Centre for Conflict Resolution (CCR) - University of Cape Town
From TrustAfrica wiki - African Regional Organizations
Centre for Conflict Resolution
No. 2 Dixton Road
Observatory Cape Town, South Africa 7930
P.O. Box 1228, Cape Town 8000
Email: mailbox@ccr.uct.ac.za
Website: http://ccrweb.ccr.uct.ac.za
Dr. Adekeye Adebajo, Executive Director, adebajo@ccr.uct.ac.za, Tel: +27 21 6891005, Fax: + 27 21 6891003
Mr. Leon Levy, Chairman of the CCR Board of Governors, LeonL@ccma.org.za, Tel: + 27 21 469 0111, Fax: + 27 21 4657195
Description
CCR’s mission is to contribute towards a just and sustainable peace in Africa by promoting constructive, creative and cooperative approaches to the resolution of conflict through training, policy development, research, and capacity-building. It has two interlinked programs, one spanning the continent and the other focusing on South and Southern Africa. The main objectives of the CCR's Africa Program are to strengthen regional and continental organizations and institutions to carry out their peace and security mandates through policy research and training activities. The CCR's National Program consists of two projects—the Mediation and Training Services (MTS) Project and the Prisons Transformation Project (PTP). The goals of the National Program are to conduct mediation, facilitation and conflict resolution skills training nationally in South Africa and also within the Southern Africa region.
During the period 2008 to 2013, CCR hopes to build on the successes of the Africa Program and the National Program, to conduct work on peace-building issues in Africa, and to strengthen CCR's regional training, local actors and institutions in South Africa.
CCR has an annual budget of about R20 million (US$3 million), mainly from bilateral donors—including Denmark, the Netherlands, UK Department for International Development, Sweden, Swiss Agency for Development and Corporation, Republic of Ireland and Canada’s’ International Development Research Centre (IDRC)—as well as by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Anglo American Chairman's Fund, Rand Merchant Bank and National Lottery (South Africa).
Track Record
Knowledge Creation: New policy-relevant knowledge generated by CCR has been disseminated widely to an international, regional, and national audience. Major publications over the last two and a half years include the following:
Dialogue of the Deaf is a book-length volume on UN reform and the UN in Africa published in 2006, edited by Dr. Adebajo and Dr. Scanlon. Since its publication, there has been a steady demand for the book, including requests from high level and senior officials at the United Nations. CCR also published a book on national human rights institutions—titled Defenders of Human Rights, Managers of Conflict, Builder of Peace?
Six more book volumes are in production: South Africa in Africa: The post-apartheid decade; Building an African Union for the 21st century: Relations with RECs, NEPAD, and Civil Society; HIV/AIDS and Human Security in South Africa; The United Nations' Role in Africa: 1945–2005; Peace versus Justice? Truth and Reconciliation Commissions and War Tribunals in Africa; and Africa's Evolving Human Rights Architecture. The first three book volumes will be published in 2007 and the remaining three in 2008.
Some 16 high quality seminar reports have also been produced and disseminated, and are available on CCR’s website. Two training manuals, Peacebuilding for African Women in Decision-making, which specifically targets women in key decision-making positions, and Human Rights and Conflict Management, aimed at human rights institutions, have been developed.
Training: Workshops have been conducted in selected post-conflict countries, including Sierra Leone, in support of peace initiatives.
The Conflict Intervention and Peacebuilding Support (CIPS) project works with regional organizations and institutions, as well as with CSOs, to implement practical training skills. To date, beneficiaries have included ECCAS, IGAD, ECOWAS and SADC; The National Human Rights Institutions in Zambia, Malawi, Zambia, Uganda, Cameroon and Ghana; and CSO networks in Sierra Leone, Lesotho and Swaziland.
Training has also been conducted for officials from the South African Department of Foreign Affairs and for the Office of the Public Protector in South Africa. A particular highlight arising from CIPS training, is the formal agreement with ECCAS (see separate profile) to provide sustained capacity building services. Further training workshops for National Human Rights Institutions will be held in Zambia, Malawi, Uganda, Cameroon and Ghana. CIPS is also involved with sustained facilitation and capacity building for a civil society coalition in Swaziland.
Policy Seminars: CCR has organized some 16 high level policy seminars on HIV/AIDS and Security; the UN; the AU and NEPAD; South Africa's Role in Africa; and SADC, ECOWAS and Regional Economic Communities over the past two and a half years. These seminars have attracted high-level attendance. Highlights include the seminars CCR co-hosted with ECOWAS involving Chair, Mohammed Ibn Chambas, as well as five senior ECOWAS directors in the security area and the head of the UN office in West Africa. The meeting reviewed 7 years of the ECOWAS peace and security mechanism.
Along with the UN Department of Political Affairs, CCR co-hosted an Africa regional meeting on the establishment of the Mediation Support Unit. The meeting involved the then UN Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs, Ibrahim Gambari, and a host of senior African mediators. CCR's HIV/AIDS project has also had successful seminars on HIV/AIDS and Human Security in South Africa; Namibia's Chair of the SADC Organ: HIV/AIDS and Militaries in Southern Africa; and AIDS and Society: Building a Community of Practice. The project has recently assisted the AU in drafting its HIV/AIDS policy.
Gender: Mainly through its CIPS project, CCR has been involved in gender work with civil society networks, the Sierra Leone government, SADC and AU gender units. Part of this work has involved disseminating UN Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.
Media Profile: In the process of promoting public awareness, CCR staff has amassed a significant media profile, including 81 media articles and 23 broadcasts (mainly in South African media). Some 54 policy forums have also been held in Cape Town.
Partners: CCR has been successful in establishing a significant pan-African network of partner organizations, including the African Union, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), IGAD; ECCAS, SADC; and UN agencies such as UNIFEM and UNDP. CCR also works with selected NGOs and networks in all five African sub-regions.
Challenges
CCR’s main challenge is one of sustainability. CCR would like to ensure a reliable and predictable funding base, as well as to secure funding for the next phase of it programs so it can continue building upon and consolidating the work it has already begun. The organization employs 37 staff members and is sometimes forced to turn down requests due to its heavy workload.
Opportunities
CCR has collaborated successfully with private foundations such as the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund to co-organize policy advisory group meetings on HIV/AIDS and the United Nations. Over and above such ad hoc support, the opportunity exists for private foundations to provide core and program funding on a sustained basis to support the training and research activities of an organization that ranks among Africa’s best think tanks in the conflict and peace-building domain.
