ACCORD has published a Policy & Practice Brief titled The troubled road to peace: Reflections on the complexities of resolving the political impasse in Madagascar which examines and discusses the key factors inhibiting the island nation's efforts to resolve the political impasse which has affected peace and development since 2009, and move towards peaceful elections.

The paper 'Justice and peacebuilding in post-conflict situations: An argument for including gender analysis in a new post-conflict model' examines different forms of justice employed in post-conflict situations, focussing specifically on Sierra Leone. Author Lesley Connolly outlines here how many of these approaches ultimately fail to address the concerns of some survivors, especially women.

ACCORD partnered with the Africa Union (AU) on Saturday, 19 January 2013, by sponsoring twenty two children (both boys and girls) from Alexandra in Gauteng, South Africa, to participate in the Peace Torch Ceremony during the opening ceremony of the African Cup of Nations. The children were selected from the Alexandra Football Association, which runs football and other activities for young children from previously disadvantaged backgrounds and impoverished homes.

ACCORD's Peacebuilding Unit has conducted a 4-day workshop on the implementation of the New Deal in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The New Deal is a new approach in which the international community engages with fragile states to enhance sustainable peacebuilding and statebuilding. The DRC pilots the implementation of the New Deal and the workshop's objectives were to enhance participants understanding of the process, its policies and implementations and also to enhance participants' skills sets on monitoring and evaluation in the implementation of the New Deal.

In line with its mandate to support the efforts of the African Union to promote peace and stability in Africa, ACCORD participated in the Third AU High Level Retreat of Special Envoys and Mediators, which took place in Cairo from 5-6 November 2012, centering on the theme: Transforming the African Peace and Security Context in the Next Decade: Appraisal and Opportunities.

On 1 February 2013 Dr Dieter Lünse, Head of the Institute of Conflict Management and Mediation based in Hamburg, Germany, was the guest presenter at an Internal Staff Seminar held at ACCORD House in Durban. Dr Lünse's presentation focused on discussing the effectiveness of non-violent action and civic courage in bringing about social change and resolving conflict.

ACCORD has been recognized, for the third year running, in the recently released annual "Global Go To Think Tanks" Report released by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Programme at the University of Pennsylvania, USA. The ranking puts ACCORD 4th out of Think Tanks in Sub-Sahara Africa, 37th worldwide (Non U S) and 61st worldwide (US included).

In collaboration with ACCORD's Burundi office, the organisation's Peacebuilding Unit organized a 3-day peacebuilding workshop for Burundi Intervention office staff, to enhance the staff's skills and understanding of peacebuilding challenges in Burundi. The workshop also looked at identifying possible engagements to enhance sustainable peacebuilding in Burundi.

On 05-07 December 2012 the Founder and Executive Director of ACCORD, Vasu Gounden, was invited by the Centre for Global Pluralism to be their keynote speaker at their second Pluralism Forum held on 06 December 2012.  The Forum is a new series of moderated dialogues with leading international authorities on the various policies and practices that broadly support pluralism.

Promoting women's capacity to participate in peace processes is crucial for the advancement of women in peace, development and security. This is reflected by the international and regional efforts in the operationalisation of the UNSCR 1325 and other African Union and regional frameworks. Despite the number of declarations, most mediation processes have not offered enough scope that encourages the voices and representation of women.