By Andrew Mayende
Despite their experience through the tough times orchestrated by displacement plus their interest in resolving conflicts in their home countries, refugees have not been fully engaged in peace building and conflict resolution processes. Their voice has not been given a priority as far as finding lasting solutions is concerned.
This lack of refugee involvement has been occasioned by a number of reasons. First, on many occasions, some stakeholders come to the negotiating table with hard line stances. This makes it hard for them to accommodate any other ideas that may welcome refugees to the negotiating table to make their contribution.
Secondly, political interference from senior political players in the affected country bars refugees from taking part in a way that they feel entitled everything. Thirdly, the stakeholders may have secret personal interests hence would not want any opinions from refugees towards equitable distribution of resources. Fourthly, some technocrats decide to lock refugees out due to an assumption that they lack technical know-how on in the peace building process.
However, there are several opportunities from which well-intentioned governments and organizations can tap the potential contribution of refugees as key stakeholders in peace building processes. They include developing participatory mechanisms to ensure the inclusion of a specified country’s refugees in peace talks, sharpening refugees mediation skills with an intention to channel their knowledge and interests into concrete peace talks and strengthening their technical capabilities to enable them to contribute more effectively towards social and economic recovery of their home countries.
Peace building process, as delicate as it may be, can be strengthened by engaging refugees in peace talks through two strategic ways. Firstly, refugees can be engaged towards contributing to the development of peace agreements that comprehensively address the causes of conflicts, consequences of civil strife and way forward. Secondly, they can be called upon to assist in the implementation of peace accords in their respective countries.
According to UNHCR https://www.unhcr.org/africa.html Sub-Saharan Africa plays host to more than 26% of the world’s refugees. The refugees, sadly, spend more than five years in forced exile. This valuable time can be positively used to foster knowledge, attitudes and skills that are critical to peace building and eventual stability and nation building in their countries.
Lack of educational and training opportunities during this period can be very stressing and detrimental. Therefore, formal education and vocational training to refugees are critical elements in ensuring that the home countries have a future educated population. The involvement too of refugees in conceptualizing and executing humanitarian aid programmes helps to sharpen community organizational skills. When refugees finally return home, these important skills come in handy in the support of reconciliation processes.
Constructive use of time while in prolonged exile underscores the fact that returning refugees will be better equipped academically, technically and socially to rebuild their economy, reconcile with estranged warring neighbours and also to ably mediate conflicts during the fragile process of recovery and reintegration.
Finally, as the international community grapples with possible options geared towards building lasting peace, refugees should be given full recognition as key stakeholders who can play a determining role in peace building.
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