Archive: February, 2012

Interview Bishop Ochola from the ARLPI in Uganda

Insight on Conflict interviews Bishop Ochola from the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative (ARLPI) in Uganda. The ARLPI is a leading peacebuilding organisation in Uganda and was central to bringing together the government and Lord’s Resistance Army around the negotiating table for the 2008 peace talks. Bishop Ochola discusses both the work of the ARLPI and his own personal motivation for seeing peace in Uganda after losing both his eldest daughter and wife to the conflict. Read more >>>

Sudan Briefing: 2012-02-27

Following the independence of South Sudan, Insight on Conflict will be producing a weekly round-up of the news. To subscribe to receive the updates via email, please contact [email protected] or complete the form below. Email Address: News roundup Sudan accused South Sudan of backing a rebel attack in South Kordofan. The Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement [...] Read more >>>

Commentary The capacity for peace exists in Somalia, not London.

John Bainbridge from Peace Direct discusses yesterday’s Somalia conference in London. John argues that looking closely at events in Somalia can tell us important things about the relationship between conflict and humanitarian crises, and how outsiders should respond to help. For this reason, a refocusing on Somalia’s multiple challenges is a positive step, and yet promises of aid and increased international support may prove fruitless if we cannot avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. Read more >>>

Commentary Jonglei Massacres: case for collaborative peacebuilding

Hamish Wilson, Stabilisation Advisor in South Sudan for the UK’s Stabilisation Unit until October 2011, writes about the collaborative response to tribal violence in South Sudan. Following an upsurge in violence between the Lou Nuer and Mulre tribes, the government and international community sought to provide a deeper and longer term response to the conflict. Read more >>>

Sudan Briefing: 2012-02-20

Following the independence of South Sudan, Insight on Conflict will be producing a weekly round-up of the news. To subscribe to receive the updates via email, please contact [email protected] Read more >>>

Commentary Cultural peacebuilding

Jaimie Grant from ThinkAfricaPress.com argues for the need for cultural considerations in peacebuilding, alongside the technical aspects. Sustainable peace needs sustainable states, but states are more than the sum of their governing institutions. International peacebuilding as yet does not invest enough into social and cultural institutions, yet these remain important for any collective identity, especially those going through dramatic changes. Read more >>>

From the field Kashmir: building peace through trade

Zafar Iqbal, founder of Kashmir based organisation Press For Peace (PFP), discusses trade between Indian- and Pakistani- administered Kashmir. Intra-Kashmir trade was established as a confidence-building measure between India and Pakistan in 2004. Zafar explains the difficulties facing traders on both sides of the line of control, as well as the hope trade brings. Read more >>>

Sudan Briefing: 2012-02-13

Following the independence of South Sudan, Insight on Conflict will be producing a weekly round-up of the news. To subscribe to receive the updates via email, please contact [email protected] Read more >>>

Commentary Role of NGOs as global change agents

CeaseFire was recently named in the Global Journal’s inaugural ‘Top 100 Best NGOs’ list last week. Josh Gryniewicz, Communications Director for CeaseFire, explains how the Global Journal put the list together, and the work CeaseFire is doing to earn it’s place as the top-rated conflict resolution organisation. Read more >>>

Commentary Measuring Peace in Northern Ireland

Is peace in Northern Ireland stable, or do we face merely a temporary break from large-scale violence? Northern Ireland’s relative political stability and the Queen’s symbolic first visit to the country in May 2011 are important parts of the peace process. However, violence and tensions among the population continue. New initiatives to measure Northern Ireland’s peace process are needed. Paul Nolan of Nothern Ireland Peace Monitoring Survey, explains how they will assess the progress of the peace process. Read more >>>