0:00:01.042,0:00:04.084
I want to speak about a forgotten conflict.

0:00:04.084,0:00:07.590
It's a conflict that rarely[br]hits the headlines.

0:00:07.590,0:00:09.030
It happens right here,

0:00:09.030,0:00:12.164
in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

0:00:12.164,0:00:14.602
Now, most people outside of Africa

0:00:14.602,0:00:16.831
don't know much about the war in Congo,

0:00:16.831,0:00:20.291
so let me give you[br]a couple of key facts.

0:00:20.291,0:00:21.939
The Congolese conflict

0:00:21.939,0:00:25.887
is the deadliest conflict[br]since World War II.

0:00:25.887,0:00:29.207
It has caused almost four million deaths.

0:00:29.207,0:00:31.993
It has destabilized most of central Africa

0:00:31.993,0:00:33.851
for the past 18 years.

0:00:33.851,0:00:39.261
It is the largest ongoing[br]humanitarian crisis in the world.

0:00:39.261,0:00:42.372
That's why I first went to Congo in 2001.

0:00:42.372,0:00:45.298
I was a young humanitarian aid worker,

0:00:45.298,0:00:47.504
and I met this woman who was my age.

0:00:47.504,0:00:50.058
She was called Isabelle.

0:00:50.058,0:00:54.469
Local militias[br]had attacked Isabelle's village.

0:00:54.469,0:00:57.227
They had killed many men,[br]raped many women.

0:00:57.227,0:00:59.224
They had looted everything.

0:00:59.224,0:01:02.057
And then they wanted to take Isabelle,

0:01:02.057,0:01:03.404
but her husband stepped in,

0:01:03.404,0:01:06.422
and he said, "No,[br]please don't take Isabelle.

0:01:06.422,0:01:09.859
Take me instead."

0:01:09.859,0:01:12.900
So he had gone to the forest[br]with the militias,

0:01:12.900,0:01:16.871
and Isabelle had never seen him again.

0:01:16.871,0:01:20.841
Well, it's because of people[br]like Isabelle and her husband

0:01:20.841,0:01:23.860
that I have devoted my career[br]to studying this world

0:01:23.860,0:01:26.808
that we know so little about.

0:01:26.808,0:01:31.592
Although there is one story[br]about Congo that you may have heard.

0:01:31.592,0:01:35.214
It's a story about minerals and rape.

0:01:35.214,0:01:38.000
Policy statements and media reports

0:01:38.000,0:01:42.644
both usually focus on a primary cause[br]of violence in Congo

0:01:42.644,0:01:47.752
-- the illegal exploitation[br]and trafficking of natural resources --

0:01:47.752,0:01:50.399
and on the main consequence

0:01:50.399,0:01:55.693
-- sexual abuse of women and girls[br]as a weapon of war.

0:01:55.693,0:02:00.639
So, not that these two issues[br]aren't important and tragic.

0:02:00.639,0:02:03.680
They are, but today,

0:02:03.680,0:02:06.118
I want to tell you a different story.

0:02:06.118,0:02:09.856
I want to tell you a story[br]that emphasizes a core cause

0:02:09.856,0:02:12.573
of the ongoing conflict.

0:02:12.573,0:02:16.520
Violence in Congo[br]is in large part driven

0:02:16.520,0:02:19.632
by local bottom-up conflicts

0:02:19.632,0:02:25.645
that international peace efforts[br]have failed to help address.

0:02:25.645,0:02:30.568
The story starts from the fact[br]that not only is Congo notable

0:02:30.568,0:02:35.235
for being the world's worst[br]ongoing humanitarian crisis,

0:02:35.235,0:02:38.671
but it is also home[br]to some of the largest

0:02:38.671,0:02:42.572
international peacebuilding[br]efforts in the world.

0:02:42.572,0:02:44.685
Congo hosts the largest

0:02:44.685,0:02:50.420
and most expensive United Nations[br]peacekeeping mission in the world.

0:02:50.420,0:02:54.739
It was also the site of the first[br]European-led peacekeeping mission,

0:02:54.739,0:02:57.293
and for its first cases ever,

0:02:57.293,0:02:59.615
the International Criminal Court

0:02:59.615,0:03:03.771
chose to prosecute Congolese warlords.

0:03:03.771,0:03:08.670
In 2006, when Congo held[br]the first free national elections

0:03:08.670,0:03:10.365
in its history,

0:03:10.365,0:03:14.034
many observers thought[br]that an end to violence in the region

0:03:14.034,0:03:16.425
had finally come.

0:03:16.425,0:03:18.051
The international community

0:03:18.051,0:03:22.300
lauded the successful[br]organization of these elections

0:03:22.300,0:03:26.967
as finally an example[br]of successful international intervention

0:03:26.967,0:03:29.335
in a failed state.

0:03:29.335,0:03:31.123
But the eastern provinces

0:03:31.123,0:03:34.490
have continued to face[br]massive population displacements

0:03:34.490,0:03:37.833
and horrific human rights violations.

0:03:37.833,0:03:40.318
Shortly before I went[br]back there last summer,

0:03:40.318,0:03:42.709
there was a horrible massacre

0:03:42.709,0:03:45.217
in the province of South Kivu.

0:03:45.217,0:03:47.585
Thirty-three people were killed.

0:03:47.585,0:03:49.977
They were mostly women and children,

0:03:49.977,0:03:53.436
and many of them were hacked to death.

0:03:53.436,0:03:56.269
During the past eight years,

0:03:56.269,0:04:00.007
fighting in the eastern provinces[br]has regularly reignited

0:04:00.007,0:04:03.444
full-scale civil and international war.

0:04:03.444,0:04:07.995
So basically, every time we feel[br]that we are on the brink of peace,

0:04:07.995,0:04:10.897
the conflict explodes again.

0:04:10.897,0:04:12.615
Why?

0:04:12.615,0:04:15.587
Why have the massive international efforts

0:04:15.587,0:04:19.186
failed to help Congo achieve lasting peace

0:04:19.186,0:04:22.391
and security?

0:04:22.391,0:04:25.014
Well, my answer to this question

0:04:25.014,0:04:29.287
revolves around two central observations.

0:04:29.287,0:04:35.347
First, one of the main reasons[br]for the continuation of violence in Congo

0:04:35.347,0:04:38.365
is fundamentally local,

0:04:38.365,0:04:39.782
and when I say local,

0:04:39.782,0:04:42.823
I really mean at the level[br]of the individual, the family,

0:04:42.823,0:04:47.072
the clan, the municipality,[br]the community, the district,

0:04:47.072,0:04:49.951
sometimes the ethnic group.

0:04:49.951,0:04:54.479
For instance, you remember the story[br]of Isabelle that I told you.

0:04:54.479,0:04:59.123
Well, the reason why militias[br]had attacked Isabelle's village

0:04:59.123,0:05:01.793
was because they wanted to take the land

0:05:01.793,0:05:06.878
that the villagers needed[br]to cultivate food and to survive.

0:05:06.878,0:05:11.708
The second central observation[br]is that international peace efforts

0:05:11.708,0:05:15.492
have failed to help[br]address local conflicts

0:05:15.492,0:05:20.601
because of the presence[br]of a dominant peacebuilding culture.

0:05:20.601,0:05:23.967
So what I mean is that

0:05:23.967,0:05:26.150
Western and African diplomats,

0:05:26.150,0:05:29.377
United Nations peacekeepers, donors,

0:05:29.377,0:05:32.001
the staff of most[br]nongovernmental organizations

0:05:32.001,0:05:34.787
that work with the resolution of conflict,

0:05:34.787,0:05:37.295
they all share a specific way

0:05:37.295,0:05:39.594
of seeing the world.

0:05:39.594,0:05:43.611
And I was one of these people,[br]and I shared this culture,

0:05:43.611,0:05:47.813
so I know all too well how powerful it is.

0:05:47.813,0:05:51.482
Throughout the world,[br]and throughout conflict zones,

0:05:51.482,0:05:55.290
this common culture shapes[br]the intervener's understanding

0:05:55.290,0:05:57.774
of the causes of violence

0:05:57.774,0:06:00.357
as something that is primarily located

0:06:00.357,0:06:04.513
in the national and international spheres.

0:06:04.513,0:06:08.298
It shapes our understanding[br]of the path to world peace

0:06:08.298,0:06:12.106
as something again that requires[br]top down intervention

0:06:12.106,0:06:16.099
to address national[br]and international tensions.

0:06:16.099,0:06:19.838
And it shapes our understanding[br]of the roles of foreign actors

0:06:19.838,0:06:25.619
as engaging in national[br]and international peace processes.

0:06:25.619,0:06:29.334
Even more importantly,[br]this common culture

0:06:29.334,0:06:32.144
enables international peacebuilders

0:06:32.144,0:06:35.557
to ignore the micro-level tensions

0:06:35.557,0:06:40.410
that often jeopardize[br]the macro-level settlements.

0:06:40.410,0:06:42.941
So for instance, in Congo,

0:06:42.941,0:06:46.795
because of how they are[br]socialized and trained,

0:06:46.795,0:06:49.651
United Nations officials,[br]donors, diplomats,

0:06:49.651,0:06:52.600
the staff of most[br]nongovernmental organizations,

0:06:52.600,0:06:59.240
they interpret continued fighting[br]and massacres as a top-down problem.

0:06:59.240,0:07:01.864
To them, the violence they see

0:07:01.864,0:07:06.554
is the consequence of tensions[br]between President Kabila

0:07:06.554,0:07:09.224
and various national opponents,

0:07:09.224,0:07:14.217
and tensions between Congo,[br]Rwanda, and Uganda.

0:07:14.217,0:07:17.978
In addition, these[br]international peacebuilders

0:07:17.978,0:07:20.509
view local conflicts

0:07:20.509,0:07:26.081
as simply the result[br]of national and international tensions,

0:07:26.081,0:07:28.496
insufficient state authority,

0:07:28.496,0:07:31.840
and what they call[br]the Congolese people's

0:07:31.840,0:07:35.764
so-called "inherent[br]penchant for violence."

0:07:35.764,0:07:39.316
The dominant culture[br]also constructs intervention

0:07:39.316,0:07:42.149
at the national and international levels

0:07:42.149,0:07:45.702
as the only natural and legitimate task

0:07:45.702,0:07:49.649
for United Nations staffers and diplomats.

0:07:49.649,0:07:51.971
And it elevates the organization

0:07:51.971,0:07:54.037
of general elections,

0:07:54.037,0:07:56.057
which is now a sort of cure-all,

0:07:56.057,0:07:59.981
as the most crucial state[br]reconstruction mechanisms

0:07:59.981,0:08:03.116
over more effective[br]state-building approaches.

0:08:03.116,0:08:05.113
And that happens not only in Congo

0:08:05.113,0:08:09.176
but also in many other conflict zones.

0:08:09.176,0:08:11.753
But let's dig deeper,

0:08:11.753,0:08:15.283
into the other main sources of violence.

0:08:15.283,0:08:18.092
In Congo, continuing violence

0:08:18.092,0:08:22.875
is motivated not only by the national[br]and international causes

0:08:22.875,0:08:27.542
but also by longstanding[br]bottom-up agendas

0:08:27.542,0:08:31.373
whose main instigators[br]are villagers, traditional chiefs,

0:08:31.373,0:08:34.601
community chiefs, or ethnic leaders.

0:08:34.601,0:08:40.406
Many conflicts revolve around political,[br]social, and economic stakes

0:08:40.406,0:08:43.354
that are distinctively local.

0:08:43.354,0:08:46.210
For instance, there is[br]a lot of competition

0:08:46.210,0:08:48.718
at the village or district level

0:08:48.718,0:08:52.294
over who can be chief of village[br]or chief of territory

0:08:52.294,0:08:54.848
according to traditional law,

0:08:54.848,0:08:58.006
and who can control[br]the distribution of land

0:08:58.006,0:09:01.465
and the exploitation[br]of local mining sites.

0:09:01.465,0:09:05.436
This competition often results[br]in localized fighting,

0:09:05.436,0:09:09.220
for instance in one village or territory,

0:09:09.220,0:09:13.423
and quite frequently,[br]it escalates into generalized fighting,

0:09:13.423,0:09:15.292
so across a whole province,

0:09:15.292,0:09:19.031
and even at times[br]into neighboring countries.

0:09:19.031,0:09:21.608
Take the conflict

0:09:21.608,0:09:23.698
between Congolese of Rwandan descent

0:09:23.698,0:09:26.879
and the so-called indigenous communities

0:09:26.879,0:09:29.084
of the Kivus.

0:09:29.084,0:09:34.425
This conflict started in the 1930s[br]during Belgian colonization,

0:09:34.425,0:09:36.668
when both communities competed

0:09:36.668,0:09:39.547
over access to land and to local power.

0:09:39.547,0:09:43.007
Then, in 1960,[br]after Congolese independence,

0:09:43.007,0:09:45.932
it escalated because each camp

0:09:45.932,0:09:48.928
tried to align with national politicians

0:09:48.928,0:09:52.782
but still to address their local agendas.

0:09:52.782,0:09:57.240
And then, at the time[br]of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda,

0:09:57.240,0:10:03.509
these local actors allied[br]with Congolese and Rwandan armed groups,

0:10:03.509,0:10:08.849
but still to advance their local agendas[br]in the province of the Kivus.

0:10:08.849,0:10:14.283
And since then, these local disputes[br]over land and local power

0:10:14.283,0:10:16.163
have fueled violence,

0:10:16.163,0:10:18.509
and they have regularly jeopardized

0:10:18.509,0:10:23.872
the national and[br]international settlements.

0:10:23.872,0:10:27.657
So we can wonder why[br]in these circumstances

0:10:27.657,0:10:29.979
the international peacebuilders[br]have failed to help implement

0:10:29.979,0:10:35.017
local peacebuilding programs.

0:10:35.017,0:10:40.543
And the answer is that[br]international interveners

0:10:40.543,0:10:44.026
deem the resolution of grassroots conflict

0:10:44.026,0:10:50.110
an unimportant, unfamiliar,[br]and illegitimate task.

0:10:50.110,0:10:54.939
The very idea of becoming involved[br]at the local level clashes fundamentally

0:10:54.939,0:10:58.677
with existing cultural norms,

0:10:58.677,0:11:02.810
and it threatens[br]key organizational interests.

0:11:02.810,0:11:06.997
For instance, the very identity[br]of the United Nations

0:11:06.997,0:11:10.503
as this macro-level[br]diplomatic organization

0:11:10.503,0:11:12.941
would be upended

0:11:12.941,0:11:16.447
if it were to refocus on local conflicts.

0:11:16.447,0:11:21.996
And the result is that[br]neither the internal resistance

0:11:21.996,0:11:24.573
to the dominant ways of working

0:11:24.573,0:11:26.826
nor the external shocks

0:11:26.826,0:11:29.658
have managed to convince[br]international actors

0:11:29.658,0:11:32.398
that they should reevaluate[br]their understanding

0:11:32.398,0:11:36.020
of violence and intervention.

0:11:36.020,0:11:39.573
And so far, there have been[br]only very few exceptions.

0:11:39.573,0:11:43.056
There have been exceptions,[br]but only very few exceptions

0:11:43.056,0:11:46.214
to this broad pattern.

0:11:46.214,0:11:49.696
So to wrap up,[br]the story I just told you

0:11:49.696,0:11:54.735
is a story about how[br]a dominant peacebuilding culture

0:11:54.735,0:11:56.732
shapes the intervener's understanding

0:11:56.732,0:11:59.611
of what the causes of violence are,

0:11:59.611,0:12:01.283
how peace is made,

0:12:01.283,0:12:04.905
and what interventions should accomplish.

0:12:04.905,0:12:08.504
These understandings enable[br]international peacebuilders

0:12:08.504,0:12:11.662
to ignore the micro-level foundations

0:12:11.662,0:12:16.421
that are so necessary[br]for sustainable peace.

0:12:16.421,0:12:19.254
The resulting inattention[br]to local conflicts

0:12:19.254,0:12:23.062
leads to inadequate peacebuilding[br]in the short term

0:12:23.062,0:12:27.358
and potential war resumption[br]in the long term.

0:12:27.358,0:12:30.214
And what's fascinating[br]is that this analysis

0:12:30.214,0:12:34.834
helps us to better understand[br]many cases of lasting conflict

0:12:34.834,0:12:39.803
and international intervention failures,[br]in Africa and elsewhere.

0:12:39.803,0:12:45.074
Local conflicts fuel violence[br]in most war and post-war environments,

0:12:45.074,0:12:48.905
from Afghanistan to Sudan[br]to Timor-Leste,

0:12:48.905,0:12:52.806
and in the rare cases[br]where there have been comprehensive,

0:12:52.806,0:12:55.453
bottom-up peacebuilding initiatives,

0:12:55.453,0:13:01.257
these attempts have been successful[br]at making peace sustainable.

0:13:01.257,0:13:03.997
One of the best examples is the contrast

0:13:03.997,0:13:08.548
between the relatively peaceful[br]situation in Somaliland,

0:13:08.548,0:13:13.378
which benefited from sustained[br]grassroots peacebuilding initiatives,

0:13:13.378,0:13:17.766
and the violence prevalent[br]in the rest of Somalia,

0:13:17.766,0:13:21.295
where peacebuilding[br]has been mostly top-down.

0:13:21.295,0:13:23.246
And there are several other cases

0:13:23.246,0:13:26.961
in which local, grassroots[br]conflict resolution

0:13:26.961,0:13:30.420
has made a crucial difference.

0:13:30.420,0:13:34.182
So if we want international[br]peacebuilding to work,

0:13:34.182,0:13:37.874
in addition to any top-down intervention,

0:13:37.874,0:13:41.635
conflicts must be resolved[br]from the bottom up.

0:13:41.635,0:13:46.627
And again, it's not that national[br]and international tensions don't matter.

0:13:46.627,0:13:48.253
They do.

0:13:48.253,0:13:51.155
And it's not that national[br]and international peacepbuilding

0:13:51.155,0:13:52.757
isn't necessary.

0:13:52.757,0:13:54.150
It is.

0:13:54.150,0:14:01.255
Instead, it is that both macro-level[br]and micro-level peacebuilding are needed

0:14:01.255,0:14:03.972
to make peace sustainable,

0:14:03.972,0:14:06.363
and local nongovernmental organizations,

0:14:06.363,0:14:09.312
local authorities,[br]and civil society representatives

0:14:09.312,0:14:11.402
should be the main actors

0:14:11.402,0:14:14.026
in the bottom-up process.

0:14:14.026,0:14:16.371
So of course, there are obstacles.

0:14:16.371,0:14:18.786
Local actors often lack the funding

0:14:18.786,0:14:22.663
and sometimes the logistical means[br]and the technical capacity

0:14:22.663,0:14:27.307
to implement effective,[br]local peacebuilding programs.

0:14:27.307,0:14:32.253
So international actors[br]should expand their funding and support

0:14:32.253,0:14:36.200
for local conflict resolution.

0:14:36.200,0:14:39.056
As for Congo, what can be done?

0:14:39.056,0:14:40.890
After two decades of conflict

0:14:40.890,0:14:43.073
and the deaths of millions,

0:14:43.073,0:14:46.695
it's clear that we need[br]to change our approach.

0:14:46.695,0:14:49.853
Based on my field research,[br]I believe that international

0:14:49.853,0:14:51.733
and Congolese actors

0:14:51.733,0:14:55.379
should pay more attention[br]to the resolution of land conflict

0:14:55.379,0:15:00.069
and the promotion[br]of inter-community reconciliation.

0:15:00.069,0:15:02.321
So for instance,[br]in the province of the Kivus,

0:15:02.321,0:15:06.059
the Life & Peace Institute[br]and its Congolese partners

0:15:06.059,0:15:09.124
have set up inter-community forums

0:15:09.124,0:15:13.606
to discuss the specifics[br]of local conflicts over land,

0:15:13.606,0:15:15.951
and these forums have found solutions

0:15:15.951,0:15:18.551
to help manage the violence.

0:15:18.551,0:15:22.290
That's the kind of program[br]that is sorely needed

0:15:22.290,0:15:25.517
throughout eastern Congo.

0:15:25.517,0:15:27.235
It's with programs like this

0:15:27.235,0:15:31.925
that we can help people[br]like Isabelle and her husband.

0:15:31.925,0:15:34.828
So these will not be magic wands,

0:15:34.828,0:15:40.516
but because they take into account[br]deeply rooted causes of the violence,

0:15:40.516,0:15:43.280
they could definitely be game-changers.

0:15:43.280,0:15:45.764
Thank you.

0:15:45.764,0:15:48.736
(Applause)