July 27, 2010
The Centre on Human Rights in Conflict // University of East London // Just and Durable Peace by Piece

Abstract:

Following the establishment of the international ad hoc tribunals, the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda (ICTY and ICTR respectively), a new model of justice administration emerged at the end of the 1990s through the development of hybrid or internationalised courts. Hybrid tribunals are conceived as a mixture of international and domestic law and staff, as a way to provide the necessary resources and guarantees for justice closer to those whose work matters to most. This paper looks at the two most recent tribunals, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) and the War Crimes Chamber in the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (WCC) and examines their practice related to the expectations that hybrid tribunals have raised in terms of peacebuilding. Based on the authors’ fieldwork in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Cambodia, this paper focuses particularly on the tribunals’ impact on the rebuilding of the rule of law, the strengthening of public institutions in the countries in which they operate and the perception of the public of their work. It considers the experience of the tribunals so far, problems and ongoing challenges in order to draw some lessons which can impact both their future work and other potential tribunals in post-­‐conflict settings....

April 26, 2010
Journal of Humanitarian Assistance

Abstract:

Forced migration and displacement is a profound injustice. It undermines human dignity and security and eliminates choice about where and how people want to live. An important aspect of redress is thus the right of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) to freely choose a solution to their dislocation. This right of free choice is guaranteed under humanitarian and human rights law. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has outlined three durable solutions for refugees: voluntary repatriation, local integration, or resettlement in a third location. Designed originally with refugees in mind, these solutions have been extended to IDPs, through the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. The options are adapted to: return to their former homes, integration at the location they were displaced to, or resettlement to another part of the country. This paper first discusses the politics behind the push for return in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina and the initial difficulties encountered in promoting return. It then explores the sustainability of return and the on-going challenges faced by returnees. Finally, it looks at recent developments that aim to provide refugees, IDPs and returnees with access to durable options in the form of support for sustainable return and, for the first time, support for integration. Despite this shift, however, the humanitarian space continues to be controlled by politics, hindering efforts to move toward the provision of neutral assistance....

April 9, 2010
Berghof Research Center for Constructive Conflict Management

Abstract:

How can youth in postconflict societies become a catalyst for positive change? This research from the Berghof Research Centre for Constructive Conflict Management gives an overview of the challenges facing youth work in Bosnia-Herzegovina. It presents the ‘Young People Build the Future’ project, which uses a multidimensional approach to try to meet some of these challenges. An integrated combination of initiatives that provide training, empowerment, peace education, vocational training and income generation opportunities is essential. This article first gives a rough overview of the needs and challenges facing younth work in Bosnian context. It secondly presents a multidimensional approach that strives to meet some of the challenges: the project "Young People Build the Future" that has been set up for young returnees and local population in Eastern Bosnia by Tulza-based NGO Ipak, with the support of German NGO Schuler Helfen Leben, Berlin-based Berghof Research Center....

November 10, 2009
Journal of Democracy

Abstract:

In nations emerging from war, the immediate postwar period sets the stage for the future direction of the country. Referred to by former Afghan finance minister Ashraf Ghani as an “open moment,” this phase rarely lives up to the hopes and expectations of the country’s citizens or the international community. An upsurge in corruption and a lack of accountability, which frequently become entrenched during this time, can breed popular disenchantment with international donors and with the interim government and erode trust in democracy and its institutions, thereby eating away at the legitimacy of the postwar state. The results can be devastating: Half of all postwar countries resume violent conflict within ten years. Disaffected, excluded citizens are liable to become spoilers. To illustrate, in early 2008 Mullah Abdul Salam, a former Taliban commander who defected and became district governor of Musa Qala, Afghanistan, explained to the U.S. ambassador that the failure of aid to arrive and the flourishing of corruption fostered support for the Taliban....

October 7, 2009
Households in Conflict Network // Institute of Development Studies // University of Sussex

Abstract:

This paper addresses the endogeneity of ethnic settlement patterns and conflict, that is, how settlement patterns affect conflict, and how conflict in turn changes the ethnic map. I argue that the application of violence during conflict is driven by the territorial aspirations of ethnic groups. Locations where territorial claims clash should see more violence as groups struggle for control of a unit. More precisely, in an attempt to secure control over these locations, there should be more violent confrontations between the group’s military forces. For the same reason, these locations should also experience more one-sided violence against civilians. The effect of conflict on territory should be such that by means of moving populations, it decreases the level of contestation across all units. I study the dynamics of group geography and conflict in Bosnia using data on ethnic population shares at the municipality level, both from before and after the war. These data are combined with information on conflict events from the Armed Conflict Location and Events Dataset (ACLED). I construct a spatial indicator measuring the degree to which the territorial claims of ethnic groups clash at a particular location. I find support for higher levels of violence at these contested locations. Furthermore, post-war contestation scores are significantly lower, which points to a pattern of strategic ethnic unmixing during conflict. However, my results only partly support the impact of local violence as a trigger of this unmixing....

March 1, 2006
Guardian

Abstract:

Trace the collapse of Yugoslavia, and the desperate attempt by some Serbs to build a Greater Serbia out of the ruins.

October 24, 2005
Public Broadcasting Service

Abstract:

With the help of a German Marshall Fellowship fund, Rubin went back to the Balkans to visit old friends and see what progress they had made in reforming the Serbian and Bosnian political systems and overcoming the deep ethnic divides between Serbs, Croatians and Muslims. He found some cause for hope: journalists still investigating war criminals, flights restored between Belgrade and Sarajevo, the historic bridge in Mostar rebuilt. But he also found disturbing signs that this haunted region has not yet emerged from the dark shadows of the Balkan civil wars. In Serbia, the once obscure Radical Party -- whose leader, Vojislav Seselj, is on trial in The Hague for war crimes -- now controls more seats than any other party in the Serbian parliament. Venturing into the party's headquarters, Rubin finds an unrepentant group that scorns efforts to bring Serbian war criminals to justice....

August 26, 2008
International Center for Transitional Justice

Abstract:

Radovan Karadžić, the former Bosnian Serb leader, was arrested by the Serb authorities in July 2008 and then transferred to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, where he remains in custody awaiting trial. Questions answered include: 1. What charges does Karadžić face? 2. Why will Karadžić’s trial take place in The Hague instead of Bosnia-Herzegovina? 3. When will the trial begin and how long will it last? 4. Karadžić has said he wants to defend himself rather than be assisted by lawyers. Can he indeed do so? 5. Who are the judges and prosecutors? 6. Is the ICTY hearing any cases other than that of Radovan Karadžić? 7. What will happen to the trial if former General Ratko Mladić is also extradited to the Tribunal? Could Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić be tried together? 8. The trial of Slobodan Milošević lasted for more than four years and ended with Milosevic’s death, before the court reached a verdict. How can the court avoid a similar scenario? 9. Some say that the ICTY is due to close down in 2010. What happens to the trial if it is not completed by then? 10. Who pays for the operation of the court? How much does it cost a year?...

October 4, 2007
Track Impunity Always

Abstract:

Maktouf Abduladhim was born on 3 January 1959 in Basra, Iraq. He is a citizen of both Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iraq. He holds a masters in food technology. He was a member of the army of Bosnia-Herzegovina from 8 April 1992 until 17 February 1996. From 1992 until 1995, an armed conflict was taking place in Bosnia-Herzegovina amongst its three communities- the Orthodox Serbs, Croatian Catholics and the Bosnian Muslims. During the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Maktouf Abduladhim wilfully gave assistance to a certain Abu Dzafer and other members of the Al Mujahid Unit in the abduction of two civilians of Croatian origin in order to exchange them for five members of this unit who had been captured beforehand by the Croatian army. ...

October 4, 2007
Track Impunity Always

Abstract:

Mario Cerkez was born on 29 March 1959 in Rijeka, in the municipality of Vitez, Bosnia-Herzegovina. He is married and the father of three children. Before the conflict he worked as a car mechanic and as an employee in the SPS factory in Vitez. Mario Cerkez was one of the founding members of the HVO (Croatian Defence Council) in Vitez in April 1992. The HVO was the supreme executive, administrative and military body of the HZ H-B/HR-B (Croatian Community of the Herceg-Bosna/Croatian Republic of Herceg-Bosna), created in 1991. This community, and subsequently republic, defined itself as a separate or distinct entity within the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina....

October 4, 2007
Track Impunity Always

Abstract:

Born on 11th October 1954 in Sarajevo, Vojislav Seselj was a brilliant Law student in his town's university. He first was a communist but then started to criticise the regime. In 1984 he was arrested and sentenced to 8 years imprisonment for counter-revolutionary activities. He was supported by Yugoslavian dissidents and by international pressure, which managed to set him free after 18 months behind bars. He then went to Belgrade where he started to be a militant in the nationalist circles. He actively participated in forcing the majority of the non-Serbs, amongst whom the Muslims and the Croats, to leave about a third of Croatia, great parts of Bosnia-Herzegovina and some parts of Voivodina for good. This was done in order to integrate these regions into a new State dominated by the Serbs....

October 4, 2007
Track Impunity Always

Abstract:

Anto Furundzija was born in 1969 in Travnik (Bosnia-Herzegovina). During the war, he was a local commander of a special police unit of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO), called the "Jokers". The latter carried out operations from their headquarters (called the "Bung#alow"), located in Nadioci, near Vitez (Lasva valley, Bosnia-Herzegovina). The paramilitary group the "Jokers" was a special anti-terrorist unit. Its members wore black shirts and had, apparently, earned a reputation as a "special operations force" due to the manner in which they disguised themselves and by their use of sophisticated weapons....

May 31, 2006
ReliefWeb // United Nations // United Nations Environment Program

Abstract:

Political map outlining ethnic concentrations in South Eastern Europe.

October 29, 2004
Le Monde Diplomatique

Abstract:

Since the 19th century, the history of Yugoslavia has been a series of partitions, break-ups, and regional or international wars. In 1815 only Montenegro was an independent principality, while the other provinces were still under Ottoman or Austro-Hungarian rule. The Balkan wars of 1912-13 completed the dismantling of the Ottoman empire, which was followed in 1918 by the break-up of Austro-Hungary. Among the new states that emerged was the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and Croatians (Yugoslavia), which comprised the two kingdoms of Serbia and Montenegro, plus the former imperial territories of Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia and Dalmatia. The multinational Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was created in 1945 and lasted until the wars of 1991-95, which #gave rise to ethnic cleansing and the break-up of the country....

October 29, 2004
Le Monde Diplomatique

Abstract:

The Dayton agreement was based on a fundamental contradiction. While asserting the territorial integrity of Bosnia, it divided it into two ethnic entities: the Croatian-Muslim Federation (51% of the territory) and the Serbian Republic of Bosnia (49%). The results of ethnic cleansing were thus ratified, and the partition approach was confirmed by the establishment of a demarcation line between the two entities. The Dayton agreement also placed the Bosnian state under international guardianship. The UN was side-stepped and replaced by NATO, which deployed its troops in the region....

August 31, 2004
European Centre for Minority Issues

Abstract:

The Ethnopolitical Map of Europe is intended to cover those regions in Europe, including the Balkans, the Baltic Sea area and the Caucasus, which are currently facing or have recently experienced ethnopolitical tension or conflict. The clickable map is guiding the users to official documents which reflect international involvement in the reduction of ethnopolitical tension and resolution of interethnic conflicts in different countries and regions of Europe. Further, the map provides information on population statistics, current national legislation and relevant literature on the ethnopolitical situation in those countries. ...

November 13, 2008
Reuters

Abstract:

Political instability is damaging Bosnia's prospects of joining the European Union and causing some officials to worry that the Balkan country could one day slide back into conflict. The former Yugoslav republic, which was divided into a Serb Republic and a Muslim-Croat entity after the 1992-95 Bosnian war that killed about 100,000 people, is run by a weak central government and some Serbs favour secession. Ethnic quarrels were among problems identified by the EU last week in its annual report on Bosnia's progress towards membership of the wealthy bloc. Political tensions are now running so high that some regional experts and leaders say violence could eventually flare again in the country of about 4 million people. "There could be war," said Sulejman Tihic, the head of Bosnia's largest Muslim political party and former Muslim member of the tripartite presidency. "A year or two ago I would not have said this is possible."...

November 12, 2008
Project Syndicate

Abstract:

Almost exactly 13 years ago, American leadership brought an end to Bosnia's three-and-a-half-year war through the Dayton peace agreement. Today that country is now in real danger of collapse. As in 1995, resolve and transatlantic unity are needed if we are not to sleepwalk into another crisis.

June 25, 2007
Southeast European Times

Abstract:

A Sarajevo-based NGO that has been compiling a database of victims killed during the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) released the results last week, after three years of data collection.

June 21, 2007
Balkan Investigative Reporting Network

Abstract:

Almost four years since work began on the Population Loss Project 1991-1995, the Research and Documentation Centre, IDC will present the Bosnian Book of the Dead in Sarajevo on Thursday, June 21. Justice Report can reveal that, as of the end of June 2007, the book contained 96,895 names of Bosnia and Herzegovina's citizens representing victims of war. The rich database classifies war victims by status, ethnic affiliation, gender, age and so on. Although analysts consider that the database will reduce the possibility that the numbers of war victims could be manipulated for political reasons, they, at the same time, warn that the database is still not complete. ...

April 2, 2007
Balkan Investigative Reporting Network

Abstract:

From 1992 to 1995, Bosnia-Herzegovina was torn apart in a war that set its three main ethnic communities against one another. Distinguished as much by religion as ethnicity, its Orthodox Serbs, Catholic Croats and Muslim Bosniaks remain largely divided, co-existing under international administration in two entities, one Republika Srpska, Serb-dominated, and the other the Federation of BiH. Warnings of a potential terrorism risk within the Federation`s Islamic community regularly emanate from Republika Srpska. But voices of concern over the Wahhabi movement are also being raised within the Federation....

June 21, 2007


Abstract:

The Research and Documentation Center ( RDC ) was established in April 2004 to continue the decade - long tradition of the War Crimes Commission established by the Presidency of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina on April 28, 1992. RDC is an independent, nongovernmental, non - profit, professional and non - partisan institution. Our main task is to investigate# and gather facts, documents and data on genocide, war crimes and human rights violations, regardless of the ethnic, political, religious, social, or racial affiliation of the victims. In the past twelve years, IDC has gathered millions of pages of various documents, predominantly statements of surviving victims and eyewitnesses. IDC have registered more than 350.000 war victims out of which around (until now) 96.000 are killed and missing persons for whom we have proper names. In addition, IDC has over 50.000 photo - negatives and over 3500 hours of video recordings. IDC have registered the locations of over 440 prisons and concentration camps, 320 mass graves and 900 incidents of mass killing where civilians were the predominant victims....

January 30, 2007


Abstract:

The South Eastern and Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SEESAC) was launched on 08 May 2002 in Belgrade. SEESAC is a component of the Regional Implementation Plan on Combating the Proliferations of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) formulated and adopted by the Stability Pact in November 2001(Revised in 2006), with the aims of stopping the flow and availability of SALW in the region, consolidating achievements so far and supporting the socio-economic conditions for peace and development in South Eastern and Eastern Europe. The uncontrolled proliferation and illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons (SALW) is a serious problem in South Eastern and Eastern Europe. SALW proliferation has fuelled crime and insecurity, exacerbating conflict in the region and undermining post conflict peace-building. Problems related to SALW are likely to pose a serious constraint to economic and social development in South Eastern and Eastern Europe. Established in co-operation with the UNDP and housed in their offices in Belgrade, SEESAC worked to support the Stability Pact Regional Implementation Plan for an initial period of three years; the impact of the project has led to a further four-year extension until December 2008. Political and strategic guidance and indigenous support for SEESAC is provided by a Regional Steering Group (RSG), which is composed of representatives of the governments of the states concerned, the Stability Pact, UNDP and observers from institutions such as the European Union (EU), North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and civil society. The RSG meets twice yearly and has approved the 2006 SEESAC Strategy and a revision of the SEESAC mandate. SEESAC capability is now available to all stakeholders within the CIS and Caucasus region. SEESAC is now also available to provide technical advice and project development assistance for the disposal of heavy weapons (within available resources). SEESAC operates under the guidance of The Regional Steering Group for Small Arms and Light Weapons and the UN Resident Co-ordinator in Belgrade. SEESAC liaises directly with governments and civil society, providing technical input, information exchange, co-ordination and overview of current and future efforts and fund-raising assistance for specific SALW projects. SEESAC's small team is in constant communication with all the governments involved and with the relevant international organisations, non-governmental organisations and bi-lateral donors. SEESAC's regional activities include sensitising governments and civil society on small arms issues, formulating national strategies for SALW control and incorporating small arms issues into UNDP development planning....

January 18, 2007


Abstract:

The Centre for Security Studies (CSS), established in 2001, and located in Sarajevo, is an independent research, educational and training enterprise dedicated to encouraging informed debate on security matters and to promoting and sustaining democratic structures and processes in foreign and security policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in the region of South-East Europe.

December 19, 2006


Abstract:

ELIAMEP is an independent, non-profit and policy-oriented research and training institute. ELIAMEP neither expresses, nor represents, any specific political party view. It is only devoted to the right of free and well-documented discourse. ELIAMEP can trace its origins to informal meetings in the mid-1980s among academics, diplomats, military officials and journalists. That group's goal was to introduce an independent and scholarly approach to policy options regarding European integration, transatlantic relations as well as the Mediterranean, South-eastern Europe, the Black Sea and other regions of particular interest to Greece. In April 1988 these meetings were institutionalized and became the Hellenic Foundation for Defence and Foreign Policy (Greek acronym, ELIAMEP). Since its official establishment, ELIAMEP has experienced significant growth and has attracted the attention of scholars, government officials and corporate entities in Greece and abroad. As developments in the wider region moved rapidly, the focus of the institute was enlarged to include more policy-relevant research projects assisting post-communist democracies in the creation of a civil society, providing training and networking services and acting as a contact point to public and private sector bodies on politico-economic and security matters, as well as on European affairs. This was reflected in the 1993 amendment of ELIAMEP's statutes to include a change of name (without abandoning its original acronym), which would illustrate the Foundation's wider scope of concerns and activities: Hellenic Found#ation for European and Foreign Policy. The message is clear: in the context of the EU and shared sovereignties, a distinction needs to be drawn between European policy and traditional foreign policy. Over the years, ELIAMEP expanded its activities with a view to having a greater impact on the public through the dissemination of information and of policy proposals, the organisation of training and conflict management seminars and international conferences, the publication of books, journals and monographs. ELIAMEP is frequently visited by journalists from various parts of the world requesting the Foundation's help for information, analysis and interviews. It is now generally recognised as one of the leading think-tanks in the region. ...

December 19, 2006


Abstract:

ESI is a non-profit research and policy institute, created in recognition of the need for independent, in-depth analysis of the complex issues involved in promoting stability and prosperity in Europe. ESI was founded in July 1999 by a multi-national group of practitioners and analysts with extensive experience in the regions it studied. ESI's experienced and multidisciplinary team is committed to provide policy makers with relevant strategic analysis. In its first seven years of operation, ESI has had a substantial impact on international policy towards South Eastern Europe. Its advice was sought regularly by a range of policy makers across the region. In order to promote discussion and debate among the policy community all ESI publications are widely distributed and available on its website free of charge. ESI's efforts depend on the contributions of governments, corporations and private individuals to fund its activities....

April 13, 2005
EurActiv

Abstract:

The EU's fundamental aim for the Western Balkans region (South East Europe) is to create a situation where military conflict is unthinkable - expanding to the region the area of peace, stability, prosperity and freedom established over the last 50 years by the EU and its Member States.

October 25, 2004
Global Policy Forum

Abstract:

The Bosnia war in the early 1990s saw ethnic cleansing, genocide and other serious crimes. In May, 1993, the UN Security Council established the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY) to try those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991. The tribunal seeks to bring justice to the victims of the conflict and deter future leaders from committing similar atrocities. The ICTY has also begun to take on cases from the Kosovo crisis of the late 1990s. The court is the UN's first special tribunal. Not surprisingly it has come under intense scrutiny. Critics argue that the tribunal is a political tool rather than an impartial judicial institution. Slobodan Milosevic, the court's highest profile defendant, has argued that the court is unfair, but disinterested critics also point to troubling examples of politicization and bias. This page follows the development of important cases in The Hague with a special section for the trial of Slobodan Milosevic....

February 16, 2010
Insight on Conflict

Abstract:

Insight on Conflict provides information on local peacebuilding organisations in areas of conflict. Local peacebuilders already make a real impact in conflict areas. They work to prevent violent conflicts before they start, to reduce the impact of violence, and to bring divided communities together in the aftermath of violence. However, their work is often ignored – either because people aren’t aware of the existence and importance of local peacebuilders in general, or because they simply haven’t had access to information and contacts for local peacebuilders. We hope that Insight on Conflict can help redress the balance by drawing attention to important work of local peacebuilders. On this site, you’ll be able to find out who the local peacebuilders are, what they do, and how you might get in touch with them. Over half the organisations featured on Insight on Conflict do not have their own website. Insight on Conflict is a project launched by Peace Direct, the UK-based charity that finds, funds and promotes local peacebuilders in conflict areas around the world. Peace Direct wants to change the balance of power and resources between local people and outsiders so that local peacebuilding is central to all strategies for managing conflict....

January 23, 2007
Tufts University

Abstract:

The Dayton Peace Accords Project assists post-conflict parties in developing practical solutions to issues of peace implementation, constitutional development, institution building, economic development, and cultural and ethnic heritage through the provision of appropriate and time technical, legal, and advocacy assistance.

October 26, 2006
European Commission

Abstract:

The HUMSEC Project is a Sixth Framework Programme Coordination Action, whose purpose is to contribute to a better understanding of the link between transnational terrorist groups and criminal organisations in the Western Balkans and their role in the peace-building process in the region. Main purpose of HUMSEC is to establish a network of scientists working in the project field and to enhance the dialogue between scientists from the European Union and the Western Balkan region. With the only exception of Macedonia, all Western Balkan countries are represented in the consortium. Particular attention has been paid in the composition of the consortium on the variety and equal distribution of scientific disciplines (the consortium consists of universities and research institutes of criminal law, international law and criminology as well as human rights centres) to allow a truly interdisciplinary scientific dialog....

November 3, 2005
University of Oslo // International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Change

Abstract:

The Global Environmental Change and Human Security (GECHS) project focuses on the relationships between environmental change and human society, with an emphasis on the implications for human security. Global environmental change-related threats to human security are unevenly distributed across and within regions, social groups, and generations. Understanding who is most vulnerable, as well as how these threats contribute to conflict or cooperation, forms an important part of GECHS research. The goal of GECHS is to promote understanding and recognition of global environmental change as an issue of equity and sustainability, both of which are influenced by various forms of social power, as well as by broader social, economic, and cultural changes. ...

October 19, 2005
Srebrenica Research Group

Abstract:

The Srebrenica Research Group is a self-financed group of journalists and academic researchers who have been working as a group over a three-year period to review evidence related to the capture of Srebrenica and how the actual facts compare with widely publicized portrayal of events. The study makes comparisons with other military operations such as Operation Flash and Operation Storm against the UN Protected Serb enclaves in Croatia. The study also traces how the official portrayal of events affected the outcome of the conflict in Bosnia, the actions of the war crimes tribunal and the public perception of Serbia and Republika Srpska....

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...

May 13, 2011
United States Institute of Peace

Abstract:

This report reviews the challenges facing returning refugees and internally displaced persons after protracted conflict, questioning the common wisdom that the solution to displacement is, in almost all cases, to bring those uprooted to their places of origin, regardless of changes in the political, economic, psychological, and physical landscapes. While affirming the right to return, the report underscores insecurity, lack of economic opportunities, and poor services generally available in areas of recent conflict where people are expected to rebuild their lives, documenting cases of seriously flawed return efforts. Greater flexibility in determining the best solutions to displacement and more investment in alternative forms of reintegration for those who have been displaced is needed....

May 6, 2011
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

Bosnia faces its worst crisis since the war. State institutions are under attack by all sides; violence is probably not imminent but is a near prospect if this continues. Seven months after elections, there is no state government and little prospect for one soon. The authorities of the larger of the entities, the Federation, were formed controversially – a main state institution said illegally – in March and are disputed by Croats, who have created a parallel Croat National Assembly. The other entity, Republika Srpska, has called a referendum that could provide support for a Serb walkout of Bosnian institutions. With such trends, it is all too easy to imagine Bosniak parties overseeing a failed state whose institutions Serbs and Croats have abandoned. Compromises are needed so every Bosnian side can claim enough victory to justify retreat from the brink. The international community needs to step back from over-involvement in local politics to calibrate goals to a realistic appraisal of diminished powers and best guarantee stability. Then work needs to begin to create a context for renewing Dayton and achieving EU membership.

All involved share blame for the crisis. Two rival Croat Democratic Union parties (HDZ, HDZ 1990) that represent most of the Croat population, violated the Federation constitution by blocking formation of governments and refusing to send delegates to the entity’s House of Peoples from the four cantons they control. The two HDZs and the biggest winners of the October 2010 elections, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), all rejected reasonable internationally-brokered coalition proposals. The SDP then formed a Federation government in violation of the entity constitution and against the advice of the state-level Central Election Commission (CEC). The HDZs also chose a dangerous moment to create a Croat Assembly. The RS, in particular President Dodik, provocatively called a referendum on laws imposed by the High Representative, Bosnia’s international governor, especially regarding the state court and prosecutor, issues outside RS jurisdiction. Dodik’s divisive, nationalistic speech at the RS National Assembly called into question his commitment to reconciliation and a multi-ethnic Bosnia....

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....

March 7, 2011
Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation

Abstract:

This policy brief offers eight targeted policy recommendations for combating the convergence of terrorism, crime, and politics. Rather than simply warning about the potential for interaction and synergy among terrorist, criminal, and political actors, this policy brief aims to explore possibilities for exploiting their divergences. In particular, it emphasizes the need to grapple with the economic, political, and combat power that some terrorist groups enjoy through their involvement in crime and conflict....