is championing safe spaces for youth - places where young people can come together, express themselves, and participate in decision making. In peacebuilding, creating these safe spaces is a vital first step in allowing young people to share their experiences of conflict, and work towards achieving a more peaceful future.

In the years following 9/11, counter-terrorism laws, regulations, sanctions and policies have proliferated, many with the aim of curtailing non-state armed groups’ access to financial support. Several studies have shown how these measures impact the work of NGOs and civil society organisations providing humanitarian assistance or supporting peace efforts in these volatile contexts. One such impact is bank ‘de-risking’.