Mano River Union Peace Forum

The conflict context

The sub-regional conflict in the Mano River Union countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea-Conakry has created one of the worst humanitarian crises in Africa’s history, with over one million people killed, another 3 million displaced and over 20,000 children becoming soldiers. Conflicts in the MRU region are rooted in a history of territorial claims, and colonial legacies of dysfunctional states, authoritarian institutions, and returning settlers in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Tensions between the countries over territory go back to independence and have resulted in a mutual air of mistrust between these three nations, with spillover into and from Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal and Gambia. Peace in the region remains extremely fragile.

Alert and the Mano River Union Peace Forum

The Mano River Union Peace Forum is a permanent forum of 24 civil society representatives from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea (six from each country, representing youth, religious leaders, traditional rulers, women, human rights/democracy campaigners and the media), and formerly International Alert and Conciliation Resources. It advocates for peace, monitors events in the region and makes formal representations to governments and inter-governmental bodies. The forum is intended to create a regional constituency of conflict prevention and resolution expertise that cuts across physical, social and ethnic boundaries.

A system of regular meetings within each country has been established in which members identify issues for advocacy and closely monitor the security situation. They then feed this back to the Forum’s Secretariat, based in Freetown, Sierra Leone, so it has access to the most up-to-date information and analysis, and can act as an early warning mechanism for the region.

One of the notable successes of the Forum was in July 2003, when it convened a five-day emergency meeting to discuss the draft Liberian Peace Agreement. The resulting memorandum was distributed to heads of states and other representatives at the formal negotiating table – an important opportunity for civil society groups in the region to have input into the final peace agreement. Another recent Forum success was a workshop for MRU parliamentarians and government officials. This brought together parliamentarians from the incumbent governments and opposition political parties, who agreed to form a network of MRU Parliamentarians to foster peace.

The MRU Peace Forum also works to create networks (with media, women and young people) that include representatives from all over the region, to promote understanding and develop skills to address the conflicts within and between their countries. Media practitioners have now developed an informal network which is used to exchange information, crosscheck facts and provide mutual moral support in a political climate that does not always welcome freedom of the press.

To contact the Forum’s Secretariat
Delco House
Lightfoot Boston Street
Freetown
Sierra Leone

Tel: + 232 22224198
Contact person: Dr Oumar Ndongo, Director
The MRU Peace Forum website

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