0:00:00.662,0:00:03.474
I want to speak about [br]a forgotten conflict.

0:00:03.474,0:00:07.180
It's a conflict that rarely[br]hits the headlines.

0:00:07.180,0:00:11.400
It happens right here,[br]in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

0:00:12.244,0:00:16.842
Now, most people outside of Africa[br]don't know much about the war in Congo,

0:00:16.842,0:00:20.111
so let me give you a couple of key facts.

0:00:20.111,0:00:21.939
The Congolese conflict

0:00:21.939,0:00:25.687
is the deadliest conflict[br]since World War II.

0:00:25.687,0:00:28.987
It has caused almost four million deaths.

0:00:28.987,0:00:33.581
It has destabilized most of central Africa[br]for the past 18 years.

0:00:33.581,0:00:38.501
It is the largest ongoing[br]humanitarian crisis in the world.

0:00:38.501,0:00:42.162
That's why I first went to Congo in 2001.

0:00:42.162,0:00:47.294
I was a young humanitarian aid worker,[br]and I met this woman who was my age.

0:00:47.294,0:00:49.768
She was called Isabelle.

0:00:50.868,0:00:54.179
Local militias[br]had attacked Isabelle's village.

0:00:54.179,0:00:57.227
They had killed many men,[br]raped many women.

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

0:00:59.224,0:01:01.847
And then they wanted to take Isabelle,

0:01:01.847,0:01:03.224
but her husband stepped in,

0:01:03.224,0:01:06.422
and he said, "No,[br]please don't take Isabelle.

0:01:06.422,0:01:09.709
Take me instead."

0:01:09.709,0:01:12.700
So he had gone to the forest[br]with the militias,

0:01:12.700,0:01:16.871
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

0:01:23.860,0:01:26.638
that we know so little about.

0:01:26.638,0:01:31.262
Although there is one story[br]about Congo that you may have heard.

0:01:31.262,0:01:35.214
It's a story about minerals and rape.

0:01:35.214,0:01:37.800
Policy statements and media reports

0:01:37.800,0:01:42.534
both usually focus on a primary cause[br]of violence in Congo

0:01:42.534,0:01:47.312
-- the illegal exploitation[br]and trafficking of natural resources --

0:01:47.312,0:01:50.049
and on the main consequence

0:01:50.049,0:01:55.243
-- sexual abuse of women and girls[br]as a weapon of war.

0:01:55.243,0:02:00.069
So, not that these two issues[br]aren't important and tragic.

0:02:00.069,0:02:03.380
They are, but today,

0:02:03.380,0:02:05.978
I want to tell you a different story.

0:02:05.978,0:02:09.596
I want to tell you a story[br]that emphasizes a core cause

0:02:09.596,0:02:12.283
of the ongoing conflict.

0:02:12.283,0:02:16.160
Violence in Congo[br]is in large part driven

0:02:16.160,0:02:19.382
by local bottom-up conflicts

0:02:19.382,0:02:24.345
that international peace efforts[br]have failed to help address.

0:02:25.325,0:02:30.568
The story starts from the fact[br]that not only is Congo notable

0:02:30.568,0:02:34.885
for being the world's worst[br]ongoing humanitarian crisis,

0:02:34.885,0:02:38.411
but it is also home[br]to some of the largest

0:02:38.411,0:02:42.572
international peacebuilding[br]efforts in the world.

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

0:02:44.685,0:02:49.530
and most expensive United Nations[br]peacekeeping mission in the world.

0:02:49.530,0:02:54.229
It was also the site of the first[br]European-led peacekeeping mission,

0:02:54.229,0:02:56.903
and for its first cases ever,

0:02:56.903,0:02:59.265
the International Criminal Court

0:02:59.265,0:03:03.511
chose to prosecute Congolese warlords.

0:03:03.511,0:03:08.670
In 2006, when Congo held[br]the first free national elections

0:03:08.670,0:03:10.045
in its history,

0:03:10.045,0:03:14.034
many observers thought[br]that an end to violence in the region

0:03:14.034,0:03:16.215
had finally come.

0:03:16.215,0:03:17.791
The international community

0:03:17.791,0:03:22.300
lauded the successful[br]organization of these elections

0:03:22.300,0:03:26.637
as finally an example[br]of successful international intervention

0:03:26.637,0:03:29.095
in a failed state.

0:03:29.095,0:03:30.853
But the eastern provinces

0:03:30.853,0:03:34.260
have continued to face[br]massive population displacements

0:03:34.260,0:03:37.833
and horrific human rights violations.

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

0:03:40.318,0:03:42.389
there was a horrible massacre

0:03:42.389,0:03:45.217
in the province of South Kivu.

0:03:45.217,0:03:47.245
Thirty-three people were killed.

0:03:47.245,0:03:49.977
They were mostly women and children,

0:03:49.977,0:03:53.166
and many of them were hacked to death.

0:03:54.116,0:03:56.069
During the past eight years,

0:03:56.069,0:04:00.007
fighting in the eastern provinces[br]has regularly reignited

0:04:00.007,0:04:03.074
full-scale civil and international war.

0:04:03.074,0:04:08.055
So basically, every time we feel[br]that we are on the brink of peace,

0:04:08.055,0:04:10.897
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

0:04:19.186,0:04:22.091
and security?

0:04:22.091,0:04:25.014
Well, my answer to this question

0:04:25.014,0:04:29.047
revolves around two central observations.

0:04:29.047,0:04:35.097
First, one of the main reasons[br]for the continuation of violence in Congo

0:04:35.097,0:04:38.005
is fundamentally local,

0:04:38.005,0:04:39.292
and when I say local,

0:04:39.292,0:04:42.823
I really mean at the level[br]of the individual, the family,

0:04:42.823,0:04:46.712
the clan, the municipality,[br]the community, the district,

0:04:46.712,0:04:49.951
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.

0:04:54.479,0:04:58.683
Well, the reason why militias[br]had attacked Isabelle's village

0:04:58.683,0:05:01.793
was because they wanted to take the land

0:05:01.793,0:05:06.508
that the villagers needed[br]to cultivate food and to survive.

0:05:06.508,0:05:11.278
The second central observation[br]is that international peace efforts

0:05:11.278,0:05:15.242
have failed to help[br]address local conflicts

0:05:15.242,0:05:20.161
because of the presence[br]of a dominant peacebuilding culture.

0:05:20.161,0:05:23.777
So what I mean is that

0:05:23.777,0:05:26.150
Western and African diplomats,

0:05:26.150,0:05:28.997
United Nations peacekeepers, donors,

0:05:28.997,0:05:31.601
the staff of most[br]nongovernmental organizations

0:05:31.601,0:05:34.437
that work with the resolution of conflict,

0:05:34.437,0:05:37.295
they all share a specific way

0:05:37.295,0:05:39.194
of seeing the world.

0:05:39.194,0:05:43.221
And I was one of these people,[br]and I shared this culture,

0:05:43.221,0:05:47.213
so I know all too well how powerful it is.

0:05:47.213,0:05:51.482
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.

0:06:04.513,0:06:07.908
It shapes our understanding[br]of the path to world peace

0:06:07.908,0:06:11.756
as something again that requires[br]top down intervention

0:06:11.756,0:06:15.879
to address national[br]and international tensions.

0:06:15.879,0:06:19.598
And it shapes our understanding[br]of the roles of foreign actors

0:06:19.598,0:06:25.159
as engaging in national[br]and international peace processes.

0:06:25.159,0:06:29.034
Even more importantly,[br]this common culture

0:06:29.034,0:06:32.144
enables international peacebuilders

0:06:32.144,0:06:35.217
to ignore the micro-level tensions

0:06:35.217,0:06:40.480
that often jeopardize[br]the macro-level settlements.

0:06:40.480,0:06:42.581
So for instance, in Congo,

0:06:42.581,0:06:46.795
because of how they are[br]socialized and trained,

0:06:46.795,0:06:49.181
United Nations officials,[br]donors, diplomats,

0:06:49.181,0:06:52.340
the staff of most[br]nongovernmental organizations,

0:06:52.340,0:06:59.350
they interpret continued fighting[br]and massacres as a top-down problem.

0:06:59.350,0:07:01.574
To them, the violence they see

0:07:01.574,0:07:06.554
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

0:07:17.978,0:07:20.279
view local conflicts

0:07:20.279,0:07:26.081
as simply the result[br]of national and international tensions,

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

0:07:28.496,0:07:31.610
and what they call[br]the Congolese people's

0:07:31.610,0:07:35.364
so-called "inherent[br]penchant for violence."

0:07:35.364,0:07:39.316
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.

0:07:49.649,0:07:51.831
And it elevates the organization

0:07:51.831,0:07:53.697
of general elections,

0:07:53.697,0:07:55.807
which is now a sort of cure-all,

0:07:55.807,0:07:59.591
as the most crucial state[br]reconstruction mechanisms

0:07:59.591,0:08:03.116
over more effective[br]state-building approaches.

0:08:03.116,0:08:04.953
And that happens not only in Congo

0:08:04.953,0:08:09.326
but also in many other conflict zones.

0:08:09.326,0:08:11.243
But let's dig deeper,

0:08:11.243,0:08:14.333
into the other main sources of violence.

0:08:15.193,0:08:17.862
In Congo, continuing violence

0:08:17.862,0:08:22.875
is motivated not only by the national[br]and international causes

0:08:22.875,0:08:27.182
but also by longstanding[br]bottom-up agendas

0:08:27.182,0:08:31.143
whose main instigators[br]are villagers, traditional chiefs,

0:08:31.143,0:08:34.141
community chiefs, or ethnic leaders.

0:08:34.141,0:08:40.116
Many conflicts revolve around political,[br]social, and economic stakes

0:08:40.116,0:08:42.944
that are distinctively local.

0:08:42.944,0:08:45.920
For instance, there is[br]a lot of competition

0:08:45.920,0:08:48.308
at the village or district level

0:08:48.308,0:08:51.894
over who can be chief of village[br]or chief of territory

0:08:51.894,0:08:54.468
according to traditional law,

0:08:54.468,0:08:57.696
and who can control[br]the distribution of land

0:08:57.696,0:09:01.215
and the exploitation[br]of local mining sites.

0:09:01.215,0:09:05.436
This competition often results[br]in localized fighting,

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

0:09:09.220,0:09:13.163
and quite frequently,[br]it escalates into generalized fighting,

0:09:13.163,0:09:15.292
so across a whole province,

0:09:15.292,0:09:18.631
and even at times[br]into neighboring countries.

0:09:18.631,0:09:20.468
Take the conflict

0:09:20.468,0:09:23.698
between Congolese of Rwandan descent

0:09:23.698,0:09:26.549
and the so-called indigenous communities

0:09:26.549,0:09:28.604
of the Kivus.

0:09:28.604,0:09:33.995
This conflict started in the 1930s[br]during Belgian colonization,

0:09:33.995,0:09:36.668
when both communities competed

0:09:36.668,0:09:39.317
over access to land and to local power.

0:09:39.317,0:09:42.727
Then, in 1960,[br]after Congolese independence,

0:09:42.727,0:09:45.932
it escalated because each camp

0:09:45.932,0:09:48.578
tried to align with national politicians

0:09:48.578,0:09:52.512
but still to address their local agendas.

0:09:52.512,0:09:56.880
And then, at the time[br]of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda,

0:09:56.880,0:10:03.059
these local actors allied[br]with Congolese and Rwandan armed groups,

0:10:03.059,0:10:08.389
but still to advance their local agendas[br]in the province of the Kivus.

0:10:08.389,0:10:14.023
And since then, these local disputes[br]over land and local power

0:10:14.023,0:10:15.743
have fueled violence,

0:10:15.743,0:10:17.989
and they have regularly jeopardized

0:10:17.989,0:10:23.542
the national and[br]international settlements.

0:10:23.542,0:10:27.347
So we can wonder why[br]in these circumstances

0:10:27.347,0:10:32.029
the international peacebuilders[br]have failed to help implement

0:10:32.029,0:10:35.407
local peacebuilding programs.

0:10:35.407,0:10:40.253
And the answer is that[br]international interveners

0:10:40.253,0:10:43.776
deem the resolution of grassroots conflict

0:10:43.776,0:10:49.010
an unimportant, unfamiliar,[br]and illegitimate task.

0:10:50.410,0:10:56.389
The very idea of becoming involved[br]at the local level clashes fundamentally

0:10:56.389,0:10:58.497
with existing cultural norms,

0:10:58.497,0:11:02.380
and it threatens[br]key organizational interests.

0:11:02.380,0:11:06.997
For instance, the very identity[br]of the United Nations

0:11:06.997,0:11:10.353
as this macro-level[br]diplomatic organization

0:11:10.353,0:11:12.601
would be upended

0:11:12.601,0:11:16.747
if it were to refocus on local conflicts.

0:11:16.747,0:11:21.486
And the result is that[br]neither the internal resistance

0:11:21.486,0:11:23.833
to the dominant ways of working

0:11:23.833,0:11:26.826
nor the external shocks

0:11:26.826,0:11:29.268
have managed to convince[br]international actors

0:11:29.268,0:11:32.148
that they should reevaluate[br]their understanding

0:11:32.148,0:11:35.560
of violence and intervention.

0:11:35.560,0:11:38.943
And so far, there have been[br]only very few exceptions.

0:11:38.943,0:11:42.796
There have been exceptions,[br]but only very few exceptions

0:11:42.796,0:11:44.944
to this broad pattern.

0:11:46.214,0:11:49.526
So to wrap up,[br]the story I just told you

0:11:49.526,0:11:54.475
is a story about how[br]a dominant peacebuilding culture

0:11:54.475,0:11:56.552
shapes the intervener's understanding

0:11:56.552,0:11:59.271
of what the causes of violence are,

0:11:59.271,0:12:00.963
how peace is made,

0:12:00.963,0:12:04.575
and what interventions should accomplish.

0:12:04.575,0:12:08.324
These understandings enable[br]international peacebuilders

0:12:08.324,0:12:11.402
to ignore the micro-level foundations

0:12:11.402,0:12:16.051
that are so necessary[br]for sustainable peace.

0:12:16.051,0:12:19.044
The resulting inattention[br]to local conflicts

0:12:19.044,0:12:23.062
leads to inadequate peacebuilding[br]in the short term

0:12:23.062,0:12:27.068
and potential war resumption[br]in the long term.

0:12:27.068,0:12:30.214
And what's fascinating[br]is that this analysis

0:12:30.214,0:12:34.224
helps us to better understand[br]many cases of lasting conflict

0:12:34.224,0:12:39.513
and international intervention failures,[br]in Africa and elsewhere.

0:12:39.513,0:12:45.074
Local conflicts fuel violence[br]in most war and post-war environments,

0:12:45.074,0:12:48.765
from Afghanistan to Sudan[br]to Timor-Leste,

0:12:48.765,0:12:52.366
and in the rare cases[br]where there have been comprehensive,

0:12:52.366,0:12:55.453
bottom-up peacebuilding initiatives,

0:12:55.453,0:13:00.947
these attempts have been successful[br]at making peace sustainable.

0:13:00.947,0:13:03.757
One of the best examples is the contrast

0:13:03.757,0:13:08.168
between the relatively peaceful[br]situation in Somaliland,

0:13:08.168,0:13:13.378
which benefited from sustained[br]grassroots peacebuilding initiatives,

0:13:13.378,0:13:17.586
and the violence prevalent[br]in the rest of Somalia,

0:13:17.586,0:13:20.945
where peacebuilding[br]has been mostly top-down.

0:13:20.945,0:13:23.246
And there are several other cases

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

0:13:26.961,0:13:29.980
has made a crucial difference.

0:13:29.980,0:13:34.052
So if we want international[br]peacebuilding to work,

0:13:34.052,0:13:37.874
in addition to any top-down intervention,

0:13:37.874,0:13:41.545
conflicts must be resolved[br]from the bottom up.

0:13:41.545,0:13:46.197
And again, it's not that national[br]and international tensions don't matter.

0:13:46.197,0:13:47.923
They do.

0:13:47.923,0:13:51.155
And it's not that national[br]and international peacebuilding

0:13:51.155,0:13:52.617
isn't necessary.

0:13:52.617,0:13:54.000
It is.

0:13:54.000,0:14:01.255
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,

0:14:03.972,0:14:06.113
and local nongovernmental organizations,

0:14:06.113,0:14:08.912
local authorities,[br]and civil society representatives

0:14:08.912,0:14:11.172
should be the main actors

0:14:11.172,0:14:13.696
in the bottom-up process.

0:14:13.696,0:14:16.131
So of course, there are obstacles.

0:14:16.131,0:14:18.786
Local actors often lack the funding

0:14:18.786,0:14:22.323
and sometimes the logistical means[br]and the technical capacity

0:14:22.323,0:14:26.857
to implement effective,[br]local peacebuilding programs.

0:14:26.857,0:14:31.913
So international actors[br]should expand their funding and support

0:14:31.913,0:14:35.700
for local conflict resolution.

0:14:35.700,0:14:39.056
As for Congo, what can be done?

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

0:14:40.890,0:14:42.763
and the deaths of millions,

0:14:42.763,0:14:45.815
it's clear that we need[br]to change our approach.

0:14:46.545,0:14:49.853
Based on my field research,[br]I believe that international

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

0:14:51.733,0:14:55.159
should pay more attention[br]to the resolution of land conflict

0:14:55.159,0:14:59.679
and the promotion[br]of inter-community reconciliation.

0:14:59.679,0:15:02.321
So for instance,[br]in the province of the Kivus,

0:15:02.321,0:15:05.589
the Life & Peace Institute[br]and its Congolese partners

0:15:05.589,0:15:08.684
have set up inter-community forums

0:15:08.684,0:15:13.036
to discuss the specifics[br]of local conflicts over land,

0:15:13.036,0:15:15.711
and these forums have found solutions

0:15:15.711,0:15:17.861
to help manage the violence.

0:15:18.671,0:15:22.290
That's the kind of program[br]that is sorely needed

0:15:22.290,0:15:25.097
throughout eastern Congo.

0:15:25.097,0:15:26.975
It's with programs like this

0:15:26.975,0:15:31.925
that we can help people[br]like Isabelle and her husband.

0:15:31.925,0:15:34.448
So these will not be magic wands,

0:15:34.448,0:15:40.116
but because they take into account[br]deeply rooted causes of the violence,

0:15:40.116,0:15:42.950
they could definitely be game-changers.

0:15:42.950,0:15:45.504
Thank you.

0:15:45.504,0:15:48.736
(Applause)