Hippolyt Pul, coordinator of the Africa Justice and Peace Working Group for Catholic Relief Services (CRS), is spending 4 weeks at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies as a Kroc Institute-CRS Fellow.
While at Notre Dame, Pul will examine whether transitional justice practices, such as the prosecution and punishment of perpetrators, contribute to sustainable peace in post-conflict communities.
Based in Ghana, Pul coordinates Catholic Relief Services’ peacebuilding strategies in Africa, with special focus on Sudan, South Sudan, and the Great Lakes Regions of Central and East Africa. The Africa Justice and Peace Working Group’s efforts supported the process leading to a peaceful election and referendum in Sudan in 2010 and 2011, when Sudan and South Sudan became two separate countries.
Pul leads Catholic Relief Services’ collaboration with Catholic Church leaders in Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo as they develop strategies to promote peace and reconciliation. Previously, he led development efforts for Catholic Relief Services’ Ghana Program and the West Africa Region of Catholic Relief Services.
“After guns have been silenced, agreements have been signed, individuals have been put on trial, and everyone has declared peace, these communities still live with much pain,” Pul said. “I want to research whether community members are only suppressing their hurts and losses until a later time or whether they are truly able to overcome them.”
The Kroc Institute and Catholic Relief Services have sponsored the CRS-Kroc fellowships since 2006. Past fellows have come from Indonesia, Kenya, the Philippines, Rwanda, and South Sudan. Catholic Relief Services is one of the world’s largest humanitarian relief organizations.