Hence, violence or conflict of any kind needs to be peacefully managed and resolved. Accordingly, the study finding shows sustainability of the institution is being in formidable challenges, this is mainly because of its less attention on transferring the practice to the young generation and some forces of modernization, etc. 3 0 obj Reconciliation required laws to change and policies to be rewritten. Statement of the Problem On the other hand, indirect violence, which is synonymously referred to as structural violence, appears to be in a form of invisible and relatively unidentifiable societal structures. The research design employed for this study was case study research design. The Government would breathe life into section 35 of the Constitution, which reaffirmed existing aboriginal and treaty rights. It was not easy to throw off the shackles of 140 years of the Indian Act system. He encouraged indigenous peoples to engage in that important process, and States to work with them.

Similarly conflict is defined as a situation in which two or more parties strive to acquire the same scarce resources at the same time. ), my advisor, for his scholarly enlightening supervision in carrying out the research work. It was also working to strengthen ocean management, including though sustainable fishing operations. Site Selection and Description of the Study Area Abahaga : the one who is in charge and of something; care taker of one social issue, Duberti : a group of women in the community who beg the conflicting parties to come in to negotiation then to arbitration, Ketena : an administrative structure found below woreda and above the tabia, Mereba : a traditional request made by the elder women to beg erq, Mezard: is an indigenous or informal way or method of conflict resolution which is practiced around the rural Alamata woreda in southern part of Tigray region also kefko, gebremedhin, mergeta, senayseged, zewold, Millisha: one who is armed from the members of the community, mostly doing his civil matters too, Raya : is a name specifically given to both the area which is found on southern Tigray and Wollo as well as the people who reside in those areas, Tabia : is one of the Government structures within the regional states which is smaller in unit as well as less powerful than the woreda, Teskar : ceremony conducted for commemoration of the deceased, Wonz: literally in Amharic means house of elder fathers, Woreda : is an administrative structure which is equated with the District, Yerejat: close relatives of the murderer. Thus, the priority of African traditional conflict resolution mechanisms is to bring about collective social stability and harmony. Conflicts are as old as human societies themselves. Accordingly, Raya is one of the cultural communities in Tigray and northern Wollo, has its own indigenous mechanisms of conflict resolution.

0000001884 00000 n They have limited access to the human rights treaty bodies and the regional international courts, such as the Inter-American Court, in cases where a state party has agreed to optional protocols or has reporting obligations under a treaty. This condition can lead to misunderstanding, mistrust, abuses and marginalization.

Its composition was from indigenous judges, court leaders, to explore the sustainability of the institution, the enforceability, strengths and weaknesses and its role in maintaining peace and stability in the area.

Research Questions The center for Democracy and Governance (1998), also suggested that, indigenous conflict resolution mechanism has limitations such that it is not appropriate taking cases as public sanction, with extreme power imbalance, may undermine other judicial reform efforts, and have no any educational, disciplinary, or restriction effect on population. In this case Kennedy, (2011) suggests that the process of conflict resolution is public and the participation in the process and the approval of results is voluntary. Government representatives also took part in the discussion, with the representative of Canada, expressing her country’s full support for the Declaration and its implementation. 0 In nearly every region of the world, indigenous peoples were being displaced and severely impacted by violence and militarism. ��?޻]Y�7뙙o�o��9���. The study addresses the following research questions: - What are the types and sources of conflict in the area handled by the Mezard indigenous conflict resolution mechanism?

The international court of justice does not provide legal standing to indigenous individuals or collectives to pursue litigation against states and others.

There are an estimated 370 million indigenous people in the world, living across 90 countries. Indigenous conflict resolution mechanisms have pre-existing values and rules, forgiving one another. On the other hand Conflict Resolution theorists argue that it is possible to transcend conflict if the parties can help to explore, analyze, question and reframe their position and interest. However, the manner in which conflict is handled determines whether it is constructive or destructive (Deutsch & Coleman, 2000). There were no courts or highly formalized procedures and institutions to speak of when they were first developed and practiced. 0

The practice of conflict resolution is dominated by the assumption that conflict can at best be managed but hardly possible to solve it. Indigenous conflict resolution mechanisms urge parties to abandon their old feuds and live amicably in tolerance (Mwagira, 1999).

Conflict appears to be an integral component of human performance in diverse activities. “We take these mandates very seriously,” he said. Indigenous conflict resolution typically incorporates consensus-building based on open discussions to exchange information and clarify issues. Conflicts within and between families, between neighbors, within and between villages or clans lend themselves rather easily to traditional approaches. During the ensuing discussion, a number of Government representatives described national efforts to preserve indigenous languages and culture and to uphold the right of indigenous groups to education. Communities must receive necessary services, including by developing new fiscal relationships with indigenous governments.

The rapid pace of globalization and processes to identify new venues for resource exploitation had accelerated such conflict on indigenous peoples’ land. Indigenous or Aboriginal communities in the present day practice three forms of conflict resolution their own Indigenous processes, Western forms of ADR, and the Indigenized Western ADR systems. <> Indigenous laws have been “de-facto” recognition in Ethiopia and has been applied both in formal courts and traditional justice processes and in relation to interpersonal and community based conflicts. Assefa (2005), has summarized only some of the advantages of indigenous conflict resolution mechanisms as they quickly respond to crisis in terms of time, they contribute to the reduction of regular court case loads, they contribute to saving of the public money, it also minimizes the problem in shortage of judges who work in the regular courts, and budget constraints, they are complementary to modern government structures and are not substitutes or competitors as some government officials think and worry about, They give access to many people who do not find modern system of conflict resolution comfortable, affordable or suitable to their needs, Disputants are satisfied with their operation and view their outcomes as fair, and the like. Prabindra Shakya currently works with National Coalition Against Racial Discrimination in Kathmandu and is involved in research and advocacy on human rights and peacebuilding. “You are the experts — and we count on you to bring that expertise into the discussion,” he said. This is partly caused by conflicting priorities among political actors in post-conflict situations, combined with inadequate participation of indigenous people in peacebuilding processes and a lack of understanding of indigenous values. 3.6.

Strengths of traditional approaches to conflict transformation can be identified since the indigenous conflict resolution approaches; - fit situations of state fragility and failure; Follow @shakya_prbn on Twitter, Join the community of global development professionals and experts. Sustainability of Indigenous Conflict Resolution Mechanism All students benefitted from learning indigenous languages, notably through greater understanding of country and culture, which could lead to reconciliation. The Constitution had removed “everything indigenous”, including the great council of chiefs, and outlined 17 decrees that had taken away indigenous land and sea resources. Amid rapid globalization and the scramble for natural resources, indigenous peoples had become victims of violence and even genocide on their lands, often due to their distinct identities, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues heard today, as it opened its fifteenth session amid calls for their full participation in plans for peace and reconciliation that directly impacted their lives. This condition leads them to some irregularities in their activity among themselves and the conflicting parties. endobj x���n�H�=@���$��G�bO���fv��`�y�M�"B�Z����ߪ�n�ŖaH&����j���!�����?C~�)���e;����������j�j�����+�����k�1����'"��K��K�f��M�=�ק�o��B{7��}�6#�q�]�|��R�C�I/�|i���˕����|������+o=�l���O�@�{,U���q����8L���Ƀ3�X�{��ٱ��#�^g�ߴ���+zh��~�'�k����(�U�ɒP�Kt*�K��Cp&����r���yN��\�� It occurs between people in all kinds of human relationships and in all social settings. In that regard, he requested that WHO designate a focal point to work with the Forum. The expert panel group, she said, had paid special attention to the potential of modern communications technologies for preserving indigenous languages.

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They rather strive to bring about sustaining peace among the disputants thereby the prevalence of enmity and hatred within as well as across communities would permanently be vanished (Tsega, 2002). It serves as a useful input for those individuals interested to carry out in-depth studies on similar topics.
Indigenous conflict mediators typically possess moral status, seniority, neutrality and respect of the community; they are acceptable to all parties and demonstrate leadership capacity.