Per la Pau / Peace in Progress

The voices of silences and the cries of powerlessness in a changing international system

When I was thinking about the presentation of the publication of the Barcelona Declaration on the Human Right to Peace (http://www.gencat.cat/icip/pdf/DeclaracioICIP_010610_.pdf) in five languages, I emphasised the increasingly central role in society and the international system of individuals and therefore of the private organisations that individuals create, some of which are linked to civil society and others to the world of business and enterprise.

Venance Konan, writer and journalist, Côte d'Ivoire

Venance Konan is the most widely-read writer in Côte d'Ivoire. His novels – the latest of which is entitled Les Catapilas, ces ingrats– examine the most polarising debate in the country: the one concerning identity. The definition of who is and who is not Ivorian has been at the heart of the conflicts in the Côte d'Ivoire over the last decade, which in practice have left the country split into two halves. Konan, a collaborator with publications including Afrique Magazine, is sceptical about the usefulness of the presidential elections in solving the endemic problems of Côte d'Ivoire. The interview with the writer took place recently in Abidjan, the country's economic capital, during the seminar “Conditions pour la consolidation de la paix en Côte d’Ivoire”, organised by the ICIP.

Côte d'Ivoire and an end to the crisis: elections with a doubly uncertain result

Peace, conflicts and security in Africa: Afropessimism in decline?

Les catapilas, ces ingrats

Venance Konan. Les catapilas, ces ingrats. París: Jean Picollec, 2009.

Les Catapilas, ces ingrats is the latest novel by the most popular writer in Côte d'Ivoire. Venance Konan uses fiction to review the recent history of Cote d'Ivoire, including coup attempts, the crisis of 1999 and the armed rebellion of 2002, while focusing on what he considers to be the key question in Ivorian politics: identity and the rejection of foreigners.

Peacebuilding

Elisabeth Porter. Peacebuilding. Women in Internacional Relations. Nova York: Routledge, 2007.

The author argues that the construction of peace can be seen in a broader sense than the way in which it is usually framed at the United Nations. With this book, she aims to highlight some key ideas and practices in the construction of peace, considered in its broadest sense as a range of formal and informal processes that occur during pre-conflict, conflict and post-conflict situations.