Committee for Conflict Transformation Support

CCTS
Review 26

On being effective: Report on the ACTION for Conflict Transformation International Forum, Johannesburg, November 2004

by Carolyn Hayman, Chief Executive, Peace Direct

Despite visa problems, 53 people from 27 countries managed to make it to Jo’burg in beautiful spring weather, with the mauve jacaranda trees in spectacular bloom. ACTION for Conflict Transformation members are a bunch of individualists doing very different kinds of work – some national, some local; some very focussed on conflict itself, others on factors contributing to conflict, such as human rights abuse and lack of economic opportunity.

But three things were really impressive about this group. Firstly, strong shared values – you could sit down with any one of them and you would hear the same words, about the importance of inclusion, of patience and of a total commitment to non-violence. Secondly, an approach that is both very practical and highly principled. And thirdly, ambition. The last two days were devoted to strategies for action that would make a difference, including creating links between truly grass-roots work, undertaken in particular communities, and supra-national initiatives. For example, the Platform for Peace and Development (PAD) has the mission of linking the grass roots with African Union strategists, and it succeeded in being one of only 10 NGOs accredited to the first session of the AU.

A number of interesting issues came up for me, both in general discussions and in particular workshops. Sue Williams focussed our minds on the fact that not all peacebuilding work is equally effective, but that we do know, thanks to research by CDA (The Collaborative for Development Action), what makes work more likely to bear fruit. (Look on their website, www.cdainc.com, for the whole story.) Dekha Ibrahim Abdi drew attention to the fact that while the USA is channelling more of its aid through extremist Christian faith groups, Muslim NGOs are increasingly under threat of being closed down. Not surprisingly, this strikes them as extremely unfair. She also talked about the need for an ‘under the radar’ fund for work that is too secret to be the subject of formal funding bids – transport costs, for example, to take people to neutral ground outside the area of conflict. I was struck by how negative delegates were about both local and international NGOs – not to mention the ‘GNGOs’, which have been co-opted by Government, or created as a front. Several people talked about their desire to strike out on their own again and create new institutions with a commitment to service to the people and to transparency.

I was proud that Peace Direct had been able to help to mobilise the funding needed for this event to happen. ACTION runs on the skinniest of shoestrings, yet delivers huge value in supporting its members and sharing expertise. If we are to achieve our dream of shifting government resources from the use of force to conflict prevention, then organisations like ACTION will need to play an increasingly important role.

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