Conflict and peace
![East Timorese children displaced from their homes by burning and looting take refuge in a temporary camp protected by UN peacekeeping troops [Mike Goldwater]](/var/storage/images/media_folder/cafod/images/international_images/asia/east_timor/two_boys_and_soldier/3807-2-eng-GB/two_boys_and_soldier_1column50_12space_landscape.jpg)
Conflict does not finish with a peace agreement. Whatever caused the outbreak of tension or armed conflict often continues to exist long after a peace agreement has been signed
In the five years immediately after a conflict, the risk of returning to war is estimated at around 40 per cent. So, ensuring the fundamental rights of those involved and their communities will be respected and protected is crucial.
To this end, our work tackles the root causes of conflict - whether political, economic, social, cultural, or environmental - in order to build a just and sustainable peace.
Priests and sisters from our partner Caritas Sri Lanka stand in solidarity alongside thousands of forced to flee their homes during the ongoing conflict in that country.
Bishop Thomas of Jaffna says: “My priests and sisters have told me they will not abandon the people but move with them wherever they are going. I am a Christian and God has taught us that not through violence, but through love we can bring about peace."
 | CAFOD honours humanitarian workers on world's first Humanitarian Day Thursday 19 August 2010 is the first annual World Humanitarian Day. Here are just three of the many people who make our humanitarian and emergency response work possible |
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Prayers and spirituality resources and materials |
![Members of the Peace Choir outside their local chapel [Bridget Burrows]](/var/storage/images/about-us/what-we-do/emergencies/appeals/kenya-crisis/peace-choir-moroto/1215928-1-eng-GB/peace-choir-moroto_0column75_06space_landscape.jpg) |
Raids by warring communities in drought-stricken north-eastern Uganda are destroying peace and progress |
 | Unearth Justice campaign: tough action on pollution Mining is often a cause of conflict, environmental destruction and toxic pollution. Since 2006, you have been calling on companies and governments to end this injustice, and give poor communities a greater say in whether mining is allowed, how it operates, and who benefits, as part of our Unearth Justice campaign. Find out how our actions are seeing results. |
