At age five, Muhsin Kaduyu began following his father, a respected imam in southern Uganda, on missions of peace — constant meetings, mediations, consolations and prayers among Muslims and Christians in their town and surrounding farmlands. So years later, Kaduyu felt sickened when Islamist suicide bombers killed 74 soccer fans in a crowd near his university, deforming and defaming his faith. That bombing, and an anti-Muslim backlash, ignited a life’s mission that has made Kaduyu a prominent peacebuilder among millions of Ugandans who struggle for survival, prosperity and peace amid communal conflicts, violent extremism and growing climate disaster.

Type: Analysis

Environment;  Religion;  Violent Extremism

Unfortunately, children born as a result of conflict-related sexual violence have been overlooked in the international community’s peacebuilding agenda for a long time. Eunice Otuko Apio, a member of Uganda's Parliament and a finalist for USIP’s 2022 Women Building Peace Award, discusses why children born of war have historically been marginalized in peace processes, how resources can be used to support them and their families more effectively, and how women can contribute to peacebuilding more broadly.

Type: Blog

Gender;  Human Rights

From Sri Lanka to Uganda, women in civil society have been the driving force behind some of the most effective mediation efforts in conflict areas. Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, MBE, founder and CEO of the International Civil Society Action Network, discusses the three components that make up a successful partnership between women and civil society: recognition of women peacebuilders' expertise, solutions and analysis; protection for women that risk their lives; and effective resourcing and funding so that they can build trust within their communities.

Type: Blog

Gender;  Peace Processes

The objective of US security sector assistance is to help build effective, accountable, responsive, transparent, and legitimate security sectors in partner nations to address common security risks. Such action ultimately benefits US national interests, as when the United States modernized West Germany’s military during the Cold War; when US security sector support to South Korea helped the United States deter regional threats; and when, in Ukraine, US security sector assistance contributed to success in fending off Russian aggression in 2022. Similarly, the United States helped Georgia turn its traffic police into one of the most trusted institutions in the country, supported Albania as it updated the governance of its security forces, and assisted Colombia in making progress toward ending its long-standing armed conflict. 

Type: Report

Justice, Security & Rule of Law