Third party best suited to resolve the conflict mapped in Voinjama, Liberia

What kind of third party do you think would be best suited to resolve the conflict you have mapped in Voinjama, Liberia? Do you think the organizations we used in our in-class exercise were the best? Why was one better than the others? Can you think of some other organizations or individuals who likely could have been more effective in managing or resolving the conflict?

Third party best suited to resolve the conflict mapped in Voinjama, Liberia

Issues of conflict have grown into components of intervention as well as program planning for other groups such as government donors, NGOs, and humanitarian organizations. QUEST was the most prominent non-governmental organization used in resolving conflicts and building peace in the world.it was found in 1985, its main aim was to seek the right ways to form conflict transformation all over the world.  It accomplishes its objectives via media, theater, and mediation as well as facilitation, etc.  It has offered job opportunities to more than five hundred individuals in Africa, Asia, Middle East Europe and North American countries. In Liberia, it started to work in 1997 and proceeded to give programs through conflicts and relative peace programs. Liberia reveals some aspects of religion in making it a potential source of conflict. Lofa County has both the Loma people most of whom are Christians and the Mandingo, who are Muslims. QUEST Liberia is key in the identification of issues that were hard and the emerged controversial issues through its media tools and then facilitated to dialogues in the community and helped the societies to devise solutions that were constructive with the main aim being minimizing tensions. The main aim of its activities was to build peace in Vionjama through a foundation that was strong in the engagement of community level and the mass media of the local efforts. This program aimed at four thematic areas that were its priorities; being transparent and accountable, engaging youths in the program, leadership, and ethnicity. Its entire program in media addressed these themes thus making the final results strong.

Organization use

The in-class method adopted a long session with organizations taking part in a the sessions but also taking breaks in making analysis and making the presentations. The instructor may give materials in the intervention session to all groups and request them to look at it together or else he/she may choose to give each student in the group the materials.  In a short session of like 50 minutes, it is recommended that every student is given his materials in advance of the activity. In addition if the group has over five students, it’s also recommended that each student should get his/her own materials. This activity also needs a spacious room in which the groups will spread out. However, it will help in preventing the groups from hearing the discussions from other groups.

Other organizations or individuals in managing or resolving the conflict

The international service corps (ISC) is another agency that the European Union and the US developed for resolving conflicts. Its mission was to assist in promoting a good understanding in globalized world citizens by giving assistance to developing countries. Over two hundred thousand ISC have been sent to volunteer to host nations across the world to this end. Currently, over nine thousand ISC workers have volunteered to work in the field in giving help on various projects. To be an ISC volunteer one was supposed to have pursued an undergraduate degree. This agency has served Liberia since 2008, after the end of both civil wars. In Liberia currently, only 20 ISC workers have volunteered. The programs that are opening in Liberia today are; education and prevention of HIV/AIDS.

Lofa County Interfaith League was introduced by religious leaders after the period of conflict. Its mission was to grassroots the initiatives of interfaith in Lofa County communities. The leaders and members of this agency worked as volunteers where they didn’t get income or resources from outside. They only depend on time donations, effort, and members resources. It hosted dialogues on faith matters, pressed local issues, worked to foster denominations partnership and implemented projects of education and development. Through their combined efforts, they hoped to increase solidarity and peace among citizens with different faith groups, make an improvement in the quality of life and promote resolutions that are peaceful on the tension that may happen in the community.

To promote peace, security and unity of the nation after the conflict, the Liberian truth and reconciliation commission (TRC) was created. It is mandated to monitor and take actions that are related to human rights violation and to facilitate and make implementation on other TRC recommendations. It was responsible for doing the task that is difficult in reconciling after the conflict. In the human right areas, it would investigate the human rights that were reported and referred these reports to appropriate judicial channels.

REFERENCES

Undergraduate Experiential Learning Project | The School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://scar.gmu.edu/experientiallearningproject/home