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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.
Abstract: For the past 60 years, the United Nations has been keeping foes apart in strife-torn parts
of the world, and rebuilding countries and communities afterwards. In the UN’s peace
operations in Africa, India has been an active partner since its peacekeeping mission in the
Congo in 1960. In this paper, all references to ‘the Congo’ denote the Democratic Republic
of Congo (formerly Zaire), and not the Republic of Congo (or Congo–Brazzaville).
This paper explores India’s peacekeeping efforts in Africa over the last five decades.
It analyses the reasons for India’s engagement in African peace missions, and finds that
different motives and incentives appear to be driving India’s peacekeeping. Some of these
can be explained along Cold War fault lines.
A chronological account of India’s peacekeeping actions in Africa illustrates that country’s
commitment to securing peace, the depth of involvement, the fatalities bravely borne and
the hardships endured. Even more important, the record shows that India continues to use
the experience that has been gained to refine its approach to peacekeeping.
In conclusion, the paper offers a forecast of what form India’s commitments to Africa’s
peacekeeping requirements are likely to take in the future. India may well develop criteria
that require a greater return on investment than has been the case over the last halfcentury.
A more tempered approach — particularly in view of India’s global aspirations
— seems likely.
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.
Abstract: The problem of civilians becoming unintentional victims of landmine detonation in the world today is one that cannot be underestimated in terms of its importance to global and local humanitarian efforts. The human-life and financial costs associated with landmine detonation are paramount, and are being addressed by the Global community via the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping and its associated agency UNMAS (The United Nations Mine Action Service). In terms of human-life cost, the current statistic is that every 28 seconds a person steps on a landmine, resulting in 6500 – 20,000 new casualties per year. These tragic events are happening in at least 84 states, and every world region is affected. It is the intent of this literature review to enlighten the reader in two main topic areas. The first is that of mine action and our understanding of it, with specific regard to what is generally understood to be the most affected continent: Africa. A comprehensive description and discussion of the geo-political status of mine action in Southern Africa and its relation to development will be set out.
The second topic area that will be reviewed is that of predictive GIS modeling, as it applies to mine action. The intent is to put forth the scientific (i.e.: based on peer-reviewed publications) background information that justifies and supports an experiment that will be conducted. The goal, in general lay terms, will be to see whether it is possible to predict with a reasonable, usable, and repeatable amount of accuracy the delineating outlines of where minefields are located in a specific geographical study area. It is hoped that the effort with predictive GIS modeling will yield a technique that is valid for use across a variety of study areas. Having said this, the study area that is the concentration of this review is the region of Southern Africa and it must be acknowledged that the results, if positive, may not be transferrable to different Geo-political regions.
Abstract: It has been more than four years since discoveries of pervasive misconduct and the subsequent
release of the UN Secretary-General’s Bulletin catalysed humanitarian organisations to reevaluate
their capacities for preventing and responding to sexual exploitation and abuse. In
order to envision global prevention and response strategies, there was a close examination of
current practices which exposed weak or nonexistent codes of conduct, poor awareness of
rights and duties, nonexistent or confusing complaints mechanisms and few (if any) on-staff
investigators. Now, the consultations that are the subject of this report underscore that our
global expectations of how long meaningful change would take, how much it would cost
and what would be involved were unrealistic.
Many similar patterns were clear in all three countries despite the diversity of cultures and
circumstances. These patterns help illuminate widespread challenges and perhaps solutions.
Between August and November in 2007, 295 humanitarian aid beneficiaries in Kenya,
Namibia and Thailand participated in consultations about their perceptions of prevention
and response to sexual exploitation and abuse. Although beneficiaries know sexual abuse
and exploitation is going on around them and perceive the risks, the vast majority of the
295 beneficiaries consulted said they would not complain about misconduct. Consequently,
complaints are rare and investigations even rarer.
“To complain or not to complain” is still a conundrum for most of the beneficiaries with
whom we spoke. Beneficiaries felt they had few channels through which to complain.
Options of complaints mechanisms are limited to dropping a note in a complaints box or
reporting to an individual or chain of people, each of whom will have to choose to take the
complaint seriously and pass it “up” for action. Beneficiaries worry particularly about the
lack both of confidentiality and of security assurances should they complain. Many do not
want to make problems for fellow refugees and actually see the complainant as the troublemaker
who risks creating conflict within their community by complaining. Others stated
they feared losing aid if they complained about humanitarian agencies’ actions. Humanitarian
staff (volunteer, incentive and salaried) expressed reluctance to report on fellow aid workers.
Fear of retaliation is pervasive and prohibits most would-be complainants. Some, although
very few, participants were willing and ready to report alleged sexual exploitation and abuse
related misconduct by humanitarian workers (local, national or international).
Abstract: IPI is pleased to introduce a new series of working papers on regional capacities to respond to security
challenges in Africa. The broad range of United Nations, African Union, and subregional peacekeeping,
peacemaking, and peacebuilding initiatives in Africa underscore a new sense of multilayered partnership in the
search for the peaceful resolution of conflicts in Africa. As the total number of conflicts on the continent has
been significantly reduced in the past decade, there is widespread recognition of the opportunities for a more
stable and peaceful future for Africa. But there is also a profound awareness of the fragility of recent peace
agreements, whether in Kenya, Liberia, or Côte d’Ivoire. Furthermore, continued violence in the Sudan, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zimbabwe; the long absence of a viable central government in Somalia;
and continued tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea—to name only a few cases—reflect the legacy of
unresolved historic disputes and ongoing power struggles...The southern African region is now
generally defined in political terms as
those countries that are members of the
Southern African Development
Community (SADC) (the geographic
definition is usually somewhat more
limited). Currently there are fifteen
member states of the SADC: Angola,
Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC), Lesotho, Madagascar,
Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique,
Namibia, the Seychelles, South Africa,
Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and
Zimbabwe.
These countries are disparate in many
ways: they vary greatly in size, population,
and levels of economic growth, and
include some of the poorest countries in
the world, but also some of the richest in
Africa. Six of them are landlocked; two of
them are Indian Ocean islands. They
share a common history of colonization—variously
involving French, British, Belgian, and German
imperial powers—and this continues to impact
significantly on the nature of governance and
politics in the region. Many, but not all, of the
countries of the region experienced periods of
European settler colonialism, resulting in armed
liberation struggles for independence. Several of
them also endured apartheid or various forms of
racial segregation and oppression as a result of that
history of settler colonialism.
Conflict and war has marked the region considerably,
particularly conflicts over apartheid and
colonialism, which engulfed most of southern
Africa and led to millions of deaths. Angola and
Mozambique suffered further from post-independence
civil wars, fueled in part by South Africa and
Rhodesia. After a bloody civil war following the
collapse of Mobutu Sese-Seko’s authoritarian
regime in the DRC in the second half of the 1990s,
however, the region is, for the first time in forty
years, almost completely at peace, except for
residual conflicts in the east of the DRC.
Nevertheless, there remain profound threats to
human and state security, many of them fueled by
poverty, marginalization, and the weakness of
states.
Abstract: La région des Grands Lacs en Afrique centrale et orientale
a été ravagée par des confl its pendant plus de dix
ans. Les guerres dans la région ont conduit à des mouvements
massifs de population, qui ont eux-mêmes
constitué un motif supplémentaire de confl it. Par exemple,
l’un des fl ux de population les plus importants
et les plus rapides de l’histoire récente a fait suite au
génocide de 1994 au Rwanda qui a causé la mort de
près d’un million de personnes. Des acteurs armés et
des auteurs de violations graves des droits de l’homme
étaient mêlés à une foule de réfugiés authentiques
dans ce fl ux sans précédent. L’incapacité de gérer cette
situation complexe a contribué au déclenchement et
à la poursuite du confl it en République Démocratique
du Congo (RDC).
Aujourd’hui, la région s’efforce de revenir sur la voie
de la paix et du développement. Des accords de paix
ont été signés au Burundi, au Sud Soudan et en RDC.
Des négociations sont en cours pour mettre un terme
à la guerre dans le nord de l’Ouganda avec le soutien
de plusieurs Etats africains. Grâce à ces évolutions, un
grand nombre de réfugiés et de personnes déplacées à
l’intérieur de leur propre pays («personnes déplacées»)
ont été en mesure de rentrer chez eux dans l’ensemble
de la région, que ce soit en Angola, au Burundi, au
Sud Soudan et, dans une certaine mesure, dans le
nord de l’Ouganda. Ce guide a été conçu pour aider les lecteurs à comprendre
le cadre politique, juridique et institutionnel de la
CIRGL. Il se concentre sur les trois protocoles du pilier
social et humanitaire de la Conférence internationale
sur la région des Grands Lacs les plus pertinents pour
la protection des droits des personnes déplacées.3 Nous
espérons que ce guide aidera les défenseurs des droits
des personnes déplacées dans la région à utiliser le Pacte
sur les Grands Lacs pour élaborer des politiques et des
décisions au bénéfi ce des personnes déplacées.
Abstract: The Great Lakes region of central and eastern Africa has been torn apart by conflict for more than a decade. The region's wars have resulted in, and have been further propelled by, massive population movements. For example, one of the largest and fastest population flows in recent history followed the 1994 genocide in Rwanda which claimed nearly a million lives. This unprecedented flow included armed actors and those who had committed serious human rights abuses, amid throngs of genuine refugees. The failure to address this complex situation contributed to the outbreak and continuation of conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was in response to these linked challenges and the need to tackle them comprehensively and transnationally that the United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) initiated the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR). The objective was to bring all the countries of the region together "to dialogue and agree on a strategy to bring peace and prosperity to the Great Lakes region." This Guide is intended to help readers understand the political, legal and institutional framework of the ICGLR. It focuses on the three protocols in the social and humanitarian pillar which are the most relevant for protecting the rights of displaced people. We hope that the Guide will help advocates for the rights of displaced people in the region to use the Great Lakes Pact to shape policies and decisions for the benefit of the displaced.
Abstract: There are reasonable grounds to believe that, inter alia, the crimes of enforced
disappearance, torture and other inhumane acts have occurred and or are occurring on
a massive scale in Namibia. Such crimes were committed as part of a systematic
attack on the civilian population in the northern and northeastern border areas of the
country. In terms of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), such
offenses qualify either as war crimes and or crimes against humanity. They are
considered as such when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack
directed against any civilian population. The Rome Statute entered into force on July
1 2002 but Namibia ratified it on June 25 2002. While the long-term objective of this Report is to severely condemn the crime of
enforced disappearance, the immediate objective hereof is to publicize NSHR’s
discovery of unmarked and mysterious gravesites in northern Namibia and southern
Angola. Most of these gravesites are located in an area of a width of up to 30
kilometers north of Namibia’s border with Angola, opposite the Ohangwena Region. NSHR has been receiving scant reports of massive gravesites just north of the
common border for a long time. However, the human rights organization only became
sufficiently knowledgeable about these gravesites between June and July 2008
following formal tip-offs by reliable sources. These sources, which include incumbent
and former members of the Namibian Police (NamPol) and Namibian Defense Force
(NDF), as well as concerned ordinary citizens from the Ohangwena Region, were
corroborated by members of the Policia Nacional de Angola (PNA). Physical verification of the reports took place between June and July 2008 after local villagers
led human rights investigators to several locations of such gravesites. NSHR has a reasonable cause to believe that the victims whose remains are buried in
the aforesaid gravesites might form part of the hundreds of victims of the crime of
enforced disappearance who were “cleared” from their residences along Namibia’s
northern and northeastern border between 1994 and 2003. They were unlawfully
transferred and or expelled from these areas in accordance with the equally unlawful
Presidential decree to that effect on or around September 28 1994. This decree
resulted from a mysterious armed killing in eastern Kavango which, in turn, was used
as a pretext for an ensuing systematic and widespread campaign of attacks directed
against the civilian population in the Kavango and Caprivi regions.
Abstract: Hutu et Tutsi : 40 ans d'affrontements dans l'Afrique des Grands Lacs, qui culminent en 1994 avec le génocide rwandais, suivi d'un premier conflit au Zaïre. C'est toute la région qui s'embrase dans les années 1996-97, avec sept pays en guerre sur le sol de la République démocratique du Congo, dont les richesses minières sont l'objet de toutes les convoitises. En 2004, un espoir de paix se fait jour, discrètement soutenu par la communauté internationale.
Sommaire:
Introduction
Un conflit ancien
o > Hutu et Tutsi : 40 ans d'affrontements
o > Le génocide rwandais de 1994
o > Le 1er conflit du Zaïre 1996-1997
La régionalisation du conflit 1998-2003
o > Sept pays en guerre sur le sol de la Rép. dém. du Congo (RDC)
o > Un conflit meurtrier
o > Le pillage des ressources naturelles
La RDC entre paix et guerre depuis 2003
o > La transition démocratique
o > Persistance des violences
Abstract: La Namibie a connu dix années de croissance modérée – 4.2 pour cent en rythme moyen annuel – grâce, principalement, à une bonne performance du secteur diamantifère et à une politique macroéconomique saine. Cependant, le pays est aussi caractérisé par une mauvaise redistribution des revenus et une pauvreté persistante.
Abstract: Ce document porte sur le conflit des Grands Lacs en Afrique, qui a donné naissance au génocide rwandais en 1994 avant d'aboutir à l'affrontement de sept pays sur le même sol de la république démocratique du congo. Ces nombreux affrontements de plus de quarante ans qui ont opposé les hutu et les tutsi ont coûté beaucoup à l'Afrique, particulièrement sur le plan économique. Il a fallu attendre les années 2004 pour qu'un espoir de paix se fasse jour ; une paix à laquelle la communauté internationale veut apporter un timide soutien. Le portail propose également une rubrique "Repères", ainsi qu'une carte géographique du continent africain.
Table des matières :
Introduction
I- Un conflit ancien
1.Hutu et Tutsi : 40 ans d'affrontements
2.Le génocide rwandais de 1994
3.Le premier conflit du Zaïre 1996-1997
II- La régionalisation du conflit 1998-2003
1.Sept pays en guerre sur le sol de la Rép. dém. du Congo (RDC)
2.Un conflit meurtrier
3.Le pillage des ressources naturelles
III- La RDC entre paix et guerre depuis 2003
1.La transition démocratique
2.Persistance des violences
Abstract: Le présent rapport fait la synthèse de la première grande étude continentale visant à mesurer et contrôler les « Progrès accomplis sur la voie de la bonne gouvernance en Afrique », entreprise par la Commission économique pour l’Afrique. Dans le cadre de cette étude, des enquêtes et des recherches ont été menées sur 28 pays. Les résultats complets et l’analyse de l’étude seront
publiés en 2005 dans le premier «Rapport sur la gouvernance en Afrique ».
La CEA a entrepris ce travail pour évaluer l’idée que les citoyens se font de l’état de la gouvernance en Afrique, pour rassembler des informations sur les meilleures pratiques et pour identifier les principaux besoins de la région en
matière de développement des capacités. Le projet a identifié quatre tendances positives sur la voie de la création d’États compétents en Afrique: transitions démocratiques, ouverture politique, liberté d’expression et obligation comptable, et gestion économique.
Abstract: Le Rapport sur la gouvernance en Afrique est le fruit de larges travaux de recherche sur les pratiques de gouvernance entrepris dans 27 pays africains par la Commission économique pour l’Afrique (CEA), par l’intermédiaire d’instituts nationaux de recherche, qui ont recueilli, ensemble par échantillonnage, les opinions de plus de 50 000 ménages et de 2 000 experts. Les conclusions, soumises à la CEA entre 2002 et 2004, ont fait l’objet d’un processus rigoureux d’examens auxquels ont participé des experts nationaux et internationaux travaillant sur la gouvernance et les questions politiques et économiques.
Ce rapport est la première grande étude de ce type initiée par les pays africains, qui vise à analyser de façon empirique les opinions des citoyens quant à l’état de la gouvernance dans leurs pays, tout en mettant en évidence les principaux déficits de capacité dans les pratiques et institutions de gouvernance et en recommandant des pratiques optimales et des solutions pour y faire face. On s’est attaché à assurer l’appropriation locale de l’ensemble empirique de résultats afin de renforcer l’efficacité et la légitimité de la prise de décisions et de l’effort de sensibilisation aux niveaux national et infrarégional. Les données ainsi générées peuvent être utilisées pour mesurer la performance des gouvernements et de toutes les principales parties prenantes dans leur réponse aux préoccupations exprimées par les citoyens et pour suivre la mesure dans laquelle le contrat qu’ils ont passé entre eux est respecté. Nous avons pris soin de ne pas être trop directif. Le Rapport sur la gouvernance en Afrique contient des recommandations qui découlent essentiellement des réalités propres aux pays, car, pour être durable, la gouvernance doit être replacée dans son contexte et internalisée.
Abstract: Ce rapport contient des résumés sur les régions suivants: Afrique australe, Afrique de l’Est, Afrique de l’Ouest et Afrique centrale, et Afrique centrale, et aussi sur les thèmes suivantes: le double défi de la tuberculose et du VIH, circonsion masculine et préventions du VIH, epidémies latentes parmi les hommes ayant des rapports sexuels avec des hommes, la consommation de drogues injectables: un facteur croissant dans plusiers épidémies de VIH de L'Afrique Subsaharienne, et signes de changements vers des comportements à moindre risque.
Abstract: The article attempts to briefly analyze state-building theories and methods, as applied to justice system reform in post-conflict scenarios. In this respect, the international authorities involved in the reconstruction process may traditionally chose between either a 'dirigiste' or a consent-based approach, which represent the essential terms of reference for past interventions. However, features common to most reconstruction missions and relatively poor results confirm the need for change in the overall strategy. This requires the international donors to focus more on the 'demand for justice' at local level than on the traditional supply of legal aid. In this respect, the articles stresses the need for effectively promoting the 'local ownership' of the reform process, without this expression being merely used by international actors as a political umbrella under which to protect themselves from potential failures.
Abstract: The International Criminal Court has been asked to investigate the role of former Namibian President Sam Nujoma, in the deaths of thousands of people.
Abstract: The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has been in existence since 1980, when it was formed as a loose alliance of nine majority-ruled States in Southern Africa known as the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC), with the main aim of coordinating development projects in order to lessen economic dependence on the then apartheid South Africa. The founding Member States are: Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. SADCC was formed in Lusaka, Zambia on April 1, 1980, following the adoption of the Lusaka Declaration - Southern Africa: Towards Economic Liberation. The transformation of the organization from a Coordinating Conference into a Development Community (SADC) took place on August 17, 1992 in Windhoek, Namibia when the Declaration and Treaty was signed at the Summit of Heads of State and Government thereby giving the organization a legal character. The Member States are Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. SADC headquarters are in Gaborone, Botswana. The objective of SADC: Achieve development and economic growth, alleviate poverty, enhance the standard and quality of life of the people of Southern Africa and support the socially disadvantaged through regional integration; Evolve common political values, systems and institutions; Promote and defend peace and security; Promote self-sustaining development on the basis of collective self-reliance, and the interdependence of Member States; Achieve complementarity between national and regional strategies and programmes; Promote and maximise productive employment and utilisation of resources of the Region; Achieve sustainable utilisation of natural resources and effective protection of the environment; Strengthen and consolidate the long-standing historical, social and cultural affinities and links among the people of the Region.
Abstract: Post-conflict reconstruction is a difficult process for any country, one fraught
with dangers. A major factor determining its nature lies in the trajectory of
what has gone on before the guns stopped firing. It is important to learn form
the experience of countries that have seen post-conflict reconstruction success or
failure. Namibia is an interesting case study. Having achieved independence from
South Africa in 1990, following more than a century of armed violence, repression,
and colonization, its government and citizens subsequently embarked on an urgent
journey to construct a nation to be characterized by peace and democracy. Sixteen
years later, Namibia has become a democracy in the legal and political sense, and
levels of armed violence are relatively low compared to other African countries,
but the achievement of comprehensive and deep-rooted peace and democracy has
been frustrated by authoritarian governance tendencies as well as by militaristic
approaches to nation-building.
Abstract: The Tribunal of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is the newest operationalized subregional court in Africa. Provided for under Article 16 of the 1992 Declaration and Treaty Establishing the Southern African Development Community, the Community's members approved the Protocol required to set up the Tribunal in 2000. Despite the ratification requirements in the Protocol itself, the Protocol entered into force with the signature of the Agreement Amending the Treaty of SADC in August 2001. The Agreement Amending the Treaty marked a renewed energy in the integration of the Community, making the Protocol on the Tribunal an integral part of the Treaty and thus automatically applicable to all Member States. The renewed energy of the Community however, was not reflected in a swift establishment of the Tribunal. The first judges of the Tribunal were not sworn in until November 2005.
Abstract: To oversee the implementation and interpretation of the COMESA agreement, the Treaty established a Court of Justice, modeled on the European Court of Justice. Like the European Court of Justice, the COMESA Court of Justice can be seized of a matter by one of several ways. First, a member State may bring another member State or the Council before the Court for breach of the Treaty or failure to fulfill an obligation thereunder. Providing the Common Market with independent monitoring and enforcement power, the Treaty permits the Secretary General (with the agreement of the Council) also to bring a member State before the Court for failure to fulfill its Treaty obligations. Like the European Court of Justice, the COMESA Courtxc3xads decisions have precedence over any decisions of national courts.
Abstract: Human security is the dominant discourse within international, regional
and sub-regional organisations tasked with security and development. It
has displaced the traditional state security paradigm with its preoccupation
with protecting national interests and state borders through the projection of
power. Although the basic tenets that constitute the human security paradigm
can be traced to various alternative approaches voiced on development and
security, it was the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP)
Human Development Report of 1994 that gave concrete expression to, and
was later used to popularise, this approach to security. That report, drawing
on the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, employed the phrase
xe2x80x98freedom from want and freedom from fear' to advocate a people-centred
approach to security, to link development to security, and to broaden both
the identification of possible threats and the actors responsible for producing
and resolving insecurity.
The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) has integrated
the human security approach into its constructions of, and policy
frameworks for, peace and security. Southern Africa, a region defined by
its anti-colonial and civil wars, is undoubtedly enjoying an unprecedented
measure of peace and stability, despite continued tensions in Zimbabwe,
Swaziland and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Peace agreements
in Mozambique, South Africa, Angola and the DRC created an enabling
environment for democratisation and development to take root. However,
the xe2x80x98peace dividend' has yet to materialise for the vast majority of
citizens in Southern Africa. The road map for transforming these states
and the everyday lives of their citizenry has been drafted in the many protocols, policies and strategic frameworks, and much of the institutional
apparatus is already in place. Yet, there remains a marked disjuncture
between the region's goals and aspirations, and the implementation and/or
outcomes thereof. The often-stated reasons for this are lack of capacity,
resources and political will. However, in the absence of contextualisation,
these reasons remain vague and, therefore, without the specificities
for redress.
This monograph broadly sets out to (1) unpack the conceptual, methodological
and institutional issues that emerge from the adoption of a human security
perspective; (2) indicate some of the major human security challenges
confronting Southern Africa and; (3) highlight the implications for policy
research and capacity-building in the region.
Abstract: Since the 1960s, the environment has become a consistent theme in international political discourse, no longer solely the concern of small groups of activists but a mainstream issue. As environmental concerns have gone increasingly global, countries like Norway and Finland have garnered international acclaim for their strong commitment to environmental causes. The government of the United States, in contrast, has been widely and vehemently criticized for its alleged disinterest. The bad press is ironic because the United States is engaged with other countries on a wide range of environmental issues. A significant amount of that involvement occurs in regions of the world where America's policymakers are hard pressed to find any vital interest. Perhaps more surprisingly, the US Department of Defense is an actor in these activities, a situation doubly ironic because America's military leaders have never engaged in serious, protracted debate to define environmentally-related military roles and #responsibilities. This article briefly examines US engagement on environmental issues with the countries of Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa, locating military involvement in the wider context of overall US environmental partnerships. It argues that all these efforts could achieve better results if they were more coherently focused and integrated. While not advocating a lead role for the military, it concludes that a more concerted engagement on environmental issues could make a contribution both to regional stability and to better military-to-military relations with regional partners.
Abstract: Namibia is a multiparty, multiracial democracy. Sam Nujoma, the leader of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) and President since the country's independence in 1990, will step down at the end of his term in March 2005. On November 15 and 16, citizens elected Minister of Lands, Resettlement, and Rehabilitation Hifikepunye Pohamba to be the next President. International and domestic observers agreed the general elections were generally free and reflected the will of the electorate despite some irregularities; SWAPO won three quarters of the seats in the National Assembly. The judiciary was independent but at times inefficient.
The police, including the paramilitary Special Field Force (SFF), supervised by the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Namibian Defense Force (NDF), supervised by the Ministry of Defense, shared responsibility for internal security. The Namibian Central Intelligence Service (NCIS) has responsibility for national security related intelligence inside and outside the country. Civilian authorities maintained effective control of the security forces. Some members of the security forces committed human rights abuses.
