Conflict Prevention and Resolution
Senior 6 · History
Conflict Prevention and Resolution
Lesson 1 of 5
25 min
Two families in a cell in Nyamagabe disagree about where their land ends. Two states, Cameroon and Nigeria, both claim the oil-rich Bakassi peninsula. A country slides towards civil war. Each conflict needs someone to prevent or settle it, but not the same someone. In S1 you studied the forms and causes of conflict and Rwanda's local mechanisms for peace; this unit studies the whole system of actors, from the village to the United Nations. Figure 1 sorts them into four levels.
Figure 1. Actors in conflict prevention and resolution, by level. Drawn by Ganzaa.
Definition
Conflict: a disagreement between people or groups whose interests, values or goals clash. It is not always violent, and handled well it can lead to positive change.
Conflict prevention: action taken to stop disputes from arising or from turning violent.
Conflict resolution: the processes that end a conflict by addressing its causes and reaching a settlement the parties accept.
Actor: any person, group, institution or state that takes part in a conflict or in efforts to manage it.
Organ: an official body with a defined function, such as a court, a parliament or the UN Security Council.
Peaceful settlement of disputes: resolving disputes without force, a duty of every UN member under Article 2 of the UN Charter.
Rwanda's Constitution lists among its fundamental principles the "constant quest for solutions through dialogue and consensus" (Article 10, 6°). Many institutions put that principle into practice.
| Actor | Role in preventing or resolving conflict |
|---|---|
| Families, local leaders, Inteko z'abaturage, Umugoroba w'ababyeyi (parents' evening forum) | settle family and neighbourhood disputes early, before they grow |
| Abunzi committees (Article 141) | mediate civil disputes at cell and sector level |
| Courts, the National Public Prosecution Authority, the Rwanda Investigation Bureau | settle disputes by law and punish crimes, so that people do not take justice into their own hands |
| Rwanda National Police and Rwanda Defence Force | keep public order and protect the country; community policing builds trust; the RDF and police serve in peace operations abroad (Lesson 4) |
| Parliament and the National Consultative Forum of Political Organisations | make laws and hold dialogue between political organisations (Article 59) |
| MINUBUMWE, the National Commission for Human Rights, the Ombudsman | promote unity, protect rights and handle complaints against public bodies |
| Religious organisations, civil society, the media, schools | teach peaceful values, give early warning and bring people together |
Cameroon and Nigeria both claimed the Bakassi peninsula, a fishing area on the Gulf of Guinea believed to hold oil, and their armies clashed there in the 1990s. In 1994 Cameroon took the case to the International Court of Justice. On 10 October 2002 the Court ruled that sovereignty over Bakassi lay with Cameroon, on the basis of a 1913 Anglo-German agreement. Nigeria did not at first accept the ruling, but with the help of the UN Secretary-General the two states signed the Greentree Agreement in 2006, and Nigeria completed its handover of the peninsula in August 2008.
Analysis. The case shows international organs working together: a court gave a legal answer, a UN mediator helped the parties accept it, and a phased agreement protected the people living there. It also shows the limit: the ICJ has no police, so its rulings depend on the will of states.
Warning
The ICJ and the ICC are different courts. The International Court of Justice settles disputes between states, such as Bakassi; the International Criminal Court tries individuals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression. Both are in The Hague, which causes frequent confusion.
Tip
Match the actor to the level. In an essay on "the role of national and international actors", use Figure 1: start with local and national actors, then regional, then international, and show how they work together, for example how Abunzi, courts and the police prevent small disputes from becoming violence.
Important
Discuss. Why might disputes be best settled at the lowest level that can solve them? Can you think of a case where a local dispute grew because no one dealt with it early?
Practice
Sources and credits
Written by Ganzaa: the analysis, the diagram (Figure 1), the table, the case study and the exercises.
