麻豆约拍

Nearly half of all peace agreements fail. What can be done to stop countries from sliding back into civil war?

Sri Lanka and Uganda are two countries that have suffered long and brutal civil wars, but have managed, so far at least, to keep the peace.

Peace came for Uganda after more than 20 years of fighting in the north between government forces and the notorious Lord鈥檚 Resistance Army or LRA, when as many as 100,000 people died. Many more were deliberately mutilated or seriously injured and tens of thousands of children were abducted and forced to be child soldiers, sex slaves, cooks or porters. During Sri Lanka鈥檚 civil war with LTTE or Tamil Tigers an estimated 80,000 people were killed and many thousands more are still missing.

麻豆约拍 Foreign Affairs Correspondent, Mike Thomson, who has reported from many conflict zones around the world, investigates how well both countries have managed to heal the wounds of war and what their experiences can teach us about winning the peace, when the shooting stops.

Image: People gather round the entrance of a church in Gulu, Uganda, Credit: Mike Thomson