Speech

Remarks by Cheryl Anderson (Mission Director) at the Regional Women’s Peacebuilding Conference and Peace 2 Launch

Garissa, Kenya  | Friday, August 15, 2008

Good Afternoon.  It’s wonderful to be here in Garissa, Kenya.  Last October, I, along with Ambassador Michael E. Ranneberger, and colleagues Josphat Wachira, Paul McDermott and Walter Knaussenberger attended (perhaps with some of you) the concluding conference to our 4 year “Peace in East and Central Africa (PEACE)” project, also known as PEACE 1. Today, I am honored and delighted again to be invited by RCMG Office, Pact and partners to help launch PEACE 2, the successor project to PEACE 1. I’m especially honored to share the stage today with my colleagues, Erna Kerst, the Mission Director for USAID/Kenya and Glenn Anders, the Mission Director for USAID/Ethiopia along with other colleagues from Embassy Kenya and the various Missions who are working to support this important project. 

After an election year fraught with post-poll violence and disunity, it’s important to recognize the achievements of the Kenyan people to end the violence and to begin to explore how to address the root causes of conflicts triggered by those elections.   USAID/EA has since 1998 supported various activities to manage these conflicts: I mentioned PEACE 1; many of you are also familiar with IGAD’s Conflict Early Warning and Early Response mechanism that USAID/East Africa and the German government (thru GTZ) has supported since its inception in 2002 and continues to support. USAID in the past also invested in CEWARN’s assessment of gaps in early warning and plans to help them procure and disseminate appropriate communication equipment to fill-in critical communication gaps experienced by peace committees throughout the region.  Our bi-lateral missions- USAID/Kenya and USAID/Ethiopia both have conflict mitigation programs in their respective countries that complement the USAID/East Africa programs and partnerships.  USAID/East Africa is responsible for both RCMG’s cross-border mitigation initiatives and for the USAID Somalia program, which is also heavily focused on conflict mitigation and strengthening the transition to peace.

The primary goal of PEACE 2 is to support communities and community based organizations to respond to conflicts by strengthening the linkages between those communities and the wider civil society and government at local and regional levels in nearby border areas.  Your commitment to peacebuilding that we have seen from so many cross-border peace committees in the past several years, has laid a significant foundation on which this new program (PEACE 2) can build. The creation of peace committees that have a vision and hold the confidence of communities locked in cycles of conflict over natural resources will continue to require your commitment and hard work as leaders (as citizens, men and women, of East Africa) to sustain the process of peace building.

Today with us we have government representatives from Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia which is a testament to the commitment of all three countries to address the violence which has plagued these border regions for decades.  Many of the members of the civil society here today have also played a crucial and imperative role in increasing cross-border stability.   Over the past few years there has been an improving dialogue between the civil society and the government which has aided efforts to mitigate and reduce conflict in the region.  In particular USAID/EA has noted with great appreciation the coordination and partnership between PEACE II and IGAD/CEWARN programs. We hope and expect such coordination and partnerships  to continue.  You have a wonderful saying in Kiswahili which precisely captures the idea we’re promoting here – Kulea mimba si kazi. Kazi ni kulea mwana The hard work is not the pregnancy, rather it is in raising the child. Your elders struggled tirelessly to deliver peace to the border regions of Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. Now the responsibility is increasingly on you to nurture it.

USAID is also pleased to see that the role of women in peace building is being focused on during this regional gathering.  Women play a vital role all over the world in reducing conflict and providing guidance to both communities and governments in order to make the world a safer place.  This region is no different and USAID applauds all African women who have the courage and strength to not only join, but also lead efforts to resolve conflicts.  We encourage women in this region to continue their involvement in their local peace committees and other community organizations that assist in mitigating disputes and pledge to continue assisting you in these important initiatives. 

Thank you to all participants for your interest and efforts in supporting this program and USAID looks forward to working with you as partners and friends.

Thank you.