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."
 | Campaign for the Survival of Indigenous peoples at risk of Extinction in Colombia Campaign for the Survival of Indigenous peoples at risk of Extinction in Colombia. Join events in London on 15 and 16 March. |
 | CAFOD supports communities affected by the latest violence in Jos Less than two months after the 17 January 2010 violence erupted in Jos, Nigeria, in which hundreds of people lost their lives, Jos once again faced the horror of mindless violence. |
 | International Women's Day celebration Share this opening ritual for the International Women's Day Celebration in the Philippines |
 | Support young people affected by conflict Make an online donation to give a former child soldier the gift of a carpentry toolkit and the training they need to start a happier chapter in their life |
