With a focus on situations of protracted conflict, this article explores the new horizons offered by the recent explanation by the United Nations Human Rights Committee on the right to life in its General Comment 36. The freshly formulated contours of this right not only present normative clarity but are also valuable for conflict management and resolution. Considering the articulation by the Human Rights Committee, we can now see two dimensions of this right: existence and dignity. Although the existence dimension is not new, one now finds additional insights concerning the legality, transparency and accountability of the use of lethal force that have particular relevance to armed conflict. The new dignity dimension has practical implications for the conditions of life in protracted conflicts, taking us beyond norms to the policy spheres of humanitarian action and development. Tracing the origins of the term “protracted conflict” to the late Lebanese scholar Edward Azar, the article also introduces the reader to some of his work and thinking.

Since Nigeria's return to democratic governance in 1999, violent conflicts around identities including religion, ethnicity, indigene / settler differentiation and resource control remain a challenge to peace. Thus far, government responses lack a normative framework to motivate consistent intervention and foster peace. While Nigeria's 1999 Constitution identifies peace as a common aspiration, there is a lack of a non-adversarial institutional mechanism to address violent conflicts related to identity. Despite its limited relevance, the visible institution for conflict management is the court. This article argues for the need to establish a panel of the wise, a conflict and peace intervention mechanism, as an “essential” element of the Nigerian Constitution. It then explores key considerations regarding the proposed panel, in terms of its composition, functions and legal status to intervene in the management of violent conflicts associated with identity and fostering peace in Nigeria.