Is it important to have women at a peace table just for representation? Francesca Bomboko, a researcher from the Democratic Republic of Congo, talks about the effect qualified women have on a peace process. Since women must live with the consequences of peace agreements, she argues, they often find creative solutions to daily problems.
Drawing on more than 15 years of experience in coalitions, women like Zaynab El-Sawi have come together from around what was once Sudan to continue to work for peace across the new border between South Sudan and Sudan. In this clip, Ms. El-Sawi, a longtime member of Sudanese Women’s Empowerment for Peace (SuWEP), explains why […]
Sometimes it is difficult to see people beyond the anger of armed conflict, but international mediator Stella Sabiiti uses the image of a smiling infant to remind parties that there is more to their enemy than meets the eye. Grounded in her own experience of war and torture, Ms. Sabiiti has spent 30 years preparing […]
As a longtime member of a women’s coalition that brings together women from South Sudan and Sudan, and from across various sectors, Zaynab El Sawi knows the benefits of working with allies. In conjunction with the 2008 Sudan Consortium, held in Oslo in May 2008, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, UNIFEM, and Inclusive Security convened a […]
As a mediator between armed groups in Africa, Stella Sabiiti has worked with individuals in some of the world’s most tense situations. Ms. Sabiiti has been with the AU Peace and Security Directorate since 2006, as part of a team of experts strengthening the AU, Regional Economic Communities, and regional standby brigades in building the […]
Western donors, according to Belle Abaya of the Philippines, sometimes have the misconception that a peace agreement will automatically solve the underlying issues that cause conflict. In this clip from an interview in January 2011 in Washington, DC, Ms. Abaya suggests that a more lasting peace should be based on smaller instances of building trust, […]
In January 2011, Belle Abaya was interviewed about negotiations and mediation and she pointed out that peace negotiation teams tend to be mostly men. In cultures such as that of Ms. Abaya’s in the Philippines, this may be detrimental to the peace process as men there are taught to suppress their emotions and have a fear of […]
Rebecca Joshua Okwaci has been a driving force in South Sudan and Sudan for years, constantly pushing parties to the peace negotiations to not lose momentum. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended decades of war with its signing in 2005, recently expired with the referendum vote for separation of the two states. The negotiation of […]
One of the main barriers in negotiations is building trust between the parties. Belle Abaya, a peacebuilder from the Philippines, was able to create a consensus of goals using a model of peacebuilding she developed.
In order to connect the people at the top of government to the people at the grassroots, Belle Abaya and her team in the Philippines created a model for reflective democracy and dialogue. This allowed the government to make more informed decisions. At the same time it helped knowledgeable people at the grassroots be heard.
