Peacebuilding in an Interfaith Context in the Great Lakes Region of Africa: The Challenges of Creating New Approaches

Abstract

The African Great Lakes Region has experienced cyclical violence since countries began gaining independence in the 1960s. The repeated emergence of leaders formed in contexts of rebellion and violence has yielded continuing authoritarian rule rather than democratic societies aimed at the common good. Three key continuing problems today are a regional development deficit, a distrust of institutions and erosion of social capital, and the instrumentalization of religion by authoritarian political regimes. In taking into account this long history of multidimensional vulnerability and instability, a few leaders of national/international state institutions, as well as leaders of religious denominations, are looking for innovative perspectives that could generate new approaches for the strengthening of social capital and the resilience of populations. One such initiative mobilized the energies of religious leaders in the region during 2019 and 2020. It is an interfaith platform called Dignity and Peace in the Great Lakes (PIDP-GL) which brings together representatives of the Catholic Church, traditional Protestant churches, Revivalist churches, and the Islamic community from platforms already operational in the various countries.