News from the Fund for Peace
Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (IHRHL), Nigeria
September 20, 2011

Issued at a one day technical workshop on early warning and sustainable security organised by the Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (IHRHL) in partnership with The Fund for Peace, Washington, D.C.

The workshop, the fifth to be held since May, 2010, was held on Wednesday, September 14, 2011, at the IHRHL Humanity House, Port Harcourt – Rivers State.

The meeting was attended by participants selected from CSOs from Akwa Ibom, Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa, Abia, Kaduna and Lagos States. Fund for Peace was represented by two of its Washington, D.C. Senior Staff.

During the deliberations, participants noted that throughout Nigeria, at the national, state and local levels, there are severe pressures on stability, to include social, economic, and security related factors. All these factors must be addressed in a holistic and integrated manner. They include indicators in the Conflict Assessment System Tool (CAST) framework:

1. Demographic Pressures
2. Displaced People
3. Group Grievance
4. Brain Drain
5. Uneven Development
6. Poverty
7. Illegitimacy
8. Lacking Public Services
9. Uneven Enforcement of Human Rights
10. Armed Groups
11. Factionalized Elites
12. External Factors

The broad resolutions as adopted by participants at the Workshop are as follows:

• Deepen the UNLocK Nigeria network, to use CAST on an ongoing basis for conflict prevention and monitoring in Nigeria.
• Reach out to state actors across all levels and other non-state actors with CAST findings in the interest of conflict prevention and mitigation in Nigeria.
• Encourage sensitisation and awareness among stakeholders on the framework through media and other social networks.
• Form a strong synergy and encourage consistent communication among participating organisations.
• Build capacities of participating organisations in effectively administering the CAST and UNLocK framework for conflict prevention and monitoring in Nigeria.
• Encourage participating organisations to generate data analysis and disseminate information on early warning, peace building and sustainable security for prompt intervention.

We, the UNLocK Nigeria network, call on federal, state, local government and security agents, as well as other stakeholders in the nongovernmental and private sectors, to assess the conflict environment using tools such as CAST, for a better understanding of the pressures that can contribute to violent conflict. This will enable responders and practitioners to mitigate conflict strategically, without reflexively resorting to ad hoc measures.

Signed:

Anyakwee Nsirimovu
Executive Director
Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

Nate Haken
Senior Associate
The Fund for Peace