West Africa
We work in Nigeria and the Mano River region, developing community-led peacebuilding initiatives which put the people most affected by conflicts at the center of efforts to resolve them.
Dr Irene Bruna Seu
Dr Irene Bruna Seu is Emerita Professor of Psychosocial Studies and Critical Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London, and the Founding Director of the Centre for Researching and Embedding Human Rights (CREHR). She has also been practising as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist for over 30 years.
Conciliation Resources launches new project to deal with the past and safeguard the future in Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State
Last month we launched a new project in Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State to support the ongoing work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in fostering collaboration and gaining support for the Commission's efforts on violence, reconciliation, and victim reparations.
Soft recognition
International affairs are usually considered to be the preserve of the state. Central state authorities generally maintain control over core aspects including foreign policy in multilateral organisations. However, in this globalised and interconnected world lines between domestic and international politics are increasingly blurred. The big challenges of our time such as climate change, migration, or pandemics do not respect borders. They inevitably permeate and impact domestic agendas of individual states and affect everyone, including groups that enjoy a degree of self-governance within the state. This report on ‘soft recognition’ of these groups sets out some of the mechanisms enabling their participation in intergovernmental organisations and diplomatic relations globally and regionally. It highlights the benefits – including conflict resolution potential – of such engagement for the populations they represent, as well as for states and the multilateral organisations concerned.
Impact of UK aid budget cut on conflict prevention and peacebuilding
On 25 February the UK government announced a further cut to the overseas development aid budget, reducing it from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% by 2027. We believe this is short-sighted. People living in the most insecure and conflict-affected environments will suffer directly as a result.
Workshop - Power, place and knowledge: Intellectuals, scholars and epistemologies of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict
Workshop
When: 9-11 July 2025
Where: Wissenschaftskolleg, Wallotstraße 19, 14193 Berlin, Germany
About the workshop
The Araz scholars’ initiative will hold its next workshop in Berlin in July 2025.
Kirsten Winterman
Kirsten is the Programme Manager in our South Asia Programme. She implements our programming in India and Pakistan with a focus on Kashmir. Kirsten previously worked for a multilateral organisation in Muscat, Oman, utilising water as an entry point into the Middle East Peace Process, and facilitating dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian diplomats and technical civil servants. She has extensive experience in the design, management and implementation of training programmes, tackling conflict drivers such as anti-corruption, good governance and justice sector reform.
Understanding gender norms leads to a reunited family and a change of approach for community leadership
In a village in the sub-prefecture of Sibut in the Central African Republic, one young woman has put her new mediation skills into practice - challenging gender norms, resolving a family dispute and inspiring local leadership.
Mental health and psychosocial support toolkit developed by mental health experts and government representatives in CAR
Experts and practitioners in mental health and psychosocial support, peacebuilding and gender gathered in Bangui, Central African Republic this month for a workshop organised by the University of Bangui and Conciliation Resources to develop a toolkit for training practitioners on how to integrate a mental health and psychosocial support-sensitive approach to community engagement.
Our approach to mediating self-determination conflicts
Conciliation Resources is engaged in a learning partnership with the Sasakawa Peace Foundation to develop our understanding and practice of peace and mediation processes in contexts where self-determination is an issue.