Brazzaville Foundation
The Brazzaville Foundation (TBF) is a UK-registered charity devoted to conflict resolution in Africa by fostering peace and stability through dialogue and understanding. TBF's founder is Congolese president Denis Sassou Nguesso, patron is HRH Prince Michael of Kent and two-man board of trustees are Lord Bell of Belgravia and French secret agent Jean-Yves Ollivier.[1]
Spirit of Brazzaville
TBF was launched a quarter century after the Brazzaville Protocol, which ended the Cold War in Africa almost a year before the Berlin Wall crumbled and brought not only peace to Southern Africa but also opened the door for the release of Nelson Mandela, and for a negotiated end of apartheid and the advent of the ‘rainbow nation’. TBF keeps the ‘spirit of Brazzaville’ alive through the combination of bold statesmanship and ‘citizen diplomacy’. The Foundation is the brainchild of Congolese president Denis Sassou Nguesso who, of his own volition, wanted it to be run independently.
TBF's patron is HRH Prince Michael of Kent, who is seconded by a high-powered Board of Trustees composed of eminent personalities, business as well as political leaders and dignitaries from a wide range of civil society organisations.
TBF’s Chairman, and one of its trustees, is Jean-Yves Ollivier, a French businessman who has been engaged in conflict resolution in Africa for more than thirty years. His behind-the-scenes diplomacy was instrumental to the conclusion of the Brazzaville Protocol.
The Brazzaville Protocol of 13 December 1988 was a momentous event in the history of modern Africa. The preliminary agreement was the culmination of years of behind-the-scenes negotiations aimed at bringing about the end of apartheid and white-only rule in South Africa. Initialling the protocol preceded the formal signing by representatives of Angola, Cuba and apartheid South Africa of the New York Accords at UN headquarters on 22 December 1988, which was the cornerstone in the creation of modern South Africa, finalising the process of political emancipation for millions of South Africans.[2] The Brazzaville Foundation draws its inspiration from this iconic event.
Aims
The Brazzaville Foundation aims to build upon and repeat the success of the Brazzaville Protocol, bringing peace to other parts of the African continent, and further afield. Though signed in 1988 the New York Accords were in fact just the start. The need for a non-aligned peace negotiation process conducted by experts and professionals in a discreet manner is needed now more than ever.
Modern Africa is littered with conflict and internal strife. The personal suffering caused to the peoples of Africa cannot be calculated. The social and economic cost to the continent is in the hundreds of billions of dollars. The potential of Africa and her people has been stifled and squandered. Only through peace and stability can Africa reach her true potential. The Brazzaville Foundation will therefore aim to foster peace and stability through dialogue and understanding. The Foundation’s work will be conducted in the strictest confidence, through frank and true dialogue and on the basis that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.
The Foundation draws its authority to act on appeals from States afflicted by internal conflict, those with conflicts on their borders, and through regional or multi-national institutions seeking mediation support. TBF’s work will be judged on the ensuing peace dividend, through the fostering of political and social stability, through the creation of jobs, prosperity and empowerment of affected citizens.[3]
Mission statement
TBF believes that only by achieving lasting peace and stability can nations thrive, people prosper and the environment be safeguarded. The Brazzaville Foundation therefore exists to promote peace and stability by facilitating dispute settlement and encouraging dialogue both high level and grass-roots, for the benefit of all. The Foundation is independent, impartial and discreet. The Foundation’s work is conducted on a non-profit basis by distinguished individuals of the highest integrity and achievement.[4]
