Peacebuilding
Building trust, strengthening dialogue and supporting peace
TUSIC seeks to support community-led approaches that reduce division, strengthen relationships and create space for inclusive dialogue among Sudanese communities.
Why peacebuilding matters
Peace requires more than the absence of active conflict
Conflict can damage relationships, weaken institutions, deepen mistrust and divide communities long after immediate violence has ended.
Sustainable peace requires people to feel heard, protected and able to participate in decisions affecting their lives. It also requires attention to injustice, exclusion, trauma and the conditions that allow conflict to continue.
TUSIC’s peacebuilding role is intended to complement—not replace—community leadership, professional mediation, governmental responsibilities or formal peace processes.
Peacebuilding priorities
Supporting the relationships and capacities that peace requires
Activities will depend on local priorities, conflict analysis, participant safety, organizational capacity and the involvement of suitable facilitators or partners.
Community dialogue
Supporting carefully facilitated spaces where participants can listen, communicate concerns and explore areas of shared interest.
- Inclusive community conversations
- Listening and relationship building
- Locally relevant dialogue formats
Social cohesion
Encouraging connections and cooperation across community, generational, geographic and social divisions.
- Community relationship building
- Shared civic and cultural initiatives
- Cooperation around common concerns
Reconciliation support
Supporting appropriate community-led processes that recognize harm, encourage understanding and help rebuild relationships.
- Trust-building activities
- Recognition of different experiences
- Community-defined pathways forward
Conflict sensitivity
Helping ensure that programs understand local tensions and do not unintentionally deepen exclusion, inequality or community division.
- Context and stakeholder analysis
- Risk-aware program decisions
- Regular review of unintended effects
Local peace capacity
Strengthening the skills, structures and relationships communities use to manage disagreement and support peaceful coexistence.
- Facilitation and dialogue skills
- Community leadership development
- Locally sustainable approaches
Youth and women’s participation
Supporting meaningful opportunities for women and young people to contribute to peacebuilding discussions and community leadership.
- Inclusive participation
- Leadership and skills development
- Recognition of diverse perspectives
Responsible dialogue
Creating conditions where people can participate safely
Dialogue is not simply bringing people into one room. It requires preparation, skilled facilitation, clear expectations and ongoing attention to safety and power differences.
Understand
Assess the context, relationships, concerns, power dynamics and possible risks.
Prepare
Clarify the purpose, participants, facilitation approach, boundaries and safety measures.
Include
Consider who may be excluded and how different participants can contribute meaningfully.
Facilitate
Support respectful exchange without forcing agreement, disclosure, forgiveness or reconciliation.
Follow through
Document agreed actions appropriately and maintain realistic communication about next steps.
Conflict-sensitive practice
Peacebuilding must not expose people to additional harm
Participation in dialogue can carry social, emotional, political and physical risks. Activities should be designed around the local context and should never assume that every person can participate safely.
View policies and resourcesVoluntary participation
People should not be pressured to join, disclose experiences, meet another party or publicly reconcile.
Participant safety
Location, visibility, confidentiality and possible retaliation should be assessed before participation.
Impartial facilitation
Facilitators should manage their role fairly and avoid using dialogue to promote partisan interests.
Realistic expectations
Dialogue should not be presented as guaranteeing agreement, forgiveness, justice or lasting peace.
Inclusive peacebuilding
Peace is stronger when more communities can shape it
Inclusion must be meaningful rather than symbolic. People should have genuine opportunities to identify priorities, influence decisions and contribute to community-led solutions.
Recognize women’s leadership, experiences and priorities in peacebuilding.
Create safe opportunities for youth participation and leadership.
Include people displaced within Sudan and across borders.
Address barriers affecting people excluded from public decision-making.
Important program boundary
TUSIC is not a formal conflict-mediation authority
TUSIC does not represent governments, armed actors, courts or formal peace-negotiation bodies. Community dialogue activities do not constitute legal arbitration, professional mediation or an official peace agreement unless expressly established through an authorized and qualified process.
Learning and accountability
Peacebuilding requires patience, reflection and adaptation
Short-term activities should not be treated as proof of long-term peace. TUSIC should use participant feedback and responsible monitoring to understand what is changing, what is not and whether any unintended harm has occurred.
Participant experience
Did participants feel respected, included and safe?
Relationship change
Did communication, understanding or cooperation improve?
Community ownership
Can local people sustain useful relationships or actions?
Unintended effects
Did the activity create exclusion, tension or new risks?
Support community-led peace
Help strengthen dialogue, inclusion and peaceful communities
Support TUSIC’s efforts to develop responsible peacebuilding activities shaped by local priorities and community leadership.