Partners in Peace: Discourses and Practices of Civil-Society Peacebuilding by Mathijs van Leeuwen

Author:Mathijs van Leeuwen [Leeuwen, Mathijs van]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General
ISBN: 9781317083627
Google: QsIoDAAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 30202763
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2009-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Regional approaches for peacebuilding in practice

To start the exploration of regional approaches in practice, let us reflect on one particular example: the regional association of Catholic Bishops ACEAC (Association Convenance Episcopal d’Afrique Centrale), and specifically one of the regional meetings it organized. This regional initiative was supported by Caritas International and several members of the international Caritas network, including the UK-based development agency CAFOD and the Dutch development organization Cordaid.

In November 2004, ACEAC convened a 2-day regional forum on peace and reconciliation in Bujumbura, which was attended by about 80 priests and members of the diocesan development bureaus and justice and peace commissions from Burundi, Rwanda, eastern DR Congo, and Tanzania. The aim of the forum was to identify whether agreement could be reached at a regional level on how the Catholic Church could contribute to peace at community, national and regional levels. The first day consisted of presentations by several bishops from the region, to provide their perspectives on regional conflict. The archbishop of Bujumbura emphasized the evolving economic rather than ethnic marginalization of groups in Burundi, and the involvement of the church in local reconciliation activities. The bishop of Kilwa-Kasenga (DR Congo) underlined the role the Catholic Church played in providing basic services to local communities, the protection provided to refugees from Burundi and Rwanda, and the efforts of the church in preparing communities for the upcoming elections. The archbishop of Kigali pointed out the difficulty of achieving reconciliation, with the Hutu population’s continuing insecurity about land, and large numbers of traumatized people. He underscored the important role justice should play in the aftermath of the genocide, and considered how the impending gacaca courts might contribute to this. On the basis of these presentations, the participants discussed the regional importance of trauma and local reconciliation, as well as local justice.

During the second day, the discussion focused on the question of how the churches in the region could work together for peace in the region. One of the working groups emphasized the importance of sharing experiences, and debating analyses of local conflict. A participant pointed out the need to look not so much at ethnicity in those conflicts but at how ethnocentrism pervaded politics within all the countries in the region. Another participant suggested that to develop a regional analysis of conflict, an outside neutral research institute should be invited to come to an interpretation acceptable to all. Among the participants, agreement could be reached on some regional issues, in particular the presence of arms and the need for demobilization throughout the region. The group acknowledged a need for ‘moral formation’ to assure the proper reintegration of ex-combatants into the communities. A second working group focused on how through local-level activities, people could be mobilized to exchange experiences, for example agricultural projects or youth activities. Though representatives of international organizations present at the meeting introduced ideas for various regional activities (a representative of Caritas France proposed demonstrations in border regions, referring to the burning of candles on a bridge

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