U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT USAID Evaluation Special Study Report No. 78 Center for Development Information and Evaluation November 1998 Managing Conflict Lessons From the South African Peace Committees PN–ACA–910 This report and others in the evaluation publication series of the Center for Development Information and Evaluation (CDIE) can be ordered from USAID Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC) 1611 N. Kent Street, Suite 200 Arlington, VA 22209–2111 Telephone: (703) 351–4006 Fax: (703) 351–4039 E-mail: [email protected] The CDIE Evaluation Publications Catalog and notices of recent publications are also available from the DEC. U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT The views and interpretations expressed in this report are those of the author and not necessarily those of the U.S. Agency for International Development. USAID Evaluation Special Study Report No. 78 Managing Conflict Lessons From the South African Peace Committees by Nicole Ball Overseas Development Council, Washington with the assistance of Chris Spies, Dynamic Stability, Bellville, South Africa Center for Development Information and Evaluation U.S. Agency for International Development November 1998 Table of Contents Summary................................................................................................................................... v 1. Genesis of the Peace Committees......................................................................................... 1 2. Defining Success: What Can Peace Committees Achieve?.................................................. 9 3. Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of the Peace Committees ........................................ 23 4. Lessons ............................................................................................................................... 51 5. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 57 Appendix A. Political Fatalities in South Africa, 1985–95 .................................................... 59 Appendix B. National Peace Secretariat Expenditures, 1993–96........................................... 61 Documentation Consulted ...................................................................................................... 63 iii iv Managing Conflict: Lessons From the South African Peace Committees Summary N 1948, SOUTH AFRICA INSTITUTED A as well, both before and during the 1991–94 I system of racial separation known as apart- transition period. For example, donors chan- heid. Apartheid legalized social, economic, and neled to political organizations such as the political discrimination favoring the white African National Congress (ANC—the party minority. It governed the allocation of jobs; lim- created in 1911 and once led by Nelson ited the access of nonwhites to social services Mandela) and the Inkatha Freedom Party to such as health, education, and housing; and strengthen their capability to engage in nego- severely restricted ownership of land. tiations with the white minority government. This system began to unravel in the mid- A broad range of nongovernmental and 1980s, with widespread strikes, rioting, and community-based organizations also benefited civil disobedience. From 1985 through 1991, from external financing. Of particular relevance an estimated nine thousand people died as a to the work of the peace committees, many such result of politically motivated violence. By the organizations were engaged in mediating and early 1990s, responsible leaders on both sides resolving disputes, promoting tolerance within recognized that political change was inevitable an ethnically and politically diverse society, and and necessary. They agreed to work for a new educating citizens in alternatives to violence. constitutional arrangement in which all South Africans would be equal before the law. In April 1997, USAID’s Center for Development Information and Evaluation Toward that goal, 27 South African orga- commissioned a study on the role of the South nizations committed themselves, on 14 Sep- African peace committees as a mechanism for tember 1991, to reducing politically motivated managing conflicts. The study was part of violence by signing a document known as the CDIE’s examination of the role of donor orga- National Peace Accord. Among its mandates nizations in postconflict transition societies. was the establishment of national, regional, and Information was collected primarily through local peace committees. These were to be a interviews with South Africans who either had major vehicle for reducing violence in com- been directly involved with the committees or munities that for generations had been deeply were otherwise highly knowledgeable about divided along racial lines. their activities. The author, Nicole Ball, of the Overseas Development Council, also consulted The peace committees received limited documentation from the peace committees and external financing, and the U.S. Agency for other written materials. She was ably assisted International Development and other interna- by Chris Spies, then at the Centre for Conflict tional donors supported efforts to promote a Resolution in Cape Town. peaceful transition in a variety of other ways v Structure and Mandate persuaded to take the peace accord seriously. Of the Peace Committees Nonetheless, by 30 April 1993, 10 regional committees had been established, and the 11th was on its way. For inclusivity, regional peace The National Peace Accord sought “to committee members were recruited from a bring an end to political violence in our coun- wide variety of civil society organizations, try and to set out the codes of conduct, proce- local and tribal authorities, and the security dures, and mechanisms to achieve this goal.” forces. Day-to-day administration was over- It established codes of conduct for the politi- seen by an elected executive council and car- cal parties and the police force defining how ried out by a professional staff. An especially these groups were to operate during the transi- important task of the regional committees was tion to multiparty rule. to establish and oversee local peace commit- tees. The accord also established a network of regional and local peace committees. The net- No limit was placed on the number of work was established because the institutions local peace committees, and by the time the of state were unable, for a variety of reasons, national election was held in April 1994, just to find nonviolent solutions to intergroup con- over 260 local committees existed. Staff were flicts. (Indeed, sometimes they contributed to appointed by the regional peace committees on violence.) The work of these peace commit- a consensus basis. Their brief was to imple- tees was to be overseen by a body called the ment the National Peace Accord through a va- National Peace Committee. riety of measures including settling disputes potentially leading to violence and generally The National Peace Committee nomi- creating trust and reconciliation at the grass nated the members of the National Peace Sec- roots. The success of local committees thus de- retariat, whose task was to establish and coor- pended greatly on the quality and personal char- dinate the regional and local peace committees. acteristics of the staff. Biased or inexperienced Its members were primarily senior politicians. staff could, and in some cases reportedly did, The secretariat established the boundaries of jeopardize the effectiveness of the entire en- the 11 regions the regional committees were terprise. For the most part, though, the peace to serve and worked with regional leaders to committees attracted highly talented and dedi- establish those committees. In contrast to the cated individuals whose contribution to the National Peace Committee, the Secretariat met peace process was critical. relatively often. It also met from time to time with the chairmen of the regional peace com- mittees to review their progress and engage in The Peace Committees planning. In Action Setting up regional peace committees was frequently a contentious process. The various Former staff members and observers of participants jockeyed for position or had to be the peace committees tend to agree that the vi Managing Conflict: Lessons From the South African Peace Committees structural causes of violence and the struggle were unable to stop violence completely but for power among the major political parties lim- often limited its occurrence. Unquestionably, ited the capacity of the committees to signifi- they saved lives. The committees could not end cantly reduce violence in South Africa before the impunity of the security forces, but they the 1994 elections. Yet even the accord’s did help equalize the balance of power between severest critics do not believe that the peace those in power and ordinary citizens. They also committees were a failure. Conversations with helped strengthen accountability. Observers South Africans involved in the peace commit- valued the committees’ capacity to promote tees at all levels suggested six crucial, interre- communication between individuals and lated functions the committees fulfilled, to one groups where none had existed or had seemed degree or another, and against which their suc- impossible. Though the committees were cess can be measured: 1) opening channels of unable to transform the “struggle” mentality communication; 2) legitimizing the concept of that had evolved within