Welcome, Sammy Jacobs Abbey!

What motivated you to become involved in peace and conflict resolution?

Conflict is an inescapable art of our daily lives, an inevitable result of our highly complex, competitive and often litigious society.

Learning how to deal with conflict effectively is increasingly an essential life skills needed by every person and every group regardless of ones, age, social role, profession, cultural background or beliefs.

I grew up in West Africa in a rather conflict prone environment. Racism, sexism, tribal and ethnocentric conflict were all around me. One of the causes of these conflicts was rooted in a widespread beliefs that the ideas different from the dominant attitudes were wrong or unpatriotic, and should be treated as threats to smooth operation of society.

I noticed how often people allowed their differences to escalate into damaging conflict. Difference in desire, social and economic status, family and workplace patterns, cultural background, race, gender and overall views of the way life should be structured and lived.

By the time I reached my early teens I had witnessed enough conflict to realize that everybody suffered when conflict were not dealt with efficiently and when individuals or group were not allowed to contribute their worth and skills to relationships, to community and to society. I decided that human beings were letting an important part of their potential atrophy.

As I begin espousing these ideas in my relationships, in community and then as a youth worker in the civil rights and peace movements, I ran headlong into many obstacles.
During my early year in practice, I became involved in several international projects from which I learned firsthand that other cultures also struggle with how best to resolve differences and conflict as a mutually beneficial way. After much experience in my career as a conflict Analyst, I served with the West Africa Youth Network as a volunteer liaison officer to Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and then worked several years as a peace trainer, conflict analyst, human rights activist, social entrepreneur and social change activist in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Nigeria, Benin, Guinea, the Gambia, Tunisia, Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda, Congo DR (Africa) Geneva, Zurich, Arosa, St. Galen,-Switzerland, Milan- Italy, Amsterdam- Netherlands, and Paris in France (Europe) and in India, Thailand, Nepal, Japan (Asia).

In all of these experiences, I found that unless conflicts were dealt with efficiently, the positive development of personal and societal life was severely hampered. I realized that conflict resolutions were life skills, one that lay at the heart of our potential as individuals and communities; I decided to make my life’s work the advancement and teaching of conflict resolutions skills through the establishment of International Centre for Conflict & Human Rights Analysis.

Please feel free to provide a short bio about yourself (no more than 3 paragraphs)

Conflict Analyst and a Director at the International Centre for Conflict and Human Rights Analysis (ICCHRA). He has a background in International Humanitarian Law with indebt knowledge and extensive study into Conflict Management and Peace building Processing. He became involved in several international projects from which he learnt firsthand that other cultures also struggle with how best to resolve differences and conflict as a mutually beneficial way. After much experience in his career as a conflict Analyst, He served with the United Nations mission as a volunteer to several African Countries Sierra Leone, Liberia, Congo and then worked with the West Africa Youth Network as a volunteer liaison officer to Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and then worked several years as a peace trainer, conflict analyst, human rights activist, social entrepreneur and social change activist in Africa, Europe, Asia, Middle East, Far East and South America

In August 2005 he was made an Honorary Peace Ambassador by the Apeadu Peace Centre at a ceremony witnessed by Audrey Kitagawa, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Children associated with armed conflict (www.children-of-the-earth.org)

Professionally he has academic background and training at both national and international field. His background is on Conflict Management and Peace-building from The Network University in The Netherlands, and also attended University of Ghana where he obtain a bachelor of Arts in Political Science with Sociology and Graduate School of Management where he attained various certification and degrees in his field of studies. He is a product of the University of Connecticut Institute of Comparative Human Rights and currently working on Masters of Art degree in Irenic (Peace) Studies at the Graduate Institute, Milford, Connecticut

In 2007, He was awarded the International Human Rights Hero by Artist for Human Rights at a ceremony held in Los Angeles, which was witness, by high profile United Nations Staffs.

Mr. Abbey also doubles as the Programs Director for Sub-Saharan Africa for Youth for Human Rights International; a California based International NGO working to promote the Universal Declaration on Human Rights

Please list the countries and/or regions in which you have direct and significant expertise

Africa
Europe
Central and South America
North America
Far East
Middle East
Asia

What is your current country of residence?

Ghana

What is your current job (and organization) and/or where and what field are you studying?

Conflict Analyst, Director at the International Centre for Conflict & Human Rights Analysis, International Conflict management and Human Rights

What is one of your favorite websites in the field? (please provide one answer per box)

http://www.icchra.org

What is one of your favorite websites in the field? (please provide one answer per box)

http://www.un.org

Which are your primary sectoral areas of expertise?

Alternative Dispute Resolution, Civil Society, Conflict Resolution, Conflict Mainstreaming, Democratization, Dialogue, Diplomacy, Human Rights, Rule of Law

Which are your primary skills areas?

Capacity Building, Program Design, Program Implemenation, Research, Training

What are some of your current areas of research (if any)?

Using Non-Violence Communication as an alternative to peace building
Peace building through spirituality

If appropriate feel free to list several of your publications

When the Africa Past Meetings the Global Future- West Africa Magazine
• Youth and Sexuality in Africa- Daily Graphic - Ghana
• Strength in our femininity – Guardian Newspaper – Nigeria
• Drug and substance use in Africa,- WAYN Focus
• Healing of the Suffering – WAYN Focus
• Responsible leadership – WAYN Focus
• Traditional leadership an icon of peace in Africa – WAYN Focus
• Gender Equality, role of young people- UN News
• Water as a Human Rights Positive News