Fourth International Africa Peace and Conflict Resolution Conference (Jul 25-26 2014)

The South Africa-based African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), in partnership with the Centre for African Peace and Conflict Resolution (CAPCR) at California State University, Sacramento are hosting the fourth International Africa Peace and Conflict Resolution conference under the theme 'Alternative Dispute Resolution and Peace Studies in Africa: Lessons, Prospects and Challenges. The conference will seek to address a gap in knowledge and research on various Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms, as well as peace and conflict resolution initiatives and their impact in reducing conflicts, increasing peace and development, and promoting social justice in Africa. Within this context, the conference will attempt to identify best practices, common challenges, and prospects, in addition to providing space for networking, self-assessment, reflection, and innovation among practitioners, academics, policymakers, and donors.

Thematic areas include but are not limited to the following:

• Governance disputes: including political disputes, government administration / civil service disputes, and electoral/election disputes
• Extractive industries disputes: including mining, oil and gas, and quarrying
• Commercial disputes: including employment and labour relations.
• Cultural/ethnic disputes: including chieftaincy issues and succession, community, and indigenous justice systems
• Construction disputes
• Property / asset disputes: including land disputes
• Family disputes: including marriage and divorce, child custody, and inheritance disputes
• Peace education: peace education as part of the curriculum of educational institutions, civic education, and leadership development
• Mainstreaming ADR: including judicial reform, challenges, lessons, and the way forward, ADR legislations and legislations that give room for ADR
• National reconciliation and transitional justice
• Gender and women
• Human rights
• Youth non-violence and leadership
• Disability issues
• Building a culture of peace and its sustainability: including national architectures for peace, the role of peace councils and civil society and non-governmental organisations
• Crisis response and national security concerns: including the role of the Red Cross/Crescent organisations, disaster management and other relief efforts
• Trends in the usage of ADR mechanisms
• Congregational/religious disputes: including intra-faith and inter-faith disputes
• Security interventions and armed conflicts: including declaration of state of emergencies and imposition of curfews, peacekeeping operations and de-escalation, disarmament, and reintegration efforts.

Click here for more information about the conference.



Registration information:

ACCORD invites practitioners, academics, policymakers, and donors to submit abstracts before the deadline date of March 20 2014. Abstracts must be 150 words and should include your title, full contact details, description of your data, key findings and recommendations as well as your institution/organisation with which you are affiliated or identified.

• Only online submissions will be accepted
• Please endeavour to use the same email address for all correspondence
• Early submission is strongly encouraged.

Conference Registration Fee is US$100. The fee caters for space, refreshments, conference materials, and logistics/arrangements. Participants are responsible for their travel and accommodation costs and arrangements.