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Note: This document is from the archive of the Africa Policy E-Journal, published
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Africa: Conflict Watch, 1
Africa: Conflict Watch, 1
Date distributed (ymd): 970221
Document reposted by APIC
CONFLICT WATCH - PILOT EDITION
Note: An archive of Inter Press Service Africa stories is available
on the IPS Web site (http://www.ips.org).
The current issue of Conflict Watch is available at http://www.ips.org/watch/.
For more information on the availability of Conflict Watch by e-mail
or in print, please contact IPS Africa headquarters in Harare ([email protected]
or [email protected]).
Introducing ... Conflict Watch
Conflict Watch is a joint initiative of the Africa Regional Office of
Inter Press Service (IPS) and the Africa Secretariat of the Third World
Network (TWN). The agenda is to contribute to early warning, conflict prevention
and peace-building by disseminating information on potential and actual
conflict situations in sub-Saharan Africa. The bulletin draws on the journalistic
resources of IPS, a global news agency, and contributions from NGOs and
civil society actors committed to the goals of peace and justice.
Conflict in Africa is all too often portrayed as sudden and mindless
explosions of violence. That assessment fails to appreciate that conflict
is a process with a logic -- however warped -- of its own. It has its roots
in the political, economic and social structures of individual countries.
Conflict, however, does not occur in a domestic vacuum. Africa is buffeted
by a global economic system that has compounded its poverty, exacerbated
the consequences of its leaders' mistakes, and made the competition for
power and wealth all the more acute. An international dimension is also
apparent as soon as frightened refugees flee across a border, or regional
powers are drawn into the crisis in a neighbouring state.
What is frequently overlooked in the depiction of Africa's strife is
the role, often an heroic one, played by local and transnational NGOs in
building peace and promoting reconciliation. They have a wealth of expertise
and experience that is undervalued and marginalised in traditional state-centred
approaches to conflict settlement.
By contrast, Conflict Watch harnesses that input. It provides a platform
for a sharing of ideas and initiatives generated by NGOs, particularly
grassroots organisations, who are at the sharp end of peace and justice
concerns.
In offering a forum for discussion, the bulletin seeks to be at the
forefront of the dialogue on human security and development in Africa,
from which we can all learn and be enriched.
In the post-Cold War world, the saliency of the traditional concept
of state sovereignty has been eroded. The right of humanitarian intervention
by the international community is being increasingly more broadly defined.
If there is greater acceptance among states for preventive diplomacy and
peace-keeping, then the challenge is to ensure the effectiveness of those
interventions.
It is generally assumed that the faster the local or diplomatic reaction
is to brewing trouble, the easier it is to effect a positive settlement.
A speedy response is however predicated on clear and timely information.
An early warning system seeks to provide both the raw data in quantity,
to overcome the background noise of competing agendas, and qualitatively
in terms of the accuracy of its analysis.
But information is not all. However insistent the early warning signals
are and compelling the case for intervention, the political will must be
mustered to act.
That action, though, must take note of the local context. It should
also be informed by an awareness of the role that grassroots organisations
can play in resolving their local problems, and work with that indigenous
resource, democratising the peace initiative and deepening the character
of civil society.
Africa Early Warning Bulletin provides both a comprehensive source of
early warning data and an extra channel to lobby for sound and enduring
remedies to actual or potential conflict situations.
African civil society is maturing in strength and importance. The bulletin
represents that growth and Africa's struggle to build positive peace and
security for its people.
INSIDE THIS PILOT ISSUE:
- Focus: Eastern Zaire - Eyewitness: Kenya - Livestock, Land and Ethnic
Clashes - Features: Zambia, Liberia, Rwanda - And much more...
WE NEED YOU! 'Conflict Watch' is a networking tool to both link and
provide a platform for organisations working in Africa. So please let us
have your contributions, whether they be letters to the editorial committee,
articles, opinion pieces, reports, networking information for our 'Noticeboard'
section, or just ideas about issues for our editorial team to follow up.
Reports and opinion pieces should be no longer than 800 - 1,000 words,
and networking information should have full contact details. Senders should
clearly identify themselves and include their contact details. E-mailed
submissions for consideration for publication should preferably be sent
in plain ASCII text form to Lynette Matimba at Inter Press Service.
Editorial Board
Peter da Costa
Inter Press Service (Zimbabwe)
Yao Graham
Third World Network (Ghana)
Napoleon Abdulai
International Alert (U.K)
Laurie Nathan
Centre for Conflict Resolution (South Africa)
Mercy Wambui
Econews Africa (Kenya)
Hassan Ba
Synergies Afrique (Switzerland)
Ebrima Sall
Codesria (Senegal)
Comfort Lamptey
UNIFEM (New York, USA)
Editorial Consultant
Obinna Anyadike
Design & Layout
Lynette Matimba
This bulletin is produced by Inter Press Service (Africa) in collaboration
with Third World Network (Ghana). Articles carried in this publication
may be reproduced in whole or in part without prior consent of the publisher,
only on condition that credit is given. The bulletin may however not be
reprinted or resold.
Inter Press Service, Africa Headquarters, 127 Union Ave. Box 6050, Harare,
Zimbabwe. Tel: 263-4-790104/5 Fax: 263-4-728415 E-mail: [email protected]
or [email protected]
Inter Press Service is the world's leading alternative news agency,
with a regional presence in Africa Asia, Latin America, North America,
the Caribbean and Europe. It has correspondents in more than 100 countries
and reaches in excess of 1,000 media outlets worldwide.
IPS specialises in in-depth and contextualised coverage of international
processes, events and issues that affect the Third World with particular
emphasis on grassroots actors in development.
IPS recognises the negative role of inadequate and biased 'event orientated'
information and as such seeks to provide an accurate, balanced picture
of the issues behind the news.
In the Africa region IPS operations are co-ordinated from Harare, Zimbabwe.
The IPS Africa region is firmly commited to the strengthening of a truly
independent African voice in the international flow of information.
Third World Network , Africa Regional Secretariat, 4th Sakumo Link Larterbiokoshie,
P.O Box 8604, Accra-North, Ghana. Tel: 233-21-301064/224069/231688 Fax:
233-21-231687/773857 E-mail:[email protected]
Third World Network is an international network of groups and individuals
who seek great articulation of the needs and rights of the peoples of the
Third World, especially marginalised social groups; a fair distribution
of the world's resources, and forms of development which are ecologically
sustainable and fulfil human needs. TWN is co-ordinated by an international
Committee with membership drawn from Africa, Asia and South America.
This material is being reposted for wider distribution by the Africa
Policy Information Center (APIC), the educational affiliate of the Washington
Office on Africa. APIC's primary objective is to widen the policy debate
in the United States around African issues and the U.S. role in Africa,
by concentrating on providing accessible policy-relevant information and
analysis usable by a wide range of groups and individuals.
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