On Saturday 23 November the people of Bougainville (an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea) started voting in a referendum on Bougainville’s political future. There are two options on offer – independence or greater autonomy. This vote marks a key moment in the Bougainville peace process, but does not mark the end of the process.
The international peacebuilding NGO, Conciliation Resources, and Brussels-based mediation organisation mediatEUr, have decided to recognise the closeness of their missions and come together, combining their objectives and operations.
Miriam Labanue is serving as a mediation and peacebuilding trainer in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea in the Pacific Region. Her focus area is building bridges and engaging with emerging leaders and youths in remote rural areas. She is also doing counselling and peer to peer dialogue with the conflicting parties and mostly targeting women and girls who are victims of the violence.
Nolliettie is a peace and mediation advocate and communication expert. She is engaged in full time peace and security efforts which has allowed her to mediate in over 50 cases ranging from institutional conflicts, land conflicts, family cases and gender-based violence. Nolliettie believes in women’s empowerment and strives for equal opportunities for women’s inclusion in peace processes and mediation.
Conciliation Resources works with two local partners in Mindanao, southern Philippines, to resolve clan conflicts, and strengthen relationships between communities and local authorities. Tenduray Lambangian Women’s Organisation (TLWOI) is a network representing indigenous people, and United Youth for Peace and Development (UNYPAD) is a predominantly Moro (Muslim) youth organisation working to promote peace in the region through dialogue and reconciliation.
We would like to say a huge thank you to all of the BBC Radio 4 listeners and Conciliation Resources’ supporters who so generously supported our appeal broadcast in September. The appeal has raised over £15,200 for our peacebuilding work, with donations still coming in!
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31 October marks the 19th Anniversary of the UN Security Council resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) on Women, Peace and Security. This commitment reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and stresses the importance of their equal participation.
On this day, one year ago, I was in Asmara in Eritrea, witnessing the signing of a declaration ending over 20 years of armed conflict in the Somali Regional State of Ethiopia (commonly referred to as ‘Ogaden’). For six years, I’d accompanied every twist and turn of these peace negotiations, and to see how far we had come was a moment of real pride. But we all knew that although this singing marked the end of the Ogaden insurgency, the hard work of transitioning from war to peace was just beginning. So, one year on, how far have we come and what needs to happen next?
