Third Quarterly Progress Report, April 1 – June 30, 2020: People at Peace (Lafia)

The program, implemented by Mercy Corps and Think Peace, has a two-year budget of $1,499,526 and focuses on three interlinked objectives: reducing youth vulnerability to conflict and violent extremism, resolving inter-group conflicts peacefully, and engaging local communities with government authorities and civil society actors. The program's scope of work is critical in addressing the drivers of conflict and extremism in Mali, where multiple tensions threaten the fragile peace. In urban and rural areas, male and female youth are frustrated at perceived injustices, lack of economic opportunities, and the absence of functioning government services. In rural areas, competition for land and water between Fulani pastoralists and Bambara and Soninke farmers may trigger the further spread of violence if left unmanaged. The program's activities for the third quarter of 2020 (April 1 – June 30) focused on all three objectives. Workshops were held to share the Vulnerabilities and Resilience Assessment Initiative (VRAI) mapping preliminary results, and training for community leaders and sport for change activities were initiated. Additionally, awareness-raising activities were conducted to reduce violence in Kayes in response to mounting unrest. Under Objective 1, youth associations conducted a mapping exercise of vulnerability to violence and sources of resilience. The finalization of the main conclusions section of the assessment and workshops to share VRAI results and targeting were completed. Furthermore, 80 Sport for Change Clubs were set up to involve 2000 youth at risk of participation in conflict in identification and resolution of conflict in collaboration with youth leaders. Under Objective 2, traditional, religious, and female leaders, and government officials increased their capacity in dispute resolution through a training session for community leaders from the commune of Koussane. Trained leaders also participated in 12 conflict resolution forums to share lessons and develop/adapt Early Warning Early Response (EWER) systems to the needs of zones of intervention. The program faced two major challenges during the quarter. The surge in socio-political tensions in Bamako forced the program to suspend activities in Bamako for most of June, and the ongoing conflict situation in Konsiga, one of the target communes in the Yelimane cercle, paused program activities. The socio-political tensions in Mali were marked by widespread frustrations with weak governance and perceived corruption, as well as longstanding economic, social, and security issues. Demonstrations were organized in various regions, including the Kayes region, where a 17-year-old boy was shot and killed by a police officer, leading to immediate outcry and violence. In response, Lafia initiated awareness-raising actions to ease tensions between the Security Forces and the population in Kayes in collaboration with key influential actors. This response also resulted in the involvement of the Permanent Secretariat for Combating the Proliferation of Small Arms, which set up a commission to recover the weapons taken when the police station was attacked.