For decades, communities living in South and West Kordofan have been caught up in an increasingly complex web of violence. Most recently this has been between the government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), as well as between communities and groups that are allied to one or more parties to the conflict. Disputes over borders and resources such as water, land and oil, as well as political violence linked to South Sudan’s independence and the conflict in Darfur have exacerbated an already volatile context, resulting in hostility and multiple outbreaks of violence.
This learning summary highlights the main successes, challenges and lessons learnt from an ongoing project delivered by Peace Direct and the Collaborative for Peace Sudan (CfPS) in South and West Kordofan. The project aims to strengthen local conflict prevention capacity by creating and supporting local Peace Committees (PCs) across the region. 11 Peace Committees were established and supported between 2011 and 2016 to address short term and longer term drivers of conflict, as well as to conduct ‘rapid response’ mediation activities when violence flared. The following is based on the findings from an independent evaluation conducted in March 2016.
