Our Programmes

Peace and development are interdependent and indivisible. Throughout the world, intellectual and spiritual energies are dedicated to ending conflicts, suffering, and the devastation of war, which no nation is immune to. The first decade of the 21st century was the bloodiest in Africa, with many lives lost in violent conflicts, both internal and external. The value of goods destroyed and resources consumed in wars and preparations for war far exceeds any other area of activity in modern history.

At this point in time, conflicts, wars, and their consequences constitute the fundamental challenge to Africa and its people, as well as the world at large. Neglecting to seek new and effective approaches and solutions to the pervasive problems of wars and conflicts is to condemn African peoples to a perpetual life in wars that can only be endured, not solved.

Peace is not merely the absence of war and hatred (negative peace/cold war) but also the presence of cooperation, compassion, and worldwide justice (positive peace/hot peace). Although ‘peace’ is the usual translation, it is an incomplete one. The Hebrew word ‘shalom,’ which is also cognate with the Arabic ‘salaam,’ has multiple meanings in addition to peace, including justice, good health, safety, well-being, prosperity, equity, security, good fortune, and friendliness. At a personal level, peaceful behaviours are kind, considerate, respectful, just, and tolerant of others’ beliefs and behaviours, tending to manifest goodwill.

Peace is a vastly greater concept than the lack of war, violence, poverty, and inner turmoil. Peace is the combination of bodily peace, family peace, local peace, national peace, inner peace, and world peace. Accordingly, true peace must begin with food, water, nutrition, and healthcare for both rich and poor alike. Next, peace training starts with the family and in our education systems. Peace needs to surround us in the form of local safety and security, best achieved through communication and negotiation with neighbours to attain mutual trust and respect for one another. Governments and state leaders can assist in the peace process by creating and encouraging/enforcing moral and ethical standards, thus promoting justice, liberty, freedom, ethnic and religious tolerance, and constructive relations with all nations.

Conflict Transformation strategies refer to outcomes -, process – and structure-oriented long-term peace building effects. It aims to overcome the revealed forms of of direct, cultural and structural violence completely. Conflict Transformation not only moves beyond the aims of both Conflict Settlement and Conflict Resolution approaches, but also takes up many ideas of Conflict Resolution. Conflict Prevention refers to “not merely the conditions that create the environment of conflict and structural changes required to remove it, but more importantly, the promotion of conditions that create cooperative relationships.

The Conflict Resolution approach lacks the focus on dialogues and cooperation between actors of unequal status, the need to fulfill basic needs give rise to deep-rooted violence and hatred in the first instance.

The transformation approach intentionally keeps “the aftermath” of the conflict in focus, conflict resolution has the inclination to concentrate only upon the immediate and short-term. Conflict Resolution sees conflict as a phenomenon that is bad and as something that needs to be ended. The transformation approach asks that we recognize conflict and use it in a positive way that is to our advantage (Reimann, 2004; Mitchell, 2002 ; Spangler, 2003).

Radicalization and violent extremism are not new to Africa, but have evolved over the last two decades in more significant ways. This is not just a reflection of jihadist groups’ recent inventiveness and adaptation, but the culmination of longer-term historical and global trends. It has continued to spread building both on economic decline, moral populism, international connectedness and classic vulnerabilities of the state. Indeed, it is among these variables that the deeper and enduring sources of violent extremism and its solutions can be located.

There are vast regions of Africa where regular state administration has been suspended or violently challenged, sometimes for long periods. Many parts of the continent continue to be attractive to international and local jihadist groups, which could become parasitic on local armed conflicts, seizing upon ideological dimensions to local grievances. As much as there has been an internal fertile ground for radicalization, the ideological roots and financial backing of violent extremist groups lie outside the region. To the extent that any policy on radicalization and violent extremism has meant that such problems are overlooked, it is unlikely to achieve its goals and there is a need for a more sophisticated and nuanced approach (UNDP Journey to Extremism in Africa Report, 2017). The 2015 United Nations Plan of Action on Preventing Violent Extremism urges the global community of states to pay closer attention to the root causes and drivers of violent extremism, after decades of overconcentration on militarized approaches.

Just as violent extremism profoundly impacts the attainment of development goals, so the search for solutions must also place development approaches at its centre. Still, the evidence base concerning the causes, consequences and trajectories informing violent extremism – and what works in preventing it – remains weak globally. This is particularly true in Africa when compared to other regions.

The UNDP Africa Journey to Extremism study represents a unique contribution towards creating precisely such an evidence base concerning the drivers and incentives.

AREPEB and other partners will have collective focus and efforts to stem and transform violent extremism in Tanzania, towards sustainable development and peace.

Capacity building and institutional development are key to human capital formation, mobilization, absorption and efficient use of resources, monitoring, validation of externally supported change and translation of policies and plans into practice.

However, one of the most recognized fundamental weaknesses of civil society in Tanzania today, AREPEB being one of them, is the lack of appropriate and effective governance and management capacity to respond adequately to the diverse problems and challenges of development. For majority of the civil society organizations, their governance and management systems remain either underdeveloped or inappropriate for engaging in adequate analysis and response to the changing political, social and economic environment.

Thus, to achieve this goal, two strategic objectives have been developed, namely “Governance and Institutional Capacity Building” and “Documentation and Information Systems Development.”

The ability to mobilize resources is a valuable skill for advocacy networks. Access to financial resources expands the options available to the advocacy network and gives members the freedom to try new, creative, or even higher-risk activities than would be possible with limited funds. But no matter how much an advocacy campaign benefits from financial resources, it is entirely possible to launch a successful campaign with the resources and energy of network members alone.

James Waller and Many Other Scholars has mentioned “Confronting Evil by Engaging Our Responsibility to Prevent Genocide James Waller has mentioned clear that we can stop wars, crime against peace,crime against humanity,genocide and mass atrocities once we value the humanity and preventing risk factors for violent or genocide conflict looking on Governance, Conflict History, Economic Condition, and Social Fragmentation. We don’t need Wars. We need Peace and Justice to all.”