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FBO FORUM : 2010 ANNUAL MEETING
RELIGIOUS LEADERS PEACE INITIATIVE IN THE
HORN OF AFRICA (RL-PIHA)
A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES OF INTER-FAITH
ACTIONS FOR PEACE
ACRLRfP
Secretariat
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IGAD Inter-Faith Religious assets
Spiritual assets:
Moral assets:
Social assets:
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Background of RL-PIHA
Occasioned by the Conflicts situation in the Horn ofAfrica
Citing the Critical roles of Religious Leaders in PeaceBuiding, Reconcilaition and promoting forgiveness
Began in 2007: during the first Inter-faith Conference ofthe Horn of Africa held at Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
Working Group was formed to led the process andcontinue faciliating the recommendations of the firstinter-faith Conference of Religious Leaders in the Hornof Africa
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Objectives of the RL-PIHA
To provide an impartial space to deliberate and chart out a coherentinter-faith approaches to peace building and conflict resolution in theHorn of Africa region
To facilitate an inter-faith response to conflicts and other relevantissues in the Horn of Africa region together with other partners by
voicing the ethical, moral and spiritual values that must be thefoundation of intra-state, regional and international relations
To enable religious leaders in the Horn of Africa region to develop andsustain active engagement in peace and security, human rights, justice,
democracy and geopolitical governance and socio-economicdevelopment through active accompaniment and engagement withpeace building and conflict resolution processes;
y To stimulate action for peace and justice in the Horn of Africa regionthrough timely advocacy.
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Operational Structures/ Synergies
Regional Conference/Assembly, held once in every twoyears, The Regional Conference/Assembly is theMandate giving body where senior Religious Leadersfrom the IGAD countries as well as observers from
Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, chart the direction ofthe RL-PIHA.
The Religious Leaders Contact Groupwill be composed ofcountry level religious leaders contact persons, wholiaise with the regional as well as grassroots levelsReligious Leaders to enhance ownership of the regionalpeace initiative at all levels,the Religious Leaderscontact group members are nominated by the respectivecountries religious leaders
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Operational Structures/ Synergies
The Working Group is composed of regional Institutions thatprovide technical support to the RLs Contact Group andorganizes the Regional Conference/ Assembly after every twoyears The Working Group consists of Muslim and Christianrepresentatives from the All Africa Conference of Churches(AACC), the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches inthe Great Lakes and the Horn of Africa (FECCLAHA), theUnion of Muslim Council for East, Central and Southern Africa(UMCESA), the Association of Member Episcopal Conferencesin Eastern Africa (AMECEA) Supreme Council of Kenya
Muslims (SUPKEM) and the National Muslim Leaders Forum(NAMLEF).
ACRLRfP is the Secretariat of the initiative and chairs theWorking Group; ACRL-RfP is not necessarily an implementingbody but rather a coordinating body with interfaith mandate. Itonly implements what is interfaith; the other WG members will
undertake activities focusing on specific faiths
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Grassroots, Sub-regional and National InitiativesKenyaEthiopia Djibouti
Secretariat(The African Council ofReligious LeadersReligions for Peace)
Engagements with IGAD
Eritrea SudanSomalia
Observers
Tanzania
Uganda
RELIGIOUSLEADERS CONTACT GROUP ((14 Members) 2 Religious Leaders per Country) (ACRLRfP, FECCLAHA, UMCESA, AACC, EAMLF, AMECEA, SUPKEM, NAMLEF)
Engagements with Arab
LeagueEngagements with UN, and Bilateral
Diplomatic Processes
Rwanda
Burundi
Regional Conference (Once Every 2 Years)Last Held in 2010)
IGAD Countries:-Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia,Djibouti, Eritrea, Sudan, Uganda, (Observers
Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda)
Engagements with the
African Union
RL-PIHA OPERATIONAL STRUCTURE/SYNERGIES
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RL-PIHA Accomplished Activities
Fact finding and solidarity missions to Hargeisa Somaliland, Ethiopia, Sudan andUganda and Kenya/Somalia border: These activities have taken place, severally sinceinception of the regional initiative, and effectively contributed to create ownership ofthe process in the different countries.
Somalia Partners meeting: these meetings were held regularly to review what differentpartners undertake towards finding lasting peace in Somalia.
Consultative meeting of senior religious leaders on Somalia: This meeting took place inKenya in early 2009, to discuss strategies of involving the Somali religious leaders in thepeace initiate, it was attended by senior religious leaders from the region, and since thenSomali religious leaders were engaged in the process.
IGAD countries religious leaders meeting at the African Union headquarters, at AddisAbaba, Ethiopia. This meeting realized in July, 2009 was the first meeting thatenhanced the confidence of the different faith leaders of IGAD countries to work
together, all the IGAD countries religious leaders were in attendance except Eritrea, itwas in this symbolic meeting at the AU that focus was given to IGAD countries, whilerecognizing the countries of Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi as observers in the RL-PIHA.
Somali religious leaders Confidence/ Learning mission to Rwanda; this activity tookplace in Dec 2009, and was a learning tour for senior religious leaders from Somalia, onhow Rwanda managed to come out of the genocide, aimed to give hope to the Somali
people who are in vicious circles of conflict.
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RL-PIHA Activities continued..
Regular Working Group meetings to review the approach and the changing dynamics;this was done from time to time.
Somalia think tank meeting, convened by AACC and ACRLRfP Seminar on religion, violence and non-violent Conflict transformation in Somalia
and the Horn ofAfrica, organized by ACRLRfP, LPI and FECCLAHA. ThePurpose of the Seminar was to generate ideas that would strengthen the peace
building interventions.The discussions
were attended by peace practitioners aswell as scholars from the Horn ofAfrica.
Traditional religious leaders meeting under the auspices of the Ahlu-Sunna Wal-jamaa was successfully realized in December. 2009 in Nairobi, this wassupported by the RL-PIHA and facilitated by TAABCO a research firm. Themeeting discussed ways to realize sustainable peace in Somalia, and the role ofreligious leaders.
Evaluation ofRL-PIHA by the ACRLRfP Executive Committee, sharing the RL-PIHA processes, the need for wider partnerships and intensified interfaith
dialogue and cooperation in the Horn ofAfrica in Bremen Germany. Regional conference/ Assembly of the RL-PIHA (IGAD countries). This
conference was held in February 2010, at Naivasha, Kenya, it was in thisconference that the structures/framework of the RL-PIHAwere agreed upon,setting platforms at different levels where all religious leaders from differentfaiths in the region can fit, to contribute to lasting peace and development
Retreat of the Working Group: This activity took place in April 2010, to reviewthe recommendations of the Naivasha meeting and develop terms of referencesof the structures established by the Regional Conference.
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RL-PIHA Partners
The Horn of Africa programme of the Religious Leaders Peace Initiativein the Horn of Africahas attracted partners who contribute to abasket including:
Finn Church Aid (FCA), (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Trocaire Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Norwegian Church Aid (NCA)
British High Commission in Kenya
Bread for the World through AACC.
Others who have shown interest include the World IslamicCall Society.
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RL-PIHA - Challenges
The dynamics of the conflicts in the Horn, especially in Somalia,affects timely implementation of activities, as in the case of aplanned mission to Mogadishu.
The inter-faith approach to peace building is relative new in the
region, religious leaders from different faiths take time tounderstand, commit themselves and work together.
The political environment and the regional politics contribute tosuspicions and mistrusts amongst different religious leaders fromdifferent countries in the Greater Horn of Africa, as the case ofEthiopia and Eritrea relations
Lack of a three year funding mechanism that affects the timelyplanning for subsequent Regional Conference/Assembly, heldafter every two years, and does not permit staff on a long-termthree years contract
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Planned Activities for 2011
Two cross-border (Kenya-Somalia border) training sessions on dialogue, peace buildingand mediation for religious youth and women of faith
One training session for religious leaders, women of faith and religious youth ontrauma healing and reconciliation in Somalia
One training sessions on interfaith dialogue and network building for religious leaders,women and youth
One multi-religious forum for religious leaders and political actors in Somalia to discussoptions for peace
Coordination and Support to RL Contact Group
Religious leaders regional Contact group Meeting
Regional solidarity and peace building Mission to Somalia
Advocacy Mission of Somali Religious and Traditional Leaders at international level
(Meeting with United Nations preferably with the Security Council) Training for secretariat staff at ACRLRfP staff on project management (both
Narrative and Financial)
Multi-faith Post Referenda solidarity Mission to North and South Sudan
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RL-PIHA Focus Countries: Somalia and Sudan
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End
THANK YOU.