Exchange visit strengthens women's peacebuilding capacity

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.”

Conciliation Resources welcomes new UK Building Stability Overseas Strategy

During spring 2011 we submitted reflections and recommendations ahead of the UK’s Building Stability Overseas Strategy. We now warmly welcome its publication. Through the Building Stability Overseas Strategy, the Government has clearly committed itself to addressing violent conflict and fragility through a coherent framework. We look forward to a continued exchange on how best to implement the approach that has been set out.  Read more about our work.

Women’s exchange inspires action

Women from grassroots organisations across three countries affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) have participated in a Conciliation Resources visit to formerly LRA-affected parts of northern Uganda. The women – from the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Central African Republic – visited a rehabilitation centre for former abductees and the home village of the rebel leader, Joseph Kony.

Exploring the art of negotiation

Conciliation Resources staff took part in an all-day mediation simulation in July focusing on the current day Israel–Palestine process. Facilitated by TRACK4, we explored the issues and steps involved in negotiation. "It was a real eye opener," commented one participant, "In the simulation you can really see the pressures at play and how problems require trade-offs as well as creative and inclusive solutions."

African religious leaders meet to tackle LRA conflict

July saw a key meeting in Entebbe of cultural and religious leaders from the four countries affected by the presence of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). As a result of the two-day discussions, organised by Conciliation Resources, the leaders, as well as being better informed about the reality in each state, produced a plan of action to take back to their communities.

Barriers to engagement

It is a year since the US Supreme Court ruled in the Holder vs. Humanitarian Law Project case. In doing so they upheld the constitutionality of a law that makes it illegal for US citizens or organisations to engage in many ways that are crucial to conflict transformation. Speaking at a seminar in Sweden, Andy Carl marked the ruling's anniversary by highlighting the serious implications for peacebuilding of anti-terrorist and material support laws.

Routes across the Nistru: People's Peacemaking Perspectives

The views of local people living on either side of the River Nistru are reflected in a new report and briefing paper on the Transnistria conflict, produced by Saferworld as part of the People's Peacebuilding Perspectives (PPP) project.  The findings were generated from consultations which, for the first time, brought together separate representative groups on either side of the divide.

Programme partners contribute to international Kashmir conference

Tahir Aziz, Project Manager for Conciliation Resources’ Kashmir Programme, participated in an international conference entitled 'Kashmir in Emerging Global Perspectives', which was organised by the Azad Jammu and Kashmir University in Muzaffarabad. Significantly, he used the opportunity to bring two Kashmir programme partners from the Indian side on a rare visit to Islamabad and Muzaffarabad on the Pakistan side of Kashmir, to participate in the conference and partner meetings.

Policy brief: The Lord's Resistance Army

The voices of people most affected by the Lord's Resistance Army conflict are not always the loudest and their opinions on the conflict can go unheeded. Conciliation Resources's policy brief for the European Union – part of the People's Peacemaking Perspectives project with Saferworld – addresses this issue.

West Africa workshops explore community perspectives on conflicts

Conciliation Resources recently organised workshops in Senegal and Nigeria, which brought together civil society organisations, academics and state officials to examine key issues around several local conflicts.  Focusing on the Casamance conflict in Senegal and the Jos and Niger Delta conflicts in Nigeria, the workshops were an opportunity for participants to focus on underlying causes and possible solutions. A number of suggestions emerged from the sessions, which will be used to form the basis of recommendations to EU policymakers.

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