The impact of armed conflict on children’s rights and protection is not disputed in existing research. This thesis looks again at this issue in the context of the longstanding armed conflict in Colombia and the current transition to peace in the country in order to consider whether and how peacebuilding can give children agency and contribute to restoring their rights and protection post conflict, an area neglected in existing research. Using testimonies from children gathered by a questionnaire and events held in communities in two regions of Colombia badly affected by the conflict, this thesis seeks to place children’s voices about the impact of the conflict on them and their views about peace at the centre of the discussion. Key findings are that as a result of their direct experiences of the conflict children have two main priorities for peace. The first is the need to re-establish positive, non-violent behaviours and relationships in their families and communities and the second is the need for protection and security from violence and crime. These findings are discussed using Lederach’s theories of reconciliation based peacebuilding (1997; 2005), an ecological framework for children’s protection and concepts of children’s resilience and rights. It is concluded that states are responsible for providing for children’s rights and protection but there is a need to pay attention to the impact of protracted armed conflict on communities.  Reconciliation based peacebuilding which restores the fabric of families and communities and addresses violence post conflict could enable protective mechanisms to be re-established for children and foster the development of children’s own resilience.  Further, giving children agency within the peacebuilding process is important to re-establishing children’s future rights in a post conflict society and these factors combined to enhance the conditions for sustainable peace. The thesis considers the implications of these conclusions for humanitarian and development organisations working with children during conflict or in peacebuilding and makes recommendations for all those with responsibilities in this area.

M.A. (Politics) / This purpose of this study was to analyse the nature of women’s involvement in peace-building in Sierra Leone. The various dimensions of peace-building as set out in the African Union’s Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development (PRCD) programme, adopted in June 2006 by heads of governments in Banjul, The Gambia, served as the framework for analysis. The PCRD emphasises the incorporation of women in all peace-building efforts (and the mainstreaming of gender in all policies), and sets out a range of areas in terms of which women are required to be included. These are: political transition, government and democratisation; security; human rights, justice, and reconciliation; humanitarian emergency assistance; and socio-economic reconstruction and development. The analysis of the nature of women’s involvement in peace-building in Sierra Leone in these areas is structured in terms of efforts made by the government in complying with the PCRD, the efforts made by women’s groups (local, national, provincial, regional) in the country and the involvement of international organisations in partnership with either the government or women’s groups to provide assistance to female victims of violence. This study found that the government had many policies and laws which provided for women’s inclusion in peace-building efforts in the country (i.e. de jure commitment). However, its de facto commitment is questionable, since very few of these policies have in fact borne fruit. Women, for example, were not included in the 1996 Abidjan and 1999 Lomé Peace Accords – in both these agreements they were portrayed as victims needing protection, rather than as agents of change. Moreover, female representation in parliament over the past 12 years has not exceeded 14.5 per cent; the DDR programmes was largely gender-blind; the transformation of the security sector (such as the police and military) did not result in women’s inclusion in decision-making positions within these institutions; and, finally, despite the fact that the government specifically emphasised the importance of resuscitating economic activities among women in the 2005 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, there was no concrete strategy to achieve these goals. This has affected women’s involvement in the economy, since obstacles in the form of male attitudes towards their role in the economy continue to persist. However, women’s groups, on the other hand, were actively involved in facilitating women’s inclusion in peace-building efforts in the country. Groups such as the 50/50 Group have been active in mobilising for the implementation of the 30 per cent quota for women’s representation in parliament. It also conducted capacity-building workshops and training programmes to empower potential female candidates for both local and general elections. The Sierra Leonean chapter of the Forum of African Women Educationalists (FAWE-SL) played a pivotal role in addressing the trauma caused by sexual and gender-based violence. Further efforts by women’s groups include: providing capacity-building programmes to empower women (including female ex-combatants) excluded from the DDRR programme; addressing the psycho-social needs of female survivors of war (in collaboration with international organisations); providing financial and medical assistance as well as trauma counselling and healing programmes to female and child victims of domestic violence and rape; running skills training centres and other educational activities in order to increase literacy and education among women, and building emergency schools for girls whose schools were destroyed during the conflict as well as providing educational information at entry points to female returnees on their rights; and, finally, providing micro-credit loans (by the Sierra Leone Market Women’s Association (SLMWA). This has been an important aspect of the efforts of women’s groups to resuscitate economic activities among women.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management Sciences: Public Management (Peacebuilding), Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / The retributive justice system has been used in most parts of the world aimed at rehabilitating, deterring and incapacitating offenders. High prison rates reveal that the retributive justice system has not been too effective when it comes to reducing recidivism and addressing causes of crime. The system makes offenders to be accountable to the state, while victims of crime are left out of the picture. Family members of offenders, who are the secondary victims, are also closed out of the system, while in essence; they suffer a lot including loss of family members to imprisonment, which affects the family fabric. This research seeks to enhance the restorative justice work with ex-prisoners done by Second Chance Rehabilitation centre. The question that this research seeks to answer is: can restorative justice models have a positive impact on the lives of ex-prisoners and their families? An Action Research paradigm was used during this study. Eleven restorative justice interventions were implemented with a group of twelve ex-prisoners, while four sessions were implemented with ten family members of the ex-prisoners. The findings of this research reveal that, participants attained new knowledge through these interventions, which influenced their attitudes and behaviour about life and relationships. Additionally, the study revealed that human beings are social beings, who can be socialised into doing right, which is a message that should be passed on to policy makers, so they would implement effective rehabilitative processes which will yield transformative results. / D

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management Science (Peacebuilding), Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / Conflict amongst cooperative members in Vumengazi, KwaZulu-Natal, is a major cause of concern, growing to an extent that threatens their survival. Lack of management skills tends to create conflict in cooperatives: members vie for a management position in the business, however, they often have no clear commitment or understanding of the duties required in management positions, even enough to handle the day-to-day challenges. Some of the groups formed a cooperative not because they have a joint objective, but because they planned to use the cooperative as a platform to access available resources. In most cases, the groups who formed the basis for this study lacked cohesiveness and this led to internal conflicts and an inability to work together. In most of the cooperatives, there were no professional business plans and they lacked feasibility with identifiable and foreseeable market opportunities. There were no drafted documents constitutions to govern the directors. The researcher undertook this study to investigate the following: • What are the contributing factors to conflict within the cooperatives? • What is the role of the 2005 Co-operatives Act in resolving conflict within the cooperatives? • What are effective ways to resolve conflicts within the cooperatives? A case study design using qualitative methodology was used in this study. In-depth understanding was needed; qualitative methodology was appropriate for a study of this nature. A sample of four co-operatives out of 20 from Wards 84 and 100, eNgonyameni Tribal Area, Vumengazi, was selected to identify the nature, extent, causes and consequences of conflicts, to assess the effectiveness of existing provisions for conflict resolution and the way they are implemented, to plan and implement an intervention strategy aimed at resolving conflicts to provide a foundation to resolve future conflicts. I engaged five people in a participatory action research programme and a focus group to establish the findings. Findings include a low standard of education among members; some members are very old who do not respect the youth. Gossip among the members led to cooperative issues being discussed in the community, thereby exacerbating conflict. Some of the cooperative members have primary education and they are unable to read and write English, however, the Act is written in English. Members of the cooperatives do not deal with conflict nor resolve it; there is no plan in place for such resolution. Members therefore keep grudges and bring them to work and meetings. Mismanagement of funds was found to be problematic. Conflict occurred regularly, partially because of the inability to analyse conflict among members and inability to apply peaceful conflict resolution methods. Recommendations as a result of the study are that peace education, both formal and informal, must be a prerequisite for cooperatives, to help members deal with individual emotions and behaviours and to avoid more aggressive approaches in running a cooperative. Local Economic Development officials and Ward Councillors need to come closer to rural cooperatives because of their stated interest in alleviating poverty in the area through peaceful running of cooperatives. Conflict does not allow cooperatives to flourish. / M

In 2003, a conflict broke out in Darfur, Sudan’s western province, between the mainly “African” rebels and the government forces and their proxy “Arab” militias. It is estimated that about 200,000 people have so far died in the conflict from fighting, disease, and starvation. The UN and aid agencies estimate that over two million Darfurians, out of the population of about six million, are living in refugee camps. Even though the majority of all deaths in Darfur have occurred in 2003 and 2004, the conflict is nowhere near the end. Even after more than five years since the Darfur conflict began, there is hardly any comprehensive information about the rebels’ aims, objectives, and plans for the future. We cannot fully understand the conflict and plan peace negotiations between the warring parties if we do not know enough about the rebels. This study has critically explored the aims and perspectives of the Justice and Equality Movement, currently the most powerful Darfur rebel movement. The author has used the first-hand information gathered through interviews with the representatives of the rebel movement and additional data about the conflict and the rebels collected through an extensive literature analysis to portray the movement and its aims, perspectives, and plans for the future. Using the grounded theory approach as the data analysis tool, the author has presented key findings about the Darfur conflict from the perspective of the Justice and Equality Movement that have emerged from the data collected in this study.

Set against a backdrop of ongoing social conflict in the country, this study sets out to explore how South African journalists understand their roles and responsibilities when it comes to reporting on conflict. The study seeks to determine whether journalists believe they have a constructive contribution to make in the peaceful management and resolution of social conflict. It also seeks to establish whether journalists see themselves as being able to contribute to creating conditions that can facilitate dialogue and constructive engagement. Furthermore the study aims to explore the extent to which the views and perceptions of South African journalists could be said to be consistent with the ideas put forward in the emerging field of peace journalism. In seeking to address these questions the study begins by identifying a core set of guidelines that could be said to characteristic of peace journalism. It then draws on in-depth interviews conducted with 12 experienced reporters to gain a sense of how journalists understand their roles. The 12 reporters were drawn from mainstream newspapers from South Africa’s main metropolitan areas. Following an analysis of these interviews the study found that many journalists see themselves as having a positive contribution to make towards peacemaking and peace building. However, these contributions, they argue, must be seen as the product of good reporting rather than as emanating from deliberate attempts to intervene in conflict. The study then contrasted the journalists’ perceptions with the principles and normative guidelines proposed by peace journalism and found that many of the journalists’ beliefs are consistent with peace journalism. It appears that, while they may not directly call themselves peace journalists, many of the reporters interviewed saw themselves as playing roles similar to those advocated by peace journalism.

This study has intended to demonstrate the effects of categorising climate change as a developmental issue rather than a security issue on the conflict in Darfur. This was achieved by studying the following research questions: (I) What is the role of climate change adaptation in developmental work in Darfur? (II) What is the role of climate change adaptation in security work in Darfur? (III) How is the work on climate change adaptation connected to the course of the conflict? These questions have been answered by collecting material relating to development and security in Darfur. This material was then analysed with the help of models by McGray et al., Barnett et al. and Matthews to identify the work that has been done with climate change adaptation in the two areas. This showed that the developmental work mainly focused locally on drivers of vulnerability and that the security work did not regard climate change up until 2016. The merely local approach by development work and the lacking attention to climate change in the missions caused a lacking national plan, a lacking disaster risk programme, no focus on land tenure rights, a wrong attitude towards conflict reconciliation, and an incomplete approach to vulnerability. These missing points of integration were all found to have negatively impacted peace consolidation, which has allowed for violent communal outbreaks to continue.

The aim of this thesis is to observe how media and activism can be a part of the post-conflict peace building in Bosnia as well as to highlight the work and importance of NGOs in the country. This thesis will focus on how these NGOs work with media and activism in order to contribute to the post-conflict peace building. Further, it will analyze elements of civic activism as well as grassroots activism to see how the organizations implement these in their work. Eight interviews have been conducted with two participants from four NGOs in the country. The result shows that whilst ethnic divisions still largely characterize the contemporary Bosnian society, there are instances where ethnic differences have been disregarded. Further, the result shows that the everyday work of these organizations showcase a great example of how ethnic divisions can be combated and how social change can be achieved.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor Of Philosophy (Phd) in the Department of History at the University Of Zululand, 2018 / The study was undertaken to evaluate the impact of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) on peacebuilding and conflict prevention in Nigeria from 2000 to 2014. Established by the government as it transitioned to democratic governance in 2000, IPCR was mandated to identify the root causes of violent conflict in Nigeria through research and provide possible solutions through evidence-informed policy and practice options, and promotion of peacebuilding strategies. Recurring violent conflicts had not only destroyed several lives and property and displaced millions from their homes, but had also retarded the nation’s growth and development. Drawing from extensive sources of qualitative and quantitative data, the study examined the peacebuilding evidence that had worked and did not work for IPCR, and why, through conflict analysis model, theories of change and intervention theory for organizational development. Through historical, evaluative and descriptive analysis, the study found out that the Institute had within fifteen years of its history contributed to the promotion of peace through design and implementation of relevant, effective and efficient peacebuilding programmes for communities, women, youth, media, legislators, public servants, traditional, religious leaders and civil society. These groups of beneficiaries are the study’s target population. There was a strong evidence to argue that the impact of the interventions were mostly in short-term as it had impacted on the mind and work of beneficiaries but not enough to manage the underlying factors behind the recurrence of violent conflict in Nigeria. Nigeria often relapsed into more violence as soon as it gained some respite. Therefore, to achieve its mandate in the long, coherent and sustainable terms, the study suggests that the Institute must scale up its programmes to drastically stem the tide of violence through community peacebuilding. IPCR must make itself more visible at the community level because that was where most violent conflict originated. While the study recognized the fact that, though, the prevalence and complexity of underlying drivers of conflict in Nigeria were far beyond the ambit of one agency, it recommends the Institute to deepen and broaden its partnership and networks for greater peacebuilding impact. Similarly, the government needs to prioritize peace and security by increasing funding and giving sustainable support to IPCR as a democratic institution. Though much of its intervention impact still needed to be studied and learned, the study contends that better and more expanded programmes will make peacebuilding more effective and promote Nigeria’s peace in the long-term.

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