Whether in Sudan, East Congo, Timor-Leste or Columbia, civil wars and similar conflicts are smouldering in many of the world’s crisis zones, leaving in their wake highly traumatised societies and fragile states – for the most part unheeded by the rest of the world. In other countries, conflicts over resources and other contentious issues are coming to a head, increasing the threat of violence and war.
Groups with economic, religious or political motivations use violence to advance their interests. The ultimate victims are invariably those people who are already exposed to severe poverty, who end up caught between the fronts or forced to join in the fighting. The Civil Peace Service (CPS) works to resolve conflicts constructively and without recourse to violence – this work is largely of a preventative nature and involves the deployment of specially trained CPS workers to crisis regions. Our development workers assist local partner organisations that work to prevent violence and to help communities come to terms with past violence.