Sudan

Commentary Can Sudanese peace initiatives prove their worth?

Evaluation is an on-going and inherent challenge for peacebuilders, and has different roles to play. In this blog I tell how I set out to find whether Sudanese conflict prevention initiatives could “prove their worth” through evaluation. My objectives were wider, though, as I aimed to develop current understanding of the wider roles of peacebuilding evaluation, and of the environment in which peacebuilding evaluators operate. Read more >>>

From the field LRA: Civil society letter to South Sudan President

20 civil society groups in northern Congo, Central African Republic, and South Sudan write to President Salva Kiir Mayardit, calling his attention to the ongoing atrocities committed by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in south-western South Sudan, as well as the bordering regions in neighboring countries. Read more >>>

Commentary Sudan: Listen to locals

The escalating crisis in South Kordofan reveals real limits to how much influence the international community can exert from outside Sudan. If we wish to prevent further deaths and assist over 70,000 refugees to return home safely, the international community urgently needs another way forward. Read more >>>

Commentary Sudan: building peace after independence

Today the world will see the birth of a new country – the Republic of South Sudan. After two civil wars, a rocky six-year peace deal, and an almost unanimous referendum vote, Sudan is splitting in two. But as celebrations get under way in the capital Juba, fighting across the border in South Kordofan is casting a long shadow over the prospects for peace. Read more >>>

Sudan Briefing: 2011-06-27

Following South Sudan’s referendum on independence, Insight on Conflict will be producing a weekly round-up of the news. To subscribe to receive the updates via email, please contact joel@insightonconflict.org Read more >>>

Commentary South Kordofan: troops at war, tribes at peace?

News reports are full of reports of violence in South Kordofan, but peace still exists in many places. Despite escalating violence, communities historically involved in the conflict are rejecting violence. Read more >>>

Commentary Understanding the local dynamics of security

Why should we get local actors involved in conflict and complex security issues? Are they capable of dealing with large-scale insecurity, violent conflicts and oppressive regimes? Is the state not responsible for security, and is it not up to state security actors to provide security? And if these states are not willing or able to provide security, are international organisations such as the UN, NATO and the like not the most capable of dealing with insecurity in states? Based on my recent research in Sudan, Burundi and DR Congo, I would argue that this is not necessarily so. Read more >>>

From the field South Sudan: Enhancing grassroots peacebuilding

Peacebuilder Hope Chichaya assesses the many challenges that will face the new nation of South Sudan, and finds that local peacebuilders must be strengthened to addresses the different issues. He identifies the holding security forces accountable, engaging with the role of religious leaders, and the possibilities for ‘quiet diplomacy’ to be priorities areas for peacebuilders. Read more >>>

From the field “We’ve heard of peace but not experienced it yet”

The idea that peace needs to be build up from the grassroots is valid, but how can you talk about peace when the enemy has no clear objective and kills seemingly at random? Who can you talk with when Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, hides in the jungle in the borders of Central African Republic and DR Congo? What does a comprehensive peace agreement mean when your sons are abducted, your wife raped and your father killed? Read more >>>

From the field Calming local conflicts in Darfur

All societies develop mechanisms for mediating conflicts. It is vitally important to look for local capacities for managing conflicts, even in places such as Darfur, which have become known globally for the violence there. The following three stories are examples of conflicts in Darfur that had the potential to escalate, but were successfully mediated using such local mechanisms. Read more >>>