Quaker Network for the Prevention of Violent Conflict
Le Réseau de quaker pour l'Empêchment de Conflit Violent
Background to the QPN in West Africa
QPN WA was formed as a result of friends need for a structure. The Network as it is at the moment lack a formal structure so at the (5) consultation in Kaimosi, Kenya a group was selected to discuss this possibility. Although the group did not want to construct a formal organization at the time there was however a lot of concern for such to avoid future consultations becoming a talking shops. However, at the meeting in Kenya the issue came up again and it was agreed that the network should be divided to various regions of Africa, with West Africa being one of them (see minute establishing the sub-network in Annex 1). West Africa, in the context of the QPN (QPNWA), includes the following countries Cape Verde, Chad, Benin, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea Bissau, Western Sahara, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Togo, Mauritania and Mali. It was decided that Abdul Kamara should act as the focal point for the establishment of QPNWA – using his contacts and resources both in Sierra Leone and at the University Of Bradford Department Of Peace Studies, where he is currently studying.
Objectives of QPNWA
West Africa is no stranger to conflict. Over the past 15 years there have been terrible civil wars in Sierra Leone and in Liberia, conflicts that were both separate and related. Conflict has now spread to Côte d’Ivoire where it shows little sign of abating. The conflicts in other West African countries are less visible – but conflict continues in Togo and Nigeria in particular. The causes of these conflicts are many, these include among many a lack of reliable civil and judicial institutions, Political corruption, lack of transparency, creditors’ panic, inefficiency, a corrupt national bourgeoisie, with ‘exploitive colonialism’ also contributing to this drama. The fear of “the other” also helped to drives most of the ethnic between groups and ruling entities and subordinate and less-favoured groups. Avarice also propels antagonism, especially when discoveries of new, frequently contested sources of resource wealth. Charles Taylor’s exposure to the natural resources of Liberia whet his appetite to hold on to power regardless of the fact that his claimed mission to see Doe out of office had been accomplished
In Sierra Leone and Liberia for instance, the conflict that ripped them apart did not just appear over night. It was expected, given the conditions and factors that bred the abhorrent violence. What were basically not in existence were the institutions through which those grievances could have been prevented. The objective of QPNWA here is to act as a vehicle through which those grievances could be discuss; it also hope to act as a focal point for bringing together national and international organisations that are engaged in conflict prevention and to provide a forum for sharing experience and ideas for the prevention of future violent conflict and to learn from those that have already started. WA QPN does not in principle fights to end conflict; conflict it does believe is a fact of life, inevitable and often creative.
Read the newsletters of West Africa Quaker Peace Network
1st Annual Newsletter (MS Word document)
QPN Africa West Africa Newsletter Spring 2007Our contact details are as follows:
38 Sunbridge Road,
Bradford BD7 4RT,
United Kingdom
Fax: 0044 (0) 5601 158878
Mob: 0044 (0) 7932579310
Email: arkamara@bradford.ac.uk
This site is maintained by:
Ce site est maintenu par:
Martin Struthmann, Quaker Peace Centre, 3 Rye Road, Mowbray, Cape Town 7700, South Africa
E-mail: martin@qpc.org.za