An Interview with Dr. Buntu Siwisa, African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes

What are the most pressing challenges presented by conflicts in Africa? How is ACCORD helping to mitigate them?

Well, ACCORD has increasingly involved itself with conflicts that are intra-state in nature, as opposed to inter-state. The problem, of course, is that these types of conflict are complex. They typically have regional and foreign dimensions to them, which has made our work challenging. For instance, think of the current conflict in Mali. It is shaped by the political dynamics in the Sahel and in North Africa. It involves individual countries such as Libya, Niger, Mauritania and France. We at ACCORD have to account for these regional and international dynamics when trying to find holistic and long-term solutions for countries such as Mali.

Now, in trying to help prevent and resolve these types of conflicts in Africa, we’ve built on our experiences in the DRC, Burundi, Somalia, Palestine, Sri Lanka, etc., to create a workable conflict intervention model. Basically, we first perform research on the area of conflict, we then identify which problems we want to address, and we then implement our intervention programme. In the last case, our Interventions Department (ID), which comprises the external pagepeacemakingcall_made, external pagepeacebuildingcall_made, external pagepeacekeepingcall_made and country programmes units, helps refine our approach over time.

ACCORD focuses on providing innovative solutions to conflicts on the African continent. Can you give us an example of what these solutions look like?

ACCORD emphasizes the use of African resources, intellectually and institutionally, to provide ‘home-brewed’ solutions to conflicts on the continent. This approach, which has been recognised by the United Nations (UN) since 1996, ensures that whatever solutions we help reach are sustainable ones. An immediate example that comes to mind is our involvement in the external pageBurundi peace processcall_made, where we trained the rival political stakeholders on needed mediation and negotiation processes and techniques. The training, in turn, then helped shape the peace process and consolidate the march towards democracy within the country.

ACCORD states that it is “part of the growing momentum for an African Renaissance.” Can you explain how this is expressed in your work?

Well, let me first clarify what this phrase means. It means that we try and work with the intellectual and institutional resources that already exist in Africa in order to resolve and transform existing conflicts. For instance, in promoting sustainable peacebuilding efforts in Rwanda, we have actively supported the use of the traditional gacaca court system at the communal level. In our view, such an approach helps institutionalize the use mediation as a conflict resolution tool; it prevents the judicial system from being misused as an instrument of revenge; and it connects Africa to the wider world by engaging it with multi-lateral institutions and organizations such as ACCORD. All these spin-offs, I would argue, then help sustain the transformation of conflict in Africa – a transformation that helps promote the local socio-economic development in an interconnected world.

How can African youth play a role in conflict resolution?

Given the growing ‘youth bulge’ in Africa, it’s obvious that many of the challenges confronting Africans are experienced much more acutely by the young. And if the recent experiences of North Africa are any indication, then we can safely assume that young people from across the continent will play an increasingly prominent role in defining how their societies develop.

In terms of conflict resolution, African youth are already and proactively engaged. The African Union (AU) has responded to this trend by including more ‘youth perspectives’ in its policy development, as illustrated by a external pageYouth Forumcall_madeheld in Addis Ababa from 22-25 May 2013, which ACCORD actively participated in. Then, as now, the AU and ACCORD remain committed to promoting youth perspectives and agency in conflict resolution processes and interventions. We just can’t shape the continent for the better without the active participation of the young.

In the case of youth development, ACCORD additionally aims to develop a new generation of responsible leaders who are mindful of peace and security developments in an evolving world. This means we are committed to providing youth in Africa and beyond with the life and business skills they need to succeed in leadership positions. That is why ACCORD has in the past provided youth groups from Burundi, KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, and Norway not only the opportunity to get together, but in one case to craft a memorandum of understanding on peace to present to the leaders of the African National Congress (ANC) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) who were, at the time, engaging in post-electoral violence.

Finally, in 2013, as part of celebrating the twelfth anniversary of the external pageAfrican Peer Review Mechanism (APRM)call_made, ACCORD co-hosted a debate on the achievements and challenges of the APRM with the University of KwaZulu-Natal Debating Forum. The debating teams were selected from local schools and from the team of the University of KwaZulu-Natal Debating Forum. It is through building-block activities such as these that we hope our conflict prevention and resolution efforts are successful not only in the near-term, but long into the future.

For additional information please see:
external pageVideo: ACCORD to focus on Dialoguecall_made
external pageAnimated video: ACCORD's historycall_made
Opportunity or Threat: The Engagement of Youth in African Societies