News and Insight

On 17 October we joined a number of international organisations in co-sponsoring a peace conference in San Sebastian. Local organisation Lokarri led the event, which focused on supporting the search for a permanent end to the conflict in the Basque Country. A panel, made up of international participants including Kofi Annan, issued a declaration that called on ETA to formally end the armed confrontation and for all parties to take steps towards a dialogue on political issues. This has since been endorsed by an important grouping of Basque leftwing nationalists, and by President Jimmy Carter, Tony Blair and Senator George Mitchell.

Conciliation Resources – together with the School of Peace and Cooperacció – is convening a Public Forum in Barcelona on Friday 28 October on the issue of "Women in peace processes". The forum’s goal is to discuss achievements and challenges for women peacebuilders and to share innovative practice from Colombia, the Philippines and elsewhere.

The conflict with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) continues to cause destruction, displacement, death and distress for civilians and communities across four countries in central Africa. The policy brief resulting from the People’s Peacemaking Perspectives project research highlights an overwhelming desire among affected communities for a peacemaking solution based on civilian protection and engagement with the LRA.

At political conferences this autumn we are making the case for supporting people to build peace. At the Labour conference on 26 September, David Newton will chair an event on the topic of 'Conflicted Development: Can aid help prevent violent conflict?'. At the Conservative conference on 4 October, Dr Laurence Broers is on a Foreign Policy Centre panel to explore 'New opportunities and old challenges on Europe's eastern frontier: What now for EU and UK engagement in the South Caucasus?'.

Partners from the regions of Jammu and Kashmir, and the South Caucasus are currently in the UK to exchange their wealth of experience of living and working in these areas. Ershad Mahmood and Fayaz Ahmad Dar join us on Commonwealth Scholarships. Their visit coincides with strategic planning workshops in London for a range of partners affected by the Georgian–Abkhaz conflict, who have been sharing ideas with the Kashmiri partners on youth engagement in peacebuilding.

Around the world, ordinary people lead the way in finding alternatives to violence. September 21 marks the UN Day that aims to strengthen these efforts. In several towns across the Central African Republic our partners JUPEDEC have been marking the International Day of Peace with marches and songs for peace.

This September Conciliation Resources and our Fiji-based partners the Citizens’ Constitutional Forum (CCF) are in Auckland, New Zealand for the annual Pacific Islands Forum leaders' meeting. CCF are making the case for its members to show their commitment to regional peace and security by pushing for peoples’ participation in dialogue across conflict divides and internal reform processes.

Not one low-income fragile or conflict-affected country has yet achieved a single Millennium Development Goal. In late September we met with International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell to urge him to make aid more effective in cases of poor governance, conflict and fragility.

Ten Filipinas visited Colombia in August, facilitated by Conciliation Resources and local partners. The women exchanged ideas with their peers, as well as meeting local government representatives and working with a range of interest groups. Both parties benefitted in what was, as Rina Jimenez-David puts it, "our own little attempt [at understanding] the roots of armed conflict and seeking a way to bring the voices of non-combatants, especially women, to the table.”