Engaging armed groups - Joint analysis workshop report

Many armed conflicts are characterised by the presence of non-state armed groups involved in violent struggles with government forces or other non-state armed groups. Despite this, our understanding of how and why armed groups can successfully engage in peace processes is underdeveloped. This was one of the central concerns in the workshop on engaging armed groups in peace processes held by Conciliation Resources in July 2004. The meeting, hosted by Conciliation Resources' Accord programme, brought together 25 people including representatives of armed groups, people playing official and unofficial intermediary roles, donor governments and academics. This report presents a series of recommendations based on principles emerging from the workshop discussions.