Impacted by the Troubles, a Northern Ireland woman is helping to solve conflicts around the globe

Christine Bell, a Belfast-born professor, heads PeaceRep – a UK Government funded research project based in Edinburgh, which supports peace processes all over the globe.

Professor Bell’s team of over 50 researchers and mediation experts have painstakingly documented over 2,000 peace agreements signed since 1990 – making its database the go-to site for rival factions attempting to negotiate an end to conflict.

PeaceRep is assisting mediators trying to find peaceful solutions to violence in countries including Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, Iraq, Yemen, Myanmar and Ethiopia.

The 56-year-old, who was educated at Cambridge and Harvard, said: “It sounds a bit cheesy, but my upbringing absolutely motivated me to get involved with this work.

“Like most families, mine was touched by the Troubles. I didn’t lose any immediate family, but I was present at very violent events that deeply affected me.

“So many people were affected. My two best friends, one of them, her father had been shot dead and the other one, her brother was shot, severely wounded and left with life-changing injuries.

“That insight into how communities suffer in conflict has most definitely given me the drive to work towards healing division wherever it exists around the world.”

The UK’s Minister for Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and United Nations, Lord Ahmad, visited PeaceRep at the University of Edinburgh Law School last week to get an update on how its database is being used to plot paths to peace.

Married mum-of-six Professor Bell said: “Globally, I think the Belfast Good Friday Agreement is viewed successfully and considered a blueprint for peace.

“Of course, things are complicated because of disappointment over the current breakdown of power sharing, but the 25th anniversary was a reminder of how far NI has come.

“Northern Ireland is a totally different place to 25 years ago when every day was marred by tit-for-tat violence. My eldest child is 28 and is part of a new generation whose lives have not been blighted by daily conflict and the misery that brings.

“We can build on all of the lessons learned from the Belfast Good Friday Agreement to help end violence elsewhere.”

PeaceRep’s research on conflict resolution uses data analytics to track peace and political processes agreed worldwide – offering a framework for others engaged in peace processes.

Professor Bell explained: “At the end of World War One, apparently a young soldier was tasked with drafting the Armistice Agreement simply because he was good at using languages.

“I once saw an interview with his grandchildren talking about how the first thing he did was he went out and found old examples of peace deals because he’d never done anything like that before.

“And I was thinking ‘That’s exactly what our database provides’. We are pulling together high-quality research and data to learn lessons from the past and bring peace by supporting negotiations to be better.

“Ultimately, peace agreements need to be written down in legal language that everyone agrees to abide with. We’re giving mediators and negotiators a chance to analyse how other people have achieved something rather than having to work totally from scratch.”