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News from the Field: Starting anew in Guinea-Bissau: Rebuilding hope through action-research and dialogue

Guinea-Bissau seems to be forgotten by time; of the US$ 262 million Development Aid pledged at the November 2006 Round- Table Conference only a small proportion has been disbursed to date. Reasons are many: perceptions of political instability keep donors and investors at bay. Not the Democracy Fund though, who decided to fund the Interpeace peacebuilding programme "Voz de Paz / Voice of Peace". The programme, initiated at the invitation of the UN Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS) is planned to last for an initial period of 2 years, and is fully implemented with a national partner, the National Institute of Studies and Research (INEP). Recurrent internal political tensions and the war of 1998-1999 left deep scars, not only on the infrastructure of the capital Bissau. Economic development, national reconciliation and rule of law are expected by most citizens. But with salaries of civil servants - including teachers and doctors - in constant arrears, hope and optimism seem to be in short supply.

The ambition of the Bissau-Guinean research team of the Voz de Paz programme is, in the words of Faustino Fudut Imbali, former Prime Minister and currently Deputy Director of the programme, "to deliver results daily". Using research to provide tangible contributions to peacebuilding remains a challenge though. The first themes which the INEP team plans to address during the UNDEF grant are: electoral law reform, security sector reform dialogue and implementation, and the national reconciliation process. The strategy of the programme consists in building inclusive networks of partnership, to ensure constant dialogue and research on past and present sources of democratic instability. At the core of the strategy lie basic values such as respect for local values and visions, open dialogue and strong accountability for "elected" leaders.

While the research team is busy working in support of national reconciliation initiatives linked to the National Popular Assembly (ANP), the backbone of the programme will be its network of regional "antennae", developed since April 2007. The concept has its roots in the local Bissau-Guinean traditional culture and in Interpeace's operational experience in Rwanda and Macedonia. Representatives of the country's regions are convened regularly to examine issues of concern to their communities, perceptions of national sources of instability, identify and propose solutions, and generally provide a communication and emotional bridge between the capital and the countryside. "There has been real enthusiasm during the consultations (…). Expectations of being listened, respected and taken into consideration run high amongst community representatives", says Mr. Fudut Imbali.

Apart from the constant engagement of all sectors of the society in its dialogue-research activities and regular mass-media campaigns, the team proposes to use a specific method for harvesting "low-hanging fruits". Fafali Flavien Koudawo, Rector of the University Colinas de Boé and Research Director of the programme explains how: "All actors know what the divisive issues are. They are all in a (tacit) consensus that those are the issues. Yet there is nobody there to discretely invite them to discuss (the issues) together. There is nobody to encourage them to address the root causes once and for all. What is needed also is knowledge that is trusted and presented in a way that can be assimilated by all. And finally there is a need for a facilitator: a facilitator of consensus and somebody to "push" them to agreement".

The quick disbursement of the UNDEF grant in February 2007 made a huge difference in assembling a good programme team and getting the basic infrastructure of the programme up and running, including the hiring of local representatives and of a thematic expert who will ensure coordination with another programme run by INEP on traditional conflict resolution practices. Importantly, the UNDEF grant also allows the programme team to seize the opportunity of a period of relative political calm to initiate delicate consultations on issues such as the strategy for the modernization and restructuring of the defence and security sector. It is hoped that in the medium-term the systematic engagement of political actors in this social dialogue and "action-research" process will increase their buy-in and responsibility for the programme's findings and recommendations: assessments of root causes of past violence and possible triggers of future instability, social and policy solutions to the country's chronic political instability. The programme's primary stakeholders (state authorities, civil society) underline that without a long-term and serious process of examination of the country's past and its current potential for peacebuilding and democratization, the vicious circle of weak economic performance and weak institutions will not be overcome.

Yet nobody is naïve to believe that the programme alone will bring peace to Guinea-Bissau. Narco-trafficking networks backed by Latin American dealers threaten the very sovereignty of the state, the rule of law and the functioning of the public administration, already weakened by decades of instability and sluggish economic performance. There is a long way to go for the Bissau-Guineans in their quest for a new start. The INEP- Interpeace programme aims to keep that hope alive.

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