We send this ebulletin to subscribers on a quarterly basis with a round-up of our news, publications and developments.
You can subscribe and unsubscribe here.
For more on recent activities see News & events
We welcome your feedback on our work. Please contact us.
News bulletin autumn 2009
News
Publications
Events
Organizational news
Support us
Taskforce of civil society leaders meets in Southern Sudan
In October Conciliation Resources brought together community and religious leaders from Uganda, Sudan, Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic for a meeting in Juba to discuss the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) conflict. The group met with Southern Sudan’s Vice President Riek Machar and is calling on the international community and regional governments to renew their commitment to ending the conflict through peace talks and to protect local people from LRA attacks. Read their communiqué.
Northern Ireland study visit for Georgians and Abkhaz
We took six young Georgians and Abkhaz involved in our youth dialogue initiative to Belfast in October. Meetings with community leaders, youth groups and politicians from both sides gave them insights into the successes and difficulties of peacemaking there, and ideas for reconciling their own conflict. “In Northern Ireland compromise has become an accepted part of political culture,” said one. “Unfortunately at the moment we are too far from this, but we need to get there in both societies. Otherwise we won’t move forward.”
Supporting peacemaking in the southern Philippines
We met with the government of the Philippines’ Peace Panel, who are holding talks with the Mindanao Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Led by Ambassador Rafael Seguis, the panel was visiting the UK and Northern Ireland to draw lessons from peacemaking experiences there. This followed an earlier meeting with the MILF’s peace panel as part of our work supporting dialogue in the Philippines and promoting opportunities for learning from peacemaking elsewhere.
Securing a voice for displaced Georgians
Over 200,000 ethnic Georgians remain displaced from their homes since the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in the early 1990s. Our new publication, Out of the margins, documents the lessons learned from our work with Georgian NGOs and activists to help internally displaced people defend their rights and become more politically active. It was launched in Tbilisi in October and is available in English, Russian and Georgian.
Future scenarios for the Nagorny Karabakh peace process
Despite increased diplomatic activity over the Nagorny Karabakh conflict in 2009, the most likely prospect is the status quo of ‘no war, no peace’. But what might the conflict look like five years from now? What policy choices do the conflict parties need to make to reach a settlement? We asked six Armenian and Azeri analysts to explore new ideas for the peace process in our Karabakh 2014 publication.
Trading peacefully across a war-torn border
A trade boom across Southern Sudan and Uganda’s border is helping recovery after decades of war. Yet urgent changes in policy and practice are needed to make the most of its potential to help build peace among conflict-affected communities. Our new study Cross-border trade: building peace or fuelling conflict? examines the experiences of traders, businesses, government officials and border communities and makes recommendations for change. It was launched in Juba and northern Uganda in October.
New policy brief on engaging armed groups in peace processes
International policy is unclear on how, whether and when to talk to armed groups. But strategic engagement can be an essential part of ending violent conflicts and saving lives. Our latest Accord brief gives policymakers useful guidance on the options, challenges and tactics for engaging with armed groups at different stages of a peace process.
New policy brief on peace process support strategies
Even though more wars have ended through negotiated agreements than military victory since the 1990s, for many governments the question of an 'all-out war' option versus engaging in a political settlement remains open.
Our policy brief argues that governments and international organizations need to give greater priority to supporting peace processes and should place them at the heart of their overall strategy for a country or region in conflict.
Mediating peace with banned armed groups
In October we held a joint policy meeting in Washington to discuss the challenges posed by anti-terrorist proscription policies and the case for reviewing such laws. This brought together mediators, mediation support organizations and senior policymakers from the US and Europe. It was co-organized by CR, United States Institute of Peace, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and Berghof Foundation for Peace Support as members of the international Mediation Support Network.
Georgian partner Studio Re’s film shown in the UK parliament
Absence of will: a journey through Georgia’s conflict zones screened in the UK parliament at an event hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Russia in October. The film tells the story of two Georgian graduates trying to understand what caused the war in Abkhazia and why after 15 years of peace talks both sides are no closer to resolving their differences. It was also shown in Berlin, Brussels and Amsterdam.
Somalia peace policy workshop in London
Autohors, editors and advisers working on our upcoming Accord publication on Somali peace processes met at Chatham House in October with international policymakers to discuss the implications of our findings for peacebuilding policy on Somalia. Read the summary report.
Conciliation Resources’ new look website
Our website has had a makeover. New features include a photo slideshow of our latest highlights on the homepage and a RSS news feed. Take a look and let know us your views or any features you would like to see in the future. Email: communications@c-r.org
New staff and trustees
A warm welcome to three new trustees: George Carey, Chandra Lekha Sriram and Margo Picken. and four new staff: Christopher Selbach, Caucasus programme director (maternity cover), Elena Franklin, Caucasus programme assistant, Mary Dobbing, programme officer, and Boiima Taylor as programme assistant in Freetown.
Jobs
We are seeking an Director of Operations to oversee the strategic management of our financial, material and human resources. Closing date for applications: 25 November 2009.
US peacebuilding network board appointment
Our executive director Andy Carl was recently elected onto the board of directors of the Alliance for Peacebuilding.
Conciliation Resources (CR) is an international
non-governmental organization registered in the UK as a charity. Your donations will allow us to challenge governments and held end the violence that devastates people’s lives worldwide. If you would like to support our work please click this link.
The news bulletin is sent out to subscribers quarterly, providing a round-up of CR's news, publications and developments. If you are not already on the list of subscribers, you can subscribe here.
If you no longer wish to receive emails from us: unsubscribe here.
We always welcome your comments. If you would like to contact us about any of the above please email: communications@c-r.org.
