The Cordoba Update, June 2024
Dear Reader,
Too many people around the world are desperately seeking a just and lasting peace. But sadly, human folly continues to sow death and devastation in defiance of international law, leading to massive violations of human rights and further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in many parts of the world.
Against this bleak backdrop, CPI continues to work for peace in the regions where it operates, armed with optimism and patience, and confident in the perseverance of its local partners.
In this edition of the Cordoba Update, you will find some of the activities, publications and events that took place during the first half of 2024, as well as two articles, one by Lakhdar Ghettas on CPI’s “Fiqhi Pathways” project and the other by Yaël Bitter on the conflict between man and nature.
We wish you a happy summer!
The CPI-Geneva Team
News of the Institute
Prof. Johan Galtung R.I.P.
– Prof. Johan Galtung, member of CPI’s Advisory Committee, died 17 February 2024 in Oslo. More than his enormous contribution to the field of conflict and peace studies, he always stood up against all forms of injustice. We at CPI were privileged to have had him as a friend. In 2020 we were pleased to celebrate his 90th birthday with the following article: Happy birthday Johan!, published on 25 October 2020. We extend our deepest sympathy and heartfelt condolences to Johan’s beloved wife Fumi and all his family and friends, and we give thanks for his life and example.
1) Workshops / Trainings
Promoting social cohesion in Nigeria:
– Reconciliation process in North-East Nigeria. On 14-16 January and 26-28 February 2024, two training programs were conducted in the Maiduguri Metropolitan Council, bringing together 50 community members and 30 former members of non-state armed groups (NSAG). The primary objective was to bridge the gap between the two parties, fostering mutual understanding, empathy, and reconciliation. The training consisted of a two-day preparatory session, followed by a dialogue on the third day. The dialogue led to humanisation of the other party and empathy. Former NSAG members acknowledged the suffering caused by their actions and expressed genuine remorse, while community members began to see former members of armed groups as individuals with complex histories rather than faceless enemies. While full reconciliation is a long process, the training planted seeds of understanding and forgiveness.
– Geneva Training, April/May 2024. In April 2024, CPI had the pleasure of welcoming the project team of the Dar Al Andalus Center (DAAC), our valued implementing partner in Nigeria, to Geneva for a week-long capacity building program. This event provided an invaluable opportunity to enhance their skills in conflict transformation, with a particular focus on negotiation and mediation techniques, and the safe mediation space methodology. In addition, the program included comprehensive sessions on the project management cycle, with particular emphasis on proposal development, M&E analysis, and the use of artificial intelligence in peacebuilding. The positive outcomes of this capacity building initiative are expected to significantly enhance the effectiveness of DAAC’s peacebuilding efforts in Nigeria, and strengthen our shared commitment to promoting sustainable peace and development.
– Abuja Roundtable, May 2024. In collaboration with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), CPI and DAAC organised on 31 May 2024, at Hilton Transcorp Hotel, Abuja Nigeria, a roundtable entitled “Towards Reconciliation: Cross-Perspective Views on Positive Reconciliation in Northeast Nigeria”. This gathering of 20 participants from various international institutions, embassies and INGOs is an integral part of CPI and DAAC’s ongoing efforts to promote peace and understanding through dialogue and cooperation in North-East Nigeria. The roundtable provided a platform to share knowledge, exchange innovative strategies, and develop actionable recommendations to support the sustainable reintegration of former members of armed groups.
Promoting social cohesion in Iraq:
– CPI completed in February 2024 the German FFO-funded project “Promoting Social Cohesion in Iraq”. The project had two strands. The first was to support the voluntary return of Iraqi Turkmen refugees to Talafar and their reintegration into their communities, and the second was to strengthen the role of governmental, religious, and civil society institutions in promoting the “right to know” the fate of missing persons in Iraq. The project’s endline highlights its positive impacts and ongoing challenges. In particular, 73.64% of respondents believe that CPI’s reintegration efforts have had a positive impact on the local social economy. However, some still perceive that families or refugees may be linked to ISIS, indicating the need for continued mediation and follow-up. The nuanced results highlight the complexity of reintegration, particularly in Talafar. In addition, 71.43% of respondents felt that CPI had been effective in raising awareness of the Track related to the “Right to Know” the fate of missing persons.
Fiqhi Pathways:
– CPI and its local partner Friends of Peace (FoP) in Tanzania convened 30 representatives of the diverse landscape of Islamic education and learning institutions in Tanga, Tanzania, on 25 May 2024. Participants from traditional, Salafi and Ibadi backgrounds exchanged views on the ethics of difference and disagreement and the merits of dialogue for joint collaborations for the common good in the fields of religious education and the social work they all undertake.
Research on Islamic Jurists Shaping the Actions of Armed Groups and their Ability to Craft Practical Solutions to Conflict:
– Within the framework of the research project “Engaging Across Religious Difference: Evidence-Based Research on Islamic Jurists Shaping the Actions of Armed Groups and their Ability to Craft Practical Solutions to Conflict”, supported by the Templeton Religion Trust (TRT) and the Swiss FDFA, CPI and CSS ETH Zurich, convened the field researchers and academic mentors from Iraq, Yemen, Sahel, Somalia and Mozambique in Zanzibar, Tanzania from 15 to 17 April 2024. The 20 participants gathered to delve into the specific case studies’ preliminary findings, reflect on the research experiences of the five teams and benefit from training focused on differing worldview narratives and mediation.
2) Publications
– Ozair Khan. Afghanistan News Roundup. CPI continued publishing its Monthly Afghanistan News Roundup by Ozair Khan, which aims to keep track of the discussions and debates among scholars on issues of governance policies of the Taliban, especially in the areas of education, social policies, and statecraft and governance institutions.
– Abbas Aroua (an edited interview) Islamic Peacemaking. Published in: Still time to talk: Adaptation and innovation in peace mediation. Accord Issue 30. Issue Editor: Teresa Whitfield. Conciliation Resources. February 2024.
– Reine Radwan. The Right to Know the Fate of Missing Persons in Islamic Law and International Humanitarian Law: Summary of Two Academic Papers. Cordoba Research Papers. Cordoba Peace Institute – Geneva. February 2024.
– Alice Carchereux. Meg-Ann Lenoble (ed.) The Reintegration of Former Boko Haram Combatants in Maiduguri. Conflict Transformation in Practice. Cordoba Peace Institute – Geneva. March 2024.
3) External Events
– CPI participated in the launch of “Accord 30: Still time to talk: adaptation and innovation in peace mediation”, published by Conciliation Resources, in London on 15 February 2024 and in Geneva on 16 April 2024. CPI was a member of the volume’s advisory board.
– On 2 March 2024, CPI participated in a symposium on “Human Values Crisis: Between Noticeable Disruptions and Hope for Enhancing Human Commonality”, organised by the Global Coalition for Ethics and Human Values, at the Maison Internationale des Associations, Geneva. CPI contributed with a presentation on the “Articulation of values and interests in international relations”.
– On 15 March 2024, CPI attended a conference on “Sacred Sites Promoting Pluralism”, organized by Pepperdine University and held at the Château d’Hauteville campus, Saint-Légier. The conference gathered over forty experts and practitioners across the fields of human rights, interfaith engagement, and cultural heritage protection.
– On 27 April 2024, CPI took part in a workshop on the theme of “Debate or Dialogue”, organised by a group of parties’ youth at the Espace Dickens in Lausanne. CPI contributed with a presentation on “Democracy as a mechanism for resolving conflicts through dialogue”.
– On 7-8 May 2024, CPI participated in the 15th Doha Conference on Interfaith Dialogue, organised in Doha by the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue (DICID), on the theme of “Family Structure in Light of Changing World: Religious Perspective”.
– CPI participated in a series of three Brown Bag Lunches organised at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, in Bern, on the theme of “Engaging Islamic Jurists to Overcome Obstacles in Mediation Processes”. The events took place on 5 March, 30 April and 28 May 2024.
– CPI co-facilitated a Roundtable on “The Role of Religious Actors, Women and Youth in Peacebuilding in the Sahel”, organised in Dakar on 21-23 May 2024 by the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers and the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Roundtable gathered 25 participants from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.
– CPI attended a meeting of the Covenantal Pluralism Initiative Council in Washington DC on 22 May 2024, organised by the Templeton Religion Trust and hosted by the El-Hibri Foundation at its headquarters.
C) ARTICLES
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From climate crisis to crisis of coexistence with living beings: How to resolve the conflict between man and nature?by Yaël Better |
