THE NEW SUDAN COUNCIL OF CHURCHES (NSCC) PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE PEACE AND RECONCILIATION PROCESS

1
THE NEW SUDAN COUNCIL OF CHURCHES (NSCC)
PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE PEACE AND RECONCILIATION PROCESS

• A RENAISSENCE OF TRADITIONAL AFRICAN CONFLICT
  TRANSFORMATION IN THE SUDAN

2
INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND CONTEXT

• During last decades, the field of peace building
  has become more and more important. While
  traditional diplomacy used to be the most
  important approach to mediate between conflicting
  parties to end wars and conflicts, in the last
  decade we could see a tremendous increase of
  peace building activities by no non-governmental
  organizations and actors. The New Sudan Council
  of Churches (NSCC) is one of these organizations
  that have been working in peace building since a
  long time, applying traditional approaches and
  strategies.
• Conflict is part of social life in traditional as
  well as in modern societies. Through conflicts we
  express different interests. When dealt with in
  constructive way, conflict can lead to positive
  developments both for individuals and the society
  as a whole. Thus, conflict as such is not a
  problem. However, when a conflict is dealt with
  in destructive manner, it can lead to violence.

3
INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND CONTEXT CONT.

• Therefore the aim of conflict transformation in
  peace building is not to avoid conflict as such
  but to avoid having conflicts turn into violence.
  Conflict can be either good or bad like fire, it
  depends the way one manages it.
• Conflict is at every level of human life whether
  personal, domestic, communal or at other levels.
• The overall aim of peace building is to prevent
  violent conflicts into peaceful actions. The
  methodologies and concepts can be adapted in any
  situation or context for better use for one
  purpose of peace making and building whether for
  religious or secular purposes.
• The world is full of violence and it needs
  attention of everyone to be involved in
  peacemaking for a better society. The Church
  should be in fore front as charge with ministry
  of reconciliation and peacemaking

4
INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND CONTEXT CONT.

• The protracted conflict in Sudan, now in its
  final phase, has deeply divided the peoples of
  Sudan along cultural, religious and ethnic lines.
  The conflict has especially victimized the
  people of the south and marginalised areas of
  Sudan. Constant military raids, helicopter
  gunship assaults and aerial bombardments have
  devastated, anguished and dispirited many ethnic
  communities who erstwhile were living as one
  large family unit.
• The present humanitarian crisis in Darfur attests
  the gravity of afflictions that the Sudanese
  people are going through. In addition, the
  prevalence of intra and inter-ethnic raids all
  made more vicious by the proliferation of illicit
  Small Arms and Light weapons within and across
  borders of Sudan, have immensely destroyed and
  destabilized the harmony, security, health and
  traditions of the communities.

5
INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND CONTEXT CONT.

• More than two million persons have been killed by
  the war and over four million displaced and
  disenfranchised, victims of gross human rights
  abuses. As a result, individuals and the entire
  communities are alienated, traumatized, vengeful
  and fighting amongst themselves. The situation
  is made worse by the struggle for control of the
  oil fields in Southern Sudan.

6
CONFLICT DESCRIPTION (CASE STUDY OF UPPER NILE)

• The Upper Nile Region has a unique and complex
  history which is reflected in its continuing
  instability and fragmentation during the course
  of this civil war. The insurgency that
  eventually triggered the renewal of full-scale
  civil war in Sudan in 1983 began many years
  earlier with the emergence of Anyanya II
  secessionist forces in 1975 in Akobo, eastern
  Upper Nile. These Anyanya II forces, led by Akot
  Atem and Samuel Gai Tut, had rejected the Addis
  Ababa Agreement of 1972 which ended the first
  Sudanese civil war (1955-1972). They continued
  to struggle for the full political independence
  for the Southern Sudan, but at low level. By the
  early 1980s, they had attracted a significant
  number of southern Sudanese followers and had
  begun to make intermittent raids on government
  locations and garrisons.

7
CONFLICT DESCRIPTION (CASE STUDY OF UPPER NILE)
cont.

• However, it was the GoS move to abrogate
  unilaterally the Addis Ababa Agreement in 1983,
  by ordering the transfer of southern soldiers to
  the North that ignited wider confrontations. A
  mutiny of southern troops in Bor and Ayod during
  May and June 1983 ultimately led to the defection
  of Col. John Garang, Major Keribino Kuanyin Bol
  and other senior southern Sudanese officers from
  the Sudan Army. A major influx of southern forces
  and civilians into the Anyanya II camps
  previously established inside Ethiopia ensued.
  This influx of new forces, many carrying high
  ranks within the Sudan Army, necessitated a
  fusion and reorganization of Anyanya II and
  Bor/Ayod forces. A power struggled erupted,
  putting the forces of Akot Atem and Gai Tut
  against those of John Garang and Keribino Kuanyin
  Bol.

8
CONFLICT DESCRIPTION (CASE STUDY OF UPPER NILE)
cont.

• The Anyanya II forces become disintegrated after
  the death of Akot Atem and Samuel Gai Tut. Many
  went and joined GoS forces but others remained
  within SPLA ranks and file. These events, among
  other incidences sawed seeds of instability in
  Upper Nile Region. In summary, lack of unity of
  vision for prosecution of the war and use of
  ethnic differences within southern fighters
  fuelled major differences.
• Upper Nile has always been the main battleground
  for the northern front. The fact that it has oil,
  it became a fertile ground for greater split as
  the GOS exploits such differences to a maximum
  degree. Because of lack of central authority
  (neither from SPLA nor GOS), leaves little room
  the non-military attempts to resolve issues and
  local problems.

9
NSCC INTERVENTION/INVOLVEMENT

• Peacemaking became NSCCs priority, particularly
  from 1995, because of the churchs deep religious
  commitment to justice and peace, and out of the
  realization that there can be no solution to the
  many problems in Sudan until there is peace. It
  also believes that there is no conflict whether
  latent or violent is small enough to be ignored.
  
• NSCC has taken a leading role in facilitating
  peace and reconciliation at grassroots and
  community levels with an innovative approach,
  which is referred to as the People-to-People
  Peace Process, following unsuccessful attempts to
  reconcile Southern leaders after the split of
  1991.

10
NSCC INTERVENTION/INVOLVEMENT cont.

• Landmark events in the People-to-People Peace
  Process that have been organised and facilitated
  by the NSCC in Southern Sudan include
• SPLM/A and NSCC Dialogue (1997)
• Traditional Leaders Meeting, Lokichoggio (1998)
• Wunlit Peace Conference (1999)
• Waat Peace Conference (1999)
• Yirol West Bank Peace Council (1999)
• Liliir Peace Conference (2000)
• Wulu Strategic Linkages Conference (2000)

11
NSCC INTERVENTION/INVOLVEMENT cont.

• Ganyiel West Bank Peace Council (2001)
• Kisumu Strategic Linkage II (2001)
• Chukudum Meetings (2000 02),
• Wunlit II peace conference (2003),
• All Upper Nile Nuer peace conference (2004)
• and other follow up peace meetings such as peace
  councils, peace monitoring and regional peace
  meetings.
• These events have fundamentally contributed to
  the renaissance of peace values such as
  restorative justice, reconciliation, forgiveness
  and spirit of ethnic co-existence in southern
  Sudan.

12
People-to-People Peace Process as Instrument of
Conflict Transformation

• People to- People peace making initiative draws
  upon traditional, modern and Christian values,
  principles and approaches for applications of
  peacemaking in southern Sudan. It is a unique
  process that synthesizes modern, Christian and
  traditional techniques of conflict resolution to
  manage tensions and ethnic conflicts that ravage
  communities in Southern Sudan. All these sources
  provide an innovative synergy that is essential
  in the application, understanding and
  interpretation of People-to-People Peacemaking
  processes and methods
• Notwithstanding, many peace approaches exist in
  conflict management realm. Such approaches
  include shuttle diplomacy, problem solving
  workshops, Christian conciliation, negotiation,
  mediation, arbitration, litigation and court
  system which follow particular western procedures
  and systems that require a small elite group of
  representatives to articulate the problem on
  behalf of the aggrieved parties in the presence
  of a mutually agreed third party.

13
People-to-People Peace Process as Instrument of
Conflict Transformation cont.

• Along ago, many traditional reconciliation
  systems were defined of unique and complex
  features that contrasted with People - to -People
  Peace making process. Peacemaking through
  traditional approaches called for the recognition
  of social relationships and leadership as sole
  instruments for lasting peace. The success of
  these approaches relied on the level of
  confidence and trust that were vested upon key
  institutions such as council of elders and
  spiritual leaders who were believed to be
  custodians of communal wisdom necessary for
  peacemaking. Peacemaking approaches such as
  gathering for peace, story telling and signing of
  peace agreements were informal and enriched with
  proverbs and riddles.

14
People-to-People Peace Process as Instrument of
Conflict Transformation cont.

• In the recent times, NSCC together with
  communities in south Sudan have initiated a
  people based conflict resolution, People - to
  People. Peacemaking process that uses traditional
  techniques of conflict resolution. The
  facilitative component of People - to - People
  Peacemaking process that was apparently lacking
  in the past traditional conflict management
  system is a major paradigm shift in analyzing
  modern ethno national conflicts whose dynamics
  are shaped with cultural practices and norms.

15
People-to-People Peace Process as Instrument of
Conflict Transformation cont.

• People -to -People peace making process gives
  people affected by the conflict an opportunity to
  articulate their concerns in the presence of a
  facilitator who guides them to a mutually agreed
  outcome that would restore and rebuild the broken
  relationships. On the other hand the traditional
  conflict transformation systems did not approve
  of the sending of convicted law breakers to jail
  or putting them to death. This approach is
  analogous with the People - to -People
  Peacemaking process, which similarly does not
  sentence offenders to death, but accords them
  space for introspection and self-analysis that
  heralds willingness of offenders to embrace
  reformation measures such as compensation, fines
  and exclusion from the community until one is
  cleansed from the wrong done. These penalties
  were meted in offences such as murder, theft,
  elopement and disobedience to traditional laws.

16
People-to-People Peace Process as Instrument of
Conflict Transformation cont.

• The similarity between the old traditional system
  and People - to - People Peacemaking process is
  that in both approaches, people are deeply
  engrossed in religious and superstitious and in
  almost all cases comply with decisions of the
  traditional courts.
• In the traditional reconciliation system what the
  spiritual leaders such as kings, elders,
  prophets, who sat in judgment over people said
  was believed to be the wish of God and no one
  dared challenging it. Presently the People -to
  -People peace making operates under the same
  principles. After reaching agreements and signing
  peace resolutions and covenants, communities or
  individual persons who grossly violate the
  verdict of council of elders and spiritual
  leaders risk expulsion and ostracization. This
  practice is very common among all the communities
  of south Sudan.

17
People-to-People Peace Process as Instrument of
Conflict Transformation cont.

• Today, the situation has been compromised by the
  availability of western methods of coercion,
  imprisonment and execution, which have been
  adopted by the national government and introduced
  to traditional societies. It is these approaches
  that have immensely contributed to the severe
  breakdown of traditional values that long ago
  held traditional community together. The coercive
  approaches seek to punish the convicts without
  reforming them, which in the long- term builds
  into vengeance and hatred, which perpetuates
  inter ethnic tensions and fights.
• In Christianity, for example, confession leads
  one to recognize that Christ is the leader of
  his/her life. The act of confession and
  forgiveness reunites the sinner with Christ and
  God and joins him/her with a community of
  believers. In People-to-People Peace process,
  confession and forgiveness restores and unites
  the community member with the community and with
  God.

18
People-to-People Peace Process as Instrument of
Conflict Transformation cont.

• Assisting people in conflict to learn new ways of
  seeing themselves and their adversaries and
  invent new ways of coexisting comprises
  pedagogies that engage people through multiple
  ways of learning. A ritual environment created
  for people in conflict enables them learn to
  empathize with the worldview of the other through
  the involvement of their entire bodies and all
  their senses and emotions as opposed to western
  notions of conflict resolution that involve
  solely rational, verbal modes.
• Activities that encourage people to interact
  physically and emotionally with each other and to
  act out in new ways of being with each other can
  facilitate a shift in perception. This could
  include activities such as problem solving games,
  singing, dancing, sniffing tobacco, eating, going
  fishing or cooking with each other.

19
People-to-People Peace Process as Instrument of
Conflict Transformation cont.

• People-to-People Peacemaking takes advantage of
  similarities to innovate and integrate features
  from traditional, Christian and modern approaches
  of peacemaking built on each other through
  integrating same values and principles of
  peacemaking, which fundamentally makes it a
  useful methodology for conflict resolution.

20
REALIZED OUTCOME/SUCCESSES

• Establishment of peace constituencies in Southern
  Sudan Presently there are many committed
  individuals and civil groups who are articulating
  the significance of social harmony and peaceful
  coexistence among various and diverse communities
  in southern Sudan. This is being done at
  grassroots, national, regional and international
  levels thus creating more voices for peace.
• Increased awareness of peace as key to a better
  future and transformation of conflict values to
  peace values the in-depth retrospection of
  "other" communities as "us" has significantly
  contributed to the peaceful integration of the
  "other" into the "us" community through inter and
  intra-ethnic grassroots dialogues initiated
  within and between communities. The violent intra
  and inter ethnic conflicts that have decimated
  the social, economic and cultural foundation of
  south Sudanese communities have been transformed
  into lenses for mapping out opportunities for
  peace. Indeed communities that erstwhile were
  hostile to each other have realised that peaceful
  coexistence promotes the establishment of stable
  means of livelihoods that creates hope for better
  future where the economic, political, social and
  cultural contribution of south Sudan citizenry is
  valued and treasured.

21
REALIZED OUTCOME/SUCCESSES cont.

• Advocacy for recognition of traditional conflict
  resolution systems the resuscitation of extinct
  African tradition conflict resolution structures
  represents a tremendous recognition and role of
  African traditional peace values and tradition.
  The Wunlit peace agreement signifies a best
  practice of African conflict resolution process
  with clear steps and principles.
• Development of Synthesis of and Synergy for
  traditional, modern and Christian methodologies
  of peacemaking The exclusive application of mono
  conflict resolution methods has immensely
  resulted to the collapse of many peace processes
  in the world. The People-to-people peacemaking is
  a unique mosaic of Christian, traditional and
  modern approaches of conflict resolution
  patterned to reinforce the gradual process of
  ethnic reconciliation. This is done in cognisant
  that, amidst true reconciliation there is a
  restoration of symbolic justice dispensed in
  acceptance of guilt and willingness to pay the
  debt of injustices.

22
REALIZED OUTCOME/SUCCESSES cont.

• Promotion and building of local and international
  partnerships for justice and lasting peace in
  Sudan Collaboration and building of networks
  through sharing best practices and lessons learnt
  about People-to-people is the basis on which NSCC
  promotes cooperation with organizations and
  governments that have shown commitment and
  willingness to facilitate the halt of protracted
  civil war in Sudan. Over the years the NSCC has
  established good working relationships with
  church and inter faith based civil organizations
  in an effort to upscale and articulate the human
  dignity of the Sudanese peoples.
• Development of People to people peace making
  process as a systematic process and foundation
  for peace making in Southern Sudan Appropriate
  and sound systems have been designed by
  grassroots people of southern Sudan in
  consultation and facilitation of the NSCC. Indeed
  there are four major systematic steps that define
  how best People-to-people can be implemented and
  practiced in an active violent conflict. The same
  steps can also be replicated in conflict
  situations that manifest latent conflicts e.g.
  conflict prevention and early warning systems.
  The four generic steps include Awareness,
  Mobilisation, Activation and Peace consolidation.
  These four steps build on each previous step and
  can be subsequently adapted in other conflict
  situations.

23
REALIZED OUTCOME/SUCCESSES cont.

• Initiation of the desire of other peace
  stakeholders to emulate the people to-people
  peacemaking process The number of NGOs and
  faith-based organizations that have integrated
  principles and concepts of People-to-people are
  spiraling day by day. Indeed some international
  organizations have put it as a matter of policy
  to integrate grassroots conflict sensitivity as a
  pre condition for qualifying for aid. This desire
  has come about as a result of the good stories
  around People-to-people for instance Wunlit peace
  initiative held between Nuer and Dinka
  communities in 1999.

24
CHALLENGES/FAILURES

• Enormous challenges have often threatened the
  social and cultural stability of
• southern Sudanese peoples resulting to wanton
  losses of life and destruction of
• private and communal property. Among the setbacks
  that derail the grassroots
• peace processes include
• The availability and proliferation of small arms
  and light weapons exacerbates escalation of
  insecurity and ethnic tensions within and between
  communities. At least every homestead in southern
  Sudan owns a firearm. With increasing insecurity
  and lack of government protection, many families
  have opted to provide themselves security by
  owning guns. Some of the guns are used to commit
  heinous crimes such as murder and abductions.
• Interference and intransigence of the Government
  of Sudan, which has been a key, factor in
  stirring and perpetuating conflicts in southern
  Sudan is still a factor in the broader social,
  economic and political context, which must be
  overcome for genuine peace to be realized. The
  present Darfur humanitarian crisis where 1
  million people have been displaced represents one
  of the worst forms of social and economic order
  "interference and belligerence" orchestrated and
  perpetuated by legitimate government against its
  own citizenry.

25
CHALLENGES/FAILURES cont.

• Incessant inter and intra ethnic conflicts within
  and between pastoralists, agro based and
  agro-pastoralists communities in some regions of
  Sudan i.e. the Moru and Dinka Bor IDPS, Apak-Agar
  conflicts imbue hatred and tension which is
  against the spirit of people-to-people peace
  process of peace and reconciliation. These
  conflict patterns result from deep-rooted
  cultural practices such as cattle raids, revenge
  raids and competition over natural resources such
  as grazing land, watering points, fishing grounds.

26
CONCLUSION

• Promoting systems that develops and nurtures a
  peace culture
• that crosscuts the diverse heritage of Sudanese
  peoples calls for
• patience. Indeed people-to-people peace process
  is a gradual
• process that builds on one step to another.
  Therefore it is a
• process that has the potential to bring order to
  societies and
• cultures that are in conflict through
• Consolidation and sustainability of all peace
  initiatives into tangible social and economic
  results that would contribute to uplifting living
  standards of the people. The establishment of
  life support systems such as commerce,
  agriculture, education, security and provision of
  health facilities is paramount and significant
  for a lasting peace management.
• Dissemination of best practices of
  people-to-people peace process so as it can be
  replicated to other communities in south Sudan
  would lead to the promotion of a peace culture
  and reconciliation among south Sudan communities.

27
CONCLUSION cont.

• NSCC would continue to organise and facilitate
  more people-to-people peace conferences and
  workshops so as to avert simmering ethnic
  tensions among various ethnic groups in southern
  Sudan
• Advocacy and lobbying for the cessation of human
  rights abuses and other forms of oppression
  committed against the Sudanese people must be up
  scaled in order to inform the national, regional
  and international communities on grassroots peace
  processes and violations of peace agreements.
• Formation of community supported peace structures
  to monitor and implement peace agreements offer
  excellent opportunities for the affected
  communities to consolidate their own peace
  initiatives.
• Provision of civic education and training on
  conflict transformation skills would be valuable
  tools for internalizing peace values and concepts
  in the minds and hearts of the larger southern
  communities.

28
GROUP QUESTION

• What is the parallelism between African
  traditional peacemaking approaches and Christian
  approaches and how does this parallelism address
  the issue of restorative justice in post war
  societies like the Sudan?