The facts:
USAID/Senegal in the Casamance

After more than two decades of armed conflict, there is an urgent need for a definitive peace process in Senegal’s southern region, the Casamance. During the fighting between government and separatist forces of the Mouvement des Forces Démocratiques de la Casamance (MFDC), thousands of civilians have been displaced, countless lives have been disrupted and people killed. Over 200 villages have been destroyed, and thousands of hectares of arable fields rendered useless because of unexploded ammunition and landmines.

Many key stakeholders in the Government of Senegal and the MFDC are seeking an end to the conflict. Prominent civil society, traditional, and religious leaders have also voiced their desire for peace. The local population has urged a return to normalcy so that families and communities can lead peaceful and prosperous lives. But the fighting continues.

Peace Process Support
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is currently funding a peace process support activity encouraging individuals and groups seeking peace to maintain dialogue. This activity works with prominent actors at the local and national levels in the peace process by giving training workshops and technical assistance as needed in conflict resolution, negotiation, and by helping to create opportunities for dialogue.

This activity especially targets civil society and the role civil, religious, and traditional leaders can play in helping to bring about dialogue between conflicting parties, and in speaking for the local population to ensure their needs are included in a peace agreement. Influential local and regional leaders can have a positive impact in the process of preparing the MFDC and Government for dialogue.

Conflict mitigation and peace-building with youth
USAID continues to invest in youth, as future leaders who will be responsible for maintaining peace once it is has been planted. By working with middle school age children in and around schools, this activity will first train young people and teachers in conflict resolution, and then provide them leadership opportunities to apply what they have learned and concretely impact their communities to help bring long-lasting peace to the Casamance.

Building on USAID/Senegal previous activities
From 2000 to 2006, USAID contributed to stabilizing the Casamance region through a $15 million program that worked with the Senegalese government, the local population, village-based associations, and non-government organizations (NGOs) on activities designed to give people hope and reasons to opt for peace. These activities included income generation, landmine awareness and victim assistance, reconstruction, peace-building at the community level, and natural resource management.

USAID’s economic growth, natural resources management, health, and education programs also finance activities implemented in the Casamance that include improved forest management and income generation, middle school expansion and girls’ scholarships, improved mother and child health, and efforts to prevent and treat diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS.

Partners
USAID’s major partners who are carrying out activities in the Casamance are Planning and Development Collaborative International, Inc. (PADCO) and World Education.