People need signposts that help them see the possibilities in themselves, to encourage them to build, to create again. This requires people willing to stand in the darkness with them. I believe this is the best of what local organisations can do and are doing in Zimbabwe.

Read more at Insight on Conflict >>>

We woke up to the steady rat-a-tat-tat of the AKs at barely daybreak. We had been warned the day before that the rebels were moving towards the city, but the violence that accompanied their arrival still surprised us. Looking out our back window, we saw them moving up the street; first the foot soldiers shooting forward with their guns, followed by a large group of excited civilians, including women with their small children, who cheered then ducked behind cars and debris on the side of the…

Continue

Sudan Sudanese 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. …

Continue

Fifteen years on from the end of violent conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the consequences of war still exert a heavy influence over society. In the absence of a civic conception of state, the ethnicisation of society continues apace; leading many to describe today’s divisions as being as wide as at any point since 1995. Tuzla is home to some 180,000 citizens, including many displaced by the conflict of the early-nineties. In spite of the demographic turbulence that BiH has endured, Tuzla…

Continue

Today Pakistan is facing embarrassment and isolation internationally. Osama bin Laden has been killed on the land of Pakistan by US troops without involving Pakistani intelligence services or army. In the past, both the civil and military leaders of Pakistan had denied the presence of Osama in Pakistan, which puts Pakistan in a difficult position now. Since Osama was residing just a few kilometres away from our military academy, the role of the Pakistani establishment and its links with Al… Continue

There are numerous places of historical conflict around the world where there is a clear need for helping those involved to find common ground. The current events in the Middle East and North Africa, in which popular uprisings are toppling, or at least trying to topple, long-standing regimes, are welcome. Yet there are no guarantees that a seamless shift to democracy will inexorably follow. Sadly, there is a real risk that new inter-community disputes will arise in those areas in the months…

Continue

A monthly selection of the best new research and resources on local peacebuilding worldwide, as chosen by Insight on Conflict.



To receive the email newsletter each month, please email joel@peacedirect.org.

---

Local and national ownership in post-conflict Liberia…

Continue

This is an urgent call for support. The inhabitants of the Peace Community San José de Apartadó, with whom we have been and are connected in deep friendship and intense cooperation for years, need our help now. The Colombian Peace Community is again massively under threat on various levels. In such situations we've often experienced that international attention can save the live of innocent people. Giving a few minutes of our time can have an important effect.… Continue