July 20, 2012
United States Institute of Peace

Abstract:

The role of women in society is often a site for political discussion, especially in the course of post-conflict transition. For Afghan women, a decade of debate has ensued about their role in Afghan society.

July 18, 2012
International Federation for Human Rights // Open Asia

Abstract:

Stakeholders’ focus on reconciliation at any cost prevails in Afghanistan. After more than 30 years of war, the Afghan people are extenuated and yearn for security, peace and a normal life. More than 70 percent of the population was born after the Russian invasion in 1979 and have spent their lives under war. Millions have lived part of their lives as refugees in Pakistan and Iran, and hundreds of thousands are still internally displaced. Many remain in exile as a result of the uncertainties that persist in Afghanistan. In the most recent years, thousands of young Afghans have chosen to migrate abroad because of the prevailing insecurity and the absence of livelihood.

The first and second sections analyse the context in which the reconciliation process will unfold until the withdrawal of international troops by the end of 2014. The third section demonstrates that safeguarding and consolidating important institutional and democratic achievements since 2001 is crucial to ensuring that Afghanistan does not revert back to a situation of widespread human rights violations, once again becoming a haven for acts of terror. The transition process to 2014 and beyond must embody a strong commitment from both the Government of Afghanistan and the international community to fully endorse justice and human rights as core, nonnegotiable principles in all institutional and strategic arrangements. The fourth section profiles the Taliban and brings evidence that they are committing similar patterns of human rights violations to those they regularly committed when in power from 1996 to 2001. This section also outlines the various human rights mechanisms the international community can mobilise in order to prevent the rehabilitation and return of Taliban’s violent ideological governance. It also identifies the key responsibilities and obligations of the international community and Afghanistan’s partners in addressing the human rights situation prevailing in the country. The conclusion and recommendations summarize the various factors which the Government of Afghanistan and its international partners should mobilise to build democracy and the rule of law, and prevent further human rights violations in Afghanistan....

July 16, 2012
Center for Strategic and International Studies

Abstract:

Religious institutions and leaders are critically important in many conflict and post-conflict cases, and religious values often motivate either violence or peacebuilding. This report, part of an ongoing research effort to assess what is substantively distinctive about religion and the roles it can play in conflict, explores the ways that religion has been a factor in militant groups’ approaches to gaining support in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Religion is a relevant factor in key ways that these groups build support, including their relations with the state, service provision, kinship and patronage networks, and diaspora outreach. The roles religion plays in these categories are complicated and not always intuitive. Militant groups must find ways to limit central government pressures on their activities, including religious ones. These same groups can risk alienating local populations when they pair strong ideological or religious stances with service provision, or operate through patronage networks that are too rigid or not sufficiently inclusive. And global religious networks can inspire diaspora communities to pursue violent activity against their adopted governments. In South Asia, these groups’ activities matter because they threaten the ability of states to maintain peace and stability internally and complicate relations between already tense neighbors. Such instability has grave implications for U.S. national security....

July 16, 2012
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik // German Institute for International and Security Affairs

Abstract:

In July 2011 ISAF began transferring security responsibilities to the Afghan government. While NATO countries view this process with calculated optimism, four entirely negative scenarios are becoming probable. A "power oligarchy" could develop, either directly out of the current leadership [Scenario 1] or with the political participation of the Taleban [Scenario 2]. It is also conceivable, however, that the country could relapse into a "civil war" after 2014, the prospective end of the ISAF mission [Scenario 3]; or into a renewed "Taleban emirate" [Scenario 4]. Which of these developments will occur depends on several influencing factors: the internal risks within Afghanistan; future ISAF strategy in the asymmetric war; and the nature of long-term US engagement in Afghanistan....

July 16, 2012
Central Statistics Organization // United Nations Children's Fund

Abstract:

The Afghanistan Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (AMICS) is a nationally representative sample survey that presents data on the social, health, and educational status of women and children in Afghanistan. It was conducted in 2010-2011 by the Central Statistics Organisation (CSO) of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, with the technical and financial support of UNICEF. The survey is based on the need to monitor progress towards goals and targets emanating from recent international agreements such as the Millennium Declaration and the Plan of Action of A World Fit For Children. It further helps track progress towards the Afghan Government’s policy commitments to reduce poverty and support the wellbeing of women and children, such as the commitments made through the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS).

The findings of the AMICS reveal the story of a country in transition, where many significant improvements have occurred in the last decade, as Afghanistan emerged from decades of war, poor governance, and widespread human rights abuses. Many Afghans have improved access to drinking water, school attendance is up for both boys and girls, and child mortality is relatively down, if still unacceptably high when compared with global estimates. Yet, progress has come more slowly in many areas, such as women’s literacy, and Afghanistan faces new threats on the horizon, such as HIV/AIDS. Across all sectors covered in AMICS, major disparities exist by the background characteristics of respondents. There are often dramatic differences in indicators between urban and rural areas, by household socio-economic status, and by region. Consistently, the education level of women emerges as a reliable predictor of almost all indicators for women and children. This finding is compelling evidence that investments in the status and wellbeing of women are investments in children, and in communities at large....

March 28, 2012
openDemocracy

Abstract:

One year after the beginning of the Arab Spring, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is undergoing profound transformation, leaving the international community saddled with a period of rapid transition similar to the one that occurred in Europe in the nineties.

One of the biggest challenges ahead for all these countries in transition will certainly be how to implement successful security sector reform (SSR). In turn, this is a particularly difficult task in environments that are both post-authoritarian and post-conflict. Therefore, it is important for international actors involved in these processes to draw lessons from similar experiences....

October 31, 2011
Democracy Reporting International // Institute for European Policy

Abstract:

Prior to the Arab Spring, the last period to experience such great political events was when communism collapsed in Central Europe and the Soviet Union between 1989 and 1991. This change presented an opportunity for each of the countries to introduce new political systems and build democratic state institutions. While the history, culture and context of Central and Eastern Europe is different to North Africa and the Middle East the European experience of political transition can still offer important insights into the nature of the challenges the Arab countries are likely to face.

This collection of articles responds to requests made by some Arab reformers to deepen their knowledge of how political change in Eastern Europe unfolded. Rather than focussing on the successful transitions, it presents case studies which recall the difficulties, pitfalls and political missteps which jeopardised these countries’ transitions and even caused some of them to fail.

The collection examines transitions in seven countries, of which three focus on events during the ‘first wave’ of transition from 1991 to 1996 [Albania, Azerbaijan and Belarus] and four explore ‘second wave’ transitions which occurred between 2003 and 2010 [Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Ukraine]....

October 18, 2011
Berghof Conflict Research

Abstract:

The article reflects on experiences and lessons learned from an insider activist’s and practitioner’s point of view. The author looks back at over a decade of training practice at the Centre for Nonviolent Action (CNA) in the Western Balkans, offering provocative thoughts on goals and methods, trainer-participant relations and dilemmas such as sustaining momentum, the risk of individual burn-out and the hope for achieving social change. (updated for the 2011 print edition)

October 14, 2011
Berghof Conflict Research

Abstract:

Takes a critical look at the debate on state failure, examining the various ways that state-building programmes have impacted on the successor states of the former Yugoslavia. The author shows how unchallenged assumptions, unrealistic expectations and ignorance of local contexts can lead to political orders being imposed with little regard for domestic legitimacy or locally-driven solutions. Instead of explaining away the predictably poor outcomes, she suggests the need for critical appraisal of those driving the state-building agenda....

June 21, 2011
International Peace Institute

Abstract:

The big-picture issues at the crossroads of peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding were taken up by the Security Council in September 2010, under the presidency of Turkey. Leading up to that discussion, Turkey held numerous bilateral consultations, and, with the support of IPI, organized an expert meeting on these issues in New York in May 2010 and an informal retreat in Istanbul for members of the Council in June 2010.

This publication is intended to document some of that process, and includes the Statement by the President of the Security Council, the outcome summary of the June retreat, and the set of papers that were presented there. Three of these papers draw lessons from the UN’s experiences in different areas of the world (Afghanistan, the Balkans, and the Great Lakes region of Africa), and one paper analyzes cross-cutting themes.

Table of Contents:

Introduction, Francesco Mancini

Meeting Note
Security Council Istanbul Retreat: At The Crossroads of Peacemaking, Peacekeeping, and Peacebuilding
Adam C. Smith and Vanessa Wyeth, Rapporteurs

Discussion Papers
Peacemaking In Afghanistan: A Role For The United Nations?
Gerard Russell

The Security Council And Peacekeeping In The Balkans, 1992-2010 Richard Gowan and Daniel Korski

The Great Lakes of Africa (Burundi, The Drc, And The LRA-Affected Areas) François Grignon

Composite Paper on Cross-Cutting Themes International Peace Institute

Annex Statement by the President of the Security Council...

July 20, 2012
Geneva Centre for Security Policy

Abstract:

Despite protests over housing shortages, rising food prices and lack of jobs, Algeria seems to be bucking the revolutionary trend.

A number of factors help to explain the apparent “Algerian exception” to the Arab Spring. In addition to the scars of the civil war, the fractured nature of Algerian society works against the emergence of a broad-based socio-political movement. Civil protests have also been limited due to the lack of organizational structures within civil society and the authorities’ capacity to buy the social peace.

The regime’s talk of “a spring for Algeria” is evidence that it is aware of the significance of growing domestic and international expectations for change. Yet, measures undertaken so far do not constitute the kind of fundamental reforms required to restore state legitimacy by reducing the gap between official and real power within the political system and to restructure the economy to create greater opportunities.

External actors are likely to play only a limited role pushing for substantive change. The real drivers of change will be internal. Much will depend on the ability of civil society to form a broad-based movement to maintain pressure on the authorities and security services recognition that they need to gradually withdraw from politics....

June 15, 2012
Refugee Studies Centre

Abstract:

The so-called Arab Spring continues to reverberate locally, regionally and geopolitically. The 20 articles in this issue of FMR reflect on some of the experiences, challenges and lessons of the Arab Spring in North Africa, the implications of which resonate far wider than the region itself.

June 1, 2012
United States Institute of Peace

Abstract:

On the eve of Libya's first elections scheduled for June 22,Tripoli is humming with anticipation. Billboards encouraging Libyans to vote line the major roads. 78 percent of the 3.5 million eligible voters have registered. Interim government officials are planning for security arrangements, printing ballots, and standing up polling stations. However, far away from the capital city, Libya's borders are a distant, silent threat to the success of the revolution. Libya shares a 2,700 mile-long border with Egypt to the east, Tunisia and Algeria to the west, and Sudan, Chad, and Niger to the south. During Libya's 2011 revolution, revolutionary fighters seized border crossings and large swaths of territory. Some swore allegiance to the new government. Other resisted and morphed into criminal enterprises. Trafficking of weapons, drugs, alcohol, and people soared. This spill-over of people and contraband threatens Libya's tenuous stability, as well as the democratic transitions in Egypt and Tunisia. These lawless areas pose a threat to European and U.S. security as well. Al-qaida affiliates reportedly transit the country from havens in ungoverned areas in neighboring countrie...

April 24, 2012
International Organization for Migration

Abstract:

Since the end of February 2011, 790,000 migrant workers and their families have crossed the Libyan border into other countries to escape the conflict and ongoing violence in Libya. Although migration crises of this kind are not new, the massive outflow of migrants fleeing the violence in Libya represents one of the largest migration crises in modern history. Given that there were approximately 1.8 million migrant workers in Libya, a country heavily reliant on migrant workers before the crisis, it is clear that such large-scale movement has significant implications for the neighbouring region and beyond, as well as for the post-crisis reconstruction of Libya itself. The scale of the crisis in Libya has brought to the political foreground the issue of protection and rights of migrants caught in crisis; the role of State actors and international cooperation mechanisms in such situations; and the implications of such crises for migrants’ countries of origin as well as for wider migration management systems.

Migrants Caught in Crisis: The IOM Experience in Libya analyses the effect that the Libyan crisis has had on migrants caught in the crisis and the wider implications for migration in the region, based primarily on the experience of the International Organization for Migration in the evacuation, return and reintegration of migrant workers from Libya. It contextualizes the crisis in Libya from a comparative perspective within the region and takes a brief look back at the socio-economic, political and migration situation, prior to the crisis. It then provides a detailed account of the evacuation of migrant workers from Libya and the central role played by IOM. The effects of the crisis on sending countries and their nationals are also examined, as are the implications for the post-crisis reconstruction of Libya. The report considers the challenges and lessons learned with regard to the following in the international response to the Libyan crisis: the role played by State actors, cooperation mechanisms, evacuation as a form of protection, security and humanitarian access, and resource mobilization. Finally, although the situation in Libya is still evolving after the downfall of the Gaddafi regime, emerging migration policy challenges and future policy considerations are put forth....

April 24, 2012
University of Oslo // Centre for the Study of Civil War // Peace Research Institute Oslo

Abstract:

Transboundary rivers may contribute to increased hostility between riparians. This may contribute to increased hostility between riparians. This article accepts earlier arguments about water scarcity. Structural Scarcity occurs in river basins with unequal resource distribution, often created by geographic asymmetries. Hence, this article argues that the geographic asymmetries present in many river basins are key determinants of conflict risk among riparians. In a river basin the upstream state enjoys an inherent advantage and upstream river use is likely to produce unidirectional externalities that harm the states downstream. This in turn, is likely to produce grievances or claims downstream that may contribute to worsen overall state relations and consequently increase the risk of dyadic conflict....

May 24, 2006
Australian National University // State, Society And Governance In Melanesia Project

Abstract:

The decade since the early 1990s has witnessed the growth of a field of research and practice aimed at resolving and preventing violent conflict. Research on violent conflict has led to a number of different theories on causes of violent conflict, many of them based on the study of large-scale, protracted conflicts in Africa and the Balkans. Advocates of conflict prevention have linked longer-term root causes of violent conflict to aspects of underdevelopment, and tensions inherent in development processes....

November 25, 2005
World Health Organization

Abstract:

This report presents initial results based on interviews with 24 000 women by carefully trained interviewers. The study was implemented by WHO, in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), PATH, USA, research institutions and women's organizations in the participating countries. This report covers 15 sites and 10 countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Japan, Peru, Namibia, Samoa, Serbia and Montenegro, Thailand and the United Republic of Tanzania. Report findings document the prevalence of intimate partner violence and its association with women's physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health. Data is included on non-partner violence, sexual abuse during childhood and forced first sexual experience. Information is also provided on women's responses: Whom do women turn to and whom do they tell about the violence in their lives? Do they leave or fight back? Which services do they use and what response do they get? The report concludes with 15 recommendations to strengthen national commitment and action on violence against women....

May 10, 2010
Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University

Abstract:

A key contention of the transitional justice movement is that the more comprehensive and vigorous the effort to bring justice to a departed authoritarian regime the better the democratizing outcome will be. This essay challenges this view with empirical evidence from the Iberian Peninsula. In Portugal, a sweeping policy of purges intended to cleanse the state and society of the authoritarian past nearly derailed the transition to democracy by descending into a veritable witch-hunt. In Spain, by contrast, letting bygones be bygones, became a foundation for democratic consolidation. These counter-intuitive examples suggest that there is no pre-ordained outcome to transitional justice, and that confronting an evil past is neither a requirement nor a pre-condition for democratization. This is primarily because the principal factors driving the impulse toward justice against the old regime are political rather than ethical or moral. In Portugal, the rise of transitional justice mirrored the anarchic politics of the revolution that lunched the transition to democracy. In Spain, the absence of transitional justice reflected the pragmatism of a democratic transition anchored on compromise and consensus....

June 8, 2006
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Abstract:

The human rights situation deteriorated in numerous former Soviet republics. Independent human rights monitoring groups, including several affiliates of the IHF, came under attack. The Russian Federation, Belarus, and the Central Asian regimes promulgated new legislation or changed their practices to allow these states arbitrarily to restrict the activities of nongovernmental organizations. The leaders of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee faced fabricated criminal charges, and in January 2006, state-controlled Russian media falsely implicated the Moscow Helsinki Group in espionage....

June 7, 2006
Council of Europe

Abstract:

The United States has progressively woven a clandestine "spider's web" of disappearances, secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers - spun with the collaboration or tolerance of Council of Europe member states, the Legal Affairs Committee of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) said today. In a draft resolution adopted at a meeting in Paris, based on a report by Dick Marty (Switzerland, ALDE), the committee said hundreds of persons had become entrapped in this web - in some cases when they were merely suspected of sympathising with a presumed terrorist organisation. The parliamentarians said this knowing collusion of member states took several different forms, including secretly detaining a person on European territory, capturing a person and handing them over to the US or permitting unlawful "renditions" through their airspace or across their territory. "It# has now been demonstrated incontestably, by numerous well-documented and convergent facts, that secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers involving European countries have taken place, such as to require in-depth inquiries and urgent responses by the executive and legislative branches of all the countries concerned," the committee said. The committee called on Council of Europe member states to review bilateral agreements signed with the United States, particularly those on the status of US forces stationed in Europe, to ensure they conformed fully to international human rights norms. The report is due for debate by the plenary Assembly - which brings together 630 parliamentarians from the 46 Council of Europe member states - in Strasbourg on 27 June 2006....

June 7, 2006
Council of Europe

Abstract:

The United States of America finds that neither the classic instruments of criminal law and procedure, nor the framework of the laws of war (including respect for the Geneva Conventions) has been apt to address the terrorist threat. As a result it has introduced new legal concepts, such as "enemy combatant" and "rendition", which were previously unheard of in international law and stand contrary to the basic legal principles that prevail on our continent. Thus, across the world, the United States has progressively woven a clandestine "spider's web" of disappearances, secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers, often encompassing countries notorious for their use of torture. Hundreds of persons have become entrapped in this web, in some cases merely suspected of sympathising with a presumed terrorist organisation....

June 29, 2012
Chr. Michelsen Institute

Abstract:

This brief assesses the impact of transitional justice mechanisms on peace and democracy. Based on four case studies from Africa and Latin America, it argues that the expected positive effects of transitional justice may be too high. Transitional justice processes are complex and dynamic and may change substantially over time. The distinction between short term and long term impact is essential.

May 22, 2012
Human Rights Watch

Abstract:

This report describes an alarming pattern of human rights violations by members of Angolan security forces against Congolese migrants. Women and girls, who are often detained with their children, have been victims of sexual abuse including gang rape, sexual exploitation, and being forced to witness sexual abuse of other women and girls. Beatings, degrading and inhumane treatment, arbitrary arrests, and denial of due process have been common practices during roundups of undocumented migrants, and in custody before their deportation. Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 100 victims and witnesses to abuses, during expulsions from the Cabinda enclave and the diamond-rich Lunda Norte province to the Congolese provinces of Bas-Congo and Kasai-Occidental in 2009 and 2011. Most of those migrants enter Angola to work in alluvial diamond mines or in informal markets....

April 25, 2012
Chatham House

Abstract:

Presentation by David Sogge on Angola's ten years of peace. He discusses the level of violence, Rule of Law rankings, state fragility ratings, the level of government effectiveness, and corruption. The presentation was given as part of the Chatham House Roundtable "Angola: Celebrating 10 Years of Peace" that was held in London on 17 April 2012.

April 24, 2012
Chatham House

Abstract:

The event focussed on changes in Angola over the last decade, from the legacies of conflict, political and social transformation, to its economic achievements. Participants also considered future opportunities in Angola and its growing international influence.

March 30, 2012
Chatham House

Abstract:

Angola marks a decade of peace in 2012. This paper looks at various indicators to assess what results the peace dividend has delivered over the last decade in Angola and the new challenges it faces.

Key points:

Angola's economy is highly dependent on its oil production and oil prices. This dependence can be clearly seen in the ripples created by the international financial crisis in 2008: oil prices dropped dramatically and so did Angola's oil revenue, GDP, FDI and international reserves.

While inflation has been reduced over the last 10 years, it remains in double digits for the foreseeable future and consumer prices are increasing. This has a particularly severe impact on Angola's poor.

High GDP growth has contributed to increased human development for Angolans, but the rate of increase has lagged as easy gains are achieved and the developmental challenges become more complex and more difficult to achieve.

Owing to growth in GDP since 2002 Angolan per capita health spending has increased dramatically. However, high mortality rates of infants and children under five years of age highlight the challenges that Angola still faces. Reducing these may be the greatest challenge for Angolan leaders.

The Angolan business environment is overall very challenging, with corruption being the main barrier....

September 16, 2008
En la Mira - The Latin American Small Arms Watch

Abstract:

Although all countries, in theory report their authorized transfers - and such information may even be available in certain public databases - the task of providing an overview of SALW transfers, their parts and munitions, is an arduous one. Nonetheless, despite the difficulties, we have some extremely positive initiatives on a global scale, such as for example, the Small Arms Survey, recognized as an important source of information, especially on SALW production and transfers, as well as the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers (NISAT) which has a database containing transfer records going back to 1962.Despite these important initiatives, themselves when researchers, activists and policy makers try to understand a regional market, such as Latin America and the Caribbean, they encounter a dearth of information. With the intent of addressing this shortcoming, En La Mira has, since 2007, dedicated an issue to transfers of SALWs, parts and ammunition in this region. Further, according to statistics from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN-Comtrade or Comtrade), USD 6.7 billion were exported between 2004 and 2006, while USD 6.5 billion were imported. Despite the fact that Latin America and the Caribbean represent 6% and 3%, respectively, of total transfers worldwide during this period, 42% of firearms related homicide is committed in the region. This discrepancy between the international transfer volume share and the levels of armsrelated violence in Latin America and the Caribbean calls attention to itself, above all because of the tragic and startling number of homicides. Obviously, far from wishing to increase arms transfers in order to be more in sync with homicide rates, we decided, a year ago, to study this issue and periodically monitor its development based on our interest in understanding the primary legal entry and exit routes of firearms and ammunition. The result is a report - based on customs information as stated by Latin American and Caribbean countries and their respective partners - whose objective is to describe the movement of the SALW imports and exports, as well as ammunition and parts, during the present decade. Based on this data, we answer the following questions: who exported and who imported? From whom? What? And when? It is worth restating that the intent of this report is not to explain the cause of arms imports and exports by Latin American countries. Beyond merely providing information, we do indeed wish to awaken, by means of the information presented here, the curiosity of other researches, activists and government staff members such that they may continue to perform research in their countries regarding the transparency of this information, on who is using the transferred SALW, and how. The data used for this report came from the NISAT database, which contains more than 800,000 entries for SALW transfers worldwide since 1962. The NISAT database gets its information from different sources, COMTRADE among them. In this study we decided to restrict ourselves to data from this latter source because, in theory, all countries report transfers to the UN. This data is declared in accordance with the Harmonized System (SH) merchandise classification system. The HS has existed since 1988and, in 2007, was revised for the fourth time; previous revisions were in 1992, 1996 and in 2002. Regarding the period analyzed, we are looking at data up until 2006, since at the time the study closed this was the most recent year available on NISAT....

September 2, 2004
Amnesty International

Abstract:

Against the international trend away from the use of the death penalty, executions have increased in the English speaking Caribbean (ESC) in recent years. Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas and St. Kitts and St. Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have all carried out executions in the last seven years. Jamaica, Antigua, Grenada, St Lucia, Dominica, Belize and Barbados all currently have condemned prisoners and continue to impose sentences of death.

October 26, 2011
Intervention // War Trauma Foundation

Abstract:

Research with survivors of political violence in Latin America have shown that any analysis of the consequences of war or political repression should take into account the social and political realities in which the survivors are immersed. It has also shown that research must go hand in hand with action, intervention and psychosocial support for communities that confront violence. In this article, the authors review some of the basic principles that should guide research and action within the context of war or other political violence. We discuss the roles that the researcher needs to adopt in order to successfully develop work that will be of use to the social and scientific community. In addition, we describe some of the methodological implications of psychosocial research and the importance of reflective processes that could contribute to community wellbeing. The theoretical descriptions are substantiated through examples of action research in Jujuy (Argentina) with former political prisoners and relatives of detainees, or the disappeared, from the time of the last military dictatorship (1976–1983)....

September 10, 2010
Small Wars Journal

Abstract:

Hezbollah, Lebanon‘s Iran-sponsored Shi‘i Muslim terrorist organization, has established global networks in at least 40 countries. Its growing presence in South America is increasingly troublesome to U.S. policymakers, yet there are few experts on Hezbollah and fewer still on Hezbollah Latino America. Hezbollah‘s operatives have infiltrated the Western Hemisphere from Canada to Argentina, and its activity is increasing, particularly in the lawless Tri-Border Area (TBA) of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. This research was conducted to expose the actions and objectives of Hezbollah in the TBA. The majority of US officials and operators believe that Hezbollah‘s terrorist wing is separate from its political wing, but these are misconceptions from people who "mirror-image" the American experience when assessing Hezbollah. Unfamiliarity with the organization makes these assessors vulnerable to its propaganda, which is a severe problem that permeates the US government and its operatives. People who think Hezbollah is or could be compartmentalized or disunited are not familiar with the organization and perceive Hezbollah through the lens of the organization‘s extensive propaganda effort. Hezbollah has a large operational network in the TBA, which generates funds for the party, but its primary mission is to plan attacks and lie dormant, awaiting instructions to execute operations against Western targets. The following is a look at Hezbollah‘s modus operandi, an analysis of how operational its networks in the Tri-Border Area are, as well as some possible solutions to this threat. First, is an examination of how Hezbollah traditionally operates to establish the context....

March 15, 2010
Congressional Research Service

Abstract:

This report updates the topic of Iran’s Growing Relations with Latin America [page 5]. Over the past several years, U.S. officials and other observers have expressed concerns about Iran’s increasing activities in Latin America, particularly under the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. For example, in January 2009 congressional testimony, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates maintained that he was concerned about the level of “subversive activity that the Iranians are carrying on in a number of places in Latin America, particularly South America and Central America.” There has been some contention, however, over the level and significance of Iran’s linkages with the region. One view emphasizes that Iran’s relations with several Latin American leaders who have employed strong anti-U.S. rhetoric and its past support for terrorist activities in the region are reasons why its presence should be considered a potential destabilizing threat to the region. Another school of thought emphasizes that Iran’s domestic politics and strategic orientation toward the Middle East and Persian Gulf region will preclude the country from sustaining a focus on Latin America. Adherents of this view assert that Iran’s promised aid and investment to Latin America have not materialized. Some observers holding both of these views contend that while Iran’s activities in Latin America do not currently constitute a major threat to U.S. national security, there is enough to be concerned about to keep a watchful eye on developments in case it becomes a more serious threat. On October 27, 2009, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere held a hearing on “Iran in the Western Hemisphere” that reflected these range of views....

February 17, 2010
Committee to Protect Journalists

Abstract:

At least 71 journalists were killed across the globe in 2009, the Committee to Protect Journalists announced Tuesday, the largest annual toll in the 30 years the group has been keeping track. Twenty-nine of those deaths came in a single, politically motivated massacre of reporters and others in the Philippines last November, the worst known episode for journalists, the committee said. But there were other worrisome trends. The two nations with the highest number of journalists incarcerated — China had 24 journalists imprisoned at the end of 2009 and Iran had 23 — were particularly harsh in taking aim at bloggers and others using the Internet. The number jailed in Iran has since jumped to 47, the committee said. Of the 71 confirmed deaths, 51 were murders, the committee said. The report noted that 24 additional deaths of journalists remained under investigation to determine if they were related to the journalists’ work. Previously, the highest number of journalists killed in a single year was 67, in 2007, when violence in Iraq was raging....

November 20, 2009
International Center for Transitional Justice

Abstract:

During the 1970’s, political violence in Argentina resulted in massive violations of human rights that included thousands of deaths, prolonged and arbitrary arrests, disappearances, unfair trials, pervasive torture, in addition to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. Since the restoration of democracy in 1983, there have been various obstacles to prosecution of such crimes committed by security forces and paramilitary groups. Such obstacles were eventually overcome, and Argentina currently offers an important example of the positive results of both domestic efforts and international advocacy to achieve justice for past crimes against humanity. Due to its recent and ongoing success in the prosecution of human rights criminals, it is arguable that Argentina has one of the best records of transitional justice in the world. It has fostered transitional justice developments in the region, and offers critical insights for other communities struggling with the past which are following Argentina’s efforts with deep interest. The repressive campaign that resulted in massive human rights violations peaked in March 1976, as the commanders-in-chief of Argentina’s three armed forces ousted democratically elected President Isabel Perón and proclaimed a de facto regime. During the seven years of military rule, the military fought what was referred to as a Marxist subversive threat. The most notorious feature of repression by the military dictatorship was the practice of disappearances: possibly up to 30,000 people were abducted by security forces. They were sent to hundreds of secret detention centers, where they were interrogated under barbaric methods. Ultimately, the vast majority of the desaparecidos were systematically, but secretly, murdered. In 1983, before democracy was restored, the military granted itself immunity from prosecution and issued a decree ordering the destruction of all documents relating to military repression....

July 12, 2012
Chatham House

Abstract:

This is a summary of an event held at Chatham House on 14 May 2012. The event explored key aspects of Turkey-Armenia rapprochement. The event was held under the Chatham House Rule. Participants included experts from academia, think tanks and the policy-making community.

June 25, 2012
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

After May’s parliamentary elections, Armenia is preparing for a pivotal presidential vote in 2013 that will determine whether it has shed a nearly two-decade history of fraud-tainted elections and put in place a government with the legitimacy needed to implement comprehensive reform and resolve its problems with Azerbaijan. President Serzh Sargsyan has a brief opportunity to demonstrate statesmanship before he again faces the voters in what is likely to be a competitive contest. Sargsyan has demonstrated some courage to promote change, but like his pre-decessors, he has thus far failed to deal effectively with serious economic and governance problems, including the debilitating, albeit low-intensity, Nagorno-Karabakh war. Another election perceived as seriously flawed would serve as a further distraction from peace talks and severe economic problems. The likely consequences would then be ever more citizens opting out of democratic politics, including by emigration.

The genuinely competitive parliamentary election had some positive signs. Media coverage during much of the campaign was more balanced, and free assembly, expression and movement were largely respected. The president’s ruling Republican Party won a solid majority of seats, but its former coalition partner, Prosperous Armenia – associated with rich businessman and ex-president Robert Kocharyan – came in a strong second. The Armenian National Congress (ANC), led by the first post-independence president, Levon Ter-Petrossian, returned to parliament after a more than ten-year absence. Nevertheless, many old problems reappeared: abuse of administrative resources; inflated voters lists; vote-buying; lack of sufficient redress for election violations; and reports of multiple voting and pressure on some voters. Reforms adopted after the violence that left ten dead and 450 injured following the 2008 election that brought Sargsyan to power were spottily implemented....

June 19, 2012
Central Asia-Caucasus Institute

Abstract:

From June 4 to 6, an intensive shootout occurred on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border in the Gazakh-Tavush area that claimed the lives of five Azerbaijani and three Armenian soldiers. This could be termed just another skirmish in a series of low intensity fighting that costs hundreds of lives on both sides of the conflict. Yet the high death toll and the geographic occurrence of the recent incident far away from the Karabakh front lines evoked debates about the prospects of renewed war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Is the risk of war becoming imminent in this part of the South Caucasus?...

June 11, 2012
Saferworld // Conciliation Resources

Abstract:

The report Putting people first: Reducing frontline tensions in Armenia and Azerbaijan, Nagorny Karabakh is in two main parts: The first part looks at the security needs in Azerbaijan’s frontline villages. It then considers the situation in Tovuz and Gazakh districts bordering on Armenia, also offering local perspectives on security needs there. The second part of the report provides local perspectives from a Karabakh Armenian viewpoint. There is also a report looking at the situation in Tavush region, offering an analogous report to that on the Azerbaijani side. In the final section, there is a list of recommendations set out from the different viewpoints. The surveys were conducted and written up independently of one another....

June 11, 2012
Saferworld // Conciliation Resources

Abstract:

Over the past two decades progress on finding a resolution to the Nagorny Karabakh [NK] conflict has proved elusive. The unresolved conflict continues to evolve and pose persistent and shifting challenges on the ground, including insecurity, long-term displacement, ingrained mistrust and serious limits on development and regional opportunities. Since fighting ended in 1994, there has been an uneasy situation of ‘no war, no peace’ between Armenians and Azerbaijanis.

This brief highlights the potential for a number of key confidence building measures [CBMs]; both military [joint investigation, sniper withdrawal] and civilian [resource management]. Military CBMs are clearly required and expected by the international community; without cooperation on them, the sides are only undermining their own international standing. Cooperation is also urgently required on issues around missing persons and the measures each side needs to take when remains are found in the front-line area.

Findings and recommendations in this policy brief and accompanying report were drawn from consultations and interviews conducted in early 2012 among people directly affected by the conflict, both in a number of Azerbaijani villages near the LOC and in frontline areas in Tovuz and Gazakh districts on the Azerbaijani side of the international border; and also in villages in Tavush region on the Armenian side of the border. Consultations and discussion groups were also carried out in NK, in the same time-frame and in several locations....

June 6, 2012
Australian Government // Australian Civil-Military Centre

Abstract:

Australia is a longstanding and committed contributor to global peace operations, having deployed more than 65 000 personnel to more than 50 UN and other multilateral peace and security operations since 1947. Over the past two decades Australia is proud to have contributed personnel, resources and leadership, alongside its regional partners, to a number of peace operations in the Asia–Pacific region. This report examines some of the primary features of these contributions in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, in Solomon Islands and in Timor-Leste and identifies a number of lessons that emerge from these experiences. It seeks to focus on those policy innovations, best practices and lessons that have greatest potential for use in peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts elsewhere.

Australia has been a partner for peace in each of these operations, recognising that assistance that aligns with local priorities and supports local leadership will be more effective and sustainable in the long term. Support from Australia and regional partners has built on the significant efforts made by the governments and peoples of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste to emerge from conflict. Although this report focuses on Australia’s experiences, it recognises that the credit for peaceful transitions belongs overwhelmingly to the leaders and communities of these three countries themselves....

May 28, 2012
The World Bank

Abstract:

The report addresses the fact that the spheres of security and development significantly overlap in fragile and conflict-affected countries, the respective responses remain largely disconnected. Only by securing development, can roots be deep enough to break the cycle of fragility and violence. Firstly, to facilitate the transition from war to peace and later to foster stability so that development can generate progress over a decade and beyond. In order to do this, the authors believe all development actors need to rethink development assistance creatively as well as learn from the other side: security-focused operations and programs. This paper reports on a consultative dialogue between the World Bank and Australia's whole-of-government spectrum of institutions, with a focus on development actors hearing the security perspective. In this, the authors join a growing process of dialogue between accidental partners development and security actors, unfamiliar with each other but faced with the same challenge of being engaged in fragile and conflict-affected environments. From the authors perspective, engaging in thinking about integration or coordination between development and security embarks on largely unknown territory. However, over the last fifteen to twenty years, Australia has engaged in several unprecedented models of crisis response, integrating security and development, and the authors welcome the opportunity to bring that experience into the broader global discussion....

March 23, 2012
Australian Strategic Policy Institute

Abstract:

The Philippines is a large and important country in Southeast Asia, and potentially a more active security partner for Australia. If the Philippines can resolve these various security problems it will strengthen Manila’s place in the emerging Asia–Pacific order. This paper by Zachary Abuza outlines the range of internal and external challenges facing the Philippines and some of the implications for Australia and the region.

October 20, 2011
Peace & Conflict Review

Abstract:

The Australian-led intervention during the 1999 crisis in East Timor has been considered as a success story in responding to a massive humanitarian emergency. It has been touted as the start of the emergence of a wider acceptance by the international community of the duty to protect innocent civilians who are suffering serious human rights violations. The critical role of Australia as the acknowledged leader of the International Forces for East Timor (INTERFET) was an indispensible factor for the success of the humanitarian intervention. Challenging the conception that the intervention into East Timor represents a significant shift in international relations based on state commitments to protect human rights, this paper argues that Australia’s leadership during the crisis was motivated primarily by the pursuit and protection of its strategic and economic interests....

April 4, 2011
Australian Council for International Development

Abstract:

This study was commissioned by the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) Afghanistan Working Group (AWG) to provide a clearer overview of the key aid modalities used by the Australian Government in Afghanistan. Particular attention was paid to aid delivered by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) as part of its counterinsurgency efforts in Uruzgan Province. The study was carried out from May – July 2010.

Australia’s engagement in Afghanistan dates largely from 11 September 2001. Prior to this and dating back to 1994, the Australian aid portfolio was minimal and ADF involvement was limited to mine clearance activities through the United Nations. After 9/11, and due to its role as major non-North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally and an ally of the US increased significantly in 2006 with the deployment of ADF personnel to Uruzgan Province to support both military and stabilization/reconstruction efforts.

Currently Australia supports the revised Obama Administration’s strategy for Afghanistan that has seen a strategic shift in military command of NATO-International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), with a changed emphasis and the direction of military operations towards a counter-insurgency (COIN) ‘clear, hold and build’ campaign. The central principle in COIN strategy is to protect the population, reverse the Talban’s momentum and create the space to develop security and governance capacity in Afghanistan....

June 7, 2011
Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces

Abstract:

The Examples from the Ground are concrete illustrations of ways in which a gender perspective has been integrated in different security sector institutions around the world. They range from measures to counter human trafficking in Kosovo, to women’s organisations’ involvement with security institutions in Nepal, to female parliamentarians’ contribution to post-conflict reconstruction in Rwanda. These examples can help policymakers, trainers and educators better understand and demonstrate the linkages between gender and SSR.

The examples are organised around the following nine themes, for which a short introduction is provided:

• Police Reform and Gender
• Defence Reform and Gender
• Justice Reform and Gender
• Penal Reform and Gender
• Border Management and Gender
• Parliamentary Oversight of the Security Sector and Gender
• National Security Policy-Making and Gender
• Civil Society Oversight of the Security Sector and Gender
• SSR Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation and Gender

Individual examples can also be downloaded individually, in English or in French, at:
http://gssrtraining.ch/index.php?option=com_content&view;=article&id;=4&Itemid;=131⟨=en...

June 8, 2010
European Coalition of Oil in Sudan // Fatal Transactions

Abstract:

From 1983 to 2005, Sudan was torn apart by a civil war between the Government and Southern armed groups. Oil was a factor in the outbreak and exacerbated war from the mid-1990s. This report is concerned with the injustice perpetrated on victims and the role of oil companies and their home governments during the oil wars. Between 1997 and 2003, international crimes were committed on a large scale in what was essentially a military campaign by the Government of Sudan to secure and take control of the oil fields in Block 5A. As documented in this report, they included indiscriminate attacks and intentional targeting of civilians, burning of shelters, pillage, destruction of objects necessary for survival, unlawful killing of civilians, rape of women, abduction of children, torture, and forced displacement. Thousands of people died and almost two hundred thousand were violently displaced. Satellite pictures taken between 1994 and 2003 show that the Lundin Consortium’s activities in Block 5A coincided with a spectacular drop in agricultural land use. The actual perpetrators of the reported crimes were the armed forces of the Government of Sudan and a variety of local armed groups that were either allied to the Government or its main opponent, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). Nonetheless, the evidence presented in this report calls into question the role played by the oil industry in these events. ECOS believes that Lundin, Petronas and OMV, as a matter of international law, may have been complicit in the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity....

September 5, 2008
Congressional Research Service

Abstract:

U.S. policymakers have made securing and maintaining foreign contributions to the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq a major priority since the preparation period for the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. This report highlights and discusses important changes in financial and personnel contributions from foreign governments to Iraq since 2003. To date, foreign donors have pledged an estimated $16.4 billion in grants and loans for Iraq reconstruction, with most major pledges originating at a major donors' conference in Madrid, Spain, in October 2003. However, only a small part of the pledges have been committed or disbursed to the World Bank and United Nations Development Group Trust Funds for Iraq. The largest non-U.S. pledges of grants have come from Japan, the European Commission, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates. The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, Japan, and Saudi Arabia have pledged the most loans and export credits. Currently, 33 countries including the United States have some level of troops on the ground in Iraq or supporting Iraq operations from nearby locations. Those forces are working under the rubric of one of several organizations — the Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I), the NATO Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I); or the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). Currently, the largest troop contributors, in addition to the United States, are the United Kingdom, Georgia, Australia, South Korea, and Poland. Some of these key contributors have announced their intention to reduce or withdraw their forces from Iraq during 2008. The total number of non-U.S. coalition troop contributions has declined since the early stabilization efforts, as other countries have withdrawn their contingents or substantially reduced their size....

March 31, 2008
Foreign Policy

Abstract:

Thousands of international troops remain in Afghanistan, but some members of this coalition are more willing than others. FP looks at whose militaries are pulling their weight—and who could do far more.

June 8, 2006
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Abstract:

The human rights situation deteriorated in numerous former Soviet republics. Independent human rights monitoring groups, including several affiliates of the IHF, came under attack. The Russian Federation, Belarus, and the Central Asian regimes promulgated new legislation or changed their practices to allow these states arbitrarily to restrict the activities of nongovernmental organizations. The leaders of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee faced fabricated criminal charges, and in January 2006, state-controlled Russian media falsely implicated the Moscow Helsinki Group in espionage....

June 19, 2012
Central Asia-Caucasus Institute

Abstract:

From June 4 to 6, an intensive shootout occurred on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border in the Gazakh-Tavush area that claimed the lives of five Azerbaijani and three Armenian soldiers. This could be termed just another skirmish in a series of low intensity fighting that costs hundreds of lives on both sides of the conflict. Yet the high death toll and the geographic occurrence of the recent incident far away from the Karabakh front lines evoked debates about the prospects of renewed war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Is the risk of war becoming imminent in this part of the South Caucasus?...

June 11, 2012
Saferworld // Conciliation Resources

Abstract:

The report Putting people first: Reducing frontline tensions in Armenia and Azerbaijan, Nagorny Karabakh is in two main parts: The first part looks at the security needs in Azerbaijan’s frontline villages. It then considers the situation in Tovuz and Gazakh districts bordering on Armenia, also offering local perspectives on security needs there. The second part of the report provides local perspectives from a Karabakh Armenian viewpoint. There is also a report looking at the situation in Tavush region, offering an analogous report to that on the Azerbaijani side. In the final section, there is a list of recommendations set out from the different viewpoints. The surveys were conducted and written up independently of one another....

June 11, 2012
Saferworld // Conciliation Resources

Abstract:

Over the past two decades progress on finding a resolution to the Nagorny Karabakh [NK] conflict has proved elusive. The unresolved conflict continues to evolve and pose persistent and shifting challenges on the ground, including insecurity, long-term displacement, ingrained mistrust and serious limits on development and regional opportunities. Since fighting ended in 1994, there has been an uneasy situation of ‘no war, no peace’ between Armenians and Azerbaijanis.

This brief highlights the potential for a number of key confidence building measures [CBMs]; both military [joint investigation, sniper withdrawal] and civilian [resource management]. Military CBMs are clearly required and expected by the international community; without cooperation on them, the sides are only undermining their own international standing. Cooperation is also urgently required on issues around missing persons and the measures each side needs to take when remains are found in the front-line area.

Findings and recommendations in this policy brief and accompanying report were drawn from consultations and interviews conducted in early 2012 among people directly affected by the conflict, both in a number of Azerbaijani villages near the LOC and in frontline areas in Tovuz and Gazakh districts on the Azerbaijani side of the international border; and also in villages in Tavush region on the Armenian side of the border. Consultations and discussion groups were also carried out in NK, in the same time-frame and in several locations....

June 8, 2012
The Heritage Foudation

Abstract:

The Islamist insurgency in Russia’s Northern Caucasus threatens to turn the region into a haven for international terrorism and to destabilize the entire region, which is a critical hub of oil and gas pipelines located at Europe’s doorstep. Neither Russia’s excessive use of military force nor its massive economic aid to the region appear to have helped. The U.S. and its friends and allies should keep a close watch on the region. In the meantime, the U.S. should work with neighboring countries to improve their border security. The U.S. should also encourage and work with Middle Eastern countries to stop the flow of cash to the Islamist terrorist organizations....

May 10, 2012
The Foreign Policy Centre

Abstract:

Spotlight on Azerbaijan contains a broad analysis of some of the key governance and human rights challenges Azerbaijan faces, and explores the role and goals of the international community. The publication argues that the Government of Azerbaijan is pursuing a policy of limited modernisation without democratisation. While some legislation and state processes are being improved, the fundamental nature of power in Azerbaijan has not become more plural and in some key areas of human rights and governance the situation is in fact deteriorating. The report therefore makes a series of recommendations for action....

September 16, 2008
En la Mira - The Latin American Small Arms Watch

Abstract:

Although all countries, in theory report their authorized transfers - and such information may even be available in certain public databases - the task of providing an overview of SALW transfers, their parts and munitions, is an arduous one. Nonetheless, despite the difficulties, we have some extremely positive initiatives on a global scale, such as for example, the Small Arms Survey, recognized as an important source of information, especially on SALW production and transfers, as well as the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers (NISAT) which has a database containing transfer records going back to 1962.Despite these important initiatives, themselves when researchers, activists and policy makers try to understand a regional market, such as Latin America and the Caribbean, they encounter a dearth of information. With the intent of addressing this shortcoming, En La Mira has, since 2007, dedicated an issue to transfers of SALWs, parts and ammunition in this region. Further, according to statistics from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN-Comtrade or Comtrade), USD 6.7 billion were exported between 2004 and 2006, while USD 6.5 billion were imported. Despite the fact that Latin America and the Caribbean represent 6% and 3%, respectively, of total transfers worldwide during this period, 42% of firearms related homicide is committed in the region. This discrepancy between the international transfer volume share and the levels of armsrelated violence in Latin America and the Caribbean calls attention to itself, above all because of the tragic and startling number of homicides. Obviously, far from wishing to increase arms transfers in order to be more in sync with homicide rates, we decided, a year ago, to study this issue and periodically monitor its development based on our interest in understanding the primary legal entry and exit routes of firearms and ammunition. The result is a report - based on customs information as stated by Latin American and Caribbean countries and their respective partners - whose objective is to describe the movement of the SALW imports and exports, as well as ammunition and parts, during the present decade. Based on this data, we answer the following questions: who exported and who imported? From whom? What? And when? It is worth restating that the intent of this report is not to explain the cause of arms imports and exports by Latin American countries. Beyond merely providing information, we do indeed wish to awaken, by means of the information presented here, the curiosity of other researches, activists and government staff members such that they may continue to perform research in their countries regarding the transparency of this information, on who is using the transferred SALW, and how. The data used for this report came from the NISAT database, which contains more than 800,000 entries for SALW transfers worldwide since 1962. The NISAT database gets its information from different sources, COMTRADE among them. In this study we decided to restrict ourselves to data from this latter source because, in theory, all countries report transfers to the UN. This data is declared in accordance with the Harmonized System (SH) merchandise classification system. The HS has existed since 1988and, in 2007, was revised for the fourth time; previous revisions were in 1992, 1996 and in 2002. Regarding the period analyzed, we are looking at data up until 2006, since at the time the study closed this was the most recent year available on NISAT....

January 6, 2006
University of Toronto

Abstract:

The Project produced two types of publications: thematic reports and case studies. Together, these papers make up an integrated package of materials. Thematic reports provide readers with an overarching understanding of general issues relating to environment, population, and security. Case studies examine in considerable detail these linkages in specific countries of interest to policymakers. These two types of reports complement each other: the thematic reports provide theoretical insights that can be explored in the case studies; the case studies provide illustrations of crucial theoretical points raised in the thematic reports. Each thematic report and case study was reviewed by several leading authorities before dissemination....

September 2, 2004
Amnesty International

Abstract:

Against the international trend away from the use of the death penalty, executions have increased in the English speaking Caribbean (ESC) in recent years. Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas and St. Kitts and St. Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have all carried out executions in the last seven years. Jamaica, Antigua, Grenada, St Lucia, Dominica, Belize and Barbados all currently have condemned prisoners and continue to impose sentences of death.

November 19, 2003
Amnesty International

Abstract:

This report documents human rights issues in the Bahamas relating to detainees in the custody of immigration, the police and the prison service. The report concludes that urgent action is needed to end arbitrary detention for immigration detainees, improve conditions amounting to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, investigate reports of ill-treatment and torture and better protect the rights of asylum-seekers, migrants and other prisoners, especially children.

July 16, 2012
United States Institute of Peace

Abstract:

An extraordinary wave of popular protest swept the Arab world in 2011. Massive popular mobilization brought down long-ruling leaders in Tunisia and Egypt, helped spark bloody struggles in Bahrain, Libya, Syria, and Yemen, and fundamentally reshaped the nature of politics in the region.

New media—at least that which uses bit.ly linkages—did not appear to play a significant role in either in-country collective action or regional diffusion during this period. This lack of impact does not mean that social media—or digital media generally—were unimportant. Nor does it preclude the possibility that other new media technologies were significant in these contexts, or even that different Twitter or link data would show different results. But it does mean that at least in terms of media that use bit.ly links [especially Twitter], data do not provide strong support for claims of significant new media impact on Arab Spring political protests. New media outlets that use bit.ly are more likely to spread information outside the region than inside it, acting like a megaphone more than a rallying cry. This dissemination could be significant if it led to a boomerang effect that brought international pressure to bear on autocratic regimes, or helped reduce a regime’s tendency to crack down violently on protests. It is increasingly difficult to separate new media from old media. In the Arab Spring, the two reinforced each other. New media must be understood as part of a wider information arena in which new and old media form complex interrelationships.

Of the four major Arab Spring protests analyzed—Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Bahrain—large differences were found across the four in the amount of information consumed via social media. The events in Egypt and in Libya [#jan25 and #feb17, respectively] garnered many more clicks on a much larger number of URLs than those in Tunisia and Bahrain. The protests in Egypt and Libya attracted more attention than those in other countries and also focused that attention on a more delimited set of content. Particular hashtags, such as #jan25, received a disproportionate proportion of attention. The trends also suggest very sharp peaks of attention pegged to dramatic events, such as the departure of Ben Ali in Tunisia, the Pearl Roundabout raid in Bahrain, and several key days during the protest in Egypt—especially the “Friday of departure,” when Mubarak resigned....

June 20, 2012
Barcelona Centre for International Affairs

Abstract:

Facing the failures, and the horrors, of non-democratic regimes, democrats tend to rest comfortably on the famous Churchillian dictum [democracy as “the worst political system, barring all the others”]. Thus, they tend to be in denial of the more than evident problems and contradictions that deeply affect today’s image – and substance – of democracy. The problem is not so much that of revising traditional politological definitions, but rather of assessing in a critical way the premises - and the promises - of democracy in the light of contemporary societal challenges....

June 14, 2012
Chatham House

Abstract:

Bahrain faces a long-running local dispute about the sharing of power and wealth. While there has never been a simple division between Sunni and Shia, politics have become increasingly polarized along sectarian lines, a trend exacerbated by outside actors.

Since the report of the royally established Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry [the ‘Bassiouni report’] in November 2011, the government has taken some steps to address human rights abuses and to create new mechanisms for the oversight of the security services. However, the effect of these potentially important mechanisms will depend on the political will invested in them. So far the indications are negative.

There is still scope to find common ground between the different elements of Bahraini society in support of a constitutional monarchy, based on a revitalized social contract, not on sect-based power-sharing.

There may now be an opportunity to develop a fresh GCC mediation effort in the context of discussions on greater GCC unity. Conversely, the failure to reach a political solution to the problems in Bahrain may undermine the drive towards GCC unity by contributing to both political and sectarian tensions within the GCC.

The repression in Bahrain, a Western ally, complicates and hinders the efforts of the US and UK to sketch out a new policy towards a Middle East where demands for democracy have become increasingly vocal....

May 28, 2012
Physicians for Human Rights

Abstract:

In February 2011, the Government of Bahrain began targeting health professionals who treated protesters. In April 2012, PHR's Richard Sollom, Deputy Director, and Holly Atkinson, MD, FACP, past President of PHR's Board and volunteer expert, authored a report showing the devastation on Bahrain's health system that have resulted from the Government of Bahrain’s continued assault on doctors, patients, and the healthcare system.

April 17, 2012
Amnesty International

Abstract:

The Bahraini government's response to the findings of an international commission of inquiry has proved inadequate as human rights violations continue, Amnesty International said in a new report on Tuesday. The 58-page Flawed Reforms: Bahrain fails to achieve justice for protesters reveals that piecemeal reforms have failed to provide justice for victims of human rights violations, despite the government's insistence that it will learn from the events of February and March 2011.

"With the world's eyes on Bahrain as it prepares to host the Grand Prix, no-one should be under any illusions that the country's human rights crisis is over," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director. "The authorities are trying to portray the country as being on the road to reform, but we continue to receive reports of torture and use of unnecessary and excessive force against protests. Their reforms have only scratched the surface." "The government's huge financial investment in international experts to help them reform will go to waste unless it shows real political will to take difficult decisions - in particular, holding to account senior members of the security forces accused of violations, releasing prisoners of conscience and addressing the underlying discrimination against the Shi'a majority population."

Following the November 2011 report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) - sometimes known as the "Bassiouni Commission" - Amnesty International has found that despite some institutional and other reforms, the government's overall response has been inadequate....

July 10, 2012
Saferworld

Abstract:

Over the past decade, concerns have grown that unemployed youths in the impoverished North Bengal region are an easy target for recruitment by extremist groups. Saferworld supported the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute to investigate this issue through a youth perception survey on safety and security in the region, including concerns associated with violent extremism.

The report presents an analysis of primary and secondary research conducted between November 2010 and April 2011 by BEI with technical and financial support from Saferworld. BEI surveyed over 600 men and women aged 18–35.

Young people should be directly consulted on ways in which to improve safety and security in their communities and should be actively engaged in this endeavour. The report makes a series of recommendations to policy makers, security sector providers and other key stakeholders on how to achieve this, including through promoting community security initiatives; developing an education reform programme, and creating employment opportunities and platforms to engage young people....

July 4, 2012
Human Rights Watch

Abstract:

The 57-page report provides a detailed account of the mutiny and documents serious abuses in the aftermath, including torture by security forces of people in custody on suspicion of planning the mutiny, and of ongoing concerns about fair trial violations in mass trials of hundreds of suspects at a time. The notorious Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has allegedly been involved in many of the abuses.

June 13, 2012
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

Bangladesh could face a protracted political crisis in the lead-up to the 2013 elections unless Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government changes course and takes a more conciliatory approach towards the political opposition and the military. In December 2008, following two years of a military-backed caretaker government, the Awami League [AL] secured a landslide victory in what were widely acknowledged to be the fairest elections in the country’s history. The hope, both at home and abroad, was that Sheikh Hasina would use her mandate to revitalise democratic institutions and pursue national reconciliation, ending the pernicious cycle of zero-sum politics between her AL and its rival, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party [BNP]. Three and a half years on, hope has been replaced by deep disillusionment, as two familiar threats to Bangladesh’s democracy have returned: the prospect of election-related violence and the risks stemming from an unstable and hostile military.

Instead of changing the old pattern of politics, the AL government has systematically used parliament, the executive and the courts to reinforce it, including by filing corruption cases against Khaleda Zia, the BNP chairperson, and employing security agencies to curb opposition activities. Most worrying, however, is the AL-dominated parliament’s adoption of the fifteenth amendment to the constitution, which scraps a provision mandating the formation of a neutral caretaker administration to oversee general elections. The caretaker system was a major practical and psychological barrier to election-rigging by the party in power. Removing it has undermined opposition parties’ confidence in the electoral system.

The fifteenth amendment carries other dangers as well. For example, anyone who criticises the constitution may now be prosecuted for sedition; new procedures have rendered further amendments virtually impossible; and the death penalty is prescribed for plotting to overthrow an elected government – a thinly veiled warning to the military, which has done so four times in as many decades....

June 13, 2012
Cooperation for Peace and Unity

Abstract:

This study focuses on Afghanistan and is one of a series that DFID has commissioned to examine frequently given hypotheses for radicalisation. Radicalisation is here defined as ‘the social processes by which people are brought to condone, legitimise, support or carry out violence for political or religious objectives’. The focus in this study is on why men join armed groups that present as religiously motivated, and how much support there is for this from their wider communities.

This study takes as its starting point the findings presented in DFID’s Strategic Conflict Analysis for Afghanistan [SCA], undertaken in 2008. The SCA provided an overview of why men join armed groups in general. This study builds on SCA findings on motivation in two ways. First, by conducting face to face interviews with ‘ordinary people’ in insurgency areas it allows for a more nuanced understanding of why there is considerable public support for the two main groups fighting the government [the Taliban and Hizb-i Islami]. In addition, it enables an assessment of whether ‘radicalisation’ in an HMG sense is occurring because it focuses only on areas where either the Taliban or Hizb-i Islami operate or have control. Thus it was possible to come to some conclusions about whether men join these groups because of their strong religious ideology or for other reasons....

May 7, 2012
Saferworld

Abstract:

What are citizens' perceptions of the security sector in Bangladesh? What are the lessons for security sector reform? This paper reports results of a public perceptions survey on the police, army, the Rapid Action Battalion, defence parties and border guards. While citizens of Bangladesh feel safer today and crime has declined slightly, a large number of challenges remain that all security providers must address. The Bangladesh police and criminal justice system are in most need of reform; greater links between formal and informal security and justice mechanisms would improve security provision.

This comprehensive 3,000-person household survey was conducted in 2009. It addressed the Bangladesh police, Army, Ansar and Village Defence Parties (Ansar and VDP) and the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), now known as the Border Guard. Interviews with current and former security sector staff and non-governmental (NGO) experts were also conducted....

September 16, 2008
En la Mira - The Latin American Small Arms Watch

Abstract:

Although all countries, in theory report their authorized transfers - and such information may even be available in certain public databases - the task of providing an overview of SALW transfers, their parts and munitions, is an arduous one. Nonetheless, despite the difficulties, we have some extremely positive initiatives on a global scale, such as for example, the Small Arms Survey, recognized as an important source of information, especially on SALW production and transfers, as well as the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers (NISAT) which has a database containing transfer records going back to 1962.Despite these important initiatives, themselves when researchers, activists and policy makers try to understand a regional market, such as Latin America and the Caribbean, they encounter a dearth of information. With the intent of addressing this shortcoming, En La Mira has, since 2007, dedicated an issue to transfers of SALWs, parts and ammunition in this region. Further, according to statistics from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN-Comtrade or Comtrade), USD 6.7 billion were exported between 2004 and 2006, while USD 6.5 billion were imported. Despite the fact that Latin America and the Caribbean represent 6% and 3%, respectively, of total transfers worldwide during this period, 42% of firearms related homicide is committed in the region. This discrepancy between the international transfer volume share and the levels of armsrelated violence in Latin America and the Caribbean calls attention to itself, above all because of the tragic and startling number of homicides. Obviously, far from wishing to increase arms transfers in order to be more in sync with homicide rates, we decided, a year ago, to study this issue and periodically monitor its development based on our interest in understanding the primary legal entry and exit routes of firearms and ammunition. The result is a report - based on customs information as stated by Latin American and Caribbean countries and their respective partners - whose objective is to describe the movement of the SALW imports and exports, as well as ammunition and parts, during the present decade. Based on this data, we answer the following questions: who exported and who imported? From whom? What? And when? It is worth restating that the intent of this report is not to explain the cause of arms imports and exports by Latin American countries. Beyond merely providing information, we do indeed wish to awaken, by means of the information presented here, the curiosity of other researches, activists and government staff members such that they may continue to perform research in their countries regarding the transparency of this information, on who is using the transferred SALW, and how. The data used for this report came from the NISAT database, which contains more than 800,000 entries for SALW transfers worldwide since 1962. The NISAT database gets its information from different sources, COMTRADE among them. In this study we decided to restrict ourselves to data from this latter source because, in theory, all countries report transfers to the UN. This data is declared in accordance with the Harmonized System (SH) merchandise classification system. The HS has existed since 1988and, in 2007, was revised for the fourth time; previous revisions were in 1992, 1996 and in 2002. Regarding the period analyzed, we are looking at data up until 2006, since at the time the study closed this was the most recent year available on NISAT....

September 2, 2004
Amnesty International

Abstract:

Against the international trend away from the use of the death penalty, executions have increased in the English speaking Caribbean (ESC) in recent years. Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas and St. Kitts and St. Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have all carried out executions in the last seven years. Jamaica, Antigua, Grenada, St Lucia, Dominica, Belize and Barbados all currently have condemned prisoners and continue to impose sentences of death.

October 31, 2011
Democracy Reporting International // Institute for European Policy

Abstract:

Prior to the Arab Spring, the last period to experience such great political events was when communism collapsed in Central Europe and the Soviet Union between 1989 and 1991. This change presented an opportunity for each of the countries to introduce new political systems and build democratic state institutions. While the history, culture and context of Central and Eastern Europe is different to North Africa and the Middle East the European experience of political transition can still offer important insights into the nature of the challenges the Arab countries are likely to face.

This collection of articles responds to requests made by some Arab reformers to deepen their knowledge of how political change in Eastern Europe unfolded. Rather than focussing on the successful transitions, it presents case studies which recall the difficulties, pitfalls and political missteps which jeopardised these countries’ transitions and even caused some of them to fail.

The collection examines transitions in seven countries, of which three focus on events during the ‘first wave’ of transition from 1991 to 1996 [Albania, Azerbaijan and Belarus] and four explore ‘second wave’ transitions which occurred between 2003 and 2010 [Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Ukraine]....

September 26, 2011
Freedom House

Abstract:

Freedom House has prepared this special report entitled Worst of the Worst: The World’s Most Repressive Societies, as a companion to its annual survey on the state of global political rights and civil liberties, Freedom in the World. The special report provides summary country reports, tables, and graphical information on the countries that receive the lowest combined ratings for political rights and civil liberties in Freedom in the World, and whose citizens endure systematic and pervasive human rights violations.

The report serves a reminder that over 1.6 billion people—more than 24 percent of the world’s population—suffer every day from the basic indignities of not being able to express their thoughts and opinions, of not having a say in who governs them and how the wealth of their land and labor is spent, and of being unable to obtain justice for crimes perpetrated against them. Hundreds of thousands of human beings in these countries languish every day in prisons or labor camps— generally in subhuman conditions and subject to physical or mental abuse—purely for their political or religious beliefs. This report seeks to highlight their plight and serves as a call to the world’s governments, policymakers, human rights organizations, and democracy advocates to speak out and use whatever resources they can bring to bear to improve respect for the most basic human rights in these countries....

August 2, 2011
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Abstract:

People become refugees for many reasons, not least because of violent civil conflicts in which ordinary citizens are the greatest victims. This has led to large numbers of women, men and children being forced to seek sanctuary in their neighbouring countries and further afield. These people can remain displaced for years, or even decades. Some may fear that the prolonged presence of refugees will have a negative impact on their community or country.

In reality, if given the opportunity to integrate and belong, former refugees are able to be self-reliant and to contribute socially and economically, in many cases becoming an asset to their host States.

Local integration is one of the three ‘durable solutions’ for refugees developed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in partnership with host and origin countries. The other durable solutions are voluntary repatriation to the refugees’ country of origin, and resettlement in a third country. Local integration is particularly relevant when people cannot return to their country of origin in a foreseeable future, or have developed strong ties with their host communities through business or marriage. It is based on the assumption that refugees will remain in their country of asylum permanently and find a solution to their plight in that State, possibly but not necessarily though acquiring citizenship. Local integration is all about partnerships and collaboration between agencies and countries in the pursuit of collective solutions. Ultimately, however, both the vision and leadership of host governments and the support of the international community are critical to the ongoing success of local integration strategies.

...

May 2, 2011
The Committee to Protect Journalists

Abstract:

The world’s worst online oppressors are using an array of tactics, some reflecting astonishing levels of sophistication, others reminiscent of old-school techniques. From China’s high-level malware attacks to Syria’s brute-force imprisonments, this may be only the dawn of online oppression.

In reporting news from the world’s most troubled nations, journalists have made a seismic shift this year in their reliance on the Internet and other digital tools. Blogging, video sharing, text messaging, and live-streaming from cellphones brought images of popular unrest from the central square of Cairo and the main boulevard of Tunis to the rest of the world. Yet the technology used to report the news has been matched in many ways by the tools used to suppress information. Many of the oppressors’ tactics show an increasing sophistication, from the state-supported email in China designed to take over journalists’ personal computers, to the carefully timed cyber-attacks on news websites in Belarus. Still other tools in the oppressor’s kit are as old as the press itself, including imprisonment of online writers in Syria, and the use of violence against bloggers in Russia.

To mark World Press Freedom Day, May 3, the Committee to Protect Journalists is examining the 10 prevailing tactics of online oppression worldwide and the countries that have taken the lead in their use. What is most surprising about these Online Oppressors is not who they are—they are all nations with long records of repression—but how swiftly they adapted old strategies to the online world.

In two nations we cite, Egypt and Tunisia, the regimes have changed, but their successors have not categorically broken with past repressive practices. The tactics of other nations—such as Iran, which employs sophisticated tools to destroy anti-censorship technology, and Ethiopia, which exerts monopolistic control over the Internet—are being watched, and emulated, by repressive regimes worldwide.

Here are the 10 prevalent tools for online oppression....

March 14, 2011
Institute for Security and Development Policy

Abstract:

The events in Libya have once again put focus on Belarus as an arms exporter. Belarus has admitted that it sold or delivered weapons worth an estimated US$1.1 billion in 1999-2006 according to the Congressional Research Service. A significant number of these sales went to state-sponsored terrorism, extremist groups or states involved in conflict. Belarus is also one of the top arms exporters to rogue states.

March 21, 2011
United States Institute of Peace

Abstract:

Since 2007, Belgium has displayed a rather surreal degree of political chaos. Belgian politicians seemed to be on a merry-go-round. They have provoked three cabinet resignations, 24 “royal” mediators, and more than 420 days of coalition formation. With the rise of Flemish nationalism and inter-communal tensions, the country seems to suffer from an intractable ethno-linguistic conflict.

The political elites of a country that used to serve as a model for multi-ethnic societies in war-torn countries are now exploiting linguistic and cultural differences and stirring up tensions to advance a parochial political agenda. Decentralization is unavoidable, and perhaps even necessary for Belgium’s future welfare. But the infusion of identity-based and exclusionary arguments into political negotiations about state reform is detrimental and has no place in a social welfare state at the center of Europe....

March 14, 2011
Chatham House

Abstract:

• The protection of asylum-seekers in Europe is dealt with under three principal bodies of law: the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951, the law of the European Union and the soft law developed by the Council of Europe.
• Member states of the Council of Europe are also bound by the judgments of the European Convention on Human Rights; although the convention makes no reference to refugee protection, its provisions and the judgments of its court in Strasbourg impose important obligations on states in respect of asylum.
• The entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty in 1999 initiated the first phase of the creation of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), which aimed to harmonize refugee protection among member states while enabling them to meet their international obligations in that respect.
• The harmonizing measures adopted by the EU have been subject to severe criticism and the practices of member states reveal a systemic failure to comply with international refugee protection obligations. • While there have been improvements in European refugee policy, significant challenges must be
addressed before Europe can regain its reputation as a champion of the rights of the refugee. This is given particular urgency by recent events in North Africa, which may lead to large numbers of persons fleeing violence and disorder....

September 7, 2010
Combating Terrorism Center // West Point

Abstract:

1 Defining the Punjabi Taliban Network By Hassan Abbas; 4 The 2008 Belgium Cell and FATA’s Terrorist Pipeline By Paul Cruickshank; 8 President Obama’s Overseas Terrorism Challenge By Tom Sanderson; 11 Improving India’s Counterterrorism Policy after Mumbai By Paul Staniland; 14 Leveraging History in AQIM Communications By Lianne Kennedy Boudali; 17 AQAP a Rising Threat in Yemen By Brian O’Neill; 19 The Role of the United Nations in Defeating Al-Qa`ida and Associated Groups By Richard Barrett...

October 7, 2009
Henry L. Stimson Center

Abstract:

In 2001, when foreign militaries – including the American, Belgian, British, Canadian, Danish, German, Italian, and Turkish – entered the country, Afghans welcomed them warmly, strewing flowers as they passed through towns and villages. There was widespread hope that the country would finally see peace and stability after decades of war. Eight years later, however, there is still a consistent failure to establish the appropriate mechanisms for security and development in Afghanistan. Since the Bonn Agreement, both security assistance and development assistance have taken a short term view – primarily addressing immediate and acute problems rather than identifying and responding to underlying weaknesses. Such a “quick fix” approach has cost time and popular support from those eager for change, and has wasted resources and opportunities. Significant amounts of aid are re-routed back to the donors’ home countries through contractors and consultants. The creation of parallel structures of governance such as command and control centers and prisons has undermined national authority, inhibited national initiative, weakened security, and slowed development. Prospects for sustainable development are slim, and the initially close relationship between the Afghan public and international forces has deteriorated. Underlying the current approach is the assumption that Afghanistan could only be rescued by an enormous international intervention. However the presence of the international community, even if extensive and well-directed, will not be useful if Afghans are not in charge of their own recovery and development. Although the international community and the Afghan government have rhetorically committed themselves to inclusive nation-building, significant progress has yet to be made in including a wide cross-section of Afghan society....

August 11, 2009
Foundation for Defense of Democracies

Abstract:

Terrorism is not a new phenomenon, nor is it likely to disappear anytime soon. It is not the exclusive domain of any single religion or ideology, nor do all terrorists come from the same socioeconomic class or share the same mental pathologies.1 In part, the diversity within contemporary terrorism is what makes it so great a challenge. This report describes, in great detail, the state of terrorism in Western countries over the course of 2008. Before turning to terrorism events in the West during 2008 and key developments within Western countries’ legal systems, we are going to pinpoint a few broad trends—a few currents that run through the various incidents and cases that follow. As this report will show, concerns about the contemporary connection between criminal activities and terrorism are clear in Bulgaria, a country rife with organized crime. An April 2008 parliamentary report charged that profits from the country’s drug trade were channeled to Middle Eastern terrorist groups....

September 16, 2008
En la Mira - The Latin American Small Arms Watch

Abstract:

Although all countries, in theory report their authorized transfers - and such information may even be available in certain public databases - the task of providing an overview of SALW transfers, their parts and munitions, is an arduous one. Nonetheless, despite the difficulties, we have some extremely positive initiatives on a global scale, such as for example, the Small Arms Survey, recognized as an important source of information, especially on SALW production and transfers, as well as the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers (NISAT) which has a database containing transfer records going back to 1962.Despite these important initiatives, themselves when researchers, activists and policy makers try to understand a regional market, such as Latin America and the Caribbean, they encounter a dearth of information. With the intent of addressing this shortcoming, En La Mira has, since 2007, dedicated an issue to transfers of SALWs, parts and ammunition in this region. Further, according to statistics from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN-Comtrade or Comtrade), USD 6.7 billion were exported between 2004 and 2006, while USD 6.5 billion were imported. Despite the fact that Latin America and the Caribbean represent 6% and 3%, respectively, of total transfers worldwide during this period, 42% of firearms related homicide is committed in the region. This discrepancy between the international transfer volume share and the levels of armsrelated violence in Latin America and the Caribbean calls attention to itself, above all because of the tragic and startling number of homicides. Obviously, far from wishing to increase arms transfers in order to be more in sync with homicide rates, we decided, a year ago, to study this issue and periodically monitor its development based on our interest in understanding the primary legal entry and exit routes of firearms and ammunition. The result is a report - based on customs information as stated by Latin American and Caribbean countries and their respective partners - whose objective is to describe the movement of the SALW imports and exports, as well as ammunition and parts, during the present decade. Based on this data, we answer the following questions: who exported and who imported? From whom? What? And when? It is worth restating that the intent of this report is not to explain the cause of arms imports and exports by Latin American countries. Beyond merely providing information, we do indeed wish to awaken, by means of the information presented here, the curiosity of other researches, activists and government staff members such that they may continue to perform research in their countries regarding the transparency of this information, on who is using the transferred SALW, and how. The data used for this report came from the NISAT database, which contains more than 800,000 entries for SALW transfers worldwide since 1962. The NISAT database gets its information from different sources, COMTRADE among them. In this study we decided to restrict ourselves to data from this latter source because, in theory, all countries report transfers to the UN. This data is declared in accordance with the Harmonized System (SH) merchandise classification system. The HS has existed since 1988and, in 2007, was revised for the fourth time; previous revisions were in 1992, 1996 and in 2002. Regarding the period analyzed, we are looking at data up until 2006, since at the time the study closed this was the most recent year available on NISAT....

May 28, 2007
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Abstract:

The world is coming to recognise the interdependence of security and development issues. Moral imperatives aside, poverty is no longer acceptable for reasons of simple common safety. Technology and globalisation have made it possible for even the most marginalized groups to pose a threat to the most powerful. Areas allowed to descend into social disarray generate, and provide refuge for, organised criminals and political militants. Global security requires global development. The problem is that the opposite is also true: development requires security. Investors do not put their money in places where the rule of law does not prevail. Skilled labour does not reside in countries where personal safety is at risk. Crime and corruption are derailing attempts to address the global polarisation of wealth, as people choose not to invest their lives or their money where they are insecure. For the poor that remain, the threat of crime retards their efforts to better themselves, as they structure their activities around avoiding victimisation. Trust among countrymen is lost, and with it goes social cohesion. Cynicism about the ability to succeed within the law breeds further insecurity, and whole regions can find themselves locked into a downward spiral of victimisation and social disinvestment. Further, crime and corruption undermine democracy itself. The primary responsibility of the state is to ensure citizen security, and when it fails to establish basic internal order, it loses the confidence of the people. When civil servants and elected officials come to be viewed as part of the crime problem, citizens effectively disown their government. They become subjects rather than citizens. Whatever role the state might play in development is seriously challenged by the loss of popular support. It is therefore imperative that crime be addressed as a key development issue. Until threats to life and property can be brought to acceptable levels, developing countries with serious crime problems will struggle to gain the public confidence needed for forward progress. A foundational level of order must be established before development objectives can be realised. Due to its geographic location between the world's cocaine suppliers and its main consumers, Central America has been exposed to exogenous organised crime pressures that would be challenging for countries many times as large. Unfortunately, the region is particularly vulnerable to incursion by organised crime due to a range of domestic factors, and this report opens by considering several of these, including social and economic pressures, lack of law enforcement capacity, and a history of conflict or authoritarian rule. It then looks at the nature of organised crime and violence in the region in some detail. Finally#, it considers how the crime problem is undermining development efforts....

December 4, 2006
Center for Women's Global Leadership

Abstract:

Strengthening Resistance focuses on the points of intersection in the social, political and public health crises of violence against women and HIV/AIDS. The report uses a human rights lens to focus on critical political challenges and on innovative strategies used by activists worldwide as they respond to the links between violence and HIV/AIDS. From street theater to telenovelas/soap operas to traditional lobbying, activists in both VAW and HIV/AIDS communities are beginning to work together to focus attention to ways both crises are causes and consequences of each other. Neither can be addressed adequately without taking into account the links between them and the human rights implications of each crisis on its own, and in conjunction with the other. Strengthening Resistance is designed as an overview of the most salient issues, and is meant for activists and policy makers alike who may be familiar with HIV/AIDS, violence against women or human rights but not necessarily the nexus across all of these areas. The report highlights nine creative advocacy initiatives from different countries and regions, offers recommendations to a range of actors and contains a resource section for further study....

February 8, 2006
HIV InSite Database of Country and Regional Indicators

Abstract:

Access to facsheets on HIV/AIDS in Belize.

February 8, 2006
U.S. Department of State

Abstract:

Belize is a constitutional parliamentary democracy governed by the Prime Minister, a cabinet of ministers, and a legislative assembly. The Governor General represented Queen Elizabeth II in the largely ceremonial role of Head of State. Prime Minister Said Musa's People's United Party (PUP) held 22 of the 29 seats in the House of Representatives following generally free and fair multiparty elections in March of 2003. The judiciary is independent. The Police Department has primary responsibility for law enforcement and maintaining order. The Belize Defense Force (BDF) is responsible for external security but, when deemed appropriate by civilian authorities, may be tasked to assist the police department. Armed BDF soldiers routinely accompanied police patrols in Belize City in an attempt to reduce the violent crime rate. The police report to the Minister of Home Affairs, while the BDF report to the Minister of Defence. The civilian authorities maintained effective control of the security forces. Some members of the security forces committed human rights abuses. ...

July 18, 2012
Save the Children // World Vision

Abstract:

More than 18 million people are currently struggling through a crisis in the Sahel region of West Africa. The overarching driver of this crisis is not drought, nor a food deficit. The most vulnerable families are in crisis because they have no protection against shocks like grain prices doubling. This is the “resilience deficit”*, rooted in structural causes, neglected for too long, and exacerbated by exceptionally high food prices.

Current estimates suggest that over one million children will face severe and life-threatening malnutrition during this crisis. Even in a “non-crisis” year, an estimated 645,000 children die in the Sahel of largely preventable and treatable causes, with 226,000 of these deaths being directly linked to malnutrition. Acute malnutrition affects 10%-14% of children in Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso, and more than 15% of children in Chad. These rates demonstrate that traditional development policies are failing to save children in the Sahel from a permanent, large-scale nutrition crisis.

This report, a joint initiative by Save the Children and World Vision, aims to assess progress, lessons learned, and challenges in promoting “resilience” in the Sahel, with a particular focus on the well-being of children. The study demonstrates the need for a massive response by governments and partners in order to tackle child malnutrition – chronic and acute, together. It offers evidence-based, tangible recommendations for a comprehensive, child-focused approach to resilience in the Sahel.

People’s access to food at prices they can afford, and their capacity to absorb or adapt to new shocks have been severely undermined by the Sahel crises in 2005, 2008 and 2010. The vast majority of the most vulnerable households in the region have had neither the time, nor the necessary support, to get out of debt, or restore their normal means of making a living....

April 24, 2012
University of Oslo // Centre for the Study of Civil War // Peace Research Institute Oslo

Abstract:

Transboundary rivers may contribute to increased hostility between riparians. This may contribute to increased hostility between riparians. This article accepts earlier arguments about water scarcity. Structural Scarcity occurs in river basins with unequal resource distribution, often created by geographic asymmetries. Hence, this article argues that the geographic asymmetries present in many river basins are key determinants of conflict risk among riparians. In a river basin the upstream state enjoys an inherent advantage and upstream river use is likely to produce unidirectional externalities that harm the states downstream. This in turn, is likely to produce grievances or claims downstream that may contribute to worsen overall state relations and consequently increase the risk of dyadic conflict....

March 2, 2012
International Alert // Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research

Abstract:

The Niger River is the third longest river in Africa, flowing for 4,200 km from its source in the Guinea highlands, within the humid tropics, through Mali and Niger with their semi-arid Sahelian climates, to the Niger detla in Nigeria. The drainage basin covers a surface area of just over 2.2 million square km, extending into 10 countries. Seventy-six percent of the basin area is located within Mali, Niger and Nigeria. The Niger River and its tributaries are a key source of water for the estimated 100 million people living in the basin, especially for the drier regions within the western Sahel zone.

This report examines the links between environmental stress, climate change, human security, conflict and adaptation at different scales and localities along the Niger River. Despite a growing interest in the possible linkages between climate and conflict, limited evidence on these linkages exists, much of which is contradictory. The Niger Basin has experienced significant climate variability during the 20th century, making it suitable for studying the links between climate and conflict.

This report explores a number of issues. Firstly, it examines how climatic and environmental stresses influence water resources and human security in the Niger Basin. Secondly, the report examines whether climate stress on water resources increases the risk of conflict. Thirdly, it asks what types of adaptations, conflict resolution and governance mechanisms provide resilience to climate stresses and reduce the risk of conflict....

July 8, 2011
Chatham House

Abstract:

I consider it a singular honour to have been invited today by Chatham House to address this august forum. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which I represent, is a regional organisation which has, over the years, gained your attention only for the unfortunate reasons of state implosion and instability caused by bad governance and marginalisation. I therefore welcome the opportunity to throw further light on its objectives, challenges, and achievements, which factors have effectively brought together fifteen West African states in the enterprise of improving upon the living standards of 230 million people as well as integrating them.

The term ‘Chatham House Rule’ is today an internationally-accepted cliché that this Institute has contributed to international diplomacy discourse, a reference norm in rigorous and policy-oriented exchanges on global peace and security. I therefore view your invitation to lead today’s discourse about ‘Democracy in the context of Regional Integration in West Africa’ as an unique honour for me personally, and a recognition of ECOWAS as a leading brand in regional integration.

Ladies and gentlemen, the evolution of ECOWAS can only be properly understood against the backdrop of the fascinating history and circumstances of West Africa since establishing contact with the world beyond its borders. The fact that slavery, colonialism, as well as racial and economic marginalisation, had left an intrinsic yearning for freedom, unity and solidarity among peoples of African descent everywhere defines its wish to integrate its states and peoples....

May 24, 2011
Security Council Report

Abstract:

This special research report provides an analysis of a set of new issues that have been emerging in the West African subregion and possible implications for the Security Council in the coming year(s). It identifies some key emerging threats to peace and security in the 16-state subregion and their linkages to existing security challenges. The report points to a key feature: the fact that some of the new threats are essentially criminal rather than political in nature. However, it explains also the growing political and security implications. The report also highlights action already taken by the Council to recognise these threats and considers options available to the Council to tackle these issues going forward.

The raw material for the study was derived from literature research; field research in a number of countries in the West African subregion (including Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria); and interviews in the region with diplomats, government officials and officials of relevant international intergovernmental bodies (e.g. UN Office in West Africa or UNOWA, UN Office for Drugs and Crime or UNODC, the Economic Community of West African States or ECOWAS and the AU), NGOs and academics....

September 16, 2008
En la Mira - The Latin American Small Arms Watch

Abstract:

Although all countries, in theory report their authorized transfers - and such information may even be available in certain public databases - the task of providing an overview of SALW transfers, their parts and munitions, is an arduous one. Nonetheless, despite the difficulties, we have some extremely positive initiatives on a global scale, such as for example, the Small Arms Survey, recognized as an important source of information, especially on SALW production and transfers, as well as the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers (NISAT) which has a database containing transfer records going back to 1962.Despite these important initiatives, themselves when researchers, activists and policy makers try to understand a regional market, such as Latin America and the Caribbean, they encounter a dearth of information. With the intent of addressing this shortcoming, En La Mira has, since 2007, dedicated an issue to transfers of SALWs, parts and ammunition in this region. Further, according to statistics from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN-Comtrade or Comtrade), USD 6.7 billion were exported between 2004 and 2006, while USD 6.5 billion were imported. Despite the fact that Latin America and the Caribbean represent 6% and 3%, respectively, of total transfers worldwide during this period, 42% of firearms related homicide is committed in the region. This discrepancy between the international transfer volume share and the levels of armsrelated violence in Latin America and the Caribbean calls attention to itself, above all because of the tragic and startling number of homicides. Obviously, far from wishing to increase arms transfers in order to be more in sync with homicide rates, we decided, a year ago, to study this issue and periodically monitor its development based on our interest in understanding the primary legal entry and exit routes of firearms and ammunition. The result is a report - based on customs information as stated by Latin American and Caribbean countries and their respective partners - whose objective is to describe the movement of the SALW imports and exports, as well as ammunition and parts, during the present decade. Based on this data, we answer the following questions: who exported and who imported? From whom? What? And when? It is worth restating that the intent of this report is not to explain the cause of arms imports and exports by Latin American countries. Beyond merely providing information, we do indeed wish to awaken, by means of the information presented here, the curiosity of other researches, activists and government staff members such that they may continue to perform research in their countries regarding the transparency of this information, on who is using the transferred SALW, and how. The data used for this report came from the NISAT database, which contains more than 800,000 entries for SALW transfers worldwide since 1962. The NISAT database gets its information from different sources, COMTRADE among them. In this study we decided to restrict ourselves to data from this latter source because, in theory, all countries report transfers to the UN. This data is declared in accordance with the Harmonized System (SH) merchandise classification system. The HS has existed since 1988and, in 2007, was revised for the fourth time; previous revisions were in 1992, 1996 and in 2002. Regarding the period analyzed, we are looking at data up until 2006, since at the time the study closed this was the most recent year available on NISAT....

November 12, 2009
Pak Institute for Peace Studies

Abstract:

This report gives a brief summary of each of the major conflicts occurring in South Asia, from intra-state conflicts (often multiple per country) in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan, to inter-state disputes including India-China, India-Pakistan, India-Sri Lanka, India-Nepal, and India-Bangladesh. The report also describes the impact of the conflicts on regional stability, and an analysis of changes in the nature of the conflicts: Since the late 2001, South Asia, on the one hand has been facing a sudden growth in the intensity of conflicts and on the other hand witnessing newly emerged conflicts with new dimensions. The post 9/11 era has also influenced the transformation process including the nature of conflicts and its objectives in its peaceful culmination or violent escalation. Though in the recent past ( more specifically post-9/11 era) all the governments of respective countries in South Asia have come up with different peaceful ways of conflict resolution that have created an optimist approach to deal the issues. But on the other side innovated trends and latest tactics have been introduced by the militant organizations operating in the region. Different militant groups are forging new operational coordination or strategic alliance in their separate fight for their cause....

October 5, 2009
Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses

Abstract:

After the 6th border meeting in Thimphu on September 12, India and Bhutan have agreed to scale up efforts to secure their borders. India and Bhutan share a 669-km-long border, manned by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) from the Indian side and by the Royal Bhutanese Army on the Bhutan side. Most of the insurgent camps are located along the Bhutan-Assam border, which comprises of 267 km of the Indo-Bhutan border. The border meeting assumes significance against the backdrop of reports suggesting that insurgents operating in India’s North-Eastern states such as United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFA) and Kamtapur Liberation Organization (KLO) have increased co-operation with the Bhutan Tiger Force, the Bhutan Maoist Party and the Communist Party of Bhutan. At the same time, there is a fear in the Bhutanese establishment that the Communist Party of Bhutan, with active co-operation from North Eastern insurgent groups, might acquire advanced weapons and attempt to topple the newly elected democratic government headed by Prime Minister Jigmi Y Thinley. This was emphasized by Home Secretary Penden Wangchuck who headed the Bhutanese delegation for the border talks. Wangchuk was reported by state-run newspaper Kuensel as saying that "The insurgents are linked to Maoists and militants of eastern Nepal and they can pose a threat to security”. The Indian side headed by Secretary (border management) Vinay Kumar emphasized during the meeting that since the new Bangladesh government headed by Sheikh Hasina had increased the crack down on North-Eastern insurgent groups, these groups have set up bases in Bhutan. This was confirmed by the 48-page ‘restricted’ Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) report on the North-East states in September 2009. Reports note that the emergence of a “friendly” regime in Bangladesh has resulted in nervousness among the Indian insurgent groups operating from that country and “tentative” reports suggest movement of insurgent infrastructure towards Myanmar and Bhutan where the reach of the Government along the border areas is limited....

June 9, 2009
Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses

Abstract:

India's neighbourhood is in considerable turmoil at the present moment. The instability is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. India has sought to improve its relations with neighbouring countries. Regional cooperation is an important instrument of India's policy towards its neighbours. The neighbouring countries have also derived considerable mileage from economic cooperation with India. This is particularly true of countries like Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Bangladesh have held peaceful elections in the recent past. The upsurge of democracy in South Asia should normally provide a sound foundation for better relationship between India and these countries. However, several challenges remain. There are powerful anti- India forces in many of our neighbouring countries. Regional cooperation, particularly in the context of SAARC, has not made visible difference to the life of the common person in South Asia. The democratic institutions in India's neighbourhood are fragile. China is making inroads into South Asia. India's borders are porous and ill-regulated. Terrorism, human and arms trafficking, smuggling and organized crime are rampant. Pakistan uses Nepal and Bangladesh to launch terrorists into India. Groups like LeT have presence in even Sri Lanka and Maldives. Maritime security is a matter of concern for India. It is in this background that India needs to devise its South Asia policies....

May 23, 2009
South Asia Analysis Group

Abstract:

Bhutan made the first historic move towards democracy when on 31st December 2007, elections to the National Council were held for 15 of the 25 Dzongkhags ( districts). Electronic voting machines were used and the results were announced the very next day. Elections to the National Assembly were held on 24th of March for election of 47 candidates and shared by only two parties the DPT and the PDP. The Election Campaign was lively and devoid of law and order problems. There were no verbal abuses or personal accusations by the candidates and no complaints either, save some on infringement of election code of conduct. The highlight of the campaign was two televised debates of the two parties conducted by none other than the elections commission itself. There is no doubt that the conduct of the election was a bold step for Bhutan in moving ahead of times in introducing democracy. The election itself turned out to be a tame affair and it looked more like a friendly match between two contesting parties whose ideologies were not very different....

May 23, 2009
Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies

Abstract:

2008 has been a year of tremendous change in the small Kingdom of Bhutan and for its people. There has probably never been a case before, in which such contradictory events took place within a few months, while at the same time surprisingly in perfect line with the path on which Bhutan embarked decades ago. Having been called to the polls to choose their representatives for the National Council (Gyelyong Tshogde), the upper chamber of parliament, on a non-partisan basis, the first multiparty elections for the National Assembly (Tshogdu) took place on 24 March 2008. By achieving a turnout of almost 80 per cent, participation was extraordinary high, even for a founding election. Three months later the newly convened parliament in a joint sitting passed the country’s first ever written constitution, thus formally transforming the century old kingdom into a constitutional monarchy. Finally, on 6 November 2008 the fifth Druk Gyalpo, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk, was enthroned and received the Raven Crown from the hands of his father, who abdicated in 2006. Bhutan had changed its face and at the same time once again found the middle path between progressive development and traditional preservation on which the fourth king guided his country without hesitation in recent decades. The 35 articles of the constitution grant all major classical rights and liberties to the people and provide for a democratic form of government, though the structure of the new system is quite unique in its shape and configuration. Taking into consideration the people’s attitudes towards politics and the country’s unique culture and tradition, the result is an interesting combination of consensual and majoritarian elements of democracy, topped by the unique role of the monarch within the polity, which rather resembles the role of a president in presidential or semi-presidential system, instead that of a constitutional monarch in Western constitutional democracies. The coming years will have to show whether the system will work properly, or if further adjustments will need to be made....

October 7, 2011
American Enterprise Institute

Abstract:

Over the last several years Hezbollah and its patrons in Iran have greatly expanded their operations in Latin America to the detriment of inter-American security and US strategic interests. Today, Hezbollah is using the Western Hemisphere as a staging ground, fundraising center, and operational base to wage asymmetric warfare against the United States. Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez and other anti-American governments in the region have facilitated this expansion by rolling out the welcome mats for Hezbollah and Iran. US policymakers must increase their attention to this problem, expand their assets in the region, and develop a comprehensive strategy to combat this threat in a sustained and meaningful way....

October 3, 2011
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

In Sudan a Sudanese Armed Forces offensive in Blue Nile state, and renewed clashes in Southern Kordofan between the SAF and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, fuelled fears of a return to civil war. Insurgent attacks intensified in Afghanistan, stoking fears of further escalation in October ahead of international conferences in Istanbul and Bonn.Yemen is on the cusp of full-scale civil war between security forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and troops and militia loyal to his opponents. A brutal crackdown in Sanaa on 18 September, with regime forces killing at least 26 unarmed protesters, dimmed prospects for a peaceful compromise.Violence broke out in the north of Kosovo as Kosovo Serbs resisted the Pristina government’s attempts to take control of border points with Serbia. In Guinea, increasing repression and lack of political dialogue mark the build up to December’s legislative elections. Police violently dispersed an opposition demonstration in the capital Conakry on 27 September, leaving three people dead and around 40 injured. Political violence escalated further in Burundi. At least 39 people were killed in an attack on a bar in Gatumba near the capital on 19 September. In Central African Republic, over 49 people were killed in a series of clashes in the diamond-rich town of Bria and its surroundings between the Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace and the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity rebel groups. Tensions rose in Bolivia at the end of the month as police forcibly dispersed a group of indigenous marching on La Paz in protest against a planned highway through indigenous territory and a national park....

September 19, 2011
United Nations Development Programme // Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery

Abstract:

Many developing countries experience both disasters and conflict at the same time. The interaction between the two creates and perpetuates vulnerabilities that place communities at risk, further entrenching poverty and inequality. It makes intuitive sense to assume that the geographical overlap of both disaster and conflict worsens the impact of crises, but evidence for this is limited. Analyses of concrete case study observations are also limited, and those that do exist come from different unconnected disciplines. The study aims to achieve a comparative analysis of tendencies and experiences that stem from the relationship between disasters and conflict. It also analyses the relative success of existing relevant programming approaches adopted incountry. This comparative analysis aims to: contribute to the body of knowledge on the interactions between disaster and conflict; better understand the importance of these interactions for development programming in crisis contexts; and create improved programming that responds to the relationships between disasters and conflict. The intention is to help identify practical approaches and disseminate good practice – thereby helping to better equip UNDP Country Office staff who operate in complex environments in which disaster and conflict overlap. The study is based on experiences from nine selected case-study countries to try and capture the broad spectrum of possible relationships between disasters and conflicts. The country case studies included: Bolivia, Haiti, Indonesia (Aceh), Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Sri Lanka, Sudan and Zimbabwe....

June 16, 2011
RAND Corporation

Abstract:

Colombia currently accounts for the vast bulk of cocaine produced in Latin America. In 2009, the country produced 270 metric tons (MT) of cocaine, making it the principal supplier for both the United States and the worldwide market. Besides Colombia, Peru and Bolivia constitute two additional important sources of cocaine in Latin America. In 2009, these two countries generated enough base material to respectively yield 225 and 195 MT of refined product.

Between 60 and 65 percent of all Latin American cocaine is trafficked to the United States, the bulk of which is smuggled via the eastern Pacific/Central American corridor. The remainder is sent through the Caribbean island chain, with the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Haiti acting as the main transshipment hubs. In both cases, Mexico serves as the main point of entry to mainland America, presently accounting for the vast majority of all illicit drug imports to the United States....

August 20, 2010
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development // Development Co-operation Directorate

Abstract:

In recent years, there has been increased interest in understanding how donor interventions in situations of fragility and conflict can contribute tot he processes of statebuilding. While external actors cannot determine the outcome of those processes, they can target their assistance to support positive statebuilding dynamics. Donors must ensure that they "do no harm" and consider both the intended and unintended consequences of their interventions. This publication fills an important knowledge gap by addressing two fundamental questions: what are the negative impacts that donor interventions can have on statebuilding; and what measures should donors adopt to avoid negative impacts on statebuilding processes? Do No Harm argues that the challenges of statebuilding are such that donors must develop a sophisticated understanding of political processes, patterns of state-society relations and sources of legitimacy in the countries where they are oeprating. Based on an extensive literature review and on six country case-studies (Afghanistan, Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC], Nepal, Rwanda and Sierra Leon), Do No Harm offers a valuable addition to our knowledge on statebuilding in situations of fragility and conflict....

July 13, 2012
Centre for International Policy Studies

Abstract:

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has been very successful in bringing many accused to justice, in leading to the establishment of a permanent International Criminal Court and in demonstrating that holding leaders accountable is possible.

However, there is considerable dissonance between the ICTY’s judicial achievements in The Hague and attitudes and perceptions of the Tribunal in the region.

In order for the Tribunal’s legacy to have lasting impact, extensive efforts must be made to leverage the record of judicial success in order to ensure that its work is not ‘lost in translation’....

June 27, 2012
European Policy Centre

Abstract:

30 June 2012 marks the end of the European Union Police Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the first ever and longest-running mission launched under the European Union's Common Security and Defence Policy. In a local and regional context in which the EU has concurrently pursued the twin goals of stabilisation and integration, the launch and subsequent conduct of EUPM reflected the bloc's growing engagement with civilian crisis management, initially focusing on police reform but soon coming to encompass concerns over the wider rule of law....

June 26, 2012
United Nations University

Abstract:

While the history of wars and conflicts is replete with systematic incidents of sexual violence against vulnerable women, modern-day wars have witnessed large-scale indiscriminate deployment of rape as a “weapon” of war by combatants. In recent armed conflicts — such as in the former Yugoslavia, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Sierra Leone and Rwanda — the widespread use of rape as a tool of warfare has become a conspicuous phenomenon.

May 23, 2012
Congressional Research Service

Abstract:

In recent years, many analysts have expressed concern that the international community’s effortsover the past 15 years to stabilize Bosnia are failing. Milorad Dodik, president of the Republika Srpska (RS), one of the two semi-autonomous “entities” within Bosnia, has obstructed efforts to make Bosnia’s central government more effective. He has repeatedly asserted the RS’s right to secede from Bosnia, although he has so far refrained from trying to make this threat a reality. Some ethnic Croat leaders in Bosnia have called for the creation of a third, Croat “entity,” threatening a further fragmentation of the country.

The Office of the High Representative (OHR), chosen by leading countries and international institutions, oversees implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords, which ended the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia. It has the power to fire Bosnian officials and impose laws, if need be, to enforce the Dayton Accords. However, the international community has proved unwilling in recent years to back the High Representative in using these powers boldly, fearing a backlash among Bosnian Serb leaders. As a result, OHR has become increasingly ineffective, according to many observers. The international community has vowed to close OHR after Bosnia meets a series of five objectives and two conditions....

April 13, 2012
Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform // University of Birmingham

Abstract:

This research paper was commissioned by GFN-SSR as part of a helpdesk support to inform HMG to report on its engagement in the context of Nepal. The query asked for illustrative examples and lessons of integration; in particular, examples of integration into armies, integration into non-military forces (police, armed police, intelligence, etc), and creation of new security structures (industrial security forces, border police, etc) into which ex-combatants are then integrated.

One of the most contentious current challenges of the Nepali peace process is related to the future of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) - the military organisation of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) – CPN(M). The main parties struggle over the key questions of whether, how and according to what criteria the PLA should be integrated into the Nepali Army (NA) or other security forces. Furthermore, the question of integration of the PLA is linked to other issues, such as the prevalence of other militias and armed groups, and a broader debate on the cornerstone of a national defence strategy.

This paper provides a synthesis of key issues and lessons from academic and policy papers focused on issues relating to the integration of non-state and government military forces, as part of a wider peace settlement following civil war. As well as drawing upon existing studies the paper synthesises themes by examining the data from eight primary and fifteen secondary case studies, drawn from various sources.

An overarching and consistent theme throughout all case studies examined is the requirement, with integration endeavours, to view the process as the outcome. The integration of non-state military forces into the state security apparatus is an element of wider post-conflict peacebuilding and statebuilding processes and as such the outcome is rarely predictable. An effective and sustainable solution from one context cannot be assumed to represent a template solution for other contexts. Support to the process of decision-making, and bodies established to implement decisions has been seen to be an effective strategy for external assistance.

The paper has highlighted the complex and diverse nature of efforts to integrate ex-combatants into state security forces. There exist as many approaches and solutions as there are contexts in which they have been attempted. An examination of the available case study material has, however, provided some consistent themes that have been highlighted throughout the paper as lessons identified....

July 8, 2011
Center for Strategic and International Studies

Abstract:

This report provides an overview of the CSIS study series examining the risks of instability in 10 African countries over the next decade. The 10 papers are designed to be complementary but can also be read individually as self-standing country studies. The overview draws on common themes and explains the methodology underpinning the research. The project was commissioned by the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). The papers in this series are not meant to offer hard and fast predictions about the future. While they sketch out some potential scenarios for the next 10 years, these efforts should be treated as thought experiments that look at how different dynamics might converge to create the conditions for instability. The intention is not to single out countries believed to be at risk of impending disaster and make judgments about how they will collapse. Few, if any, of the countries in this series are at imminent risk of breakdown. All of them have coping mechanisms that militate against conflict, and discussions of potential “worst-case scenarios” have to be viewed with this qualification in mind....

July 8, 2011
Center for Strategic and International Studies

Abstract:

This report, Botswana: Assessing Risks to Stability, is part of a series examining the risks of instability in 10 African countries over the next decade. The 10 papers are designed to be complementary but can also be read individually as self-standing country studies. An overview paper draws on common themes and explains the methodology underpinning the research. The project was commissioned by the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). The papers in this study are not meant to offer hard and fast predictions about the future. While they sketch out some potential scenarios for the next 10 years, these efforts should be treated as thought experiments that look at how different dynamics might converge to create the conditions for instability. The intention is not to single out countries believed to be at risk of impending disaster and make judgments about how they will collapse. Few, if any, of the countries in this series are at imminent risk of breakdown. All of them have coping mechanisms that militate against conflict, and discussions of potential “worst-case scenarios” have to be viewed with this qualification in mind....

June 17, 2010
Institute for Security Studies // L'Institut d'Etudes de Sécurité

Abstract:

This monograph contains papers that were presented at the International Conference on Climate Change and Natural Resources Conflicts in Africa, 14–15 May 2009, Entebbe, Uganda, organised by the Environment Security Programme (ESP) of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), Nairobi Office. The climate change phenomenon is a global concern, which typically threatens the sustainability of the livelihoods of the majority of the population living in the developing countries. Africa, particularly the sub-Saharan region, is likely to be negatively impacted by climate variability and change. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Africa’s vulnerability arises from a combination of many factors, including extreme poverty, a high rate of population increase, frequent natural disasters such as droughts and floods, and agricultural systems (both crop and livestock production) that depend heavily on rainfall. Extreme natural occurrences such as floods and droughts are becoming increasingly frequent and severe. Africa’s high vulnerability to the negative impacts of climate variability and change is also attributed to its low adaptive capacity. Climate variability and change have further exacerbated the scarcity of natural resources on the African continent, leading to conflicts with regard to access to, and ownership and use of these resources. The scarcity of natural resources is known to trigger competition for the meagre resources available among both individuals and communities, and even institutions, thus affecting human security on the continent....

March 16, 2010
African Journal on Conflict Resolution // African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes

Abstract:

The world-wide surge in the number and violence of open conflicts revolving around ethnic or religious identities towards the end of the 20th century is a powerful reminder that communal identities are not a remnant of the past but a potent force in contemporary politics. After three decades of independence, ethnicity is more central than ever to the political process of many African countries. Africa has had more than its fair share of ethnic dissent which has sometimes plummeted states into civil war as was experienced in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and reached frightening proportions in Rwanda and now Sudan. Political openings and multiparty elections have led to the formation of innumerable overtly or covertly ethnic political parties, which serve more often to increase civil strife of which the most recent addition to the long list in Africa is Kenya. Africa’s ethnic disturbances have occurred more within national borders, thus giving rise to unstable domestic systems. This paper attempts to address these ethnic issues by assessing certain conflict spots as opposed to areas of relative calm in Africa. The assessment of states on both sides of the divide (i.e. cooperation and conflict) is done in the hope that trends that lead to conflict as well as those that lead to cooperation can be identified. In order to establish these patterns of cooperation and conflict, it became pertinent to use a broad range of case studies, notably, Tanzania, Botswana, South Africa, Uganda and Côte d’Ivoire. The result of this study tells that the lack or presence of equity and justice (components of good governance), high literacy levels and an external threat, are factors which strengthen or diminish possibilities of ethnic conflict....

March 12, 2010
International Development Research Centre // Wits University Press

Abstract:

Southern Africa has embarked on one of the world’s most ambitious security co-operation initiatives, seeking to roll out the principles of the United Nations at regional levels. This book examines the triangular relationship between democratisation, the character of democracy and its deficits, and national security practices and perceptions of eleven southern African states. It explores what impact these processes and practices have had on the collaborative security project in the region. Based on national studies conducted by African academics and security practitioners over three years, it includes an examination of the way security is conceived and managed, as well as a comparative analysis of regional security co-operation in the developing world. This book includes: Chapter 1: Democratic Governance and Security: A Conceptual Exploration, by Andre du Pisani; Chapter 2: Comparative Perspectives on Regional Security Co-operation among Developing Countries, by Gavin Cawthra; Chapter 3: Southern African Security in Historical Perspective, by Abillah H. Omari and Paulino Macaringue; Chapter 4: Botswana, by Mpho G. Molomo, Zibani Maundeni, Bertha Osei-Hwedie, Ian Taylor, and Shelly Whitman; Chapter 5: Lesotho, by Khabele Matlosa; Chapter 6: Mauritius, by Gavin Cawthra; Chapter 7: Mozambique, by Anicia Lalá; Chapter 8: Namibia, by Bill Lindeke, Phanuel Kaapama, and Leslie Blaauw; Chapter 9: Seychelles, by Anthoni van Nieuwkerk and William M. Bell; Chapter 10: South Africa, by Maxi Schoeman; Chapter 11: Swaziland, by Joseph Bheki Mzizi; Chapter 12: Tanzania Mohammed, by Omar Maundi; Chapter 13: Zambia, by Bizeck Jube Phiri; Chapter 14: Zimbabwe, by Ken D. Manungo; and Chapter 15: Conclusions, by Gavin Cawthra, Khabele Matlosa, and Anthoni van Nieuwkerk....

June 15, 2012
The Initiative for Peacebuilding – Early Warning // The Peace Studies Group

Abstract:

Since men constitute the majority of those who use and are victimised by guns worldwide, prevention and combat policies and programmes have been aimed almost exclusively at men and boys, paying scant attention to the roles and impacts of gun violence on women and girls. However, the continuum of violence experienced by women and girls in these contexts is a synthesis of the main social ingredients of violence and its cultural basis. Thus, alongside sound knowledge of men’s and boys’ involvement in gun violence, a clear understanding of women’s and girls’ needs, rights and vulnerabilities is essential to reduce gun violence in general. This report aims to contribute to fill this gap.

This report will concentrate on the analysis of the typologies and motivations for the involvement of women and girls in armed violence [as direct agents who actively participate, or indirect agents who play supporting roles such as in the transportation of firearms, drugs or information], and identify the importance and symbolism which they attribute to firearms; the examination of the direct consequences [death and injuries] and some of the indirect effects of armed violence on the lives of women [guns as instruments of intimidation and sources of insecurity in situations of domestic violence as well as determinants for the condition of survivors or relatives of lethal victims of gun violence]; the initiatives, formal and informal, led by women in these contexts in response to gun violence, namely efforts to improve arms control regulations....

May 8, 2012
Initiative for Peacebuilding - Early Warning Analysis to Action // International Alert

Abstract:

Overall, despite the differences between Rio de Janeiro, San Salvador and Praia in terms of the incidence of youth violence, historical approaches and experience in dealing with the issue, Brazil, El Salvador and Cape Verde have all favoured an enforcement-based approach, focusing primarily on repression and law-enforcement mechanisms [police action, specific youth violence legislation, and prosecution, prison and socio-educational systems], instead of interventions aimed at the root causes of violent behaviour. However, recent changes in federal government approaches to public security in Brazil, coupled with state level changes, suggest the materialisation of a discourse shift in the field of youth violence, which has been in the making since the late 1990s.

Another common feature in these countries is the incomplete availability of qualified information systems on violence and violent criminality, especially on organised crime and female involvement in urban violence.

Civil society actions to prevent and combat urban violence are very diverse. In Brazil, especially Rio de Janeiro, NGOs, associations and grassroots organisations have a fairly long track record when dealing with the issue of youth violence, promoting initiatives and programmes mostly aimed at youth violence prevention, especially at the primary level. These initiatives and programmes have been based on skills training, sports, culture, empowerment and, to lesser extent, professional training and labour market integration. In San Salvador, despite the severity of youth violence, civil society approaches are less diversified and effective. Like any other violence-afflicted country in Central America, violence prevention and especially intervention programmes, namely those aimed at the perpetrators of violence, face greater disadvantages and less funding and support from the region’s crime-weary population. In Praia, the involvement of civil society in this matter has been slow. However, in recent years, the experiences of civil society organisations, sometimes in partnership with public institutions, have been singled out as good examples and as having had some direct impact on youth involved in violence in the Cidade da Praia.

Responding to and effectively preventing youth urban violence requires a comprehensive approach which takes into account the intra-social forms of violence committed by and against youth, as well as the structural conditions which determine the marginalisation of youth. This includes prevention programmes which help young people in vulnerable situations, intervention programmes which offer alternatives for those attracted to violence, rehabilitation prospects for those who wish to leave violent groups, and those leaving prison and socioeducational systems. Capable and accountable law-enforcement bodies, protection and support mechanisms for victims of violence, adequate arms control policies, up-to-date data collection and analysis systems on youth and violence, and whole-of-government and multi-disciplinary approaches to violence are also key....

April 2, 2012
Peace and Conflict Monitor // University for Peace

Abstract:

Leonard Ghione argues that the Brazilian truth commission has a strong legal mandate to achieve the goal of creating an authoritative historic account of the country’s violent past. Its main challenge will be coping with the limited number of staff and the long period of time it must cover. The goal of national reconciliation in Brazil will require not only the unearthing of the truth but also the unearthing of a conflict that has been systematically negated until now and is part of Brazil’s culture of violence. If the commission succeeds in unearthing this underlying negated conflict, it will increase public pressure against the amnesty law, which may eventually lead to its revocation in the long term, contributing to a less violent society....

March 23, 2012
The Brookings Institution

Abstract:

As the emerging global order takes shape, debate is growing more intense around the trajectory of the rising powers and what their ascendency to positions of regional and international influence means for the United States, its traditional allies, and global governance more broadly. Commentary about these rising powers— often referred to in a generic way as the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) but actually encompassing a dozen or so countries largely represented in the G-20—ranges from alarmist to sanguine. Pessimists argue that China, with its impressive economic growth and increasingly global reach, is well-positioned to challenge the United States’ role of global superpower and to weaken the commitment of other rising powers, and various international organizations, to liberal values. More optimistic analysts insist that the rise of middle powers, most of which are democracies of varying stripes, bodes well for the world: millions are being lifted out of poverty, rule of law is taking hold and the international system is bound to be a more inclusive, representative one....

March 21, 2012
Geneva Centre for Security Policy

Abstract:

While India has long been one of the most important contributors to UN missions, other emerging powers such as China, Brazil, and South Africa have recently become key players of UN peacekeeping operations.

The increasing role of emerging powers in peacekeeping raises the question of the posture they will adopt. Will they buy into the existing rules? Will they significantly shape them? Or will they contest them as they become real stakeholders in the Western-dominated liberal peacekeeping-peacebuilding realm?

So far, the normative clash between two conceptions of handling crises through UN peace missions has not taken place. While challenging the existing practices would require a degree of convergence among emerging powers, such cohesion has not tangibly materialized and disparities among emerging countries abound.

In the peacekeeping field, emerging powers present very different profiles that make any generalization difficult. Similarly, their increasing contribution to peacekeeping has not been matched by parallel efforts in the peacebuilding domain.

Furthermore, a greater involvement of emerging powers in peace missions may impact their own conceptions of crisis management, and may induce pragmatism that would bring them closer to the current philosophy and practice.

Finally, the peacekeeping-peacebuilding field may not be worth the fight that normative divergences can entail....

April 12, 2012
Council on Foreign Relations

Abstract:

The risk of conflict in the South China Sea is significant. China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines have competing territorial and jurisdictional claims, particularly over rights to exploit the region’s possibly extensive reserves of oil and gas. Freedom of navigation in the region is also a contentious issue, especially between the United States and China over the right of U.S. military vessels to operate in China’s two-hundred-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). These tensions are shaping—and being shaped by—rising apprehensions about the growth of China’s military power and its regional intentions. China has embarked on a substantial modernization of its maritime paramilitary forces as well as naval capabilities to enforce its sovereignty and jurisdiction claims by force if necessary. At the same time, it is developing capabilities that would put U.S. forces in the region at risk in a conflict, thus potentially denying access to the U.S. Navy in the western Pacific.

Given the growing importance of the U.S.-China relationship, and the Asia-Pacific region more generally, to the global economy, the United States has a major interest in preventing any one of the various disputes in the South China Sea from escalating militarily....

November 26, 2009
Asia-Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect

Abstract:

The 63rd United Nations (UN) General Assembly is poised to debate Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s report on the operationalisation of the Responsibility to Protect (referred to as ‘R2P’ for the remainder of this report). It is expected that his report will be released and debated in early 2009. Therefore, this is a good time to examine the position that Member States have adopted on the R2P since its endorsement at the 2005 World Summit and policy issues relating to its implementation through the UN. This report will focus on the Member States of the Association for South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) with the exception of Myanmar, which is currently on the UN Security Council’s agenda. It concentrates on their position on the R2P and their policy priorities in areas related to implementing the principle through the UN. The report identifies steps that might encourage the region’s governments to become more positively engaged with the R2P principle....

August 26, 2008
Asian Development Bank Institute

Abstract:

This paper quantifies the impact of terrorism and conflicts on income per capita growth in Asia for 1970–2004. Our panel estimations show that transnational terrorist attacks had a significant growth-limiting effect. Transnational terrorism reduces growth by crowding in government expenditures. An internal conflict has the greatest growth concern, about twice that of transnational terrorism. For developing Asian countries, intrastate and interstate wars have a much greater impact than terrorism does on the crowding-in of government spending. Policy recommendations indicate the need for rich Asian countries to assist their poorer neighbors in coping with the negative growth consequences of political violence. Failure to assist may result in region-wide repercussions. Conflict and terrorism in one country can create production bottlenecks with region-wide economic consequences. International and nongovernmental organizations as well as developed Western countries and regions could assist at-risk Asian countries with attack prevention and post-attack recovery. This study has six purposes. First, and foremost, we present panel estimates for a sample of 42 Asian countries to quantify the impact of terrorism and conflicts on income per capita growth for 1970–2004. Panel estimation methods control for country-specific and timespecific unobserved heterogeneity. Second, we distinguish the influence of terrorism on economic growth from that of internal and external conflicts. Third, these influences are investigated for cohorts of developed and developing countries to ascertain whether development can better allow a country to absorb the impact of political violence. Fourth, econometric estimations relate violence-induced growth reductions to two pathways— reduced investment and increased government expenditures. Fifth, a host of diagnostic and sensitivity tests to support our empirical specifications. Last, we draw some policy conclusions....

August 17, 2005
Naval War College

Abstract:

This article discusses the threats to maritime security in Southeast Asia, describes the factors tending toward strengthened maritime security cooperation, and argues that networks of bilateral relationships may be more fruitful than purely multilateral arrangements. The first section, a historical overview of maritime cooperation in Southeast Asia from the end of the Cold War through December 2004, is followed by a survey of contemporary maritime security threats. The article then discusses five significant factors that now favor improved maritime cooperation. It concludes with the various forms that future cooperation might take and speculation as to which are mostly likely in light of evolving state interests and constraints. ...

April 9, 2005
Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies // Nanyang Technological University

Abstract:

At the beginning of 2005, Southeast Asian security cooperation is still regarded as inadequate to defend the region against maritime threats. However, structural, economic and normative factors are enabling greater cooperation in the post-9/11 "Age of Terror". This article opens with a brief outline of the history of Southeast Asian maritime security cooperation from 1990 to December 2004, and then discusses the various maritime threats faced by the region. It next describes five factors that are enabling greater maritime security cooperation in the Age of Terror. The potential application of those factors is assessed to anticipate the most likely forms of future regional cooperation. While cooperation will expand on many levels the most fruitful cooperation will result from improved networks of bilateral relationships. Information in this working paper will be of interest to those seeking to understand the cooperation and security dynamics of this important and intensely maritime region. It should be of specific interest to those policymakers seeking to improve international cooperation to combat Southeast Asian transnational maritime threats such as terrorism, piracy and smuggling....

October 14, 2011
Berghof Conflict Research

Abstract:

Takes a critical look at the debate on state failure, examining the various ways that state-building programmes have impacted on the successor states of the former Yugoslavia. The author shows how unchallenged assumptions, unrealistic expectations and ignorance of local contexts can lead to political orders being imposed with little regard for domestic legitimacy or locally-driven solutions. Instead of explaining away the predictably poor outcomes, she suggests the need for critical appraisal of those driving the state-building agenda....

July 22, 2011
UN Women // United Nations Entity for Gende Equality and the Empowerment of Women

Abstract:

The past century has seen a transformation in women’s legal rights, with countries in every region expanding the scope of women’s legal entitlements. Nevertheless for many of the world’s women the laws that exist on paper do not translate to equality and justice.

Progress of the World’s Women: In Pursuit of Justice looks at how the legal system can play a positive role in women accessing their rights, citing cases that have changed women’s lives both at a local and at times global level. It also looks at the important role women have played and continue to play as agents for change within the legal system, as legislators, as lawyers, as community activists but also asks why, despite progress on legal reform, the justice system is still not delivering justice for all women.

The report focuses on four key areas: legal and constitutional frameworks, the justice chain, plural legal systems and conflict and post-conflict. Drawing on tangible examples of steps that have been taken to help women access justice, the report sets out ten key recommendations for policy and decision makers to act on in order to ensure every woman is able to obtain justice....

April 27, 2011
International Peace Research Institute

Abstract:

The political transitions in Egypt and Tunisia have rekindled the interest in how states and societies have moved from authoritarian regimes to democracy after overthrowing old regimes. This report responds to that interest by providing a factual overview of transitions to democracy of nine European states between 1974 and 1991.

The states covered fall into two geographical regions: Southern Europe, and Central and Eastern Europe. The context of transition in each of these regions was different. The transitions in Southern Europe took place as mainly discrete events with little influence of one country over another. In contrast, there was a strong regional dynamic in Central and Eastern Europe, where all transitions were influenced by Gorbachev’s policies of perestroika and glasnost and the loosening of the Soviet Union’s grip on its satellite states....

August 11, 2009
Foundation for Defense of Democracies

Abstract:

Terrorism is not a new phenomenon, nor is it likely to disappear anytime soon. It is not the exclusive domain of any single religion or ideology, nor do all terrorists come from the same socioeconomic class or share the same mental pathologies.1 In part, the diversity within contemporary terrorism is what makes it so great a challenge. This report describes, in great detail, the state of terrorism in Western countries over the course of 2008. Before turning to terrorism events in the West during 2008 and key developments within Western countries’ legal systems, we are going to pinpoint a few broad trends—a few currents that run through the various incidents and cases that follow. As this report will show, concerns about the contemporary connection between criminal activities and terrorism are clear in Bulgaria, a country rife with organized crime. An April 2008 parliamentary report charged that profits from the country’s drug trade were channeled to Middle Eastern terrorist groups....

June 3, 2009
Initiative for Peacebuilding // Partners for Democratic Change International

Abstract:

This Synthesis Report extracts the main findings from seven EU Member State case studies surveyed under the Capacity-Building and Training Cluster of the Initiative for Peacebuilding (IfP). Case studies were conducted in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Greece, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain in order to assess these countries’ capacities to meet EU spending targets for official development assistance (ODA) and to analyse the position of peacebuilding within national ODA policies. Each case study analysed country-specific ODA policies by focusing on institutional mechanisms and key actors in managing and implementing ODA; the role and capacity of civil society organisations in influencing planning, implementation, and evaluation of ODA; and public awareness of and support for ODA. This report finds that international development cooperation has received growing attention during the last decade in all surveyed case-study countries. New EU Member States in particular are striving to adhere to their international commitments by further refining their ODA policies; enhancing the institutional structures for managing and implementing ODA; and increasing cooperation with and consultation of civil society organisations....

July 18, 2012
Save the Children // World Vision

Abstract:

More than 18 million people are currently struggling through a crisis in the Sahel region of West Africa. The overarching driver of this crisis is not drought, nor a food deficit. The most vulnerable families are in crisis because they have no protection against shocks like grain prices doubling. This is the “resilience deficit”*, rooted in structural causes, neglected for too long, and exacerbated by exceptionally high food prices.

Current estimates suggest that over one million children will face severe and life-threatening malnutrition during this crisis. Even in a “non-crisis” year, an estimated 645,000 children die in the Sahel of largely preventable and treatable causes, with 226,000 of these deaths being directly linked to malnutrition. Acute malnutrition affects 10%-14% of children in Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso, and more than 15% of children in Chad. These rates demonstrate that traditional development policies are failing to save children in the Sahel from a permanent, large-scale nutrition crisis.

This report, a joint initiative by Save the Children and World Vision, aims to assess progress, lessons learned, and challenges in promoting “resilience” in the Sahel, with a particular focus on the well-being of children. The study demonstrates the need for a massive response by governments and partners in order to tackle child malnutrition – chronic and acute, together. It offers evidence-based, tangible recommendations for a comprehensive, child-focused approach to resilience in the Sahel.

People’s access to food at prices they can afford, and their capacity to absorb or adapt to new shocks have been severely undermined by the Sahel crises in 2005, 2008 and 2010. The vast majority of the most vulnerable households in the region have had neither the time, nor the necessary support, to get out of debt, or restore their normal means of making a living....

April 24, 2012
University of Oslo // Centre for the Study of Civil War // Peace Research Institute Oslo

Abstract:

Transboundary rivers may contribute to increased hostility between riparians. This may contribute to increased hostility between riparians. This article accepts earlier arguments about water scarcity. Structural Scarcity occurs in river basins with unequal resource distribution, often created by geographic asymmetries. Hence, this article argues that the geographic asymmetries present in many river basins are key determinants of conflict risk among riparians. In a river basin the upstream state enjoys an inherent advantage and upstream river use is likely to produce unidirectional externalities that harm the states downstream. This in turn, is likely to produce grievances or claims downstream that may contribute to worsen overall state relations and consequently increase the risk of dyadic conflict....

April 4, 2012
Integrated Regional Information Networks

Abstract:

One year on from the start of several months of popular revolts in Burkina Faso, the situation has settled down, but the calm is fragile, say observers.

The government has adopted several measures to appease its critics, including upping civil servant salaries, intensifying the fight against corruption, and subsidizing food prices, but high prices continue to pose huge problems for the poor. One in four youths are unemployed, and it is widely believed that the government is out of touch with the priorities of its citizens....

March 16, 2012
Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces

Abstract:

Hosted by the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy Studies (CEDHD) and the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), the conference focused on developing national security poliices in North-West Africa, under the title "Integrating Human Security into National Security Policies in North-West Africa". The event took place in Raba 23-24 November 2010 and brought together high-ranking representatives from Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco and Senegal as well as a number of international experts. The conference was supported by the Swiss federal Department of Foreign Affairs.

The conference discussed national and transnational security challenges in North-West Africa and analyzed various national responses in terms of their impact on human security in the region. A central theme of the conference was the effort to take stock of national experiences in dealing with various security threats and understanding how national security policy could help reduce the fear and want citizens face. Participants also explored how approaches to national security policy would need to change in order to better respond to the needs of people in the region: Can countries in the region work together to learn from each other's experiences? Can they design and implement national security policies in a way that benefit all people in the region? What regional mechanisms could be developed to assist national security policy-makers in North-West Africa?...

February 8, 2012
Africa Center for Strategic Studies

Abstract:

Despite growing concerns across the Sahel and Maghreb over the increasing potency of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the diffusion of heavily armed mercenaries from Libya, the expanding influence of arms and drugs trafficking, and the widening lethality of Boko Haram, regional security cooperation to address these transnational threats remains fragmented.

Algeria is well-positioned to play a central role in defining this cooperation, but must first reconcile the complex domestic, regional, and international considerations that shape its decision-making....

July 17, 2012
International Peace Institute

Abstract:

This IPI SRSG Series event features Karin Landgren, speaking about her just completed experience as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Burundi and Head of the United Nations Mission in Burundi (BNUB).

July 11, 2012
Africa Center for Strategic Studies

Abstract:

- Conflict in Africa’s Great Lakes region persists because of a complex mixture of regional politics, financial incentives, ethnic polarization, and weak and illegitimate governance.

- Previous peace agreements have made important contributions to stability but have only been partly successful because they have not addressed some key conflict drivers.

- Given the regional nature of the instability, international actors, especially those in Europe and the United States that provide significant financial support to governments in the Great Lakes, are vital to achieving a comprehensive settlement....

June 19, 2012
Global Observatory

Abstract:

In this interview, Ambassador Liberata Mulamula, a senior diplomatic adviser to the president of Tanzania, discusses the state of peace and security in the Great Lakes region and what progress has been achieved so far.

Ambassador Mulamula, the former Executive Secretary of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, says the region experienced a time when the guns were silent but now “the major challenge is the continued presence of the armed groups.”

“As long as we pay lip service to building the capacity of these fragile states to have their own strong institutions—be they institutions of government, judiciary, the armed forces—I think we’ll be failing our people,” she adds.

“I’m getting a bit jittery that it might be the best if especially the United Nations does not pay attention to that region,” she says.

Ambassador Mulamula also discusses the effect of ethnicity and regional institutions on the security of the region; the power of the youth bulge; and the pros and cons of the International Criminal Court.

The interview was conducted by Mireille Affa’a-Mindzie, a Research Fellow at the International Peace Institute....

June 15, 2012
Human Security Report Project

Abstract:

Human Security Research is a monthly publication by the Human Security Report Project (HSRP) which compiles the latest human security-related research published by university research institutes, think-tanks, governments, IGOs and NGOs.

In this special issue, the HSRP highlights publications discussing the relationship between climate change and security. The contents are:

HUMAN SECURITY: Climate Change, Human Security and Violent Conflict
FRAGILITY: Climate Change, Conflict and Fragility: Understanding the Linkages, Shaping Effective Responses
ARMED CONFLICT: Climate Change, the Environment, and Armed Conflict
RESOURCE COMPETITION: Competition Over Resources: Drivers of Insecurity and the Global South
SCARCITY: Resource Scarcity, Climate Change and the Risk of Violent Conflict
PEACEBUILDING: Environmental Peacebuilding: Managing Natural Resource Conflicts in a Changing World
GENDER: Gender, Climate Change and Human Security Lessons from Bangladesh, Ghana and Senegal
MIGRATION: Human Security, Climate Change and Environmentally Induced Migration
MIDDLE EAST: The Blue Peace: Rethinking Middle East Water
NORTH AFRICA: Mapping Climate Change and Security in North Africa
NIGER BASIN: Climate Change, Water and Conflict in the Niger River Basin
AFRICA: After the Rain: Rainfall Variability, Hydro-Meteorological Disasters, and Social Conflict in Africa
INTERNATIONAL RIVER BASINS: A Geographical Curse? Asymmetries and the Risk of Conflict in International River Basins
SOUTHEAST ASIA: Climate Change and Migration in Southeast Asia: Responding to a New Human Security Challenge
...

May 2, 2012
Human Rights Watch

Abstract:

This 81-page report documents political killings stemming from the 2010 elections in Burundi. These killings, which peaked toward the middle of 2011, often took the form of tit-for-tat attacks by members of the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy [Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie-Forces pour la défense de la démocratie, CNDD-FDD] and the opposition National Liberation Forces [Forces nationales de libération, FNL]. In the vast majority of cases, justice has been denied to families of the victims....

June 18, 2012
Jesuit Refugee Services

Abstract:

"The Search: Protection Space in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, The Philippines and Cambodia" in Practice is a practical guide which will assist other advocates to give accurate information to asylum seekers and refugees about the realities of protection space within the region.

In Southeast Asia, where only three countries, Cambodia, the Philippines and Timor Leste, are signatories to the UN refugee convention the challenges of living in an urban setting are amplified on a daily basis as people struggle to make a living, avoid detention, send their children to school and tend to their medical needs.

This guide covers five broad themes: protection concerns, convention obligations and domestic legal frameworks, refugee-status determination, durable solutions, and finally an outline of the realities of living in the region in relation to employment, education, healthcare and housing. Given the range of challenges, it is essential that those that work with asylum seekers and refugees know as much as possible about the asylum options available in urban areas in the capital cities of Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila and Phnom Penh.

The focus of this research has been to emphasise the experience of asylum seekers and refugees, to let them tell their own stories, while at the same time compile the relevant contextual information that presents a broad picture of the current situation in Southeast Asia.

The asylum seekers and refugees who have willingly shared their stories, opened up their homes and lives for the purpose of this guide have done so in the hope that it may ultimately help others on the same journey: the search for protection....

February 28, 2012
Stimson Center

Abstract:

Existing interstate relationships, evolving demographic trends, economic growth, climate change, and human efforts to manage fresh water availability will determine the quantity and quality of available water supplies in the coming decades. The interplay of these factors make water availability both a human security and national security issue.

This report, which resulted from a January 29 meeting, considers specific in-country cases, including Yemen and Afghanistan, and transboundary cases including the river basins of the Mekong, Ganges, Mahakali, and Indus rivers. Over the course of the day, the assembled experts examined environmental, institutional, and socio-economic trends affecting surface and groundwater supplies in selected regions and assessed dynamics that could contribute to political conflict, perturb regional power relations, or pose humanitarian concerns warranting external engagement. This report also considers criteria for identifying basins where future tensions or instabilities could emerge and assesses the roles that technological innovations, market mechanisms, river basin institutions, and other policy approaches play in the cooperative management of shared water resources....

December 6, 2011
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

Border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia that caused dozens of casualties and displaced thousands have challenged the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to finally turn its rhetoric on peace and security into action. Cambodia’s successful attempt to list the Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage Site came against the backdrop of turmoil in Thai politics after the 2006 coup that deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Thai pro-establishment movements used this issue to whip up nationalist sentiments against Cambodia as they tried to topple the Thaksin-backed government. The emotionally-charged campaigns halted border demarcation and sparked a bilateral conflict. In early 2011, the dispute turned into the most violent clash yet between ASEAN’s members, testing its historical commitment to non-aggression and prompting it to get involved. This has raised expectations that it might live up to its stated aspiration to keep peace in its own region. As yet, however, while its engagement set important precedents, it has no significant achievements. More robust diplomacy and leadership are still needed....

December 1, 2011
Handicap International

Abstract:

A number of legally binding treaties and policies have been put in place to end the suffering of innocent people and provide needed assistance to prevent people from making extreme and life threatening decisions. These treaties, such as the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT), the Optional Protocol II on the Convention on Conventional Weapons, Convention on Cluster Munition (CCM), not only endeavour to protect, prevent and provide assistance to victims of landmines but also oblige State Parties to clear fields, destroy stockpiles,report on progress and so on. Signed at different periods of times, the MBT and CCM in particular outline,for the first time, one of the most comprehensive obligations on victim assistance (VA).

This research report, while acknowledging the challenges of attaining all six components of VA and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) of the State Parties, combines the two as its backbone of analysis. It specifically draws on examining the impact of evolution of VA in the victim’s lives; understanding the change in conditions of victims before and after the accident; and analysing the access of someof the crosscutting rights of victims/disabled people. In doing so, the reportendeavours to recognize ‘who’ the victims of landmines are. These victimsas the research respondents are the direct victims or survivors. A casestudy of the Kingdom of Cambodia is presented to complete the analysis.Cambodia, as one of the State Parties, has been proven to be one of themost affected by landmines and to have an excellent data collection systemand thus served as an ideal case....

November 21, 2011
Peace and Conflict Review

Abstract:

The last two decades have witnessed a remarkable proliferation of efforts to seek justice that responds adequately to mass atrocity. There is a mounting debate over the desirability and effectiveness of each effort in consolidating justice and peace. This essay offers a perspective for approaching the challenges of transitional justice and assessing policy priorities to improve the responses of transitional justice mechanisms for people whose human rights have been violated. As scholars from Cambodia who lived under the Khmer Rouge regime, we use Cambodia as a case study for analysis. This essay suggests that both trials and truth commissions, simultaneously or subsequently, are fundamental during transitional periods in order to achieve better results on behalf of victims, and proposes establishing a community-based public forum for Cambodian victims and perpetrators to have a formal dialogue, in addition to the current Khmer Rouge Tribunal....

October 24, 2011
University for Peace // UPEACE Africa Program // Africa Peace and Conflict Journal

Abstract:

Recurrent conflicts involving gender and landownership in Anglophone Cameroon have their roots in customary practices and the discriminatory application of statutory laws. Although women have gone to court and have won the right to administer land, a culture of acknowledging their right to do so is yet to take hold. In some instances, statutory law continues to be disregarded in favor of customary practices. The institution of land reform and implementation of mechanisms of international law could address the region’s land-related gender conflicts....

July 8, 2011
Chatham House

Abstract:

I consider it a singular honour to have been invited today by Chatham House to address this august forum. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which I represent, is a regional organisation which has, over the years, gained your attention only for the unfortunate reasons of state implosion and instability caused by bad governance and marginalisation. I therefore welcome the opportunity to throw further light on its objectives, challenges, and achievements, which factors have effectively brought together fifteen West African states in the enterprise of improving upon the living standards of 230 million people as well as integrating them.

The term ‘Chatham House Rule’ is today an internationally-accepted cliché that this Institute has contributed to international diplomacy discourse, a reference norm in rigorous and policy-oriented exchanges on global peace and security. I therefore view your invitation to lead today’s discourse about ‘Democracy in the context of Regional Integration in West Africa’ as an unique honour for me personally, and a recognition of ECOWAS as a leading brand in regional integration.

Ladies and gentlemen, the evolution of ECOWAS can only be properly understood against the backdrop of the fascinating history and circumstances of West Africa since establishing contact with the world beyond its borders. The fact that slavery, colonialism, as well as racial and economic marginalisation, had left an intrinsic yearning for freedom, unity and solidarity among peoples of African descent everywhere defines its wish to integrate its states and peoples....

May 24, 2011
Security Council Report

Abstract:

This special research report provides an analysis of a set of new issues that have been emerging in the West African subregion and possible implications for the Security Council in the coming year(s). It identifies some key emerging threats to peace and security in the 16-state subregion and their linkages to existing security challenges. The report points to a key feature: the fact that some of the new threats are essentially criminal rather than political in nature. However, it explains also the growing political and security implications. The report also highlights action already taken by the Council to recognise these threats and considers options available to the Council to tackle these issues going forward.

The raw material for the study was derived from literature research; field research in a number of countries in the West African subregion (including Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria); and interviews in the region with diplomats, government officials and officials of relevant international intergovernmental bodies (e.g. UN Office in West Africa or UNOWA, UN Office for Drugs and Crime or UNODC, the Economic Community of West African States or ECOWAS and the AU), NGOs and academics....

December 1, 2010
Atlantic Council of the United States // The Michael S. Ansari Africa Center // On the Horizon Project

Abstract:

This report presents the analysis and recommendations of the Atlantic Council’s Michael S. Ansari Africa Center in cooperation with the On the Horizon Project to advance U.S. strategic interests in West Africa. Unaddressed problems of poor governance, severe poverty, widespread public corruption, and growing insecurity from the presence of criminal and militant enterprises engaged in theft, terrorism, trafficking, piracy, poaching, and pollution will continue to punish local populations and create conditions of instability that undermine public order from greater levels of armed confl ict and mass migration and threaten the reliable flow of oil from the region. As noted in a recent United Nations report, the “combination of coups from the top and insurgencies from below render West Africa in the opinion of the UN the least politically stable region in the world.” While this report focuses on the maritime domain, the Atlantic Council approaches the regional security challenges from a broad perspective. Security issues are holistic and must be addressed as such. The dynamics and consequences of insecurity in the maritime domain are part of a wider, more complex political and security dynamic encompassing rule of law, governance, public capacities, and economic and human development across geographic, societal, and national domains. Just as the causes, manifestations, and consequences of insecurity are comprehensive, so too must be the preventatives and remedies. This document provides a broad strategic-level analysis and corresponding recommendations for action that can, and we believe should, be supported and implemented by U.S. and allied policymakers, African leaders, and key stakeholders....

November 8, 2010
Human Rights Watch

Abstract:

In Cameroon, prejudice against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people is both very personal and very public. The Cameroon Penal Code punishes “sexual relations with a person of the same sex” with a prison term and a fine. The relevant article, 347 bis, became law in 1972, and until five years ago, there was little information publicly available on its enforcement. But on May 21, 2005, police arrested 32 people at a nightclub in the first of a series of high-profile arrests and prosecutions continuing to the present. Beyond arrest, gay, lesbian, and bisexual Cameroonians are at higher risk for other problems. Police and prison officers routinely abuse detainees they suspect of same-sex sexual relationships. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people may be more vulnerable to violent attacks inside and outside the home, as they often avoid reporting a crime for fear of being arrested, in turn, for homosexuality. Lesbian women can lose custody of their children and be ostracized by their families. Those who are at risk for HIV/AIDS infection or who are HIV positive have difficulty obtaining medical and legal services. A general climate of fear means that rigid gender codes are strictly enforced and people live out their lives in secrecy....

July 16, 2012
Project Ploughshares // Peacebuild

Abstract:

This paper was prepared for the Small Arms Working Group of Peacebuild. Project Ploughshares was the Coordinator of the Small Arms Working Group from 2004 through to 2010. The paper is part of a series that explored the relationship between armed violence and development.

With 66 per cent of all homicides occurring in countries not experiencing major violent conflict, armed violence is now a global social problem. Even more alarming is that much of this violence is perpetrated by young people, who are also over-represented among the victims. Youth armed violence is now a grave concern at every level of society and initiatives to deal with this issue have been increasing. More recently, steps have been undertaken to map those initiatives, especially at the community level, and document and disseminate good practice in addressing the problem. In furtherance of the goal of the Small Arms Working Group and Project Ploughshares to reduce violence and build peace, this study presents case studies of two specific programs that are enjoying some measure of success: The Peace Management Initiative [PMI] in Kingston, Jamaica and the Breaking the Cycle [BTC] Project in Toronto. Both programs were selected because of their success with gang-associated, violent youth in Jamaica’s inner city and in Toronto’s Caribbean diaspora communities respectively. Both are linked by the study’s Caribbean youth focus. The link goes even deeper: the perception is that much of the violence in Toronto is perpetrated by youth of Caribbean, particularly Jamaican, heritage....

May 15, 2012
The Centre for International Governance Innovation

Abstract:

This paper considers lessons that can be drawn from the Canadian effort in Afghanistan, especially the challenges of trying to build security, governance and development in Kandahar. First, it examines how the Canadian Forces [CF] adapted over time, both in Afghanistan and in Ottawa. Second, it looks at the challenges presented by a minority government and what can be learned from this political context. Third, it examines what was learned about the constraining forces on Canadian defence policy — the Opposition and public opinion — and evaluates the consequences for Canada’s next military engagement. The paper concludes by developing the implications for Canada’s future missions....

May 1, 2012
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Abstract:

In our world, disasters continue to disrupt and damage landscapes and human lives. Often in the aftermath, people unite spontaneously with compassion and generosity. Despite personal trials, people of all ages volunteer to help those who are ailing, communities come together and countless acts of remarkable humanity take place. Yet, as survivors regain their footing, seek shelter and livelihoods, and try to rebuild, they face many hurdles. Among these, but often unspoken and secret, is the devastation caused by the violence that can follow disasters. People’s safety and security become undermined not only by the disaster but also by violence in the forms of abuse, exploitation, harassment, discrimination and rejection from other survivors and those who are supposed to help. This report provides best practices to address violence during and after disasters and challenges us, as disaster responders, to respond to this problem in all of our work through early and proactive action, using a public health approach....

December 7, 2011
Amsterdam Law Forum

Abstract:

This article focuses on the special criminal procedures for the use of intelligence in terrorist trials in Canada, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Since 9/11 and the terror attacks in London and Madrid, gathering intelligence as well as the prosecution of suspects of terrorist crimes have become strategic tools in countering terrorism. By reviewing the special procedures for the use of intelligence, their compatibility with human rights standards, including the right to fair trial, is discussed. Concerns include the extent to which disclosure is made possible and to whom. The differences in criminal procedures for the use of intelligence in terrorist trials also raises questions if intelligence origins from a third state, in which different regulations with regard to disclosure of information apply....

October 24, 2011
Intervention // War Trauma Foundation

Abstract:

This paper explores the question of redressing war related sexualised violence, often referred to as war rape, with refugee women in resettlement contexts using a Canadian case example. The first part of the paper uses theory and research to frame sexualised violence as a tool of war whose practice and impact are shaped by gender and cultural factors. This section highlights how, for survivors, the combination of psychological trauma and socio-cultural factors in post migration environments can create barriers for seeking help, social support, as well as vulnerability to further victimisation and mental health difficulties. The second section provides a case example of a community based mental health initiative in Canada for survivors of war related sexualised violence. The case explores the use of a psychosocial framework that integrates cultural competency, gender perspectives, and community advocacy. Challenges and opportunities of service provision in resettlement contexts are discussed, and recommendations are provided for multicultural mental health practice that is collaborative, community oriented, and sensitive to trauma survivors' needs....

May 8, 2012
Initiative for Peacebuilding - Early Warning Analysis to Action // International Alert

Abstract:

Overall, despite the differences between Rio de Janeiro, San Salvador and Praia in terms of the incidence of youth violence, historical approaches and experience in dealing with the issue, Brazil, El Salvador and Cape Verde have all favoured an enforcement-based approach, focusing primarily on repression and law-enforcement mechanisms [police action, specific youth violence legislation, and prosecution, prison and socio-educational systems], instead of interventions aimed at the root causes of violent behaviour. However, recent changes in federal government approaches to public security in Brazil, coupled with state level changes, suggest the materialisation of a discourse shift in the field of youth violence, which has been in the making since the late 1990s.

Another common feature in these countries is the incomplete availability of qualified information systems on violence and violent criminality, especially on organised crime and female involvement in urban violence.

Civil society actions to prevent and combat urban violence are very diverse. In Brazil, especially Rio de Janeiro, NGOs, associations and grassroots organisations have a fairly long track record when dealing with the issue of youth violence, promoting initiatives and programmes mostly aimed at youth violence prevention, especially at the primary level. These initiatives and programmes have been based on skills training, sports, culture, empowerment and, to lesser extent, professional training and labour market integration. In San Salvador, despite the severity of youth violence, civil society approaches are less diversified and effective. Like any other violence-afflicted country in Central America, violence prevention and especially intervention programmes, namely those aimed at the perpetrators of violence, face greater disadvantages and less funding and support from the region’s crime-weary population. In Praia, the involvement of civil society in this matter has been slow. However, in recent years, the experiences of civil society organisations, sometimes in partnership with public institutions, have been singled out as good examples and as having had some direct impact on youth involved in violence in the Cidade da Praia.

Responding to and effectively preventing youth urban violence requires a comprehensive approach which takes into account the intra-social forms of violence committed by and against youth, as well as the structural conditions which determine the marginalisation of youth. This includes prevention programmes which help young people in vulnerable situations, intervention programmes which offer alternatives for those attracted to violence, rehabilitation prospects for those who wish to leave violent groups, and those leaving prison and socioeducational systems. Capable and accountable law-enforcement bodies, protection and support mechanisms for victims of violence, adequate arms control policies, up-to-date data collection and analysis systems on youth and violence, and whole-of-government and multi-disciplinary approaches to violence are also key....

July 8, 2011
Chatham House

Abstract:

I consider it a singular honour to have been invited today by Chatham House to address this august forum. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which I represent, is a regional organisation which has, over the years, gained your attention only for the unfortunate reasons of state implosion and instability caused by bad governance and marginalisation. I therefore welcome the opportunity to throw further light on its objectives, challenges, and achievements, which factors have effectively brought together fifteen West African states in the enterprise of improving upon the living standards of 230 million people as well as integrating them.

The term ‘Chatham House Rule’ is today an internationally-accepted cliché that this Institute has contributed to international diplomacy discourse, a reference norm in rigorous and policy-oriented exchanges on global peace and security. I therefore view your invitation to lead today’s discourse about ‘Democracy in the context of Regional Integration in West Africa’ as an unique honour for me personally, and a recognition of ECOWAS as a leading brand in regional integration.

Ladies and gentlemen, the evolution of ECOWAS can only be properly understood against the backdrop of the fascinating history and circumstances of West Africa since establishing contact with the world beyond its borders. The fact that slavery, colonialism, as well as racial and economic marginalisation, had left an intrinsic yearning for freedom, unity and solidarity among peoples of African descent everywhere defines its wish to integrate its states and peoples....

May 24, 2011
Security Council Report

Abstract:

This special research report provides an analysis of a set of new issues that have been emerging in the West African subregion and possible implications for the Security Council in the coming year(s). It identifies some key emerging threats to peace and security in the 16-state subregion and their linkages to existing security challenges. The report points to a key feature: the fact that some of the new threats are essentially criminal rather than political in nature. However, it explains also the growing political and security implications. The report also highlights action already taken by the Council to recognise these threats and considers options available to the Council to tackle these issues going forward.

The raw material for the study was derived from literature research; field research in a number of countries in the West African subregion (including Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria); and interviews in the region with diplomats, government officials and officials of relevant international intergovernmental bodies (e.g. UN Office in West Africa or UNOWA, UN Office for Drugs and Crime or UNODC, the Economic Community of West African States or ECOWAS and the AU), NGOs and academics....

November 2, 2010
Institute for Security Studies // L'Institut d'Etudes de Sécurité

Abstract:

This paper aims to appraise and map the security challenges that have faced West African countries since independence with a special focus on the period after 1990. It also assesses the efforts made by various national, regional, continental and extra-African actors and makes suggestions on how the shortcomings in these efforts could be improved. An effort is made to show the evolution of at least some of the challenges over the years, in the hope that this could contribute to a better formulation of policy responses.

The study is based on extensive review of existing literature, complemented by field research in the region undertaken in July and August 2010, in addition to general familiarity with the region from many previous research visits on related subjects.

Without neglecting other issues that could be considered as security threats, and without attempting any hierarchical ordering of these threats, the paper focuses on the following six major issues: i) armed conflict, ii) military coups and unconstitutional changes of government; iii) mismanagement of electoral processes; iv) transnational criminality, particularly drug trafficking, terrorism and maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea; v) poverty and illiteracy; vi) climate change and environmental degradation....

September 11, 2008
World Politics Review

Abstract:

Stepped up U.S. drug enforcement and interdiction in Latin America, coupled with a falling dollar and a surging demand for cocaine on the streets of Europe, is leading to political and economic chaos across West Africa, where international narco-traffickers have established their most recent, and lucrative, staging grounds. In fact, the drug trade is fast turning large parts of the region into areas that are all but ungovernable -- with major implications for international security. "The former Gold Coast is turning into the Coke Coast," said a 2008 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). "The problem is so severe that it is threatening to bring about the collapse of some West African states where weak and corrupt governments are vulnerable to the corrosive influence of drug money." Though hardly alone in West Africa, Guinea-Bissau, the world's fifth poorest country, with a population of 1.5 million, has for all intents and purposes become the textbook example of the African "narco-state." Due to its relative proximity to South America, its hundreds of miles of unpatrolled coastline, islands and islets, along with the fact that Portuguese is its lingua franca, Guinea-Bissau has been increasingly targeted by South American drug lords as a preferred traffic hub for European-bound cocaine, according to the UNODC. What's more, as citizens of a former Portuguese colony, Guineans do not need visas to enter that EU country, further facilitating the movement of drugs. Authorities there can do precious little about it. "Guinea-Bissau has lost control of its territory and cannot administer justice," declared Antonio Maria Costa, the UNODC executive director, in a statement before the U.N. Security Council in December. "There is a permeability of judicial systems and a corruptibility of institutions in West Africa," he added. "Guinea-Bissau is under siege. Literally under siege." Guinea-Bissau enjoys plenty of company among its neighbors: To varying degrees, Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, Cape Verde, Guinea-Conakry, Togo, Benin, Senegal, South Africa, and other West African and sub-Saharan states (including already-challenged states like Sierra Leone, the Ivory Coast and Liberia) are all beginning to feel the long reach of cocaine smuggling....

July 16, 2012
Project Ploughshares // Peacebuild

Abstract:

This paper was prepared for the Small Arms Working Group of Peacebuild. Project Ploughshares was the Coordinator of the Small Arms Working Group from 2004 through to 2010. The paper is part of a series that explored the relationship between armed violence and development.

With 66 per cent of all homicides occurring in countries not experiencing major violent conflict, armed violence is now a global social problem. Even more alarming is that much of this violence is perpetrated by young people, who are also over-represented among the victims. Youth armed violence is now a grave concern at every level of society and initiatives to deal with this issue have been increasing. More recently, steps have been undertaken to map those initiatives, especially at the community level, and document and disseminate good practice in addressing the problem. In furtherance of the goal of the Small Arms Working Group and Project Ploughshares to reduce violence and build peace, this study presents case studies of two specific programs that are enjoying some measure of success: The Peace Management Initiative [PMI] in Kingston, Jamaica and the Breaking the Cycle [BTC] Project in Toronto. Both programs were selected because of their success with gang-associated, violent youth in Jamaica’s inner city and in Toronto’s Caribbean diaspora communities respectively. Both are linked by the study’s Caribbean youth focus. The link goes even deeper: the perception is that much of the violence in Toronto is perpetrated by youth of Caribbean, particularly Jamaican, heritage....

July 16, 2012
London School of Economics and Political Science

Abstract:

As this Arab Spring of revolution becomes a long summer of transitions, we take the opportunity to review some of the historic developments in the region over the last few months. In doing so we throw the spotlight on the drivers of these popular uprisings, and the difficulties they present for the rest of the world in dealing with this strategically crucial region.

Kicking us off, Gilles Kepel brings his considerable experience to bear in discussing the revolutions in macro-context, before in our feature article Luca Tardelli analyses the inherent difficulties in Western intervention that are now once again playing out in Libya, a point picked up by Felix Berenskoetter in his discussion of how Western division on Libya played out at the Security Council. Turning to Yemen, Tobias Thiel considers how the particular politics of coalition in that country may allow it to move beyond the surely-now-terminal Presidency of Ali Abdullah Saleh.

International politics doesn’t stop when crises occur, and the world faces a great many challenges at this time. China’s rise seems perpetually on the agenda, and Marco Wyss provides a new take on the drivers of that power transition in his analysis of US arms sales to China. Meanwhile, as American hegemony in Latin America seems increasingly up for question, Carlos Solis-Tejada assesses the prospects for Cuba, that most dysfunctional of American relationships, in the wake of the sixth party congress....

July 16, 2012
The Centre for International Governance Innovation

Abstract:

Haiti, like many countries, relies heavily on private security companies to protect people and property. However, while the private security industry has a vital role to play in stabilizing the country, it has long functioned without effective government oversight. Haiti’s security sector reform [SSR] process has begun to address this shortcoming. The paper analyzes the current state of the private security industry in Haiti and the legal framework under which it operates, and makes recommendations for how a reformed legal and regulatory regime can guide the next phase of its development, based on interviews with owners and agents of private security companies, industry associations, senior Haitian police personnel, United Nations [UN] planners and parliamentary leaders. The paper concludes that genuine consultation and partnership between the government, industry and civil society is required, if SSR programs in Haiti and elsewhere are to successfully marshal private resources towards the public good....

July 6, 2012
The Stimson Center

Abstract:

Policy makers, practitioners, and experts alike have increasingly identified the protection of civilians as a priority for United Nations peacekeeping operations and as key to mission success. A 2009 independent study commissioned by the United Nations' Department of Peacekeeping Operations and Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs concluded that a failure to protect civilians can undermine the legitimacy and credibility of the mission, and in turn jeopardize the political processes that peacekeepers were originally deployed to support.

Policymakers and practitioners are keen to learn from past operations that faced protection crises. Saving Port-au-Prince: United Nations Efforts to Protect Civilians in Haiti in 2006-2007 explores the analysis, decisions, and actions of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti to protect civilians during this time period. It examines why MINUSTAH was relatively successful at protecting civilians; describes its shortcomings; and draws lessons for other contexts....

June 6, 2012
Project Ploughshares

Abstract:

The negotiation of an international Arms Trade Treaty [ATT] has become a UN process of “high importance” for the Caribbean Community [CARICOM]. It is not difficult to see why. The Caribbean subregion is severely impacted by the irresponsible and illicit proliferation and transfer of small arms and light weapons [SALW] and associated ammunition. Per capita murder rates in the Caribbean are among the highest in the world and 70 per cent of murders in the region involve small arms. Hence, CARICOM considers the development of a comprehensive legally and globally binding ATT regulating the international trade in conventional arms and based on the highest possible international standards, as an unavoidable priority. The interlinked problems of small arms proliferation, drug trafficking, and other criminal activity have been a longstanding and growing concern of the governments of the subregion. In 2002 the CARICOM Regional Taskforce on Crime and Security released an influential report that led to the creation of the Implementation Agency for Crime and Security [IMPACS] that, among other responsibilities, was appointed the contact point on small arms issues for the subregion. The report contains several recommendations with regard to the threats of illegal firearms, many of which are relevant to the provisions of an Arms Trade Treaty....

September 16, 2008
En la Mira - The Latin American Small Arms Watch

Abstract:

Although all countries, in theory report their authorized transfers - and such information may even be available in certain public databases - the task of providing an overview of SALW transfers, their parts and munitions, is an arduous one. Nonetheless, despite the difficulties, we have some extremely positive initiatives on a global scale, such as for example, the Small Arms Survey, recognized as an important source of information, especially on SALW production and transfers, as well as the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers (NISAT) which has a database containing transfer records going back to 1962.Despite these important initiatives, themselves when researchers, activists and policy makers try to understand a regional market, such as Latin America and the Caribbean, they encounter a dearth of information. With the intent of addressing this shortcoming, En La Mira has, since 2007, dedicated an issue to transfers of SALWs, parts and ammunition in this region. Further, according to statistics from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN-Comtrade or Comtrade), USD 6.7 billion were exported between 2004 and 2006, while USD 6.5 billion were imported. Despite the fact that Latin America and the Caribbean represent 6% and 3%, respectively, of total transfers worldwide during this period, 42% of firearms related homicide is committed in the region. This discrepancy between the international transfer volume share and the levels of armsrelated violence in Latin America and the Caribbean calls attention to itself, above all because of the tragic and startling number of homicides. Obviously, far from wishing to increase arms transfers in order to be more in sync with homicide rates, we decided, a year ago, to study this issue and periodically monitor its development based on our interest in understanding the primary legal entry and exit routes of firearms and ammunition. The result is a report - based on customs information as stated by Latin American and Caribbean countries and their respective partners - whose objective is to describe the movement of the SALW imports and exports, as well as ammunition and parts, during the present decade. Based on this data, we answer the following questions: who exported and who imported? From whom? What? And when? It is worth restating that the intent of this report is not to explain the cause of arms imports and exports by Latin American countries. Beyond merely providing information, we do indeed wish to awaken, by means of the information presented here, the curiosity of other researches, activists and government staff members such that they may continue to perform research in their countries regarding the transparency of this information, on who is using the transferred SALW, and how. The data used for this report came from the NISAT database, which contains more than 800,000 entries for SALW transfers worldwide since 1962. The NISAT database gets its information from different sources, COMTRADE among them. In this study we decided to restrict ourselves to data from this latter source because, in theory, all countries report transfers to the UN. This data is declared in accordance with the Harmonized System (SH) merchandise classification system. The HS has existed since 1988and, in 2007, was revised for the fourth time; previous revisions were in 1992, 1996 and in 2002. Regarding the period analyzed, we are looking at data up until 2006, since at the time the study closed this was the most recent year available on NISAT....

October 4, 2004
British Broadcasting Corporation

Abstract:

One of the world's largest financial centres and a well-known tax haven, this British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean has more registered businesses than it has people.

July 20, 2012
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect

Abstract:

Provides background on populations at risk of mass atrocity crimes, with particular emphasis on key events and actors and their connection to the threat, or commission, of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

Offers analysis of the country’s past history in relation to mass atrocity crimes; the factors that have enabled their possible commission, or that prevent their resolution; and the receptivity of the situation to positive influences that would assist in preventing further crimes....

July 20, 2012
Centre for the Study of African Economies // University of Oxford

Abstract:

Important gaps remain in the understanding of the economic consequences of civil war. Focusing on the conflict in Rwanda in the early 90s, and using micro data to carry out econometric analysis, this paper finds that households and localities that experienced more intense conflict are lagging behind in terms of consumption six years after the conflict, a finding that is robust to taking into account the endogeneity of violence. Significantly different returns to land and labour are observed between zones that experienced low and high intensity conflict which is consistent with on-going recovery. Distinguishing between civil war and genocide, the findings also provide evidence that these returns, and by implication the process of recovery, depend on the form of violence....

July 18, 2012
The Centre for International Governance Innovation

Abstract:

Past exhumations conducted by Physicians for Human Rights at the request of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda were short-lived and controversial, from the perspective of both the international community and the communities that hosted the investigations. There is, however, widespread support among survivors for renewedefforts to identify and repatriate the anonymous victims of the 1994 genocide, both to reduce the psychological and spiritual distress the survivors experience and to provide definitive evidence of the genocide for future generations. In this brief, the term “repatriation” is used to refer to the process of returning human remains to their surviving relatives for appropriate reburial....

July 18, 2012
African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes

Abstract:

Contemporary Africa is faced with the reality of numerous evolving states that have to grapple with the inevitability of conflict. On their own, the fledgling institutions in these states cannot cope with the huge demands unleashed by everyday conflict. It is within this context that the complementarity between traditional institutions and the modern state becomes not only observable but also imperative.

Includes:
"Conflict resolution under the Ekika system of the Baganda in Uganda" by Ashad Sentongo and Andrea Bartoli
"Local conflict resolution in Rwanda: The case of abunzi mediators" br Martha Mutisi
"Traditional authority and modern hegemony: Peacemaking in the Afar region of Ethiopia" by Kwesi Sansculotte-Greenidge and Demessie Fantaye
"From war to peace and reconciliation in Darfur, Sudan: Prospects for the Judiyya" by Abdullahi Osman El-Tom
"Customary mediation in resource scarcities and conflicts in Sudan: Making a case for the Judiyya" by Salomé Bronkhorst...

July 17, 2012
Global Observatory

Abstract:

Civilian populations are again the victims of the recent clashes between the Congolese armed forces [FARDC] and the newly-formed armed group called 23 March Movement [M23] in eastern DRC. Congolese civilians are facing displacement, with looting and abductions being carried out by both sides. This time, however, the M23 rebel group has been using Protection of Civilians [PoC] language as an integral part of a well-calculated communication strategy. M23 leader Colonel Sultani Makenga stated on July 8 that its combatants would leave major towns they had just taken, about 40km north of the town of Goma, in order to “let MONUSCO and the national police secure the civilian population.” Meanwhile both the government of the DRC and the UN mission in the DRC [known by the acronym MONUSCO] are struggling to respond; the UN mission simply stated that it is doing its utmost in coordination with the Congolese army to protect civilians....

July 20, 2012
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect

Abstract:

Provides background on populations at risk of mass atrocity crimes, with particular emphasis on key events and actors and their connection to the threat, or commission, of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

Offers analysis of the country’s past history in relation to mass atrocity crimes; the factors that have enabled their possible commission, or that prevent their resolution; and the receptivity of the situation to positive influences that would assist in preventing further crimes....

July 16, 2012
The Soufan Group

Abstract:

The Lord's Resistance Army's capability has been badly degraded by years of exile in the Central African jungle, and attempts to capture its leader, Joseph Kony, have been a low priority for regional governments. But the remaining 200-300 fighters continue to prey on civilians, including children, and have displaced almost half a million people in the region.

Kony's atrocities have made him one of the world's most notorious fugitives and the Obama administration has sent Special Forces personnel to help the Ugandan army capture him, ostensibly following a humanitarian mandate from the U.S. Congress that would be precedent setting. It would also overlap with an increasingly important strategy in the global war on terror: training African governments to serve as proxies in the hunt for al Qaeda....

July 12, 2012
Transitional Demobilization and Reintegration Program

Abstract:

The implementation of effective disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) programmes in countries emerging from violent conflict are essential for building and maintaining peace and security. In many instances the disarmament and demobilisation of former combatants was achieved, but reintegration remained a challenge, due to the long-term focus and the substantial resources that are required for such a process to be successful. Income generation and livelihood opportunities are arguably vital for the success of reintegration processes. That is, in order to discourage the remilitarisation of ex-combatants, alternative and appealing means of making a sustainable living should be available to these individuals. In addition, if former combatants are able to make a constructive economic contribution to the communities to which they settle, these communities are more likely to be receptive to their presence.

Given this state of affairs, the Transitional Demobilisation and Reintegration Program (TDRP) of the World Bank commissioned the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in South Africa to undertake a research project on the extent to which ex-combatants interact with the informal economy in order to sustain themselves and their dependents. The research was undertaken in three countries: the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC – in the regions of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu) and South Sudan. This project was indelibly linked to another research project that exclusively focused on the reintegration of ex-combatants in the eastern DRC, the results of which are included in a separate report. The four specific focal areas of the research project were as follows:

1. An assessment of the state of conflict in terms of how it impacts on the economy in all the three case study areas;

2. An assessment of the nature of the economy (and labour market) in the case study areas;

3. An assessment of the employment and sustainable livelihood options that former combatants pursue in the case study areas; and

4. An analysis of the types, dynamics, successes, challenges of ex-combatant income-generating activities in the three case study countries.

This report is comprised of three parts. Part one includes a review of the literature on the reintegration of former combatants and the informal economy in Africa; a synopsis of post-conflict economies; and an outline of the analytical framework. Part two presents the findings of the case study research, focusing on the economies and DDR processes in each of the three countries, as well as assessing the reintegration process in relation to the informal economy. The third component of the report provides a comparative analysis of, and conclusions from, the research findings....

July 3, 2012
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Abstract:

A serious humanitarian crisis is ongoing in the areas affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) along the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and South Sudan. An estimated 445,000 civilians – or more than one in five of the estimated 2 million people in LRA-affected areas – are currently internally displaced or living as refugees. This situation has widespread implications for the stability of the region and the ability of communities to remain self-reliant and maintain hope for a brighter future....

June 26, 2012
United Nations University

Abstract:

While the history of wars and conflicts is replete with systematic incidents of sexual violence against vulnerable women, modern-day wars have witnessed large-scale indiscriminate deployment of rape as a “weapon” of war by combatants. In recent armed conflicts — such as in the former Yugoslavia, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Sierra Leone and Rwanda — the widespread use of rape as a tool of warfare has become a conspicuous phenomenon.

July 20, 2012
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

The 25,000 members of the National Civil Police (PNC) are on the front lines of Guatemala’s battle against crime. But all too often citizens distrust and fear the police – widely dismissed as inefficient, corrupt and abusive – as much as the criminals. Underfunded, poorly trained and often outgunned, they are frequently incapable or unwilling to confront criminals and gain the public trust needed to build a state based on rule of law. Drug traffickers, including Mexican cartels, move at will across porous borders, while criminal gangs dominate many urban areas. The government of President Otto Pérez Molina must reboot and revitalise police reform, as part of an overall effort to strengthen justice and law enforcement, with financial support from the U.S. and other countries interested in preventing Guatemala from becoming a haven for organised crime. Progress has been made, but achievements are fragile and easily reversed.

Since the 1996 peace accords that ended 36 years of armed conflict, donors have poured tens of millions of dollars into police and justice sector reform. But despite these efforts, Guatemala, with its neighbours in the Northern Triangle of Central America, remains one of the most violent countries in the world. Governments have repeatedly promised reform, including the Pérez administration that took office in January 2012. The new president, a retired general, campaigned on the promise that his government would combat crime with an “iron fist”. Since then, he has deployed troops to help patrol high-crime areas, reinforced the military in border regions to fight drug trafficking and declared a state of siege to quell a local protest. He has also promised to strengthen the police by adding thousands of recruits, while restarting stalled efforts to overhaul the institution. The question is whether his government will be able to muster the resources and will to bolster institutional reform or will rely primarily on militarised crime-fighting operations that provide short-term gains without solving long-term problems....

July 20, 2012
Transnational Institute

Abstract:

Remarkable drug policy developments are taking place in Latin America. This is not only at the level of political debate, but is also reflected in actual legislative changes in a number of countries. All in all there is an undeniable regional trend of moving away from the ‘war on drugs’. This briefing explains the background to the opening of the drug policy debate in the region, summarises the most relevant aspects of the ongoing drug law reforms in some countries, and makes a series of recommendations that could help to move the debate forward in a productive manner....

July 11, 2012
Center for Strategic and International Studies

Abstract:

Unlike its immediate neighbors to the north in Central America, Nicaragua has made admirable strides in the area of citizen security in the last 30 years. While Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras all had been galloping toward greater citizen insecurity since the conflictive 1980s, Nicaragua has managed to keep a lid on crime. With a homicide rate of 12 deaths per 100,000 residents—half the Latin American average of 26 per 100,000 and far lower than 82 per 100,000 in Honduras—Nicaragua appears to be a model for public safety in still turbulent Central America. However, recent erosions in democratic governance in Nicaragua could easily reverse such gains....

July 4, 2012
Women's Refugee Commission

Abstract:

Urban violence, restricted access to formal markets, the lack of safe spaces and quality skills training programs, and disrupted education challenge the economic resiliency of Colombian refugee and asylee female and male youth in Panama’s urban centers. UNHCR estimates that there are 17,000 refugees in Panama. While nongovernmental organizations estimate 75,000 Colombians are in Panama who need international protection,1 only 2,500 persons of concern are registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Panama is a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol; however, a cumbersome asylum process approves only two percent of asylum applications....

July 4, 2012
Action on Armed Violence

Abstract:

This report looks at national capacities to address the issue of armed violence of 12 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. In particular, the report documents states’ efforts to:

a. Measure, monitor and analyse the phenomenon of armed violence

b. Develop and implement legal instruments and programmes to address victims’ rights

c. Develop and implement legal instruments and programmes to prevent and reduce armed violence.

This document offers an overview of existing government efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean to measure and monitor armed violence. It looks at types of data collected, at the institutions in charge of collecting the information and it analyses some of the issues related to the use of the collected data. This is a preliminary report that is followed by a complete regional overview to be published in October 2011....

July 13, 2012
Centre for International Policy Studies

Abstract:

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has been very successful in bringing many accused to justice, in leading to the establishment of a permanent International Criminal Court and in demonstrating that holding leaders accountable is possible.

However, there is considerable dissonance between the ICTY’s judicial achievements in The Hague and attitudes and perceptions of the Tribunal in the region.

In order for the Tribunal’s legacy to have lasting impact, extensive efforts must be made to leverage the record of judicial success in order to ensure that its work is not ‘lost in translation’....

July 12, 2012
Chatham House

Abstract:

This is a summary of an event held at Chatham House on 14 May 2012. The event explored key aspects of Turkey-Armenia rapprochement. The event was held under the Chatham House Rule. Participants included experts from academia, think tanks and the policy-making community.

July 4, 2012
L'Institut français des relations internationales

Abstract:

Created on the 10th July 1999 by Security Council Resolution 1244, UNMIK was responsible for restructuring the institutions of a country devastated by war and establishing democratic governance. The security of people and goods and the existence of a legal system trusted by the population were two crucial prerequisites to the state-building process. The international community, however, only partially achieved these aims. Local difficulties, related to the hatred between ethnic communities and the resulting insecurity, as well as the international institutions’ inherent weaknesses, have represented major obstacles to the implementation of a local police and a legal system abiding to the United Nations’ norms. Today, international actors’ support remains essential to the functioning of Kosovo, thereby confirming the fragility of its independence. This assessment of UNMIK’s activities demonstrates that peacekeeping operations can diminish the intensity of conflicts without necessarily eliminating its causes....

June 27, 2012
European Policy Centre

Abstract:

30 June 2012 marks the end of the European Union Police Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the first ever and longest-running mission launched under the European Union's Common Security and Defence Policy. In a local and regional context in which the EU has concurrently pursued the twin goals of stabilisation and integration, the launch and subsequent conduct of EUPM reflected the bloc's growing engagement with civilian crisis management, initially focusing on police reform but soon coming to encompass concerns over the wider rule of law....

June 26, 2012
United Nations University

Abstract:

While the history of wars and conflicts is replete with systematic incidents of sexual violence against vulnerable women, modern-day wars have witnessed large-scale indiscriminate deployment of rape as a “weapon” of war by combatants. In recent armed conflicts — such as in the former Yugoslavia, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Sierra Leone and Rwanda — the widespread use of rape as a tool of warfare has become a conspicuous phenomenon.

July 20, 2012
United States Institute of Peace

Abstract:

The role of women in society is often a site for political discussion, especially in the course of post-conflict transition. For Afghan women, a decade of debate has ensued about their role in Afghan society.

July 18, 2012
International Federation for Human Rights // Open Asia

Abstract:

Stakeholders’ focus on reconciliation at any cost prevails in Afghanistan. After more than 30 years of war, the Afghan people are extenuated and yearn for security, peace and a normal life. More than 70 percent of the population was born after the Russian invasion in 1979 and have spent their lives under war. Millions have lived part of their lives as refugees in Pakistan and Iran, and hundreds of thousands are still internally displaced. Many remain in exile as a result of the uncertainties that persist in Afghanistan. In the most recent years, thousands of young Afghans have chosen to migrate abroad because of the prevailing insecurity and the absence of livelihood.

The first and second sections analyse the context in which the reconciliation process will unfold until the withdrawal of international troops by the end of 2014. The third section demonstrates that safeguarding and consolidating important institutional and democratic achievements since 2001 is crucial to ensuring that Afghanistan does not revert back to a situation of widespread human rights violations, once again becoming a haven for acts of terror. The transition process to 2014 and beyond must embody a strong commitment from both the Government of Afghanistan and the international community to fully endorse justice and human rights as core, nonnegotiable principles in all institutional and strategic arrangements. The fourth section profiles the Taliban and brings evidence that they are committing similar patterns of human rights violations to those they regularly committed when in power from 1996 to 2001. This section also outlines the various human rights mechanisms the international community can mobilise in order to prevent the rehabilitation and return of Taliban’s violent ideological governance. It also identifies the key responsibilities and obligations of the international community and Afghanistan’s partners in addressing the human rights situation prevailing in the country. The conclusion and recommendations summarize the various factors which the Government of Afghanistan and its international partners should mobilise to build democracy and the rule of law, and prevent further human rights violations in Afghanistan....

July 18, 2012
Central Asia - Caucasus Institute Analyst

Abstract:

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb [AQIM] has shown interest in Central Asia through its statement on the riots in Xinjiang in 2009 and its demand in 2012 for the release of a female Islamic Jihad Union [IJU] and German Taliban Mujahideen [GTM] financier incarcerated in Germany. AQIM and IJU both aim to create a global Islamic Caliphate and share enemies, such as the U.S., Germany, France, the U.K. and China. With the migration of jihadists from the Afghanistan-Pakistan theatre to hotspots in Somalia and AQIM’s new terrain in Azawad [Mali], coordination will increase between terrorist groups in Africa and Central Asia. The cross-regional networks are already in place and Germany appears to be a hub....

July 16, 2012
Center for Strategic and International Studies

Abstract:

Religious institutions and leaders are critically important in many conflict and post-conflict cases, and religious values often motivate either violence or peacebuilding. This report, part of an ongoing research effort to assess what is substantively distinctive about religion and the roles it can play in conflict, explores the ways that religion has been a factor in militant groups’ approaches to gaining support in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Religion is a relevant factor in key ways that these groups build support, including their relations with the state, service provision, kinship and patronage networks, and diaspora outreach. The roles religion plays in these categories are complicated and not always intuitive. Militant groups must find ways to limit central government pressures on their activities, including religious ones. These same groups can risk alienating local populations when they pair strong ideological or religious stances with service provision, or operate through patronage networks that are too rigid or not sufficiently inclusive. And global religious networks can inspire diaspora communities to pursue violent activity against their adopted governments. In South Asia, these groups’ activities matter because they threaten the ability of states to maintain peace and stability internally and complicate relations between already tense neighbors. Such instability has grave implications for U.S. national security....

July 16, 2012
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik // German Institute for International and Security Affairs

Abstract:

In July 2011 ISAF began transferring security responsibilities to the Afghan government. While NATO countries view this process with calculated optimism, four entirely negative scenarios are becoming probable. A "power oligarchy" could develop, either directly out of the current leadership [Scenario 1] or with the political participation of the Taleban [Scenario 2]. It is also conceivable, however, that the country could relapse into a "civil war" after 2014, the prospective end of the ISAF mission [Scenario 3]; or into a renewed "Taleban emirate" [Scenario 4]. Which of these developments will occur depends on several influencing factors: the internal risks within Afghanistan; future ISAF strategy in the asymmetric war; and the nature of long-term US engagement in Afghanistan....

July 18, 2012
Save the Children // World Vision

Abstract:

More than 18 million people are currently struggling through a crisis in the Sahel region of West Africa. The overarching driver of this crisis is not drought, nor a food deficit. The most vulnerable families are in crisis because they have no protection against shocks like grain prices doubling. This is the “resilience deficit”*, rooted in structural causes, neglected for too long, and exacerbated by exceptionally high food prices.

Current estimates suggest that over one million children will face severe and life-threatening malnutrition during this crisis. Even in a “non-crisis” year, an estimated 645,000 children die in the Sahel of largely preventable and treatable causes, with 226,000 of these deaths being directly linked to malnutrition. Acute malnutrition affects 10%-14% of children in Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso, and more than 15% of children in Chad. These rates demonstrate that traditional development policies are failing to save children in the Sahel from a permanent, large-scale nutrition crisis.

This report, a joint initiative by Save the Children and World Vision, aims to assess progress, lessons learned, and challenges in promoting “resilience” in the Sahel, with a particular focus on the well-being of children. The study demonstrates the need for a massive response by governments and partners in order to tackle child malnutrition – chronic and acute, together. It offers evidence-based, tangible recommendations for a comprehensive, child-focused approach to resilience in the Sahel.

People’s access to food at prices they can afford, and their capacity to absorb or adapt to new shocks have been severely undermined by the Sahel crises in 2005, 2008 and 2010. The vast majority of the most vulnerable households in the region have had neither the time, nor the necessary support, to get out of debt, or restore their normal means of making a living....

June 19, 2012
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Abstract:

UNHCR's "Global Trends 2011" report details for the first time the extent of forced displacement from a string of major humanitarian crises that began in late 2010 in Côte d'Ivoire, and was quickly followed by others in Libya, Somalia, Sudan and elsewhere. In all, 4.3 million people were newly displaced, with a full 800,000 of these fleeing their countries and becoming refugees.

"2011 saw suffering on an epic scale. For so many lives to have been thrown into turmoil over so short a space of time means enormous personal cost for all who were affected," said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres. "We can be grateful only that the international system for protecting such people held firm for the most part and that borders stayed open. These are testing times."

Worldwide, 42.5 million people ended 2011 either as refugees (15.2 million), internally displaced (26.4 million) or in the process of seeking asylum (895,000). Despite the high number of new refugees, the overall figure was lower than the 2010 total of 43.7 million people, due mainly to the offsetting effect of large numbers of internally displaced people (IDPs) returning home: 3.2 million, the highest rate of returns of IDPs in more than a decade. Among refugees, and notwithstanding an increase in voluntary repatriation over 2010 levels, 2011 was the third lowest year for returns (532,000) in a decade.

Viewed on a 10-year basis, the report shows several worrying trends: One is that forced displacement is affecting larger numbers of people globally, with the annual level exceeding 42 million people for each of the last five years. Another is that a person who becomes a refugee is likely to remain as one for many years – often stuck in a camp or living precariously in an urban location. Of the 10.4 million refugees under UNHCR's mandate, almost three quarters (7.1 million) have been in exile for at least five years awaiting a solution....

June 12, 2012
Human Security Report Project

Abstract:

Human Security Research is a monthly compilation of significant new human security-related research published by academics, university research institutes, think-tanks, international agencies, and NGOs.

Articles in this issue:
AID & FRAGILE STATES: Aid Effectiveness in Fragile States: Lessons from the First Generation of Transition Compacts
MONITORING AND REPORTING: Building Effective Monitoring, Reporting, and Fact-finding Mechanisms
CHILDREN & ARMED CONFLICT: No One to Trust: Children and Armed Conflict in Colombia
INSECURITY IN MAURITANIA: The Drivers of Insecurity in Mauritania
TRAFFICKING & INSTABILITY: Drug Trafficking, Violence, and Instability
THE UN IN CHAD & CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC : Security Council Working Methods and UN Peace Operations: The Case of Chad and the Central African Republic, 2006-2010
SSR IN THE DRC: The Democratic Republic of Congo: Taking a Stand on Security Sector Reform
LEADERSHIP TARGETING IN COUNTERINSURGENCY CAMPAIGNS: Does Decapitation Work? Assessing the Effectiveness of Leadership Targeting in Counterinsurgency Campaigns
HEALTH & EDUCATION IN BURUNDI: War, Health, and Educational Attainment: A Panel of Children during Burundi’s Civil War
WAR & POVERTY: War and Poverty
UN REFORM: UN Peacekeeping: 20 Years of Reform
MYANMAR: Reform in Myanmar: One Year On
...

June 1, 2012
United States Institute of Peace

Abstract:

On the eve of Libya's first elections scheduled for June 22,Tripoli is humming with anticipation. Billboards encouraging Libyans to vote line the major roads. 78 percent of the 3.5 million eligible voters have registered. Interim government officials are planning for security arrangements, printing ballots, and standing up polling stations. However, far away from the capital city, Libya's borders are a distant, silent threat to the success of the revolution. Libya shares a 2,700 mile-long border with Egypt to the east, Tunisia and Algeria to the west, and Sudan, Chad, and Niger to the south. During Libya's 2011 revolution, revolutionary fighters seized border crossings and large swaths of territory. Some swore allegiance to the new government. Other resisted and morphed into criminal enterprises. Trafficking of weapons, drugs, alcohol, and people soared. This spill-over of people and contraband threatens Libya's tenuous stability, as well as the democratic transitions in Egypt and Tunisia. These lawless areas pose a threat to European and U.S. security as well. Al-qaida affiliates reportedly transit the country from havens in ungoverned areas in neighboring countrie...

May 24, 2012
The United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees

Abstract:

Accusations of witchcraft have occurred in many situations of concern to UNHCR, for example amongst internally displaced in Northern Uganda and in refugee camps and settlements from South Africa through to Chad (2009). Accusations against children in refugee and IDP communities have also been a focus of particular attention in a recent report (Bussein et.al 2011).

However detailed anthropological accounts of such accusations are still rare in the refugee studies literature, exceptions being the discussion by Harrell-Bond of ‘poisoning’ amongst Ugandan refugees in Sudan (1986) and a paper by Golooba-Mutebi (2004) on accusations amongst Mozambican refugees and their South African hosts.

For a phenomenon as complex as witchcraft accusations it is arguable that an anthropological approach is particularly useful because it:

• concentrates on the social and cultural understandings of witchcraft within a community;
• examines the subject as part of broad patterns of continuity and change in various aspects of life;
• draws on insights from long-term participatory fieldwork; and,
• is informed by many years of anthropological theorising and research into witchcraft.

We hope then that this paper will be a valuable contribution to our understanding of witchcraft in refugee situations. We should highlight however that it departs from a classic anthropological approach to witchcraft in one important respect. Whilst most anthropologists have been content to describe and explain witchcraft accusations, we join with those seeking to find ways to minimise accusations and the harm that they cause; the relative powerlessness of the vulnerable individuals most often accused, and the consequences that they suffer including expulsion, violence and even death, makes this imperative (Ter Haar 2007, La Fontaine 2009). The last section of this paper is therefore an account of different community-based interventions that non-governmental agencies have used to help reduce the number and severity of accusations....

February 9, 2011
The International Journal of Transitional Justice

Abstract:

Most studies of truth commissions assert their positive role in improving human rights. A firstwave of researchmade these claims based on qualitative analysis of a single truth commission or a small number of cases. Thirty years of experience with truth commissions and dozens of examples allow cross-national statistical studies to assess these findings. Two recent studies undertake that project. Their findings, which are summarized in this article, challenge the prevailing view that truth commissions foster human rights, showing instead that commissions, when used alone, tend to have a negative impact on human rights. Truth commissions have a positive impact, however, when used in combination with trials and amnesties. This article extends the question of whether truth commissions improve human rights to how, when and why they succeed or fail in doing so. It presents a ‘justice balance’ explanation, whereby commissions, incapable of promoting stability and accountability on their own, contribute to human rights improvements when they complement and enhance amnesties and prosecutions. The article draws on experiences in Brazil, Chile, Nepal, South Korea and South Africa to illustrate the central argument....

October 7, 2009
Small Arms Survey // Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva // Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Abstract:

The data in this report is derived from country submissions when possible, and estimates when necessary. Estimates are extrapolated from each country’s identified procurement, highest modern personnel totals, and strategic doctrine. Except where noted, the military small arms and light weapons data presented here is not official, comprehensive, or conclusive; it is for general evaluation and comparison only. The complete methodology used here is described in Chapter 2 of the Small Arms Survey 2006. Small arms are state-owned handguns, submachine guns, rifles, shotguns, and light and medium machine guns. Firearms are civilian-owned handguns, submachine guns, rifles, and shotguns. Long at the forefront of international small arms issues, public debate and activism in South America have largely focused on matters surrounding civilian firearms, estimated here to total between 21.7 and 26.8 million. The reasons for this civilian preoccupation are principally linked to chronic gun violence. South America has 14 per cent of the global population, and roughly 3.5 to 4 per cent of the world’s civilian firearms, but it suffers from roughly 40 per cent of all homicides committed with firearms. Military small arms are rarely part of public debate, largely because of a strong culture of national security secrecy in South America. But military small arms policy has attracted much closer scrutiny in recent years, especially as military small arms and light weapons are diverted to criminals and guerrillas, fuelling insurgencies and civil violence. This report focuses primarily on issues surrounding surplus military small arms and light weapons in the region. Law enforcement and civilian firearms inventories and issues are recognized here as well, to ensure a balanced overall perspective. The region’s military establishments do not have a strong record of identifying or eliminating their surplus small arms, light weapons, or ammunition. South America holds some of the world’s largest military small arms and light weapons surpluses. Military inventories are not exceptionally large in absolute terms, but they are a major element in global surplus problems. Among the 12 independent countries of South America, there are an estimated 3.6 million military small arms as of 2007, 1.5 per cent of the global total. Of these, approximately 1.3 million, more than one-third, are surplus....

September 16, 2009
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Abstract:

The purpose of the present report is to analyze the intelligence agencies’ role in Pakistan’s political life through a better understanding of the agencies’ objectives and mechanisms. Because Pakistan’s civilian governments have been victims of the agencies’ manipulation in the past, the new and very fragile government cannot ignore the decisive role of the intelligence agencies in Pakistani politics if it wants to counter the direct and more subtle manifestations of military control. The domestic political role of intelligence agencies is always a combination of three elements: militarization, comprehensive political surveillance, and state terror. The intensity and relative importance of each component varies over time and according to the specific situations in each country, but all three are always present. Terror as it applies to individuals or groups can be carried out by proxies and is intermittent, but it remains an essential element of the system. An intelligence agency’s reputation for ruthlessness is often as important as its actual efficiency....

May 23, 2009
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs

Abstract:

Chile once boasted a long history of stable democratic rule until socialist policies and economic chaos emerged in the 1970s, setting the stage for the coup d’état by General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte. Chile’s deeply rooted democratic culture survived sixteen years under Pinochet, however, and the people united under the common goal of returning Chile to civilian control. Claudio Orrego, mayor of Peñalolén in Santiago province and The Chicago Council’s 2009 Gus Hart Fellow, shared his vision of democracy in one of Latin America’s most stable and prosperous nations. He discussed government transparency, the role of information technology, and economic development through public-private partnerships....

December 10, 2008
New America Foundation

Abstract:

This table is part of the larger "U.S. Weapons at War 2008" report. For the full document, please see http://www.humansecuritygateway.info/showRecord.php?RecordId=27517

July 16, 2012
Saferworld

Abstract:

In July 2012, the 5th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Ministerial Conference will be held in Beijing. These high-level meetings, which occur every three years, facilitate cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, development, health, education, environment, people-to-people exchanges and various other issues. One important issue is peace and security. Addressing the last FOCAC meeting in 2009, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao made clear that “China is willing to increase involvement in the settlement of issues concerning peace and security in Africa."...

July 16, 2012
London School of Economics and Political Science

Abstract:

As this Arab Spring of revolution becomes a long summer of transitions, we take the opportunity to review some of the historic developments in the region over the last few months. In doing so we throw the spotlight on the drivers of these popular uprisings, and the difficulties they present for the rest of the world in dealing with this strategically crucial region.

Kicking us off, Gilles Kepel brings his considerable experience to bear in discussing the revolutions in macro-context, before in our feature article Luca Tardelli analyses the inherent difficulties in Western intervention that are now once again playing out in Libya, a point picked up by Felix Berenskoetter in his discussion of how Western division on Libya played out at the Security Council. Turning to Yemen, Tobias Thiel considers how the particular politics of coalition in that country may allow it to move beyond the surely-now-terminal Presidency of Ali Abdullah Saleh.

International politics doesn’t stop when crises occur, and the world faces a great many challenges at this time. China’s rise seems perpetually on the agenda, and Marco Wyss provides a new take on the drivers of that power transition in his analysis of US arms sales to China. Meanwhile, as American hegemony in Latin America seems increasingly up for question, Carlos Solis-Tejada assesses the prospects for Cuba, that most dysfunctional of American relationships, in the wake of the sixth party congress....

June 27, 2012
EUCAM // Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior

Abstract:

China and Russia are the most influential external actors in Central Asia, while the EU has substantially increased its activity and presence in the region since 2007. The security and development interests of these three actors are sometimes at odds but can also overlap. The three actors are usually perceived in terms of different stereotypes. Whereas the EU is known for its emphasis on democratic values and human rights, Russia is seen as the main security actor [not including the United States and its actions in Afghanistan] and China as the main investor in infrastructure and importer of energy. How do these stereotypes compare in regard to security and development interests? Is there any scope for cooperation and coordination or can policies be boiled down to zero-sum geo-political competition?...

June 26, 2012
Human Rights Watch

Abstract:

This 68-page report describes how at least 7,000 to 10,000 ethnic Kachin refugees have fled war and abuses in Burma since June 2011, seeking refuge in southwestern China. The report is based on more than 100 interviews with refugees, displaced persons in Burma, victims of abuses, relief workers, and others.

May 24, 2012
Human Rights Watch

Abstract:

This 76-page report documents abuses by the chengguan Urban Management Law Enforcement (城管执法) forces, including assaults on suspected administrative law violators, some of which lead to serious injury or death, illegal detention, and unlawful forceful confiscation of property.

July 17, 2012
International Committee of the Red Cross

Abstract:

This report presents ICRC's work in Colombia in 2011, illustrating the benefit that the ICRC's activities bring to the victims of armed conflict in the country.

Throughout 2011, the people of Colombia continued to suffer the effects of the armed conflict that started almost 50 years ago. The conflict is still having serious consequences, and this report calls for scrupulous application of humanitarian standards.

July 13, 2012
Human Rights Data Analysis Group

Abstract:

Anti-union assassinations may be one of the best documented violations in Colombia. Unions keep track of who has been killed in their community; companies and public institutions know when their employees are no longer alive. Special interest groups have formed to pay even closer attention to violence across unions, labor sectors, years and municipalities. The National Union School [Escuela Nacional Sindical in Spanish] is one such group: they have recorded violence against trade unions since 1986. Human rights groups, such as the non-governmental [NGO] Colombian Commission of Jurists, monitor the killing of unionists in addition to other victims and other violations. The government’s human rights office, led by the Vice President, began pooling together data on Colombia’s anti-union violence in 1999. Yet, even with so many monitors keeping track of the violence experienced by this group, we estimate in this study that in some places and times, as much as 30 percent of all the killings are not recorded by any of these datasets.

We have two purposes with this study. The first is to offer statistical estimates of unknown, unreported trade unionists killed. We use a statistical method called Multiple Systems Estimation, explained in detail in Appendix A. By combining an estimate of the number of deaths not recorded in any source with the number of known, recorded deaths, this analysis offers estimated totals for all unionists killed in Colombia between 1999 and 2008....

July 4, 2012
Women's Refugee Commission

Abstract:

Urban violence, restricted access to formal markets, the lack of safe spaces and quality skills training programs, and disrupted education challenge the economic resiliency of Colombian refugee and asylee female and male youth in Panama’s urban centers. UNHCR estimates that there are 17,000 refugees in Panama. While nongovernmental organizations estimate 75,000 Colombians are in Panama who need international protection,1 only 2,500 persons of concern are registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Panama is a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol; however, a cumbersome asylum process approves only two percent of asylum applications....

July 3, 2012
Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre

Abstract:

Despite security gains on the part of the armed forces and the demobilisation of the United Self- Defence Forces of Colombia paramilitaries, Colombia’s protracted internal armed conflict persists. Civilians continue to be hard hit by violence, displacement and human rights abuses perpetrated by armed groups. Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities are disproportionately affected by this violence and displacement, potentially leading to their cultural and physical extinction. Protection mechanisms for ethnic minorities and their collective lands rights remain ineffective in spite of the Colombian Constitutional Court’s efforts. State-led security strategies, the mining boom, land restitution efforts and free-trade agreements bring with them additional security challenges for Afro-Colombian and indigenous groups.

This report seeks to describe the protection challenges facing ethnic minorities and to provide recommendations for how the international community can act to guarantee Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities’ protection. The main thrust of the recommendations is that the international community should put pressure on the Colombian authorities to apply in practice the model theoretical protection of communities’ rights that exists in the Colombian Constitution. The U.S. and Colombian authorities should be pressured to reconsider their indiscriminate cropspraying programme that supposedly targets only coca crops, while countries who have concluded free-trade agreements with Colombia should be pressured to ensure that these do not further threaten the rights of indigenous and Afro- Colombian communities....

June 12, 2012
Human Security Report Project

Abstract:

Human Security Research is a monthly compilation of significant new human security-related research published by academics, university research institutes, think-tanks, international agencies, and NGOs.

Articles in this issue:
AID & FRAGILE STATES: Aid Effectiveness in Fragile States: Lessons from the First Generation of Transition Compacts
MONITORING AND REPORTING: Building Effective Monitoring, Reporting, and Fact-finding Mechanisms
CHILDREN & ARMED CONFLICT: No One to Trust: Children and Armed Conflict in Colombia
INSECURITY IN MAURITANIA: The Drivers of Insecurity in Mauritania
TRAFFICKING & INSTABILITY: Drug Trafficking, Violence, and Instability
THE UN IN CHAD & CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC : Security Council Working Methods and UN Peace Operations: The Case of Chad and the Central African Republic, 2006-2010
SSR IN THE DRC: The Democratic Republic of Congo: Taking a Stand on Security Sector Reform
LEADERSHIP TARGETING IN COUNTERINSURGENCY CAMPAIGNS: Does Decapitation Work? Assessing the Effectiveness of Leadership Targeting in Counterinsurgency Campaigns
HEALTH & EDUCATION IN BURUNDI: War, Health, and Educational Attainment: A Panel of Children during Burundi’s Civil War
WAR & POVERTY: War and Poverty
UN REFORM: UN Peacekeeping: 20 Years of Reform
MYANMAR: Reform in Myanmar: One Year On
...

April 13, 2011
Center for Strategic and International Studies

Abstract:

National security is normally seen in terms of military strength and internal security operations against extremists and insurgents. The upheavals that began in Tunis, and now play out from Pakistan to Morocco,. have highlighted the fact that national security is measured in terms of the politics, economics, and social tensions that shape national stability as well. It is all too clear that the wrong kind of internal security efforts, and national security spending that limits the ability to meet popular needs and expectations can do as much to undermine national security over time as outside and extremist threats.

It is equally clear that calls for democracy are at best only the prelude to dealing with critical underlying problems, pressures, and expectations. It is far from certain that even successful regime change can evolve into functional democracies and governance. Countries with no political parties and experienced leaders, with no history of checks and balances in government, with weak structure of governance led by new political figures with no administrative experience, will often descend into chaos, extremism, or a new round of authoritarianism. Even the best governments, however, are unlikely to change an economy and national infrastructure in less than half a decade, and existing demographic pressures will inevitably go on for at least the next decade....

September 15, 2010
African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes

Abstract:

The Towards Enhancing the Capacity of the African Union in Mediation report is based on a seminar organised by the African Union Commission on 15 and 16 October 2009. Armed conflict is one of the greatest threats to Africa’s development. Today, many African countries are in the throes of civil conflict, several more face a heightened risk of experiencing armed violence, while others are recently emerging from protracted wars. The challenges ahead are sobering. The African Union (AU) organised a seminar entitled ‘Towards Enhancing the Capacity of the African Union in Mediation’, which was held at the Commission of the African Union, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 15 and 16 October 2009. The seminar was the culmination of a series of consultations launched in late 2008, in collaboration with the United Nations (UN) and other stakeholders, to reflect on lessons learned from mediation experiences in Africa. The Addis Ababa seminar brought together policymakers, mediation experts and civil society actors to develop a more strategic approach in enhancing the AU’s mediation capacity. In so doing the participants addressed the following themes: improving the AU’s performance in mediation, consolidating and integrating the approaches of the AU and the RECs in mediation, and discussing collaboration with partners including the UN. This report provides a succinct contextual framework to capture the essence of the discussions and subsequent recommendations presented at the seminar....

August 24, 2010
Swiss Peace Foundation

Abstract:

Power-sharing mechanisms play an increasingly important role in peace agreements. However, there is profound divergence over the positive effects of the inclusion of political power-sharing provisions in peace accords. Proposing power-sharing solutions may be useful for mediators to get conflict parties to the negotiating table. At the same time those mechanisms imply a number of challenges for academics and practitioners. Many critics argue that power-sharing as specific political model has only worked in particular circumstances, such as in Switzerland. Before formulating general guidelines and recommendations on powersharing in peace agreements, one has to address this critique. To this end the working paper analyses four contested favourable conditions in the power-sharing model: a small population size, a balance of population size between divided groups, territorial isolation of population groups and a common perceived security threat. Eight case studies are carried out in order to test these four favourable conditions that might influence the durability of power-sharing peace agreements. As a result, this working paper provides evidence that the durability of power-sharing peace agreements does probably not depend on these favourable conditions. It is therefore argued that power-sharing solutions in peace agreements do not seem to require particular favourable conditions to be successful and are not doomed to fail from the outset in a range of different contexts....

September 3, 2009
United Nations General Assembly

Abstract:

The present report addresses the progress made in the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Secretary-General’s report on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa (A/52/871-S/1998/318). It is submitted in compliance with General Assembly resolution 63/304, which was adopted following the Assembly’s consideration at its sixty-third session of the Secretary-General’s progress report dated 4 August 2008 (A/63/212). The recommendations addressing economic and social factors underlying the promotion of sustainable development are covered in the Secretary-General’s companion report on the Implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (A/64/204). Following introductory remarks, section II of the report provides an overview of major peace and security developments in Africa during the past year, including the serious concerns being addressed by Africa and the international community in order to restore, maintain and promote peace and rebuild post-conflict countries. In section III, the report reviews progress in relation to the capacity-building needs and increased cooperation with the African Union and subregional organizations and provides an assessment of the United Nations support for the defence and promotion of human rights in Africa. The report concludes that, pending the General Assemblymandated comprehensive review of the recommendations contained in the 1998 report and of the new challenges to achieving long-term peace and sustainable development, the international community must, more than ever, redouble its efforts in Africa and ensure that the commitments made are effectively implemented....

July 13, 2006
Project on International Courts and Tribunals // African International Courts and Tribunals

Abstract:

The Common Court of Justice and Arbitration (CCJA) is the court of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA), one of the most successful regional legal harmonization efforts on the Continent. Unlike the other continental regional integration groups, OHADA does not seek to conform national law to an overarching treaty and successive regulations and directives, which allow national legislature some leeway. Instead, OHADA uses the integration method of issuing binding uniform acts that automatically supercede all prior and future inconsistent national laws. With the goal of creating a secure, simple and modern legal framework for the conduct of business in Africa, OHADA has issued eight uniform acts on general commercial law, commercial companies and economic interest groups, securities, arbitration, simplified recovery procedures and measures of execution, collective insolvency and accounting....

July 20, 2012
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect

Abstract:

Provides background on populations at risk of mass atrocity crimes, with particular emphasis on key events and actors and their connection to the threat, or commission, of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

Offers analysis of the country’s past history in relation to mass atrocity crimes; the factors that have enabled their possible commission, or that prevent their resolution; and the receptivity of the situation to positive influences that would assist in preventing further crimes....

July 17, 2012
Global Observatory

Abstract:

Civilian populations are again the victims of the recent clashes between the Congolese armed forces [FARDC] and the newly-formed armed group called 23 March Movement [M23] in eastern DRC. Congolese civilians are facing displacement, with looting and abductions being carried out by both sides. This time, however, the M23 rebel group has been using Protection of Civilians [PoC] language as an integral part of a well-calculated communication strategy. M23 leader Colonel Sultani Makenga stated on July 8 that its combatants would leave major towns they had just taken, about 40km north of the town of Goma, in order to “let MONUSCO and the national police secure the civilian population.” Meanwhile both the government of the DRC and the UN mission in the DRC [known by the acronym MONUSCO] are struggling to respond; the UN mission simply stated that it is doing its utmost in coordination with the Congolese army to protect civilians....

July 16, 2012
Small Wars Journal

Abstract:

By most metrics, the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC] is a failed state, with ongoing risk to regional security and stability rooted in the conflicts that wracked the country for decades. However, this needn’t have been the outcome. There were numerous contextual similarities between the guerrilla movement in DRC under Laurent-Désiré Kabila, and China under Mao Tse-Tung during the Japanese occupation when he wrote On Guerrilla Warfare. Given this, it seems possible that if Kabila had implemented Mao’s advice during the First Congo Civil War, a revolution by any definition and, therefore, an arena for implementation of On Guerrilla Warfare, he could have proven to be far more successful in generating real political change via a far less brutal conflict in Zaire. However, despite probable exposure to the tenets put forth by Mao, Kabila did not employ them during the conflict. This paper will argue that as a result, his victory in the First Congo Civil War was far less politically meaningful in the aftermath, and far more brutal, with more negative implications on regional security today, and than if he had followed a Maoist approach to insurgency....

July 16, 2012
The Soufan Group

Abstract:

The Lord's Resistance Army's capability has been badly degraded by years of exile in the Central African jungle, and attempts to capture its leader, Joseph Kony, have been a low priority for regional governments. But the remaining 200-300 fighters continue to prey on civilians, including children, and have displaced almost half a million people in the region.

Kony's atrocities have made him one of the world's most notorious fugitives and the Obama administration has sent Special Forces personnel to help the Ugandan army capture him, ostensibly following a humanitarian mandate from the U.S. Congress that would be precedent setting. It would also overlap with an increasingly important strategy in the global war on terror: training African governments to serve as proxies in the hunt for al Qaeda....

July 12, 2012
Transitional Demobilization and Reintegration Program

Abstract:

The implementation of effective disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) programmes in countries emerging from violent conflict are essential for building and maintaining peace and security. In many instances the disarmament and demobilisation of former combatants was achieved, but reintegration remained a challenge, due to the long-term focus and the substantial resources that are required for such a process to be successful. Income generation and livelihood opportunities are arguably vital for the success of reintegration processes. That is, in order to discourage the remilitarisation of ex-combatants, alternative and appealing means of making a sustainable living should be available to these individuals. In addition, if former combatants are able to make a constructive economic contribution to the communities to which they settle, these communities are more likely to be receptive to their presence.

Given this state of affairs, the Transitional Demobilisation and Reintegration Program (TDRP) of the World Bank commissioned the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in South Africa to undertake a research project on the extent to which ex-combatants interact with the informal economy in order to sustain themselves and their dependents. The research was undertaken in three countries: the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC – in the regions of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu) and South Sudan. This project was indelibly linked to another research project that exclusively focused on the reintegration of ex-combatants in the eastern DRC, the results of which are included in a separate report. The four specific focal areas of the research project were as follows:

1. An assessment of the state of conflict in terms of how it impacts on the economy in all the three case study areas;

2. An assessment of the nature of the economy (and labour market) in the case study areas;

3. An assessment of the employment and sustainable livelihood options that former combatants pursue in the case study areas; and

4. An analysis of the types, dynamics, successes, challenges of ex-combatant income-generating activities in the three case study countries.

This report is comprised of three parts. Part one includes a review of the literature on the reintegration of former combatants and the informal economy in Africa; a synopsis of post-conflict economies; and an outline of the analytical framework. Part two presents the findings of the case study research, focusing on the economies and DDR processes in each of the three countries, as well as assessing the reintegration process in relation to the informal economy. The third component of the report provides a comparative analysis of, and conclusions from, the research findings....

March 28, 2012
Transitional Demobilization and Reintegration Program // International Bank for Reconstruction and Development // The World Bank

Abstract:

Although official warfare in the Republic of Congo stopped more than eight years ago, the Pool region has continued to feel the collateral effects of war until now at a scale largely ignored by the general public. The Pool region is where the Ninjas, a group of local militias, originated during the civil strife and retreated to afterwards. Peace and recovery did not gain traction in the area until 2010/2011.

March 1, 2012
German Institute of Global and Area Studies // The Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation

Abstract:

This article discusses the impact of economic resources on the behaviour of an armed group. The availability of resources, and the presence of "lootable" resources in particular, is presumed to have a negative impact on the way an armed group behaves toward the civilian population. The case of the Armed Forces of the Congolese People (Forces Armées du Peuple Congolais, FAPC) in eastern Congo strongly suggests that it is necessary to look beyond this monocausal argument so as to witness the range of other factors at work....

February 6, 2012
Life & Peace Institute

Abstract:

The following report by Lindsey Weber is an English synopsis of three studies on the role of the civil society in the pursuit of peace and democracy in the Republic of Congo. The studies, based upon empirical analysis of surveys and personal interviews conducted with members of civil society, approach the issue of the role of civil society in the Republic of Congo from different but complementary perspectives. They explore the local understandings of the concepts of civil society and peace as well as highlight the role played by the civil society in the peace process and the complex and often-incongruous relationship between the state and civil society.

The first study, Congolese Civil Society: How does it Express Itself?, defines the presence of civil society in the Congo and presents an overview of its impact. The other two, Outcome of the Role and Means of Action of Female Civil Society in the Construction of Peace and Horizontal Solidarity and Civil Society in Perspective: the State of Horizontal Society in Brazzaville are appropriate case studies of the role of specific components of Congolese civil society. The former study describes the activities and role of female civil society in the peace process. It is written by a historian, and discusses developments in the entire country. The latter progresses beyond the contentious issue of ethnicity to explore the concept of circulation, or interaction, as a catalyst for the consolidation of civil society independent of state guidance. This study is authored by a sociologist, and focuses on the city of Brazzaville. Therefore, the perspectives and levels of analysis are different for each study....

August 2, 2011
Institute for Security Studies // L'Institut d'Etudes de Sécurité

Abstract:

Africa’s Great Lakes region has known conflict for a considerable period of time, and this has been met with several initiatives aimed at managing the situation in a sustainable way. One such initiative was the Multi-country Demobilisation and Reintegration Programme (MDRP), led by the World Bank, from 2002 to 2009. The initiative, which looked at selected countries in the Great Lakes, focussed on the demobilisation and reintegration of former fighters, with the main objective being to improve the livelihoods of affected communities. Despite the challenges that the MDRP encountered, the programme realised a number of successes and brought to the fore numerous lessons learned. It is these lessons that this monograph has sought to document, with the hope of contributing to the better planning of similar programmes in future. The monograph uses case studies of the Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo to illustrate how the MDRP was implemented, while Liberia is included as a control case....

July 21, 2011
International Monetary Fund

Abstract:

This paper identifies the factors linked to cross-country differentials in growth performance in the aftermath of social conflict for 30 sub-Saharan African countries using panel data techniques. Our results show that changes in the terms of trade are the most important correlate of economic performance in post-conflict environments. This variable is typically associated with an increase in the marginal probability of positive economic performance by about 30 percent. Institutional quality emerges as the second most important factor. Foreign aid is shown to have very limited ability to explain differentials in growth performance, and other policy variables such as trade openness are not found to have a statistically significant effect. The results suggest that exogenous factors ("luck") are an important factor in post-conflict recovery. They also highlight the importance in post-conflict settings of policies to mitigate the macroeconomic impact of terms of trade volatility (including countercyclical macroeconomic policies and innovative financing instruments) and of policies to promote export diversification....

May 24, 2006
Australian National University // State, Society And Governance In Melanesia Project

Abstract:

The decade since the early 1990s has witnessed the growth of a field of research and practice aimed at resolving and preventing violent conflict. Research on violent conflict has led to a number of different theories on causes of violent conflict, many of them based on the study of large-scale, protracted conflicts in Africa and the Balkans. Advocates of conflict prevention have linked longer-term root causes of violent conflict to aspects of underdevelopment, and tensions inherent in development processes....

October 4, 2004
British Broadcasting Corporation

Abstract:

The 15 volcanic islands that make up the Cook Islands are scattered over 770,000 square miles of the south Pacific ocean and lie between American Samoa to the west and French Polynesia to the east.

April 3, 2012
Council on Foreign Relations

Abstract:

Violent crime in Central America—particularly in the "northern triangle" of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala—is reaching breathtaking levels. Murder rates in the region are among the highest in the world. To a certain extent, Central America's predicament is one of geography—it is sandwiched between some of the world's largest drug producers in South America and the world's largest consumer of illegal drugs, the United States. The region is awash in weapons and gunmen, and high rates of poverty ensure substantial numbers of willing recruits for organized crime syndicates. Weak, underfunded, and sometimes corrupt governments struggle to keep up with the challenge. Though the United States has offered substantial aid to Central American efforts to address criminal violence, it also contributes to the problem through its high levels of drug consumption, relatively relaxed gun control laws, and deportation policies that have sent home more than a million illegal migrants with violent records.

In this Council Special Report, sponsored by the Center for Preventive Action, Michael Shifter assesses the causes and consequences of the violence faced by several Central American countries and examines the national, regional, and international efforts intended to curb its worst effects. Guatemala, for example, is still healing from a thirty-six-year civil war; guns and armed groups remain common. El Salvador's ironfisted response to widespread gang violence has transformed its prisons into overcrowded gang-recruiting centers while doing little to reduce crime. Even relatively wealthy countries like Costa Rica and Panama are threatened by poor police capacity and significant problems with smuggling and money laundering. Virtually all countries are further plagued by at least some level of public corruption.

Countering Criminal Violence in Central America provides important insights into the varied causes of criminal violence in the region. Its authoritative and nuanced analysis acknowledges the strengths and weaknesses of ongoing efforts to address the problem, and it offers thoughtful recommendations on how those efforts might be built on and improved. Despite the daunting complexity of the challenges underpinning the region's growing violence, this report successfully argues that this trend can—and should—be reversed....

September 15, 2009
German Institute of Global and Area Studies

Abstract:

The Costa Rican talk of crime is fundamentally based on the assumption that a formerly explicitly nonviolent nation has been transformed into a battleground for social violence—that is, on the belief that an alarming “crime wave” is occurring today while there was no crime at all in the past. On the basis of this assumption, the fear of crime and the call for zero tolerance and drastic law enforcement actions have been increasing. In this paper I discuss the Costa Rican talk of crime from a historical perspective to demonstrate that crime has always been a topic that has generated pervasive feelings of insecurity and so‐cial pessimism. I argue that social changes in Costa Rican society and the paradigmatic shift in economic and social‐welfare politics since the 1980s have been essential in the transformation of the talk of crime. As part of this transformation, the politicization of crime since the 1990s has been one of the most powerful changes in the dominant dis‐course....

September 15, 2009
German Institute of Global and Area Studies

Abstract:

The Costa Rican talk of crime is fundamentally based on the assumption that crime rates have increased significantly in recent years and that there is today a vast and alarming amount of crime. On the basis of this assumption, fear of crime, the call for the “iron fist,” and drastic law enforcement actions are continually increasing. While crime statistics are the logical basis for the hypothesis on the far-reaching extent of delinquency, they are used in a problematic way in the talk of crime. In this paper I discuss Costa Rican crime statis-tics, their development, and their utilization in the talk of crime against the background of criminological theory. The theses of the paper are that a) the informative value of crime statistics regarding Costa Rican reality is far more questionable than the common utiliza-tion of them implies and b) when they are used as argumentation, these crime statistics do not provide evidence of the oft-proclaimed rising crime wave....

September 16, 2008
En la Mira - The Latin American Small Arms Watch

Abstract:

Although all countries, in theory report their authorized transfers - and such information may even be available in certain public databases - the task of providing an overview of SALW transfers, their parts and munitions, is an arduous one. Nonetheless, despite the difficulties, we have some extremely positive initiatives on a global scale, such as for example, the Small Arms Survey, recognized as an important source of information, especially on SALW production and transfers, as well as the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers (NISAT) which has a database containing transfer records going back to 1962.Despite these important initiatives, themselves when researchers, activists and policy makers try to understand a regional market, such as Latin America and the Caribbean, they encounter a dearth of information. With the intent of addressing this shortcoming, En La Mira has, since 2007, dedicated an issue to transfers of SALWs, parts and ammunition in this region. Further, according to statistics from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN-Comtrade or Comtrade), USD 6.7 billion were exported between 2004 and 2006, while USD 6.5 billion were imported. Despite the fact that Latin America and the Caribbean represent 6% and 3%, respectively, of total transfers worldwide during this period, 42% of firearms related homicide is committed in the region. This discrepancy between the international transfer volume share and the levels of armsrelated violence in Latin America and the Caribbean calls attention to itself, above all because of the tragic and startling number of homicides. Obviously, far from wishing to increase arms transfers in order to be more in sync with homicide rates, we decided, a year ago, to study this issue and periodically monitor its development based on our interest in understanding the primary legal entry and exit routes of firearms and ammunition. The result is a report - based on customs information as stated by Latin American and Caribbean countries and their respective partners - whose objective is to describe the movement of the SALW imports and exports, as well as ammunition and parts, during the present decade. Based on this data, we answer the following questions: who exported and who imported? From whom? What? And when? It is worth restating that the intent of this report is not to explain the cause of arms imports and exports by Latin American countries. Beyond merely providing information, we do indeed wish to awaken, by means of the information presented here, the curiosity of other researches, activists and government staff members such that they may continue to perform research in their countries regarding the transparency of this information, on who is using the transferred SALW, and how. The data used for this report came from the NISAT database, which contains more than 800,000 entries for SALW transfers worldwide since 1962. The NISAT database gets its information from different sources, COMTRADE among them. In this study we decided to restrict ourselves to data from this latter source because, in theory, all countries report transfers to the UN. This data is declared in accordance with the Harmonized System (SH) merchandise classification system. The HS has existed since 1988and, in 2007, was revised for the fourth time; previous revisions were in 1992, 1996 and in 2002. Regarding the period analyzed, we are looking at data up until 2006, since at the time the study closed this was the most recent year available on NISAT....

August 19, 2008
German Institute of Global and Area Studies

Abstract:

Violence, crime, and insecurity are major topics in contemporary political and societal discourses in Central America. With very different crime rates and varying thematic foci, these topics are discussed in the media, politics, and society. It is noticeable that the fear of crime and the public sensationalization of crime and violence vary significantly from country to country. Thus, low crime rates do not necessarily reduce fear and vice versa. This paper is related to a research project about discourses on violence and crime in contemporary Central America, and is based on the observation that the “talk of crime” is very prevalent in Costa Rica, a country usually known as being calm and peaceful. The extensive fear of crime becomes manifest in many different social spaces and contexts. Rico recently stated, on the basis of crime statistics and opinion polls, that a) many Costa Ricans do not have a clear idea, or even have a very incorrect idea, of crime rates in Costa Rica and that b) the number of Costa Ricans who have the impression that they could very likely become a victim of crime is remarkably high (Rico 2006: 30). In 2004, for example, 77.6 percent of the respondents of a representative public opinion poll stated that Costa Rica is not safe at all (while 62 percent regarded their neighborhood as a safe place); 59.9 percent declared that one should not leave his home unguarded; 64.2 percent declared that houses need fences in Costa Rica; and 39.2 percent advocated for a watchdog in their houses (Rico 2006: 31-32). Furthermore, there is notable sensationalization of violence and crime in the Costa Rican mass media (Fonseca/Sandoval 2006; Bejarano 2006: 32-34) as well as in political debates about Costa Rica. An example of the extraordinary social significance of violence and crime compared to other topics is provided by the Informe Nacional de Desarrollo Humano 2005 of the UNDP. Out of all possible social problems, the UNDP picked violence, crime and insecurity for the Costa Rican report....

July 20, 2012
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect

Abstract:

Provides background on populations at risk of mass atrocity crimes, with particular emphasis on key events and actors and their connection to the threat, or commission, of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

Offers analysis of the country’s past history in relation to mass atrocity crimes; the factors that have enabled their possible commission, or that prevent their resolution; and the receptivity of the situation to positive influences that would assist in preventing further crimes....

July 4, 2012
Integrated Regional Information Networks

Abstract:

More than a year after the end of the conflict in neighbouring Côte d'Ivoire, the Liberian government has pledged to deal once and for all with longstanding complaints of its nationals being party to military operations and serious human rights violations on the other side of its western border.

June 22, 2012
The Centre for International Governance Innovation

Abstract:

Developments following the 2010 presidential elections in Côte d’Ivoire draw attention to a specific type of UN-mandated task in peacekeeping operations: the certification of electoral processes in post-conflict situations. Two fundamental questions arise regarding certification. First, how effective is an instrument like electoral certification in building confidence and guaranteeing that parties will respect results in highly competitive elections in a post-conflict environment? Second, how can electoral certification be strengthened so that it contributes to peace, rather than fuelling already tense situations?...

June 19, 2012
Child Rights International Network

Abstract:

The violations highlighted are those issues raised with the State by more than one international mechanism. This is done with the intention of identifying children's rights which have been repeatedly violated, as well as gaps in the issues covered by NGOs in their alternative reports to the various human rights monitoring bodies. These violations are listed in no particular order.

June 7, 2012
The World Bank

Abstract:

This paper estimates the causal effects of civil war on years of education in the context of a school-going age cohort that is exposed to armed conflict in Côte d’Ivoire. Using year and department of birth to identify an individual’s exposure to war, the difference-in-difference outcomes indicate that the average years of education for a school-going age cohort is .94 years fewer compared with an older cohort in war-affected regions. To minimize the potential bias in the estimated outcome, the authors use a set of victimization indicators to identify the true effect of war. The propensity score matching estimates do not alter the main findings. In addition, the outcomes of double-robust models minimize the specification errors in the model. Moreover, the paper finds the outcomes are robust across alternative matching methods, estimation by using subsamples, and other education outcome variables. Overall, the findings across different models suggest a drop in average years of education by a range of .2 to .9 fewer years....

July 13, 2012
Centre for International Policy Studies

Abstract:

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has been very successful in bringing many accused to justice, in leading to the establishment of a permanent International Criminal Court and in demonstrating that holding leaders accountable is possible.

However, there is considerable dissonance between the ICTY’s judicial achievements in The Hague and attitudes and perceptions of the Tribunal in the region.

In order for the Tribunal’s legacy to have lasting impact, extensive efforts must be made to leverage the record of judicial success in order to ensure that its work is not ‘lost in translation’....

March 28, 2012
openDemocracy

Abstract:

One year after the beginning of the Arab Spring, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is undergoing profound transformation, leaving the international community saddled with a period of rapid transition similar to the one that occurred in Europe in the nineties.

One of the biggest challenges ahead for all these countries in transition will certainly be how to implement successful security sector reform (SSR). In turn, this is a particularly difficult task in environments that are both post-authoritarian and post-conflict. Therefore, it is important for international actors involved in these processes to draw lessons from similar experiences....

October 18, 2011
Berghof Conflict Research

Abstract:

The article reflects on experiences and lessons learned from an insider activist’s and practitioner’s point of view. The author looks back at over a decade of training practice at the Centre for Nonviolent Action (CNA) in the Western Balkans, offering provocative thoughts on goals and methods, trainer-participant relations and dilemmas such as sustaining momentum, the risk of individual burn-out and the hope for achieving social change. (updated for the 2011 print edition)

October 14, 2011
Berghof Conflict Research

Abstract:

Takes a critical look at the debate on state failure, examining the various ways that state-building programmes have impacted on the successor states of the former Yugoslavia. The author shows how unchallenged assumptions, unrealistic expectations and ignorance of local contexts can lead to political orders being imposed with little regard for domestic legitimacy or locally-driven solutions. Instead of explaining away the predictably poor outcomes, she suggests the need for critical appraisal of those driving the state-building agenda....

October 11, 2011
Chatham House

Abstract:

This is a summary of an event held on 22 September 2011 at Chatham House, in association with Doughty Street Chambers. The participants considered recent issues in the International Criminal Court, the ad hoc Tribunals and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

July 16, 2012
London School of Economics and Political Science

Abstract:

As this Arab Spring of revolution becomes a long summer of transitions, we take the opportunity to review some of the historic developments in the region over the last few months. In doing so we throw the spotlight on the drivers of these popular uprisings, and the difficulties they present for the rest of the world in dealing with this strategically crucial region.

Kicking us off, Gilles Kepel brings his considerable experience to bear in discussing the revolutions in macro-context, before in our feature article Luca Tardelli analyses the inherent difficulties in Western intervention that are now once again playing out in Libya, a point picked up by Felix Berenskoetter in his discussion of how Western division on Libya played out at the Security Council. Turning to Yemen, Tobias Thiel considers how the particular politics of coalition in that country may allow it to move beyond the surely-now-terminal Presidency of Ali Abdullah Saleh.

International politics doesn’t stop when crises occur, and the world faces a great many challenges at this time. China’s rise seems perpetually on the agenda, and Marco Wyss provides a new take on the drivers of that power transition in his analysis of US arms sales to China. Meanwhile, as American hegemony in Latin America seems increasingly up for question, Carlos Solis-Tejada assesses the prospects for Cuba, that most dysfunctional of American relationships, in the wake of the sixth party congress....

September 26, 2011
Freedom House

Abstract:

Freedom House has prepared this special report entitled Worst of the Worst: The World’s Most Repressive Societies, as a companion to its annual survey on the state of global political rights and civil liberties, Freedom in the World. The special report provides summary country reports, tables, and graphical information on the countries that receive the lowest combined ratings for political rights and civil liberties in Freedom in the World, and whose citizens endure systematic and pervasive human rights violations.

The report serves a reminder that over 1.6 billion people—more than 24 percent of the world’s population—suffer every day from the basic indignities of not being able to express their thoughts and opinions, of not having a say in who governs them and how the wealth of their land and labor is spent, and of being unable to obtain justice for crimes perpetrated against them. Hundreds of thousands of human beings in these countries languish every day in prisons or labor camps— generally in subhuman conditions and subject to physical or mental abuse—purely for their political or religious beliefs. This report seeks to highlight their plight and serves as a call to the world’s governments, policymakers, human rights organizations, and democracy advocates to speak out and use whatever resources they can bring to bear to improve respect for the most basic human rights in these countries....

May 19, 2011
Cuba Archive

Abstract:

Cuba Archive is developing a comprehensive registry of disappearances and fatalities of a political nature resulting from the Cuban Revolution. This information is gathered and disseminated for educational purposes and to advance human rights.

May 2, 2011
The Committee to Protect Journalists

Abstract:

The world’s worst online oppressors are using an array of tactics, some reflecting astonishing levels of sophistication, others reminiscent of old-school techniques. From China’s high-level malware attacks to Syria’s brute-force imprisonments, this may be only the dawn of online oppression.

In reporting news from the world’s most troubled nations, journalists have made a seismic shift this year in their reliance on the Internet and other digital tools. Blogging, video sharing, text messaging, and live-streaming from cellphones brought images of popular unrest from the central square of Cairo and the main boulevard of Tunis to the rest of the world. Yet the technology used to report the news has been matched in many ways by the tools used to suppress information. Many of the oppressors’ tactics show an increasing sophistication, from the state-supported email in China designed to take over journalists’ personal computers, to the carefully timed cyber-attacks on news websites in Belarus. Still other tools in the oppressor’s kit are as old as the press itself, including imprisonment of online writers in Syria, and the use of violence against bloggers in Russia.

To mark World Press Freedom Day, May 3, the Committee to Protect Journalists is examining the 10 prevailing tactics of online oppression worldwide and the countries that have taken the lead in their use. What is most surprising about these Online Oppressors is not who they are—they are all nations with long records of repression—but how swiftly they adapted old strategies to the online world.

In two nations we cite, Egypt and Tunisia, the regimes have changed, but their successors have not categorically broken with past repressive practices. The tactics of other nations—such as Iran, which employs sophisticated tools to destroy anti-censorship technology, and Ethiopia, which exerts monopolistic control over the Internet—are being watched, and emulated, by repressive regimes worldwide.

Here are the 10 prevalent tools for online oppression....

April 29, 2011
New America Foundation

Abstract:

This report explores the historic reform process currently underway in Cuba. It looks first at the political context in which the VI Cuban Communist Party Congress took place, including the Cuban government's decision to release a significant number of political prisoners as part of a new dialogue with the Cuban Catholic Church. It then analyzes Cuba's nascent processes of economic reform and political liberalization. To conclude, it discusses the challenges and opportunities these processes pose for U.S policy toward Cuba....

July 10, 2012
Peace Research Institute Oslo

Abstract:

From the creation of the republic of cyprus (roc) in august 1960 until the breakdown of its bi-communal government three years later, the same legal regime prevailed throughout the country. the 1960 roc constitutional structure, which was devised to implement the 1959 Zürich-london accords, assumed the existence of two communities on the island: the Greek cypriots and the turkish cypriots. the two communities were afforded partial communal autonomy as well as equal treatment in terms of their participation in the organs of the Republic.

A Communal Chamber was established for each community with a mandate to exercise legislative and administrative power on certain restricted communal matters (relating to e.g., religion, education and culture). they also had the power to collect communal taxes in order to provide for the needs of communal bodies and institutions.

The central government, legislature, judiciary and public service of the roc were formed by members of the two communities in a ratio of seven Greek cypriots to three turkish cypriots. the constitution provided for a presidential system with a Greek cypriot president and a turkish cypriot vice-president, elected respectively by the Greek cypriots and the turkish cypriots on separate electoral rolls. the seven Greek cypriot and three turkish cypriot members of the council of ministers were appointed, separately and respectively, by the president and the vice-president. the president and the vice-president had, separately or conjointly, the right of final veto on any law or decision of the House of representatives, as well as on any decision of the council of ministers, concerning foreign affairs, defence or security. legislative power was exercised by the House of representatives in all matters not expressly reserved for the communal chambers. the Greek cypriot and turkish cypriot members of the House were elected, separately and respectively, by the Greek cypriots and the turkish cypriots. the House of representatives took its decisions by a simple majority except in the case of those concerning taxation, elections and municipalities, which required a separate majority of the Greek cypriot and turkish cypriot members of the House.

in 1963 a constitutional crisis led to inter-communal violence which brought about the collapse of the republic’s bi-communal power sharing structures. since then turkish cypriots have ceased to be part of the roc government which has thus become a de facto Greek cypriot administration. yet the latter has claimed to be, and has gradually come to be internationally accepted as, the de jure government of the roc and the sole legitimate government on the island. Greek cypriots assert that they lawfully represent the roc basing their argument on the ‘doctrine of necessity’.11 However, turkish cypriots (and turkey) maintain to this day that the Greek cypriots alone cannot legitimately represent the roc as this would be contrary to the 1960 constitution and the Zürich-london accords that created the roc....

December 5, 2011
Minority Rights Group International

Abstract:

Attempts to resolve the ongoing conflict in Cyprus over the past forty years have been marked by one common feature: the systematic failure to recognize the presence of most minority groups on the island, and to involve them in conflict resolution processes and in drawing up plans for the island’s future status. This reflects the wider marginalization of minorities in both northern and southern Cyprus, who are effectively silenced within a discourse of competing Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot nationalisms. Drawing on interviews with representatives from minority groups from both parts of the island, as well as on the wealth of literature that has grown up around the ‘Cyprus problem’, this report argues that minorities in Cyprus have a vital role to play in any future settlement, as well as in ensuring ongoing peace, prosperity and security on the island....

April 27, 2011
European Centre for Minority Issues

Abstract:

Ban Ki Moon’s long awaited progress report on the negotiations in Cyprus did not come up with a final recommendation on how long the United Nations will be committed to engage in Cyprus. However, he warned that the UN would not continue indefinitely to spend efforts and money on a process that does not seem to render any progress. The underlying question is why so much time has been spent on a process that does not seem to be leading toward a successful conclusion.

In order to assess this question this ECMI Issue Brief #25 addresses a couple of interrelated questions, such as how a desired future solution should be devised for the respective communities. Is there a real desire to change the current political system on behalf of the Greek Cypriot community? Does the Turkish Cypriot community really wish to enter a multi-cultural political set-up in which it shall play a minority role albeit one that will include extensive participation rights? What are the interests of external actors, notably Turkey, the European Union and the United States of America? Finally, are there push factors that would make a solution possible or might there be an overarching interest that unites various actors in the secret desire to perpetuate the situation and preserve the so called “Cyprus Problem”?...

March 18, 2011
United Nations Mine Action Service // United Nations Development Programme // United Nations Children’s Fund

Abstract:

The Portfolio of Mine Action Projects is a resource tool and reference document for donors, policy-makers, advocates, and national and international mine action implementers. The country and territory-specific proposals in the portfolio reflect strategic responses developed in the field to address all aspects of the problem of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW). This country and territory-based approach aims to present as comprehensive a picture as possible of the full range of mine action needs in particular countries and thematic issues related to mine action. The portfolio ideally reflects projects developed by mine- and ERW-affected countries and territories based on their priorities and strategies; the approaches are endorsed by national authorities. The portfolio does not automatically entail full-scale direct mine action assistance by the United Nations, but is in essence a tool for collaborative resource mobilization, coordination and planning of mine action activities involving partners and stakeholders. A country portfolio coordinator (CPC) leads each country portfolio team and coordinates the submission of proposals to the portfolio’s headquarters team. While the majority of the CPCs are UN officials, this role is increasingly being assumed by national authorities. The country portfolio teams include representatives from national and local authorities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the United Nations and the private sector. Locally based donor representatives are invited to attend preparation meetings. Each portfolio chapter contains a synopsis of the scope of the landmine and ERW problem, a description of how mine action is coordinated, and a snapshot of local mine action strategies. Many of the strategies complement or are integrated into broader development and humanitarian frameworks such as national development plans, the UN development assistance frameworks and national poverty reduction plans. This 14th edition of the annual Portfolio of Mine Action Projects features overviews and project outlines for 29 countries, territories or missions affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war. There are 238 projects in the 2011 portfolio. Africa accounts for the largest number: 92....

February 22, 2011
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

With the Cyprus reunification negotiations under way since 2008 at an impasse, dramatic steps are needed. As the stalemate continues, the costs for Greek and Turkish Cypriots, Turkey and the European Union (EU) are growing. Neither Greek Cypriots nor Turkish Cypriots can fulfil their potential on an island whose future is divided, uncertain, militarised and facing new economic difficulties. Time is making it ever harder to reunify the island, divided politically since Greek Cypriots seized control of the Republic of Cyprus in 1963 and militarily since a Turkish invasion in 1974 created a Turkish Cypriot zone on its northern third. After nearly four decades, the sides remain far apart even on the meaning of the talks’ agreed goal, a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation. While there has long been peace, and relative freedom to interact since 2003, trade and visits between the two communities across the Green Line are decreasing. Lack of a settlement damages everyone’s interests and keeps frustrations high. More than 200,000 Cypriots are still internally displaced persons (IDPs), and Turkish troops remain in overwhelming force. Few outside the military command in Ankara know if there are 21,000 soldiers, as Turkey says, or 43,000, as Greek Cypriots claim – a dispute that is one indication among many of the distrust and lack of information. Crisis Group has detailed in four reports since 2006 how the interests of the 1.1 million Cypriots and outside parties would be best met with a comprehensive political settlement. This remains the ideal, but as it is unrealistic in the coming months, ICG proposes interim unilateral steps....

April 27, 2011
International Peace Research Institute

Abstract:

The political transitions in Egypt and Tunisia have rekindled the interest in how states and societies have moved from authoritarian regimes to democracy after overthrowing old regimes. This report responds to that interest by providing a factual overview of transitions to democracy of nine European states between 1974 and 1991.

The states covered fall into two geographical regions: Southern Europe, and Central and Eastern Europe. The context of transition in each of these regions was different. The transitions in Southern Europe took place as mainly discrete events with little influence of one country over another. In contrast, there was a strong regional dynamic in Central and Eastern Europe, where all transitions were influenced by Gorbachev’s policies of perestroika and glasnost and the loosening of the Soviet Union’s grip on its satellite states....

June 3, 2009
Initiative for Peacebuilding // Partners for Democratic Change International

Abstract:

This Synthesis Report extracts the main findings from seven EU Member State case studies surveyed under the Capacity-Building and Training Cluster of the Initiative for Peacebuilding (IfP). Case studies were conducted in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Greece, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain in order to assess these countries’ capacities to meet EU spending targets for official development assistance (ODA) and to analyse the position of peacebuilding within national ODA policies. Each case study analysed country-specific ODA policies by focusing on institutional mechanisms and key actors in managing and implementing ODA; the role and capacity of civil society organisations in influencing planning, implementation, and evaluation of ODA; and public awareness of and support for ODA. This report finds that international development cooperation has received growing attention during the last decade in all surveyed case-study countries. New EU Member States in particular are striving to adhere to their international commitments by further refining their ODA policies; enhancing the institutional structures for managing and implementing ODA; and increasing cooperation with and consultation of civil society organisations....

December 10, 2008
International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Abstract:

A Survey and Analysis of Border Management and Border Apprehension Data from 20 States. With a Special Survey on the Use of Counterfeit Documents. Based on the contributions of the border services of 20 Central and Eastern European states, the 2006 Yearbook again provides its valuable overview and analysis of irregular migration trends in the region. Over the past ten years the annual Yearbook on Illegal Migration, Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe has come to be regarded as an authoritative source of information on recent border trends and in particular on the phenomena of illegal migration, human smuggling and trafficking. The annual Yearbook covers the most recent trends in illegal migration and human smuggling in the region, including long-term trends in border apprehensions, shifts in source, transit and destination countries, demographic characteristics of irregular migrants, the relationship between legal and illegal border crossings, new developments in the methods of border crossings and document abuse and on removals of irregular migrants. In addition, this year’s edition for the first time features a Special Survey on the use of counterfeit documents for illegal migration purposes. This Survey is based on the contributions received from document specialists or Special Units dealing with document security in the countries under review and provides the first comprehensive overview and analysis of patterns and trends in the use of counterfeit documents for illegal migration purposes in Central and Eastern Europe....

September 8, 2008
Amnesty International

Abstract:

This bulletin contains information about Amnesty International’s main concerns in Europe and Central Asia between July and December 2007. Not every country in the region is reported on; only those where there were significant developments in the period covered by the bulletin, or where Amnesty International (AI) took specific action. A number of individual country reports have been issued on the concerns featured in this bulletin. References to these are made under the relevant country entry. In addition, more detailed information about particular incidents or concerns may be found in Urgent Actions and News Service Items issued by AI. This bulletin is published by AI every six months....

September 5, 2008
Congressional Research Service

Abstract:

U.S. policymakers have made securing and maintaining foreign contributions to the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq a major priority since the preparation period for the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. This report highlights and discusses important changes in financial and personnel contributions from foreign governments to Iraq since 2003. To date, foreign donors have pledged an estimated $16.4 billion in grants and loans for Iraq reconstruction, with most major pledges originating at a major donors' conference in Madrid, Spain, in October 2003. However, only a small part of the pledges have been committed or disbursed to the World Bank and United Nations Development Group Trust Funds for Iraq. The largest non-U.S. pledges of grants have come from Japan, the European Commission, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates. The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, Japan, and Saudi Arabia have pledged the most loans and export credits. Currently, 33 countries including the United States have some level of troops on the ground in Iraq or supporting Iraq operations from nearby locations. Those forces are working under the rubric of one of several organizations — the Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I), the NATO Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I); or the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). Currently, the largest troop contributors, in addition to the United States, are the United Kingdom, Georgia, Australia, South Korea, and Poland. Some of these key contributors have announced their intention to reduce or withdraw their forces from Iraq during 2008. The total number of non-U.S. coalition troop contributions has declined since the early stabilization efforts, as other countries have withdrawn their contingents or substantially reduced their size....

March 14, 2011
Chatham House

Abstract:

• The protection of asylum-seekers in Europe is dealt with under three principal bodies of law: the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951, the law of the European Union and the soft law developed by the Council of Europe.
• Member states of the Council of Europe are also bound by the judgments of the European Convention on Human Rights; although the convention makes no reference to refugee protection, its provisions and the judgments of its court in Strasbourg impose important obligations on states in respect of asylum.
• The entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty in 1999 initiated the first phase of the creation of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), which aimed to harmonize refugee protection among member states while enabling them to meet their international obligations in that respect.
• The harmonizing measures adopted by the EU have been subject to severe criticism and the practices of member states reveal a systemic failure to comply with international refugee protection obligations. • While there have been improvements in European refugee policy, significant challenges must be
addressed before Europe can regain its reputation as a champion of the rights of the refugee. This is given particular urgency by recent events in North Africa, which may lead to large numbers of persons fleeing violence and disorder....

November 29, 2010
RAND Corporation

Abstract:

Deradicalizing Islamist extremists may be even more important than getting them to simply disengage from terrorist activities, according to a new RAND Corporation study that examines counter-radicalization programs in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Europe. Although there has been much research about the radicalization and recruitment of Islamist extremists, there has been little study until recently about how one deradicalizes those who have been recruited into the Islamist extremist movement. A key question is whether the objective of counter-radicalization programs should be disengagement (a change in behavior) or deradicalization (a change in beliefs) of militants. A unique challenge posed by militant Islamist groups is that their ideology is rooted in a major world religion, Islam. The RAND study indentifies and analyzes the processes through which militants leave Islamist extreme groups, assesses the effectiveness of deradicalization programs and summarizes the policies that could help to promote and accelerate the processes of deradicalization....

June 15, 2010
Dansk Institut for Militaere Studier // Danish Institute for Military Studies

Abstract:

If measures against pirates are to be effective, they must be carried out on land. Pirates are criminals who can best be thwarted by eliminating their bases and networks. At sea, it is only possible to treat the symptoms of piracy and catch the small fish. This report focuses on the pirates off the coast of Somalia as this is where the problem has spread dramatically, and as Denmark has been extensively involved in combating piracy in the area around the Horn of Africa. Strategies with three time horizons can be developed for combating pirates: short-term, medium-term, long-term. To date, a large number of states has become involved in combating piracy at a rapid pace, and the steps they have taken have therefore been characterised by a short-term time horizon. The aim of this report is to present recommendations that can function in the medium term. This means that temporary measures such as convoying or stationing soldiers on board merchant ships have not been taken into consideration. It is not realistic to maintain such operations for a longer period of time. Nor is there any attempt in the report to find a solution to the civil war in Somalia – something that would otherwise help to solve the problem of piracy in the long term....

April 28, 2010
RAND Corporation

Abstract:

The Netherlands Ministry of Defence (NL MOD) commissioned RAND Europe to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the Netherlands armed forces, asking RAND to focus on recent deployments of the Netherlands armed forces relative to the deployments of other countries' armed forces. This study is therefore not a root and branch consideration of the Netherlands armed forces, but a comparative study of several different armed forces to illustrate contrasts and similarities with those of the Netherlands. This study was conducted within the context of the NL MOD's Future Policy Survey, which is a review of the Netherlands' future defence ambition, required capabilities and associated levels of defence expenditure. The Future Policy Survey was delivered to the Netherlands Parliament in April 2010. The overarching aim of the Dutch Future Policy Survey is to provide greater insight into how to exploit and enhance the potential contribution of the Netherlands armed forces....

April 16, 2010
Demos

Abstract:

The path into terrorism in the name of Islam is often described as a process of radicalisation. But to be radical is not necessarily to be violent. Violent radicals are clearly enemies of liberal democracies, but non-violent radicals might sometimes be powerful allies. This report is a summary of two years of research examining the difference between violent and non-violent radicals in Europe and Canada. The report covers five countries: the UK, Canada, Denmark, France and the Netherlands, focusing on the phenomenon of ‘home-grown’ al-Qaeda inspired terrorism in these countries. It represents a step towards a more nuanced understanding of behaviour across radicalised individuals, the appeal of the al-Qaeda narrative, and the role of governments and communities in responding....

May 18, 2012
Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation

Abstract:

East Africa and the Horn face a number of transnational security threats, including terrorism, transnational crime, and piracy. In recent years, particularly following the July 2010 attacks in Kampala, al-Shabaab has been increasingly viewed as a threat not only to Somalia, but to the greater subregion. Tourism has declined and shipping costs have risen due to the threat of piracy from Somalia. Lawless pockets where government reach is weak, together with rampant corruption, have turned the region into a major transit point for black market financial flows and various forms of illicit trafficking.

Terrorism and transnational crime increasingly threaten security in the subregion of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development [IGAD]. Because of their transnational nature, no individual IGAD member state will single-handedly be able to deal effectively with these threats. As the IGAD Security Strategy adopted in December 2010 makes clear, effective cooperation will be crucial to winning the struggle against terrorism and to ensuring that other forms of transnational crime do not similarly jeopardize the IGAD subregion’s growth, prosperity, and stability....

May 18, 2012
Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation

Abstract:

Money laundering and terrorist financing are major, interconnected problems for East Africa and the Horn. As the World Bank’s World Development Report 2011 makes clear, they pose a significant threat not only to security but also to development.

Both the Financial Action Task Force [FATF] and the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group [ESAAMLG] have identified a number of states in the subregion as demonstrating weak implementation of international standards on anti–money laundering [AML] and countering the financing of terrorism [CFT]. Some states in the subregion (Ethiopia and Kenya) have even been placed within the FATF International Cooperation Review Group [ICRG] process, which can ultimately lead to obstacles to engagement with the international financial system. There is consequently a growing recognition that states in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development [IGAD] subregion stand to benefit in multiple ways from a more concerted effort to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. There is also, however, a chronic limitation of data and knowledge about the problems of money laundering and terrorist financing and about AML/CFT vulnerabilities, risks, and capacities in the subregion. States of the subregion have their own specific vulnerabilities, challenges, weaknesses, and strengths, even as they share certain cross-cutting challenges.

In this Baseline Study, the IGAD Security Sector Program [ISSP] and the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation [CGCC] set out with support from the Royal Government of Denmark to provide a more detailed and nuanced analysis of AML/ CFT challenges and opportunities in the IGAD region, to inform a better allocation of resources to risk and to potential return on investment. The study is a joint effort developed in response to repeated requests by the ISSP’s and the CGCC’s governmental, intergovernmental, private sector, and civil society partners in the subregion who sought assistance in obtaining baseline data about money laundering risks and AML capacity in the region and guidance on the data’s potential use for CFT efforts....

April 16, 2012
United Nations Children's Fund

Abstract:

Following one of the worst droughts in recent memory, the Horn of Africa ended 2011 with marked improvements in a number of conditions underpinning the regional humanitarian crisis. The chronic and often acute vulnerability of these affected communities highlights the need for a sustained humanitarian response in 2012 which places resilience building and disaster risk reduction approaches at its center.

At the height of the crisis in July 2011, more than 13 million people in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti were impacted by severe drought exacerbated by conflict and reduced humanitarian access in Somalia that displaced many people from their homes and into neighboring countries. In July and August, the UN classified parts of Southern Somalia as famine zones. UNICEF declared the crisis a Level 3 emergency – triggering its Corporate Emergency Activation Procedure – through January 2012 and, in the case of Somalia, until May 2012.

A combination of favorable rains in much of the eastern Horn of Africa in late 2011 and a significantly scaledup international aid response have improved the dire conditions of affected communities including displaced and refugee children. This was especially evident in the containment and progressive easing of previously declared famine conditions in six areas of Southern Somalia. Across the arid and semi-arid areas that characterize this drought-prone region, improved pasture and projected increased agricultural production pointed to a tentative recovery in early 2012.

The report details the results of UNICEF’s massive humanitarian response in the second half of 2011....

July 29, 2011
The United Nations Monitoring Group

Abstract:

It would be hard to conceive of two States that offer greater contrasts than Somalia and Eritrea: the former, a collapsed State for over two decades, with no functional national institutions; the latter, possessing the most highly centralized, militarized and authoritarian system of government on the African continent. From a sanctions monitoring perspective, however, the two countries present very similar challenges: in both cases, power is concentrated in the hands of individuals rather than institutions and is exercised through largely informal and often illicit networks of political and financial control. Leaders in both countries often depend more heavily on political and economic support from foreign Governments and diaspora networks than from the populations within their own borders. And both countries — in very different ways — serve as platforms for foreign armed groups that represent a grave and increasingly urgent threat to peace and security in the Horn and East Africa region.

More than half of Somali territory is controlled by responsible, comparatively stable authorities that have demonstrated, to varying degrees, their capacity to provide relative peace and security to their populations. Without exception, the administrations of Somaliland, Puntland, Gaalmudug, and “Himan iyo Heeb” evolved independently of centralized State-building initiatives, from painstaking, organic local political processes. Much of Galguduud region is controlled by anti-Al- Shabaab clan militias loosely unified under the umbrella of Ahlu Sunna wal Jama’a (ASWJ), but lacks a functional authority. Consolidation of and cooperation between such entities represents the single most effective strategy for countering threats like extremism and piracy, while expanding peace and security in Somalia....

July 28, 2011
The World Bank

Abstract:

The recent political upheavals in the Middle East and North Africa region have exposed growing concerns about conflict risk, political stability, and reform prospects across its societies. Given the prevalence of oil and gas resource endowments in the region, which a voluminous literature suggests can be associated with adverse development consequences, this paper examines the interplay between their associated rents and political economy trajectories. The contribution of the paper is threefold: first, to examine the quantitative evidence of violent conflict in the region since 1960; second, to provide a nuanced review of the regional case study literature on the relationship between resource endowments, political stability, and conflict risk; and third, to assess how prospective political transitions have implications for the World Bank Group's work in the region on public sector management and private sector development. The authors find that resources and regimes have intersected to provide stability and limited violent conflict in the region, but that these development patterns have yielded a set of policy choices and development patterns that are proving increasingly brittle and unsustainable. A major institutional challenge for reforms will be to consolidate a requisite degree of inter-temporal credibility and stability in these regimes, while expanding inclusiveness in state-society relations....

September 16, 2008
En la Mira - The Latin American Small Arms Watch

Abstract:

Although all countries, in theory report their authorized transfers - and such information may even be available in certain public databases - the task of providing an overview of SALW transfers, their parts and munitions, is an arduous one. Nonetheless, despite the difficulties, we have some extremely positive initiatives on a global scale, such as for example, the Small Arms Survey, recognized as an important source of information, especially on SALW production and transfers, as well as the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers (NISAT) which has a database containing transfer records going back to 1962.Despite these important initiatives, themselves when researchers, activists and policy makers try to understand a regional market, such as Latin America and the Caribbean, they encounter a dearth of information. With the intent of addressing this shortcoming, En La Mira has, since 2007, dedicated an issue to transfers of SALWs, parts and ammunition in this region. Further, according to statistics from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN-Comtrade or Comtrade), USD 6.7 billion were exported between 2004 and 2006, while USD 6.5 billion were imported. Despite the fact that Latin America and the Caribbean represent 6% and 3%, respectively, of total transfers worldwide during this period, 42% of firearms related homicide is committed in the region. This discrepancy between the international transfer volume share and the levels of armsrelated violence in Latin America and the Caribbean calls attention to itself, above all because of the tragic and startling number of homicides. Obviously, far from wishing to increase arms transfers in order to be more in sync with homicide rates, we decided, a year ago, to study this issue and periodically monitor its development based on our interest in understanding the primary legal entry and exit routes of firearms and ammunition. The result is a report - based on customs information as stated by Latin American and Caribbean countries and their respective partners - whose objective is to describe the movement of the SALW imports and exports, as well as ammunition and parts, during the present decade. Based on this data, we answer the following questions: who exported and who imported? From whom? What? And when? It is worth restating that the intent of this report is not to explain the cause of arms imports and exports by Latin American countries. Beyond merely providing information, we do indeed wish to awaken, by means of the information presented here, the curiosity of other researches, activists and government staff members such that they may continue to perform research in their countries regarding the transparency of this information, on who is using the transferred SALW, and how. The data used for this report came from the NISAT database, which contains more than 800,000 entries for SALW transfers worldwide since 1962. The NISAT database gets its information from different sources, COMTRADE among them. In this study we decided to restrict ourselves to data from this latter source because, in theory, all countries report transfers to the UN. This data is declared in accordance with the Harmonized System (SH) merchandise classification system. The HS has existed since 1988and, in 2007, was revised for the fourth time; previous revisions were in 1992, 1996 and in 2002. Regarding the period analyzed, we are looking at data up until 2006, since at the time the study closed this was the most recent year available on NISAT....

February 24, 2006
U.S. Department of State

Abstract:

Dominica is a multiparty, parliamentary democracy governed by a prime minister, a cabinet, and a unicameral legislative assembly. A president, nominated by the Prime Minister in consultation with the leader of the opposition party, and elected for a 5-year term by the Parliament, was head of state with largely ceremonial powers. Prime Minister Pierre Charles' Dominica Labour Party (DLP) prevailed in generally free and fair elections in 2000. Following the sudden death of Prime Minister Charles on January 6, Members of Parliament appointed Roosevelt Skerrit as Prime Minister on January 8. The judiciary is independent. The Office of the Prime Minister oversaw the Dominica Police, the country's only security force. The civilian authorities maintained effective control of the security forces. Some members of the security force committed human rights abuses....

July 28, 2005
U.S. Army War College

Abstract:

The US military has had a host of successful experiences in counter-guerrilla war, including some distinct successes with certain aspects of the Vietnam War. However, the paradox stemming from America's unsuccessful crusade in the jungles of Vietnam is thisxe2x80x94because the experience was perceived as anathema to the mainstream American military, hard lessons learned there about fighting guerrillas were neither embedded nor preserved in the US Army's institutional memory. The American military culture's efforts to expunge the specter of Vietnam, embodied in the mantra "No More Vietnams," also prevented the US Army as an institution from really learning from those lessons. In fact, even the term "counterinsurgency" seemed to become a reviled and unwelcome word, one that the doctrinal cognoscenti of the 1980s conveniently transmogrified into "foreign internal defense." Even though many lessons exist in the US military's historical experience with small wars, the lessons from the Vietnam War were the most voluminous. Yet these lessons were most likely the least read, because the Army's intellectual rebirth after Vietnam focused almost exclusively on a big conventional war in Europexe2x80x94the scenario preferred by the US military culture. Since the US Army and its coalition partners are currently prosecuting counter-guerrilla wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is useful to revisit the lessons from Vietnam and other counterinsurgencies because they are germane to the wars of today and tomorrow. Capturing all or many of these lessons is beyond the scope of this article and is most likely beyond the scope of a single-volume book. However, this article aims to distill some of the more relevant counterinsurgency lessons from the American military's experiences during Vietnam and before. A bigger goal of this article, however, is to highlight some salient studies for professional reading as the US Army starts to inculcate a mindset that embraces the challenges of counterinsurgency and to develop a culture that learns from past lessons in counterinsurgency. This analysis also offers a brief explanation of US military culture and the hitherto embedded cultural obstacles to learning how to fight guerrillas. To simplify and clarify at the outset, the terms counterinsurgency, counter-guerrilla warfare, small war, and asymmetric conflict are used interchangeably. It is a form of warfare in which enemies of the regime or occupying force aim to undermine the regime by employing classical guerrilla tactics. For most of the 20th century, the US military culture (notwithstanding the Marines' work in small wars) generally embraced the big con#ventional war paradigm and fundamentally eschewed small wars and insurgencies. Thus, instead of learning from our experiences in Vietnam, the Philippines, the Marine Corps' experience in the Banana Wars, and the Indian campaigns, the US Army for most of the last 100 years has viewed these experiences as ephemeral anomalies and aberrationsxe2x80x94distractions from preparing to win big wars against other big powers. As a result of marginalizing the counterinsurgencies and small wars that it has spent most of its existence prosecuting, the US military's big-war cultural preferences have impeded it from fully benefitingxe2x80x94studying, distilling, and incorporating into doctrinexe2x80x94from our somewhat extensive lessons in small wars and insurgencies. This article starts by briefly examining some of the salient lessons for counterinsurgency from Vietnam and lists some of the sources for lessons from that war that have been neglected or forgotten. This article also examines some sources and lessons of counterinsurgencies and small wars predating Vietnam. ...

November 4, 2011
Amnesty International

Abstract:

Authorities in the Dominican Republic must urgently reform their police force to tackle alarming levels of killings and torture, Amnesty International said in a new report today.

‘Shut up if you don’t want to be killed’: Human Rights violations by the police in the Dominican Republic documents scores of cases of killings, torture and ill-treatment at the hands of police, gathered during three research missions in the country and the lack of effective investigations

“Authorities must ensure those responsible for the killings and torture face justice and that steps are taken to change the policies and practices that allow these abuses to take place,” said Javier Zúñiga, Head of Amnesty International’s delegation in the Dominican Republic....

April 6, 2009
Forced Migration Review // University of Oxford // Refugee Studies Centre

Abstract:

Forced Migration Review (FMR) provides a forum for the regular exchange of practical experience, information and ideas between researchers, refugees and internally displaced people, and those who work with them. It is published in English, Arabic, Spanish and French by the Refugee Studies Centre of the Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford. This issue focuses on 'Statelessness'. A ‘stateless person’ is someone who is not recognised as a national by any state. They therefore have no nationality or citizenship (terms used interchangeably in this issue) and are unprotected by national legislation, leaving them vulnerable in ways that most of us never have to consider. The possible consequences of statelessness are profound and touch on all aspects of life. It may not be possible to work legally, own property or open a bank account. Stateless people may be easy prey for exploitation as cheap labour. They are often not permitted to attend school or university, may be prohibited from getting married and may not be able to register births and deaths. Stateless people can neither vote nor access the national justice system....

September 16, 2008
En la Mira - The Latin American Small Arms Watch

Abstract:

Although all countries, in theory report their authorized transfers - and such information may even be available in certain public databases - the task of providing an overview of SALW transfers, their parts and munitions, is an arduous one. Nonetheless, despite the difficulties, we have some extremely positive initiatives on a global scale, such as for example, the Small Arms Survey, recognized as an important source of information, especially on SALW production and transfers, as well as the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers (NISAT) which has a database containing transfer records going back to 1962.Despite these important initiatives, themselves when researchers, activists and policy makers try to understand a regional market, such as Latin America and the Caribbean, they encounter a dearth of information. With the intent of addressing this shortcoming, En La Mira has, since 2007, dedicated an issue to transfers of SALWs, parts and ammunition in this region. Further, according to statistics from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN-Comtrade or Comtrade), USD 6.7 billion were exported between 2004 and 2006, while USD 6.5 billion were imported. Despite the fact that Latin America and the Caribbean represent 6% and 3%, respectively, of total transfers worldwide during this period, 42% of firearms related homicide is committed in the region. This discrepancy between the international transfer volume share and the levels of armsrelated violence in Latin America and the Caribbean calls attention to itself, above all because of the tragic and startling number of homicides. Obviously, far from wishing to increase arms transfers in order to be more in sync with homicide rates, we decided, a year ago, to study this issue and periodically monitor its development based on our interest in understanding the primary legal entry and exit routes of firearms and ammunition. The result is a report - based on customs information as stated by Latin American and Caribbean countries and their respective partners - whose objective is to describe the movement of the SALW imports and exports, as well as ammunition and parts, during the present decade. Based on this data, we answer the following questions: who exported and who imported? From whom? What? And when? It is worth restating that the intent of this report is not to explain the cause of arms imports and exports by Latin American countries. Beyond merely providing information, we do indeed wish to awaken, by means of the information presented here, the curiosity of other researches, activists and government staff members such that they may continue to perform research in their countries regarding the transparency of this information, on who is using the transferred SALW, and how. The data used for this report came from the NISAT database, which contains more than 800,000 entries for SALW transfers worldwide since 1962. The NISAT database gets its information from different sources, COMTRADE among them. In this study we decided to restrict ourselves to data from this latter source because, in theory, all countries report transfers to the UN. This data is declared in accordance with the Harmonized System (SH) merchandise classification system. The HS has existed since 1988and, in 2007, was revised for the fourth time; previous revisions were in 1992, 1996 and in 2002. Regarding the period analyzed, we are looking at data up until 2006, since at the time the study closed this was the most recent year available on NISAT....

September 5, 2008
Congressional Research Service

Abstract:

U.S. policymakers have made securing and maintaining foreign contributions to the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq a major priority since the preparation period for the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. This report highlights and discusses important changes in financial and personnel contributions from foreign governments to Iraq since 2003. To date, foreign donors have pledged an estimated $16.4 billion in grants and loans for Iraq reconstruction, with most major pledges originating at a major donors' conference in Madrid, Spain, in October 2003. However, only a small part of the pledges have been committed or disbursed to the World Bank and United Nations Development Group Trust Funds for Iraq. The largest non-U.S. pledges of grants have come from Japan, the European Commission, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates. The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, Japan, and Saudi Arabia have pledged the most loans and export credits. Currently, 33 countries including the United States have some level of troops on the ground in Iraq or supporting Iraq operations from nearby locations. Those forces are working under the rubric of one of several organizations — the Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I), the NATO Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I); or the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). Currently, the largest troop contributors, in addition to the United States, are the United Kingdom, Georgia, Australia, South Korea, and Poland. Some of these key contributors have announced their intention to reduce or withdraw their forces from Iraq during 2008. The total number of non-U.S. coalition troop contributions has declined since the early stabilization efforts, as other countries have withdrawn their contingents or substantially reduced their size....

June 2, 2008
Refugees International

Abstract:

On May 16, President Leonel Fernandez won a further term in office using the electoral slogan “Pa’lante” (“moving forward”) with a campaign message of modernization and development for the country. But the Dominican Republic is not utilizing all its human resources to move forward. An illegal retroactive application of nationality laws is leaving increasing numbers of Dominicans of Haitian descent functionally stateless. Hundreds of thousands of people are left in legal limbo and, in practice, most of them now have no access to either Dominican or Haitian nationality. This issue must be resolved if the country truly wants to modernize and develop....

July 20, 2012
Center on International Cooperation

Abstract:

Richard Gowan writes on what the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) can really achieve and draws comparison to the current situation in South Sudan.

July 20, 2012
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect

Abstract:

Provides background on populations at risk of mass atrocity crimes, with particular emphasis on key events and actors and their connection to the threat, or commission, of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

Offers analysis of the country’s past history in relation to mass atrocity crimes; the factors that have enabled their possible commission, or that prevent their resolution; and the receptivity of the situation to positive influences that would assist in preventing further crimes....

July 20, 2012
The Soufan Group

Abstract:

South Sudan's occupation of the oil-rich northern territory Heglig region in April brought Khartoum and Juba to the very edge of war. But the early May withdrawal of Southern Sudanese forces from Heglig, followed by the pullout of northern Sudanese forces from the neighboring disputed territory of Abyei, averted the immediate threat. Though cross-border provocations continue, amid periodic escalations of violence, the North/South border dispute is increasingly dwarfed by the domestic conflicts and economic crises facing both nations....

July 18, 2012
African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes

Abstract:

The unemployment crisis in Africa is a critical challenge to a majority of youth. This situation demands a clear policy framework, accompanied by clear budgetary allocations. It is sad that even as some of our African countries have celebrated 50 years of independence, little has been done to introduce employment policies to address youth unemployment. For the continent to realise the opportunity that comes with the numbers of youth, this population must have the opportunity to find gainful employment and the promise of a livelihood. Throughout the history of conflict in some African states, youth have been at the frontline in waging wars that have hindered development. A mechanism to engage them is thus important for durable peace, stability and development. At this moment, the youth of the continent should be involved in planning for their future. Due to the increased challenges of the continent's development, new dynamic energy needs to be harnessed from the youth.

Ignoring the youth is putting oneself and the continent in danger. This is the population that will change the face of Africa. This is the generation that will be held accountable for all the challenges that face the continent. The youth are our greatest asset, it is critical that we engage this youthful energy to create meaningful productivity for the development of the African continent.

Includes:
"Political youth: Finding alternatives to violence in Sierra Leone" by Christine Cubitt
"The danger of marginalisation: An analysis of Kenyan youth and their integration into political, socio-economic life" by Daniel Forti and Grace Maina
"Interrogating traditional youth theory: Youth peacebuilding and engagement in post-conflict Liberia" by Martha Mutisi
"‘When the choice is either to kill or be killed’: Rethinking youth and violent conflict in post-conflict South Sudan" by William Tsuma...

July 18, 2012
African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes

Abstract:

Contemporary Africa is faced with the reality of numerous evolving states that have to grapple with the inevitability of conflict. On their own, the fledgling institutions in these states cannot cope with the huge demands unleashed by everyday conflict. It is within this context that the complementarity between traditional institutions and the modern state becomes not only observable but also imperative.

Includes:
"Conflict resolution under the Ekika system of the Baganda in Uganda" by Ashad Sentongo and Andrea Bartoli
"Local conflict resolution in Rwanda: The case of abunzi mediators" br Martha Mutisi
"Traditional authority and modern hegemony: Peacemaking in the Afar region of Ethiopia" by Kwesi Sansculotte-Greenidge and Demessie Fantaye
"From war to peace and reconciliation in Darfur, Sudan: Prospects for the Judiyya" by Abdullahi Osman El-Tom
"Customary mediation in resource scarcities and conflicts in Sudan: Making a case for the Judiyya" by Salomé Bronkhorst...

April 10, 2012
Social Science Research Network // University of Geneva

Abstract:

Extraction and transportation of mineral resources today presents an increasing social problem, leading to environmental damage and the violation of human rights. In addition to economic and social controversies as well as political problems [such as corruption amongst state and local authorities], it caused population displacement on a large scale. The social costs of oil production illustrate, like no other issue, the asymmetric power relationship between transnational capital and the populations of developing countries, indigenous peoples in particular. Crude oil extraction also leads to massive environmental devastation, which clearly affects the living conditions of local communities. Furthermore, access to oil is a common cause of conflict, which obviously affects the scale of IDPs in many African states. Protests against the expansion of mining, oil exploitation and the topic of environmental destruction lead to violent clashes with police and forced evictions of entire villages and communities [the phenomenon of so-called petro-violence]. Fearing for the safety of pipelines, national authorities often force the violent displacement of local communities, sometimes involving many thousands of people. For several reasons, displacement associated with the extraction of oil is a unique and interesting issue. The multidimensional nature of the problem breaks the general division of internal displacement into three or four categories: conflict-induced displacement, environmentally-induced displacement, disaster-induced displacement, and development-induced displacement. Existing classification, dating back to the late eighties, seems to be completely useless when confronted with a more detailed analysis of the displacement caused by oil extraction.

Population displacement caused by the extraction of oil is a common phenomenon in many regions of the world. The biggest problems we now see, however, arise in failed states and conflicted countries with poorly-established principles of democracy, ethnic antagonism or practices of discrimination against indigenous and tribal people, and low efficiency in the institutions of legal protection. Among the countries where such problems are highly visible we can mention: Nigeria, Sudan, and Ecuador. The problem of oil-induced displacement also occurs in some other countries in Africa, as well as in Asia [Burma] and South and Central America [Colombia]. The environmental consequences of oil extraction is becoming a growing social problem in the Amazon. The widespread deforestation of the Rainforest is, in fact, preparing a place for subsequent ecological havoc: the extraction of mineral resources and inappropriate agricultural practices. Unfortunately, according to many scientific studies, oil production in developing countries almost never contributes to improving the situation of local communities. Loss of land lead to loss of economic base functioning of the whole community....

August 17, 2011
The United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees

Abstract:

The continuing and changing conflict in Colombia has generated millions of internally displaced people and hundreds of thousands have sought safety in other countries in the region. It is calculated that there are 500,000 Colombian refugees in surrounding countries, only a portion of these are registered as refugees and receive services and legal protection. The largest population of Colombian refugees is in Ecuador, but they are also in Venezuela, Panama and Costa Rica.

The number of Colombian refugees fleeing the conflict has not declined and the number of those crossing an international border has increased. Currently, in Ecuador there are between 130,000 to 200,000 Colombians in need of international protection. Ecuador reformed its Constitution in 2008 and as a consequence changed its approach to immigration and refugee issues. As a result, over the last two years the Ecuadorian government has provided refugee status, documentation and access to rights to thousands of Colombian refugees....

August 8, 2011
IKV Pax Christi

Abstract:

In 2001, Pax Christi Netherlands published a report about the kidnapping industry in Colombia. Seven years on, and the number of kidnappings worldwide has risen even more. The crime has lost nothing of its potency as a cause of human tragedy. Kidnapping is a serious violation of the most elementary right of mankind: the right to a dignified existence. We set out in this report to provide a brief summary of the kidnapping issue on a global level, in particular of kidnapping in conflict regions and fragile states. The questions to be answered are concerned with the financial and political requirements that the kidnappers set, and with the impacts of these practices on the conflict and its perpetuation, and on the performance of the state.

Following on from the previous report, the emphasis of this investigation is on kidnapping and extortion in Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela. Firstly, we wished to ascertain how the kidnapping issue has developed in these countries in the past ten years. This raised the question of whether there was any relationship between the kidnapping practices in Colombia, and trends in this crime in the neighbouring countries. Another primary question regarding Colombia was concerned with the role of the kidnapping theme in peace talks and other dialogue between illegal armed groups and the Colombian government, and with the possible role of the theme in any future peace talks.

The final chapter investigates the kidnapping-related policies of the EU member states, and as far as possible we compare their policies with their actions in practice in recent years. The main question is whether there is any European consensus on how to deal with kidnapping, and how to suppress the phenomenon. What obstacles are there to a joint approach to the kidnapping issue?...

July 22, 2011
UN Women // United Nations Entity for Gende Equality and the Empowerment of Women

Abstract:

The past century has seen a transformation in women’s legal rights, with countries in every region expanding the scope of women’s legal entitlements. Nevertheless for many of the world’s women the laws that exist on paper do not translate to equality and justice.

Progress of the World’s Women: In Pursuit of Justice looks at how the legal system can play a positive role in women accessing their rights, citing cases that have changed women’s lives both at a local and at times global level. It also looks at the important role women have played and continue to play as agents for change within the legal system, as legislators, as lawyers, as community activists but also asks why, despite progress on legal reform, the justice system is still not delivering justice for all women.

The report focuses on four key areas: legal and constitutional frameworks, the justice chain, plural legal systems and conflict and post-conflict. Drawing on tangible examples of steps that have been taken to help women access justice, the report sets out ten key recommendations for policy and decision makers to act on in order to ensure every woman is able to obtain justice....

July 21, 2011
Women's Refugee Commission

Abstract:

This report is the culmination of a six-month project commissioned by the Women’s Refugee Commission and co-funded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to address the rights and needs of displaced persons with disabilities, with a particular focus on women (including older women), children and youth. Based on field research in five refugee situations, as well as global desk research, the Women’s Refugee Commission sought to map existing services for displaced persons with disabilities, identify gaps and good practices and make recommendations on how to improve services, protection and participation for displaced persons with disabilities. The objective of the project was to gather initial empirical data and produce a Resource Kit that would be of practical use to UN and nongovernmental organization (NGO) field staff working with displaced persons with disabilities....

July 18, 2012
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

Abstract:

In an unprecedented reversal of fortunes, the son of a peasant farmer from the Nile Delta, an Islamist jailed several times by Hosni Mubarak, has succeeded him as president of the largest Arab nation in a victory at the ballot box – thus inaugurating Egypt’s Second Republic.

U.S.-trained engineer Mohamed Morsi’s victory breaks a tradition of domination by men from the armed forces, which have provided every Egyptian leader since 1952, and instead installs the Muslim Brotherhood – a group that drew on eighty-four years of grassroots activism to propel Morsi into the presidency. That Egypt will evolve into something resembling today’s Turkey is hardly guaranteed. To do so, the Brotherhood must give up its longtime dream of imposing shari’a and instead strike a moderate course. Protecting the rights of women and religious minorities in the new state will require a constant struggle.

The Muslim Brotherhood are shrewd pragmatists and fully aware that Egypt has enough domestic problems of its own. Their main effort will be directed at rehabilitating the country’s devastated economy. It is unlikely, then, that there will be any conspicuous change in Egypt’s foreign relations and especially vis-à-vis the U.S. for some time to come, unless compelled by some unforeseen conflict. Hamas in Gaza – an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood – has high hopes, but it will soon be disappointed. However, another full-scale Israeli military action against Hamas in Gaza is not likely to remain unanswered by the Egyptian regime. For now, Egypt needs to reestablish security in the Sinai Peninsula and throughout the country, where Islamist groups have set up cells aiming to topple the government.

In light of the measures by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces [SCAF] to curtail his powers, Morsi may have little choice but to compromise with the army. He could, however, choose a course of confrontation with SCAF, hoping SCAF will ultimately yield and accept the new reality. A first sign of this attitude could be Morsi’s decree issued on July 8 to reconvene the dissolved National Assembly....

July 17, 2012
Transnational Institute

Abstract:

From the second half of 2007 till January 2008, Egypt has witnessed a wave of about 40 protests· about the absence of basic rights with relation to drinking water. This shows that thirst protests or intifadas, as some people have called them, started to represent a new path for a social movement that accompanies protests to obtain bread.

July 16, 2012
United States Institute of Peace

Abstract:

An extraordinary wave of popular protest swept the Arab world in 2011. Massive popular mobilization brought down long-ruling leaders in Tunisia and Egypt, helped spark bloody struggles in Bahrain, Libya, Syria, and Yemen, and fundamentally reshaped the nature of politics in the region.

New media—at least that which uses bit.ly linkages—did not appear to play a significant role in either in-country collective action or regional diffusion during this period. This lack of impact does not mean that social media—or digital media generally—were unimportant. Nor does it preclude the possibility that other new media technologies were significant in these contexts, or even that different Twitter or link data would show different results. But it does mean that at least in terms of media that use bit.ly links [especially Twitter], data do not provide strong support for claims of significant new media impact on Arab Spring political protests. New media outlets that use bit.ly are more likely to spread information outside the region than inside it, acting like a megaphone more than a rallying cry. This dissemination could be significant if it led to a boomerang effect that brought international pressure to bear on autocratic regimes, or helped reduce a regime’s tendency to crack down violently on protests. It is increasingly difficult to separate new media from old media. In the Arab Spring, the two reinforced each other. New media must be understood as part of a wider information arena in which new and old media form complex interrelationships.

Of the four major Arab Spring protests analyzed—Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Bahrain—large differences were found across the four in the amount of information consumed via social media. The events in Egypt and in Libya [#jan25 and #feb17, respectively] garnered many more clicks on a much larger number of URLs than those in Tunisia and Bahrain. The protests in Egypt and Libya attracted more attention than those in other countries and also focused that attention on a more delimited set of content. Particular hashtags, such as #jan25, received a disproportionate proportion of attention. The trends also suggest very sharp peaks of attention pegged to dramatic events, such as the departure of Ben Ali in Tunisia, the Pearl Roundabout raid in Bahrain, and several key days during the protest in Egypt—especially the “Friday of departure,” when Mubarak resigned....

July 13, 2012
Journal of Strategic Security // Henley-Putnam University

Abstract:

During the Arab Spring, Egyptians revolted against decades of poor governance and failed institutions. A wide range of grievances contributed to the eventual fall of the Mubarak regime, and most of these grievances were influenced by the demographic composition of the Egyptian population. This article aims to provide a better understanding of the intersection of demographics and security in the contemporary context by identifying and clarifying the existing arguments in the literature. It then examines a case study of Egypt, one of the countries at the center of the "Arab Spring," and the most relevant among these countries to Middle East security and strategic stability in the overall region. This paper argues that the youth bulge in Egypt played a major role in the political transition and as such serves as the prime example of the intersection of demographics, security, and the Arab Spring....

July 4, 2012
Hoover Institution // Stanford University

Abstract:

The Muslim Brotherhood has its problems, but it may be more inclined to democracy than we realize. One of the main fears about the Muslim Brotherhood is that its election to power will lead to “one man, one vote, one time.” That is, they will attain power by political means and never relinquish it. Another concern is that Brotherhood-dominated governments will be inimical to American interests—that they will tolerate and perhaps even foster terrorism, become a threat to American allies in the region, complicate international efforts to sanction Iran, and abrogate the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. Both are legitimate concerns, but neither is a foregone conclusion....

June 25, 2012
Center for Strategic and International Studies

Abstract:

Over the past three months, the administration of President Mauricio Funes in El Salvador has undertaken a high-stakes policy gamble in negotiating with some of the largest and most violent gangs in the hemisphere in the hopes of reducing his country's chilling homicide rate and lessening violence in the country.

The pact - improved prison conditions for jailed gang leaders in exchange for a truce between the two leading gangs - is already being viewed as a possible solution for other Central American nations with similar problems. But the result is likely to be a short-term drop in activity as gangs morph into political actors. While it may seem like there are fewer bodies in the street now, the overall level of criminality has not abated. What's more, gang structures have grown more sophisticated....

June 15, 2012
The Initiative for Peacebuilding – Early Warning // The Peace Studies Group

Abstract:

Since men constitute the majority of those who use and are victimised by guns worldwide, prevention and combat policies and programmes have been aimed almost exclusively at men and boys, paying scant attention to the roles and impacts of gun violence on women and girls. However, the continuum of violence experienced by women and girls in these contexts is a synthesis of the main social ingredients of violence and its cultural basis. Thus, alongside sound knowledge of men’s and boys’ involvement in gun violence, a clear understanding of women’s and girls’ needs, rights and vulnerabilities is essential to reduce gun violence in general. This report aims to contribute to fill this gap.

This report will concentrate on the analysis of the typologies and motivations for the involvement of women and girls in armed violence [as direct agents who actively participate, or indirect agents who play supporting roles such as in the transportation of firearms, drugs or information], and identify the importance and symbolism which they attribute to firearms; the examination of the direct consequences [death and injuries] and some of the indirect effects of armed violence on the lives of women [guns as instruments of intimidation and sources of insecurity in situations of domestic violence as well as determinants for the condition of survivors or relatives of lethal victims of gun violence]; the initiatives, formal and informal, led by women in these contexts in response to gun violence, namely efforts to improve arms control regulations....

May 23, 2012
Center for Humanitarian Dialogue

Abstract:

This report presents how the various negotiators of the El Salvador peace process, which lasted two years from 1990 to 1992, approached the issues of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of rebel and government forces; security sector reform; the control of vast quantities of weapons in circulation throughout the country after decades of militarisation; and strategies for assisting those traumatised and disabled by armed violence. It is one of three country studies-the others consider Burundi and Sudan-for the HD Centre's Negotiating Disarmament project....

May 8, 2012
Initiative for Peacebuilding - Early Warning Analysis to Action // International Alert

Abstract:

Overall, despite the differences between Rio de Janeiro, San Salvador and Praia in terms of the incidence of youth violence, historical approaches and experience in dealing with the issue, Brazil, El Salvador and Cape Verde have all favoured an enforcement-based approach, focusing primarily on repression and law-enforcement mechanisms [police action, specific youth violence legislation, and prosecution, prison and socio-educational systems], instead of interventions aimed at the root causes of violent behaviour. However, recent changes in federal government approaches to public security in Brazil, coupled with state level changes, suggest the materialisation of a discourse shift in the field of youth violence, which has been in the making since the late 1990s.

Another common feature in these countries is the incomplete availability of qualified information systems on violence and violent criminality, especially on organised crime and female involvement in urban violence.

Civil society actions to prevent and combat urban violence are very diverse. In Brazil, especially Rio de Janeiro, NGOs, associations and grassroots organisations have a fairly long track record when dealing with the issue of youth violence, promoting initiatives and programmes mostly aimed at youth violence prevention, especially at the primary level. These initiatives and programmes have been based on skills training, sports, culture, empowerment and, to lesser extent, professional training and labour market integration. In San Salvador, despite the severity of youth violence, civil society approaches are less diversified and effective. Like any other violence-afflicted country in Central America, violence prevention and especially intervention programmes, namely those aimed at the perpetrators of violence, face greater disadvantages and less funding and support from the region’s crime-weary population. In Praia, the involvement of civil society in this matter has been slow. However, in recent years, the experiences of civil society organisations, sometimes in partnership with public institutions, have been singled out as good examples and as having had some direct impact on youth involved in violence in the Cidade da Praia.

Responding to and effectively preventing youth urban violence requires a comprehensive approach which takes into account the intra-social forms of violence committed by and against youth, as well as the structural conditions which determine the marginalisation of youth. This includes prevention programmes which help young people in vulnerable situations, intervention programmes which offer alternatives for those attracted to violence, rehabilitation prospects for those who wish to leave violent groups, and those leaving prison and socioeducational systems. Capable and accountable law-enforcement bodies, protection and support mechanisms for victims of violence, adequate arms control policies, up-to-date data collection and analysis systems on youth and violence, and whole-of-government and multi-disciplinary approaches to violence are also key....

April 30, 2012
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Division of Reproductive Health // US Agency for International Development

Abstract:

This research brief is one in a series of related publications intended to contribute to understanding the complex dimensions of violence against women in three Central American countries: El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. This brief focuses on the prevalence of child sexual abuse among women, the perpetrators of that abuse, and the associations of child sexual abuse with two health outcomes:1] having a premarital pregnancy and; 2] being in a violent relationship later in life.

September 26, 2011
Freedom House

Abstract:

Freedom House has prepared this special report entitled Worst of the Worst: The World’s Most Repressive Societies, as a companion to its annual survey on the state of global political rights and civil liberties, Freedom in the World. The special report provides summary country reports, tables, and graphical information on the countries that receive the lowest combined ratings for political rights and civil liberties in Freedom in the World, and whose citizens endure systematic and pervasive human rights violations.

The report serves a reminder that over 1.6 billion people—more than 24 percent of the world’s population—suffer every day from the basic indignities of not being able to express their thoughts and opinions, of not having a say in who governs them and how the wealth of their land and labor is spent, and of being unable to obtain justice for crimes perpetrated against them. Hundreds of thousands of human beings in these countries languish every day in prisons or labor camps— generally in subhuman conditions and subject to physical or mental abuse—purely for their political or religious beliefs. This report seeks to highlight their plight and serves as a call to the world’s governments, policymakers, human rights organizations, and democracy advocates to speak out and use whatever resources they can bring to bear to improve respect for the most basic human rights in these countries....

July 8, 2011
Chatham House

Abstract:

I consider it a singular honour to have been invited today by Chatham House to address this august forum. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which I represent, is a regional organisation which has, over the years, gained your attention only for the unfortunate reasons of state implosion and instability caused by bad governance and marginalisation. I therefore welcome the opportunity to throw further light on its objectives, challenges, and achievements, which factors have effectively brought together fifteen West African states in the enterprise of improving upon the living standards of 230 million people as well as integrating them.

The term ‘Chatham House Rule’ is today an internationally-accepted cliché that this Institute has contributed to international diplomacy discourse, a reference norm in rigorous and policy-oriented exchanges on global peace and security. I therefore view your invitation to lead today’s discourse about ‘Democracy in the context of Regional Integration in West Africa’ as an unique honour for me personally, and a recognition of ECOWAS as a leading brand in regional integration.

Ladies and gentlemen, the evolution of ECOWAS can only be properly understood against the backdrop of the fascinating history and circumstances of West Africa since establishing contact with the world beyond its borders. The fact that slavery, colonialism, as well as racial and economic marginalisation, had left an intrinsic yearning for freedom, unity and solidarity among peoples of African descent everywhere defines its wish to integrate its states and peoples....

May 24, 2011
Security Council Report

Abstract:

This special research report provides an analysis of a set of new issues that have been emerging in the West African subregion and possible implications for the Security Council in the coming year(s). It identifies some key emerging threats to peace and security in the 16-state subregion and their linkages to existing security challenges. The report points to a key feature: the fact that some of the new threats are essentially criminal rather than political in nature. However, it explains also the growing political and security implications. The report also highlights action already taken by the Council to recognise these threats and considers options available to the Council to tackle these issues going forward.

The raw material for the study was derived from literature research; field research in a number of countries in the West African subregion (including Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria); and interviews in the region with diplomats, government officials and officials of relevant international intergovernmental bodies (e.g. UN Office in West Africa or UNOWA, UN Office for Drugs and Crime or UNODC, the Economic Community of West African States or ECOWAS and the AU), NGOs and academics....

December 1, 2010
Atlantic Council of the United States // The Michael S. Ansari Africa Center // On the Horizon Project

Abstract:

This report presents the analysis and recommendations of the Atlantic Council’s Michael S. Ansari Africa Center in cooperation with the On the Horizon Project to advance U.S. strategic interests in West Africa. Unaddressed problems of poor governance, severe poverty, widespread public corruption, and growing insecurity from the presence of criminal and militant enterprises engaged in theft, terrorism, trafficking, piracy, poaching, and pollution will continue to punish local populations and create conditions of instability that undermine public order from greater levels of armed confl ict and mass migration and threaten the reliable flow of oil from the region. As noted in a recent United Nations report, the “combination of coups from the top and insurgencies from below render West Africa in the opinion of the UN the least politically stable region in the world.” While this report focuses on the maritime domain, the Atlantic Council approaches the regional security challenges from a broad perspective. Security issues are holistic and must be addressed as such. The dynamics and consequences of insecurity in the maritime domain are part of a wider, more complex political and security dynamic encompassing rule of law, governance, public capacities, and economic and human development across geographic, societal, and national domains. Just as the causes, manifestations, and consequences of insecurity are comprehensive, so too must be the preventatives and remedies. This document provides a broad strategic-level analysis and corresponding recommendations for action that can, and we believe should, be supported and implemented by U.S. and allied policymakers, African leaders, and key stakeholders....

November 2, 2010
Institute for Security Studies // L'Institut d'Etudes de Sécurité

Abstract:

This paper aims to appraise and map the security challenges that have faced West African countries since independence with a special focus on the period after 1990. It also assesses the efforts made by various national, regional, continental and extra-African actors and makes suggestions on how the shortcomings in these efforts could be improved. An effort is made to show the evolution of at least some of the challenges over the years, in the hope that this could contribute to a better formulation of policy responses.

The study is based on extensive review of existing literature, complemented by field research in the region undertaken in July and August 2010, in addition to general familiarity with the region from many previous research visits on related subjects.

Without neglecting other issues that could be considered as security threats, and without attempting any hierarchical ordering of these threats, the paper focuses on the following six major issues: i) armed conflict, ii) military coups and unconstitutional changes of government; iii) mismanagement of electoral processes; iv) transnational criminality, particularly drug trafficking, terrorism and maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea; v) poverty and illiteracy; vi) climate change and environmental degradation....

June 15, 2012
Human Security Report Project

Abstract:

Human Security Research is a monthly publication by the Human Security Report Project (HSRP) which compiles the latest human security-related research published by university research institutes, think-tanks, governments, IGOs and NGOs.

In this special issue, the HSRP highlights publications discussing the relationship between climate change and security. The contents are:

HUMAN SECURITY: Climate Change, Human Security and Violent Conflict
FRAGILITY: Climate Change, Conflict and Fragility: Understanding the Linkages, Shaping Effective Responses
ARMED CONFLICT: Climate Change, the Environment, and Armed Conflict
RESOURCE COMPETITION: Competition Over Resources: Drivers of Insecurity and the Global South
SCARCITY: Resource Scarcity, Climate Change and the Risk of Violent Conflict
PEACEBUILDING: Environmental Peacebuilding: Managing Natural Resource Conflicts in a Changing World
GENDER: Gender, Climate Change and Human Security Lessons from Bangladesh, Ghana and Senegal
MIGRATION: Human Security, Climate Change and Environmentally Induced Migration
MIDDLE EAST: The Blue Peace: Rethinking Middle East Water
NORTH AFRICA: Mapping Climate Change and Security in North Africa
NIGER BASIN: Climate Change, Water and Conflict in the Niger River Basin
AFRICA: After the Rain: Rainfall Variability, Hydro-Meteorological Disasters, and Social Conflict in Africa
INTERNATIONAL RIVER BASINS: A Geographical Curse? Asymmetries and the Risk of Conflict in International River Basins
SOUTHEAST ASIA: Climate Change and Migration in Southeast Asia: Responding to a New Human Security Challenge
...

May 18, 2012
Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation

Abstract:

Money laundering and terrorist financing are major, interconnected problems for East Africa and the Horn. As the World Bank’s World Development Report 2011 makes clear, they pose a significant threat not only to security but also to development.

Both the Financial Action Task Force [FATF] and the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group [ESAAMLG] have identified a number of states in the subregion as demonstrating weak implementation of international standards on anti–money laundering [AML] and countering the financing of terrorism [CFT]. Some states in the subregion (Ethiopia and Kenya) have even been placed within the FATF International Cooperation Review Group [ICRG] process, which can ultimately lead to obstacles to engagement with the international financial system. There is consequently a growing recognition that states in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development [IGAD] subregion stand to benefit in multiple ways from a more concerted effort to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. There is also, however, a chronic limitation of data and knowledge about the problems of money laundering and terrorist financing and about AML/CFT vulnerabilities, risks, and capacities in the subregion. States of the subregion have their own specific vulnerabilities, challenges, weaknesses, and strengths, even as they share certain cross-cutting challenges.

In this Baseline Study, the IGAD Security Sector Program [ISSP] and the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation [CGCC] set out with support from the Royal Government of Denmark to provide a more detailed and nuanced analysis of AML/ CFT challenges and opportunities in the IGAD region, to inform a better allocation of resources to risk and to potential return on investment. The study is a joint effort developed in response to repeated requests by the ISSP’s and the CGCC’s governmental, intergovernmental, private sector, and civil society partners in the subregion who sought assistance in obtaining baseline data about money laundering risks and AML capacity in the region and guidance on the data’s potential use for CFT efforts....

May 3, 2012
Center for Migration and Refugee Studies

Abstract:

Credibility assessment in refugee status determination poses unique challenges when the outcome of asylum applications turns on the question of whether an asylum-seeker is actually a member of a persecuted religious minority. Such cases lead secular adjudicators to delve into matters of religious identity and faith that are by their nature subjective and beyond the realm of objective analysis. This article explores practical means of addressing this challenge through the case study the RSD interviews of Eritrean asylum-seekers in Egypt who based their refugee claims on Pentecostal religious associations. Analysis of the interview methods used indicates that RSD decision-makers operated from several implicit assumptions about how to conduct religious credibility assessment in refugee cases. Attempts to test the sincerity of asserted religious faith via knowledge quizzes and inquiries into subjective beliefs have questionable logical justifications and were fraught with significant risks. By contrast, the most logically defensible approaches were based on the “eye of the persecutor” test, which focuses on observable triggers of persecution that put individuals at risk....

April 3, 2012
New York University Center on International Cooperation

Abstract:

This paper explores the links between the Security Council's working methods and the evolution of the United Nations's Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea from 2000 to 2008. Its goal is to identify broader lessons for the Council's application of its working methods to the mandating and oversight of peacekeeping operations. All UN missions are shaped by unique political and operations factors beyond the Security Council: in UNMEE's case, American support for Ethiopia was a major factor, as was Eritrea's confrontational approach to the UN. Nonetheless, the mission's story does offer lessons to the Council.

UNMEE was launched to end a bloody two-year war in 2000. The peace agreement was negotiated under the auspices of the Organization of African Unity, with the Security Council playing a limited role. Nonetheless, the Council took a phased approach to mandating the mission [in some ways comparable to the two-stage mandating process for new operations recommended in the Brahimi report] and held a number of public debates on UNMEE's strategic situation and operations in 2000 and 2001. These helped give some Western troop contributors [the Netherlands, Canada, Denmark] confidence to deploy troops in its first phase.

While UNMEE was subject to factors beyond the Council's control, this report highlights that when the Council is transparent and confers with outside actors, it may have a higher chance of sustaining a controversial mission than if it acts informally and exclusively. If the Council adopts working methods that promote as open approach as is feasible, it may be able to handle crises such as those that affected UNMEE more effectively in the future....

February 27, 2012
Open Society Foundations // Open Society Justice Initiative

Abstract:

The Open Society Media Program has commissioned background papers on a range of topics that are important for understanding the effects of new technology on media and journalism. The papers accompany a series of reports, "Mapping Digital Media," on the impact of digitization on democracy in 60 countries around the world.

The Horn of Africa is one of the least connected regions in the world. Nevertheless, digital media play an important social and political role in Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia (including South-Central Somalia and the northern self-declared independent Republic of Somaliland). This paper shows how the development of the internet, mobile phones, and other new communication technologies have been shaped by conflict and power struggles in these countries.

It addresses some of the puzzles that characterize the media in the region: for example, how similar rates of penetration of media such as the internet and mobile phones have emerged in Somalia, a state which has not had a functioning government for two decades, and in Ethiopia, one of the countries with the most pervasive and centralized political apparatus in Africa.

The paper also gives particular attention to the role played by diasporas, which have been highly influential in starting the first websites, blogs and forums covering the politics of the Horn and facilitating debates among Eritreans, Ethiopians and Somalis living at home or abroad. The paper concludes by discussing the often-innovative, but little acknowledged, ways in which digital media have blended with their predecessors to fashion unique hybrid media and communications systems....

December 10, 2008
International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Abstract:

A Survey and Analysis of Border Management and Border Apprehension Data from 20 States. With a Special Survey on the Use of Counterfeit Documents. Based on the contributions of the border services of 20 Central and Eastern European states, the 2006 Yearbook again provides its valuable overview and analysis of irregular migration trends in the region. Over the past ten years the annual Yearbook on Illegal Migration, Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe has come to be regarded as an authoritative source of information on recent border trends and in particular on the phenomena of illegal migration, human smuggling and trafficking. The annual Yearbook covers the most recent trends in illegal migration and human smuggling in the region, including long-term trends in border apprehensions, shifts in source, transit and destination countries, demographic characteristics of irregular migrants, the relationship between legal and illegal border crossings, new developments in the methods of border crossings and document abuse and on removals of irregular migrants. In addition, this year’s edition for the first time features a Special Survey on the use of counterfeit documents for illegal migration purposes. This Survey is based on the contributions received from document specialists or Special Units dealing with document security in the countries under review and provides the first comprehensive overview and analysis of patterns and trends in the use of counterfeit documents for illegal migration purposes in Central and Eastern Europe....

September 8, 2008
Amnesty International

Abstract:

This bulletin contains information about Amnesty International’s main concerns in Europe and Central Asia between July and December 2007. Not every country in the region is reported on; only those where there were significant developments in the period covered by the bulletin, or where Amnesty International (AI) took specific action. A number of individual country reports have been issued on the concerns featured in this bulletin. References to these are made under the relevant country entry. In addition, more detailed information about particular incidents or concerns may be found in Urgent Actions and News Service Items issued by AI. This bulletin is published by AI every six months....

September 5, 2008
Congressional Research Service

Abstract:

U.S. policymakers have made securing and maintaining foreign contributions to the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq a major priority since the preparation period for the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. This report highlights and discusses important changes in financial and personnel contributions from foreign governments to Iraq since 2003. To date, foreign donors have pledged an estimated $16.4 billion in grants and loans for Iraq reconstruction, with most major pledges originating at a major donors' conference in Madrid, Spain, in October 2003. However, only a small part of the pledges have been committed or disbursed to the World Bank and United Nations Development Group Trust Funds for Iraq. The largest non-U.S. pledges of grants have come from Japan, the European Commission, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates. The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, Japan, and Saudi Arabia have pledged the most loans and export credits. Currently, 33 countries including the United States have some level of troops on the ground in Iraq or supporting Iraq operations from nearby locations. Those forces are working under the rubric of one of several organizations — the Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I), the NATO Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I); or the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). Currently, the largest troop contributors, in addition to the United States, are the United Kingdom, Georgia, Australia, South Korea, and Poland. Some of these key contributors have announced their intention to reduce or withdraw their forces from Iraq during 2008. The total number of non-U.S. coalition troop contributions has declined since the early stabilization efforts, as other countries have withdrawn their contingents or substantially reduced their size....

October 15, 2007
Central Asia Caucasus Institute

Abstract:

The workshop from which this report originates dealt with organized crime, corruption and investment of criminal proceeds in the Baltic Sea region. This workshop report, compiled by Klas Kxc3xa4rrstrand, summarizes the presentations made during the workshop and the discussions stimulated by the each of the presentations. The main purpose is to identify recent trends and developments in order to point out potential consequences for the social, economic, legal and political development, in especially Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, but also for the region as a whole....

May 14, 2007
Government Accountability Office

Abstract:

In March 2003, a U.S.-led multinational force began operations in Iraq. At that time, 48 nations, identified as a "coalition of the willing," offered political, military, and financial support for U.S. efforts in Iraq, with 38 nations other than the United States providing troops. In addition, international donors met in Madrid in October 2003 to pledge funding for the reconstru#ction of Iraq's infrastructure, which had deteriorated after multiple wars and decades of neglect under the previous regime. This testimony discusses (1) the troop commitments other countries have made to operations in Iraq, (2) the funding the United States has provided to support other countries' participation in the multinational force, and (3) the financial support international donors have provided to Iraq reconstruction efforts....

July 18, 2012
African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes

Abstract:

Contemporary Africa is faced with the reality of numerous evolving states that have to grapple with the inevitability of conflict. On their own, the fledgling institutions in these states cannot cope with the huge demands unleashed by everyday conflict. It is within this context that the complementarity between traditional institutions and the modern state becomes not only observable but also imperative.

Includes:
"Conflict resolution under the Ekika system of the Baganda in Uganda" by Ashad Sentongo and Andrea Bartoli
"Local conflict resolution in Rwanda: The case of abunzi mediators" br Martha Mutisi
"Traditional authority and modern hegemony: Peacemaking in the Afar region of Ethiopia" by Kwesi Sansculotte-Greenidge and Demessie Fantaye
"From war to peace and reconciliation in Darfur, Sudan: Prospects for the Judiyya" by Abdullahi Osman El-Tom
"Customary mediation in resource scarcities and conflicts in Sudan: Making a case for the Judiyya" by Salomé Bronkhorst...

June 18, 2012
Medicine for Peace

Abstract:

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front [EPRDF] have ruled Ethiopia since 1991. In 1994, the Government of Ethiopia [GOE] became a signatory to the U.N. Convention on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment, incorporated the language of the Convention into its constitution, and subsequently criminalized all acts of torture committed in the country. Over the past two decades there has been a widening gap between law and practice, with numerous reports of torture of dissidents in conflict zones [the Ogaden area of Somali, and Gambella regions], and elsewhere in the country. This report is a detailed analysis of the alleged torture history, and the physical and psychological findings from forensic examination of 102 asylum seekers in the United States who presented credible evidence that they were tortured in Ethiopia. This study is unique because it is the first comprehensive medical forensic analysis of a cohort of asylum seekers from Ethiopia, a country whose officials deny that it engages in torture, and cruel and degrading practices.

This study confirms the growing body of evidence that torture is widespread, systemic and committed with impunity by GOE officials, police, and the military to control opposition to the EPRDF. The arrests and the alleged torture described by our patients were entirely extrajudicial, with no charges being made, often resulting in long detentions, and prisoners denied access to counsel and the courts. It is evident from the statement of the U.N. Committee Against Torture in 2010, that the GOE is in violation of the Convention on Torture, including article , which requires signatories to take action to prevent acts of torture. This situation is likely to worsen with the passage of the 2009 Anti-Terrorism Law, which permits security officers and police to engage in torture rather than criminalize it, and the Charities and Societies Law which weakens monitoring of abuses committed in prison. It is in the United States’ interest to move away from its policy of “quiet diplomacy” towards Ethiopia, and in concert with its donor partners, leverage the enormous amount of development aid given to Ethiopia to force it to uphold and comply with the articles and principles of the Convention....

June 18, 2012
Human Rights Watch

Abstract:

This report documents how government security forces are forcing communities to relocate from their traditional lands through violence and intimidation, threatening their entire way of life with no compensation or choice of alternative livelihoods. Government officials have carried out arbitrary arrests and detentions, beatings, and other violence against residents of the Lower Omo valley who questioned or resisted the development plans.

June 15, 2012
Danish Institute for International Studies

Abstract:

After the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops in January 2009 and the almost inevitable total collapse of the so-called Transitional Federal Government, Somalia will once again be stateless, but probably in a much worse state than if nobody had tried to construct a state in the first place. In the brief, the confrontation between the impotent government and its opponents is analyzed, as are the roles of Ethiopia and other external actors, followed by a prediction of the future which may well be much less bleak than is often assumed....

June 15, 2012
Human Security Report Project

Abstract:

Human Security Research is a monthly publication by the Human Security Report Project (HSRP) which compiles the latest human security-related research published by university research institutes, think-tanks, governments, IGOs and NGOs.

In this special issue, the HSRP highlights publications discussing the relationship between climate change and security. The contents are:

HUMAN SECURITY: Climate Change, Human Security and Violent Conflict
FRAGILITY: Climate Change, Conflict and Fragility: Understanding the Linkages, Shaping Effective Responses
ARMED CONFLICT: Climate Change, the Environment, and Armed Conflict
RESOURCE COMPETITION: Competition Over Resources: Drivers of Insecurity and the Global South
SCARCITY: Resource Scarcity, Climate Change and the Risk of Violent Conflict
PEACEBUILDING: Environmental Peacebuilding: Managing Natural Resource Conflicts in a Changing World
GENDER: Gender, Climate Change and Human Security Lessons from Bangladesh, Ghana and Senegal
MIGRATION: Human Security, Climate Change and Environmentally Induced Migration
MIDDLE EAST: The Blue Peace: Rethinking Middle East Water
NORTH AFRICA: Mapping Climate Change and Security in North Africa
NIGER BASIN: Climate Change, Water and Conflict in the Niger River Basin
AFRICA: After the Rain: Rainfall Variability, Hydro-Meteorological Disasters, and Social Conflict in Africa
INTERNATIONAL RIVER BASINS: A Geographical Curse? Asymmetries and the Risk of Conflict in International River Basins
SOUTHEAST ASIA: Climate Change and Migration in Southeast Asia: Responding to a New Human Security Challenge
...

April 24, 2012
International Center for Research on Women

Abstract:

This report builds on an earlier report published in 2008 by the Office of Development Effectiveness of AusAID that assessed current approaches to addressing violence against women and girls in five of Australia’s partner countries: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Timor-Leste.

In 2011, AusAID commissioned the International Center for Research on Women to undertake a follow-up study to take stock of what has happened with regard to the three key strategies for advancing the violence against women agenda put forward by the ODE report: [1] increasing access to justice for survivors of violence; [2] improving access and quality of support services for survivors; and [3] promoting violence prevention. The study also investigates a fourth strategy: strengthening the enabling environment for ending violence against women. This report presents research findings on progress made since the ODE report in these four thematic areas in the same five countries.

The study methodology consisted of a desk review, an online questionnaire, and key informant interviews. The resulting data showcase successes and lessons learned as well as gaps and shortcomings that need renewed commitment by a broad range of stakeholders....

February 24, 2010
United Nations Development Programme Pacific Centre // Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat

Abstract:

In the last couple of decades, debate within the international community and the Pacific has centred on the challenges posed to socio-economic and political development by insecurity and conflict. This focus has also resulted in a shifting understanding of security, which now includes the safety and well-being of people and communities as well as the security of the state. The Pacific, like other regions, is dealing with a difficult and diverse set of law enforcement, governance and security challenges. The region has witnessed violent conflict, civil unrest and political crises. This has led to a growing recognition of the critical role of law enforcement agencies and security institutions. However, in recent years, there have been concerns that these institutions lack capacity to meet the challenge of providing security to the general public; that governments do not have the necessary civilian security expertise to manage them; that legislatures are not empowered to oversee them; and that security forces are not held accountable under the law for their actions. Effective governance of security institutions is vital for the Pacific region. In the context of conflict and violence, it supports the efforts of state institutions to stabilize the security situation, begin the road to recovery and reduce the potential of relapse. In non-conflict contexts, it ensures security institutions fulfil their mandate to combat insecurity. This creates an enabling environment for poverty reduction and sustainable development....

September 8, 2009
Amnesty International

Abstract:

This report illustrates Amnesty International’s concerns about widespread human rights violations which followed then President Ratu Josefa Iloilo’s abrogation of the Fiji Constitution on 10 April 2009. These include violations of the rights to freedom of assembly, opinion, expression and movement, the right to a fair trial, and freedom from arbitrary detention. Amnesty International was present in Fiji during the abrogation of the Constitution and its aftermath and managed to conduct extensive consultations and interviews with activists and stakeholders about the human rights situation there. During the mission, Amnesty International obtained first hand information about ongoing human rights violations and the Fijian people’s prevailing fears about the impunity with which the authorities violate human rights there. These violations have been facilitated, among other things, by the unilateral and unconstitutional removal by the President of legal safeguards against human rights violations, including human rights provisions in the Constitution; provisions on the independence of the judiciary and of legal professionals in general; and the granting of wholesale impunity to officials who violate human rights when implementing Presidential decrees. In this report, Amnesty International calls on the government of Fiji to put an immediate halt to all human rights violations by members of the security forces and government officials, including the arbitrary arrests; intimidation and threats; and assaults and detention of journalists, government critics and others. The Fijian government should also immediately repeal the Public Emergency Regulations (PER) in force since 10 April 2009, whose broad and sweeping provisions have enabled officials to violate key human rights with impunity. Finally, the government must ensure that all serious violations of human rights are subject to prompt, independent, effective and impartial investigations and that suspected perpetrators, including those suspected of ordering these acts, regardless of rank, are brought to justice in proceedings which meet international standards of fairness without recourse to the death penalty....

July 14, 2009
The Australian National University

Abstract:

In recent years, the Pacific has not been an ocean of peace. After a generally harmonious transition from European colonialism to independence, a number of the small Pacific island states have been plagued by internal conflict. The largest of the Pacific island states, Papua New Guinea, having withstood the challenge of regional separatist groups in Papua and in Bougainville on the eve of independence, faced a rebellion on Bougainville from 1988 to 1997 (and is still in the process of implementing a peace agreement) and has seen an escalation of local-level inter-group fighting in the central highlands over the past two decades. Fiji became the first Pacific island state to have a military coup, in 1987, and continues to suffer the effects of racially-based tensions. In the Solomon Islands, ethnic divisions contributed to an outbreak of violence on the island of Guadalcanal in 1998, which culminated in the effective collapse of government two years later. Vanuatu’s transition to independence was marred by a separatist rebellion on the island of Santo, and although it has enjoyed a relatively peaceful history since 1980 it has had to survive more than one constitutional crisis. In New Caledonia, independence demands by the indigenous kanak people resulted in violent confrontation between pro- and anti-independence groups in the 1980s, and New Caledonia remains a French dependency. While each of these cases is, to some extent, a unique reflection of particular historical and other circumstances, there are some recurring features of the internal conflicts, which largely derive from the fragmented nature of the pre-colonial societies and/or ethnic divisions created by the influx of settler populations during the colonial period, and the absence, in all these cases, of a developed sense of national (as opposed to local) identity. This paper will briefly describe the nature of the conflicts in each of the four states and one territory listed above, and the processes of conflict resolution in each. It will then attempt to identify what features are common and what are unique in the five cases, and to suggest some lessons from their experience, which might be relevant to conflict and peace-making elsewhere....

July 14, 2009
The Australian National University

Abstract:

Internal conflict has become the predominant threat to the security and stability of many of the small island nations of the Southwest Pacific and particularly in the countries of Melanesia. Since the late 1980s, conflicts of varying causes and degrees of intensity have occurred in Papua New Guinea (Bougainville secession attempt)i, Fiji (coups and attempted coups), Vanuatu (police rebellion) and Solomon Islands (ethnic conflict and coup). These events have seriously debilitated the already fragile national economies and polities of all countries, so much so in the Solomon Islands that that country is now being described by many analysts as a “failing”, if not “failed”, state.ii While most of these countries have so far been able (not without difficulty) to maintain a measure of state integrity, the situation in Solomon Islands has become so precarious that Australia and New Zealand (with the support of most Pacific Island governments and anticipating a request from the Solomons’ parliament) are preparing to intervene in an attempt to restore the rule of law and rebuild administrative institutions. The form of that intervention is not yet clear - it is thought likely to include up to 2,000 armed military and police with a large team of civilian technical personnel – nor has a mandate been determined. In this context a host of questions arises as to how best to resolve, contain, manage and/or transform these internal conflicts in the interest of the security, stability and well-being of the peoples of the countries concerned and of the region as a whole. The purpose of this paper is to consider one form of conflict management undertaken recently in the region; that is, the peace monitoring interventions by Australia, New Zealand and some Pacific Island Countries (PICs) in Bougainville and Solomon Islands. How useful have these exercises been in assisting peace processes and in conflict management/peace construction, and what lessons can be drawn from them for any future such operations - including perhaps for the more vigorous “co-operative intervention” currently in prospect?...

April 30, 2012
Human Security Report Project

Abstract:

Human Security Research is a monthly compilation of significant new human security-related research published by academics, university research institutes, think-tanks, international agencies, and NGOs.

Articles in this issue:
CAUSES OF WAR: Inequality and Identity: Causes of War?
SPOILERS: Spotting the Spoilers: A Guide to Analyzing Organized Crime in Fragile States
DR CONGO: Insecurity and Local Governance in Congo’s South Kivu
CONFLICT MEDIATION: Global Networks of Mediation: Prospects and Avenues for Finland as a Peacemaker
MEXICO: Drug Violence in Mexico Data and Analysis Through 2011
NORTH CAUCASUS: North Caucasus: Views From Within
PEACEBUILDING: A Peacebuilding Tool for a Conflict-Sensitive Approach to Development: A Pilot Initiative in Nepal
PHILIPPINES: Pagpati'ut: Mediating Violence in Sulu
WESTERN SAHARA: Simmering Discontent in the Western Sahara
TERRORISM: Individual Disengagement From Al Qa'ida-Influenced Terrorist Groups: A Rapid Evidence Assessment to Inform Policy and Practice in Preventing Terrorism
SRI LANKA: Sri Lanka’s North I: The Denial of Minority Rights
MYANMAR: “Untold Miseries”: Wartime Abuses and Forced Displacement in Burma’s Kachin State...

March 28, 2012
The Finnish Institute of International Affairs (Ulkopoliittinen instituutti)

Abstract:

Today’s peace mediation involves a greater number and diversity of actors than ever before. States can no longer function as unitary actors, utilising governmental resources and official structures alone. Rather, states are embedded in global networks of regional and non-governmental actors such as local civil society actors and private diplomacy organisations, which they have to rely on in implementing mediation and negotiation processes. Therefore, the interface between official and unofficial sectors is becoming an ever more timely research object in the study of mediation.

The purpose of this report is to explore the contemporary dynamics of peace mediation with a view to three specific objectives. First, it aims to identify the distinctive characteristics of global peace mediation and the roles played by different actors, particularly governments, NGOs and regional organisations, in mediation processes. It also describes the new forms of co-operation between these actors and analyse the challenges and opportunities of the new co-operation frameworks in global peace mediation.

Second, the report analyses the field of global peace mediation from the viewpoint of small countries. In particular, it aims to provide perspectives on the following questions: What kinds of opportunities does the changing field of conflict resolution and peacebuilding offer to small countries as active mediators? What kinds of consortiums are the most suitable forms of collaboration?

Third, the report aims to reflect these questions in view of the development of Finnish mediation capacities. Thus far, the debate on mediation in Finland has centred on the national capacities and strengths by which Finland can claim or reclaim a central position in peace mediation. Particularly in the immediate aftermath of the publishing of the Country Brand Delegation report2, Finnish mediation was portrayed as a national project premised on the idea of Finland as a special case or sui generis power. However, to date, relatively little attention has been paid to the fact that Finland could learn a lot from the analysis of the mediation efforts of other states and other organisations, their institutional structures for conducting mediation operations and their cooperation arrangements in global mediation networks.

As Finland is currently in the process of designing and developing its own mediation capacities, it does not need to reinvent the wheel but can utilise the lessons learned from various alternative mediation arrangements in other states and agencies. It is precisely this outward-looking viewpoint which underlies the present report. Parts I and II of the report investigate the main dynamics and actors of the surrounding global environment of peace mediation in which Finland is situated. Part III analyses the different strategies and mechanisms by which other states operate and cope in that environment. Part IV examines the future prospects for Finland as a mediator....

March 14, 2011
Chatham House

Abstract:

• The protection of asylum-seekers in Europe is dealt with under three principal bodies of law: the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951, the law of the European Union and the soft law developed by the Council of Europe.
• Member states of the Council of Europe are also bound by the judgments of the European Convention on Human Rights; although the convention makes no reference to refugee protection, its provisions and the judgments of its court in Strasbourg impose important obligations on states in respect of asylum.
• The entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty in 1999 initiated the first phase of the creation of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), which aimed to harmonize refugee protection among member states while enabling them to meet their international obligations in that respect.
• The harmonizing measures adopted by the EU have been subject to severe criticism and the practices of member states reveal a systemic failure to comply with international refugee protection obligations. • While there have been improvements in European refugee policy, significant challenges must be
addressed before Europe can regain its reputation as a champion of the rights of the refugee. This is given particular urgency by recent events in North Africa, which may lead to large numbers of persons fleeing violence and disorder....

February 24, 2011
International Peace Research Institute, Oslo

Abstract:

This handbook is intended to serve as a document that provides relevant information on issues that external actors who interact with diasporas in development and peacebuilding will encounter. It does not present simple replicable techniques, tools or instruments; rather, the authors aim to explain the underlying philosophy and aspects of process involved in facilitating participation of diasporas in development and peacebuilding (Pretty et al., 1995: ii). How to best apply these principles will vary from context to context. The document is based on experiences with various diaspora communities in the five European countries (Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway), though many of the examples cited focus on the Somali diaspora and, more generally, on diasporas originating from Africa. A number of those experiences are described in detail in separate text boxes....

September 29, 2009
The Finnish Institute of International Affairs // Ulkopoliittinen Instituutti

Abstract:

The summer of 2009 has been without a doubt a bad one for ISAF, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. The increase in fighting this summer has led to debates in most of the troop contributing nations as to how they perceive Afghanistan’s future and their role in it. A complex insurgency has spread across the country as different groups have come together under the banner of the Taliban fighting both the international troops and the Afghan government. In the south and the east of Afghanistan, where guerilla warfare has been ongoing for at least three years, the fighting has intensified and an increase in the technical abilities and tactical skill of the Taliban insurgents has taken a heavy toll on coalition soldiers. In the north and west of Afghanistan—previously considered safer areas—the security situation has worsened considerably and troops who had been able to focus predominantly on reconstruction work are increasingly finding themselves soldiering in far more traditional ways. The Afghanistan general elections of 20 August can be considered a very limited success at best, not only because of the extensive and seemingly well based accusations of vote rigging, but also because in many parts of the country although the ISAF forces could secure the voting sites themselves, they could not provide sufficient security to stop Taliban intimidation from dissuading many Afghans from going to the polls in the first place. As the fighting has increased across the country, it is the Afghan civilians who are paying highest price....

December 7, 2011
Amsterdam Law Forum

Abstract:

This article focuses on the special criminal procedures for the use of intelligence in terrorist trials in Canada, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Since 9/11 and the terror attacks in London and Madrid, gathering intelligence as well as the prosecution of suspects of terrorist crimes have become strategic tools in countering terrorism. By reviewing the special procedures for the use of intelligence, their compatibility with human rights standards, including the right to fair trial, is discussed. Concerns include the extent to which disclosure is made possible and to whom. The differences in criminal procedures for the use of intelligence in terrorist trials also raises questions if intelligence origins from a third state, in which different regulations with regard to disclosure of information apply....

November 14, 2011
Chatham House

Abstract:

This is a summary of an event held on 26 October 2011 at Chatham House. The speaker, Stéphane Gompertz, Head of Africa and Indian Ocean, French Foreign Ministry, reflected on the new realities in Africa brought about by the revolutions in North Africa and especially NATO’s intervention in Libya.

October 12, 2011
The Institute for the Study of War

Abstract:

This report is the second installment of a four-part series on the revolution in Libya. Part Two: Escalation and Intervention details the international reaction to the war and the process that led to the U.S. and allied military intervention in March 2011. The paper begins with the initial international reaction to the uprising in Libya in the early spring of 2011 and the international debate over a no-fly zone. This section documents efforts by the United States and its European allies to garner broader support for intervention in Libya, especially from Arab states. During this time, France, Great Britain, and the United States led international efforts to intervene in Libya. The third part of the paper explains the efforts to implement a no-fly zone under the U.S.-led Operation Odyssey Dawn in March 2011. This report concludes with a discussion of the NATO-led Operation Unified Protector and emerging tensions amongst NATO allies over the way forward in Libya....

October 7, 2011
Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior

Abstract:

Since the beginning of the popular upheavals across the Middle East and North Africa, Sarkozy has sought to position France as a regional leader. Yet France’s attempts to project itself as defender of an ethical foreign policy in the MENA meet scepticism. The French president has proved willing to collaborate with autocrats when it has coincided with his country’s interests, but equally quick to abandon them when events have corresponded to wider regional changes in popular demands. His penchant for unilateral opportunism does not augur well for consistent and coherent European support for the Arab spring....

May 20, 2011
American Enterprise Institute

Abstract:

Comments in this testimony are largely derived from a compilation of studies that the author commissioned in previous years looking at how key countries in Europe (the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Spain) were addressing the threat of Islamist terrorism domestically. I then analyzed those studies and set out to compare their respective findings with the post-9/11 counterterrorism regime here in the United States. The result was a volume published last summer by the American Enterprise Institute entitled Safety, Liberty and Islamist Terrorism: American and European Approaches to Domestic Counterterrorism. The author provides context to United States counterterrorism policy by comparing it with the policies and practices of our European allies...

October 14, 2009
Partnership Africa Canada

Abstract:

By all indications, and from the evidence gathered for this year’s Diamonds and Human Security Annual Review, the Kimberley Process (KP), designed to halt and prevent the return of “conflict diamonds”, is failing. The cost of a collapse would be disastrous for an industry that benefits so many countries, and for the millions of people in developing countries who depend, directly and indirectly on it. A criminalized diamond economy would re-emerge and conflict diamonds could soon follow. The problems can and must be fixed. Accountability is the primary issue. There is no KP central authority. The “chair” rotates annually and has virtually no responsibility beyond a convening function. Problems are shifted from one “working group” to another; debates on vital issues extend for years. “Consensus” in the KP means that everyone must agree; a single dissenter can block forward movement. Nobody takes responsibility for action or inaction, failure or success; the Kimberley Process has no core body apart from its annual “plenary meeting” and thus nobody is held responsible for anything. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) has a peer review mechanism which reviews each member’s compliance roughly once every three years. Some reviews are thorough and recommendations are heeded. In many cases, however, recommendations are ignored, and there is little or no follow-up — this has been the case in the past with DRC and Angola. And, as this Annual Review notes, some reviews are completely bogus. In 2008, a bloated, nine-member team visited Guinea, a country beset by corruption, weak diamond controls, and almost certain smuggling. The team spent less than two hours outside the capital and its report remained unfinished for almost 11 months. A team visited Venezuela in 2008 but its makeup, agenda and itinerary were dictated entirely by the Venezuelan government. NGOs were barred and there were no visits to mining areas or border towns. Zimbabwe, rife with smuggling and gross diamond- related human rights abuse, consumed months of ineffectual internal KP debate. In the end, the KP agreed on a review mission, but only after being publicly shamed into action by NGO and media reports. The result is a lowest-common- denominator “consensus” and continuing inaction....

October 7, 2009
Small Arms Survey // Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva // Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Abstract:

The data in this report is derived from country submissions when possible, and estimates when necessary. Estimates are extrapolated from each country’s identified procurement, highest modern personnel totals, and strategic doctrine. Except where noted, the military small arms and light weapons data presented here is not official, comprehensive, or conclusive; it is for general evaluation and comparison only. The complete methodology used here is described in Chapter 2 of the Small Arms Survey 2006. Small arms are state-owned handguns, submachine guns, rifles, shotguns, and light and medium machine guns. Firearms are civilian-owned handguns, submachine guns, rifles, and shotguns. Long at the forefront of international small arms issues, public debate and activism in South America have largely focused on matters surrounding civilian firearms, estimated here to total between 21.7 and 26.8 million. The reasons for this civilian preoccupation are principally linked to chronic gun violence. South America has 14 per cent of the global population, and roughly 3.5 to 4 per cent of the world’s civilian firearms, but it suffers from roughly 40 per cent of all homicides committed with firearms. Military small arms are rarely part of public debate, largely because of a strong culture of national security secrecy in South America. But military small arms policy has attracted much closer scrutiny in recent years, especially as military small arms and light weapons are diverted to criminals and guerrillas, fuelling insurgencies and civil violence. This report focuses primarily on issues surrounding surplus military small arms and light weapons in the region. Law enforcement and civilian firearms inventories and issues are recognized here as well, to ensure a balanced overall perspective. The region’s military establishments do not have a strong record of identifying or eliminating their surplus small arms, light weapons, or ammunition. South America holds some of the world’s largest military small arms and light weapons surpluses. Military inventories are not exceptionally large in absolute terms, but they are a major element in global surplus problems. Among the 12 independent countries of South America, there are an estimated 3.6 million military small arms as of 2007, 1.5 per cent of the global total. Of these, approximately 1.3 million, more than one-third, are surplus....

September 16, 2008
En la Mira - The Latin American Small Arms Watch

Abstract:

Although all countries, in theory report their authorized transfers - and such information may even be available in certain public databases - the task of providing an overview of SALW transfers, their parts and munitions, is an arduous one. Nonetheless, despite the difficulties, we have some extremely positive initiatives on a global scale, such as for example, the Small Arms Survey, recognized as an important source of information, especially on SALW production and transfers, as well as the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers (NISAT) which has a database containing transfer records going back to 1962.Despite these important initiatives, themselves when researchers, activists and policy makers try to understand a regional market, such as Latin America and the Caribbean, they encounter a dearth of information. With the intent of addressing this shortcoming, En La Mira has, since 2007, dedicated an issue to transfers of SALWs, parts and ammunition in this region. Further, according to statistics from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN-Comtrade or Comtrade), USD 6.7 billion were exported between 2004 and 2006, while USD 6.5 billion were imported. Despite the fact that Latin America and the Caribbean represent 6% and 3%, respectively, of total transfers worldwide during this period, 42% of firearms related homicide is committed in the region. This discrepancy between the international transfer volume share and the levels of armsrelated violence in Latin America and the Caribbean calls attention to itself, above all because of the tragic and startling number of homicides. Obviously, far from wishing to increase arms transfers in order to be more in sync with homicide rates, we decided, a year ago, to study this issue and periodically monitor its development based on our interest in understanding the primary legal entry and exit routes of firearms and ammunition. The result is a report - based on customs information as stated by Latin American and Caribbean countries and their respective partners - whose objective is to describe the movement of the SALW imports and exports, as well as ammunition and parts, during the present decade. Based on this data, we answer the following questions: who exported and who imported? From whom? What? And when? It is worth restating that the intent of this report is not to explain the cause of arms imports and exports by Latin American countries. Beyond merely providing information, we do indeed wish to awaken, by means of the information presented here, the curiosity of other researches, activists and government staff members such that they may continue to perform research in their countries regarding the transparency of this information, on who is using the transferred SALW, and how. The data used for this report came from the NISAT database, which contains more than 800,000 entries for SALW transfers worldwide since 1962. The NISAT database gets its information from different sources, COMTRADE among them. In this study we decided to restrict ourselves to data from this latter source because, in theory, all countries report transfers to the UN. This data is declared in accordance with the Harmonized System (SH) merchandise classification system. The HS has existed since 1988and, in 2007, was revised for the fourth time; previous revisions were in 1992, 1996 and in 2002. Regarding the period analyzed, we are looking at data up until 2006, since at the time the study closed this was the most recent year available on NISAT....

October 4, 2004
British Broadcasting Corporation

Abstract:

Dense equatorial forests, colonial towns and a major space centre are among the varied faces of French Guiana, a region of France on the northeast coast of South America.

May 24, 2006
Australian National University // State, Society And Governance In Melanesia Project

Abstract:

The decade since the early 1990s has witnessed the growth of a field of research and practice aimed at resolving and preventing violent conflict. Research on violent conflict has led to a number of different theories on causes of violent conflict, many of them based on the study of large-scale, protracted conflicts in Africa and the Balkans. Advocates of conflict prevention have linked longer-term root causes of violent conflict to aspects of underdevelopment, and tensions inherent in development processes....

October 4, 2004
British Broadcasting Corporation

Abstract:

A possession of France, French Polynesia is made up of 118 volcanic and coral islands and atolls which occupy a swathe of the Pacific Ocean, midway between Australia and South America.

July 8, 2011
Chatham House

Abstract:

I consider it a singular honour to have been invited today by Chatham House to address this august forum. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which I represent, is a regional organisation which has, over the years, gained your attention only for the unfortunate reasons of state implosion and instability caused by bad governance and marginalisation. I therefore welcome the opportunity to throw further light on its objectives, challenges, and achievements, which factors have effectively brought together fifteen West African states in the enterprise of improving upon the living standards of 230 million people as well as integrating them.

The term ‘Chatham House Rule’ is today an internationally-accepted cliché that this Institute has contributed to international diplomacy discourse, a reference norm in rigorous and policy-oriented exchanges on global peace and security. I therefore view your invitation to lead today’s discourse about ‘Democracy in the context of Regional Integration in West Africa’ as an unique honour for me personally, and a recognition of ECOWAS as a leading brand in regional integration.

Ladies and gentlemen, the evolution of ECOWAS can only be properly understood against the backdrop of the fascinating history and circumstances of West Africa since establishing contact with the world beyond its borders. The fact that slavery, colonialism, as well as racial and economic marginalisation, had left an intrinsic yearning for freedom, unity and solidarity among peoples of African descent everywhere defines its wish to integrate its states and peoples....

May 24, 2011
Security Council Report

Abstract:

This special research report provides an analysis of a set of new issues that have been emerging in the West African subregion and possible implications for the Security Council in the coming year(s). It identifies some key emerging threats to peace and security in the 16-state subregion and their linkages to existing security challenges. The report points to a key feature: the fact that some of the new threats are essentially criminal rather than political in nature. However, it explains also the growing political and security implications. The report also highlights action already taken by the Council to recognise these threats and considers options available to the Council to tackle these issues going forward.

The raw material for the study was derived from literature research; field research in a number of countries in the West African subregion (including Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria); and interviews in the region with diplomats, government officials and officials of relevant international intergovernmental bodies (e.g. UN Office in West Africa or UNOWA, UN Office for Drugs and Crime or UNODC, the Economic Community of West African States or ECOWAS and the AU), NGOs and academics....

December 1, 2010
Atlantic Council of the United States // The Michael S. Ansari Africa Center // On the Horizon Project

Abstract:

This report presents the analysis and recommendations of the Atlantic Council’s Michael S. Ansari Africa Center in cooperation with the On the Horizon Project to advance U.S. strategic interests in West Africa. Unaddressed problems of poor governance, severe poverty, widespread public corruption, and growing insecurity from the presence of criminal and militant enterprises engaged in theft, terrorism, trafficking, piracy, poaching, and pollution will continue to punish local populations and create conditions of instability that undermine public order from greater levels of armed confl ict and mass migration and threaten the reliable flow of oil from the region. As noted in a recent United Nations report, the “combination of coups from the top and insurgencies from below render West Africa in the opinion of the UN the least politically stable region in the world.” While this report focuses on the maritime domain, the Atlantic Council approaches the regional security challenges from a broad perspective. Security issues are holistic and must be addressed as such. The dynamics and consequences of insecurity in the maritime domain are part of a wider, more complex political and security dynamic encompassing rule of law, governance, public capacities, and economic and human development across geographic, societal, and national domains. Just as the causes, manifestations, and consequences of insecurity are comprehensive, so too must be the preventatives and remedies. This document provides a broad strategic-level analysis and corresponding recommendations for action that can, and we believe should, be supported and implemented by U.S. and allied policymakers, African leaders, and key stakeholders....

November 2, 2010
Institute for Security Studies // L'Institut d'Etudes de Sécurité

Abstract:

This paper aims to appraise and map the security challenges that have faced West African countries since independence with a special focus on the period after 1990. It also assesses the efforts made by various national, regional, continental and extra-African actors and makes suggestions on how the shortcomings in these efforts could be improved. An effort is made to show the evolution of at least some of the challenges over the years, in the hope that this could contribute to a better formulation of policy responses.

The study is based on extensive review of existing literature, complemented by field research in the region undertaken in July and August 2010, in addition to general familiarity with the region from many previous research visits on related subjects.

Without neglecting other issues that could be considered as security threats, and without attempting any hierarchical ordering of these threats, the paper focuses on the following six major issues: i) armed conflict, ii) military coups and unconstitutional changes of government; iii) mismanagement of electoral processes; iv) transnational criminality, particularly drug trafficking, terrorism and maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea; v) poverty and illiteracy; vi) climate change and environmental degradation....

July 13, 2006
Project on International Courts and Tribunals // African International Courts and Tribunals

Abstract:

The Court of Justice of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS/CEEAC) is an institution that exists solely as a possibility on paper. ECCAS was founded upon the decision of the members of the Central African Customs and Economic Union (UDEAC) to form a larger community by merging with the Economic Community of the Great Lakes States and a few other states. The Community began to operate, with the appointment of a Secretariat in 1985.

September 23, 2011
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees // Policy Development and Evaluation Service

Abstract:

This paper discusses the situation of refugees from the Casamance region of southern Senegal who have crossed the border to settle in The Gambia as a result of the protracted, low level conflict and instability in their place of origin. The paper focuses on the interconnected issues of livelihoods, education and health for this group of refugees. The paper also focuses on the impact of donor assistance to date in this context and possible futures for assistance for Casamance refugees. By looking at these issues through the case of Casamance refugees in The Gambia, it is possible to draw lessons and develop strategies for other refugee populations in situations of protracted conflict....

July 26, 2011
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders // International Federation for Human Rights // SOS Torture Network

Abstract:

Following allegations of human rights violations against Gambian human rights defenders and a public statement made by President Jammeh in 2009 threatening to kill anyone who sought to sabotage and destabilise his Government, in particular human rights defenders and those who support them, the World Organisation Against Torture and the International Federation for Human Rights, in the framework of their joint programme, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, decided to send a fact-finding mission to The Gambia.

The objective of the mission, which took place from May 2 to 11, 2010, was to assess the situation of human rights defenders, by drawing a panorama of the main actors of the civil society operating in the country - both defenders of civil and political rights and economic social and cultural rights - and the risks they face in carrying out their activities. To that end, the mission was mandated to collect first hand information and testimonies on the working environment of Gambian human rights defenders including NGO members, trade-unionists and journalists as well as the effective enjoyment of their rights and notably their freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly, their rights to a fair trial and to an effective remedy....

July 8, 2011
Chatham House

Abstract:

I consider it a singular honour to have been invited today by Chatham House to address this august forum. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which I represent, is a regional organisation which has, over the years, gained your attention only for the unfortunate reasons of state implosion and instability caused by bad governance and marginalisation. I therefore welcome the opportunity to throw further light on its objectives, challenges, and achievements, which factors have effectively brought together fifteen West African states in the enterprise of improving upon the living standards of 230 million people as well as integrating them.

The term ‘Chatham House Rule’ is today an internationally-accepted cliché that this Institute has contributed to international diplomacy discourse, a reference norm in rigorous and policy-oriented exchanges on global peace and security. I therefore view your invitation to lead today’s discourse about ‘Democracy in the context of Regional Integration in West Africa’ as an unique honour for me personally, and a recognition of ECOWAS as a leading brand in regional integration.

Ladies and gentlemen, the evolution of ECOWAS can only be properly understood against the backdrop of the fascinating history and circumstances of West Africa since establishing contact with the world beyond its borders. The fact that slavery, colonialism, as well as racial and economic marginalisation, had left an intrinsic yearning for freedom, unity and solidarity among peoples of African descent everywhere defines its wish to integrate its states and peoples....

May 24, 2011
Security Council Report

Abstract:

This special research report provides an analysis of a set of new issues that have been emerging in the West African subregion and possible implications for the Security Council in the coming year(s). It identifies some key emerging threats to peace and security in the 16-state subregion and their linkages to existing security challenges. The report points to a key feature: the fact that some of the new threats are essentially criminal rather than political in nature. However, it explains also the growing political and security implications. The report also highlights action already taken by the Council to recognise these threats and considers options available to the Council to tackle these issues going forward.

The raw material for the study was derived from literature research; field research in a number of countries in the West African subregion (including Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria); and interviews in the region with diplomats, government officials and officials of relevant international intergovernmental bodies (e.g. UN Office in West Africa or UNOWA, UN Office for Drugs and Crime or UNODC, the Economic Community of West African States or ECOWAS and the AU), NGOs and academics....

November 2, 2010
Institute for Security Studies // L'Institut d'Etudes de Sécurité

Abstract:

This paper aims to appraise and map the security challenges that have faced West African countries since independence with a special focus on the period after 1990. It also assesses the efforts made by various national, regional, continental and extra-African actors and makes suggestions on how the shortcomings in these efforts could be improved. An effort is made to show the evolution of at least some of the challenges over the years, in the hope that this could contribute to a better formulation of policy responses.

The study is based on extensive review of existing literature, complemented by field research in the region undertaken in July and August 2010, in addition to general familiarity with the region from many previous research visits on related subjects.

Without neglecting other issues that could be considered as security threats, and without attempting any hierarchical ordering of these threats, the paper focuses on the following six major issues: i) armed conflict, ii) military coups and unconstitutional changes of government; iii) mismanagement of electoral processes; iv) transnational criminality, particularly drug trafficking, terrorism and maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea; v) poverty and illiteracy; vi) climate change and environmental degradation....

June 8, 2012
The Heritage Foudation

Abstract:

The Islamist insurgency in Russia’s Northern Caucasus threatens to turn the region into a haven for international terrorism and to destabilize the entire region, which is a critical hub of oil and gas pipelines located at Europe’s doorstep. Neither Russia’s excessive use of military force nor its massive economic aid to the region appear to have helped. The U.S. and its friends and allies should keep a close watch on the region. In the meantime, the U.S. should work with neighboring countries to improve their border security. The U.S. should also encourage and work with Middle Eastern countries to stop the flow of cash to the Islamist terrorist organizations....

June 4, 2012
Saferworld

Abstract:

Challenges of the Everyday is the third survey of community perceptions of security in Shida Kartli, a region adjacent to the Administrative Boundary Line [ABL] with South Ossetia / Tskhinvali Region which was at the centre of hostilities during the August 2008 conflict. The survey, based on quantitative and qualitative data gathered by the Caucasus Research Resource Centres [CRRC] in December 2011, provides locally-informed insights on the factors that undermine the security and livelihoods of these conflict-affected communities and examines locally-appropriate ways of responding to the causes of insecurity. The report compares research conducted in December 2010-January 2011 and July-August 201, allowing changes in perceptions over time to be tracked and analysed.

The research shows that, four years after the conflict, communities perceive greater stability and physical security, and a gradual return to normality in many aspects of their lives. Security incidents are ever more infrequent, and those that do occur tend to be less violent in nature. However, socio-economic issues are becoming more urgent and critical. Continuing efforts to ‘patrol’ and ‘protect’ the ill-defined ABL have an increasingly profound impact on communities whose livelihoods depend on traditional sources of resources such as water and firewood. These resources have become more scarce as the ABL ‘hardens’ and international humanitarian assistance ends, leading to increased competition for them and undermining the sustainability of the communities themselves. According to many survey respondents, if these socio-economic challenges are not addressed, they could lead to deterioration of the security situation and may become triggers for increased tension or violence.

The report demonstrates the need for a comprehensive or ‘holistic’ approach to economic and human security issues in the region which involves a wide range of local, regional and international actors who see economic security as essential to physical security and are willing to work together with communities to address their needs. If these needs are not addressed in a timely manner, there is the danger that scarce resources will lead to not only to worsening living conditions for the local communities, but also resolution of the problems themselves will become more difficult and lead to increased tensions and greater insecurity....

March 27, 2012
Center for Strategic and International Studies

Abstract:

Situated astride one of the world’s key strategic crossroads, the “Big Caucasus” is increasingly a region in flux. The August 2008 war among Georgia, Russia, and the separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia emphasized the fragility of the territorial status quo that took hold in the years immediately following the collapse of the USSR, but which has failed to establish legitimacy among either local populations or the international community. The 2008 war solidified the de facto separation between the Georgian state and its breakaway provinces and put Georgia’s NATO accession on indefinite hold—but did not resolve the underlying problems of sovereignty and security that led to the conflict. Similar problems abound across the Big Caucasus. An increasingly authoritarian Azeri government has staked much of its legitimacy on regaining Nagorno-Karabakh. While talks between Baku and Yerevan have made little progress, an arms buildup in the region continues, raising fears of renewed conflict. Meanwhile, Russia’s North Caucasus smolders. A nationalist insurgency that began in Chechnya in the early 1990s has spread to neighboring regions and taken on a harder jihadist edge, raising concerns about a possible al Qaeda presence and creating a direct threat to Western interests.

Even as the Big Caucasus itself becomes less stable, changes in the international environment surrounding it are also accelerating. Twenty years after the Soviet collapse, the three du jure states in the region—Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia—have established themselves as fully sovereign members of the international community, though their borders remain contested. Meanwhile, the August 2008 war witnessed the large-scale projection of Russian power beyond the borders of the Russian Federation for the first time since the Soviet collapse. Yet this dramatic reassertion of Russian power obscured the fact that Moscow’s influence in the Caucasus—North and South—is gradually eroding. The West, increasingly consumed with righting its own finances and retrenching its overseas commitments, is likewise seeing its influence over events in the Caucasus, never decisive to begin with, wane further. Nevertheless, Russia, the United States, and the European Union remain the region’s most significant partners in both the economic and security spheres. The ebbing of Russian and Western power has created opportunities for new actors to gain a foothold, drawn by the region’s strategic location and associated economic opportunities. In particular, Turkey, Iran, and—to a lesser degree—Ukraine are establishing themselves as players with a stake in the region’s future development....

March 21, 2012
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre // Norwegian Refugee Council

Abstract:

The government has made good progress in implementing its 2007 strategy for internally displaced people (IDPs). Since 2008, it has made significant efforts in building and refurbishing housing, and set standards to guide the implementation process with the international community. This has improved the living conditions of many IDPs.

This housing assistance has met several challenges, however. Some IDPs received substandard new or refurbished housing and are still waiting for property titles as agreed. Timelines for housing assistance are ambitious, and measures are often taken without due planning or communication with IDPs. The majority of IDPs are yet to receive a housing solution, which includes the most vulnerable IDPs who have not been prioritised for support as well as those who have returned to their damaged homes.

Greater attention to the creating of livelihood and job opportunities is needed for IDPs in their place of refuge and return. Without this, most IDPs continue to depend on state benefits as their main source of income. The government's action plan for IDP's includes measures for livelihoods and jobs, but this needs to be strengthened with accurate data and funding clarified....

January 12, 2012
Strategic Studies Institute

Abstract:

This monograph considers the recent history of organizational change in the Russian Airborne Forces (VDV). In particular, it looks at how the VDV has changed since the end of Russia’s conflict with Georgia in 2008. The VDV, a force much admired in Russian media and society has, in fact, escaped fairly lightly during the comprehensive reform of the Russian Army more generally over the last few years. In large part this has been down to the personality of the current head of the VDV, Lieutenant-General Vladimir Shamanov. Close to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Shamanov--a "maverick"--has used his political connections to help ward off many of the cuts and reforms that have impacted the rest of the Army. He has managed to keep the basic structure of the VDV intact, while also dealing with a number of problematic issues related to manning, equipment, and training regimes within his organization. This monograph goes on to point out the level of professionalism in the VDV that was demonstrated during the Georgian war. It also though, highlights the fact that, while some battalions within the VDV will be very effective and well trained, other battalions will not. Thus it is difficult to judge precisely how battle-ready the VDV’s divisions now are. Ultimately, this monograph seeks to establish just what sort of Russian airborne forces U.S. or NATO troops may one day have to either work alongside or, indeed, face in some sort of confrontation....

July 20, 2012
Berghof Foundation

Abstract:

The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development [BMZ] funded Sector Programme Peace and Security [SP-FuS/GIZ] commissioned Berghof Peace Support [BPS] to map the activities of German Development Cooperation [German DC] in support of peace negotiations and mediation. The purpose is to take stock of German DC experience in establishing negotiation support mechanisms, to reflect on mediation support experience at grass-roots, local and regional levels, both multi-sector and multi-track, to offer a mapping containing exemplary programmes and programme components based on defined criteria, and, finally, to generate recommendations for the German DC to engage more effectively in activities related to peace negotiation support.

This mapping paper argues that the German Development Cooperation - beyond its traditional roles of being engaged in the aftermath of war [i.e. humanitarian assistance, early recovery and post-war recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction] or in the early prevention of violent conflict - has much to contribute before, during and after peace negotiations. The support provided for peace negotiations has to have a longterm focus, incorporating the pre-negotiation and the post-negotiation phase, which in turn must be embedded in the broader peace architecture. A necessary prerequisite for such support services is the explicit commitment of the conflict actors....

June 19, 2012
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Abstract:

UNHCR's "Global Trends 2011" report details for the first time the extent of forced displacement from a string of major humanitarian crises that began in late 2010 in Côte d'Ivoire, and was quickly followed by others in Libya, Somalia, Sudan and elsewhere. In all, 4.3 million people were newly displaced, with a full 800,000 of these fleeing their countries and becoming refugees.

"2011 saw suffering on an epic scale. For so many lives to have been thrown into turmoil over so short a space of time means enormous personal cost for all who were affected," said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres. "We can be grateful only that the international system for protecting such people held firm for the most part and that borders stayed open. These are testing times."

Worldwide, 42.5 million people ended 2011 either as refugees (15.2 million), internally displaced (26.4 million) or in the process of seeking asylum (895,000). Despite the high number of new refugees, the overall figure was lower than the 2010 total of 43.7 million people, due mainly to the offsetting effect of large numbers of internally displaced people (IDPs) returning home: 3.2 million, the highest rate of returns of IDPs in more than a decade. Among refugees, and notwithstanding an increase in voluntary repatriation over 2010 levels, 2011 was the third lowest year for returns (532,000) in a decade.

Viewed on a 10-year basis, the report shows several worrying trends: One is that forced displacement is affecting larger numbers of people globally, with the annual level exceeding 42 million people for each of the last five years. Another is that a person who becomes a refugee is likely to remain as one for many years – often stuck in a camp or living precariously in an urban location. Of the 10.4 million refugees under UNHCR's mandate, almost three quarters (7.1 million) have been in exile for at least five years awaiting a solution....

December 8, 2011
Households in Conflict Network // Institute of Development Studies // University of Sussex

Abstract:

Cohesion is defined as the creation and maintenance of cooperative effort towards the attainment of the organization’s goals. This paper argues that existing theories of cohesion in the military are deficient. For most soldiers, patriotism and ideology play only a diffuse an indirect motivational role. Explanations based on selective incentives and primary group solidarity also suffer from theoretical and empirical inconsistencies. This paper maintains that the more individual soldiers self-identify as members of an armed organization over other putative identities, the greater will be organizational cohesion. While the military provides individuals with a sense of belonging to an entity greater than the face-to-face primary group, it also provides a means of status distinction within, as opposed to across communities. Three mechanisms by which organizational socialization is strengthened are identified: training, ritual, and collective burden sharing. Evidence from the U.S. Army in Vietnam and the Wehrmacht in the Second World War suggests that the latter may be especially significant. Soldiers kill and die, not for society as a whole, but for an imagined community of fellow warriors, an imaginary brotherhood....

November 16, 2011
Peace Research Institute Oslo // Centre for the Study of Civil War // Chr. Michelsen Institute

Abstract:

Germany’s engagement in Afghanistan post-9/11 is a milestone in German foreign policy. It is historically significant, as it marks the first deployment of German combat troops outside Europe since World War II. It has also heavily influenced public and scholarly debates about German foreign policy. In particular, the operation has called into question the popular notion that reunified Germany is exclusively a “civilian power”, whose foreign policy culture inhibits the offensive use of force. This notion was dramatically challenged in September 2009, when a German commander called in an US airstrike against Taliban insurgents near Kunduz that killed up to 142 people, most of them civilians.

Which factors have determined Germany’s Afghanistan policy and how can we explain its evolution over time? This study examines the nature and determinants of Germany’s engagement from 2001 to the present. It argues that neither a foreign policy culture of restraint, nor challenges posed by the operational environment in Afghanistan can sufficiently explain German policy. The paper advances a “two-level game” argument based on liberal-institutionalist approaches to foreign policy analysis: in brief, Germany’s Afghanistan policy is motivated by the need to simultaneously navigate international expectations and domestic pressures.

Firstly, Germany’s commitment is determined by shifting demands for engagement from the US and other major NATO countries. Germany has a strategic interest in meeting the demands of its major allies. As a middle power, Berlin depends on allied support for achieving objectives in international politics. Secondly, Germany’s approach to the mission in Afghanistan is shaped by the decreasing level of public support at home. As a result of these two, opposing forces, Berlin’s readiness to contribute resources and accept risks for German personnel has varied significantly since 2001.

This study proceeds as follows. The second section outlines three explanations for Germany’s Afghanistan policy: Firstly, German foreign policy elites’ belief in military restraint and civilian conflict resolution; secondly, policy adaptation to the operational environment in Afghanistan; and thirdly, the “two-level game” argument. Sections 3-6 below use these approaches to examine Germany’s Afghanistan policy in the decade from 2001 to 2011....

July 28, 2011
SaferWorld

Abstract:

Transnistria, a sliver of land on the east bank of the river Nistru, broke away from the rest of Moldova in 1990. Although there was fighting after that, there have been no fatalities since 1992. This is not really a conflict: it is a stand-off which benefits the business interests of those who are close to ruling elites, and suits some external players.

Transnistria has little prospect of being recognised, even by Russia. Meanwhile Moldova has little hope of eventual EU membership while the Transnistrian problem remains. To escape this stalemate, Moldova and Transnistria need to find a solution. Moldova needs to show Transnistrians that a resolution will be good for them, just as the EU works with Russia to show that a solution does not harm Russia.

This study is timely in that it comes at a moment when Moldova is reaffirming its EU perspective, while elections in Transnistria may also presage some change. The problem of Transnistria is now on the borders of the EU: Transnistria is the EU's problem. A German-EU initiative in 2010 sought to address the Transnistrian issue at a strategic level, engaging the key external player, Russia.

This study brought together focus groups of ordinary people both in Transnistria and in the rest of Moldova. It is the first such study. The focus groups provide non-elite input, important when some in the elite have a personal interest in maintaining the status quo. The focus group perspectives have been reinforced by interviews with politicians and experts in Chisinau, Tiraspol and Berlin. The study is in three sections: a conflict analysis, an examination of the players, and themes from the focus groups. At the end, the report provides detailed policy and programme recommendations to the European Union.

The People’s Peacemaking Perspectives project is a joint initiative implemented by Conciliation Resources and Saferworld and financed under the European Commission’s Instrument for Stability. The project provides European Union institutions with analysis and recommendations based on the opinions and experiences of local people in a range of countries and regions affected by fragility and violent conflict....

June 27, 2012
Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces

Abstract:

Though much have been conducted to examine the influences on public trust in the police in developed countries, little or no such studies have been conducted in developing countries, limiting what we know in those countries thereby creating a gap in the academic literature. To fill this gap, the present study examined factors that influence Ghanaians’ trust in their police. Using a representative field survey data collected in Summer, 2011 in Accra, Ghana, I found that fear of crime and satisfaction with the police are significant predictors of public trust in the Ghanaian police. Policy implications of the findings are discussed....

May 22, 2012
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Abstract:

This paper investigates the challenges of resolving the protracted Liberian refugee situation in Ghana. Despite the restored stability in Liberia and the unfavourable living conditions in exile, as of 2011, there were still about 11,000 Liberian refugees in the Buduburam refugee settlement in Ghana. For the last several years, the volume of humanitarian aid for this refugee population has been sharply dwindling whereas refugees' livelihoods have been constrained due to various impediments. Given the few benefits of remaining in Ghana as refugees, it is a conundrum for the UN refugee agency to understand why a consideration number of Liberian refugees have not returned to their country or origin....

April 5, 2012
Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre

Abstract:

The paper holds that West African security threats are very real, in terms of a recurrence or outbreak of a new conflict and the unconstitutional change of governments. One of these threats that remain salient and which has become topical under the rubric of mercenaries is the re-cycling of combatants from one civil war to the next and, thus, a prompt or an early and appropriate response to these destabilising activities, either by individual member states or within the ECOWAS sub-regional conflict framework would enhance both state and human security in the region....

April 5, 2012
Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre

Abstract:

The threats that confront border security exist since the creation of borders by the colonial imperial powers. Unlike the developing world, the institutions in the developed world mandated to monitor their borders are often times able to confront these threats. In most developing world as well as Ghana, adequate institutional capacity to enforce the rule at the borders is one of the main challenges that face border security. This paper has therefore examined the dynamics as it pertains to Ghana and has identified among others that the institutional challenges centre around lack of modern border infrastructure and facilities, capacity building of the agents directly involved in border security and those that lend support to apprehend and deal with suspects. Lack of public knowledge on border issues also compounds the problem. Regarding the drawbacks, the paper has suggested that the states commitment to ensuring effective border security must go beyond legislation and be exhibited in the provision of border infrastructure. Other actors involved in the security issues at the borders are also to contribute their quota to enhance the state of security at the borders....

December 7, 2011
International Development Law Organization (Organisation Internationale de Droit du Developpement) // Danish Institute for International Studies

Abstract:

Focusing on the role of non-state and customary actors in security and justice reform, this e-book engages with one of the most central debates in current international development intervention in fragile states. Its does so by questioning the key pillar of such interventions: state-building. Written by both practitioners and academics, the contributions suggest that international development programming should focus on "what works" and what is seen as legitimate justice and security by ordinary citizens, rather than on "what ought to be", based on Western normative frameworks. This means engaging with the variety of justice and security actors that already exist and are used by local citizens, rather than trying to build something entirely new. In the majority of contexts this implies a move away from the dominant state-centric approach, which focuses on building formal state institutions or on 'fixing' those that have failed.

The crux of the matter is that non-state actors, such as customary leaders, are the primary providers of justice and security in the Global South. They deal with an estimated 80 to 90 percent of disputes. This is an empirical reality that needs to be taken serious: even if state institutions did work as intended, they would unlikely fulfill the same justice needs as their non-state counterparts. A more pluralistic framework, which is both context-sensitive and evidence-based, is therefore a welcomed alternative to mainstream state-building.

Another key argument of the book is the need to bring politics into the center of program design and implementation. Not only are justice and security provision inherently political arenas where power, resources and rights are at stake, international agencies' engagement with them also have significant political implications.

The book includes a general Introduction written by DIIS researchers Peter Albrecht and Helene Maria Kyed, who provide an overview of how non-state actors have been integrated into development programs over the past 5-10 years, and give a number of recommendations for improving such engagements. These are based on insights from the 9 chapters of the book, which explore concrete programme experiences and/or suggest alternative approaches based on in-depth analysis of the justice and security landscapes in specific contexts. Six different countries are covered in the book: Afghanistan, Indonesia, Ghana, Nepal, Marshall Islands, and Pakistan. One chapter focuses specifically on women’s access to justice in fragile state contexts....

May 10, 2010
Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University

Abstract:

A key contention of the transitional justice movement is that the more comprehensive and vigorous the effort to bring justice to a departed authoritarian regime the better the democratizing outcome will be. This essay challenges this view with empirical evidence from the Iberian Peninsula. In Portugal, a sweeping policy of purges intended to cleanse the state and society of the authoritarian past nearly derailed the transition to democracy by descending into a veritable witch-hunt. In Spain, by contrast, letting bygones be bygones, became a foundation for democratic consolidation. These counter-intuitive examples suggest that there is no pre-ordained outcome to transitional justice, and that confronting an evil past is neither a requirement nor a pre-condition for democratization. This is primarily because the principal factors driving the impulse toward justice against the old regime are political rather than ethical or moral. In Portugal, the rise of transitional justice mirrored the anarchic politics of the revolution that lunched the transition to democracy. In Spain, the absence of transitional justice reflected the pragmatism of a democratic transition anchored on compromise and consensus....

June 8, 2006
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Abstract:

The human rights situation deteriorated in numerous former Soviet republics. Independent human rights monitoring groups, including several affiliates of the IHF, came under attack. The Russian Federation, Belarus, and the Central Asian regimes promulgated new legislation or changed their practices to allow these states arbitrarily to restrict the activities of nongovernmental organizations. The leaders of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee faced fabricated criminal charges, and in January 2006, state-controlled Russian media falsely implicated the Moscow Helsinki Group in espionage....

June 7, 2006
Council of Europe

Abstract:

The United States has progressively woven a clandestine "spider's web" of disappearances, secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers - spun with the collaboration or tolerance of Council of Europe member states, the Legal Affairs Committee of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) said today. In a draft resolution adopted at a meeting in Paris, based on a report by Dick Marty (Switzerland, ALDE), the committee said hundreds of persons had become entrapped in this web - in some cases when they were merely suspected of sympathising with a presumed terrorist organisation. The parliamentarians said this knowing collusion of member states took several different forms, including secretly detaining a person on European territory, capturing a person and handing them over to the US or permitting unlawful "renditions" through their airspace or across their territory. "It# has now been demonstrated incontestably, by numerous well-documented and convergent facts, that secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers involving European countries have taken place, such as to require in-depth inquiries and urgent responses by the executive and legislative branches of all the countries concerned," the committee said. The committee called on Council of Europe member states to review bilateral agreements signed with the United States, particularly those on the status of US forces stationed in Europe, to ensure they conformed fully to international human rights norms. The report is due for debate by the plenary Assembly - which brings together 630 parliamentarians from the 46 Council of Europe member states - in Strasbourg on 27 June 2006....

June 7, 2006
Council of Europe

Abstract:

The United States of America finds that neither the classic instruments of criminal law and procedure, nor the framework of the laws of war (including respect for the Geneva Conventions) has been apt to address the terrorist threat. As a result it has introduced new legal concepts, such as "enemy combatant" and "rendition", which were previously unheard of in international law and stand contrary to the basic legal principles that prevail on our continent. Thus, across the world, the United States has progressively woven a clandestine "spider's web" of disappearances, secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers, often encompassing countries notorious for their use of torture. Hundreds of persons have become entrapped in this web, in some cases merely suspected of sympathising with a presumed terrorist organisation....

October 5, 2004
British Broadcasting Corporation

Abstract:

The British overseas territory of Gibraltar, a limestone outcrop on the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula, occupies a commanding position at the western gateway to the Mediterranean Sea.

July 18, 2012
Human Rights Watch

Abstract:

The flare up of anti-immigrant violence was cause for serious concern. However, attacks against migrants and asylum seekers began well before May 2011 and have continued since with frightening regularity both in Athens and elsewhere in Greece. Migrants and asylum seekers spoke to Human Rights Watch of virtual no-go areas in Athens after dark because of fear of attacks by often black-clad groups of Greeks intent on violence. Yunus Mohammadi, the president of an association of Afghans in Greece, told us he started showing newer arrivals a map of Athens with a red line around areas they should avoid. “This is exactly what I used to do in Afghanistan with the Red Cross about places people shouldn’t go because of fighting,” Mohammadi said. “And here I am doing the same thing in a European country.” A country that prides itself on its hospitality, Greece has become over the past decade a decidedly inhospitable country for many foreigners. While tourists are welcome, migrants and asylum seekers face a hostile environment, where they may be subject to detention in inhuman and degrading conditions, risk destitution, and xenophobic violence.

This report is based on interviews Human Rights Watch conducted with 59 people who experienced or escaped a xenophobic incident, including 51 serious attacks, between August 2009 and May 2012. Victims of serious attacks included migrants and asylum seekers of nine different nationalities and two pregnant women. Patterns emerge from the victim testimonies: most of the attacks take place at night, on or near town squares; attackers, who include women, work in groups, and are often dressed in dark clothing with their faces obscured by cloth or helmets; bare-fisted attacks are not uncommon, but attackers also often wield clubs or beer bottles as weapons; most attacks are accompanied by insults and exhortations to leave Greece, and in some cases the attackers also rob victims....

July 3, 2012
Amnesty International

Abstract:

The new report, "Police Violence in Greece: Not Just 'Isolated Incidents'”, documents human rights violations committed by law enforcement officials and the inability or unwillingness of police and judicial authorities to bring those responsible to account.

The severe austerity measures introduced in the wake of the deepening economic crisis in Greece provoked many largely peaceful demonstrations.

Numerous allegations point to the use of excessive use of force, including the use of chemical irritants and stun grenades in a manner that violates international standards.

Demonstrators, especially those beaten or gassed by police often are unable to complain as in the haze of pain they cannot note the identification number of the offending officers displayed, if at all, on the back of helmets.

During arrest and detention demonstrators have been beaten and denied access to a doctor or lawyer.

This treatment is also experienced by people accused of membership of domestic armed groups and members of vulnerable groups, such as migrants and asylum seekers detained for migration purposes; and communities living on the margins of society including many Roma....

July 19, 2011
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

Normalisation between Greece and Turkey has come far since tensions in the Aegean Sea threatened war three times between the NATO allies. Trade, investments and mutual cooperation and tourism have taken off, sidelining issues like the Cyprus problem, which first stirred up the Aegean dispute in the early 1970s. Frequent bilateral talks and Turkey’s unofficial 2011 suspension of military over-flights of Greek islands suggest that the time may be ripe for a solution to that dispute. Turkey’s strong new government elected in June is interested in further asserting itself as a responsible regional power, solving problems in its neighbourhood and clearing obstacles to its European Union accession. With Athens in the midst of a financial crisis and needing any economic lift and increased security it can find, this unnecessary and still potentially dangerous conflict should be resolved. A good strategy would be a synchronised set of steps to prepare public opinion on both sides, leading to a bilateral agreement and including, if needed, eventual recourse to international adjudication....

April 27, 2011
International Peace Research Institute

Abstract:

The political transitions in Egypt and Tunisia have rekindled the interest in how states and societies have moved from authoritarian regimes to democracy after overthrowing old regimes. This report responds to that interest by providing a factual overview of transitions to democracy of nine European states between 1974 and 1991.

The states covered fall into two geographical regions: Southern Europe, and Central and Eastern Europe. The context of transition in each of these regions was different. The transitions in Southern Europe took place as mainly discrete events with little influence of one country over another. In contrast, there was a strong regional dynamic in Central and Eastern Europe, where all transitions were influenced by Gorbachev’s policies of perestroika and glasnost and the loosening of the Soviet Union’s grip on its satellite states....

April 27, 2011
European Centre for Minority Issues

Abstract:

Ban Ki Moon’s long awaited progress report on the negotiations in Cyprus did not come up with a final recommendation on how long the United Nations will be committed to engage in Cyprus. However, he warned that the UN would not continue indefinitely to spend efforts and money on a process that does not seem to render any progress. The underlying question is why so much time has been spent on a process that does not seem to be leading toward a successful conclusion.

In order to assess this question this ECMI Issue Brief #25 addresses a couple of interrelated questions, such as how a desired future solution should be devised for the respective communities. Is there a real desire to change the current political system on behalf of the Greek Cypriot community? Does the Turkish Cypriot community really wish to enter a multi-cultural political set-up in which it shall play a minority role albeit one that will include extensive participation rights? What are the interests of external actors, notably Turkey, the European Union and the United States of America? Finally, are there push factors that would make a solution possible or might there be an overarching interest that unites various actors in the secret desire to perpetuate the situation and preserve the so called “Cyprus Problem”?...

June 8, 2006
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Abstract:

The human rights situation deteriorated in numerous former Soviet republics. Independent human rights monitoring groups, including several affiliates of the IHF, came under attack. The Russian Federation, Belarus, and the Central Asian regimes promulgated new legislation or changed their practices to allow these states arbitrarily to restrict the activities of nongovernmental organizations. The leaders of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee faced fabricated criminal charges, and in January 2006, state-controlled Russian media falsely implicated the Moscow Helsinki Group in espionage....

June 7, 2006
Council of Europe

Abstract:

The United States has progressively woven a clandestine "spider's web" of disappearances, secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers - spun with the collaboration or tolerance of Council of Europe member states, the Legal Affairs Committee of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) said today. In a draft resolution adopted at a meeting in Paris, based on a report by Dick Marty (Switzerland, ALDE), the committee said hundreds of persons had become entrapped in this web - in some cases when they were merely suspected of sympathising with a presumed terrorist organisation. The parliamentarians said this knowing collusion of member states took several different forms, including secretly detaining a person on European territory, capturing a person and handing them over to the US or permitting unlawful "renditions" through their airspace or across their territory. "It# has now been demonstrated incontestably, by numerous well-documented and convergent facts, that secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers involving European countries have taken place, such as to require in-depth inquiries and urgent responses by the executive and legislative branches of all the countries concerned," the committee said. The committee called on Council of Europe member states to review bilateral agreements signed with the United States, particularly those on the status of US forces stationed in Europe, to ensure they conformed fully to international human rights norms. The report is due for debate by the plenary Assembly - which brings together 630 parliamentarians from the 46 Council of Europe member states - in Strasbourg on 27 June 2006....

June 7, 2006
Council of Europe

Abstract:

The United States of America finds that neither the classic instruments of criminal law and procedure, nor the framework of the laws of war (including respect for the Geneva Conventions) has been apt to address the terrorist threat. As a result it has introduced new legal concepts, such as "enemy combatant" and "rendition", which were previously unheard of in international law and stand contrary to the basic legal principles that prevail on our continent. Thus, across the world, the United States has progressively woven a clandestine "spider's web" of disappearances, secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers, often encompassing countries notorious for their use of torture. Hundreds of persons have become entrapped in this web, in some cases merely suspected of sympathising with a presumed terrorist organisation....

October 4, 2004
British Broadcasting Corporation

Abstract:

Greenland is the world's largest island. Formerly a province of Denmark, it gained the status of an autonomous Danish dependent territory with limited self-government as well as its own parliament in 1979.

February 3, 2009
Center for Strategic and International Studies // Human Rights and Security Initiative

Abstract:

Throughout the 1980s, the United States assisted the Salvadoran government in keeping the leftist FMLN insurgency under control. A U.S. military advisory group comprised primarily of Special Forces troops advised and trained the Salvadoran military to reach hearts and minds through civil defense and civic action campaigns. On October 12, 1983, militant Marxists carried out a violent coup against the moderate Marxist government. The United States resolved to rescue six hundred American medical students, restore popular government, and deny Cuba greater involvement in Grenada. There was no Civil Affairs planning prior to the invasion of Grenada, but the Civil Affairs teams that were deployed improvised with reasonable success. The U.S. military focused on rebuilding Grenadian infrastructure that had fallen into disrepair under the Bishop regime of 1979-1983. When General Manuel Noriega of Panama lost the 1989 election, he installed himself as head of government. Following the death of a U.S. marine, President George H.W. Bush ordered the invasion of Panama to protect U.S. interests and remove Noriega from power. Civil-military objectives in Panama were to support U.S. military forces in establishing law and order, to support to the new central government and city governments, to manage a refugee camp, and to assist in nation building programs. CA units successfully carried out several missions despite imperfections in civil-military planning....

September 16, 2008
En la Mira - The Latin American Small Arms Watch

Abstract:

Although all countries, in theory report their authorized transfers - and such information may even be available in certain public databases - the task of providing an overview of SALW transfers, their parts and munitions, is an arduous one. Nonetheless, despite the difficulties, we have some extremely positive initiatives on a global scale, such as for example, the Small Arms Survey, recognized as an important source of information, especially on SALW production and transfers, as well as the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers (NISAT) which has a database containing transfer records going back to 1962.Despite these important initiatives, themselves when researchers, activists and policy makers try to understand a regional market, such as Latin America and the Caribbean, they encounter a dearth of information. With the intent of addressing this shortcoming, En La Mira has, since 2007, dedicated an issue to transfers of SALWs, parts and ammunition in this region. Further, according to statistics from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN-Comtrade or Comtrade), USD 6.7 billion were exported between 2004 and 2006, while USD 6.5 billion were imported. Despite the fact that Latin America and the Caribbean represent 6% and 3%, respectively, of total transfers worldwide during this period, 42% of firearms related homicide is committed in the region. This discrepancy between the international transfer volume share and the levels of armsrelated violence in Latin America and the Caribbean calls attention to itself, above all because of the tragic and startling number of homicides. Obviously, far from wishing to increase arms transfers in order to be more in sync with homicide rates, we decided, a year ago, to study this issue and periodically monitor its development based on our interest in understanding the primary legal entry and exit routes of firearms and ammunition. The result is a report - based on customs information as stated by Latin American and Caribbean countries and their respective partners - whose objective is to describe the movement of the SALW imports and exports, as well as ammunition and parts, during the present decade. Based on this data, we answer the following questions: who exported and who imported? From whom? What? And when? It is worth restating that the intent of this report is not to explain the cause of arms imports and exports by Latin American countries. Beyond merely providing information, we do indeed wish to awaken, by means of the information presented here, the curiosity of other researches, activists and government staff members such that they may continue to perform research in their countries regarding the transparency of this information, on who is using the transferred SALW, and how. The data used for this report came from the NISAT database, which contains more than 800,000 entries for SALW transfers worldwide since 1962. The NISAT database gets its information from different sources, COMTRADE among them. In this study we decided to restrict ourselves to data from this latter source because, in theory, all countries report transfers to the UN. This data is declared in accordance with the Harmonized System (SH) merchandise classification system. The HS has existed since 1988and, in 2007, was revised for the fourth time; previous revisions were in 1992, 1996 and in 2002. Regarding the period analyzed, we are looking at data up until 2006, since at the time the study closed this was the most recent year available on NISAT....

February 24, 2006
U.S. Department of State

Abstract:

Grenada is a parliamentary democracy, governed by a prime minister, a cabinet, and a unicameral legislature, with a governor general as titular head of state. In November 2003, Prime Minister Keith Mitchell's New National Party (NNP) won 8 out of 15 parliamentary seats in generally free and fair elections. The judiciary is independent. The Royal Grenada Police Force is responsible for maintaining internal law and order and external security. Civilian authorities maintained effective control of the security forces. Some members of the security force committed occasional human rights abuses. Following Hurricane Ivan, the Regional Security Service (RSS) sent soldiers and police officers from other Caribbean nations to assist the police force with maintaining law and order. The RSS was present from September to December. ...

October 6, 2005
Globalsecurity.org

Abstract:

Grenada, one of the smallest independent nations in the Western Hemisphere and one of the southernmost Caribbean islands in the Windward chain, has an area of only 133 square miles. The population is 110,000. But size is not necessarily the determining factor when governments consider strategic military locations. The Cuban government knew the value of Grenada's location when it decided to utilize the former British colony as a holding place for arms and military equipment, complete with a major airport. Eastern Caribbean nations fully understood the implication of the communist threat and called upon the United States for help. The response was Urgent Fury, a multinational, multiservice effort....

September 16, 2008
En la Mira - The Latin American Small Arms Watch

Abstract:

Although all countries, in theory report their authorized transfers - and such information may even be available in certain public databases - the task of providing an overview of SALW transfers, their parts and munitions, is an arduous one. Nonetheless, despite the difficulties, we have some extremely positive initiatives on a global scale, such as for example, the Small Arms Survey, recognized as an important source of information, especially on SALW production and transfers, as well as the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers (NISAT) which has a database containing transfer records going back to 1962.Despite these important initiatives, themselves when researchers, activists and policy makers try to understand a regional market, such as Latin America and the Caribbean, they encounter a dearth of information. With the intent of addressing this shortcoming, En La Mira has, since 2007, dedicated an issue to transfers of SALWs, parts and ammunition in this region. Further, according to statistics from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN-Comtrade or Comtrade), USD 6.7 billion were exported between 2004 and 2006, while USD 6.5 billion were imported. Despite the fact that Latin America and the Caribbean represent 6% and 3%, respectively, of total transfers worldwide during this period, 42% of firearms related homicide is committed in the region. This discrepancy between the international transfer volume share and the levels of armsrelated violence in Latin America and the Caribbean calls attention to itself, above all because of the tragic and startling number of homicides. Obviously, far from wishing to increase arms transfers in order to be more in sync with homicide rates, we decided, a year ago, to study this issue and periodically monitor its development based on our interest in understanding the primary legal entry and exit routes of firearms and ammunition. The result is a report - based on customs information as stated by Latin American and Caribbean countries and their respective partners - whose objective is to describe the movement of the SALW imports and exports, as well as ammunition and parts, during the present decade. Based on this data, we answer the following questions: who exported and who imported? From whom? What? And when? It is worth restating that the intent of this report is not to explain the cause of arms imports and exports by Latin American countries. Beyond merely providing information, we do indeed wish to awaken, by means of the information presented here, the curiosity of other researches, activists and government staff members such that they may continue to perform research in their countries regarding the transparency of this information, on who is using the transferred SALW, and how. The data used for this report came from the NISAT database, which contains more than 800,000 entries for SALW transfers worldwide since 1962. The NISAT database gets its information from different sources, COMTRADE among them. In this study we decided to restrict ourselves to data from this latter source because, in theory, all countries report transfers to the UN. This data is declared in accordance with the Harmonized System (SH) merchandise classification system. The HS has existed since 1988and, in 2007, was revised for the fourth time; previous revisions were in 1992, 1996 and in 2002. Regarding the period analyzed, we are looking at data up until 2006, since at the time the study closed this was the most recent year available on NISAT....

May 4, 2005
Justixc3xa7a Global

Abstract:

A little over a year since international pressure and an armed rebellion forced the departure of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the collapse of his government, Haiti is at risk of becoming a permanent failed state. The presence of the United Nations ("UN") peacekeeping force, established 3 months after Aristide's controversial ouster, has done little to establish stability, protect the populace, or curb human rights violations. This report critiques the performance of that peacekeeping force, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti ("MINUSTAH"), by documenting its failure to effectuate not only the overriding spirit but even the plain terms of its mandate....

July 20, 2012
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

The 25,000 members of the National Civil Police (PNC) are on the front lines of Guatemala’s battle against crime. But all too often citizens distrust and fear the police – widely dismissed as inefficient, corrupt and abusive – as much as the criminals. Underfunded, poorly trained and often outgunned, they are frequently incapable or unwilling to confront criminals and gain the public trust needed to build a state based on rule of law. Drug traffickers, including Mexican cartels, move at will across porous borders, while criminal gangs dominate many urban areas. The government of President Otto Pérez Molina must reboot and revitalise police reform, as part of an overall effort to strengthen justice and law enforcement, with financial support from the U.S. and other countries interested in preventing Guatemala from becoming a haven for organised crime. Progress has been made, but achievements are fragile and easily reversed.

Since the 1996 peace accords that ended 36 years of armed conflict, donors have poured tens of millions of dollars into police and justice sector reform. But despite these efforts, Guatemala, with its neighbours in the Northern Triangle of Central America, remains one of the most violent countries in the world. Governments have repeatedly promised reform, including the Pérez administration that took office in January 2012. The new president, a retired general, campaigned on the promise that his government would combat crime with an “iron fist”. Since then, he has deployed troops to help patrol high-crime areas, reinforced the military in border regions to fight drug trafficking and declared a state of siege to quell a local protest. He has also promised to strengthen the police by adding thousands of recruits, while restarting stalled efforts to overhaul the institution. The question is whether his government will be able to muster the resources and will to bolster institutional reform or will rely primarily on militarised crime-fighting operations that provide short-term gains without solving long-term problems....

April 30, 2012
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Division of Reproductive Health // US Agency for International Development

Abstract:

This research brief is one in a series of related publications intended to contribute to understanding the complex dimensions of violence against women in three Central American countries: El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. This brief focuses on the prevalence of child sexual abuse among women, the perpetrators of that abuse, and the associations of child sexual abuse with two health outcomes:1] having a premarital pregnancy and; 2] being in a violent relationship later in life.

April 3, 2012
Council on Foreign Relations

Abstract:

Violent crime in Central America—particularly in the "northern triangle" of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala—is reaching breathtaking levels. Murder rates in the region are among the highest in the world. To a certain extent, Central America's predicament is one of geography—it is sandwiched between some of the world's largest drug producers in South America and the world's largest consumer of illegal drugs, the United States. The region is awash in weapons and gunmen, and high rates of poverty ensure substantial numbers of willing recruits for organized crime syndicates. Weak, underfunded, and sometimes corrupt governments struggle to keep up with the challenge. Though the United States has offered substantial aid to Central American efforts to address criminal violence, it also contributes to the problem through its high levels of drug consumption, relatively relaxed gun control laws, and deportation policies that have sent home more than a million illegal migrants with violent records.

In this Council Special Report, sponsored by the Center for Preventive Action, Michael Shifter assesses the causes and consequences of the violence faced by several Central American countries and examines the national, regional, and international efforts intended to curb its worst effects. Guatemala, for example, is still healing from a thirty-six-year civil war; guns and armed groups remain common. El Salvador's ironfisted response to widespread gang violence has transformed its prisons into overcrowded gang-recruiting centers while doing little to reduce crime. Even relatively wealthy countries like Costa Rica and Panama are threatened by poor police capacity and significant problems with smuggling and money laundering. Virtually all countries are further plagued by at least some level of public corruption.

Countering Criminal Violence in Central America provides important insights into the varied causes of criminal violence in the region. Its authoritative and nuanced analysis acknowledges the strengths and weaknesses of ongoing efforts to address the problem, and it offers thoughtful recommendations on how those efforts might be built on and improved. Despite the daunting complexity of the challenges underpinning the region's growing violence, this report successfully argues that this trend can—and should—be reversed....

April 2, 2012
Peace and Conflict Monitor // University for Peace

Abstract:

The high levels of violence in Central America are often experssed as gender-based violence against women. This article discusses the use of violence against women as a weapon of war, as well as its presistence long into times of "peace". By adressing the problems of femicide, domestic violence, and other forms of brutality directed at women and girls, we can also address the culture of violence more generally, in Guatemala, and beyond.

March 29, 2012
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency // Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation

Abstract:

This evaluation was commissioned jointly by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation [Norad] and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency [Sida] with the dual purpose of: [a] summarising results achieved in order to account for the efforts and resources invested by Norway and Sweden in development co-operation in support of child rights; and [b] contributing to continuous learning and development of policies, strategies and methods based on the lessons learned derived from the experiences of Norwegian aid authorities – including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs [MFA] and Norad – and Sida, in promoting child rights. The findings from four country case studies – Guatemala, Kenya, Mozambique and Sudan – underpin the conclusions and recommendations....

June 8, 2012
Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior

Abstract:

Consolidating the transitional process and improving resource exploitation in Guinea-Conakry would help to create stability and prosperity in the West Africa region. For the European Union [EU], this would mean enhanced conditions for trade and less incentive for illegal immigration into its member states. It would also enable the EU to gain broader security cooperation in the Sahel. So, redressing state fragility is a priority for external donors. In the aftermath of Guinea’s disputed 2010 elections, development partners hoped a successful democratic transition would improve resource management and secure peace and economic development. Democracy index Polity IV changed Guinea’s rating from 1 in 2009 to 6 in 2010, suggesting that the country would become a success story of a speedy and effective transition. This policy brief challenges this optimistic view and examines European policies in Guinea, a country that ranks 156th out of 169 in the UN Human Development Index. The EU is Guinea’s most important development partner – it spent €155 million on aid to the country in 2008. But it could improve its diplomatic influence. To counter state fragility, the EU must support institutions and not just rely on withholding aid. In this way, it can help to shape Guinea’s economic and security environment as the country takes its first steps towards a functioning democracy....

June 4, 2012
International Peace Institute

Abstract:

A large number of elections have been conducted in West African countries in recent years, and these elections provide insights into some of the strengths and weaknesses of the electoral process. Successful transfers of power in countries such as Senegal, Guinea, and Niger have resulted in significant progress toward peace and stability in the region.

However, the region has also seen election-related crises, and election-related violence remains a concern. Coups took place just before scheduled elections in Mali and Guinea-Bissau in March and April of 2012, in addition to earlier high-profile cases of election violence in Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria.

There is a consensus emerging that in African states with structural and institutional weaknesses, especially those emerging from years of conflict, increasing attention should be paid to creating conditions conducive to holding elections, and a regional conference was convened in May 2011 in Praia, Cape Verde to discuss elections and stability in the region.

This meeting note summarizes an IPI roundtable discussion following up on the Praia conference, organized in partnership with the UN Electoral Assistance Division (UN EAD). The report identifies a new paradigm for electoral assistance—one that integrates conflict-prevention strategies; gives increased attention to the political, not just technical, aspects of the electoral process; and views elections as one component of a longer-term commitment to building democracy....

April 24, 2012
University of Oslo // Centre for the Study of Civil War // Peace Research Institute Oslo

Abstract:

Transboundary rivers may contribute to increased hostility between riparians. This may contribute to increased hostility between riparians. This article accepts earlier arguments about water scarcity. Structural Scarcity occurs in river basins with unequal resource distribution, often created by geographic asymmetries. Hence, this article argues that the geographic asymmetries present in many river basins are key determinants of conflict risk among riparians. In a river basin the upstream state enjoys an inherent advantage and upstream river use is likely to produce unidirectional externalities that harm the states downstream. This in turn, is likely to produce grievances or claims downstream that may contribute to worsen overall state relations and consequently increase the risk of dyadic conflict....

March 6, 2012
Conciliation Resources // Saferworld

Abstract:

In West Africa, conflicts have often had a sub-regional impact or spilled over to neighbouring countries through ethnic relations, allegiances and economic interests across borders, movements of fighters between conflicts, or the mass influx of refugees fleeing violence.

Findings and recommendations in this brief aim to inform the EU's analysis and programming by presenting the reflections of local people and their state and non-state representatives on some of the key challenges facing countries in the region....

March 2, 2012
International Alert // Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research

Abstract:

The Niger River is the third longest river in Africa, flowing for 4,200 km from its source in the Guinea highlands, within the humid tropics, through Mali and Niger with their semi-arid Sahelian climates, to the Niger detla in Nigeria. The drainage basin covers a surface area of just over 2.2 million square km, extending into 10 countries. Seventy-six percent of the basin area is located within Mali, Niger and Nigeria. The Niger River and its tributaries are a key source of water for the estimated 100 million people living in the basin, especially for the drier regions within the western Sahel zone.

This report examines the links between environmental stress, climate change, human security, conflict and adaptation at different scales and localities along the Niger River. Despite a growing interest in the possible linkages between climate and conflict, limited evidence on these linkages exists, much of which is contradictory. The Niger Basin has experienced significant climate variability during the 20th century, making it suitable for studying the links between climate and conflict.

This report explores a number of issues. Firstly, it examines how climatic and environmental stresses influence water resources and human security in the Niger Basin. Secondly, the report examines whether climate stress on water resources increases the risk of conflict. Thirdly, it asks what types of adaptations, conflict resolution and governance mechanisms provide resilience to climate stresses and reduce the risk of conflict....

May 30, 2012
Portugese Institute of International Relations and Security

Abstract:

This paper asks whether the military coup in Guinea-Bissau has really failed. From a formal point of view, the answer is yes. There will be no Prime Minister or President chosen by the leaders of the coup, and the coup-appointed Transitional National Council will not see the light of the day. Thus, ECOWAS may continue to proudly reaffirm their fundamental principle of "Zero Tolerance" for unconstitutional power grabs. However, from a substantive point of view, the answer is less clear.

May 9, 2012
Global Observatory

Abstract:

On April 12, 2012, Guinea Bissau experienced another coup d’état, its second in two years. This came as part of a wave of coups and unconstitutional changes of government that rocked West Africa: Mauritania in August 2008, Guinea in December 2008, Guinea-Bissau in March 2009, and Niger in March 2010. The coup in Mali in March 2012 took the international community by surprise because Mali has been a model of democracy in the region with a continuous democracy for two decades.

In all of these coups and unconstitutional changes of government, the Economic Community of West African States swiftly condemned them and imposed sanctions [except in the case of Mauritania, which had pulled out of ECOWAS in December 2000]. Despite sanctions by ECOWAS, undemocratic changes of government in West Africa seems to be the norm rather than the exception. These events question the ability of ECOWAS to deal effectively with these complexities. Disaffections with the leadership style of ECOWAS has seen the move by a sub-regional organization, the West African Economic and Monetary Union, to create a security commission to deal with the security challenges facing the francophone countries. An analysis of this emerging issue is important because of its many negative implications for peace and stability in the region....

April 27, 2012
Integrated Regional Information Networks

Abstract:

Development, democracy and stability gains in Guinea-Bissau have suffered a major setback following the military takeover in Guinea-Bissau on 12 April. The UN Security Council has threatened sanctions; and the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries [CPLC] has proposed sending “peacekeepers” to the country.

On 12 April military leaders detained Prime Minister and presidential candidate Carols Gomes Jr and interim President Raimundo Pereira, going on to appoint failed presidential candidate Manuel Serifo Nhamajo as president of a proposed two-year transitional government in a move which the Economic Community of West African States [ECOWAS] deemed “illegal” and which has also been strongly condemned by the UN Security Council, European Union, African Union and CPLC. Since 1994 no elected president in Guinea-Bissau has finished his mandate....

April 5, 2012
Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre

Abstract:

Guinea-Bissau held presidential election on 19 June 2005 and a run-off on 24 July, after an 18-month transitional period. The transitional period followed decades of intermittent political instability since a violent independence struggle from Portugal in 1974, culminating in civil war in 1998-1999 and most recently in coups d'etat in September 2003 and October 2004.

The aim of this paper is to provide an account and analysis of the June and July 2005 presidential elections. the paper begins with a brief account of the peacebuilding process which culminated in Presidential elections. It covers the period from the September 2003 coup d'etat, the transitional arrangements, legislative elections, and the post-presidential election period. The background focus is on factors which may have been conducive to violence in the run-up to the presidential elections; whether or not the pre-conditions for staging free and fair elections were met; and why previous peacebuilding attempts have failed. This is followed by an overview of the candidates and their reactions to victory and defeat. The paper concludes by highlighting those issues, which if not properly tackled could result in the recurrence of violence and ruin any possibility of post-election stability....

April 4, 2012
Institute for Security Studies // Institut d'Etudes de Sécurité

Abstract:

Madagascar’s membership at the African Union is still suspended in the absence of significant progress on a number of key issues, including the enactment of amnesty legislation, which is critical for the full implementation of the Road Map to end the ongoing crisis. The country witnessed a military demonstration in March 2012 in which soldiers aired their grievances about poor living and working conditions. Many fear that dissension in army ranks can be a recipe for a mutiny. The analysis on the ongoing crisis in Madagascar shades light on regional and continental efforts to end the deadlock and proposes options to deal with the crisis.

For the second time in two years, Guinea-Bissau went to the polls on 18 March 2012 to elect a new president; because of the death of President Malam Bacai Sanha. The fragile balance that currently exists among major military and political conflicting interests and the power vacuum in the wake of the president’s demise could aggravate the power struggle among the political and security elite of this West African state. The analysis of Guinea-Bissau builds possible post elections scenarios and advances recommendations on how the AU might help prevent another crisis.

The tension between various tribal and regional groups and militias in Libya is rising at an alarming rate. Some reports claim that as many as 700 militia groups are present in Libya, which is yet to establish a strong and unified army and integrated security institutions. The NTC chairman, Mustafa Abul Jalil, has repeatedly warned of the possibility of a ‘civil war’ if these armed groups are not brought under control. The recent declaration by the eastern region of Cyrenaica, announcing the establishment of a regional council, working for self rule, has further escalated tensions between contending parties. The analysis about Libya examines the country’s internal dynamics in the light of rising regional tensions and suggests possible early response options by the AU to engage the contending parties in Libya....

March 30, 2012
Human Security Report Project

Abstract:

Human Security Research is a monthly compilation of significant new human security-related research published by academics, university research institutes, think-tanks, international agencies, and NGOs.

Articles in this issue:

MEDIATION: UN Mediation and the Politics of Transition after Constitutional Crises
LOCAL PROTECTION: Local to Global Protection in Myanmar (Burma), Sudan, South Sudan and Zimbabwe
POLICE REFORM: Policing in Palestine: Analyzing the EU Police Reform Mission in the West Bank
UGANDA: "The Dust Has Not Yet Settled": Victims' Views on the Right to Remedy and Reparation: A Report from the Greater North of Uganda
REBELS AND GOVERNANCE: The CNDD-FDD in Burundi: The Path from Armed to Political Struggle
NORTHERN IRELAND : Progressing Good Relations and Reconciliation in Post-Agreement Northern Ireland
HORN OF AFRICA: Impact of Conflict on Pastoral Communities' Resilience in the Horn of Africa: Case Studies From Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda
YEMEN: “No Safe Places”: Yemen’s Crackdown on Protests in Taizz
SOMALIA: The Kenyan Military Intervention in Somalia
CRIMINAL VIOLENCE: In Transit: Gangs and Criminal Networks in Guyana
DDR: Rumours of Peace, Whispers of War: Assessment of the Reintegration of Ex-Combatants into Civilian Life in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo
AFGHANISTAN: Fleeing War, Finding Misery: The Plight of the Internally Displaced in Afghanistan...

March 7, 2012
Small Arms Survey

Abstract:

Since 2000, Guyana has seen a rise in violent crime associated with gangs and organized crime syndicates, which have created drug and weapon problems in the country. Cocaine, trafficked from neighbouring Venezuela, is transited through Guyana en route to Europe and the United States. Gangs also utilize the country’s porous borders with Brazil, a major weapons manufacturer, to smuggle arms into Guyana and ship them to other countries in the Caribbean.

While one of the least developed countries in the Caribbean region, Guyana’s problems with armed violence are not as severe as many of its neighbours. In 2009 Guyana’s homicide rate was 15 deaths per 100,000, while Jamaica, for example, had a homicide rate of 62 deaths per 100,000. However, left unchecked Guyana’s situation has the potential to continue to worsen.

In Transit: Gangs and Criminal Networks in Guyana, a new Working Paper from the Small Arms Survey, examines the nature of Guyanese gangs and criminal networks and sheds light on some of their activities....

October 14, 2009
Partnership Africa Canada

Abstract:

By all indications, and from the evidence gathered for this year’s Diamonds and Human Security Annual Review, the Kimberley Process (KP), designed to halt and prevent the return of “conflict diamonds”, is failing. The cost of a collapse would be disastrous for an industry that benefits so many countries, and for the millions of people in developing countries who depend, directly and indirectly on it. A criminalized diamond economy would re-emerge and conflict diamonds could soon follow. The problems can and must be fixed. Accountability is the primary issue. There is no KP central authority. The “chair” rotates annually and has virtually no responsibility beyond a convening function. Problems are shifted from one “working group” to another; debates on vital issues extend for years. “Consensus” in the KP means that everyone must agree; a single dissenter can block forward movement. Nobody takes responsibility for action or inaction, failure or success; the Kimberley Process has no core body apart from its annual “plenary meeting” and thus nobody is held responsible for anything. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) has a peer review mechanism which reviews each member’s compliance roughly once every three years. Some reviews are thorough and recommendations are heeded. In many cases, however, recommendations are ignored, and there is little or no follow-up — this has been the case in the past with DRC and Angola. And, as this Annual Review notes, some reviews are completely bogus. In 2008, a bloated, nine-member team visited Guinea, a country beset by corruption, weak diamond controls, and almost certain smuggling. The team spent less than two hours outside the capital and its report remained unfinished for almost 11 months. A team visited Venezuela in 2008 but its makeup, agenda and itinerary were dictated entirely by the Venezuelan government. NGOs were barred and there were no visits to mining areas or border towns. Zimbabwe, rife with smuggling and gross diamond- related human rights abuse, consumed months of ineffectual internal KP debate. In the end, the KP agreed on a review mission, but only after being publicly shamed into action by NGO and media reports. The result is a lowest-common- denominator “consensus” and continuing inaction....

October 7, 2009
Small Arms Survey // Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva // Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Abstract:

The data in this report is derived from country submissions when possible, and estimates when necessary. Estimates are extrapolated from each country’s identified procurement, highest modern personnel totals, and strategic doctrine. Except where noted, the military small arms and light weapons data presented here is not official, comprehensive, or conclusive; it is for general evaluation and comparison only. The complete methodology used here is described in Chapter 2 of the Small Arms Survey 2006. Small arms are state-owned handguns, submachine guns, rifles, shotguns, and light and medium machine guns. Firearms are civilian-owned handguns, submachine guns, rifles, and shotguns. Long at the forefront of international small arms issues, public debate and activism in South America have largely focused on matters surrounding civilian firearms, estimated here to total between 21.7 and 26.8 million. The reasons for this civilian preoccupation are principally linked to chronic gun violence. South America has 14 per cent of the global population, and roughly 3.5 to 4 per cent of the world’s civilian firearms, but it suffers from roughly 40 per cent of all homicides committed with firearms. Military small arms are rarely part of public debate, largely because of a strong culture of national security secrecy in South America. But military small arms policy has attracted much closer scrutiny in recent years, especially as military small arms and light weapons are diverted to criminals and guerrillas, fuelling insurgencies and civil violence. This report focuses primarily on issues surrounding surplus military small arms and light weapons in the region. Law enforcement and civilian firearms inventories and issues are recognized here as well, to ensure a balanced overall perspective. The region’s military establishments do not have a strong record of identifying or eliminating their surplus small arms, light weapons, or ammunition. South America holds some of the world’s largest military small arms and light weapons surpluses. Military inventories are not exceptionally large in absolute terms, but they are a major element in global surplus problems. Among the 12 independent countries of South America, there are an estimated 3.6 million military small arms as of 2007, 1.5 per cent of the global total. Of these, approximately 1.3 million, more than one-third, are surplus....

October 29, 2008
Partnership Africa Canada // Global Witness

Abstract:

The illicit trade in rough diamonds is one of the greatest threats facing the Kimberley Process (KP) certification scheme. The KP was created to halt and prevent the trade in conflict diamonds that cost so many lives during the last two decades. At the end of the scheme’s fifth year, the trafficking of conflict and illicit stones is looking more like a dangerous rule than an exception. Partnership Africa Canada and Global Witness have long argued that the Kimberley Process should be more proactive in monitoring infringements, and tougher in curtailing this illicit trade. The situation today is getting worse. In Venezuela, rampant diamond smuggling continues while the government flouts the certification scheme. Despite a UN embargo on Ivorian conflict diamonds, stones are still mined in northern Côte d’Ivoire, smuggled into international trading centres and sold on to consumers. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono recently stated that over 10,000 people were visiting the border town of Mutare every month for illegal activities involving diamonds. Gono said that over 2,000 local syndicates were smuggling diamonds out of the country. This paper reviews the issues around illicit flows of rough diamonds, particularly in countries facing serious challenges in controlling the artisanal mining sector. We present the results of a survey assessing how participant countries are enforcing KP controls and monitoring the diamond industry, and we put forward specific recommendations for changing the way the KP is managed and implemented. We hope that the procrastination and denial that have gripped the Kimberley Process on these issues in recent years can be replaced at the forthcoming Plenary Meeting in New Delhi with a proactive and dedicated response to the problems....

July 16, 2012
The Centre for International Governance Innovation

Abstract:

Haiti, like many countries, relies heavily on private security companies to protect people and property. However, while the private security industry has a vital role to play in stabilizing the country, it has long functioned without effective government oversight. Haiti’s security sector reform [SSR] process has begun to address this shortcoming. The paper analyzes the current state of the private security industry in Haiti and the legal framework under which it operates, and makes recommendations for how a reformed legal and regulatory regime can guide the next phase of its development, based on interviews with owners and agents of private security companies, industry associations, senior Haitian police personnel, United Nations [UN] planners and parliamentary leaders. The paper concludes that genuine consultation and partnership between the government, industry and civil society is required, if SSR programs in Haiti and elsewhere are to successfully marshal private resources towards the public good....

July 6, 2012
The Stimson Center

Abstract:

Policy makers, practitioners, and experts alike have increasingly identified the protection of civilians as a priority for United Nations peacekeeping operations and as key to mission success. A 2009 independent study commissioned by the United Nations' Department of Peacekeeping Operations and Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs concluded that a failure to protect civilians can undermine the legitimacy and credibility of the mission, and in turn jeopardize the political processes that peacekeepers were originally deployed to support.

Policymakers and practitioners are keen to learn from past operations that faced protection crises. Saving Port-au-Prince: United Nations Efforts to Protect Civilians in Haiti in 2006-2007 explores the analysis, decisions, and actions of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti to protect civilians during this time period. It examines why MINUSTAH was relatively successful at protecting civilians; describes its shortcomings; and draws lessons for other contexts....

May 1, 2012
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Abstract:

In our world, disasters continue to disrupt and damage landscapes and human lives. Often in the aftermath, people unite spontaneously with compassion and generosity. Despite personal trials, people of all ages volunteer to help those who are ailing, communities come together and countless acts of remarkable humanity take place. Yet, as survivors regain their footing, seek shelter and livelihoods, and try to rebuild, they face many hurdles. Among these, but often unspoken and secret, is the devastation caused by the violence that can follow disasters. People’s safety and security become undermined not only by the disaster but also by violence in the forms of abuse, exploitation, harassment, discrimination and rejection from other survivors and those who are supposed to help. This report provides best practices to address violence during and after disasters and challenges us, as disaster responders, to respond to this problem in all of our work through early and proactive action, using a public health approach....

April 10, 2012
United States Institute of Peace

Abstract:

This report is based on the panel presentation and the views expressed at a public forum hosted by USIP’s Haiti Program on February 15, 2012 entitled “Justice for Haiti.” The panel included Ugo Solinas, senior political affairs officer in the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations; Joel Danies, deputy coordinator for Political Affairs & Office Director in the U.S. State Department Office of the Haiti Special Coordinator; Mark Schneider, vice president of International Crisis Group; and Vivienne O’Connor, senior program officer in USIP’s Rule of Law Center....

April 2, 2012
Humanitarian Practice Network

Abstract:

How can emergency response be delivered in a more conflict-sensitive manner? To what extent should this be a priority for the sector? What practical tools and approaches have aid agencies used to better understand their contexts of intervention and minimize conflict risks?

As these issues become increasingly prominent in regions of the world as diverse as the Horn of Africa, Afghanistan and Libya, this paper offers insights to these pressing questions.

Drawing on field research from Haiti, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, this paper maps the current state of conflict-sensitive practice in emergencies. It identifies good practices which can be built upon, key gaps, and points out practical ways to integrate conflict sensitivity more strategically across the emergency programme cycle.

One of the key conclusions from this study is that there are clear opportunities for synergy between conflict sensitivity integration and the emergency capacity-building initiatives currently ongoing within many agencies. Significant improvements can be achieved through relatively simple steps which complement existing tools, standards and efforts to improve programme quality. The paper suggests six minimum standards for conflict sensitive emergency response which, if applied, would not only help minimize harm and reduce conflict risks but also increase the overall effectiveness of humanitarian response....

June 8, 2006
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Abstract:

The human rights situation deteriorated in numerous former Soviet republics. Independent human rights monitoring groups, including several affiliates of the IHF, came under attack. The Russian Federation, Belarus, and the Central Asian regimes promulgated new legislation or changed their practices to allow these states arbitrarily to restrict the activities of nongovernmental organizations. The leaders of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee faced fabricated criminal charges, and in January 2006, state-controlled Russian media falsely implicated the Moscow Helsinki Group in espionage....

June 7, 2006
Council of Europe

Abstract:

The United States has progressively woven a clandestine "spider's web" of disappearances, secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers - spun with the collaboration or tolerance of Council of Europe member states, the Legal Affairs Committee of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) said today. In a draft resolution adopted at a meeting in Paris, based on a report by Dick Marty (Switzerland, ALDE), the committee said hundreds of persons had become entrapped in this web - in some cases when they were merely suspected of sympathising with a presumed terrorist organisation. The parliamentarians said this knowing collusion of member states took several different forms, including secretly detaining a person on European territory, capturing a person and handing them over to the US or permitting unlawful "renditions" through their airspace or across their territory. "It# has now been demonstrated incontestably, by numerous well-documented and convergent facts, that secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers involving European countries have taken place, such as to require in-depth inquiries and urgent responses by the executive and legislative branches of all the countries concerned," the committee said. The committee called on Council of Europe member states to review bilateral agreements signed with the United States, particularly those on the status of US forces stationed in Europe, to ensure they conformed fully to international human rights norms. The report is due for debate by the plenary Assembly - which brings together 630 parliamentarians from the 46 Council of Europe member states - in Strasbourg on 27 June 2006....

June 7, 2006
Council of Europe

Abstract:

The United States of America finds that neither the classic instruments of criminal law and procedure, nor the framework of the laws of war (including respect for the Geneva Conventions) has been apt to address the terrorist threat. As a result it has introduced new legal concepts, such as "enemy combatant" and "rendition", which were previously unheard of in international law and stand contrary to the basic legal principles that prevail on our continent. Thus, across the world, the United States has progressively woven a clandestine "spider's web" of disappearances, secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers, often encompassing countries notorious for their use of torture. Hundreds of persons have become entrapped in this web, in some cases merely suspected of sympathising with a presumed terrorist organisation....

May 1, 2012
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Abstract:

In our world, disasters continue to disrupt and damage landscapes and human lives. Often in the aftermath, people unite spontaneously with compassion and generosity. Despite personal trials, people of all ages volunteer to help those who are ailing, communities come together and countless acts of remarkable humanity take place. Yet, as survivors regain their footing, seek shelter and livelihoods, and try to rebuild, they face many hurdles. Among these, but often unspoken and secret, is the devastation caused by the violence that can follow disasters. People’s safety and security become undermined not only by the disaster but also by violence in the forms of abuse, exploitation, harassment, discrimination and rejection from other survivors and those who are supposed to help. This report provides best practices to address violence during and after disasters and challenges us, as disaster responders, to respond to this problem in all of our work through early and proactive action, using a public health approach....

April 30, 2012
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Division of Reproductive Health // US Agency for International Development

Abstract:

This research brief is one in a series of related publications intended to contribute to understanding the complex dimensions of violence against women in three Central American countries: El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. This brief focuses on the prevalence of child sexual abuse among women, the perpetrators of that abuse, and the associations of child sexual abuse with two health outcomes:1] having a premarital pregnancy and; 2] being in a violent relationship later in life.

June 2, 2011
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

Crisis Watch summarises briefly developments during the previous month in some 70 situations of current or potential conflict, listed alphabetically by region, providing references and links to more detailed information sources [all references mentioned are hyperlinked in the electronic version of this bulletin]; ƒƒassesses whether the overall situation in each case has, during the previous month, significantly deteriorated, significantly improved, or on balance remained more or less unchanged; ƒƒalerts readers to situations where, in the coming month, there is a particular risk of new or significantly escalated conflict, or a particular conflict resolution opportunity [noting that in some instances there may in fact be both]; and ƒƒsummarises Crisis Group’s reports and briefing papers that have been published in the last month.

Amid mounting tensions between North and South Sudan over the disputed border area of Abyei, clashes broke out between the two sides at the beginning of the month. Northern Sudanese forces invaded Abyei on 20 May and asserted control in breach of existing peace agreements. Tens of thousands are reported to have fled south. The attacks threaten renewed conflict and weaken confidence between North and South as critical post-referendum arrangements remain unresolved. Tensions also increased over military control and the presence of armed forces in the transitional areas of Blue Nile and South Kordofan, and CrisisWatch identifies a conflict risk alert for North Sudan for the coming month. Violence escalated further in Yemen, where military forces loyal to President Saleh battled on several fronts, renewing fears that the continued political stalemate could erupt into civil war.

President Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria continued to use troops and tanks to violently suppress the ongoing revolt, with hundreds of protesters feared killed, thousands detained, and widespread reports of torture.

In Pakistan, the U.S. killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad at the beginning of the month again raised questions about the military's possible involvement with jihadist groups.

Local elections in Albania on 8 May proved even more troubled than anticipated as the race for the Tirana mayor's seat ended deep within the margin of error.

In Guatemala, the Mexican Los Zetas cartel killed and decapitated 27 farm workers in the northern Petén department.

In Serbia, war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb military leader accused of commanding the Srebrenica massacre and the siege of Sarajevo during the 1992-95 Bosnian war, was arrested after 16 years on the run. He was extradited to The Hague, where he will stand trial for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity....

December 21, 2010
Human Rights Watch

Abstract:

The military coup d’etat that ousted President Manuel Zelaya on June 28, 2009—and the attacks on journalists, human rights defenders, and political activists in the coup’s aftermath—represent the most serious setbacks for human rights and the rule of law in Honduras since the height of political violence in the 1980s. After the coup, security forces committed serious human rights violations, killing some protesters, repeatedly using excessive force against demonstrators, and arbitrarily detaining thousands of coup opponents. The de facto government installed after the coup also adopted executive decrees that imposed unreasonable and illegitimate restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression and assembly. Since the inauguration of President Porfirio Lobo in January 2010, there have been new acts of violence and intimidation against journalists, human rights defenders, and political activists. This report documents 47 such cases, including 18 killings. While some of these attacks may be the result of common crime, available evidence—including explicit threats— suggest that many were politically motivated. This report documents the state's failure to ensure accountability for these abuses....

August 26, 2010
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars // Mexico Institute // University of San Diego // Trans-border Institute

Abstract:

While Mexico is having some limited success dealing with its spiraling conflict, vulnerable States in Central America are struggling to keep the organized criminal groups at bay, even while they face other challenges such as widespread gang activity. Problems are particularly acute in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, three States with vast coastlines, large ungoverned spaces and the greatest proximity to Mexico. However, geography is only part of the problem. Armed conflicts in Guatemala, El Salvador and parts of Honduras between 1960 and the mid-1990s laid the foundations for the weapons trafficking, money laundering and contraband traffic that we are witnessing today. This chapter is about drug trafficking organizations (DTO) operating in Central America. It is broken down by theme rather than by country. It provides a brief history of DTO activity in the region; descriptions of who operates the DTOs, both locally and internationally, and their modus operandi; the use of street gangs in DTO activities; DTO penetration in government and security forces; local, regional and international efforts and challenges as they try and combat DTOs. The chapter is centered on the three countries where the problem of DTOs appears to be the most acute: Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras....

August 26, 2008
Asian Development Bank Institute

Abstract:

This paper quantifies the impact of terrorism and conflicts on income per capita growth in Asia for 1970–2004. Our panel estimations show that transnational terrorist attacks had a significant growth-limiting effect. Transnational terrorism reduces growth by crowding in government expenditures. An internal conflict has the greatest growth concern, about twice that of transnational terrorism. For developing Asian countries, intrastate and interstate wars have a much greater impact than terrorism does on the crowding-in of government spending. Policy recommendations indicate the need for rich Asian countries to assist their poorer neighbors in coping with the negative growth consequences of political violence. Failure to assist may result in region-wide repercussions. Conflict and terrorism in one country can create production bottlenecks with region-wide economic consequences. International and nongovernmental organizations as well as developed Western countries and regions could assist at-risk Asian countries with attack prevention and post-attack recovery. This study has six purposes. First, and foremost, we present panel estimates for a sample of 42 Asian countries to quantify the impact of terrorism and conflicts on income per capita growth for 1970–2004. Panel estimation methods control for country-specific and timespecific unobserved heterogeneity. Second, we distinguish the influence of terrorism on economic growth from that of internal and external conflicts. Third, these influences are investigated for cohorts of developed and developing countries to ascertain whether development can better allow a country to absorb the impact of political violence. Fourth, econometric estimations relate violence-induced growth reductions to two pathways— reduced investment and increased government expenditures. Fifth, a host of diagnostic and sensitivity tests to support our empirical specifications. Last, we draw some policy conclusions....

January 15, 2008
Congressional Research Service

Abstract:

The prospects for democratization in Hong Kong became clearer following a decision of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress (NPCSC) on December 29, 2007. The NPCSC’s decision effectively set the year 2017 as the earliest date for the direct election of Hong Kong’s Chief Executive and the year 2020 as the earliest date for the direct election of all members of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council (Legco). However, ambiguities in the language used by the NPCSC have contributed to differences in interpretation of its decision. According to Hong Kong’s current Chief Executive, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, the decision sets a clear timetable for democracy in Hong Kong. However, representatives of Hong Kong’s “prodemocracy” parties believe the decision includes no solid commitment to democratization in Hong Kong. The NPCSC’s decision also established some guidelines for the process of election reform in Hong Kong, including what can and cannot be altered in the 2012 elections....

August 28, 2006
Government of the United Kingdom // House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee

Abstract:

This British House of Commons paper reports on trade, security, politics and governance in East Asia with specific reference to the rise of China as the dominant regional power.

June 15, 2006
Humantrafficking.org

Abstract:

Hong Kong is a transit and destination territory for men and women trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor from People's Republic of China and Southeast Asia. Traffickers have used forged or illegally obtained travel documents to attempt to smuggle persons through the Hong Kong airport. During the first half of 2004, authorities intercepted 1,288 forged travel documents and arrested 12 persons for related offenses. Hong Kong authorities have improved their ability to identify possible trafficking victims among the large numbers of illegal immigrants, although, it is difficult to do so....

April 11, 2005
Council on Foreign Relations

Abstract:

What's the source of current tensions between Beijing and democracy activists in Hong Kong? Hong Kong democracy advocates have been lobbying Beijing to allow greater political freedom, in line with promises China made when it took control of Hong Kong in 1997 after more than 150 years of British colonial rule. Chinese officials have resisted the appeals and instead have asserted even greater control over Hong Kong's political system. The activists hoped a rally marking the seventh anniversary of Hong Kong's handover on July 1 would pressure Beijing to yield more rights, but most experts say there is little chance of that happening....

July 20, 2012
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect

Abstract:

Provides background on populations at risk of mass atrocity crimes, with particular emphasis on key events and actors and their connection to the threat, or commission, of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

Offers analysis of the country’s past history in relation to mass atrocity crimes; the factors that have enabled their possible commission, or that prevent their resolution; and the receptivity of the situation to positive influences that would assist in preventing further crimes....

July 20, 2012
Peace and Conflict Monitor // University for Peace

Abstract:

Somalia Special Envoy Abukar Arman reports on public perceptions of government in Somalia, the many challenges facing the states and communities in the region, and the threat of violence emanating from the fault lines of religion, ethnicity, economics, and nationalism.

July 18, 2012
African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes

Abstract:

Contemporary Africa is faced with the reality of numerous evolving states that have to grapple with the inevitability of conflict. On their own, the fledgling institutions in these states cannot cope with the huge demands unleashed by everyday conflict. It is within this context that the complementarity between traditional institutions and the modern state becomes not only observable but also imperative.

Includes:
"Conflict resolution under the Ekika system of the Baganda in Uganda" by Ashad Sentongo and Andrea Bartoli
"Local conflict resolution in Rwanda: The case of abunzi mediators" br Martha Mutisi
"Traditional authority and modern hegemony: Peacemaking in the Afar region of Ethiopia" by Kwesi Sansculotte-Greenidge and Demessie Fantaye
"From war to peace and reconciliation in Darfur, Sudan: Prospects for the Judiyya" by Abdullahi Osman El-Tom
"Customary mediation in resource scarcities and conflicts in Sudan: Making a case for the Judiyya" by Salomé Bronkhorst...

July 18, 2012
Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre

Abstract:

The Somali state has long been a byword for statelessness and extreme insecurity. However, eight years of transitional rule are set to end in 2012, and expectations are rising that continued military-led stabilisation, changing regional security dynamics and efforts to rebuild the Somalia state might soon enable the country to declare an end to two decades of civil war.

This report places the emerging characteristics of security and governance in Somalia in a regional context marked by secessionism, and by the aspirations to power and economic growth of Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya. While acknowledging that the worst of the country’s internal conflict may shortly be over, particularly in the form of the Islamist armed rebellion of Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahedin, the report warns that continued political schisms, uneven economic growth, extremely weak state capacity and repeated meddling by neighbours mean that Somalia will endure conditions of low-level insecurity over the next five years.

The report foresees that a federal state arrangement, which is supported by much of the international community, may be supplanted by a more centralised state that is able to secure clients across the Somali clan structure. It also warns of the stark risks to normalisation posed by the operations of security services trained in the conditions of war....

June 21, 2012
Chatham House

Abstract:

Indications are that, with continued international support and pressure, Somalia's Transition Roadmap will continue towards its goal of handing over to a caretaker administration on 20 August, 2012.

As such, Somalia's international partners should focus in the next few months on how to transform the momentum injected into the Roadmap process into policy attention and diplomatic support, or pressure, needed to see the caretaker administration develop into more of a government. A more functional government would focus on the provision of services beyond the attention already paid to the security sector.

The end of the Roadmap will not signal an end to Somalia's transition. The new administration will face many of the same challenges threatening the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), and some others generated by the Roadmap process itself. However some progress has been made in Mogadishu, and Somalis – especially in civil society and the private sector – are in a position to build upon that base. Constructive international engagement could support that process....

April 24, 2012
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Abstract:

This is a summary of what was said by the UNHCR spokesperson at today’s Palais des Nations press briefing in Geneva. Further information can be found on the UNHCR websites, www.unhcr.org and www.unhcr.fr, which should also be checked for regular media updates on non-briefing days. UNHCR paper urges Hungary to improve treatment of asylum seekers.

The paper, 'Observations on the situation of asylum-seekers and refugees in Hungary', is an assessment of the environment for those seeking international protection. Hungary was the first country in the region to ratify the Refugee Convention after the downfall of communism and hosted tens of thousands of refugees amid the breakup of Yugoslavia in and after the 1990s.

Since 2010, new laws and policies have come into effect whereby the human rights and protection needs of asylum-seekers have been overshadowed by law enforcement objectives in the fight against illegal migration. Key concerns include the increasingly systematic detention of visa-less asylum-seekers in harsh prison-like conditions. Illegal migrants and people exercising their human right to seek asylum are locked up together, without differentiation between the two groups. Typically, an asylum-seeker will be detained for the full 4-5 months of their in-merits procedure and spend much of the day locked in their rooms. The new laws also provide for the detention of families with children for up to 30 days, contrary to international standards, and for administrative detention up to one year.

When taken to court for hearings or to a doctor outside the detention facilities, asylum-seekers are handcuffed and escorted on leashes - measures normally used for the accused in criminal proceedings. Complaints from asylum-seekers speak of verbal and physical abuse by guards, and the systematic prescription of tranquilizers for stress, which has in some cases led to addiction.

Asylum-seekers also face increasing hurdles accessing the asylum procedure in Hungary. Asylum-seekers are routinely deported to Serbia, which Hungary, incorrectly in UNHCRs view, regards as a safe third country, and are at risk of chain deportation to various countries without adequate asylum systems in place, including Macedonia and Greece. In 2011, more than 450 asylum-seekers were deported to Serbia by Hungary without being admitted to the in-merits procedure. In our view, this poses a risk of chain refoulement to a country where people fled danger or persecution, and risks breaching Hungary's obligations under the Refugee Convention.

Access to a full and fair asylum procedure is becoming increasingly problematic for those returned to Hungary under Dublin II arrangements. These people are not automatically considered as asylum-seekers and must reapply with what are considered subsequent applications. This means asylum-seekers transferred to Hungary under Dublin II are generally not protected against expulsion orders to third countries, even if the merits of their claims have not yet been examined. Therefore, they may not have access to protection, despite EU directives which stipulate that asylum-seekers should be taken back by th e responsible EU country to complete the examination of their asylum claims.

These measures are taking place against a backdrop of dramatically decreasing asylum claims in Hungary, a situation which might otherwise provide an opportunity for improved protection standards. In 2011, some 1,700 claims were made - 20 per cent fewer than in 2010, which were in turn 50 per cent lower than the previous year and included repeat applications by those returned under Dublin procedures.

While we recognize that refugees travel alongside illegal migrants and that combating illegal migration is a valid concern for states, the pre-occupation with the fight against illegal migration in the context of asylum has made the Hungarian system increasingly restrictive. It is causing severe hardships and additional suffering for people who are searching for a safe haven. It also makes it difficult for Hungary to fulfill its obligations under international and national laws to protect the human rights of men, women and children who have fled danger and are in search of solutions to their plight.

While UNHCR welcomes recent steps by Hungary to improve the situation, including the provision of internet in detention provided by NGOs with EU funds, and steps by the police to improve the complaints procedure in detention and investigate instances of brutality, urgent steps are required to bring the protection environment into line with international standards. The solution requires more than merely improved conditions of detention. UNHCR is urging wider changes to current policies which see the indiscriminate detention of asylum-seekers. Instead, people should be able to come forward and make their claims for asylum in a positive environment, without being discouraged, intimidated, treated like criminals and facing the severe stress of detention....

June 7, 2011
Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces

Abstract:

The Examples from the Ground are concrete illustrations of ways in which a gender perspective has been integrated in different security sector institutions around the world. They range from measures to counter human trafficking in Kosovo, to women’s organisations’ involvement with security institutions in Nepal, to female parliamentarians’ contribution to post-conflict reconstruction in Rwanda. These examples can help policymakers, trainers and educators better understand and demonstrate the linkages between gender and SSR.

The examples are organised around the following nine themes, for which a short introduction is provided:

• Police Reform and Gender
• Defence Reform and Gender
• Justice Reform and Gender
• Penal Reform and Gender
• Border Management and Gender
• Parliamentary Oversight of the Security Sector and Gender
• National Security Policy-Making and Gender
• Civil Society Oversight of the Security Sector and Gender
• SSR Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation and Gender

Individual examples can also be downloaded individually, in English or in French, at:
http://gssrtraining.ch/index.php?option=com_content&view;=article&id;=4&Itemid;=131⟨=en...

April 27, 2011
International Peace Research Institute

Abstract:

The political transitions in Egypt and Tunisia have rekindled the interest in how states and societies have moved from authoritarian regimes to democracy after overthrowing old regimes. This report responds to that interest by providing a factual overview of transitions to democracy of nine European states between 1974 and 1991.

The states covered fall into two geographical regions: Southern Europe, and Central and Eastern Europe. The context of transition in each of these regions was different. The transitions in Southern Europe took place as mainly discrete events with little influence of one country over another. In contrast, there was a strong regional dynamic in Central and Eastern Europe, where all transitions were influenced by Gorbachev’s policies of perestroika and glasnost and the loosening of the Soviet Union’s grip on its satellite states....

November 10, 2010
Amnesty International

Abstract:

Since 2008 Amnesty International has received reports of a number of violent attacks against Roma and their properties in Hungary. These reports described, among others, a series of nine attacks against members of the Romani communities across Hungary which occurred in 2008 and 2009 and which claimed six lives. The Hungarian authorities have a duty to prevent discrimination and ensure redress for victims of hate crimes. Amnesty International’s research into some of the nine attacks and other reported incidents indicates that the Hungarian authorities failed to identify and respond effectively to violence against Roma in Hungary, including by not investigating possible racial motivation. This report details the shortcomings in the responses of Hungarian criminal justice system in relation to hate crimes. Although there are existing provisions to combat hate crimes they are not being properly implemented, including because the police lack capacity to recognize and investigate hate crimes and lack training to enhance such capacity. There are no guidelines for police offices on how to investigate hate crimes and how to treat alleged victims – and neither are there guidelines for prosecutors on how to oversee these investigations. The assistance and support provided by the state for victims of hate crimes are also inadequate. In terms of prevention the authorities lack effective measures to map the nature and scale of the issue, including because they do not collect disaggregated data on hate crimes, thereby hampering their ability to identify trends and craft relevant policy responses. The report concludes with recommendations to the authorities to ensure that effective and human rights compliant measures are taken to prevent racially motivated attacks in Hungary in the future and that any such incidents are promptly, independently, impartially and thoroughly investigated; those responsible for criminal conduct are brought to justice in fair proceedings; and the victims are treated with dignity and receive adequate reparation, in a manner that is consistent with the authorities’ obligations under international human rights law....

May 8, 2009
Freedom House // United Nations Watch

Abstract:

On May 12, 2009, the UN General Assembly will elect 18 new Human Rights Council members. Twenty countries are candidates. However, each is not competing against all of the others, but rather only against the ones from the same UN regional group. In this year’s election, all but two regional groups have submitted the same amount of candidates as available seats. The Asian Group has 5 countries vying for 5 available seats, the Latin American and Caribbean Group (―GRULAC‖) has 3 countries vying for 3 available seats, and the Western European and Others Group (―WEOG‖) has 3 countries vying for 3 available seats. This does not mean that the candidate countries for these groups will automatically be elected; in order to become a Council member, a country must receive the votes of at least 97 of the 192 General Assembly member states (an absolute majority). Competition between the candidates exists only in the African Group, where 6 countries are vying for 5 available seats, and in the Eastern European Group, where 3 countries are vying for 2 available seats....

March 17, 2009
Chr. Michelsen Institute // Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation

Abstract:

The meeting of the Nordic Foreign Ministers in Stockholm on 18 April 2008 adopted a Plan of Action for Nordic Cooperation in Afghanistan to enable them to be a more concerned partner for the Government of Afghanistan (GoA) and the international community. The countries indicated that a joint study should be undertaken to identify differences and similarities in development strategies for Afghanistan, and the possibilities to strengthen this cooperation over time. The overall aim of an increased cooperation in the development field is to achieve a stronger impact in sectors of particular importance to the Nordic countries. A more efficient organisation of development work should ease the workload for each country. Furthermore, a strengthened Nordic cooperation would enhance cooperation among donors in general, and strengthen the role of the Afghan government in taking overall responsibility for the development of Afghanistan. The Nordic countries identified the following sectors as possible fields of increased cooperation: good governance; administrative reform; capacity building; education; respect for human rights, with a particular focus on women; justice sector; fight against drugs....

September 5, 2008
Congressional Research Service

Abstract:

U.S. policymakers have made securing and maintaining foreign contributions to the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq a major priority since the preparation period for the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. This report highlights and discusses important changes in financial and personnel contributions from foreign governments to Iraq since 2003. To date, foreign donors have pledged an estimated $16.4 billion in grants and loans for Iraq reconstruction, with most major pledges originating at a major donors' conference in Madrid, Spain, in October 2003. However, only a small part of the pledges have been committed or disbursed to the World Bank and United Nations Development Group Trust Funds for Iraq. The largest non-U.S. pledges of grants have come from Japan, the European Commission, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates. The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, Japan, and Saudi Arabia have pledged the most loans and export credits. Currently, 33 countries including the United States have some level of troops on the ground in Iraq or supporting Iraq operations from nearby locations. Those forces are working under the rubric of one of several organizations — the Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I), the NATO Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I); or the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). Currently, the largest troop contributors, in addition to the United States, are the United Kingdom, Georgia, Australia, South Korea, and Poland. Some of these key contributors have announced their intention to reduce or withdraw their forces from Iraq during 2008. The total number of non-U.S. coalition troop contributions has declined since the early stabilization efforts, as other countries have withdrawn their contingents or substantially reduced their size....

March 31, 2008
Foreign Policy

Abstract:

Thousands of international troops remain in Afghanistan, but some members of this coalition are more willing than others. FP looks at whose militaries are pulling their weight—and who could do far more.

January 7, 2008
Centre for European Reform

Abstract:

President Sarkozy has recently said that France may re-integrate into NATO's military command. This abrupt change in French policy opens doors to a much-needed improvement in EU-NATO relations. The two institutions have been barely co-operating on important missions like Kosovo, which leaves Europe ill-prepared for security challenges on its borders. But for the EU and NATO to really turn a corner, the UK must first agree with France how independent from the US, Europe's defences should become. The US will need to give France command posts in NATO, and Turkey will have to drop its opposition to Cyprus' co-operation with the alliance....

May 14, 2007
Government Accountability Office

Abstract:

In March 2003, a U.S.-led multinational force began operations in Iraq. At that time, 48 nations, identified as a "coalition of the willing," offered political, military, and financial support for U.S. efforts in Iraq, with 38 nations other than the United States providing troops. In addition, international donors met in Madrid in October 2003 to pledge funding for the reconstru#ction of Iraq's infrastructure, which had deteriorated after multiple wars and decades of neglect under the previous regime. This testimony discusses (1) the troop commitments other countries have made to operations in Iraq, (2) the funding the United States has provided to support other countries' participation in the multinational force, and (3) the financial support international donors have provided to Iraq reconstruction efforts....

July 20, 2012
Small Wars Journal

Abstract:

India is one of the most important supporters of UN-led peacekeeping operations [UNPKOs]. Over 100,000 Indian military and police personnel have rotated through service in 40 of the UN’s 65 peacekeeping missions and in April 2012, 8,133 Indian peacekeepers were serving in 9 separate UNPKOs across the globe. From the first days of UN peacekeeping, India has been an eager and prized contributor to help tackle the world’s second-order international security issues; for its early expeditionary capabilities to rapidly deploy competent forces abroad – a legacy of its colonial past – as well as generally being seen outside South Asia as a non-threatening nation. Today, the foundational premise for Indian involvement is changing. As India’s ambitions and might grow, sentimental legacy attachments to the UN and to UNPKOs are eroding in favor of more hard-headed assessments of the costs of participating in today’s complex operations relative to their tangible benefits to the Indian strategic interest....

July 16, 2012
Center for Strategic and International Studies

Abstract:

Religious institutions and leaders are critically important in many conflict and post-conflict cases, and religious values often motivate either violence or peacebuilding. This report, part of an ongoing research effort to assess what is substantively distinctive about religion and the roles it can play in conflict, explores the ways that religion has been a factor in militant groups’ approaches to gaining support in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Religion is a relevant factor in key ways that these groups build support, including their relations with the state, service provision, kinship and patronage networks, and diaspora outreach. The roles religion plays in these categories are complicated and not always intuitive. Militant groups must find ways to limit central government pressures on their activities, including religious ones. These same groups can risk alienating local populations when they pair strong ideological or religious stances with service provision, or operate through patronage networks that are too rigid or not sufficiently inclusive. And global religious networks can inspire diaspora communities to pursue violent activity against their adopted governments. In South Asia, these groups’ activities matter because they threaten the ability of states to maintain peace and stability internally and complicate relations between already tense neighbors. Such instability has grave implications for U.S. national security....

July 13, 2012
Observer Research Foundation // Saferworld

Abstract:

It is an absurd and deadly reality that there are currently global rules governing the trade of fruit and dinosaur bones, but not ones for the trade of guns and tanks. A global Arms Trade Treaty [ATT] would help to prevent irresponsible arms transfers that fuel and sustain conflict, destroy lives and undermine development.

As states at the United Nations convene this month to negotiate just such a treaty this issue brief sets out the evolution of the ATT by exploring the major historical developments leading up to the negotiations in the United Nations.

The paper then goes on to assess the Indian position on the ATT and its content by studying the statements made by the government of India in the UN during the various occasions where the ATT was discussed and debated. It explores India’s position on key issues such as scope, universal acceptance, self defence, implementation and record keeping....

June 26, 2012
Institute of South Asian Studies

Abstract:

There is one thing whose movement is slower than a glacier, and that is the India-Pakistan peace process. The Siachen issue is a case in point. It is a 70-km long glacier, where Indian and Pakistani armies confront each other eye-ball to eye-ball. At 20,000 ft above sea level it is said to be the highest battleground in the world. There have been occasional military flare-ups since 1984, though a ceasefire of sorts has been in operation since 2004. It has been costly in terms of lives. Two thousand soldiers have perished, not so many from shots fired in anger, but much more from the inhospitable climate. Some weeks ago, an avalanche killed 139 Pakistanis. That led to a statement by the Pakistani Army Chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, in which he underscored the importance of a settlement. The problem is such that renewed awakenings to the need for resolution are not accompanied by new ideas on solutions. When both sides meet for talks, as they did on 11 and 12 June 2012 [at Defence Secretary level], the positions are as dug in diplomatically as they are militarily. Figuratively and literally, both sides stuck to their guns. No surprise therefore that the talks end in failure....

June 6, 2012
S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies

Abstract:

India is currently grappling with an effective response to left-wing extremism. Even though in the last two years, extremist violence as well as areas under extremist influence has somewhat diminished, the problem remains serious. While India’s military approach has failed to make much headway owing to a range of weaknesses among the forces, the development approach too has been critiqued for being too romanticised and unreal for implementation. There is an obvious need for a policy rethink and clarity of approach if the challenge is to be met....

July 16, 2012
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

Almost ten years after the Bali bombing that brought terror-ism in Indonesia to international attention, the country’s violent extremists are weak and divided but still active. In the face of strong police pressure, they are finding ways to regroup on the run, in prison and through internet forums, military training camps and arranged marriages. In many cases, the same individuals keep reappearing, using old networks to build new alliances. The fact that they have been singularly inept in their operations in recent years does not mean that the danger of attacks is over. There are signs that at least some are learning lessons from past failures and becoming more sophisticated in recruitment and fundrais-ing. Better understanding of how extremists regroup could lead to more effective counter-radicalisation programs.

The biggest blow to terrorist capacity in recent years was the break-up in early 2010 of a training camp in Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra, where an alliance of almost all major jihadi groups in the country had planned to estab-lish a base. Many senior leaders were captured or killed and a wealth of information discovered that led to the arrest, trial and imprisonment of some 200 individuals. Instead of cowing the jihadis into submission, however, police op-erations inspired a new wave of activity motivated by the desire for revenge, with new partnerships and training cen-tres established and new plans set in motion. Activity has been particularly noticeable in Medan, North Sumatra; Po-so, Central Sulawesi; Solo, Central Java; Bima, West Nusa Tenggara; and parts of East Kalimantan. Underground ac-tivity has been directly or indirectly assisted by radical preachers whose meetings provide inspiration and meeting grounds for jihadis and sympathisers. Some pro-Sharia (Islamic law) advocacy groups that do not use violence themselves but whose teachings are in line with jihadi views play a similar role....

June 18, 2012
Jesuit Refugee Services

Abstract:

"The Search: Protection Space in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, The Philippines and Cambodia" in Practice is a practical guide which will assist other advocates to give accurate information to asylum seekers and refugees about the realities of protection space within the region.

In Southeast Asia, where only three countries, Cambodia, the Philippines and Timor Leste, are signatories to the UN refugee convention the challenges of living in an urban setting are amplified on a daily basis as people struggle to make a living, avoid detention, send their children to school and tend to their medical needs.

This guide covers five broad themes: protection concerns, convention obligations and domestic legal frameworks, refugee-status determination, durable solutions, and finally an outline of the realities of living in the region in relation to employment, education, healthcare and housing. Given the range of challenges, it is essential that those that work with asylum seekers and refugees know as much as possible about the asylum options available in urban areas in the capital cities of Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila and Phnom Penh.

The focus of this research has been to emphasise the experience of asylum seekers and refugees, to let them tell their own stories, while at the same time compile the relevant contextual information that presents a broad picture of the current situation in Southeast Asia.

The asylum seekers and refugees who have willingly shared their stories, opened up their homes and lives for the purpose of this guide have done so in the hope that it may ultimately help others on the same journey: the search for protection....

May 18, 2012
RAND

Abstract:

The tri-border area [TBA] between the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia is a key hub of terrorist and related criminal activity in Southeast Asia, a well-known transit zone for weapons and explosives, and a principal logistical corridor for local and transnational terrorist groups. The authors analyze the security environment in the TBA; evaluate the Philippines' Coast Watch System, designed to improve maritime domain awareness in the Philippine archipelago; and examine the challenges the system must overcome. Finally, they consider the prospects for forming an integrated system of maritime security that would tie together the three states that converge in the TBA....

April 25, 2012
Amnesty International

Abstract:

Over the last decade significant steps have been taken to reform the Indonesian National Police. The government has put in place legislative and structural reforms to strengthen their effectiveness in preventing and detecting crime, maintaining public order and promoting the rule of law. The police have also introduced internal regulations to ensure that international human rights standards are upheld during policing operations.

Despite these positive moves, credible reports of human rights violations committed by the police continue to emerge, with police routinely using unnecessary and excessive force and firearms to quell peaceful protests. Police have been implicated in beatings, shootings and killings of people during mass demonstrations, land disputes or even routine arrests.

Although the authorities have made some attempts to bring alleged perpetrators to justice using internal disciplinary mechanisms, criminal investigations into human rights violations by the police are all too rare, leaving many victims without access to justice and reparations....

April 2, 2012
The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces

Abstract:

One of the many challenges faced by societies emerging from violent conflict is the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration [DDR] of former combatants and others associated with fighting forces. Especially the third stage, successful reintegration into society, is a crucial but difficult element of post-conflict settlements. Given their experiences and allegiances to networks of loyalty from the conflict years, political clout, possible access to weapons and often a lack of skills needed on the labour market, former combatants and others previously associated with fighting forces have often formed a volatile demographic which can derail post-conflict reconstruction and development.

This chapter charts some of the different paths taken by veterans in post-conflict settings and analyses what impacts these have for the relevant SSR processes and post-conflict development in general. It draws mainly on field research from Aceh (Indonesia) and East Timor as well as secondary sources....

July 16, 2012
Moshe Dayan Center // Tel Aviv University

Abstract:

The increasingly violent and bloody confrontation between Bashar Assad’s regime and opposition forces, now 15 months old, has generated much concern in Iran, on two counts. First, the collapse of the regime would be a significant blow to Iran’s strategic interests. Syria has been one of the Islamic Republic’s closest and most important allies from the moment of the Shah’s overthrow in 1979, and the fall of the Assad regime would seriously affect Iran’s ability to project power into the eastern Mediterranean-Levant region. Second, and less noticed by Western analysts, is that the events in Syria stand in polar opposition to Iran’s narrative of the Arab Spring uprisings as an “Islamic Awakening” inspired by Iran’s own 1979 Islamic revolution. Hence, it threatens not only the viability of that narrative, but the Iranian authorities’ use of that narrative to justify their own rule....

June 27, 2012
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

Abstract:

Amid the intensifying crisis in Syria, which in recent weeks has seen massacres of the civilian population in various parts of the country, Iranian military, propaganda, and economic assistance keeps flowing in, and its aim is to help President Bashar al-Assad survive. Iran views the confrontation in Syria as a critical battleground with the West regarding the reshaping of the Middle East and its own role in the region as a key, vital and influential player.

June 19, 2012
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Abstract:

UNHCR's "Global Trends 2011" report details for the first time the extent of forced displacement from a string of major humanitarian crises that began in late 2010 in Côte d'Ivoire, and was quickly followed by others in Libya, Somalia, Sudan and elsewhere. In all, 4.3 million people were newly displaced, with a full 800,000 of these fleeing their countries and becoming refugees.

"2011 saw suffering on an epic scale. For so many lives to have been thrown into turmoil over so short a space of time means enormous personal cost for all who were affected," said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres. "We can be grateful only that the international system for protecting such people held firm for the most part and that borders stayed open. These are testing times."

Worldwide, 42.5 million people ended 2011 either as refugees (15.2 million), internally displaced (26.4 million) or in the process of seeking asylum (895,000). Despite the high number of new refugees, the overall figure was lower than the 2010 total of 43.7 million people, due mainly to the offsetting effect of large numbers of internally displaced people (IDPs) returning home: 3.2 million, the highest rate of returns of IDPs in more than a decade. Among refugees, and notwithstanding an increase in voluntary repatriation over 2010 levels, 2011 was the third lowest year for returns (532,000) in a decade.

Viewed on a 10-year basis, the report shows several worrying trends: One is that forced displacement is affecting larger numbers of people globally, with the annual level exceeding 42 million people for each of the last five years. Another is that a person who becomes a refugee is likely to remain as one for many years – often stuck in a camp or living precariously in an urban location. Of the 10.4 million refugees under UNHCR's mandate, almost three quarters (7.1 million) have been in exile for at least five years awaiting a solution....

March 27, 2012
Center for Strategic and International Studies

Abstract:

Situated astride one of the world’s key strategic crossroads, the “Big Caucasus” is increasingly a region in flux. The August 2008 war among Georgia, Russia, and the separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia emphasized the fragility of the territorial status quo that took hold in the years immediately following the collapse of the USSR, but which has failed to establish legitimacy among either local populations or the international community. The 2008 war solidified the de facto separation between the Georgian state and its breakaway provinces and put Georgia’s NATO accession on indefinite hold—but did not resolve the underlying problems of sovereignty and security that led to the conflict. Similar problems abound across the Big Caucasus. An increasingly authoritarian Azeri government has staked much of its legitimacy on regaining Nagorno-Karabakh. While talks between Baku and Yerevan have made little progress, an arms buildup in the region continues, raising fears of renewed conflict. Meanwhile, Russia’s North Caucasus smolders. A nationalist insurgency that began in Chechnya in the early 1990s has spread to neighboring regions and taken on a harder jihadist edge, raising concerns about a possible al Qaeda presence and creating a direct threat to Western interests.

Even as the Big Caucasus itself becomes less stable, changes in the international environment surrounding it are also accelerating. Twenty years after the Soviet collapse, the three du jure states in the region—Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia—have established themselves as fully sovereign members of the international community, though their borders remain contested. Meanwhile, the August 2008 war witnessed the large-scale projection of Russian power beyond the borders of the Russian Federation for the first time since the Soviet collapse. Yet this dramatic reassertion of Russian power obscured the fact that Moscow’s influence in the Caucasus—North and South—is gradually eroding. The West, increasingly consumed with righting its own finances and retrenching its overseas commitments, is likewise seeing its influence over events in the Caucasus, never decisive to begin with, wane further. Nevertheless, Russia, the United States, and the European Union remain the region’s most significant partners in both the economic and security spheres. The ebbing of Russian and Western power has created opportunities for new actors to gain a foothold, drawn by the region’s strategic location and associated economic opportunities. In particular, Turkey, Iran, and—to a lesser degree—Ukraine are establishing themselves as players with a stake in the region’s future development....

March 6, 2012
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik // German Institute for International and Security Affairs

Abstract:

The 2011 protests and revolts have opened up a period of political unrest across the Arab world. A good year into what has been termed the Arab Spring, this volume spotlights different dimensions of a process of dynamisation that has spread to touch all Arab countries in some way or other. Pieces on Libya, the small Gulf monarchies, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Jordan and Morocco examine the actors behind the protests, reactions by incumbent leaders and initial changes - from cosmetic reform to regime change - along with the concrete challenges faced by the respective societies, political elites and economies. Also, the geopolitical impact of these changes is analysed, in particular their effect on the Arab-Israeli conflict and on Iran’s regional role, and the repercussions of the armed struggle in Libya on its neighbours. Another chapter traces the course and development of the US policy debate about what stance to adopt. Each contribution concludes with concrete policy recommendations. In addition, opportunities for the EU to take action are sketched out for two critical policy fields: energy and migration. The volume is rounded off by ten theses summarising the impact of the Arab Spring on international politics, which extends far beyond North Africa and the Middle East....

July 19, 2012
Minority Rights Group International

Abstract:

To improve security for minorities in Iraq, impunity must end, and those responsible for attacks against these vulnerable communities must be identified and brought to justice, says Minority Rights Group International in a new report. Most members of Iraq’s ethnic and religious minorities continue to fear for their safety, and have a deeply held mistrust of security agencies, according to the report, Improving security for minorities in Iraq, based on research carried out by MRG and its Iraqi partner organization, Iraqi Minorities Council....

July 18, 2012
Center for Strategic and International Studies

Abstract:

This analysis highlights the fact that despite the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, the struggle to secure Iraq moving forward is as crucial for US policymakers as ever before. The Burke Chair report also underscores the fact that Iraq remains a far more important US strategic interest than Afghanistan – a point emphasized in the new Department of Defense strategy introduced earlier this year. As tensions between the US and Iran over Western sanctions, Iran’s nuclear program, and military activity in the Gulf, Syria, and further region increase, the task of creating an effective strategic relationship with Iraq becomes all the more significant.

While the US has withdrawn from Iraq, this analysis demonstrates that US withdrawal did not leave a legacy of security and stability. In fact, the presence of US forces may have artificially suppressed the severity of Iraq’s internal political, military, and economic challenges. Since the US withdrawal, Iraq has faced an unsettling rise in civil unrest, and is experiencing a political power struggle that threats to undermine its ability to develop into a functioning democracy. Perhaps most troubling, these minor skirmishes and political crises could spiral into new rounds of sectarian and ethnic conflict which has plagued Iraq in the past.

Moreover, Iraq has so far failed to develop politically and economically to levels that will allow the country to overcome the crippling impact of thirty years of war, invasion, occupation, and crisis. It must deal with massive demographic pressures, youth unemployment, shortfalls in health and education, and revitalize its financial, agricultural, and industrial sectors....

July 13, 2012
International Center for Transitional Justice // Human Rights Center

Abstract:

In a society ravaged by a legacy of brutal authoritarian rule, political violence, and massive human rights abuses, and currently under foreign occupation, the challenges to rebuilding a society and effectively addressing the past are manifold. Every country’s transitional justice experience is unique and shaped by its history, as well as its current political, legal, social, and economic circumstances. Accordingly, understanding local populations’ needs, attitudes, and perceptions of transitional justice and social reconstruction is integral to the development of legitimate processes that help ensure stability, peace, and justice.

This report is based on data obtained from extensive interviews and focus group discussions conducted in July and August 2003 with representatives from a broad cross-section of the Iraqi population, collected by a team of researchers from the International Center for Transitional Justice [ICTJ] and the Human Rights Center [HRC] at the University of California, Berkeley.

The report’s conclusions and recommendations are divided into seven main areas: past human rights abuses, justice and accountability, truth-seeking and remembrance, amnesty, vetting, reparations, and social reconstruction and reconciliation. These mechanisms, taken together, comprise a comprehensive and coordinated approach to social repair and transitional justice that underscores the importance of exploring the individually valuable role each plays in a particular context. Implementing piecemeal processes in transitional societies runs the enormous risk of failing to adequately address the past, arrive at the truth, achieve justice, and rebuild trust....

June 29, 2012
Human Security Report Project

Abstract:

Human Security Research is a monthly compilation of significant new human security-related research published by academics, university research institutes, think-tanks, international agencies, and NGOs.

Articles in this issue:

NATURAL RESOURCES: Natural Resources, Weak States and Civil War: Can Rents Stabilize Coup Prone Regimes?
ETHNICITY AND GOVERNANCE: Institutional Conflict Settlement in Divided Societies: The Role of Subgroup Identities in Self-Government
SEXUAL BEHAVIOR: Violent Conflicts and Risky Sexual Behavior in Uganda
SIERRA LEONE: A Village-Up View of Sierra Leone’s Civil War and Reconstruction: Multilayered and Networked Governance
IRAQ: Resolving Kirkuk: Lessons Learned from Settlements of Earlier Ethno-Territorial Conflicts
CORRUPTION: Risks of Corruption to State Legitimacy and Stability in Fragile Situations
THE SUDANS: Darfurians in South Sudan: Negotiating Belonging in Two Sudans
SECURITY SECTOR REFORM: Towards a Non-State Security Sector Reform Strategy
MALI: Mali: Five Months of Crisis: Armed Rebellion and Military Coup
REFUGEES: Urban Refugee Protection in Cairo: The Role of Communication, Information and Technology
PHILIPPINES: The Philippines: Local Politics in the Sulu Archipelago and the Peace Process...

June 19, 2012
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Abstract:

UNHCR's "Global Trends 2011" report details for the first time the extent of forced displacement from a string of major humanitarian crises that began in late 2010 in Côte d'Ivoire, and was quickly followed by others in Libya, Somalia, Sudan and elsewhere. In all, 4.3 million people were newly displaced, with a full 800,000 of these fleeing their countries and becoming refugees.

"2011 saw suffering on an epic scale. For so many lives to have been thrown into turmoil over so short a space of time means enormous personal cost for all who were affected," said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres. "We can be grateful only that the international system for protecting such people held firm for the most part and that borders stayed open. These are testing times."

Worldwide, 42.5 million people ended 2011 either as refugees (15.2 million), internally displaced (26.4 million) or in the process of seeking asylum (895,000). Despite the high number of new refugees, the overall figure was lower than the 2010 total of 43.7 million people, due mainly to the offsetting effect of large numbers of internally displaced people (IDPs) returning home: 3.2 million, the highest rate of returns of IDPs in more than a decade. Among refugees, and notwithstanding an increase in voluntary repatriation over 2010 levels, 2011 was the third lowest year for returns (532,000) in a decade.

Viewed on a 10-year basis, the report shows several worrying trends: One is that forced displacement is affecting larger numbers of people globally, with the annual level exceeding 42 million people for each of the last five years. Another is that a person who becomes a refugee is likely to remain as one for many years – often stuck in a camp or living precariously in an urban location. Of the 10.4 million refugees under UNHCR's mandate, almost three quarters (7.1 million) have been in exile for at least five years awaiting a solution....

March 30, 2012
Human Security Report Project

Abstract:

Human Security Research is a monthly compilation of significant new human security-related research published by academics, university research institutes, think-tanks, international agencies, and NGOs.

Articles in this issue:

MEDIATION: UN Mediation and the Politics of Transition after Constitutional Crises
LOCAL PROTECTION: Local to Global Protection in Myanmar (Burma), Sudan, South Sudan and Zimbabwe
POLICE REFORM: Policing in Palestine: Analyzing the EU Police Reform Mission in the West Bank
UGANDA: "The Dust Has Not Yet Settled": Victims' Views on the Right to Remedy and Reparation: A Report from the Greater North of Uganda
REBELS AND GOVERNANCE: The CNDD-FDD in Burundi: The Path from Armed to Political Struggle
NORTHERN IRELAND : Progressing Good Relations and Reconciliation in Post-Agreement Northern Ireland
HORN OF AFRICA: Impact of Conflict on Pastoral Communities' Resilience in the Horn of Africa: Case Studies From Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda
YEMEN: “No Safe Places”: Yemen’s Crackdown on Protests in Taizz
SOMALIA: The Kenyan Military Intervention in Somalia
CRIMINAL VIOLENCE: In Transit: Gangs and Criminal Networks in Guyana
DDR: Rumours of Peace, Whispers of War: Assessment of the Reintegration of Ex-Combatants into Civilian Life in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo
AFGHANISTAN: Fleeing War, Finding Misery: The Plight of the Internally Displaced in Afghanistan...