Conciliation Resources’ third Accord Insight, Making peace with the past: transforming broken relationships, reflects on the practical approaches and challenges of addressing the legacies of violent conflict.
With the aid of case studies from the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, Colombia, Mindanao (Philippines) and Northern Ireland, the publication attests, that transforming relationships broken by conflict is not simply a postconflict endeavour, but a continuous process, that can be begun even before the formal settlement of the conflict.
The case studies highlight the process of transformation in relation to the particular contextual and chronological circumstances of the conflict and peace process. The absence of a political settlement in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, the negotiation process in Colombia, the immediate post-agreement phase in Mindanao, and the peace consolidations in Northern Ireland all create a unique context, where different approaches, attentions and
applications to conflict transformation are required.
“Reconciliation means much more than forgiving the perpetrator and understanding what happened; it implies ensuring that the conditions that gave rise to the conflict change deeply, and trusting that the state will never again cause or allow that situation to occur”
Rosa Emilia Salamanca, Strategic Director, Corporación de Investigación y Acción Social y Económica (CIASE), Colombia
To read Insight 3, visit: www.c-r.org/accord