SWAC Statement

Workshop on Conflict Systems and Risk Assessment in West Africa – ECOWAS/SWAC joint Work Programme Bamako (Mali), 2-5 June 2009

 “Conflict Systems in West Africa”
Introducing conflict systems with a view towards a regional prevention policy by Massaër Diallo, Head of Unit Governance, Conflict Dynamics, Peace and Security

Sahel and West Africa Club/OECD
Le Seine Saint-Germain, 12 Boulevard des Iles 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux Mailing Address: 2 rue André Pascal 75775 Paris cedex 16 Phone: +33 (0)1 45 24 89 87 Fax: +33 (0)1 45 24 90 31 www.westafricaclub.org SWAC/D(2009)23, June 2009

1. BACKGROUND AND DEFINITION
The concept of conflict systems results from conflict analyses and the monitoring of their dynamics and evolutions. In West Africa, examining conflictual situations in the geo-political area of the Mano River countries (Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone) as well as in the Senegambian zones (the Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Senegal) can already assume that conflict systems exist. Moreover, considering Africa in its entirety, the situations in Central Africa (Chad/Sudan-Darfur and DRC/Great Lakes Region) and in the Sahelo-Saharian band (including Mali, Mauritania and Niger among others) greatly support this hypothesis. Work on these various conflicts stems from the concept of conflict systems not necessarily being linked to a conceptual approach1. Furthermore, some universities are now addressing this topic.

What is meant by a conflict system?
Conflict systems are made up of all the conflicts within different territories, of various intensities and forms with diverse immediate causes. They are connected to one another in the long-term and feed into each other. They end up obviously being structured by the evolutions and dynamics emerging from the crisis and/or the intended action of predominant actors with converging or common interests.

2. CHARACTERISTICS
There are three determining elements in the formation,