Building lasting peace and justice in West Africa
The wars that raged from the early 1990s in West Africa left several hundreds of thousands of people dead and millions more exiled from their homes and lands.
Marked by extreme cruelty, mindless atrocities and the widespread use of sexual violence and child soldiers, these conflicts devastated communities. Most schools, hospitals, power supplies and roads were destroyed.
Peace agreements eventually ended war in Sierra Leone in 2002 and Liberia in 2005. Sierra Leone held its second post-war elections in August 2007 - a sign democracy was at work. Liberia's 2005 election brought into power Africa's female president. A peace agreement in Côte d’Ivoire ended a four-year political impasse but the country’s future depends on its successful implementation. Guinea remains volatile after a recent coup and could destabilize the entire region.
Despite these wars ending there are many challenges to securing lasting peace. Acute poverty remains a serious threat. Disenfranchised young people, considered a root cause of the conflicts, still face serious social, economic and political exclusion.
Conciliation Resources supports local initiatives in the region to build peace and secure access to meaningful justice for people, especially poor and marginalized communities and excluded groups such as women and youth. As these wars were fought largely at community level we believe local people must be included in peacebuilding processes with government and civil society.
Our work aims to strengthen communities and civil society in the region, and increase understanding and information between ordinary people and those involved in local governance.
See What we do for details of our work in West Africa.
