Concordis International

Concordis International is a United Kingdom-based non-profit organization working alongside official peace processes and local partners in countries affected by violent conflict, political division, displacement, and competition over land and natural resources. Its stated purpose is to improve the prospects of lasting peace rather than to replace formal negotiations or government institutions. The organization is registered with the UK Charity Commission under number 1105697 and is headquartered in London, with country offices reported in the Central African Republic and Nouakchott, Mauritania. The organization’s historical roots lie in peace-building activity associated with the Newick Park Initiative in South Africa between 1986 and 1991 and with work in post-genocide Rwanda from 1994 to 1997. Its later international development included engagement in Sudan and South Sudan, initially under the name Relationships Foundation International, from 1999 onward. Over time, Concordis developed a substantial focus on the Sahel and on disputes involving pastoral migration, land access, community relations, and the management of shared resources. Mauritania became one of Concordis’s principal long-term areas of work. In partnership with the Mauritanian civil-society umbrella organization FONADH, it has supported dialogue between communities in the Senegal River Valley where land-related disputes intersect with social divisions and climate-related pressures. Activities have included training local mediators, strengthening civil-society organizations, convening policy workshops, supporting agricultural cooperatives, with particular attention to women’s cooperatives, and encouraging sustainable management of socioeconomic activities. During the 2015–2017 program phase, the organization used cartography to document disputed land and the interests of different community groups. Concordis’s Sudan and South Sudan work has included informal dialogue across the north–south divide, consultations on Darfur’s land, political, cultural, and economic marginalization, support for safe return and reintegration of displaced people, and cooperation with religious leaders on reconciliation. It also worked in the Abyei Administrative Area from 2014, seeking to reduce hostility between transhumant herders and settled farming communities. A 2016 meeting involving more than 700 delegates resulted in the creation of a 20-member Joint Community Peace Committee. In 2015, Concordis was involved in the transfer and family reunification of four Ngok Dinka children who had been abducted during violence in Abyei. Other programs have addressed pastoralist and community tensions in the Central African Republic, post-electoral reconciliation and social dialogue in Côte d’Ivoire, and land-policy dialogue in Kenya. Concordis has also undertaken research, consultations, and partnership work concerning Afghanistan and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Its approach emphasizes impartial facilitation, justice and reconciliation, sustained engagement, and the participation of people directly affected by conflict. Gender awareness is integrated into its programming, including recognition of women’s roles in peace-building and support for women’s economic and community initiatives. Concordis is not a conventional consumer brand. Its identity is that of an international peace-building organization offering research, conflict analysis, facilitated dialogue, mediation support, partnership development, and resilience-building programs. Its work is generally delivered through local civil-society organizations, community representatives, policymakers, religious leaders, and other participants connected to formal or informal peace processes.

Concordis International developed from a tradition of practical peace-building and dialogue work rather than from a commercial enterprise. Its historical roots are associated with the Newick Park Initiative’s work in South Africa from 1986 to 1991 and with peace-building activity in Rwanda after the 1994 genocide, continuing through 1997. The organization later operated in Sudan and South Sudan under the name Relationships Foundation International, with engagement reported from 1999 onward, before becoming associated with the Concordis International name. The organization’s work has consistently focused on conflicts where formal political agreements are insufficient to restore everyday cooperation. Its methodology combines three connected elements: conflict analysis, facilitated dialogue, and resilience-building. Conflict analysis is used to identify the interests, grievances, relationships, and risks that should shape a project. Dialogue brings together people from different sides and levels of a conflict, including community representatives, civil-society actors, policymakers, religious leaders, and parties affected by violence. Resilience activities seek to preserve constructive relationships and local capacity after an intervention ends. Sudan and South Sudan became a major area of engagement. Concordis supported informal contact between northern and southern Sudanese representatives and worked with local partners on issues affecting relations across the eventual international border. Its two-year Sudanese Peace-Building Initiative ran from January 2009 to December 2010 and emphasized secure, cooperative, and economically viable cross-border relationships. Earlier work in Darfur, beginning soon after the conflict emerged in 2003, included consultations in 2004 and 2005 on land tenure, marginalization, the return of displaced people, and reintegration. After the 2006 Darfur Peace Accord, Concordis worked with Darfurian figures, the African Union, and other actors on unity as a basis for a durable settlement. It also partnered with the Sudan Inter-Religious Council to strengthen cooperation among religious leaders involved in reconciliation. From 2014, Concordis worked in Abyei, a contested area between Sudan and South Sudan. The program addressed hostility between nomadic or transhumant herders and settled farming communities, while also exploring cooperative development. A major community meeting in February 2016 brought together more than 700 delegates and led to a 20-member Joint Community Peace Committee. In April 2015, Concordis helped facilitate the transfer of four abducted children into its custody during an exchange involving eight prisoners held by UNISFA. The children were later returned to their families. Mauritania became a central long-term program location. Working with FONADH from April 2013, Concordis has addressed land-related disputes between communities in the Senegal River Valley. Its activities have included mediator training, civil-society capacity building, policy workshops, agricultural-cooperative support, and initiatives involving women’s cooperatives. During the 2015–2017 phase, the organization used mapping and cartography to record disputed land and community interests so that those concerns could be communicated to institutions able to develop solutions. The program also connected land conflict with climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods. In Kenya, Concordis worked with policy and community stakeholders on dialogue related to land reform and the implementation of a new land policy. In Côte d'Ivoire, it was asked in 2012 to help the country’s Dialogue, Truth and Reconciliation Commission engage diaspora communities in London, Paris, and New York. A subsequent program worked with the Ivorian civil-society umbrella group CSCI, its member organizations, and TearFund in regions including Korhogo, Duékoué, Bondoukou, and Bouaké. In the Central African Republic, Concordis began a three-year program in 2018 in Ouham-Pendé, an area connected to transhumance routes between Cameroon, Chad, and the Central African Republic. The program addressed tensions caused by pastoral migration as well as disputes within and between communities. The organization has also carried out research and consultation concerning Afghanistan, including work linked to the Pathways to Peace project, and has advised or convened discussions concerning Israeli-Palestinian peace issues, including water access and the role of churches. Across its programs, Concordis describes its role as consciously impartial rather than politically detached from the goals of justice and reconciliation. It seeks sustained engagement, local partnership, and greater participation by groups often underrepresented in peace processes. Gender awareness is a recurring feature, with women recognized as important peace-builders and included in specific program activities. The organization has cooperated with development, humanitarian, peace-building, academic, and civil-society networks in the United Kingdom and in its countries of operation.

• 2018

  Central African Republic program begins

  [1]Concordis Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Concordis launched a three-year program in Ouham-Pendé addressing pastoral-migration and community tensions.

• 2016

  Abyei Joint Community Peace Committee formed

  [1]Concordis Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  A large community meeting resulted in the creation of a 20-member Joint Community Peace Committee.

• 2014

  Abyei program begins

  [1]Concordis Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The organization began active peace-building work in the Abyei Administrative Area.

• 2013

  Mauritania partnership begins

  [1]Concordis Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Concordis began working with FONADH on land-related tensions and community dialogue in the Senegal River Valley.

• 2012

  Côte d'Ivoire diaspora dialogue

  [1]Concordis Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The Ivorian Dialogue, Truth and Reconciliation Commission sought Concordis’s assistance in engaging diaspora communities in the peace process.

• 2009

  Sudanese Peace-Building Initiative starts

  [1]Concordis Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  A two-year initiative began to promote dialogue and practical cooperation across Sudan’s north–south border.

• 2003

  Darfur work begins

  [1]Concordis Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Concordis began work connected with the Darfur conflict and subsequently organized consultations on land, marginalization, and displacement.

• 1999

  Sudan and South Sudan engagement begins

  [1]Concordis Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The organization began sustained work in Sudan and South Sudan, initially as Relationships Foundation International.

• 1994

  Post-genocide Rwanda engagement

  [1]Concordis Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Peace-building activity connected with the organization took place in Rwanda following the 1994 genocide.

• 1986

  Newick Park Initiative roots

  [1]Concordis Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The organization’s historical peace-building roots include work associated with the Newick Park Initiative in South Africa.

An impartial, research-informed peace-building partner that works with official processes and local communities to address the causes and consequences of conflict, facilitate dialogue across social divisions, and strengthen the conditions for durable peace.

• Peace-building service

  Conflict analysis

  Research and analysis used to understand the causes, consequences, stakeholders, and dynamics of violent conflict. Concordis uses this work to design projects and provide participants with a shared evidence base for dialogue and negotiation.

• Peace-building service

  Facilitated dialogue

  Structured meetings that bring together people from opposing or affected communities and different levels of society. The aim is to build trust, identify shared interests, support consensus, and improve the climate for formal and informal peace processes.

• Community development service

  Community resilience programs

  Long-term initiatives designed to help communities maintain peaceful relationships after direct intervention. Activities may include mediator training, support for local institutions, cooperative development, sustainable livelihoods, and mechanisms for addressing recurring land or resource disputes.

• 2018Ouham-Pendé peace-building program

  Central African Republic

  A three-year program focused on tensions related to pastoral migration along regional transhumance corridors and tensions within and between communities.

  Outcome. The available reference identifies the program and its funding support but does not provide a final evaluation.

  Source
• 2014Abyei coexistence and cooperation program

  Sudan · South Sudan

  The program addressed hostility between transhumant herders and settled farmers and promoted peaceful coexistence and cooperative development.

  Outcome. A 2016 community meeting produced a Joint Community Peace Committee representing the two communities.

  Source
• 2013Senegal River Valley land dialogue

  Mauritania

  Working with FONADH, Concordis trained local mediators, strengthened civil-society capacity, supported policy dialogue, and assisted agricultural cooperatives in addressing land disputes.

  Outcome. A later mapping exercise documented disputed land and community interests for use by agencies with authority to develop solutions.

  Source
• 2012Ivorian diaspora engagement

  Côte d'Ivoire · United Kingdom · France · United States

  Concordis supported the Ivorian Dialogue, Truth and Reconciliation Commission in engaging diaspora communities in London, Paris, and New York.

  Outcome. The work led to a further program with CSCI, its civil-society members, and TearFund in several Ivorian regions.

  Source
• 2009Sudanese Peace-Building Initiative

  Sudan · South Sudan

  A two-year program supported informal dialogue and cross-border cooperation with Sudanese partners.

  Outcome. The program increasingly focused on secure and economically viable relations across the north–south border.

  Source
• 2004Darfur consultations

  Sudan

  Concordis convened inclusive consultations on land use and tenure, regional marginalization, and the safe return and integration of displaced people in Darfur.

  Outcome. The consultations informed subsequent peace-building and reconciliation work, although no single quantified outcome is specified.

  Source

• 2018

  Prioritize pastoral-migration conflict in the Central African RepublicStrategy

  Background

  Ouham-Pendé lies along important transhumance corridors linking the Central African Republic with Cameroon and Chad.

  Action taken

  Concordis began a three-year program addressing tensions linked to pastoral migration and disputes within and between local communities.

  Aftermath

  The program was supported by the EU Bêkou Trust and the United Kingdom government; a final outcome is not specified in the available material.

  Source

• 2015

  Use cartography in Mauritania land-conflict programmingStrategy

  Background

  Land disputes in the Senegal River Valley involved competing community needs and interests.

  Action taken

  During the 2015–2017 program phase, Concordis mapped disputed land and summarized the interests of affected groups.

  Aftermath

  The resulting report was used to communicate community needs to agencies with the power to deliver solutions.

  Source

1. 1Concordis Internationalen.wikipedia.org