Publikation

We decided to devote the sixth edition of “Building Peace” to the subject of “Peace work during election periods”. This is because our partner organisations and peace workers in DRC, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cameroon, as well as the partner organisations and colleagues from AGEH in Burundi and DRC, were and remain concerned by the challenge the election process represents for those who are working to reduce divisions and build peace and stability.

As CPS support staff in several African countries and consultants committed to population-driven change we advocate fundamental work on governance based on elements of legitimacy and accountability rooted in African cultures, while at the same time including governance initiatives and skills developed in other parts of the global world. The stakes are not restricted to the results of individual election processes but consist in the appropriation of political processes by a large part of the populations concerned, particularly young people and women. The start-up of the CPS programme in Cameroon which was recently added to the programmes in the Great Lakes and Mano River regions, should enable our series of publications to make an even greater contribution to facilitating discussions and experience sharing among African countries. We hope that this publication will help to promote constructive dialogue on this important subject and create synergies between stakeholders in French- and English-speaking countries in Africa.

• Elections and peace work: a difficult equation…
• Elections in Sierra Leone and Liberia seen by the population
• “The democracy that is emerging in Côte d’Ivoire is devoid of ethics” (Achille Mbembe)
• Elections in Cameroon: the exclusion of young people
• The Great Lakes Region: the electoral stakes
• Mamdani on Uganda
• 2011–2013 elections in DRC: background and challenges
• Principles and rules for peace work in election times by the Civil Peace Service Network in the DR Congo and Burundi (Goma, April 2011)
• The elections and identity issues: what role can CPS peace workers play?
• Women’s participation, but in which systems of governance?
• CRAFOD and election support to population groups to promote peace culture in the Bas-Congo province
• RIO’s experience in terms of the elections in DR Congo
• The Catholic Church, via the Episcopal Justice and Peace Commission (CEJP) – Burundi, played a key role during the last elections

See as well: French version