Humanitarian Response and Peace Building in Conflict Situations: Case of International Federation of Red Cross in West Pokot County, Kenya
| dc.contributor.author | Odera, Geofrey Omondi | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-03-06T12:08:00Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-03-06T12:08:00Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-04 | |
| dc.description | A Research Project Submitted In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of Masters of Arts Degree in International Relations in Kenyatta University, April 2024. Supervisor Joseph Wasonga | |
| dc.description.abstract | The study sought to establish the efficacy of International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) in promoting peace in West Pokot County. The study was guided by the following objectives: To establish the conflict situation in West Pokot County, to determine the intervention measures taken by the IFRC in peace building in West Pokot County, to establish whether beneficiaries are involved by IFRC in creating and implementing peacebuilding initiatives in West Pokot County and to identify barriers to IFRC's peace-building operations in West Pokot County.The study employed a descriptive research design and adopted both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The study targeted the staff of the Red Cross, members of the County government, opinion leaders and community members who are victims of conflict in West Pokot County. The study employed convenience sampling to select the respondents. The researcher sampled 15 Red Cross Staff, 3 members of the county government, 5 opinion leaders and 20 community members in West Pokot County. The study utilized a questionnaire for IFRC staff, a discussion guide for the focus group discussions, and an interview schedule for the key informant Informants. Piloting of the research instruments was done with a sample of 10 respondents in Chepareria sub-county, which was not included in the main study. Content validity was established through expert judgement whereas Cronbach’s coefficient alpha was used to establish the reliability of the instruments. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages and means were used to analyse quantitative data whereas content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data. The study established that various types of conflicts, including resource-based, territorial, cultural, and politically motivated disputes, still exist in the region. These conflicts have had a significant impact on the county's population, resulting in loss of lives, property, school closures, and contributing to the region's poor economic growth. Further, the study established that the IFRC has put in place a number of intervention measures which are fairly effective in fostering peace in the County. In addition, the study established that the IFRC's principles provide a framework for its operations and that it has performance criteria that allow it to evaluate whether it is fulfilling its accountability commitments, however, it does not involve majority of community members in decision-making processes. As a result, community members reject the organization's efforts to promote peace because they believe that their opinions, concerns and suggestions are not given due consideration. Further, the study identified a number of factors that affect IFRC's peace-building operations in the County these include; insecurity, political interference, lack of commitment from stakeholders, inadequate funds, poor infrastructure, poor networks, and antagonism from communities. The study recommended that The IFRC should invest in long-term peace building programs. The communities need to build their resilience to disasters and conflicts, and to address the root causes of humanitarian crises, such as poverty and inequality. Furthermore, there is a need for capacity-building within the community, community members need to be trained in disaster response and conflict resolution to enhance self-reliance and reduce dependency on external aid. In addition, the IFRC and other humanitarian organizations must consider the cultural diversity of the populations they assist. They ought to refrain from endorsing remedies that are inappropriate from a cultural standpoint or that might make intergroup conflicts worse. Further, the IFRC should improve its accountability; this can be accomplished by putting in place appropriate routes for reporting to impacted communities, keeping in mind the crucial role that impacted communities should play in ensuring that their views are heard during relief operations. | |
| dc.description.sponsorship | Kenyatta University | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/29715 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Kenyatta University | |
| dc.title | Humanitarian Response and Peace Building in Conflict Situations: Case of International Federation of Red Cross in West Pokot County, Kenya | |
| dc.type | Thesis |