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 14, 2011
Human Rights Watch
Abstract:
The 31-page report documents the human rights violations that have occurred since the election – including persecution of opposition candidates and activists, abuse of detainees, trials behind closed doors, and raids on human rights organizations. The report also details allegations of extremely poor conditions in detention, denial of access to defense counsel, and government pressure on lawyers representing those facing criminal charges related to the post-election protest. These and other abuses contribute to a serious deterioration of the already poor state of human rights in Belarus, Human Rights Watch said. The report is based on interviews conducted in February 2011 in Minsk....
January 14, 2011
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
In an election last month marred by widespread allegations of fraud, opposition protests, and a violent government crackdown, Aleksandr Lukashenka once again claimed a landslide victory in his bid to retain the presidency of Belarus. Following victories in 1994, 2001, and 2006—the last enabled by a constitutional change to remove term limits—this election’s outcome continues Lukashenka’s dominance of the country’s politics, despite a pre-election reform trend that enabled greater opposition activity. The onus is now squarely back on Moscow, Washington, and Brussels to respond to the election’s most immediate and troubling consequences—the imprisonment of hundreds of demonstrators and opposition activists—while setting a course for future relations with this mid-sized state occupying a key strategic location among Russia, NATO, and the EU.
Thus far, Russia’s president and other former Soviet leaders have quietly congratulated Lukashenka for his victory, while Western leaders have strongly condemned the violence, and a few states, notably Poland, have expanded their ties with the Belarusian opposition. But the looming question for Western leaders is whether to revive tough sanctions and close the door on engagement with the Lukashenka regime, or to seek a solution that will undo the direst post-election abuses while leaving open the possibility of future re-engagement. Belarus, too, is at an inflection point—it can choose to salvage what remains of its pre-election reform agenda, or it may empower those at home, in Russia, and in the West who oppose the country’s closer ties with Europe....
Belarus 
