Africa

Dear Secretary-General,

As NGOs working in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), we remain very concerned by the grave humanitarian situation that continues to severely affect the civilian population, characterized by persistent high levels of violence, human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law. Renewed fighting between M23 and FARDC around Goma this month highlights the significant and continuing insecurity faced by communities.

This year Africa celebrates 50 years of collective action: first through the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and more recently the African Union (AU).

This year Africa celebrates 50 years of collective action: first through the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and more recently the African Union (AU). This is also a critical juncture in African history: the post-colonial period is over and the African Renaissance is underway; economic growth has been steady for a decade; and the number of wars and coups d’état has declined. However, Africans still face many challenges. This paper examines how the AU can enhance its contribution to sustainable peace. This is part of our Peace Focus series.

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In both low and middle income countries, well established arguments and solid evidence confirm that there is no real development without peace and only the peace of the graveyard without development. These conclusions have shifted the fulcrum of discussion about development over the past several years. But they have not yet added up to telling anybody how to do it.

This opinion piece first appeared in The Huffington Post on 5 April 2013

Last week we launched a new report, Governance and livelihoods in Uganda’s oil-rich Albertine Graben.

This study was commissioned by International Alert and the Democratic Governance Facility in March 2012. It was carried out in the Albertine Graben, where oil exploration activities are ongoing. The study was conducted within the framework of the Harnessing the Potential of Oil to Contribute to Peace and Development in Uganda project, which is currently being implemented by International Alert and its partners.

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An innovative project in Rwanda is helping to heal old wounds by bringing genocide survivors, ex-combatants, ex-prisoners and the youth together through dialogue.

Our new paper, Crisis in Mali, looks at what a peacebuilding approach to the conflict in the country could look like.

While there are several narratives about Mali, the one currently dominating the agenda concerns the capture of Mali’s north by radicals and the perceived ungovernability of that region as a result of the lack of governance, and state complicity with criminal groups which in turn was exploited by well-armed, equipped and trained international terrorist groups.

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Article published on 28th February 2013, The Huffington Post

The latest agreement for peace in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) offers a fresh and much needed glimmer of hope for ordinary Congolese citizens suffering from two decades of violence.

The civil war in Burundi led to the death of 300,000 people and the displacement of 1 million more. Now with an influx of people returning, the road to recovery truly begins. Moving on from conflict means the rebuilding of lives after the trauma of violence, dealing with the death of loved ones and returning home to find land and homes repossessed.

In northern Uganda, the Acholi communities are settling back into their villages after years of insecurity and internal displacement as a result of the conflict between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government.  The conflict, displacement and return process had different impacts on men, women, boys and girls. The consequences of this require gender-relational approaches to peacebuilding.

For years the international community has attempted to help stabilize Eastern DRC, at the expense of billions of dollars, yet sustainable peace remains elusive. Elections in November 2011 were widely seen as lacking credibility¹ and provincial and local elections have been delayed indefinitely. There has been scant progress on critical reforms in justice, security, land and governance. Successive military campaigns have failed to remove foreign and domestic armed groups and have increased the population’s suffering causing large scale displacement.