On 29 August 2024, MEAC and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) jointly organized a closed-door workshop titled “Exploring Pathways to Peace: Prospects for Dialogue and Negotiation to Address the Boko Haram Conflict” in Geneva.
This one-day, closed-door event brought together key stakeholders and experts, including policymakers and practitioners from the Lake Chad Basin region, technical experts from the international community who work on DDR, reintegration, mediation support, strategic communications and other relevant aspects of conflict resolution, and scholars whose work examines the region and/or peacebuilding efforts beyond it.
The workshop discussions explored often overlooked tools from the conflict resolution toolbox, including dialogue and negotiation, which are often disregarded when listed or sanctions terrorist groups are involved.
The workshop discussions were informed by a joint MEAC and ISS report, “Prospects for Dialogue and Negotiation to Address the Conflict in the Lake Chad Basin,” which builds off original field research in the four countries of the Lake Chad Basin to examine the feasibility of engaging Boko Haram factions in dialogue and negotiation as part of a larger regional strategy to improve security outcomes for local populations and eventually achieve a lasting peace.
Through creative thinking, evidence-based analysis, and the transfer of knowledge and experience from the region as well as from other contexts, the workshop sought to reinvigorate efforts to address the conflict in the region and explore potential de-escalation pathways to improve the lives of millions.
The workshop concluded with a reception hosted by Ambassador Tormod C. Endresen, Permanent Representative of Norway, and Ms. Elisabeth Lothe at the Norwegian Residence.