A Georgian politician responds to questions from internally displaced people at a meeting organized by a CR partner
Improving government accountability in conflict zones
Bad governance is often both a root cause of conflict and a major obstacle to building lasting peace. At the same time, the legacies of conflict – such as polarized societies with high levels of distrust and devastated institutions - create barriers to improving governance.
Conciliation Resources is working to help women, men and youth in conflict-affected societies voice their needs and engage effectively with politicians and policymakers in decision-making on issues that impact their everyday lives.
This five-year project with partners in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Uganda, Georgia-Abkhazia and Fiji is an integral strand of our programme work in these regions. It aims to:
- improve government accountability and responsiveness to deal with the unmet needs and contested issues that cause conflict
- increase ordinary people’s ability to voice concerns, monitor government actions and improve their access to information about existing policies
- create better understanding of the challenges and strategies for peacebuilding and governance
- deepen analysis and inspire fresh ideas through international joint analysis workshops and comparative learning between partners
In March 2010 we brought partners from all these regions together in Uganda, to draw out new thinking on the cross-cutting issues, challenges and methods for promoting effective governance in conflict situations. We have produced a workshop report documenting the debates and lessons shared at the first of two international workshops.
These activities are funded by the UK Department for International Development’s Governance and Transparency Fund and will run from October 2008 until 2013.
