Flashpoint Mangement: Capacities for Crisis Response in 'Interface Areas'

Recent events have shown the difficulty of dealing with interfaces or flashpoints, such as in North Belfast. Questions have arisen around whether permanent mechanism can be established to deal with these flashpoint?

Will such mechanisms contain or minimise violence? LILP sought to provide space to consider these questions, through a visit by three international practitioners who have been involved in these types of initiatives in their own countries. The visit consisted of a one-day conference on 22 January 2002, followed by a series of individuals meetings with interested parties.

The international participants were:

• Larainne Kaplan, former coordinator of Peace Monitoring Network (South Africa)
• Sahr Gborie, Conciliation Resources (Sierra Leone)
• Hon. Akin Akinteye, Director, Visions of Peace and Civic Education, South West Coordinator of Conflict Resolution Stakeholders Network (Nigeria)

Participants considered issues such as the nature of violence on the interface, the role of statutory bodies on the interface, community development on the interface and peace and reconciliation on the interface.

For a full summary please see the 'Flashpoint Management' Conference Report.