March 9, 2010
The AfPak Channel // Foreign Policy

Abstract:

Confused about the recent slew of arrests and/or deaths of al-Qaeda and Taliban commanders in Afghanistan and Pakistan? Here's a roundup of who, what, where, and when.

March 9, 2010
International Relations and Security Network

Abstract:

New data from centrist Democratic pollsters shows President Barack Obama and the party losing ground on national security with key voters, and they urge him to toughen up his rhetoric on terrorism, but it’s a prescription that ignores an important point the president has been trying to make. The poll, conducted by veteran Democratic political consultants Stan Greenberg and Jeremy Rosner, found that President Obama had strong personal approval ratings among voters in most areas of national security - higher indeed than his approval rating overall, which was 47 percent approving and 48 percent disapproving. Conducted in late February, the poll surveyed 851 adults who voted in 2008 and said they were likely to do so again in 2010. More than half of the likely voters approved of the president’s handling of Afghanistan (58 percent to 37 percent disapproving); national security (57 percent to 40); “leading America’s military” (57 percent to 38); fighting terrorism (54 percent to 41); and Iraq (54 percent to 40). These numbers, though still strong, are down from the 60 percent plus territory they were in when the pollsters ran their survey in May last year. Nonetheless, the president’s approval ratings are currently in negative territory on only two national security issues: Iran (42 percent approving to 49 percent disapproving) and the “prosecution and interrogation of terrorism suspects.”...

March 8, 2010
International Relations and Security Network

Abstract:

As Afghanistan contracting surges, US agencies fail to coordinate, inviting waste and abuse. In the past eight years, the United States has allocated $51 billion to rebuild and stabilize Afghanistan. But tracking that money sometimes seems as challenging as finding the leaders of the Taliban. No one keeps an exact count of the number of private contractors working in Afghanistan -- even though Congress ordered that be done more than two years ago. There’s no central list of all the contracts now in force. Government auditors cannot determine with confidence if the reconstruction money is being properly spent or meets the stated objectives. And efforts to improve coordination among the key U.S. agencies managing the money -- the Pentagon, the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development -- have lagged at best. That is the picture that emerges from dozens of interviews with auditors, contractors, congressional aides and inspectors general, who echo the findings of independent government reports over the past decade. Without rigorous record-keeping, they say, the contracting process is vulnerable to waste, duplication of effort and fraud....

March 8, 2010
Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior

Abstract:

Transatlantic cooperation on the Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy was bound to become easier with President Obama in charge. And so it did, at least at first. Obama’s demands for a greater European role in ‘AfPak’ were initially met. European governments deployed more troops and agreed to a new NATO training mission for the ANSF. $500 million in additional civilian assistance to Afghanistan was pledged at the NATO meeting in April 2009. Looking back over Obama’s first year in office, however, one can discern two phases of transatlantic cooperation. One started in January 2009 and lasted until mid-year, during which time US-European cooperation was close. Another ongoing period began in autumn 2009, during which US-European policy began to falter, a US Afghanistan-Pakistan policy re-examination ensued and transatlantic cooperation decreased. This is not to say that Europe was content with US strategy in one period and dissatisfied in another. Throughout, European governments have happily declared NATO’s Afghan mission vital to their own security, but in practice have continued to treat it as a US responsibility. Together, they have undertaken little joint strategising – as opposed to national planning – and have generally used their troops to curry favour with the US administration....

March 5, 2010
Royal United Services Institute Journal

Abstract:

The demands of counter-insurgency have sparked much discussion about the need for army reform. But it is also the case that government, as a whole, must adapt to the present campaign. Britain has lagged behind the US in this regard, and it is not clear that sufficient political will exists in the UK for real change. However, British capacity is only ever the first step: ultimately, what matters for successful stabilisation is the capability and legitimacy of the host government.

November 24, 2008
University of Pittsburgh // Ford Institute for Human Security

Abstract:

Human security is emerging as a sophisticated and compelling strategy to address the extreme problems of children in contemporary wars. The child soldier is increasingly seen as an icon of ‘new’ wars – transformed from a young person into a weapon. Whether as members of local militias or as suicide bombers, child soldiers are children growing up among failed adults in failed communities. Some not only fail to learn to read or write, they also fail to learn the humanity they need to be successful neighbors and parents. Turning children into weapons is an act of generational destruction. Failed adults are more likely to make failed neighbors and failed parents. The cycle can continue for generations. Thus the real costs of war cannot be tallied for years, for decades, for generations…. Child soldiers reveal the genocidal aspects of contemporary wars. Child soldiers are, explicitly or tacitly, direct attacks on the generational transitions of communities. The cruelty of new wars reveals major gaps in educational policy frameworks currently in use by the international community. Education policy today focuses thinking about education as a civil rights problem. This leads to concerns for access to the ‘provision’ of institutional services. Developed during the post World War II period, education was constructed as a neutral, technical process complete with generic experts who taught and generic students who learned. Their classrooms were ordered around literacy and numeracy. Their ends were national economic growth. Little attention was paid to security issues and their consequences, either shorter or longer term. This approach to development, while admirable, is insufficiently compelling to drive today’s strategic operations in the brutal, even genocidal face of ‘cultural identity’ wars and their aftermath. Under these conditions, when civil societies are threatened to their generational core, traditional classrooms and curriculum are no longer sufficient. The problem is no longer one of civil rights. It has become a much larger problem of generational survival. This paper suggests that the emerging human security frameworks, while still mired globally in failing narratives, may offer the best direction for future work. Emerging human security narratives focus on the protection of local populations, especially children. They require defense against the forced recruitment of child soldiers. These new narratives center on the protection of generational agency. They mobilize local and external communities to actively secure safe places for children to grow and develop as normally as possible. How then should scholars and strategists examine the practical questions of deterrence? What appears to be working on the ground in new wars? Against the allure of muscular and violent warriors stands a small group of internationals working side by side with caring local parents and neighbors desperate to defend their children. Together they have constructed an emerging strategy of local community protection that places at its center, the protection of children’s agency in the face of those who seek its annihilation. This paper examines the problems of research and data collection under these conditions, turning to ‘fugitive literature’ and strategic desk reviews. It briefly surveys general, large-scale responses to recruitment deterrence in Bosnia, Albania, Ingushetia, Sierra Leone, Colombia and Panama. It concludes that while causal claims may not be advisable, scholars can at least begin to map the strategic intent of the institutions involved. Beyond that, more work is needed to map the political and cultural economies that either threaten or defend children....

October 24, 2008
National Defence Academy and Bureau for Security Policy // PfP Consortium of Defence Academies and Security Studies Institutes

Abstract:

The origins of this article, and the book from which it derives, lie in the largely unanticipated end of the Cold War in 1989-90, when I had the good fortune to be a William C. Foster Fellow at the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA). This fellowship included serving as a member of the U.S. Delegation to the Negotiations on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures (CSBMs) within the context of the (then) Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), based in Vienna, Austria. The CSCE, now the OSCE, is the world’s pre-eminent regional peace and security organization comprising former enemies of the Cold War (NATO and Warsaw Pact) and the neutral and nonaligned of Europe. The end of the Cold War provided opportunities and challenges for reshaping international peace and security into a “New World Order” in which the former Cold War foes could collaborate on global problemsolving to the benefit of all. Having become aware of the CSCE’s contribution to ending the Cold War (see Leatherman, 2003) as part of the experience of serving as a diplomat on the U.S. Delegation to the CSBMs Negotiations, I was intrigued by the possibility that the CSCE could play a useful role in realizing this goal of a “New World Order.” Regrettably, the end of the Cold War also provided opportunities for parts of Europe, particularly the Balkans, to descend into brutal genocidal warfare....

October 24, 2008
National Defence Academy and Bureau for Security Policy // PfP Consortium of Defence Academies and Security Studies Institutes

Abstract:

November 2005 marked the 10th anniversary when in Dayton, Ohio, the conflict parties from Bosnia and Herzegovina agreed on a peace accord, stopping a war that had caused 250.000 deaths and two million refugees. After the UN-brokered ceasefires and peace agreements in the conflict in Croatia, the Dayton Framework Agreement was the first in a long line of peace plans with which the International Community attempted to transform the chaotic and antagonistic region of the Western Balkans towards a more peaceful and co-operative area in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Comparable to the Dayton/Paris accords, which seek to preserve the unity of Bosnia and Herzegovina by creating two entities, the Bosniak- Croat Federation and the Serb Republika Srpska, stands the UN master plan for Kosovo that was defined by a military-technical agreement and the ensuing the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 in June 1999. Unlike Bosnia and Herzegovina, where none of the conflict parties had lost or won the war in a military sense, the Kosovo Albanians – with the support of the NATO air strikes – had clearly won the war against the Serbs. This fact has had deep implications on the Kosovo peace process and on today’s relationship between the Albanian majority and the Serb minority. In Southern Serbia and in Macedonia (FYROM), the International Community could prevent the fighting from spreading into a full-fledged civil war in 2001, between Serbs, Macedonians and Albanians through the Ohrid Agreement. Also in the case of Serbia and Montenegro the process of nationbuilding still influences political stability and interethnic relations. The Belgrade Agreement that was reached under the mediation of the European Union in March 2002 was not able to stop the disintegration of the state union. In May 2006 the majority of the Montenegrin electorate in a referendum voted for Montenegro’s independence of Serbia. The year 2006 finds the Western Balkan countries at a crossroad; some have taken the road toward Euro-Atlantic institutions; others seem to keep on being involved in ethnic and political conflicts. To prevent such a scenario of a divided and fragmented Western Balkan region it is important to discuss the issue, whether the peace plans, which represent the basis for the stabilisation process, are up-to-date, and which are the lessons to be learned from them. This study includes the results of a workshop held by the working group Regional Stability in Southeast Europe of the PfP Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes in Reichenau, Austria in May 2006. The case studies presented in this study concentrate especially on the following questions: • What are the main reasons for the varying success in implementing the peace plans (internal and external factors)? • How strong are the peace plans interlinked? • Do the peace plans contribute to regional stability? • Is it necessary to rework or re-launch the peace plans? • What should these changes look like? The second part of this study deals with the role of important international factors in helping to implement the peace plans. In this regard especially, the changing role of the OSCE, the EU and the US in the process of peace-building is reflected....

October 24, 2008
National Defence Academy and Bureau for Security Policy // PfP Consortium of Defence Academies and Security Studies Institutes

Abstract:

The South of Serbia, or Preševo Valley, as Albanians call this part of Serbia, consists of the Serbian municipalities of Preševo, Bujanovac, and Medvedja, all of which border on Kosovo. This area is important for Serbia because major railroads and highways run through it, connecting the Southern and central parts of Serbia with Kosovo. The transportation arteries in this area also connect Serbia, Macedonia, and Greece. Thus, it is through this area that Central Europe is linked with the Mediterranean. Around 70,000 Albanians live in the area. Many Albanians consider the Preševo Valley to be “Eastern Kosovo.” Albanians from these municipalities declared themselves, in the referendum of 1992, in favour of “peaceful annexation” to their compatriots in Kosovo. This view has been presented in a document of the Albanian Academy of Sciences and Arts from Tirana, according to which Daradnije, that is Eastern Kosovo, should be united into an independent State together with Kosovo. According to this view, this is a part of a comprehensive resolution of the Albanian question, also including the special status for Albanians in Montenegro (the area of Malesija with the municipalities of Rožaje, Plav, Gusinje, and Ulcinj plus Tuzi, which should be taken out of Podgorica and established as a separate municipality) and the status of constitutional people for Albanians in Macedonia—the Albanian Ilirida (Arvanitis, 2002:59). The issues that drove Preševo Valley to a crisis situation include local Albanians’ needs for improved human rights and the Republic of Serbia’s need to protect and control a sensitive border. This conflict clearly has a multiethnic dimension: Albanians, who are a minority in Serbia overall but a majority in the Preševo Valley are at odds with a Serbian population that is a minority locally but a majority in the country – and is backed by Governmental authority. The Preševo Valley crisis is made especially acute by its close ties to the situations in Kosovo and Macedonia....

October 24, 2008
National Defence Academy and Bureau for Security Policy // PfP Consortium of Defence Academies and Security Studies Institutes

Abstract:

More than any other region, over the past fifteen years Southeast Europe has both reflected and impacted the broader state of transatlantic, and in particular United States-European Union, relations. During this period, the level of U.S. focus and engagement in region has waxed and waned. Strong American focus and leadership have alternated with disengagement and deference to EU initiatives according to a four- to five-year cycle. Without fully reversing the current decade’s dynamic of “Europeanization”, the past year has seen a resurgence of U.S. activism. The extent and duration of this latest pendulum swing will depend on developments both inside and outside the region....

March 3, 2010
Freedom House

Abstract:

As the governments of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) undertake the difficult process of enacting social and political change, the unequal status of women presents a particularly formidable challenge. In Iraq, deliberations over women's legal status have been as contentious as negotiations over how to structure the government. In Jordan, measures to increase penalties for so-called honor crimes faced strong resistance by ultraconservative parliamentarians and ordinary citizens who believe that tradition and religion afford them the right to severely punish and even murder female relatives for behavior they deem immoral. These debates are not just legal and philosophical struggles among elites. They are emotionally charged political battles that touch upon fundamental notions of morality and social order. In order to provide a detailed look at the conditions faced by women in the Middle East and understand the complex environment surrounding efforts to improve their status, Freedom House conducted a comprehensive study of women's rights in the region. The first edition of this project was published in 2005. The present edition offers an updated examination of the issue, with a special focus on changes that have occurred over the last five years. Although the study indicates that a substantial deficit in women's rights persists in every country in the MENA region, the findings also include notable progress, particularly in terms of economic opportunities, educational attainment, and political participation....

January 13, 2010
German Institute of Global and Area Studies // Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

Abstract:

Algeria’s intrastate war in the 1990s, during which militant Islamists and the state fought fiercely against each other, still raises questions concerning the decisive factors leading to its onset and escalation. This paper uses the resource curse approach and the rentier state theory to understand the impact resource wealth could have had on the outbreak of this violent conflict, then goes one step further, adopting a context‐sensitive approach. This approach attempts to juxtapose those conditions directly linked to the resource sector with the general conflict‐fueling conditions diagnosed in Algeria. It takes into account conditions both within the country and in the international context. The application of a context matrix allows us to examine the interplay of resource‐related factors and other conflictdriving forces, such as socioeconomic, demographic and ideological changes. Such an approach not only broadens the general understanding of the resource‐violence link but also enhances our understanding of the eruption of violence in Algeria....

November 30, 2009
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Abstract:

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, established in January 2007, is the latest in a long line of Algerian jihadi groups. Like many terrorist organizations, AQIM enjoys global media exposure on activist Internet sites, but unlike other al-Qaeda franchises, it has managed to maintain its indigenous leadership. The group has become known for fearsome suicide attacks, which were previously unheard of in Algeria, but has failed to incorporate the jihadi outfi ts from neighboring Morocco and Tunisia. AQIM has therefore focused on the northern Sahara, carving out safe havens and threatening weak government forces, fi rst in Mauritania, and now increasingly in Mali. At the outset, AQIM’s global strategy was based on the triangular dynamic of the Middle East (where Iraq serves as a magnet for potential recruits), North Africa (where the group functions as a regional jihadi recruiting hub), and Europe (where it pursues aggressive propaganda against the French and Spanish “Crusaders”). The demise of al-Qaeda in Iraq jeopardized this grand design, undermining AQIM’s capabilities on both sides of the Mediterranean, but although it primarily targets Western “Crusaders” in its own Algerian and Saharan environment, AQIM remains wedded to a global agenda. The threat of AQIM must be contained, and hopefully, ultimately eradicated. Algeria and the other targeted states have a long record of fi ghting similar jihadi networks, but they cannot confront transnational movements without international cooperation. To address this threat, regional security organizations can enhance much-needed bilateral exchanges among law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Additionally, the countries implementing the UN global strategy against terrorism should focus considerable attention on North Africa and the Sahel, where the threat is on the rise, but not yet out of control....

October 5, 2009
Institute for National Security Studies // Jaffe Center for Strategic Studies

Abstract:

The Middle East remains one of the world’s stormier regions, with fault lines running across ethnic groups, nation-states, communities, and religions. Even a cursory overview of the region yields a long list of active and nascent strength in the nuclear realm as the most severe threat to their security. Over the course of 2008 Iraq witnessed an improvement in security, but there is still no guarantee that this achievement is stable or that it will be possible to maintain it once American forces leave the country. At the same time, the conflict in Afghanistan is intensifying anew, and the growing involvement of NATO and US forces is expected to increase even further. Over the last three years, Israel was involved in two armed confrontations that were characterized as wars, both against sub-state organizations and elements supported by Iran. The weight of non-state players in military confrontations is growing, and military confrontations between countries are becoming rarer. Against this background, there is little wonder that the Middle East remains a region characterized by ever-growing national armed forces and non-state militias, and remains one of the largest customers of various types of weaponry....

September 15, 2009
Center for Contemporary Arab Studies

Abstract:

On March 4, 2004, General Charles Wald, then-deputy commander for the European Command (EUCOM), observed that “there has, without a doubt, been some al-Qaida presence in portions of North Africa. But it isn’t like Afghanistan or other places, and what’s more, Pakistan, for that matter.” On March 10, 2005, Rep. Edward R. Royce (R-California), chairman of the House Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Nonproliferation, mentioned in a prepared statement that the “train and equip eff orts [undertaken by the Trans-Sahara Counter Terrorism Partnership (TSCTP)] are aimed at eliminating the ‘next Afghanistan’: another terrorist sanctuary” across the Sahara-Sahel region, which allegedly harbors Islamic militants and bin Laden sympathizers. More recently, Rep. Jane Harman (D-California) argued that “North Africa could be the next front in [the] war on terror.” Emerging offi cial forecasts about the rise of violence in North Africa have enhanced regional governments’ geostrategic positioning in the “Global War on Terror” (GWOT) by strengthening their diplomatic and military ties to the United States. Speculations and warnings about the “Afghanistan-ization” of North Africa have not, however, contributed to the development of a viable interpretive framework for assessing the contexts and interests underpinning radicalization. In reality, the threat level in the Maghreb in general, and in Algeria in particular, can only be understood by taking the internal political situation into consideration from an emic perspective. Only a fi ne-grained, qualitative framework, one that attends to the processes of radicalization from an insider’s perspective, can reveal how and why individuals are vulnerable to recruitment into the ranks of radical Islamists, the so-called “salafi jihadi” network....

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....

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....

January 27, 2010
Global Witness

Abstract:

The will and the capacity of the United Nations (UN) and Member States to deal with natural resource fuelled conflicts is weak. In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), civilians die on a daily basis because of a war that is stoked by the international trade in minerals. The conflict’s economic dimension and the identity of those fuelling it have been known for many years; yet increased awareness of the problem has not triggered effective action. When the UN Security Council passes resolutions concerning DRC – on targeted sanctions for example – Council members and other governments decline to implement them. Global Witness believes that these failings on the DRC reflect the lack of a coherent and committed international approach to tackling natural resourcefuelled conflicts. For two decades, the UN, other intergovernmental bodies and individual governments have been forced to respond to these kinds of self-financing wars in countries such as Angola, Cambodia, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Côte d’Ivoire. Different policies have been tried, with varying degrees of success, but no serious attempt has been made to distil from these experiences a common understanding of the problem and a strategy for dealing with it. Reviewing these cases, we find that the international peace and security system is poorly equipped to deal with the challenges they pose. When considered together, the four key entry points for international action – sanctions, peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding – should offer the basis for effective action. However, despite progress in some areas, the overall picture is one of ad hoc decision making and yawning gaps in institutional capacity and coordination. Global Witness is calling on the UN to establish a High Level Panel to draw up a comprehensive strategy for tackling self-financing wars. This High Level Panel should review existing international experience of responding to such conflicts. It should also examine potential threats in countries such as Guinea, Somalia and Central African Republic....

October 26, 2009
Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior

Abstract:

In order for fragile states and the concept of state weakness to be properly understood, they need to be considered in the contexts of political economy and world history. Four apparently disparate cases – Guatemala, Haiti, Kosovo and Angola – show surprising similarities, and highlight common lessons for international state-building efforts. In all four cases, behind a façade of ‘normal’ state institutions, public life and development are increasingly subject to shadow economies and shadow forces with strong international linkages. There are unfortunately no existing remedies for state weakness. However, methods of improvement should include autonomous non-state actors, sustained efforts to build state capacities and restore the fabric of society, and significantly improved governance of global flows....

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....

August 19, 2009
David Lake // Department of Political Science, University of California, San Diego

Abstract:

This project argues that the current model of state-building is deeply flawed and that an alternative model may work better. It hews to a middle ground between the critics: successful state-building may be possible, but only if the international community adopts a different framework. Key to successful state-building, I argue, is restoring the legitimacy of the state’s monopoly of violence. The current model implicitly rests on a formal-legal conception of legitimacy in which law or institutions confer authority on officials, who then employ that authority to create a social order. But a formal-legal approach, however well suited to established states governed by a rule of law, is inappropriate in the anarchy of a failed state. Precisely because the prior regime has lost its legitimacy, there is no accepted legal or institutional framework that can confer authority on a nascent government, no matter how democratic. I develop an alternative, relational conception of legitimacy drawn from social contract theories of the state.2 In this approach, authority derives from a mutually-beneficial contract in which the ruler provides a social order of benefit to the ruled, and the ruled in turn comply with the extractions (e.g., taxes) and constraints on their behavior (e.g., law) that are necessary to the production of that order. The contract becomes self-enforcing – or legitimate – when individuals and groups become “vested” in that social order by undertaking investments specific to the particular contract. In this way, legitimacy follows from social order, not the other way around as in the current model. This implies that providing security, protecting property rights, and adjudicating disputes within society should be the first step in any state-building process. This paper proceeds in five principal sections. The first examines the concepts of state failure and state-building, arguing for a new focus on rebuilding state legitimacy. Section II probes and criticizes the intellectual foundations of the current model and practice of state-building. I then develop an alternative analytic foundation and model that rests of a relational conception of authority in Section III. I develop the role of international trustees in the state-building process and examine further the tensions identified above in Section IV. The final section examines the case of Somalia. Other cases are planned for future research....

July 23, 2009
Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior

Abstract:

For many decades, war and other kinds of violence brought wretchedness and early death to millions of Angolans. What difference has Western action or inaction made for the war affected? Have donors helped or hindered their empowerment? This short paper explores these questions. Its findings should be read as approximate and provisional, however, given the low and uneven quality of available information. Some findings are valid only for specific historical moments. In recent decades, Angola has passed through several ‘post-conflict’ situations. Donors responded differently to each one, as their political purposes changed and their leverage grew weaker.The terrain of victimisation shifted as tides of overt and structural violence left sedimentary layers of disadvantage and privilege. This paper, therefore, offers an analysis of today’s post-war trends in empowerment and disempowerment against a backdrop of earlier waves of conflict in Angola’s troubled history....

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.

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....

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....

March 23, 2009
Global Terrorism Analysis // The Jamestown Foundation

Abstract:

The international terrorist presence in Latin America is concentrated in several "hotspots" where terrorist organizations have found financial and logistic support, as well as a supporting base. Among these areas are Venezuela and its Margarita Island, Trinidad and Tobago, the Iquique area in Chile, and the Tri-Border Area (TBA, or Triple Frontera) in South America. The TBA, which includes the Brazilian city of Foz de Iguazú, the Argentinean Puerto Iguazú, and Ciudad del Este in Paraguay, has served in the past twenty years as an operational and logistic center for international terrorist groups, such as the Lebanese Hezbollah, as well as transnational criminal organizations. This area has a population of approximately 700,000 people; including roughly 30,000 inhabitants of Arab descent. The Arab community, which constitutes one of the largest immigrant groups in the region, is predominantly Lebanese, especially in Ciudad del Este and Foz de Iguazú. The local Lebanese population is largely Shia. The Triple Frontera is one of the most important commercial centers of South America, with approximately 20 thousand people transiting on a daily basis from the neighboring states to the free-trade area of Ciudad del Este in Paraguay. The intense volume of people and goods entering the TBA, together with its porous borders, are two important factors that originally attracted criminal and armed groups to this area. Additionally, the relative ease with which money is locally laundered and transferred to and from regions overseas constitutes a very powerful incentive to maintain a base of operations in the TBA. Therefore, transnational criminal groups such as the Mexican and Colombian drug cartels, Chinese and Russian mafias, and the Japanese Yakuza all appear to have a strongly rooted presence in this South American region. Within the TBA, the epicenter of organized crime is Ciudad del Este - an important hub of drug and human trafficking, and the smuggling of goods, weapons, contraband and counterfeit products....

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

February 23, 2010
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre // Norwegian Refugee Council

Abstract:

Some 20 years after the beginning of Armenia’s war with Azerbaijan and related violence, information on the remaining 8,400 people internally displaced is scarce. People internally displaced by the conflict have received hardly any government attention because other larger refugee and internally displaced groups have made competing demands on the state budget in a time of economic transition and crisis. International organisations have also largely neglected their plight. The low public profile and lack of registration and monitoring of these internally displaced people (IDPs) and returnees have made it difficult to estimate how many have achieved durable solutions....

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....

October 15, 2009
Crisis Management Initiative // Department for International Development

Abstract:

The aims of this report are to critically assess how the European Union has employed the instruments at its disposal to contribute to the resolution of the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh and how it can better use the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) as a means of advancing the resolution of the protracted differences between Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the people of Nagorno Karabakh. Specifically, this report will seek to: offer a comprehensive assessment of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict in order to contribute to strategic planning thereto at the EU level (European Commission/European Council/EU Member States) as concerns the resolution of the conflict; provide an overview of the existing international responses and identify the EU’s position in regard to other actors involved; critically assess how the EU used the policy instruments at its disposal within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and how their implementation could have contributed to the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict; identify challenges, needs and options for future EU involvement in conflict resolution....

October 7, 2009
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

A preliminary breakthrough in the two-decades-old Nagorno-Karabakh conflict – a framework agreement on basic principles – may be within reach. Armenia and Azerbaijan are in substantial accord on principles first outlined by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group in 2005. A basic principles agreement, while only a foundation to build on, is crucial to maintain momentum for a peace deal. Important differences remain on specifics of a subsequent final deal. Movement toward Armenia-Turkey rapprochement after a century of hostility has brought opportunity also for ending the Nagorno-Karabakh stalemate. Sustainable regional peace requires compromises on all the quarrels, but there is backlash danger, especially in Armenia, where public discontent could derail the Nagorno-Karabakh framework agreement. Presidents Sarkisian (Armenia) and Aliyev (Azerbaijan) need to do more to prepare their publics. The U.S., Russia and France, Minsk Group co-chairs, have stepped up collective efforts, but more is needed to emphasise dangers in clinging to an untenable status quo. Although a deliberate military offensive from either side is unlikely in the near future, the ceasefire that ended active hostilities fifteen years ago is increasingly fragile. There has been a steady increase in the frequency and intensity of armed skirmishes that could unintentionally spark a wider conflict. Though the ceasefire has helped prevent return to full-scale hostilities, it has not prevented some 3,000 deaths along the front line – military and civilian alike – since 1994. The official negotiations have also not significantly tempered the great scepticism and cynicism among both Armenians and Azerbaijanis about a possible end to the conflict. There is deep distrust of the mediating process, and many on both sides are suspicious that the talks are little more than window-dressing. Many also complain about what they perceive as the secretive nature of the talks. This gives rise to suspicions that a peace deal equates to surrender and that leaders who would take such action would be guilty of treason. These fears have been fuelled by years of official and unofficial propaganda on both sides, and particularly in Armenia, there is a growing sentiment that a change in the status quo could create new security threats. Notably, there is concern even among some government officials that Armenia is being pressured to give up something tangible – the occupied territories – in exchange for mere promises of security. These feelings are especially acute in Nagorno-Karabakh....

July 28, 2009
French Institute of International Relations // L’Institut français des relations internationales

Abstract:

Russia's military intervention in Georgia in August 2008 sent a shock wave across the post-Soviet space, particularly the republics to the west and south of Russia. In December 2008, the European Union formalized the Eastern Partnership initiative, directed at Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. In order to understand the impact of this war both of Russia's bilateral relations with these countries and on the Eastern Partnership area as a whole, this article analyzes the reactions of these former Soviet republics to the Russian offensive. Three types of response are observed: keeping distance from Russia; maintaining a balance between Moscow and the West; and finally, changing course (from rapprochment to keeping distance and vice versa) vis-a-vis the former center of the Soviet Empire....

December 10, 2009
Lowy Institute for International Policy

Abstract:

The planned withdrawal of Netherlands forces from Oruzgan in mid-2010 raises questions about who will replace the Dutch as lead nation in the province and about the fragile stability that has been built there by the Dutch and the Australians. President Obama’s announcement raises further questions about the number and role of Australian forces in Afghanistan and about Australia’s civil and diplomatic contributions to the stabilisation of Afghanistan and its broader region. US President Obama’s decision to dispatch 30,000 additional troops to the war in Afghanistan, announced in a speech to the West Point military academy on 1 December, has echoes of former President Bush’s own surge of 20,000 troops to Iraq in 2007. Like the surge in Iraq, Obama’s surge seeks to turn around a losing war, or rather to demonstrate that it is still ultimately winnable....

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

Abstract:

In July 2009, the UN General Assembly held an Interactive Informal Dialogue and plenary session on the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP). The dialogue provided the first opportunity for the UN membership as a whole to discuss implementation of the 2005 World Summit’s commitment to the RtoP and the UN Secretary-General’s report on the matter. Fifteen governments from the Asia-Pacific region, namely Indonesia, the Philippines, Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Japan, China, Vietnam, Solomon Islands, Myanmar, Timor-Leste, DPRK, PNG and Malaysia, participated in the dialogue. This culminated in a resolution co-sponsored by, inter alia, Australia, Fiji, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Korea, Timor-Leste and New Zealand that noted the Secretary-General’s report, observed the fruitfulness of the interactive dialogue, and committed the Assembly to further consideration of the RtoP. According to the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, one of the most significant aspects of the dialogue was the positive transformation of attitudes towards the RtoP within the Asia-Pacific region. Having previously been considered the region most opposed to the RtoP, the region now boasts near unanimity in its endorsement of the principle and the Secretary-General’s efforts towards its implementation (with the exception of North Korea)....

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

Abstract:

Governments in the Asia-Pacific are often referred to as skeptics or spoilers in conversations about deepening and harnessing global consensus on the „Responsibility to Protect‟ (R2P). This working paper argues that, on the contrary, there exists a broad constituency within the region for moving the principle from rhetoric to reality at the United Nations (UN). Based on contributions to Security Council debates on the protection of civilians in armed conflict (POC), regional states have been both receptive to and promoters of tangible measures to operationalise institutional mechanisms to prevent and halt mass atrocity crimes. Statements in the two most recent meetings are of particular significance given that they represent one of the last opportunities to gauge regional positions ahead of the forthcoming General Assembly debate on the R2P. In conclusion, I suggest that the Asia-Pacific region is much more receptive to the R2P principle than has hitherto been acknowledged. The first section of the working paper walks through the development of the R2P principle and the history of the UN Security Council's thematic interest in POC. The subsequent section unpacks and clarifies the relationship between the R2P and POC. The paper then proceeds to analyse the contributions of Asia-Pacific states to the two lattermost Council debates on POC, emphasising the significance of these statements for the institutional future of the R2P at the UN, as well as normative traction and increased ownership of the R2P in and by the region. Finally, the paper concludes by recommending the way ahead if Asia-Pacific states are to remain constructive partners in moving the principle towards praxis....

October 13, 2009
Australian Strategic Policy Institute

Abstract:

The decision by the Australian Government on 21 August 2009 to officially list the al-Shabaab group as a terrorist organisation highlights a subject of growing concern in many Western governments: what is the danger posed by the Somali-based group, and is it merely a regional actor? The question is one of growing salience as stories increasingly surface of young Western (or Westernised) men leaving their homes to fight and train with the Islamic warriors in Somalia. Furthermore, the growing parallels with the 'chain of terror' that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown highlighted, emanating from Pakistan's lawless provinces through Europe's Muslim communities, mean fears are growing that it might result in a terrorist attack on the scale of the Madrid or London bombings. This article outlines the growing sense of apparent threat in the West from networks linked in some way to al-Shabaab. It offers some brief thoughts on the growing links between what are herein termed 'the Shabaab networks' and whether the threat from them is one than can be paralleled with the threat from the similarly structured al-Qaeda networks....

September 18, 2009
Strategic Insight // Australian Strategic Policy Institute

Abstract:

The Australian Government has stepped-up its support for President Barack Obama’s strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan by increasing its Operation Slipper military commitment. Right now the main focus of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) mission in Afghanistan is to help build a capable Afghan National Army (ANA). This effort is critical to the success of the coalition’s new strategic approach to stabilise the volatile region and deny violent extremists a sanctuary along its borderlands. The government’s much anticipated troop increase, announced by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 29 April 2009, will see a near 50% expansion of the ADF presence in Afghanistan by 2010, with troop numbers rising from 1,090 to 1,550 personnel. The operational goal of sending extra forces to Afghanistan is to raise the effectiveness of an ANA infantry brigade so it can assume primary responsibility for security in Oruzgan Province, thereby creating the conditions for the withdrawal of the ADF over the medium term. This paper examines challenges for the ADF in ‘operationalising’ the new strategy by conducting security sector reform (SSR)2 whilst combating the Taliban insurgency in southern Afghanistan....

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 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....

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....

January 11, 2010
Center for Strategic and International Studies

Abstract:

The development of new northern supply routes into Afghanistan, termed the Northern Distribution Network (NDN) by the U.S. government, and the expanded U.S. presence in Afghanistan has had considerable impact on regional geopolitics in Eurasia. For those states now involved in the NDN (Latvia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan), this cooperation has added a new dimension to their relations that increases their stakes in bilateral ties with the United States and vice versa. Washington is engaging these partners on an issue of utmost priority to U.S. security interests. Together and individually these states can play a constructive role in Afghan stabilization efforts. But persistent tensions, mistrust, paranoia, authoritarianism, and a near-exclusive focus on “regime preservation” make some of them unwieldy and volatile partners. Suspicion of U.S. intentions and commitment further complicate this calculation. Understanding the dimensions of and knowing how to manage the geopolitical challenges and opportunities associated with NDN transit states and other key players is critical for the United States....

October 7, 2009
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

A preliminary breakthrough in the two-decades-old Nagorno-Karabakh conflict – a framework agreement on basic principles – may be within reach. Armenia and Azerbaijan are in substantial accord on principles first outlined by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group in 2005. A basic principles agreement, while only a foundation to build on, is crucial to maintain momentum for a peace deal. Important differences remain on specifics of a subsequent final deal. Movement toward Armenia-Turkey rapprochement after a century of hostility has brought opportunity also for ending the Nagorno-Karabakh stalemate. Sustainable regional peace requires compromises on all the quarrels, but there is backlash danger, especially in Armenia, where public discontent could derail the Nagorno-Karabakh framework agreement. Presidents Sarkisian (Armenia) and Aliyev (Azerbaijan) need to do more to prepare their publics. The U.S., Russia and France, Minsk Group co-chairs, have stepped up collective efforts, but more is needed to emphasise dangers in clinging to an untenable status quo. Although a deliberate military offensive from either side is unlikely in the near future, the ceasefire that ended active hostilities fifteen years ago is increasingly fragile. There has been a steady increase in the frequency and intensity of armed skirmishes that could unintentionally spark a wider conflict. Though the ceasefire has helped prevent return to full-scale hostilities, it has not prevented some 3,000 deaths along the front line – military and civilian alike – since 1994. The official negotiations have also not significantly tempered the great scepticism and cynicism among both Armenians and Azerbaijanis about a possible end to the conflict. There is deep distrust of the mediating process, and many on both sides are suspicious that the talks are little more than window-dressing. Many also complain about what they perceive as the secretive nature of the talks. This gives rise to suspicions that a peace deal equates to surrender and that leaders who would take such action would be guilty of treason. These fears have been fuelled by years of official and unofficial propaganda on both sides, and particularly in Armenia, there is a growing sentiment that a change in the status quo could create new security threats. Notably, there is concern even among some government officials that Armenia is being pressured to give up something tangible – the occupied territories – in exchange for mere promises of security. These feelings are especially acute in Nagorno-Karabakh....

September 3, 2009
Freedom House

Abstract:

Nations in Transit 2009 is the 13th edition of Freedom House’s comprehensive, comparative study of democratic development from Central Europe to Eurasia. It examines 29 countries, including the newest independent state in the region, Kosovo. The overarching conclusion is that 2008 was a very difficult year for democracy: scores declined for 18 of the 29 countries, and a record 8 countries are now in the “consolidated authoritarian regimes” category. Worrying trends highlighted in the previous three editions of Nations in Transit became even more pronounced in 2008, while positive trends lost momentum. A number of events illustrate the intensification of these negative trends. In 2008, for the first time in the 21st century, a war erupted between two states covered in Nations in Transit. The so-called “August War” between Georgia and Russia served as a wake-up call for those who believed that the democratic decline observed in the region over the last few years would not have a detrimental effect on security and stability. Highly problematic elections accentuated the region’s troubles. Two petro-states, Azerbaijan (which recorded the largest democratic decline in this edition of Nations in Transit) and the Russian Federation, held uncompetitive presidential elections in which the result was predetermined. Armenia’s presidential poll was marred by lethal postelection violence. And the government in Georgia used administrative resources to seriously influence that country’s hotly contested presidential and parliamentary elections. Nations in Transit 2009 documents how journalists were once again at risk throughout the region, from Croatia to Uzbekistan, and national governments were challenged by corruption scandals, as was the case in Bulgaria; by divisive ethnic politics, as in Bosnia and Herzegovina; by parliamentary boycotts, as in Montenegro; or by infighting and outright irresponsibility among political leaders, as in Ukraine....

July 28, 2009
French Institute of International Relations // L’Institut français des relations internationales

Abstract:

Russia's military intervention in Georgia in August 2008 sent a shock wave across the post-Soviet space, particularly the republics to the west and south of Russia. In December 2008, the European Union formalized the Eastern Partnership initiative, directed at Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. In order to understand the impact of this war both of Russia's bilateral relations with these countries and on the Eastern Partnership area as a whole, this article analyzes the reactions of these former Soviet republics to the Russian offensive. Three types of response are observed: keeping distance from Russia; maintaining a balance between Moscow and the West; and finally, changing course (from rapprochment to keeping distance and vice versa) vis-a-vis the former center of the Soviet Empire....

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.

March 3, 2010
Freedom House

Abstract:

As the governments of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) undertake the difficult process of enacting social and political change, the unequal status of women presents a particularly formidable challenge. In Iraq, deliberations over women's legal status have been as contentious as negotiations over how to structure the government. In Jordan, measures to increase penalties for so-called honor crimes faced strong resistance by ultraconservative parliamentarians and ordinary citizens who believe that tradition and religion afford them the right to severely punish and even murder female relatives for behavior they deem immoral. These debates are not just legal and philosophical struggles among elites. They are emotionally charged political battles that touch upon fundamental notions of morality and social order. In order to provide a detailed look at the conditions faced by women in the Middle East and understand the complex environment surrounding efforts to improve their status, Freedom House conducted a comprehensive study of women's rights in the region. The first edition of this project was published in 2005. The present edition offers an updated examination of the issue, with a special focus on changes that have occurred over the last five years. Although the study indicates that a substantial deficit in women's rights persists in every country in the MENA region, the findings also include notable progress, particularly in terms of economic opportunities, educational attainment, and political participation....

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....

February 8, 2010
Human Rights Watch

Abstract:

By the end of the 1990s, Bahrain appeared to have cast off what had been a well-deserved reputation as a country that routinely tortured detainees. The government had taken significant steps to curtail the use of torture and other ill-treatment by its security officials, and reports of such practices became a rarity. This report concludes, however, that since the end of 2007, officials again have used torture and ill-treatment, particularly during the interrogation of security suspects. Human Rights Watch’s conclusion is based on interviews with former detainees and others, as well as its review of government documents. This reversion to past practices came as political tensions rose in Bahrain. Street demonstrations involving young men from the country’s majority Shia Muslim community protesting alleged discrimination by the Sunni-dominated government deteriorated with increasing regularity into confrontations, sometimes violent, with security forces. Arrests often followed. Security officials appear to have utilized a specific repertoire of techniques against many of those arrested designed to inflict pain and elicit confessions. These techniques included the use of electro-shock devices, suspension in painful positions, beating the soles of the feet (falaka), and beatings of the head, torso, and limbs. Some detainees also reported that security officials had threatened to kill them or to rape them or members of their families. Many detainees were subjected to more than one of these practices. The use of these techniques, separately and in combination, violates Bahrain’s obligations as a state party to the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Convention against Torture) and other international treaties, as well as the prohibition of torture in Bahraini law....

August 27, 2009
Center for Strategic and International Studies

Abstract:

While much of the world has focused on Iran’s missile developments, and possible nuclear capabilities, this is only one of the risks that threaten the flow of petroleum products from the Gulf – a region with some 60% of the world’s proven conventional oil reserves and 40% of its natural gas. Far more immediate threats have emerged in terms of asymmetric warfare, terrorism, piracy, non-state actors, and other threats. The Burke Chair at CSIS has developed a new briefing that provides an overview of these threats, showing current trends and highlighting the strategic geography involved. This brief looks beyond Gulf waters and examines the problems created by Iran’s ties to other states and non-state actors throughout the region. It highlights Iran’s capabilities for asymmetric warfare, but it also examines the threat from terrorism and the role it can play in nations like Yemen. It looks at the trends in piracy and in the threat in the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea, and Indian Ocean. The key issues addressed are: Terrorism, asymmetric Warfare, maritime and Border Security, combating piracy, critical facilities and infrastructure, role of chokepoints, and role of State and non-state actors....

April 29, 2009
United Nations Economic and Social Council // United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia

Abstract:

A brainstorming session on the impact of conflict-driven displacement in the ESCWA region was held at UN House, Beirut on 9 February 2009. The session was organized by the Section for Emerging and Conflict Related Issues (ECRI) in order to discuss and solicit inputs and comments on a forthcoming ESCWA study on the socio-economic impact of displacement in the ESCWA region. The session provided an opportunity to discuss the challenges posed by displaced populations on host countries in the region, as well as possible solutions to these challenges. Other topics covered during the session included the need to formulate clear policy recommendations for ESCWA member countries and future collaboration between ECRI and United Nations agencies on regional responses to the problem of displacement....

March 9, 2010
Physicians for Human Rights

Abstract:

In recent months Bangladeshi authorities have waged an unprecedented campaign of arbitrary arrest, illegal expulsion, and forced internment against Burmese refugees. In this emergency report Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) presents new data and documents dire conditions for these persecuted Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. PHR's medical investigators warn that critical levels of acute malnutrition and a surging camp population without access to food aid will cause more deaths from starvation and disease if the humanitarian crisis is not addressed....

March 1, 2010
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), a terrorist organisation, remains active and dangerous despite the decimation of its ranks over the last five years. Its links to the Pakistan group Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) remain a particularly serious concern. Since its coordinated bombing attack across the country on 17 August 2005, police have arrested hundreds of JMB members; they have also executed every member of its original leadership, including its founder, Shaikh Abdur Rahman. Its last successful attack was in January 2006. The state has succeeded in tackling the Islamist extremist threat to the extent that organisations such as JMB are struggling to survive. But the arrest of 95 JMB operatives since October 2008 and discoveries of huge caches of explosives demonstrate that JMB was able to regroup, recruit and raise funds. No one should take its demise for granted: the possibility of another attack remains, and the government should move quickly to create a planned policeled counter-terrorism force. It should also step up counterterrorism cooperation, particularly with neighbouring India....

February 25, 2010
International Peace Institute

Abstract:

International initiatives to counter terrorism and militancy have more often than not been directed at the military aspects of such threats, with insufficient attention paid to the specific context—the social, political, and regional dynamics—in which they evolve. In Bangladesh, for example, the combination of development challenges, weak governance, violent politics, and regional tensions has proved a combustible mix. Though the threat of terrorism and violent religious radicalization has evolved gradually over the past decade and a half, it took a series of serious attacks across the country in 2005 before Bangladesh appeared on international radar screens. Despite some early successes against militant groups, more recent discoveries of arms caches, and the capture and detention of suspected militant activists suggest that the threat is clear and present, and that it cannot be ignored....

February 18, 2010
Médecins Sans Frontières // Doctors Without Borders

Abstract:

In June and July 2009, local authorities demolished shelters and forcibly removed their inhabitants in an attempt to clear a space around the perimeter of the official UNHCR camp at Kutupalong. MSF witnessed firsthand violence against the unregistered Rohingya, and provided medical care for some of the consequences. Stateless Rohingya in Bangladesh are currently victim to unprecedented levels of violence and attempts at forced repatriation. Recent weeks have seen people arrive in their thousands at Kutupalong makeshift camp, as they flee what appears to be a violent crackdown on Rohingya presence in the country. At its clinic in Kutupalong, Cox's Bazaar, the medical organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has treated victims of beatings and harassment by the authorities and members of the community; people who have been driven from their shelters throughout the district and in some cases forced back into the river which forms the border to neighbouring Myanmar. Since October, the camp has grown by 6,000 people, with 2,000 of these arriving in January alone. Without official recognition, they are prevented from supporting themselves, and are not permitted to receive official relief. As the numbers swell, nearly 29,000 people find themselves camped on a patch of ground with no infrastructure to support them, posing a serious threat to health. Action is needed now to stop this humanitarian crisis. MSF has delivered healthcare to the Rohingya and their host communities in Bangladesh since 1992....

February 10, 2010
Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies

Abstract:

On January 6, the Awami League government celebrated one year in office. While addressing to the nation, Sheikh Hasina said “We want to free the country of corruption, misrule, illiteracy and poverty by 2021”. It’s a long way to go, but one year is too short a time to judge the government and make an assessment of its performance. The government has taken a firm decision to establish war crime tribunals for the trial of war criminals despite pressures from various quarters. The manner in which it handled the mutiny in the Bangladesh Rifles and its decision to expose the involvement of two senior officers from the National Security Intelligence who were involved in the Chittagong arms haul indicate that the government is willing to expose the militantsecurity forces nexus. What are the challenges to the Awami League government? How does the internal politics impinge on Indo-Bangladesh 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....

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.

March 5, 2010
European Council on Refugees and Exiles

Abstract:

This research paper focuses on the European Union funding priorities in four Eastern European countries neighbouring the EU (Belarus, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine) for refugee protection, migration management and border reinforcement, which has been completed by the Eastern Europe project funded by the EU's Aeneas programme. The research was undertaken from Autumn 2007 to Spring 2008, with a final update in November 2008. The focus of the research is on EU's funding programmes in 2004-2007.

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....

September 30, 2009
The Jamestown Foundation // Eurasia Daily Monitor

Abstract:

On September 26 the official publication of the Russian ministry of defense Krasnaya Zvezda announced the beginning of the second phase of Zapad 2009 (West 2009), a large-scale combined arms exercise conducted in Belarus. This phase of the exercise lasted from September 26-29 and involved more than 12,500 troops, over 100 aircraft and helicopters, 4,000 pieces of military equipment including tanks, armored personnel carriers, self-propelled artillery, tube artillery, self-propelled multi-rocket launchers, and ground-based SAM systems. The focus of the second phase of the exercise, according to Krasnaya Zvezda, was on air defense operations. The air defense activities involved the interception of enemy aircraft, and the firing of S-200 air defense missiles at the Telemba Range in Chita Oblast. The exercise also witnessed Russian Special Forces operating in conjunction with Belorussian territorial troops against invading forces. On September 28, Dmitry Litovkin, a prominent defense journalist, published a long article on Zapad 2009 under the title: "The Exercises Got Caught in the Net." Litovkin's play-on-words referred to the fact that this exercise was to be a test of the new brigade-centric organization of the ground forces and would involve the implementation of the concept "network-centric warfare," which the author described as a U.S. concept associated with "the large-scale use of electronic reconnaissance and target acquisition (satellite, unmanned aerial vehicles, etc.) and the use of cellular groupings that can move quickly around the theater of military operations and attack the enemy's flanks or rear"....

July 28, 2009
French Institute of International Relations // L’Institut français des relations internationales

Abstract:

Russia's military intervention in Georgia in August 2008 sent a shock wave across the post-Soviet space, particularly the republics to the west and south of Russia. In December 2008, the European Union formalized the Eastern Partnership initiative, directed at Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. In order to understand the impact of this war both of Russia's bilateral relations with these countries and on the Eastern Partnership area as a whole, this article analyzes the reactions of these former Soviet republics to the Russian offensive. Three types of response are observed: keeping distance from Russia; maintaining a balance between Moscow and the West; and finally, changing course (from rapprochment to keeping distance and vice versa) vis-a-vis the former center of the Soviet Empire....

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....

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....

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....

April 20, 2009
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...

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 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. ...

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....

February 2, 2007
United Nations // United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Abstract:

In September 2003, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) initiated a project aimed at improving the level of information available on trafficking in human beings within, to and from Benin, Nigeria and Togo, and to recommend measures to strengthen action to counter the problem. The study included extensive research activities in each of the three countries. A number of factors contribute to the phenomenon of trafficking in human beings, in particular children, in West Africa. Predominant among these are poverty, large family size, lack of educational opportunities and lack of employment. Other factors facilitating trafficking in persons in Benin, Nigeria and Togo include ignorance on the part of families and children of the risks involved in trafficking, the high demand for cheap and submissive child labour in the informal economic sector, the desire of youth for emancipation through migration, institutional lapses such as inadequate political commitment, non-existent national legislation against trafficking in human beings, and the absence of a judicial framework allowing for the perpetrators and accomplices of trafficking to be held responsible and punished for their acts. Other contributory factors in trafficking in persons in the region include porous borders, corrupt government officials, involvement of international organized crime groups or networks, limited capacity of or commitment by immigration and law enforcement officers to control trafficking at the borders and lack of political will or desire to enforce existing legislation or mandates....

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

Abstract:

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS/CEDEAO) is well known for its military intervention in Liberia and Sierra Leone. ECOWAS was created in 1975 to replace the Customs Union of West African States originally created in 1959 to redistribute customs duties collected by the coastal states of West Africa. The Treaty on the Economic Community of West African States was revised at the Cotonou Summit of July 1993 to replace the inexistent Tribunal originally envisioned with a Community Court of Justice....

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

Abstract:

The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) was established when the CFA was devalued in order to ensure coherent monetary and economic policy among the states of the CFA zone. The Court of Justice is intended to assist in the enforcement of that coherence. The Court of Justice, alongside the Court of Auditors, functions as the juridical arm of WAEMU, with automatic jurisdiction over all Member States of the Union. Avoiding the perennial delays seen in the entry into force of the Protocol Establishing the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, the Treaty provided that the Protocol on the Court would be an integral part of the Treaty with no need for ratifications. Addressing further the Continental problem of implementation, the Treaty required that the Court come into being within six months of the Treaty entering into force. With financial help from France and the European Union, these Treaty provisions were fulfilled and the first judges of the Court were sworn in on January 27, 1985. Not meeting the three month deadline in the Treaty, the judges fully operationalized the Court by promulgating #the Rules of Procedure in July 1986. In 1997, the addition of Guinea Bissau to WAEMU resulted in the expansion of the bench to nine judges. The Additional Act that initiating this expansion also included the specification that judges on the Court are chosen from among those persons guaranteeing independence and juridical competence, emphasizing that the Court is to be wholly separate from the political sphere of the Union....

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....

November 5, 2009
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

President Hugo Chávez’s victory in the 15 February 2009 referendum, permitting indefinite re-election of all elected officials, marked an acceleration of his “Bolivarian revolution” and “socialism of the 21st century”. Chávez has since moved further away from the 1999 constitution, and his government has progressively abandoned core liberal democracy principles guaranteed under the Inter-American Democratic Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The executive has increased its power and provoked unrest internally by further politicising the armed forces and the oil sector, as well as exercising mounting influence over the electoral authorities, the legislative organs, the judiciary and other state entities. At the same time, Chávez’s attempts to play a political role in other states in the region are producing discomfort abroad. The December 2010 legislative elections promise to further polarise an already seriously divided country, while unresolved social and mounting economic problems generate tensions that exacerbate the risk of political violence. Taking advantage in 2009 of a non-electoral year in which he stands to lose little in terms of political capital, as well as of his undisputed control of the National Assembly, Chávez has pushed through a series of laws that have been unpopular with broad sectors of the populace. Continued targeting of the political opposition and the mass media, coupled with growing economic, security and social problems, are deepening discontent. Ten years in power have failed to produce significant and sustainable improvements in the living conditions of the poorer segments of society, which are also experiencing critical levels of insecurity and stark deficiencies in basic public services. Tense relations with Colombia may take a toll on the president’s popularity at home....

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....

February 5, 2009
Center on International Cooperation // New York University

Abstract:

In recent years, Bolivia and Ecuador have faced so many challenges to their stability and constitutional order that many observers have wondered how these countries have avoided slipping into widespread violent conflict. This paper examines the political developments that have made these two of the most volatile nations in the region. It also highlights the role of the international community in preventing the eruption of conflict in both countries. The two South American nations share many common problems and characteristics: they are highly divided societies where wide sectors of the population have been historically excluded from the political arena; they have weak political parties that have been unable to create national coalitions; they are fragile states that have been appropriated for the personal benefit of elites; and their political structures have been unable to effectively guarantee space for the resolution of conflict within the existing legal frameworks. The combination of these factors has contributed to the erosion of the legitimacy of both states, further exacerbating intra-institutional conflict and instability. In this context, the 1990s saw the strengthening of social movements that acquired important political salience and that demanded a radical rethinking not only of how politics operated, but of the configuration of the polity itself. In both countries, the social movements took their demands to the streets, staging massive protests that frequently paralyzed the economy by blocking roads and airports. These contentious tactics were met with fear and disdain by the political establishment, which failed to effectively respond to their demands. It is in this backdrop of contesting political discourses and their consequent tensions that Evo Morales and Rafael Correa won the presidential elections in Bolivia and Ecuador, respectively, in 2006. Their triumphs are part of what is being referred to as Latin America’s turn to the new left, after a wave of electoral contests clearly rejected the policies inspired by the Washington-consensus, which had prevailed in the 1990s, and brought to power left of center candidates in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela. This regional turn to the left has deservedly received much attention3 and, as others have pointed out, it would be a mistake to assume that all of these governments are cut from the same mold. A tactical alliance with Venezuela has provided both Ecuador and Bolivia the resources and political support to allow their leaders to push forward radical agendas without compromising with the opposition. While ideologically closer to Chávez than to the more moderate Bachelet in Chile and Lula in Brazil, Correa and Morales have made efforts to not appear as mere mimics of the Venezuelan president. When examining the potential for conflict, significant differences in the political dynamics of these two nations must be considered. While in both cases a strong regionalism permeates social and political relations, the question of local autonomy has become a serious threat for the unity of Bolivia. The divide between the center of political power (La Paz) and economic prosperity (Santa Cruz) has called into question the strongly centralized government of Bolivia. The ethnic divide that accompanies this division has resulted in the indigenous population (who live mostly in the highlands) supporting Morales’ quest to retain that centralism as a feature of the new constitution while the white and mestizo population of the lowland ‘half moon’ (media luna) states demand greater autonomy from the center. The level of confrontation between these groups in Bolivia has been the source of violence rarely seen in Ecuador. Also important to note is the higher level of political independence of Rafael Correa, who arrived to the Presidency after a brief political career, running under a newly formed political movement. Contrary to Morales, Correa is not part of a social movement with a long tradition, and thus is free from having to respond to a set of specific demands. Morales’ agenda, on the other hand, has been defined not only by the opposition, but also by the more radical sector of the MAS (Movimiento al Socialismo), which is quick to remind him of the promises he made before and during the campaign to become their leader....

January 12, 2009
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs // Princeton University

Abstract:

What role does the legislature play in conflict management in fragile states? How can its role be strengthened? This study from Princeton University, UNDP and USAID assesses the situation in Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Uganda. It argues that the legislature can use its representative and deliberative capacities to become an effective institution for conflict management. Legislative strengthening should focus on three areas: building compromises within the legislature; overcoming executive-legislature imbalance; and strengthening linkages between constituents and the legislature through effective communication and representation. Enabling legislatures to manage conflict is one of the most critical steps for achieving stability in fragile states. Peacebuilding may require adjustment or complete redesign of the state's institutional architecture in order to address structural deficiencies that contributed to conflict. Legislatures are the guarantors of pluralism and can help to ensure the proper workings of government, while protecting the interests of disenfranchised groups. Stakeholders can transfer their grievances from the battlefield to the political sphere and power-sharing mechanisms can be adopted to bring all segments of society into the political framework. In addition, stakeholders can pursue compromises and participate in making decisions on contentious issues through the legislature. An effective legislature can exercise oversight over the executive, acting as a check on an authority that, if unfettered, could abuse minority interests....

December 1, 2008
Foreign Policy in Focus

Abstract:

When Bolivian President Evo Morales recently made his first visit ever to Washington, he gave a rousing speech before hundreds at American University, addressed the Organization of American States (OAS), and met with leaders of both political parties on Capitol Hill. Strikingly absent from his itinerary, however, was any interaction with the Bush administration. Relations between the United States and Bolivia have grown particularly tense since September 10, when the Bolivian government expelled U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg. La Paz accused him of supporting the political opposition at a time of escalating and racist violence by right-wing vigilante groups. Yet while the Morales administration declared Goldberg persona non grata, for all practical purposes, the Bush administration responded by declaring Bolivia a country non grata. In retaliation, the Bush administration "decertified" the country for allegedly failing to live up to Washington's expectations for counternarcotics efforts and shortly thereafter announced that Bolivia would be suspended from the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (APTDEA). According to the Bolivian government, an estimated 25,000 jobs could be lost when the suspension goes into effect. But it's the Bush administration — not Bolivia — that's out of step with the region when it comes to drug policy. Across Latin America, frustration with the failed and protracted "war on drugs" is leading countries to experiment with new policies, from Bolivia's "coca yes, cocaine no" strategy, to the pardoning of small-time offenders in Ecuador, to efforts to decriminalize consumption in countries as diverse as Argentina and Mexico. The incoming Obama administration should take advantage of these new trends in Latin America to seek more effective and more humane drug control policies, at home and abroad....

February 16, 2010
Institute for Public Policy Research

Abstract:

In early 2009, Bosnia and Herzegovina witnessed a familiar spectacle: during negotiations on the future design of the state, the prime minister of the Republika Srpska, one of the country's two main political-territorial divisions, demanded the right of secession for this Serb-controlled entity, while Bosnian Muslim representatives warned that if the dispute over constitutional reforms was not settled, a new war could be the ultimate consequence. Prior to the dispute, the Bosnian Muslim members of the state presidency had threatened to dismantle the country's entity structure, disregarding Serbian interests. The politicians' adverse positions led to splits within both ethno-national communities. The situation bore a striking resemblance to the period before the Bosnian civil war at the beginning of the 1990s. After more than 13 years of international intervention and ten years of explicit state-building, fundamental problems that could destabilise the Bosnian state remain unsolved. This paper explores the effects of international state-building efforts on the Bosnian state....

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....

December 18, 2009
Uppsala University // Department of Peace and Conflict Research

Abstract:

This study sets out to examine what lessons can be learned from the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (The Dayton Peace Agreement) 1995, with particular relevance to inter-ethnic reconciliation. The author conducted his fieldwork in Sarajevo during May, 2009, complementing these findings with materials and information collected during his previous visits to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The study identifies a number of important lessons, and presents them in relation to the process of negotiations, designing of provisions, and implementation of the agreement. Regarding the process, the study suggests that those organising the negotiations should strive to coordinate their efforts in order to avoid duplications and internal conflicts. Furthermore, the paper calls for caution regarding power negotiations that are modelled on the exclusion of one or a few main parties to the conflicts. In relation to the key provision – reconciliation – one should not neglect local practices of power-sharing and societal organization that traditionally served as pillars of peaceful inter-group coexistence. Imposition of external models that are not in line with local political and societal traditions may rub inter-ethnic relations and negatively affect long-term reconciliation. Regarding the implementation phase, two key lessons are highlighted. First, for a successful implementation it is essential to have clear goal and to work with realistic deadlines for implementations. Unrealistic deadlines may create wrong incentives for the primary parties implementing the agreement. Secondly, if provisions include external supervision of the implementation of the agreement, one should consider how this would affect domestic ownership of the process. In such an environment, various reconciliatory measures, regardless of how well intended they may be, stand little chance of immediate success....

December 18, 2009
Uppsala University // Department of Peace and Conflict Research

Abstract:

What lessons can be learnt from peacemaking in contemporary peace processes? This report assesses practical and theoretical challenges from three comprehensive peace processes: Bosnia and Herzegovina – the Dayton Agreement (1995), Liberia – the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (2003), the North-South conflict in Sudan – ‘The Naivasha Agreement’ (2005). The aim of this report is to single out general features in these agreements, and from the peace processes that preceded them. It pulls together some of the insights generated in these reports as well as what is known from general literature and has emerged during the deliberations of this project, notably the Uppsala Workshop held on September 21, 2009. The report provides 18 findings for Negotiating Peace. This is a fourth report that builds on three separate in-depth analyses by Roland Kostić, Desirée Nilsson and Johan Brosché, respectively. The four reports constitute one joint project supported by the United Nations Department of Political Affairs and its Mediation Support Unit (MSU)....

November 19, 2009
United Nations Security Council

Abstract:

The United Nations Security Council today extended for another year the European Union stabilization force (EUFOR) entrusted with ensuring continued compliance by all sides in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement that ended the ethnic war there. In a unanimous resolution adopted a day after a UN human rights expert reported that political disputes were still impeding the return of over 117,000 people displaced by the fighting, the 15-member body stressed that “a comprehensive and coordinated return of refugees and displaced persons throughout the region continues to be crucial to lasting peace.” EUFOR assumed peacekeeping responsibilities in 2004 from a stabilization force led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the resolution welcomed the EU’s increased engagement in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as NATO’s continued engagement. “The primary responsibility for the further successful implementation of the Peace Agreement lies with the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina themselves,” the Council said, stressing that the continued willingness of the international community and major donors to help politically, militarily and economically in reconstruction efforts depended on the parties’ compliance. It authorized Member States to take all measures to defend the EUFOR and NATO presence and to assist both organizations in carrying out their missions. It also recognized the right of both EUFOR and the NATO presence to defend themselves from attack or threat of attack. The Council also underlined the need for the parties’ full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which is trying the alleged perpetrators of the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s on charges of war crimes, including genocide and crimes against humanity....

April 21, 2009
Institute for Security Studies

Abstract:

Botswana has a relatively good legal foundation to fight financial crime in general. With the second reading of the Financial Intelligence Bill and the regulation of non-financial institutions prone to money laundering, the legal framework will be remarkably enhanced. However, Botswana has not yet undertaken an assessment of its risks and vulnerabilities to money laundering and the financing of terrorism in terms of international requirements. Significantly, Botswana’s legal framework does not recognise the risk of money laundering in either limited- or high-risk situations. This is in spite of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) espousing a country-specific risk analysis and application of a regulative framework for all forms of business relationships. The rationale for adopting the risk-based approach is that a better understanding of the extent, form, production and disposal or use of the proceeds of crime helps to determine the appropriate interventions. Tentative steps towards establishing trends in money laundering and the financing of terrorism have been taken over the past few years. A team of World Bank experts visited Botswana at the end of 2006 to assess the implementation of the FATF anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML and CFT) standards. In early 2007 the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC), in collaboration with the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) of South Africa, undertook research to establish trends in money laundering in Botswana. The findings are yet to be publicised. However, what is apparent is that these investigations were by no means exhaustive. This paper is a contribution to the discourse on money laundering and the financing of terrorism in Botswana. It provides an overview of Botswana’s AML/CFT regimes. This will follow a brief outline of the international regulatory regimes for curbing both money laundering and the financing of terrorism.1 Significantly, the paper subscribes to the view that both these activities exhibit the same characteristics and therefore that their analysis can and should broadly be made within the same framework. An analytical framework woven around the ‘three pillars’ of prevention, enforcement and international co-operation is used in this discussion....

January 7, 2009
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies // Centre for Military and Strategic Studies // University of Calgary

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....

November 14, 2008
International Peace Institute

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....

November 5, 2008
National Democratic Institute for International Affairs

Abstract:

Africa’s natural resources have for many decades been a source of power and wealth for the continent’s ruling elites and multinational corporations, and less often for Africans themselves. Tragically and repeatedly, competition for control of revenues from natural resources has fueled cycles of corruption, conflict and poverty, forestalling opportunities to spur economic growth and social development. As global mineral and petroleum resources grow scarcer on other continents, and new African sources come into production, resource-rich African nations are earning rising profits from their natural wealth. If these resources are to be used effectively and harnessed for development, more accountable and transparent mechanisms must be developed and supported by governments, multinational corporations, legislative bodies, political parties, civic organizations and the media. This report is an effort to help elected political officials – particularly those in the legislative branch of government – serve as constructive leaders in improving the oversight and management of their countries’ natural resources....

October 1, 2008
L’Observatoire des Situations de Déplacement Interne // L’Initiative Internationale en faveur des Droits des Réfugiés

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....

February 26, 2010
United States Government Office of the Director National Intelligence

Abstract:

We face nation states, terrorist networks, organized criminal groups, individuals, and other cyber actors with varying combinations of access, technical sophistication and intent. Many have the capabilities to target elements of the US information infrastructure for intelligence collection, intellectual property theft, or disruption. Terrorist groups and their sympathizers have expressed interest in using cyber means to target the United States and its citizens. Criminal elements continue to show growing sophistication in their technical capability and targeting. Today, cyber criminals operate a pervasive, mature on-line service economy in illicit cyber capabilities and services, which are available to anyone willing to pay. Globally, widespread cyber-facilitated bank and credit card fraud has serious implications for economic and financial systems and the national security, intelligence, and law enforcement communities charged with protecting them....

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....

December 8, 2009
Human Rights Watch

Abstract:

The Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo have been plagued for years by violent crime, much of it carried out by illegal drug-trafficking gangs. In Rio, these heavily-armed gangs effectively control hundreds of neighborhoods and are largely responsible for the metropolitan region having one of the highest homicide rates in the hemisphere. In São Paulo, despite an encouraging drop in the homicide rate over the past decade, gang violence also continues to pose a major threat to public security. Reducing violent crime and containing these gangs represents a daunting and at times dangerous challenge for the police forces. Too often, however, rather than curbing the violence, police officers in both states have contributed to it through the unwarranted use of lethal force. In nearly all cases in Rio and São Paulo in which police have killed people while on duty, the officers involved have reported the shootings as legitimate acts of self-defense, claiming they shot only in response to gunfire from criminal suspects. In Brazil, these cases are referred to as “resistance” killings. Given that police officers in both states do often face real threats of violence from gang members, many of these “resistance” killings are likely the result of the use of legitimate force by the police. Many others, however, are clearly not....

November 24, 2009
openDemocracy

Abstract:

Border zones are incubators of criminal instability and violence. Weak state presence and the lucrative drugs trade is combining to challenge state sovereignty in acute ways. Consider Mexico, where the northern frontier with the US and southern border with Guatemala are contested zones. The bloody center of gravity of Mexico’s drug cartels is the ‘plazas’, the drug smuggling corridors that link the borders. When most think of conflict and border zones, they imagine territorial disputes such as India and Pakistan’s recurring battles over Kashmir or less serious tug-of-wars such as Japan and South Korea’s contestation of the Liancourt Rocks. To be sure, there have been territorial disputes, such as Nicaragua’s dispute with Colombia over several islands, or Colombia’s conflicts with Venezuela and Ecuador over narco-guerrillas operating from their territory. Yet, as former FRIDE researcher Ivan Briscoe argues, the biggest sources of violent conflict has been the erosion of government control over border zones and the rise of criminal groups, gangs, and cartels in loosely governed zones. As Briscoe argues, "violence and institutional corrosion have plagued as never before the frontier between Mexico and the United States, while Guatemala’s eastern border region and Colombia’s frontiers with Ecuador, Venezuela and Brazil witness these countries’ highest murder rates, as well as territorial capture by armed groups and narco-trafficking networks."...

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....

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....

February 7, 2005


Abstract:

Last October, at the Ninth Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Bali, the leaders of the organization formally declared their aim of establishing a security community in Southeast Asia by the year 2020. The declaration serves as a bold statement of the ASEAN members' attempts to rejuvenate an institution at once plagued by internal paralysis and subject #to assault from the forces of Islamic radicalism. Hopes are high within ASEAN. As ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General Wilfrido Villacorta noted: "This security communityxe2x80xa6[will] strengthen national and regional capacity to counter terrorism, drug trafficking, trafficking in persons and transnational crime." This is not mere rhetoric. In early March this year, the ASEAN foreign ministers met in Vietnam's scenic Halong Bay to make headway on initiatives to build a security community. One idea under serious consideration is the establishment of an ASEAN peacekeeping force. An increasing number of scholars and the organization itself argue that ASEAN should strive to realize the goal of a forming a security community. ...

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....

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 23, 2008
South Eastern and Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons

Abstract:

Armed violence data gathering systems in SEE countries vary in quality and coverage of the population. No single country embodies best practices by itself. In existing research, because of the lack of continuous monitoring, data has sometimes been generated by research that attempts to recover information on armed violence retrospectively. Different methods for doing this offer differing degrees of reliability; analysis of media reports and perceptions surveys offer an important substitute for continuously gathered data, but are unreliable for a number of reasons. Other studies have been obliged to recover data from past records, which were not designed for storing data specifically on armed violence. In other cases, individual institutions have conducted their own data gathering, and have supplied useful fragments of a comprehensive picture of the problem. The conclusion of this report offers a starting point for those SEE countries that wish to develop a system through healthcare providers to monitor armed violence. Following the approach of the WHO to injury prevention, it would be possible to build a system in each country that would adequately monitor the level of armed violence and identify the social determinants of the problem. If regional countries wish to harmonise their data collection systems, a collaborative consultation involving all stakeholders (particularly those operating the system, and those wishing to use the resulting information) would be an appropriate next step....

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....

December 9, 2009
Conflict, Security and Development // Routledge

Abstract:

In recent years, the potential security threat posed by climate change has caught the world’s political imagination, generating a perceptible shift in the way that a growing number of decision-makers in the North and the South are talking about the subject. The African Union, in a January 2007 decision, expressed grave concern about the vulnerability of Africa’s ‘socio-economic and productive systems to climate change and variability and to the continent’s low mitigation and response capacities’. The European Security Strategy predicts that climate change will aggravate competition for natural resources, and likely increase conflict and migratory movements in various regions. Meanwhile, climate change has become a core foreign policy priority of many governments, including the new administration’s programme in the US, a move that is rationalised, at least in part, by the security threat it presents. This paper explores the development of conceptualisations of environment and security that influence current discussions over the potential impacts of climate change on security. To illustrate, we devote particular attention to the ways in which West Africa is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and draw upon recent empirical evidence and climate change scenario planning research from two West African countries: Ghana and Burkina Faso....

October 1, 2008
Danish Institute for International Studies

Abstract:

There is no frontier separating fragile states from the global economy. The political instability and physical insecurity of fragile states has not resulted in a lack of interest from international companies. Rather, foreign investment is predominately focused on the exploitation of natural resources amidst the poor governance, protracted poverty and violent conflict that characterize these environments. Foreign investment in the natural resources of fragile states has not only dominated the formal economies of these countries, but also provided the vast majority of their governments’ revenues. For instance, oil revenues in Sudan account for over 60% of total government earnings. This combination of foreign investment in malign economic and political environments has resulted in international companies having a resoundingly detrimental influence in fragile states. They act as vehicles producing value out of natural resources through the international market place, often cementing the political power of oppressive governments, exacerbating inequality, or worse, intensifying and prolonging civil wars....

September 24, 2008
Institute for Security Studies // African Security Review

Abstract:

Over the past decades, the way we talk about climate change has evolved. Traditionally seen as an environmental and an energy issue, climate change is now also being cast as a threat to international peace and security. Analysts argue that climate change will exacerbate existing tensions and triggers new conflicts by redrawing the maps of water availability, food security, disease prevalence, coastal boundaries and population distribution. The security implications of climate change have become the subject of unprecedented international attention; in 2007 the focus of a Security Council debate and the Nobel Peace prize. There have been some attempts to construct scenarios of the security implications of climate change at a global scale. But the country-level security impacts of climate change have been lost in the midst of the political rhetoric. Local experts in the subject countries are rarely consulted. In this article for the September 2008 edition of the African Security Review, published quarterly by the Institute for Security Studies, Africa’s leading human security research institution, Oli Brown and Alec Crawford draw on their fieldwork in Ghana and Burkina Faso to see to what extent the links that have been hypothesized reflect a realistic future for two different countries in West Africa as the impacts of climate change gather pace. KEY FINDINGS: 1. Ghana and Burkina Faso already face considerable development challenges from existing economic, population and environmental stresses. 2. Climate change is not new to West Africa. West Africa in general and the Sahelian region in particular are characterized by some of the most variable climates on the planet. 3. Future climate change will likely make many current development challenges more complex and urgent. 4. There are links between climate change and security in the region. However, there is little research that has managed to construct an empirical link between climate change and conflict in the region (or, for that matter, anywhere else). 5. Climate change could exacerbate existing, latent tensions in Ghana and Burkina Faso. 6. But only in the extreme scenarios does climate change begin to present a determining factor in future economic and political instability. KEY RECOMMENDATION: Adaptation needs to focus on the full range of development problems affecting countries. Adaptation to climate change clearly needs to be integrated within wider plans for development assistance, and the additional costs for that adaptation need to be funded with “new money” so as not to undercut development priorities elsewhere....

April 4, 2008
African Studies Quarterly

Abstract:

An analysis of the imagery on postage stamps suggests that regimes in Sudan and Burkina Faso have pursued very different strategies in representing the nation. Sudan’s stamps focus on the political center and dominant elite (current regime, Khartoum politicians, and Arab and Islamic identity) while Burkina Faso’s stamps focus on society (artists, multiple ethnic groups, and development). Sudan’s stamps build an image of the nation as being about the northern-dominated regime in Khartoum (whether military or parliamentary); Burkina Faso’s stamps project an image of the nation as multi-ethnic and development-oriented....

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

Abstract:

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS/CEDEAO) is well known for its military intervention in Liberia and Sierra Leone. ECOWAS was created in 1975 to replace the Customs Union of West African States originally created in 1959 to redistribute customs duties collected by the coastal states of West Africa. The Treaty on the Economic Community of West African States was revised at the Cotonou Summit of July 1993 to replace the inexistent Tribunal originally envisioned with a Community Court of Justice....

March 2, 2010
Center on International Cooperation // New York University

Abstract:

In June 2006 Burundi was placed on the Peacebuilding Commission’s (PBC) agenda, just as the peacekeeping mission (ONUB) was drawing down and the Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Burundi (BINUB) was starting up. Burundi was one of the first two countries added to the PBC's agenda. This field review by Dr. Shepard Forman, Gigja Sorensen and Rahul Chandran, provides a thorough assessment of the PBC's impact in Burundi as well as constructive suggestions that will allow for the formation of a successful peacebuilding strategy....

March 1, 2010
Norsk Utenrikspolitisk Institutt // Norwegian Institute of International Affairs

Abstract:

This report focuses on the handover process from international to local actors at the end of peace missions. Three case studies from past UN peace operations are used to extract concrete lessons: the United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB: 2004–2006), the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL: 1999–2005) and the United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET: 2002–2005). The emphasis is on the security dimension of the withdrawal phase. Various factors in the handover process in the three missions are identified. The report compares the experiences of the three missions, and analyses how these cases dealt with recurrent operational dilemmas involved in a handover. Taking account of country developments after the missions and the current situation, an assessment is made of the importance of these factors to a successful handover. The resultant empirical findings indicate several lessons relevant for peace operations in general and allow cross-fertilization between the various international organizations involved in peace missions....

February 26, 2010
Universiteit Antwerpen

Abstract:

Since its accession to independence in 1962, the history of Burundi has been marked by cycles of essentially political violence. Adopting an empirical and largely chronological perspective, Part I of this study describes the national and international response in the aftermath of the cycles of violent conflict and human rights abuses that were committed in 1965, 1972, 1988, 1991 and 1993 and the ensuing civil war. This is done through the lens of transitional justice, defined as “the process through which States and societies deal with a legacy of large-scale human rights abuses in the context of a change of political regime”. While using the standard ideal objectives identified in much of the transitional justice literature (truth, accountability, reparation and reconciliation) for analytical purposes, Part I reconstructs the transitional justice response adopting an inductive approach (i.e. based on what has been done, if anything), leaving the normative perspective (i.e. what should be done, because of ethical or, in this case, international legal considerations) to the analysis contained in Part II. Though fully aware of the overwhelming impact of other determinants on the actual practice of transitional justice in Burundi, Part II of this study also analyses how Burundi’s transitional justice process could be shaped more in accordance with its obligations under international law, most notably international human rights and humanitarian law. We suggest the combination of international standards and a domestic mechanism. More specifically, in light of the constitutional and institutional context that prevails in Burundi, this study proposes – but at the same time also critically evaluates – the use of constitutional adjudication as a way of incorporating the transitional justice process in a wider effort of promoting the rule of law in Burundi....

February 25, 2010
Netherlands Institute of International Relations // Clingendael

Abstract:

This paper aims to illustrate the need to prioritize economic recovery in Burundi as a requirement for creating a peace dividend and maintaining stability. In addition to this, it underlines the fact that early economic recovery is also of critical importance because it produces the impetus that will increase the chances for sustainable development. International efforts in Burundi are still aimed mainly at security sector development (SSD) and democratic governance through the organization of elections. Even though these efforts can represent a major step in the process of political stabilization and the consolidation of new state institutions, the legitimacy of the democratization process depends largely on an improvement in the population’s standard of living. In Burundi, this peace dividend has not yet been achieved for the population. The forthcoming elections planned for 2010 and the newly developed Vision 2025 offer a window of opportunity to redirect the focus on to economic recovery....

February 18, 2010
Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development // Small Arms Survey

Abstract:

In Burundi, armed violence still claims thousands of direct and indirect victims every year. As in other post-conflict environments, the official end of the war has not guaranteed security for the population, whether real or perceived, nor has it signalled an end to acts of armed violence. Burundi is emerging from a long civil war that killed and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. The war led to a proliferation of light weapons, estimated to be in excess of 100,000. Despite the signing of peace agreements, the holding of democratic elections, and the setting up of a UN peace consolidation strategy, the country is still witness to numerous acts of armed violence. The source of the violence varies according to whether the environment is rural or urban, and according to the province. For example, Bujumbura-Mairie has a high rate of criminality, while Bujumbura Rural is still experiencing the final jolts of the war, largely due to the presence of the Palipehutu–FNL. Produced mainly for policy-makers, Burundian civil society, and the international community, this report examines questions that are key to a better understanding of the link between armed violence and development and to suggest possible ways of reducing armed violence....

March 8, 2010
Amnesty International

Abstract:

A growing number of rape reports, including against very young girls and gang rapes, fill Cambodian newspapers. Most police, NGO workers and public officials working with the issue agree that rape is on the increase. The lack of appropriate services for victims of rape is acute, and reflects social attitudes about rape and sexual violence. Cambodia’s new Penal Code will enter into force late 2010. Amnesty International urges the Cambodian government to seize this opportunity to address inadequate law enforcement in cases of gender-based violence. The government has plans and strategies to tackle genderbased discrimination, with a clear focus on human trafficking and domestic violence. They need to incorporate rape and other sexual violence into these efforts, ensuring political will to address this problem. The government’s limited public condemnation of rape echoes a lack of social sanction. The lack of services – and policy discussions – may be interpreted as an implicit acceptance of sexual violence on the part of the government and vast swathes of society. The limited access to adequate medical and social services is a further indication that the authorities do not acknowledge the severe trauma experienced by victims....

January 27, 2010
Global Witness

Abstract:

The will and the capacity of the United Nations (UN) and Member States to deal with natural resource fuelled conflicts is weak. In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), civilians die on a daily basis because of a war that is stoked by the international trade in minerals. The conflict’s economic dimension and the identity of those fuelling it have been known for many years; yet increased awareness of the problem has not triggered effective action. When the UN Security Council passes resolutions concerning DRC – on targeted sanctions for example – Council members and other governments decline to implement them. Global Witness believes that these failings on the DRC reflect the lack of a coherent and committed international approach to tackling natural resourcefuelled conflicts. For two decades, the UN, other intergovernmental bodies and individual governments have been forced to respond to these kinds of self-financing wars in countries such as Angola, Cambodia, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Côte d’Ivoire. Different policies have been tried, with varying degrees of success, but no serious attempt has been made to distil from these experiences a common understanding of the problem and a strategy for dealing with it. Reviewing these cases, we find that the international peace and security system is poorly equipped to deal with the challenges they pose. When considered together, the four key entry points for international action – sanctions, peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding – should offer the basis for effective action. However, despite progress in some areas, the overall picture is one of ad hoc decision making and yawning gaps in institutional capacity and coordination. Global Witness is calling on the UN to establish a High Level Panel to draw up a comprehensive strategy for tackling self-financing wars. This High Level Panel should review existing international experience of responding to such conflicts. It should also examine potential threats in countries such as Guinea, Somalia and Central African Republic....

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....

November 9, 2009
Children/Youth as Peacebuilders // Canadian International Development Agency

Abstract:

There has been an explosion of sexual violence in today’s armed conflicts. And reports from civil wars confirm what many fear – these violations are only increasing. Military groups have integrated sexual violence into their arsenal of weapons and found it to be an effective tool to achieve their objectives. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo villages are routinely attacked by rebel groups and all the females – young and old – are assaulted in the most brutal of ways. It is estimated that upwards to one million women and girls were raped during Rwanda’s genocide in 1994. Northern Uganda’s war, often described as a war against children, included the abduction of more than 40,000 boys and girls. Adolescent females over the age of 11 years were expected to serve as both soldiers and as the dutiful wives of commanders. In the past there was an agreement that children should be protected from adults’ wars. This is no longer the case. Just as the world has developed extensive protocols and conventions to protect children, there has been a counter trend to abuse any and all of their rights. It is no exaggeration to say that today’s wars are fought on the backs and bodies of young people. This study steps inside that world. The intention is to examine the nature, extent and impact of war induced sexual violence against young people. The research was based in Cambodia, Colombia and Northern Uganda. Each country and conflict has distinct characteristics that have shaped the vulnerabilities of young people inside combat and civilian situations. The fact that all three situations occupy a different point on the conflict-post conflict continuum has provided a useful point of comparison....

September 23, 2009
Track Impunity Always

Abstract:

Kaing Guek Eav, better know as Duch, was born around 1942. He taught mathematics and was drawn toward Communism by a group of Chinese exchange students at the University of Phnom Penh. Arrested by Sihanouk's police as a "Communist", he was held without trial for several months. Soon after Sihanouk was overthrown, Duch went into the maquis. In the early 1970s, Duch was in charge of security for the Communist Party north of Phnom Penh. The earliest documents connecting Duch with S-21, also called Tuol Sleng - the interrogation and torture center of the Khmer rouge regime - date from October 1975. As the man in charge of S-21, Duch is alleged to have overseenn the interrogation and torture of suspected traitors....

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....

January 29, 2009
Amnesty International

Abstract:

For more than 10 years, Amnesty International has received reports of human rights violations that were ordered, condoned or perpetrated by the Cameroonian authorities in contravention of their national and international human rights obligations. These violations include: arbitrary arrests and unlawful detentions; extrajudicial executions; threats against and ill-treatment of human rights defenders and journalists; denial of the rights to freedom of expression and association; harsh prison conditions; torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; failure to protect the human rights of women and girls; and persecution of men and women on the grounds of their actual or imputed sexual orientation. This report provides examples of these violations, for which the perpetrators have enjoyed almost total impunity. Amnesty International is also concerned that, despite a global trend towards abolition of the death penalty, the Cameroonian government continues to impose death sentences. This report is not an exhaustive account of human rights violations that have occurred in Cameroon, and it covers only those parts of the country where Amnesty International has trusted contacts. This is merely a snapshot of the human rights situation in Cameroon over the past five years. Amnesty International is publishing this report in order to inform the international community of its human rights concerns in Cameroon and the continuing failure of the government to protect ordinary people from human rights abuses. The report also seeks to appeal to the Cameroonian authorities to take all necessary political and legal measures, as well as to provide resources to promote and protect human rights, including by bringing an end to the widespread and persistent impunity enjoyed by the security forces and government officials....

January 29, 2009
Amnesty International

Abstract:

Depuis plus de dix ans, Amnesty International reçoit des informations faisant état de violations des droits humains ordonnées, cautionnées ou perpétrées par les autorités camerounaises au mépris de leurs obligations nationales et internationales en matière de droits humains. Ces violations sont très diverses : arrestations arbitraires et détentions illégales ; exécutions extrajudiciaires ; menaces et mauvais traitements visant des défenseurs des droits humains et des journalistes ; privation des droits à la liberté d’expression et d’association ; conditions carcérales pénibles ; torture et autres formes de traitement cruel, inhumain ou dégradant ; absence de protection des droits humains des femmes et des fillettes ; et persécution d’hommes et de femmes en raison de leur orientation sexuelle réelle ou présumée. Vous trouverez dans le présent rapport des exemples de ces violations, dont les auteurs ont bénéficié d’une impunité quasi totale. Amnesty International est également préoccupée par le fait que le gouvernement camerounais continue à prononcer des sentences capitales, malgré la tendance mondiale à l’abolition de la peine de mort. Amnesty International publie le présent rapport dans le but d’informer la communauté internationale des inquiétudes que lui inspirent la situation des droits humains au Cameroun et l’inaction permanente du gouvernement en matière de protection de la population contre les atteintes aux droits humains. Elle lance également un appel aux autorités camerounaises, et leur demande de prendre toutes les mesures politiques, juridiques et financières nécessaires pour promouvoir et protéger les droits humains, y compris en mettant un terme à l’impunité généralisée et persistante dont jouissent les forces de sécurité et les représentants du gouvernement....

January 23, 2009
African Centre for for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes // African Journal on Conflict Resolution

Abstract:

Contrary to common belief that Cameroon is a haven of peace in a turbulent Central African sub region, this paper demonstrates that the absence of war in the country does not imply that it is peaceful. Given the linguistic and cultural diversity of the country with its more than 289 ethnic groups and a colonial legacy of French and English cultures and languages, plus remnants of a German sub-stratum, it should be clear that there are many potential ingredients for conflicts in Cameroon. The politicians seem to have nurtured these cultural and/or linguistic diversities in ways that fuel conflict and can even spark civil war. The tension that results from these ethnic and/or linguistic and religious splinters is not overt, however, due to the repressive nature of the regime in place. However, this tension continues to grow, to the detriment of the country’s socio-economic development. There is therefore an acute need for measures to defuse such cultural conflicts which have the potential of sparking future civil strife in the country....

October 27, 2008
International Peace Institute

Abstract:

On July 18, 2007, the International Peace Institute (formerly International Peace Academy) co-hosted an international policy conference in New York titled, "Pacific Settlement of Border Disputes: Lessons from the Resolution of the Bakassi Dispute." The conference was organized in collaboration with the University of Yaoundé II, Cameroon; the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs (NIIA); and the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, with additional support from the Cameroonian and Nigerian governments. The main aims of the conference were to deepen the knowledge of the international community on border disputes in Africa and to provide a sophisticated understanding of lessons learned from the resolution of such localized cases as Bakassi since these may be applicable elsewhere. The meeting brought together fifty senior government officials and policymakers from Cameroon and Nigeria, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the United Nations, the African Union, and regional economic communities. Participants also included mediators, academic experts, and civil society actors from Africa, Europe, and North America. As was identified by the conference participants, the resolution of the Bakassi dispute highlighted valuable lessons in conflict management. These include the importance of strong leadership and its perseverance to overcome domestic reluctance; the strategic role of an impartial mediator—in this case former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan—in providing an environment of trust through his "good offices" role within the context of Chapter VI of the UN Charter; the valuable role of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission (CNMC) in monitoring the implementation of the Nigerian administration’s withdrawal and transfer of authority in the maritime zone to the government of Cameroon; and the importance of sustained international commitment to preventive diplomacy and rule of law in compliance with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) judgment. Conference participants expressed particular concern about existing and potential threats to the process, including the following: (a) hostilities toward the government of Cameroon among inhabitants of the Bakassi area; (b) continuing harassment and acts of violence perpetrated by the Cameroonian gendarmes; (c) complications, and harassment of individuals, caused by the identification process; (d) failure by the government of Cameroon to fulfill its pledges for economic and social development; (e) isolated acts of violence committed by Nigerian armed forces; and (f) concerns that the new Nigerian government, which took office in May 2007, would not be fully committed to comprehensive implementation of the peace process by June 2008. This report seeks to set the dispute into context, highlight key features of its resolution as a model of international negotiation, identify the challenges facing the ongoing implementation of the ICJ ruling, and outline lessons learned and recommendations which could be applied elsewhere....

December 11, 2009
Government of Canada

Abstract:

Eight years since the allied ouster of the Taliban regime, the Afghanistan balance sheet presents both pluses and minuses. The latest coalition analysis acknowledges that the insurgents have seized the initiative, both in the armed conflict and by creating a crisis of confidence among the populace through the equally important “silent war” of fear, intimidation and persuasion. At the same time the widely acknowledged fraud in the landmark presidential election poses an equally serious crisis of credibility within Afghanistan and in nations whose soldiers are fighting and dying on Afghan soil. Yet the Afghan people, while voicing frustration that their fledgling democratic institutions have not delivered more, nonetheless turned out in significant numbers to vote, despite being subject to violence and intimidation from the insurgents. Canada’s engagement in Afghanistan is contributing directly to strengthening such institutions, to increasing the capacity of the Afghan government to extend basic services and to bolstering the ability of Afghan forces to provide security. This report covers the period from July 1 to September 30, and pays particular attention to national institutions and democratic governance as core elements in Canada’s mission in Afghanistan. This focus may seem self-evident since presidential and provincial council elections were held across the country on August 20, the first Afghan-led elections in three decades. Yet the polling day itself is only part of the story. Just as vital to democratic governance is the capacity for all the nitty-gritty of an election—publicizing how and where to vote, inclusive voter registration, an open nominating procedure, neutral and unbiased media, impartial adjudication of complaints, accessible voting centres and efficient supervision and administration of the actual voting. In Afghanistan all this and more had to be provided in areas racked by insurgent violence....

October 18, 2009
Angus Reid Global Monitor

Abstract:

Public backing for the mission in Afghanistan is eroding in two countries, according to a poll by Angus Reid Strategies. 59 per cent of respondents in Britain oppose the military operation involving UK soldiers in Afghanistan, up six points since July. In Canada, overall support for the mission stands at 37 per cent, down six points in three months. In the United States, public backing for the military commitment remains stable at 54 per cent. Afghanistan has been the main battleground in the war on terrorism. The conflict began in October 2001, after the Taliban regime refused to hand over Osama bin Laden without evidence of his participation in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked and crashed four airplanes on Sept. 11, 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people. At least 1,445 soldiers—including 869 Americans, 221 Britons and 131 Canadians—have died in the war on terrorism, either in support of the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom or as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)....

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....

September 22, 2009
Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies

Abstract:

The fundamental goal of this report is to identify strategic and practical steps to raise the capacity of government officials, legislators, civil servants, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), advocacy groups, journalists, and media owners and managers to build the political will to prevent mass atrocities. The Will to Intervene (W2I) Project report, Mobilizing the Will to Intervene: Leadership and Action to Prevent Mass Atrocities, draws on interviews with more than 80 foreign policy practitioners and opinion shapers in Canada and the United States. Many of the interviewees participated directly in Canadian and American government decision making during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide and the 1999 Kosovo crisis. The interviews furnished us with an inside view of the decision making processes that shaped each country’s responses to Rwanda and Kosovo, exemplifying a failure to act and a strong will to act. The W2I Project’s researchers also wanted to understand what civil society groups and the news media could have done to ramp up the pressure on Prime Minister Chrétien and President Clinton to save lives in Rwanda. We wanted to learn if civil society played a role in the decisions of Canada and the United States to preserve lives in Kosovo and what considerations propelled the decision to intervene. We designed our questions with an eye to the future, hunting for “lessons learned,” informed not only by our interviews, but also by scholarly studies of Canadian and U.S. Government policies. One of the major outcomes of the W2I study is the finding that when leadership at the top is absent, civil society in Canada and the United States must strongly pressure governments to broaden their concept of “national interests.” Saving the lives of innocent civilians in future Rwandas and Kosovos is vital to saving lives in Canada and the United States. More and more, our security is threatened by neglected crises in faraway places....

September 16, 2009
Government of Canada

Abstract:

Canada reinforced essential elements of our engagement in Afghanistan during the quarter, preparing for the opportunities and challenges expected in the months to come. Work progressed on Canada’s three signature projects—school construction, rehabilitation of the Dahla Dam and its irrigation system, and polio eradication. Canadian soldiers and civilians, in concert with the United States and other partners, laid the groundwork to take best advantage of large and welcome new deployments of U.S. forces in Kandahar and across southern Afghanistan. As well, Canadians supported Afghans as they prepared for critical elections scheduled for August 20 throughout the country. All these actions were undertaken as Canadian soldiers, with Afghan and coalition forces, fought an increasingly aggressive campaign against the insurgency. This quarterly report addresses Canada’s engagement in Afghanistan from April 1 to June 30, 2009. The next report will cover the quarter ending September 30....

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

Abstract:

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS/CEDEAO) is well known for its military intervention in Liberia and Sierra Leone. ECOWAS was created in 1975 to replace the Customs Union of West African States originally created in 1959 to redistribute customs duties collected by the coastal states of West Africa. The Treaty on the Economic Community of West African States was revised at the Cotonou Summit of July 1993 to replace the inexistent Tribunal originally envisioned with a Community Court of Justice....

June 1, 2006
Sciences Po // Center For Peace And Human Security

Abstract:

Situated in between Ghana and Benin, with a coastline of no more than 56km, Togo is one of Africa's smallest countries. However, what has habitually been a little talked about West African nation holds a long history of political unrest and has recently entered into a phase of instability in the beginning of 2005. Civil society members and organizations are now regrouped in the WANEP network, (West African Network for Peacebuilding) in a joint effort to set a national agenda toward reconciliation, peace and security and lead the way in facing Togo's unprecedented public health, development and education challenges....

June 1, 2006
Energy Information Administration

Abstract:

Regional leaders created the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on May 28, 1975 in Lagos, Nigeria. ECOWAS is comprised of 15 countries, which include: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire , The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria , Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. The leaders established ECOWAS to promote regional integration and economic growth in West Africa, as well as to create a monetary union in the region. However, ECOWAS has encountered problems in the process of regional integration including: political instability and lack of good governance that has plagued many member countries, the insufficient diversification of national economies, the absence of reliable infrastructure, and the multiplicity of organizations for regional integration with the same objectives....

April 3, 2006
United Nations // United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Abstract:

Trafficking in Persons has become a major concern for all countries of Western Africa. The Meeting of ECOWAS Heads of States, in December 2001, adopted a Declaration and the ECOWAS Plan of Action against Trafficking in Persons (2002-2003). It directed the ECOWAS Executive Secretariat to prepare proposals for controlling trafficking in persons in the sub-region, with special consideration to the situation of trafficked children. The UNODC project FS/RAF/04/R60 on the "Assistance for the Implementation of the ECOWAS Plan of Action against Trafficking in Persons" will strengthen the capacity of the ECOWAS Secretariat and its Member States in implementing the ECOWAS Plan of Action, particularly as it relates to assessment of existing national legislation and the drafting of new legislation in response to the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children. This Manual presents the definitions of trafficking in human beings and smuggling of migrants as well as general guidelines on investigation and prosecution of cases related to trafficking in human beings, with a focus on cooperation between ECOWAS Member States. This Manual is to be used as reference material and in training activities under the project....

February 18, 2010
Strategic Studies Institute

Abstract:

Key Insights from the conference included: (1) The relationships between powerful criminal groups and states are complex and create transnational issues of corruption and the production, transportation, marketing, and consumption of illegal products and services that have national security implications for most states in the Western Hemisphere. (2) The Colombian government has successfully responded to challenges from the FARC and several criminal groups, but the challengers have responded with adaptations that ensure their survival. The persistence of these security challenges continue to cause concern over the intersection of drugs and terror. (3) Mexico has experienced an increase in organized criminal violence in several of its states; much of the violence is associated with drug trafficking and associated illegal activity. Counterintuitively, some areas sustain high levels of illegal activity without high levels of violence if the state retains sufficient enforcement capacity or cooperates with organized crime. (4) U.S. drug policy has had enormous effect on the Mexican drug trade. However, the solution to organized crime and related violence will ultimately rely on Mexican federal, state, and community ability to understand the issues and more effectively combat corruption and gangs, while providing more effective governance and economic opportunities for its citizens. (5) The small Caribbean nations are experiencing increases in drug trafficking and related violence, but are even less equipped than their larger neighbors to combat these problems; lack of U.S. support has created a vacuum that is being filled by Cuba and Venezuela. (6) Consistently identified issues were: (1) the region’s need to address the intersection of corruption and violence, (2) the unexpected and unintended consequences of national and international policies, and (3) the operational issues surrounding the concepts of decriminalization, tolerance of criminal activity, tough stands against criminal activity, and improving governmental systems....

February 18, 2010
Small Arms Survey // Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva // Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development

Abstract:

There is widespread consensus that violence in Latin America and the Caribbean is reaching epidemic levels and presents a major constraint to development. Rates of homicide have doubled over the past decade with tremendous consequences for human security and wellbeing. But it is especially important to generate a clear analytical understanding of the categories, costs and possible entry-points for armed violence prevention and reduction in order to appropriately frame policy discussions and determine priorities. This framework paper introduces a conceptual typology of different ‘categories’ of armed violence to situate this debate. It then turns to a range of tested ‘entry-points’ to armed violence prevention and reduction to stimulate discussion....

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....

February 4, 2010
United Nations Children's Fund

Abstract:

The Humanitarian Action Report is UNICEF's only publication dealing specifically with the needs of children and women in emergencies. It spotlights crises that require exceptional support, and additional funding, to save lives and protect children from harm in an increasingly challenging humanitarian environment. This year's report – subtitled 'Partnering for children in emergencies' – says the world is seeing crises exacerbated by larger trends, such as climate change and the international financial downturn, that are beyond the capacity of any one agency to address. The report appeals for nearly $1.2 billion in international donor funding for emergency-response efforts in 28 countries covering six regions – from Eastern Europe to Africa to Asia to Latin America. The funding will be used to support a greater emphasis on emergency preparedness, early warning, disaster risk reduction and rapid recovery....

January 27, 2010
African Centre for for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes // Conflict Trends Issue #4 2009

Abstract:

Haiti has had a very complex and dynamic history, from its role as the “Pearl of the Antilles” in the 18th century, to its label as the poorest country in the western hemisphere in the 21st century. In the last 60 years or so – despite gross violations of human rights, lack of security and poor or no delivery of basic services to the population – Haiti remained out of the United Nations (UN) security agenda because of its political inclusion under the United States (US) zone of influence. It was only after the end of the Cold War that the UN Security Council (UNSC) was involved with Haiti for the first time. From 1993 to 2004, six UN missions were approved and deployed to Haiti (the first one being a joint mission with the Organisation of American States). The last and current mission, deployed in June 2004 and still on the ground, is the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), and is the only one that has a truly multidimensional mandate. This seems to render it more able to provide stability, and (eventually) promote sustainable peace in Haiti. This article aims to provide an overall and introductory discussion of the UN’s recent involvement in Haiti, with special attention to MINUSTAH and its multidimensional nature, highlighting some of its features and main challenges....

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.

March 5, 2010
Women's Iniatives for Gender Justice

Abstract:

First published in June 2008, Making a Statement: A Review of Charges and Prosecutions for Gender-Based Crimes before the International Criminal Court, is a collection of statements and commentaries written by the Women’s Initiatives from 2005-2008 in response to the opening of investigations, the unsealing of warrants of arrest, and the charges brought by the Office of the Prosecutor in each of the four situations. Making a Statement, Second Edition includes an updated chart of all of the charges for gender-based crimes requested by the Prosecutor through February 2010, as well as new statements by the Women’s Initiatives regarding the opening of the second trial in the DRC Situation and the Confirmation Decision in the case against Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo. The Second Edition of Making a Statement includes an updated chart of all of the charges for gender-based crimes requested by the Prosecutor to date, as well as the charges confirmed and not confirmed by the Pre-Trial Chambers. It includes new statements by the Women’s Initiatives in relation to the commencement of the ICC’s first trial and the Confirmation Decision in the case against Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo. In that same case, the Women’s Initiatives was the first international women’s rights organisation invited to file an amicus curiae brief before the ICC....

March 4, 2010
The Economist

Abstract:

The government of Rwanda is doing a lot of things right. It is pretty open in its handling of aid money. Most foreign governments and charities are so impressed by its detailed plans and apparent lack of corruption that they are funnelling more of their aid directly through Rwanda’s government. President Paul Kagame says he expects direct budget support to rise by a quarter this year, to $519m. The country has recovered valiantly from its year zero in 1994, when 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered. Its centralised state is leading the way in economic and technological reform in the region. It is improving the country’s infrastructure, education and farming, and seeks to preserve its ecology. It pushes equality for women, who comprise half the government and parliament. On the diplomatic front, Mr Kagame has been equally successful. He has sent troops to help keep the peace in Sudan’s Darfur province and elsewhere. He has stood up to mighty France, blaming it, as the region’s then most influential Western power, for failing to prevent the genocide. And last month the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, came to Rwanda and offered something close to an apology. France, he said, had committed “grave errors of judgment” before, during, and after the genocide. Questions linger about the role of French special forces during the killing, as well as the fate of Hutus living in France whom Rwanda wants extradited on suspicion of involvement in the genocide....

March 2, 2010
Center on International Cooperation // New York University

Abstract:

In June 2006 Burundi was placed on the Peacebuilding Commission’s (PBC) agenda, just as the peacekeeping mission (ONUB) was drawing down and the Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Burundi (BINUB) was starting up. Burundi was one of the first two countries added to the PBC's agenda. This field review by Dr. Shepard Forman, Gigja Sorensen and Rahul Chandran, provides a thorough assessment of the PBC's impact in Burundi as well as constructive suggestions that will allow for the formation of a successful peacebuilding strategy....

March 1, 2010
United Nations General Assembly // United Nations Human Rights Council

Abstract:

The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders conducted a country visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 21 May to 3 June 2009, during which she met with senior Government officials and a broad range of human rights defenders. The purpose of the visit was to assess the situation of human rights defenders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in light of the principles set forth in the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (hereafter the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders). Following an introductory section, in section II the Special Rapporteur describes the legal and institutional framework for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In section III, the Special Rapporteur details the current challenges faced by human rights defenders in the country in their legitimate activities. In section IV, the Special Rapporteur presents the important role played by the international community in contributing to a safe environment for human rights defenders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Finally, in section V, the Special Rapporteur formulates her conclusions and recommendations for consideration by all stakeholders....

March 1, 2010
Norsk Utenrikspolitisk Institutt // Norwegian Institute of International Affairs

Abstract:

This report focuses on the handover process from international to local actors at the end of peace missions. Three case studies from past UN peace operations are used to extract concrete lessons: the United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB: 2004–2006), the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL: 1999–2005) and the United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET: 2002–2005). The emphasis is on the security dimension of the withdrawal phase. Various factors in the handover process in the three missions are identified. The report compares the experiences of the three missions, and analyses how these cases dealt with recurrent operational dilemmas involved in a handover. Taking account of country developments after the missions and the current situation, an assessment is made of the importance of these factors to a successful handover. The resultant empirical findings indicate several lessons relevant for peace operations in general and allow cross-fertilization between the various international organizations involved in peace missions....

February 4, 2010
United Nations Children's Fund

Abstract:

The Humanitarian Action Report is UNICEF's only publication dealing specifically with the needs of children and women in emergencies. It spotlights crises that require exceptional support, and additional funding, to save lives and protect children from harm in an increasingly challenging humanitarian environment. This year's report – subtitled 'Partnering for children in emergencies' – says the world is seeing crises exacerbated by larger trends, such as climate change and the international financial downturn, that are beyond the capacity of any one agency to address. The report appeals for nearly $1.2 billion in international donor funding for emergency-response efforts in 28 countries covering six regions – from Eastern Europe to Africa to Asia to Latin America. The funding will be used to support a greater emphasis on emergency preparedness, early warning, disaster risk reduction and rapid recovery....

January 12, 2010
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

The failure of President François Bozizé and his close circle to follow through with many of the concessions agreed on during the Inclusive Political Dialogue risks exacerbating the many conflicts in the Central African Republic (CAR) and stalling national reconciliation. Those December 2008 talks made a valuable contribution to both reducing levels of violence and shaping the long-term reform agenda. The promised integration of rebel leaders into civilian political life, the precedent of decision-making by consensus and a concrete set of agreements that included rebel disarmament and security sector reform were welcome steps towards greater stability. To ensure these gains are not undone by another political crisis, however, the president must abandon the uncompromising attitude he displayed through much of 2009 and the government must quickly resolve new conflicts in the north east and prepare credible elections. Otherwise, donors should suspend financial support to a regime that is largely dependent on foreign aid. Since Bozizé’s coup in March 2003, the CAR has been unable to break the cycle of conflict and poverty in which it has laboured for so long. Elections in 2005, judged relatively free and fair, did not prevent rebellions breaking out in the north directly afterwards. It took two years of difficult negotiations interspersed with more violence to prepare the Inclusive Political Dialogue, but the event itself went relatively well. The participation of the presidential camp, opposition politicians, most rebel groups, civil society and ex-President Ange-Félix Patassé fulfilled a necessary condition for reconciling former adversaries. The main participants all sought to retain or acquire state power, but they arrived at a common plan for political and economic reconstruction....

January 8, 2010
Military Review // United States Army Combined Arms Center

Abstract:

THE OPERATIONS HEADQUARTERS of European Union Force Chad/Central African Republic in Mont Valérien, France, near Paris, is located 270 kilometers from the political and strategic decision-making headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, and 4,300 kilometers from the two military theaters of operation in Chad and the Central African Republic. Chad is the fifth largest country in Africa. It is surrounded by Sudan to the east, Libya to the north, Niger and Nigeria to the west, and Cameroon and part of the area of operations in the Central African Republic to the south. The geographical distances involved are important. The force headquarters is in Abéché, more than 2,000 kilometers from the port of Douala in Cameroon, the main sea point of disembarkation. The area of operations measures some 850 kilometers long and 250 kilometers wide....

January 5, 2010
United Nations Security Council

Abstract:

The present report is submitted pursuant to the request of the Security Council contained in the statement issued by its President on 26 September 2001 (S/PRST/2001/25), in which the Council requested me to continue to keep it regularly informed about the situation in the Central African Republic and about the activities of the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office in that country (BONUCA). The report provides an update on the political, socio-economic, security, humanitarian and human rights developments in the Central African Republic and on the activities of BONUCA since my last report, of 12 June 2009 (S/2009/309). The report also summarizes the efforts to put in place the structure and resources required for the operationalization of the future United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the Central African Republic (BINUCA)....

December 22, 2009
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre // Norwegian Refugee Council

Abstract:

Internal armed conflict between government forces and various armed groups in northern areas of the Central African Republic (CAR) caused the internal displacement of over 200,000 people by 2007. Following peace agreements, their number fell to around 108,000 by February 2009, but since then clashes between the army and a splinter rebel group, and attacks against civilians by criminal gangs, have caused new displacement. As of October 2009, the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) was estimated at over 162,000, in-cluding over 73,000 people who were trying to return to their homes but had not yet found durable solutions for return. IDPs in CAR have suffered from a range of human rights abuses, including killings, the looting and burning of villages, destruction of fields, loss of livelihoods, sexual violence, and the abduction and recruitment of children. Members of all armed groups have perpe-trated these crimes. Each wave of IDPs has been forced to take shelter in fields and forests without access to basic services, before seeking support from impoverished host communi-ties when it has been safe to do so. As of December 2009, their living conditions are very different from those of IDPs in neighbouring countries; there is only one IDP camp in CAR, and most rely almost entirely on host communities in remote rural towns. International peacekeeping forces in CAR have had little impact in areas of internal dis-placement because they have been deployed in small numbers and have been unable to en-gage criminal gangs. The latest wave of fighting highlighted the fragility of the peace process and raised serious concerns about stability in the lead-up to the presidential elec-tions to be held in 2010....

February 26, 2010
United States Government Office of the Director National Intelligence

Abstract:

We face nation states, terrorist networks, organized criminal groups, individuals, and other cyber actors with varying combinations of access, technical sophistication and intent. Many have the capabilities to target elements of the US information infrastructure for intelligence collection, intellectual property theft, or disruption. Terrorist groups and their sympathizers have expressed interest in using cyber means to target the United States and its citizens. Criminal elements continue to show growing sophistication in their technical capability and targeting. Today, cyber criminals operate a pervasive, mature on-line service economy in illicit cyber capabilities and services, which are available to anyone willing to pay. Globally, widespread cyber-facilitated bank and credit card fraud has serious implications for economic and financial systems and the national security, intelligence, and law enforcement communities charged with protecting them....

February 18, 2010
Small Arms Survey // Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva // Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development

Abstract:

There is widespread consensus that violence in Latin America and the Caribbean is reaching epidemic levels and presents a major constraint to development. Rates of homicide have doubled over the past decade with tremendous consequences for human security and wellbeing. But it is especially important to generate a clear analytical understanding of the categories, costs and possible entry-points for armed violence prevention and reduction in order to appropriately frame policy discussions and determine priorities. This framework paper introduces a conceptual typology of different ‘categories’ of armed violence to situate this debate. It then turns to a range of tested ‘entry-points’ to armed violence prevention and reduction to stimulate discussion....

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....

December 10, 2009
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre // Norwegian Refugee Council

Abstract:

Structural inequality, restricted political participation and discriminatory state policies are at the core of Guatemala’s challenges today as they were 50 years ago when its war started. The Guatemalan civil war, which lasted from 1960 to 1996, was fuelled by racial discrimination, political exclusion and indigenous hunger for land. A growing insurgency was met by increasing vio-lence from the US-backed army and subsequently by military governments. The conflict ended with several years of negotiation between the guerrilla coalition and the government, which led to the signing of 11 separate peace accords between January 1994 and December 1996. The ample consultation with civil society organizations, including those representing internally displaced people (IDPs), set a new standard in the involvement of such groups in the transition from war to peace. 14 years have passed since the signing of the peace accord which marked the end of the country’s conflict and promised durable solutions for those people displaced. Many of the country’s IDPs have returned or resettled in areas where they live under simi-lar conditions as before they were displaced. But they face continuing poverty and new struggles to access land to farm; thousands of peasant farmers and smallholders have been forcibly evicted by businesses interested in large-scale export agriculture. Others fled to the capital and other cities, where they have struggled to integrate culturally and where they compete with economic migrants for poorly paid jobs in the informal sector. In cities, widespread violence by criminal gangs has caused new intra-urban displacements....

December 7, 2009
National Security Archive // George Washington University

Abstract:

The Guatemalan army, under the direction of military ruler Efraín Ríos Montt, carried out a deliberate counterinsurgency campaign in the summer of 1982 aimed at massacring thousands of indigenous peasants, according to a comprehensive set of internal records presented as evidence to the Spanish National Court and posted today by the National Security Archive on its Web site. The files on “Operation Sofia” detail official responsibility for what the 1999 UN-sponsored Historical Clarification Commission determined were “acts of genocide against groups of Mayan people.” After months of analysis, which included evaluations of letterheads and signatures on the documents and comparisons to other available military records, the National Security Archive’s Kate Doyle said, “we have determined that these records were created by military officials during the regime of Efraín Ríos Montt to plan and implement a ‘scorched earth’ policy on Mayan communities in El Quiché. The documents record the military’s genocidal assault against indigenous populations in Guatemala.”...

March 5, 2010
European Council on Refugees and Exiles

Abstract:

This research paper focuses on the European Union funding priorities in four Eastern European countries neighbouring the EU (Belarus, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine) for refugee protection, migration management and border reinforcement, which has been completed by the Eastern Europe project funded by the EU's Aeneas programme. The research was undertaken from Autumn 2007 to Spring 2008, with a final update in November 2008. The focus of the research is on EU's funding programmes in 2004-2007.

March 4, 2010
Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism

Abstract:

The Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism maintains a searchable database on all suicide attacks from 1981 to 2001 and additional years will be added. The database includes information about the location of attacks, the target type, the weapon used, and systematic information on the demographic and general biographical characteristics of suicide attackers. The database expands the breadth of the data available in English using native language sources (e.g., Arabic, Hebrew, Russian, Tamil) that are likely to have the most extensive relevant information. The database allows filtering by location, group, campaign, target type, weapon and gender....

March 3, 2010
Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces // LIT Verlag

Abstract:

The case of Kosovo epitomises problems of governing ‘international protectorates’ and of post-war crime fighting. The empirical picture is a messy one in which numerous international and domestic agencies intermingle in complex ways, often working at cross-purposes. As in Bosnia, military involvement in law enforcement has lacked effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy. This is only partly the fault of NATO – the UN and its member states arguably carry more responsibility. Crime-fighting in pre- and post-independence Kosovo exemplifies flawed security governance, SSG and SSR. The first part of this chapter examines the immediate post-war period. The second part discusses the early years of international governance in Kosovo. The third part reveals the travails of crime-fighting around the time Kosovo declared independence. Drawing primarily on interviews conducted in Kosovo in 2007 and 2008 (and a few in 2006), this third part complements the vast literature on international intervention in Kosovo by focusing on more recent events. The chapter also fills a gap by shedding light on dynamics on the ground, which have been neglected due to the propensity of scholars to focus on the strategic/diplomatic level rather than the operational and tactical levels....

March 1, 2010
International Institute for Counter-Terrorism

Abstract:

The conflict in Chechnya is one of secession and not Islamic fundamentalism. The objective of the resistance is the creation of an independent Chechnya and not a fight against the West. Foreign Jihadists first arrived in Chechnya during the first Chechen war in 1994. They had previous fighting experience from the Jihadi arenas of Afghanistan and Bosnia. The Chechen arena provided the foundation for Wahabist influence in the Caucuses. In 1999 the second Chechen war began. The reason for the Russian invasion was ostensibly to fight terrorism and the Jihadist rebels. The true reasons are thought to be the prevention of Chechen secessionism, to avenge the previous Chechen victory and to maintain Russia's geo-political influence in Central Asia and the Middle East. The current leader of Chechnya is Ramzan Kadyrov. There are allegations of violent human rights abuses under Kadyrov's rule...

February 26, 2010
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

The historically coveted region of Abkhazia has become even more dependent on Moscow since Russia’s controversial recognition a year and a half ago. Russia is financing half the region’s budget, and against vigorous Georgian protests, it is spending $465 million to refurbish existing and build new military installations in the picturesque Black Sea coastal area. Virtually the entire population holds Russian citizenship, and almost all trade is with the northern neighbour. It will take constructive, creative thinking on the part of Georgian, Russian, Abkhazian and international actors alike to restore even a modicum of confidence between the parties to the conflict. Given Abkhazia’s unrealistic insistence that Georgia recognise it as independent and the equally unrealistic prospect that Sukhumi will acknowledge Georgia’s sovereignty, the two parties should focus on creating economic and humanitarian links without status preconditions in order to benefit both, build stability and give momentum to a long reconciliation process. This report gives a snapshot of the state of affairs in Abkhazia today, particularly the extent of Russian involvement....

March 9, 2010
The AfPak Channel // Foreign Policy

Abstract:

Confused about the recent slew of arrests and/or deaths of al-Qaeda and Taliban commanders in Afghanistan and Pakistan? Here's a roundup of who, what, where, and when.

March 9, 2010
International Relations and Security Network

Abstract:

New data from centrist Democratic pollsters shows President Barack Obama and the party losing ground on national security with key voters, and they urge him to toughen up his rhetoric on terrorism, but it’s a prescription that ignores an important point the president has been trying to make. The poll, conducted by veteran Democratic political consultants Stan Greenberg and Jeremy Rosner, found that President Obama had strong personal approval ratings among voters in most areas of national security - higher indeed than his approval rating overall, which was 47 percent approving and 48 percent disapproving. Conducted in late February, the poll surveyed 851 adults who voted in 2008 and said they were likely to do so again in 2010. More than half of the likely voters approved of the president’s handling of Afghanistan (58 percent to 37 percent disapproving); national security (57 percent to 40); “leading America’s military” (57 percent to 38); fighting terrorism (54 percent to 41); and Iraq (54 percent to 40). These numbers, though still strong, are down from the 60 percent plus territory they were in when the pollsters ran their survey in May last year. Nonetheless, the president’s approval ratings are currently in negative territory on only two national security issues: Iran (42 percent approving to 49 percent disapproving) and the “prosecution and interrogation of terrorism suspects.”...

March 8, 2010
International Relations and Security Network

Abstract:

As Afghanistan contracting surges, US agencies fail to coordinate, inviting waste and abuse. In the past eight years, the United States has allocated $51 billion to rebuild and stabilize Afghanistan. But tracking that money sometimes seems as challenging as finding the leaders of the Taliban. No one keeps an exact count of the number of private contractors working in Afghanistan -- even though Congress ordered that be done more than two years ago. There’s no central list of all the contracts now in force. Government auditors cannot determine with confidence if the reconstruction money is being properly spent or meets the stated objectives. And efforts to improve coordination among the key U.S. agencies managing the money -- the Pentagon, the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development -- have lagged at best. That is the picture that emerges from dozens of interviews with auditors, contractors, congressional aides and inspectors general, who echo the findings of independent government reports over the past decade. Without rigorous record-keeping, they say, the contracting process is vulnerable to waste, duplication of effort and fraud....

March 8, 2010
Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior

Abstract:

Transatlantic cooperation on the Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy was bound to become easier with President Obama in charge. And so it did, at least at first. Obama’s demands for a greater European role in ‘AfPak’ were initially met. European governments deployed more troops and agreed to a new NATO training mission for the ANSF. $500 million in additional civilian assistance to Afghanistan was pledged at the NATO meeting in April 2009. Looking back over Obama’s first year in office, however, one can discern two phases of transatlantic cooperation. One started in January 2009 and lasted until mid-year, during which time US-European cooperation was close. Another ongoing period began in autumn 2009, during which US-European policy began to falter, a US Afghanistan-Pakistan policy re-examination ensued and transatlantic cooperation decreased. This is not to say that Europe was content with US strategy in one period and dissatisfied in another. Throughout, European governments have happily declared NATO’s Afghan mission vital to their own security, but in practice have continued to treat it as a US responsibility. Together, they have undertaken little joint strategising – as opposed to national planning – and have generally used their troops to curry favour with the US administration....

March 5, 2010
Royal United Services Institute Journal

Abstract:

The demands of counter-insurgency have sparked much discussion about the need for army reform. But it is also the case that government, as a whole, must adapt to the present campaign. Britain has lagged behind the US in this regard, and it is not clear that sufficient political will exists in the UK for real change. However, British capacity is only ever the first step: ultimately, what matters for successful stabilisation is the capability and legitimacy of the host government.

February 25, 2010
Bonn International Center for Conversion

Abstract:

Chad—before and after the implementation of the Chad-Cameroon Oil Pipeline project—is a poor, undemocratic and conflict-ridden country. The promise had been that oil exploitation in the Doba basin, in the south of the country, would bring about a bright future and would finally lift the entire nation out of poverty. Almost ten years after the official opening of the valve of the Doba crude oil, poverty continues to be rampant. Furthermore, President Déby has established himself as an authoritarian ruler amidst ongoing violent contestations of his rule by various rebel groups. Based on desk studies and field research, this brief analyzes the impact of oil revenues on potential conflict at the production site, on conflicts around the governance of oil revenues and on conflict-finances. The Chad-Cameroon Oil Pipeline Project was a project supported by the World Bank, which had promised that the development of Chadian oil would lead to poverty alleviation and wanted to make it a model project in the extractive industry sector. As this brief demonstrates, in spite of this intention, revenues from oil exploitation were poorly governed and only insufficiently invested into development sectors, such as health and education. The people living in the oil producing region in southern Chad bear the brunt of the negative impacts by the oil activities. Their land is being taken by the consortium, infrastructures are being built for the oil development, but barely for the population, they have to endure worsened living conditions (dust, health risks, etc.) and poorly-carried out compensation measures....

February 25, 2010
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

Abstract:

Described as undemocratic and corrupt, the regime of Idriss Déby, President of Chad, has been characterized by bad governance and found guilty of human rights abuses. Since 2003 the armed forces controlled by Déby have fought various rebel factions of loose and frequently changing composition. The violence in Chad is characterized by intermittent short periods of intense fighting and is closely linked to the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan. In May 2009 violence flared up along and over Chad’s border with Sudan, and Chad and Sudan remain hostile towards each other. A relatively small number of heavy weapons are used in the conflict in Chad and the weapons that are used are not technologically sophisticated. Both government and rebel forces in Chad are comprised mainly of infantry who are armed with SALW and use general-purpose four-by-four vehicles, such as Toyota Land Cruisers, for troop transport. Heavy machine guns and light multiple rocket launchers are often mounted on these vehicles. The government forces also use light armoured vehicles, old tanks, small numbers of armed helicopters and combat aircraft. Tanks and combat aircraft played a significant role in government attacks on rebel forces in 2008 and 2009. Thus, small supplies of major arms or of small arms and light weapons (SALW), such as a few second-hand armed helicopters or a thousand rifles, can have a significant impact on the course and intensity of the conflict. Such weapons may provide sufficient incentive for the recipients of them to try to reach their goals via violence instead of dialogue....

February 4, 2010
United Nations Children's Fund

Abstract:

The Humanitarian Action Report is UNICEF's only publication dealing specifically with the needs of children and women in emergencies. It spotlights crises that require exceptional support, and additional funding, to save lives and protect children from harm in an increasingly challenging humanitarian environment. This year's report – subtitled 'Partnering for children in emergencies' – says the world is seeing crises exacerbated by larger trends, such as climate change and the international financial downturn, that are beyond the capacity of any one agency to address. The report appeals for nearly $1.2 billion in international donor funding for emergency-response efforts in 28 countries covering six regions – from Eastern Europe to Africa to Asia to Latin America. The funding will be used to support a greater emphasis on emergency preparedness, early warning, disaster risk reduction and rapid recovery....

January 29, 2010
Benetech // Human Rights Data Analysis Group

Abstract:

This report documents the death of prisoners inside Chad's Direction de la Documentation et de la Securite (DDS) prisons between 1982 and 1990, and the extent to which former Chadian president Hissene Habre and senior ocials within his government are responsible for human rights violations committed by the DDS. The report presents evidence which is consistent with the hypothesis that the policies and practices of Hissene Habre and senior DDS ocials, whom Habre appointed, contributed to deaths in custody on a level substantially higher than the adult mortality rate of Chad at the time. The analysis tests the hypotheses that Habre had a superior-subordinate relationship with senior DDS ocials and had knowledge of their actions, which resulted in substantial deaths in custody. The available evidence also suggests Habre's failure to act" in his lack of action to prevent these deaths or reprimand his subordinates who were charged with day-to-day oversight of DDS prisons. The conclusions of the report are developed by analyzing ocial records of the DDS and other government departments, which were recovered by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in 2001 from the abandoned DDS headquarters in N'Djamena, the Chadian capital....

January 28, 2010
Small Arms Survey // Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva // Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Abstract:

Seven years after large-scale militia attacks signalled a change in the longrunning but generally low-level conflict in Darfur, an unprecedented array of international instruments has been deployed, often chaotically, to address the conflict, including peacekeepers, peacemakers, special envoys, mediators, sanctions, embargoes, and criminal prosecution. Yet peace remains as elusive as ever. In the three and a half years since the Darfur Peace Agreement was precipitously concluded in Abuja and, rejected by most Darfurians, left to wither, the paradigm of government–rebel talks has persisted, despite stalemate. Time is not on Darfur's side: the longer the conflict continues, the more actors become involved and the harder it is to resolve. With national elections scheduled for April 2010 and a referendum on self-determination for Southern Sudan in 2011, the focus has moved away from Darfur. This Working Paper examines mediation efforts since Abuja and suggests why they have failed....

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

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 26, 2010
United States Government Office of the Director National Intelligence

Abstract:

We face nation states, terrorist networks, organized criminal groups, individuals, and other cyber actors with varying combinations of access, technical sophistication and intent. Many have the capabilities to target elements of the US information infrastructure for intelligence collection, intellectual property theft, or disruption. Terrorist groups and their sympathizers have expressed interest in using cyber means to target the United States and its citizens. Criminal elements continue to show growing sophistication in their technical capability and targeting. Today, cyber criminals operate a pervasive, mature on-line service economy in illicit cyber capabilities and services, which are available to anyone willing to pay. Globally, widespread cyber-facilitated bank and credit card fraud has serious implications for economic and financial systems and the national security, intelligence, and law enforcement communities charged with protecting them....

February 24, 2010
China Security

Abstract:

Multiple paradoxes pervade China’s policies toward Afghanistan. The leaders of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) perceive unprecedented commercial opportunities in Afghanistan, but lack the means to pursue them without the support of other national governments that might prefer to limit China’s influence there. While PRC policymakers oppose a long-term Western military presence in China’s backyard, they fear that an abrupt NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan would endanger important Chinese commercial and security interests. In addition, Beijing fears that the growing strength of Islamist extremists in Afghanistan is increasing the terrorist threat to China itself as well as its close ally Pakistan. But PRC leaders worry that supporting the anti-Taliban coalition militarily would make China a more likely target of Muslim terrorism and alienate Beijing from Afghanistan’s future government. Given these contradictions, the Obama administration will find it extremely difficult to establish a major strategic partnership with Beijing in Afghanistan....

February 24, 2010
China Leadership Monitor

Abstract:

For many casual observers, the AfPak challenge and the strategy devised to address it are generally not regarded as being closely connected to China or subject to Chinese influence. However, in truth, Beijing is a key player in this drama for a host of reasons, including a) its intimate and long-standing ties to (and potential influence upon) Pakistan; b) its ongoing geostrategic interests vis-à-vis the two most important local powers active in Central and South Asia (Russia and especially India); c) its deepening political and economic involvement in Central Asia; d) its growing concern over the link between Central and South Asian terrorism and Muslim insurgents and terrorists in Xinjiang and elsewhere within China; e) its bilateral relationship with the United States; and f) its energy and mineral interests in Afghanistan....

February 24, 2010
International Institute for Counter-Terrorism

Abstract:

Political Islam has always been a reality in Pakistan since its birth in 1947. It is likely that political Islam exhibits a greater influence on the country’s overall Muslim population than the myriad of extremist groups combined. The clearest manifestation of political Islam is within the creation of the Jama’at al-Islami (JI), Pakistan’s first and largest political party founded by the late Maulana Mawdudi (1903-79), a Sunni Pakistani theologian, political philosopher, and influential 20th century Islamic revivalist whose work on Islamic resurgence and doctrine defines the group’s activities and membership. When he speaks of "Islamic nationality," Mawdudi means allegiance to the umma, which he envisaged as a sort of Islamic super-nation uniting all Muslims in the world into a single, indivisible community. He asserted a bi-polar worldview that juxtaposed the Islamic sphere with all else and insisted that Muslims should completely isolate themselves from those he deemed not to be Muslims. The struggle to make this change is known as jihad. For Mawdudi, jihad was akin to a war of liberation for the establishment of politically independent Muslim states. He significantly changed the concept of jihad in Islam and began its association with anti-colonialism and “national liberation movements.” Mawdudi was certain that the Islamic state would be "the very antithesis of secular Western democracy." He had written about the need for a "revolution" to create an Islamic state, but he believed this revolution had to be prepared by a long campaign of persuasion. Mawdudi himself never had a sufficient following to make a concerted bid for power in Pakistan....

February 19, 2010
Central Asia-Caucasus Institute Silk Road Studies Program // China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly

Abstract:

China is facing the daunting task of finding appropriate measures to deal with the aftermath of the bloodiest ethnic violence in decades in Xinjiang on July 5, 2009. The riot took place in Urumqi, the region’s capital city, and caused the deaths of nearly 200 people and injury to at least 1,700. On December 30, 2009, nearly six months after the riot, the information office of Xinjiang announced that internet services, eliminated within a few hours of the event, would be gradually restored in Xinjiang. Only two official websites, and with limited accessibility, will be made available initially. It is not known when the restrictions on services for international telephone and text messaging, cut off shortly after the riot, will be lifted. If these measures could be taken as an indicator of the seriousness of the ethnic riots, then the government is certainly dealing with the Urumqi riot with greater caution as compared with the Tibet riot in spring 2008 which lasted for weeks and resulted in the death of scores of people; internet services were unavailable in Tibet for only three months due to the latter riot....

February 23, 2010
Amnesty International

Abstract:

There is little agreement on the underlying causes of the long-running conflict in Colombia. However, the fighting has provided a useful cover for those seeking to expand and protect economic interests. More than 60 per cent of displaced people in Colombia have been forced from their homes and lands in areas of mineral, agricultural or other economic importance. The civilian population continues to bear the brunt of the violence, with Indigenous Peoples and Afro-descendant and campesino (peasant farmer) communities particularly hard hit. The impact of Colombia’s long-running internal armed conflict on Indigenous Peoples has been profound and destructive. They have been killed, harassed and driven from their lands by all the parties to the conflict. Despite their determined refusal to be drawn into the hostilities, the threats facing Indigenous Peoples are intensifying....

February 18, 2010
Strategic Studies Institute

Abstract:

Key Insights from the conference included: (1) The relationships between powerful criminal groups and states are complex and create transnational issues of corruption and the production, transportation, marketing, and consumption of illegal products and services that have national security implications for most states in the Western Hemisphere. (2) The Colombian government has successfully responded to challenges from the FARC and several criminal groups, but the challengers have responded with adaptations that ensure their survival. The persistence of these security challenges continue to cause concern over the intersection of drugs and terror. (3) Mexico has experienced an increase in organized criminal violence in several of its states; much of the violence is associated with drug trafficking and associated illegal activity. Counterintuitively, some areas sustain high levels of illegal activity without high levels of violence if the state retains sufficient enforcement capacity or cooperates with organized crime. (4) U.S. drug policy has had enormous effect on the Mexican drug trade. However, the solution to organized crime and related violence will ultimately rely on Mexican federal, state, and community ability to understand the issues and more effectively combat corruption and gangs, while providing more effective governance and economic opportunities for its citizens. (5) The small Caribbean nations are experiencing increases in drug trafficking and related violence, but are even less equipped than their larger neighbors to combat these problems; lack of U.S. support has created a vacuum that is being filled by Cuba and Venezuela. (6) Consistently identified issues were: (1) the region’s need to address the intersection of corruption and violence, (2) the unexpected and unintended consequences of national and international policies, and (3) the operational issues surrounding the concepts of decriminalization, tolerance of criminal activity, tough stands against criminal activity, and improving governmental systems....

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....

February 16, 2010
Forced Migration Review // University of Oxford // Refugee Studies Centre

Abstract:

The striking fact that for the first time in human history there are now more people living in towns and cities than outside them is not in itself a reason for FMR to be covering urban displacement. Behind that fact, however, lies the multiplicity of reasons why people have been moving into urban environments and the reality that for many of them it is not a matter of choice. In their introductory articles in this issue of FMR, UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres and UN-HABITAT Executive Director Anna Tibaijuka emphasise the complexity of the challenges faced by those displaced into urban areas and by those seeking to protect and assist them, and argue for the need for a radical rethinking of approaches. The articles that follow address some of the practical and policy issues that urban displaced people face and that affect providers too. They also reflect the diversity of analysis and geography that is to be expected given the global nature of urbanisation....

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....

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 13, 2006
African Economic Community // African Union

Abstract:

WE, the Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity, meeting at the Thirty-sixth Ordinary Session of our Assembly and the 4th Ordinary Session of the African Economic Community in Lome, Togo from 10 to 12 July 2000, have undertaken a critical review of the socioeconomic situation of the 33 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Africa. WE NOTE with concern that the socio-economic situation in these countries has continued to deteriorate, and that this situation has been exacerbated by external debt, inadequate infrastructure facilities#, as well as by conflicts in some regions and natural disasters like cyclones, floods, and drought in others, leading to a rising level of poverty....

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

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....

March 23, 2006
Institute for Security Studies // African Union // Peace and Security Council

Abstract:

On 11 October 2005, I received a letter from the President of the Union of the Comoros, Azali Asoumani, relating to the reconciliation process in his country. He particularly underscored the need to take the necessary steps to ensure the proper conduct of the presidential elections scheduled for April-May 2006. These elections fall in line with the rotating presidency of the archipelago. President Azali stated that the political context prevailing in Anjouan, where the presidential primaries will be held, is still unsettled and vigilance is required. Although Anjouan is institutionally part of the Union of the Comoros, the Union has no civil or military administration on that island, and therefore does not exert control over it. Indeed, the Union cannot guarantee the safety of elections in Anjouan. Accordingly, President Azali requested the AU, in conjunction with the UN and the international community, to take full charge of the electoral process in his country....

March 5, 2010
Women's Iniatives for Gender Justice

Abstract:

First published in June 2008, Making a Statement: A Review of Charges and Prosecutions for Gender-Based Crimes before the International Criminal Court, is a collection of statements and commentaries written by the Women’s Initiatives from 2005-2008 in response to the opening of investigations, the unsealing of warrants of arrest, and the charges brought by the Office of the Prosecutor in each of the four situations. Making a Statement, Second Edition includes an updated chart of all of the charges for gender-based crimes requested by the Prosecutor through February 2010, as well as new statements by the Women’s Initiatives regarding the opening of the second trial in the DRC Situation and the Confirmation Decision in the case against Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo. The Second Edition of Making a Statement includes an updated chart of all of the charges for gender-based crimes requested by the Prosecutor to date, as well as the charges confirmed and not confirmed by the Pre-Trial Chambers. It includes new statements by the Women’s Initiatives in relation to the commencement of the ICC’s first trial and the Confirmation Decision in the case against Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo. In that same case, the Women’s Initiatives was the first international women’s rights organisation invited to file an amicus curiae brief before the ICC....

March 1, 2010
United Nations General Assembly // United Nations Human Rights Council

Abstract:

The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders conducted a country visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 21 May to 3 June 2009, during which she met with senior Government officials and a broad range of human rights defenders. The purpose of the visit was to assess the situation of human rights defenders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in light of the principles set forth in the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (hereafter the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders). Following an introductory section, in section II the Special Rapporteur describes the legal and institutional framework for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In section III, the Special Rapporteur details the current challenges faced by human rights defenders in the country in their legitimate activities. In section IV, the Special Rapporteur presents the important role played by the international community in contributing to a safe environment for human rights defenders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Finally, in section V, the Special Rapporteur formulates her conclusions and recommendations for consideration by all stakeholders....

February 26, 2010
Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers

Abstract:

In eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where child soldier recruitment and use is an entrenched feature of ongoing armed conflict, Mai Mai are among the most prolific recruiters and users of children. The Mai Mai – a collective term referring to a range of local militias – may not be as militarily or politically significant as other armed groups in the region, but they have been active throughout the Congo‟s two wars and since. Their patterns of child soldier recruitment and use have not significantly been impacted by successive peace agreements, attempts to disarm or neutralize them through integration into the armed forces. International initiatives aimed at halting child recruitment and use have also failed to alter what is a firmly established practice among these groups....

February 26, 2010
The World Bank // Social Development Department

Abstract:

This paper explores how a “conflict and violence‐sensitive” framework in project assessment, design and implementation facilitates early identification and mitigation of negative consequences of competition and dispute, and promotes sustainable development over the longer term. It discusses the role of renewable resources in perpetuating conflict and violence, and distills lessons from selected development programming experiences in managing conflict risks associated with these dynamics. The study emphasizes that building capacity to productively address conflict and to improve community resilience to ecological change decreases vulnerability to violence, and improves livelihoods—particularly for the world’s poorest communities. The study draws on a range of development experience and specifically examines six case studies: three from the World Bank portfolio and three external to the Bank. Of the World Bank projects, the paper considers Andhra Pradesh Community Forest Management Project (India), Land Conflict and Vulnerability Pilot Project (Afghanistan), and Second Fadama Development Project (Nigeria). The paper also studies three external cases: Conservation of Managed Indigenous Areas (Ecuador) and Building the Capacity of ICCN to Resolve and Manage Environmental Conflicts in Virunga National Park (DRC), both financed by USAID; and the Community Development Component of GTZ’s Palestinian Water Program (West Bank). The concluding chapter outlines good practice and lessons learned from experience, emphasizing principals for building institutional and organizational capacity that support constructive conflict management....

February 24, 2010
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre // Norwegian Refugee Council

Abstract:

Fighting between militia groups and Congolese armed forces supported by the UN, as well as attacks and violence against civilians, caused the displacement of around a million people in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2009. As a result of these and earlier episodes, over 2.1 million people were displaced in North and South Kivu and Orientale Province as of the end of 2009. Many internally displaced people (IDPs) have not received assistance from international agencies, whose access has been blocked by the insecurity. Tens of thousands of IDPs have sought shelter in camps and spontaneous settlements, as the resident population’s capacity to host them has declined. As of early 2010, the killing and rape of civilians was continuing at a horrifying rate in eastern DRC, and the protection of IDPs and other civilians there remained an urgent concern. In the context of the illegal exploitation of DRC’s vast natural resources by members of the army and militia groups, of military operations against rebel groups, and of vicious attacks against the civilian population, and in the absence of a disciplined and integrated army, prospects for any improvement of the situation remained dim....

February 15, 2010
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

Abstract:

The illegal economic exploitation of artisanal mining areas by military forces is a persistent problem in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), even in areas such as northern Katanga Province that are in transition to peace. Many former rebels and militia have not demobilized or been properly integrated into new army structures, and the benefits they derive from mining serve as a disincentive to do so. The government seems to tacitly condone the practice. Continued militarization of mining areas is associated with human right abuses, is an obstacle to military reform and prevents the artisanal mining sector from contributing to post-conflict reconstruction. There is little political will to completely demilitarize mining areas. However, some steps could be taken to promote gradual demilitarization. Military authorities could be convinced to punish abuse and reward moderation among units that exploit mines. Formalization of artisanal mining, including the official registration of mining zones, could increase civilian presence and intensify public scrutiny of military behaviour. The international community should enhance its support to efforts initiated by United Nations peacekeepers and the Congolese mining authorities to re-establish civilian control over mines and trading centres in the entire eastern DRC, including northern Katanga....

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....

November 5, 2008
National Democratic Institute for International Affairs

Abstract:

Africa’s natural resources have for many decades been a source of power and wealth for the continent’s ruling elites and multinational corporations, and less often for Africans themselves. Tragically and repeatedly, competition for control of revenues from natural resources has fueled cycles of corruption, conflict and poverty, forestalling opportunities to spur economic growth and social development. As global mineral and petroleum resources grow scarcer on other continents, and new African sources come into production, resource-rich African nations are earning rising profits from their natural wealth. If these resources are to be used effectively and harnessed for development, more accountable and transparent mechanisms must be developed and supported by governments, multinational corporations, legislative bodies, political parties, civic organizations and the media. This report is an effort to help elected political officials – particularly those in the legislative branch of government – serve as constructive leaders in improving the oversight and management of their countries’ natural resources....

October 29, 2008
Partnership Africa Canada

Abstract:

Just as peace is not simply the absence of war, an end to conflict diamonds does not necessarily mean that diamonds will create prosperity or that human security will prevail in the areas where they are mined. The campaign to halt conflict diamonds has largely succeeded, although the phenomenon continues in Côte d’Ivoire, seemingly beyond the ingenuity and the powers of the 75 governments represented in the Kimberley Process (KP) and the world’s entire diamond industry. But the KP challenge today is not just Côte d’Ivoire; the larger challenge is to ensure that diamonds are controlled and tracked in ways that prevent a return of the much more deadly diamondfuelled wars of the past. Diamonds are not just symbols of love, fidelity and purity, they are the most concentrated form of wealth on earth, and because of that, they attract problems. A raid on a Damiani showroom in Milan netted thieves as much as $30 million in diamond jewellery in February. That was just one of many diamond heists. If you Google “diamond theft 2008” you will find more than five million articles. It stands to reason, therefore, that conflict diamonds could return to countries where development is stunted and governance weak. That is why organizations like the Diamond Development Initiative (DDI) are so important, and why efforts to bring greater transparency to the extractive sector need all the support they can get. The intergovernmental Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and the NGOled Publish What You Pay Campaign are key elements in this. Partnership Africa Canada (PAC) has been a leader in the campaign against conflict diamonds since 1999. It has been, and remains an active member of all Kimberley Process meetings and working groups. We have produced several background studies on diamond-related issues, 17 occasional papers and a quarterly newsletter, "Other Facets". All are available on the PAC website (www.pacweb.org). Starting in 2003, we began to publish standalone Annual Reviews of the Diamond Industry on Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola. The Annual Reviews, published in English (all), French (DRC) and Portuguese (Angola) aimed to provide governments, civil society and investors with information that would be helpful in the promotion of greater transparency and more positive developmental outcomes. The Annual Reviews have been widely quoted and have become documents of record on the diamond industries in those countries. For 2008 we have taken a different approach, expanding the project to cover more countries, but producing one report rather than three. This report — Diamonds and Human Security Annual Review 2008 — concentrates on the three countries most seriously affected by diamond- fuelled conflict – Angola, DRC and Sierra Leone – but we have also included articles on countries touched by those conflicts, or where internal controls over diamonds, and where development considerations, remain problematic....

October 1, 2008
L’Observatoire des Situations de Déplacement Interne // L’Initiative Internationale en faveur des Droits des Réfugiés

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....

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.

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 3, 2008
German Institute of Global and Area Studies

Abstract:

Central America has the reputation of being a violent region with high crime rates, youth gangs, drug traffic, and ubiquitous insecurity. Politicians, the media, and social scientists in and outside the region often claim that the societies are in complete agreement with their judgment of the situation and that all society members are calling for law and order and social segregation. Focusing on Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, the paper analyzes the social perception of violence and crime. On the basis of essays written by secondary school students and interviews with citizens from all walks of life in the three countries, the paper points out how elite arguments on violence and crime are translated into everyday life, and what society members suggest be done to deal with these problems. The sources prove that there are noticeable hegemonic discourses on violence and crime in Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. Simultaneously, a majority of the respondents call for social and integrative solutions rather than the so-called “iron fist.” The repressive trend in Central American policies therefore does not necessarily receive the presumed affirmation asserted by many authorities on and in the region....

February 5, 2010
United Nations Security Council

Abstract:

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations mission in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI), and the French forces supporting it, for another four months to help support the staging of free, fair and transparent elections in the West African nation. Originally intended to be held as far back as 2005, the polls have been repeatedly postponed. Last scheduled for November 2009, they are now slated for March. The Council, in a unanimously adopted resolution, urged the relevant Ivorian actors “to ensure the publication of the final voters list, to announce the official date of the first round of the presidential election and to meet their commitments in full.” UNOCI’s mandate was also extended through 31 May. To reinforce security ahead of the elections, the 15-member body expressed its intention to raise UNOCI’s current troop level of 7,450 by up to 500 additional personnel for a limited period of time when the final voters list will be made public. Last week the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Côte d’Ivoire, Choi Young-Jin, told the Council that the publication in November of the provisional electoral list was among the significant gains made in recent months towards holding the elections....

December 9, 2009
Bonn International Center for Conversion

Abstract:

Côte d’Ivoire is at a decisive stage in its political history. Since 2002, the country has been ridden by violent conflict and political unrest. After nearly ten years, Côte d’Ivoire is expecting to hold presidential elections that may end a continued situation of ‘neither peace nor war’, following the end of armed fighting between the government and rebel forces at the end of 2004. The conflict has often been attributed to questions of identity, and the process of identification remains a sensitive and decisive factor with regard to fair elections and social peace. Another important issue, the role of natural resources in the conflict in Côte d’Ivoire, has largely been neglected and deserves further attention if the peace process is to lead to some stability. This brief investigates the extent to which natural resources have contributed to causing and sustaining this armed conflict and how natural resource exploitation can contribute to peace and development in Côte d’Ivoire. For this purpose, we have broadened the scope of natural resources in this study to comprise not only extractive resources but also agricultural resources such as cocoa, for until recently the country has depended more heavily on cocoa and coffee than on extractive resources....

December 2, 2009
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre // Norwegian Refugee Council

Abstract:

Armed conflict broke out in Côte d’Ivoire in 2002, which caused the country to be divided in two: the north under the control of the Forces Nouvelles rebels and the south in the hands of the government. It also caused the mass displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. In the west of the country, and in particular in the two regions of Moyen Cavally and Dix-Huit Montagnes, the crisis provoked a series of successive displacements involving population groups with competing claims over land. These tensions in the west were among the consequences of a national policy on forest development, which led to significant migration flows in the two regions, particularly from the 1960s and 1970s. Ongoing land disputes in these areas have been exacerbated by the armed conflict, the resulting displacement, and now the return of internally displaced people (IDPs). While people were displaced, many of the plots they they had planted were sold or leased by others, so depriving IDPs of their principal means of subsistence on their return and fueling intercommunity tensions. It is feared that the land disputes will multiply as more IDPs return....

November 4, 2009
United Nations Security Council

Abstract:

The Security Council today extended the sanctions imposed on Côte d’Ivoire, warning that the situation in the divided West African nation continues to pose a threat to international peace and security for the region. In a unanimously adopted resolution, the 15-member Council voted to maintain for another year an arms embargo, restrictions for certain individuals on travel and financial movements, and the ban on any State importing rough diamonds from Côte d’Ivoire. The Council pledged to review these measures no later than three months after the holding of open, free, fair and transparent presidential elections, which were originally scheduled as far back as 2005 but are now slated for the end of next month. In addition, the Council’s resolution called on the UN peacekeeping operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI), and the French force that supports it, to fully uphold the enforcement of the arms embargo on the country, which has been split for more than seven years between the Government-controlled south and the rebel Forces Nouvelles-held north. Earlier this week, the Group of Experts set up in 2005 to monitor the sanctions told the Council in a report that the northern part of the country bears more resemblance to a warlord economy than to a functioning government administration. Largely independent military ‘zone commanders’ of the Force Nouvelles control and exploit natural resources, providing both motive and means to sustain territorial control in northern Côte d’Ivoire, the report said....

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....

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....

January 26, 2010
Swiss Peace Foundation

Abstract:

Since the end of the Cold War, the debate on the role of the private sector in peacebuilding has attracted increasingly more interest from research as well as policy-making. One of the oft-made claims is that the economic self-interest of corporate actors in a peaceful business environment should spur them into supporting peacebuilding processes. However, this seemingly compelling argument is confronted with a relatively small number of practical examples where business actors in fact assumed an active role in peace. The goal of the working paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the motivating and deterring factors for corporate engagement in peace. Focusing the empirical research on the conflictvulnerable tourism sector in Croatia, Rwanda, and Sri Lanka, the working paper argues that economic incentives are an important though not a sufficient motivation for most forms of corporate engagement in peace. Other factors such as the terms (or costs) of peace and the relationships to or dependence from the government can also strongly influence corporate willingness to actively contribute to peacebuilding....

October 9, 2009
International Center for Transitional Justice

Abstract:

When the Security Council established the ICTY and ICTR to prosecute mass atrocities, its motivation was clearly stated in the preambles to Resolutions 827 and 955: it was—and I quote—“determined to put an end to such crimes and to take effective measures to bring to justice the persons who are responsible for them.” The Council was “convinced that in the particular circumstances [of the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda respectively] the prosecution of persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law would enable this aim to be achieved and would contribute to the process of national reconciliation and the restoration and maintenance of peace.” The Council set out its belief that establishing such international tribunals would “contribute to ensuring that such violations are halted and effectively redressed.” From the outset, these goals were fundamental to the mandates of the international judicial institutions that emerged. While neither ICTY nor ICTR were intended to be permanent institutions, neither of the courts’ mandates specified an end date for their work. As discussions progress in meetings such as this one about how the tribunals should complete the tasks the Council has assigned them, it is important to reflect on the underlying conceptual framework that drove those original commitments and to ensure that new decisions preserve the positive legacies that have been built over the past 15 years. It is worth noting that this will require input from the constituencies that have been the subject of the tribunals’ work....

September 3, 2009
Freedom House

Abstract:

Nations in Transit 2009 is the 13th edition of Freedom House’s comprehensive, comparative study of democratic development from Central Europe to Eurasia. It examines 29 countries, including the newest independent state in the region, Kosovo. The overarching conclusion is that 2008 was a very difficult year for democracy: scores declined for 18 of the 29 countries, and a record 8 countries are now in the “consolidated authoritarian regimes” category. Worrying trends highlighted in the previous three editions of Nations in Transit became even more pronounced in 2008, while positive trends lost momentum. A number of events illustrate the intensification of these negative trends. In 2008, for the first time in the 21st century, a war erupted between two states covered in Nations in Transit. The so-called “August War” between Georgia and Russia served as a wake-up call for those who believed that the democratic decline observed in the region over the last few years would not have a detrimental effect on security and stability. Highly problematic elections accentuated the region’s troubles. Two petro-states, Azerbaijan (which recorded the largest democratic decline in this edition of Nations in Transit) and the Russian Federation, held uncompetitive presidential elections in which the result was predetermined. Armenia’s presidential poll was marred by lethal postelection violence. And the government in Georgia used administrative resources to seriously influence that country’s hotly contested presidential and parliamentary elections. Nations in Transit 2009 documents how journalists were once again at risk throughout the region, from Croatia to Uzbekistan, and national governments were challenged by corruption scandals, as was the case in Bulgaria; by divisive ethnic politics, as in Bosnia and Herzegovina; by parliamentary boycotts, as in Montenegro; or by infighting and outright irresponsibility among political leaders, as in Ukraine....

July 8, 2009
United Nations Security Council

Abstract:

The Security Council today extended the terms of the judges serving on the United Nations war crimes tribunals set up to deal with the 1994 Rwandan genocide and the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s, so they can complete remaining cases by the deadline set for the courts’ work. The Council, in two separate resolutions that were adopted unanimously, urged both tribunals “to take all possible measures to complete their work expeditiously,” and expressed its determination to support their efforts in this regard. The so-called “completion strategy” of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which is based in The Hague, requires it to finish trials of first instance by 2009, and then start downsizing in 2010. Among the decisions taken today, the Council extended the term of office of eight permanent judges at the ICTY and 10 ad litem, or temporary, judges until 31 December 2010, or until the completion of the cases to which they are assigned. In addition, the Council decided, on the request of the President of the ICTY, that the Secretary-General may appoint additional temporary judges to complete existing trials or conduct additional trials....

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 18, 2009
Human Rights Watch

Abstract:

In July 2006, Fidel Castro handed control of the Cuban government over to his brother Raúl Castro. As the new head of state, Raúl Castro inherited a system of abusive laws and institutions, as well as responsibility for hundreds of political prisoners arrested during his brother’s rule. Rather than dismantle this repressive machinery, Raúl Castro has kept it firmly in place and fully active. Scores of political prisoners arrested under Fidel Castro continue to languish in Cuba’s prisons. And Raúl Castro’s government has used draconian laws and sham trials to incarcerate scores more who have dared to exercise their fundamental freedoms. Raúl Castro’s government has relied in particular on a provision of the Cuban Criminal Code that allows the state to imprison individuals before they have committed a crime, on the suspicion that they might commit an offense in the future. This “dangerousness” provision is overtly political, defining as “dangerous” any behavior that contradicts socialist norms. The most Orwellian of Cuba’s laws, it captures the essence of the Cuban government’s repressive mindset, which views anyone who acts out of step with the government as a potential threat and thus worthy of punishment. Despite significant obstacles to research, Human Rights Watch documented more than 40 cases in which Cuba has imprisoned individuals for “dangerousness” under Raúl Castro because they tried to exercise their fundamental rights. We believe there are many more. The “dangerous” activities in these cases have included handing out copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, staging peaceful marches, writing news articles critical of the government, and attempting to organize independent unions....

September 25, 2009
Congressional Research Service

Abstract:

Since the September 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, U.S. attention to terrorism in Latin America has intensified, with an increase in bilateral and regional cooperation. In its April 2009 Country Reports on Terrorism, the State Department maintained that terrorism in the region was primarily perpetrated by terrorist organizations in Colombia and by the remnants of radical leftist Andean groups. Overall, however, the report maintained that the threat of a transnational terrorist attack remained low for most countries in the hemisphere. Cuba has remained on the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism since 1982 pursuant to Section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act, which triggers a number of economic sanctions. Both Cuba and Venezuela are on the State Department’s annual list of countries determined to be not cooperating fully with U.S. antiterrorism efforts pursuant to Section 40A of the Arms Export Control Act. U.S. officials have expressed concerns over the past several years about Venezuela’s lack of cooperation on antiterrorism efforts, its relations with Iran, and President Hugo Chávez’s sympathetic statements for Colombian terrorist groups. The State Department terrorism report noted, however, that President Chávez publicly changed course in June 2008 and called on the FARC to unconditionally release all hostages, declaring that armed struggle is “out of place” in modern Latin America. In recent years, U.S. concerns have increased over activities of the radical Lebanon-based Islamic group Hezbollah and the Sunni Muslim Palestinian group Hamas in the tri-border area of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. The State Department terrorism report maintains that the United States remains concerned that Hezbollah and Hamas sympathizers are raising funds among the sizable Middle Eastern communities in the region, but stated that there was no corroborated information that these or other Islamic extremist groups had an operational presence in the area. Allegations have linked Hezbollah to two bombings in Argentina: the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires that killed 30 people and the 1994 bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people. Concerns about Iran’s increasing activities in Latin America center on the country’s ties to Hezbollah and the terrorist attacks in Argentina....

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....

December 16, 2008
Congressional Research Service

Abstract:

In 1996 Congress amended the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) to allow U.S. victims of terrorism to sue designated State sponsors of terrorism for their terrorist acts. The courts have handed down large judgments against the terrorist State defendants, generally in default, and successive Administrations have intervened to block the judicial attachment of frozen assets to satisfy judgments. After a court ruled that Congress never created a cause of action against terrorist States themselves, but only against their officials, employees, and agents, plaintiffs have based claims on state law. The limited availability of defendant States’ assets for satisfaction of judgments has made collection difficult. Congress passed a rider to the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2008 (H.R. 4986), to provide a federal cause of action against terrorist States and to facilitate enforcement of judgments, authorizing the President to waive the provision with respect to Iraq. Congress subsequently passed S. 3370 to exempt Libya from the FSIA provisions if it agrees to compensate victims with pending lawsuits. Section 1083 of P.L. 110-181 is the latest in a series of actions Congress has taken over the last decade to assist plaintiffs in lawsuits against terrorist States. The 107th Congress enacted a measure in the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (“TRIA”) (P.L. 107-297) to allow the attachment of blocked assets of terrorist States to pay compensatory damages to victims. The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (“VTVPA”) (P.L. 106-386) liquidated some frozen assets to pay claims and provided some U.S. funds to compensate those holding judgments against Iran at the time. Section 1083 seeks to make more assets available to execute terrorism judgments. It permits the attachment of assets belonging to separate agencies and instrumentalities of defendant States, permits plaintiffs to file notices of lis pendens with respect to property owned by defendant States or entities they control, and permits some plaintiffs to refile claims. The Supreme Court has not directly addressed the FSIA terrorism exception, but in 2006 it remanded a decision based on the lower court’s assumption that Iran’s Ministry of Defense (MOD) is an “agency or instrumentality” of Iran rather than part of the government itself, and will decide in its upcoming term whether certain Iranian assets are available under the TRIA to judgment holders. The Court may also be asked to determine the effect of the waiver of § 1083 on pending cases against Iraq, which the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has permitted to go forward. This report provides background on the doctrine of State immunity and the FSIA; details the evolution of the terrorist State exception and some of the resulting judicial decisions; describes legislative efforts to help claimants satisfy their judgments; summarizes the hostages’ suit against Iran and Congress’s efforts to intervene; summarizes the status of lawsuits against Iraq and Libya; and provides an overview of proposed legislation (S. 3370, H.R. 3346, S. 1944, H.R. 394, H.R. 5167, and H.R. 2764). Appendix A provides a list of cases, including those covered by TRIA § 2002 and the amount of compensation paid. Appendix B lists the assets of each terrorist State currently blocked by the United States and the total amount owed by each for terrorism judgments. The report will be updated as events warrant....

January 5, 2010
United Nations Security Council

Abstract:

The Security Council today renewed for another six months the 45-year-old United Nations peacekeeping mission in Cyprus, citing “a rare opportunity to make decisive progress in a timely fashion” to reunify the Mediterranean island after a history of fighting between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities. In a resolution adopted by 14 votes to one, with only Turkey opposing, the 15-member body strongly urged the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders “to increase the momentum in the negotiations to ensure the full exploitation of this opportunity to reach a comprehensive settlement based on a bicommunal, bizonal federation with political equality.” Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat have been meeting regularly for more than a year under UN auspices in a bid to establish a Federal Government with a single international personality, along with a Turkish Cypriot Constituent State and a Greek Cypriot Constituent State, which would be of equal status. The Council extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in Cyprus (UNFICYP) until 15 June, 2010. Now mustering 926 uniformed personnel – 858 troops and 68 police – supported by 40 international civilian staff, the mission was first established in 1964 to prevent further fighting between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities. After hostilities erupted again in 1974, its responsibilities were expanded to supervise ceasefire lines, maintain a buffer zone and undertake humanitarian activities....

December 4, 2009
United Nations Security Council

Abstract:

The present report on the United Nations operation in Cyprus covers developments from 11 May to 20 November 2009 and brings up to date the record of activities carried out by the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) pursuant to Security Council resolution 186 (1964) and subsequent Council resolutions, most recently resolution 1873 (2009). The activities of my mission of good offices in Cyprus are covered separately in my report S/2009/610 dated 30 November 2009. As at 31 October, the strength of the military component of UNFICYP stood at 858, including all ranks, and the strength of the police component stood at 69 (see annex)....

September 30, 2009
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

Three decades of efforts to reunify Cyprus are about to end, leaving a stark choice ahead between a hostile, de facto partition of the island and a collaborative federation between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities living in two constituent states. Most actors agree that the window of opportunity for this bicommunal, bizonal settlement will close by April 2010, the date of the next Turkish Cypriot elections, when the pro-settlement leader risks losing his office to a more hardline candidate. If no accord is reached by then, it will be the fourth major set of UN-facilitated peace talks to fail, and there is a widespread feeling that if the current like-minded, pro-solution Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders cannot compromise on a federal solution, nobody can. To avoid the heavy costs this would entail for all concerned, the two leaders should stand shoulder to shoulder to overcome domestic cynicism and complete the talks, Turkey and Greece must break taboos preventing full communication with both sides on the island, and European Union (EU) states must rapidly engage in support of the process to avoid the potential for future instability if they complacently accept continuation of the dispute. A real chance still exists in 2009-2010 to end the division in Cyprus in conformity with the long-established negotiating parameters of a federal reunification. The current Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders share more common ground than any of their predecessors and have gone some distance over the past year toward a comprehensive settlement. But failure will mean an indefinite partition of the island, leading to more strains in EU-Turkey relations, new frictions in the east Mediterranean, less EU-NATO cooperation, acceleration of the centrifugal forces scattering the Turkish Cypriots and new risks to the prosperity and security of Greek Cypriots....

September 18, 2009
The Jamestown Foundation // Eurasia Daily Monitor

Abstract:

The troubled peace talks have resumed in Cyprus after Greek Cypriot officials boycotted them in the first week of September. As the second part of the negotiations began, the Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat and his Greek Cypriot counterpart Dimitris Christofias met for their 41st meeting aimed at finding a solution to the issue. Newspapers in Cyprus reported that the international community has been working on two possible plans. Priority is ascribed to the plan that targets finding a solution based on a bi-communal, bi-zonal framework based on political equality, with the existence of two founding states of equal status. This plan also entails a form of Turkish guarantee over the solution, and a united Cyprus would become a member of the European Union. In the event that Talat and Christofias fail to agree on a solution, according to the Fileleftheros newspaper, the second plan will be put into effect. This entails the removal of the isolation and embargoes on Northern Cyprus, and possibly adopting a "Taiwanization" model, providing an immediate upgrade politically and economically to the country. According to Greek Cypriot newspapers this plan, will only be implemented if a solution cannot be reached by 2010. In a television interview, Talat stated that in the second part of the meetings the agenda will include how to deal with property issues relating to displaced persons who left after the 1974 war, agreeing a revised map, and Greek, Turkish and British guarantor agreements. The most important issue relates to "reign and power sharing" Talat added. He suggested that during the second part of the talks that the parties will concentrate on discussing these three issues....

September 17, 2009
Centre for European Reform

Abstract:

The latest round of negotiations for a comprehensive settlement on the divided island of Cyprus are likely to reach a decisive phase in late 2009 or early 2010. After 45 years of on-off talks, it is sensible to contemplate failure. Circumstances have changed, however. Most importantly, (Greek) Cyprus is now an EU member and Turkey’s role in the Cyprus settlement is closely linked with its own EU accession negotiations. The costs of failure of the Cyprus negotiations could range from a breakdown in EU-Turkey relations to bad blood between Ankara and Athens, with collateral damage to EU-NATO co-operation. The benefits of success would not only comprise an economically thriving Cyprus but also wider regional stability and improved prospects for a successful conclusion of Turkey’s EU accession process. A bi-zonal, bi-communal federation – as envisaged in the Annan plan that the Greek Cypriots rejected in 2004 – remains the only viable solution. It is the Turkish and Greek Cypriots themselves who need to shape and own the necessary compromises. The EU, although in many ways central to the prospects of a Cyprus settlement, does not have a strong role to play in the negotiations. Its most positive contribution would be to keep the Turkish accession talks alive and ensure steady progress....

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....

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....

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....

July 16, 2009
The Danish Institute for International Studies

Abstract:

The Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) is an independent research institution engaged in research in international affairs. The institute draws up reports and analyses and follows developments in international affairs continuously in order to assess the security and foreign policy situation of Denmark, e.g. aspects of relevance with regard to development policy. DIIS also communicates research findings, analyses and knowledge and performs functions concerning documentation, information and library services. Furthermore, DIIS contributes to the education of researchers, supports the development of research capacity in developing countries and establishes contacts between Danish and international research environments. DIIS's research and activities are organized in several research units and a few major commissioned works....

July 2, 2009
Humanitarian Policy Group

Abstract:

This report reviews DRC livelihoods and protection programme in northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The objectives of the review were to: assess the overall relevance and impact of the programme on protection and livelihoods from 2006 until mid-2008; and provide recommendations for the future development of the programme, in particular how to sharpen and strengthen the livelihoods approach and livelihoods activities in programmes. The review was also part of DRC‟s global livelihoods and protection initiative. The objective of this review is to strengthen DRC‟s corporate learning and understanding of how livelihood and protection approaches can be combined and mutually reinforce each other for the benefit of assisted people. The methodology included a brief literature review, interviews with conflict-affected communities on their own responses to livelihoods and protection risks as well as the effectiveness of DRC‟s programmes, and interviews with DRC staff and staff from other agencies (see Annex 1 for the ToRs, Annex 2 for a description of the methodology used and Annex 3 for a list of interviewees). On the suggestion of the DRC country team, the review focused on the Danida-funded integrated livelihood rehabilitation project, which is currently being implemented in Trincomalee and Vavuniya. These were considered two of the more stable areas in the north. Interviews were also carried out with the Jaffna team and the emergency coordinator from Kilinochchi, to get an idea of livelihoods and protection projects elsewhere in the country....

April 27, 2009
Danish Institute for International Studies

Abstract:

This report is part of a broader analysis of the Danish experience with civil-military integration and deals with Afghanistan. The ability to change realities on the ground in far-away areas with unfamiliar cultures and languages is no easy task. The key to success in such tasks is to identify the underlying problems and to formulate forward steps commensurate with these problems. The emphasis in this analysis is on the political nature of the challenge in high-conflict areas.

January 19, 2010
Crisis States Research Centre // London School of Economics // Development Studies Institute

Abstract:

The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is the regional organisation of seven Eastern African countries with a stated ambition to achieve peace, prosperity and regional integration among its member states. Each of these objectives is challenging, but none more so than the prevention, management and resolution of violent conflict in a region that has been steeped in warfare for decades. The current conflicts in the Horn of Africa include civil war in Darfur, protracted state collapse in Somalia, deep hostility and a stalled peace process between Ethiopia and Eritrea, a fragile peace agreement between North and South Sudan, a border dispute between Eritrea and Djibouti and periodic bouts of unrest in the Ogaden and Northern Uganda. This paper assesses the contribution that IGAD has made to regional security in the Horn of Africa since the mid 1990s. It begins with a brief account of the origins of IGAD in 1986 and the development of its peace and security mandate in 1996, set in the context of an evolving African regionalism. It then examines the two major peace processes over which IGAD has presided, the first for Sudan (1993-2005) and then the Somali process (2002-2004). The next section considers the overall effectiveness of IGAD’s contribution to peace and security and assesses the success of IGAD’s reconciliation efforts in Sudan and Somalia. The paper argues that the regional security framework of IGAD was conceived during an exceptional (and brief) interlude of good relations among all its member states. It attributes the subsequent failure of IGAD to prevent or resolve much of the serious conflict in the Horn to an entrenched political culture that endorses the use of force and mutual intervention by states in each other’s conflicts and domestic affairs. It notes that IGAD member states continue to fuel conflict even when reconciliation talks are in progress and suggests that where positive results have been achieved these are more the product of regional power politics than of IGAD’s institutional strength. It concludes that the scope for the IGAD Secretariat to develop an autonomous conflict-resolution capability will remain limited, but that member states will still seek to utilise IGAD’s authority to legitimise their own regional policies....

January 13, 2010
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs // John F. Kennedy School of Government // Harvard University

Abstract:

The following is intended to provide a report of the discussions at the “Examining the ‘Bastions’ of Terror: Governance and Policy in Yemen and the Horn of Africa” conference held November 4-6, 2004 at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and the Sudan—the countries constituting the “Horn of Africa”— together with Yemen, are potential hostages to terrorism. Their largely unsecured territories provide a platform for terrorists, and their internal conflicts and weaknesses create potential breeding grounds for current and future anti-American terrorism. American efforts to combat terrorism in the region demand cohesive strategies across U.S. foreign policy agencies and across the region. The U.S. must employ multipronged social, economic, political, and military strategies to overcome not only the immediate threats but medium- and longer-term risks....

January 5, 2010
United Nations Security Council

Abstract:

The Security Council today imposed arms and travel sanctions on Eritrea for supporting insurgents trying to topple the nascent government in nearby Somalia. The resolution, supported by 13 of the 15 members of the Council, places an arms embargo on Eritrea, imposes travel bans on the Horn of Africa nation's top political and military officials, and freezes the assets of some of the country's senior political and military officials. China, one of the five permanent members of the Council, abstained from voting for the resolution, while Libya voted against it. In the resolution, the Council expressed concern over Eritrea's rejection of the United Nations-facilitated Djibouti Agreement, a 2008 peace accord between Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS). Despite that pact, fighting and humanitarian suffering continue to engulf Somalia, which has been without a central authority for nearly two decades. Eritrea and Djibouti are also engaged in a border dispute. Today's resolution “demands that all Member States, in particular Eritrea, cease arming, training, and equipping armed groups and their members including al-Shabaab, that aim to destabilize the region or incite violence and civil strife in Djibouti.” It also calls on all nations to support the Djibouti peace process and support the TFG's reconciliation efforts in Somalia....

November 9, 2009
The World Bank Group

Abstract:

Fragile and conflict-affected states are not new, but the challenges they pose have moved to the top of the development agenda in recent years. Experience has shown that the task of moving a poor, conflict-affected state out of fragility is a complex, difficult and long-term project. In many cases, like in Afghanistan, gains have been hard-won, slow and uncertain. Nonetheless, recent history offers grounds for optimism. Mozambique and El Salvador, once stuck in a downward slide of violent conflict and economic ruin, are now democracies enjoying growth and relative stability. Rwanda, Liberia and Angola have made rapid progress, especially given the conditions they faced when their conflicts ended. But Timor Leste and the Horn of Africa, while very different, remind us that progress can also be marred by setbacks. Paul Collier, who contributed an article to this issue of Development Outreach, has helped us understand the forces that keep states fragile, and how that fragility undermines development prospects. External assistance is essential to help solve the problems of what Collier calls the “Bottom Billion” states, many of which are fragile, conflict-affected or both. But this aid must be complemented by local leaders who fill the institutional voids that created the vulnerability in the first place. One of their first tasks is to build capacity in the public service and in key institutions of civil society. Sanjay Pradhan and Alastair McKechnie, respectively World Bank Vice President for the World Bank Institute, and Director of the Bank Group’s Fragile and Conflict-Affected States Unit, outline the challenges on these fronts. Elsewhere in this issue—which was developed with guidance from Henriette von Kaltenborn- Stachau and Erik Caldwell Johnson—analysts and world leaders offer lessons. Timor Leste’s Finance Minister Emilia Pires underlines the importance of long-term commitments by donors. At the same time, she cautions governments in fragile settings not to take on everything at once. Perhaps the most decisive element in success or failure is the kind of leadership that emerges in fragile situations. Harvard Professor Matt Andrews, defines this as, “individuals connected in networks [who] intentionally mobilize people, ideas,meaning and resources toward achieving a purpose.”...

September 28, 2009
The Jamestown Foundation // Global Terrorism Analysis

Abstract:

Few nations in the world are as strategically important but as little known as Djibouti, a small desert nation of half a million people in the heart of the Horn of Africa. A lingering insurgency by the ethnic-Afar Front pour la Restauration de l’Unité et de la Démocratie (Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy - FRUD) that many believed was over in 2001 has reemerged as one of a number of security problems challenging Djibouti’s continued stability. FRUD is based in northern Djibouti, the traditional home of the nomadic Afar people. The Afar ethnic group represents roughly a third of the population in Djibouti, where the dominant ethnic Somali group is divided between the majority Issa clan and smaller groups from the Issaq clan and the Gadabursi, a Dir sub-clan. Most of the nomadic Afars live in the Danakil Desert of Ethiopia, giving them their alternate name of “Danakil.” The lack of Afar representation in the central government sparked the Djiboutian Civil War in 1991. France became involved in both mediation efforts and support missions for government troops, but the conflict continued until 2001, when the remaining radical faction signed a peace agreement with the government and joined the president’s governing coalition. Since then, however, it appears that a number of Afar militants have retaken the field, dissatisfied with the implementation of the peace treaty. Most of the movement made peace with the government in 1994, with a group of hardliners under the late FRUD founder Ahmad Dini Ahmad holding out until 2001 before cutting their own deal with the government. Though certain roles at the highest level of the government have been reserved for Afars, the rest of the administration is still largely dominated by the ethnic-Somali Issa clan....

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. ...

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....

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....

March 5, 2010
Chr. Michelsen Institute

Abstract:

The international discourse on gender and peacebuilding presupposes a common agenda among all women across religion, ethnicity and class in any given post-conflict situation. This brief challenges this position by exploring the attitudes and priorities of Muslim female activists in Sudan. Disunited and politicized, they have multiple and competing priorities rather than a common gender-based agenda.

March 5, 2010
Women's Iniatives for Gender Justice

Abstract:

First published in June 2008, Making a Statement: A Review of Charges and Prosecutions for Gender-Based Crimes before the International Criminal Court, is a collection of statements and commentaries written by the Women’s Initiatives from 2005-2008 in response to the opening of investigations, the unsealing of warrants of arrest, and the charges brought by the Office of the Prosecutor in each of the four situations. Making a Statement, Second Edition includes an updated chart of all of the charges for gender-based crimes requested by the Prosecutor through February 2010, as well as new statements by the Women’s Initiatives regarding the opening of the second trial in the DRC Situation and the Confirmation Decision in the case against Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo. The Second Edition of Making a Statement includes an updated chart of all of the charges for gender-based crimes requested by the Prosecutor to date, as well as the charges confirmed and not confirmed by the Pre-Trial Chambers. It includes new statements by the Women’s Initiatives in relation to the commencement of the ICC’s first trial and the Confirmation Decision in the case against Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo. In that same case, the Women’s Initiatives was the first international women’s rights organisation invited to file an amicus curiae brief before the ICC....

March 4, 2010
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs // ReliefWeb

Abstract:

This map shows the estimated cumulative total number of displaced persons in various regions of southern Sudan. It also highlights violence and conflict locations in 2009, as well as locations of current humanitarian operations.

March 2, 2010
Center on International Cooperation // New York University

Abstract:

The African Union’s (AU) peacemaking efforts in Darfur exposed the limits of implementing its ambitious peace and security agenda, and the absence of an effective international system to support regional peacemaking efforts. This paper contends that the AU’s efforts brought to the fore three critical issues: first, the gap between the AU’s mandate to intervene in situations involving war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide as provided for in its founding charter, the Constitutive Act, and its capacity to do so; second, the absence of an international system to support regional peacemaking, especially when it involves deploying complex multidimensional peace operations; finally, it brought into sharper focus the inherent tensions and contradictions surrounding existing norms and emerging concepts such as sovereignty, the responsibility to protect (R2P) and internationalized justice through the International Criminal Court (ICC). The paper focuses on the AU’s two pronged strategy in Darfur: Political and Military/ peacekeeping....

February 26, 2010
United States Government Office of the Director National Intelligence

Abstract:

We face nation states, terrorist networks, organized criminal groups, individuals, and other cyber actors with varying combinations of access, technical sophistication and intent. Many have the capabilities to target elements of the US information infrastructure for intelligence collection, intellectual property theft, or disruption. Terrorist groups and their sympathizers have expressed interest in using cyber means to target the United States and its citizens. Criminal elements continue to show growing sophistication in their technical capability and targeting. Today, cyber criminals operate a pervasive, mature on-line service economy in illicit cyber capabilities and services, which are available to anyone willing to pay. Globally, widespread cyber-facilitated bank and credit card fraud has serious implications for economic and financial systems and the national security, intelligence, and law enforcement communities charged with protecting them....

February 26, 2010
The World Bank // Social Development Department

Abstract:

This paper explores how a “conflict and violence‐sensitive” framework in project assessment, design and implementation facilitates early identification and mitigation of negative consequences of competition and dispute, and promotes sustainable development over the longer term. It discusses the role of renewable resources in perpetuating conflict and violence, and distills lessons from selected development programming experiences in managing conflict risks associated with these dynamics. The study emphasizes that building capacity to productively address conflict and to improve community resilience to ecological change decreases vulnerability to violence, and improves livelihoods—particularly for the world’s poorest communities. The study draws on a range of development experience and specifically examines six case studies: three from the World Bank portfolio and three external to the Bank. Of the World Bank projects, the paper considers Andhra Pradesh Community Forest Management Project (India), Land Conflict and Vulnerability Pilot Project (Afghanistan), and Second Fadama Development Project (Nigeria). The paper also studies three external cases: Conservation of Managed Indigenous Areas (Ecuador) and Building the Capacity of ICCN to Resolve and Manage Environmental Conflicts in Virunga National Park (DRC), both financed by USAID; and the Community Development Component of GTZ’s Palestinian Water Program (West Bank). The concluding chapter outlines good practice and lessons learned from experience, emphasizing principals for building institutional and organizational capacity that support constructive conflict management....

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....

January 29, 2010
International Assessment and Strategy Center

Abstract:

Many of the underlying issues of structural corruption, drug trafficking, money laundering and the presence of the FARC predate the Correa administration by many years. Ecuador's geographic position has also made it a vulnerable and attractive crossroads for transnational non-state armed groups. Ecuador's decision to adopt the U.S. dollar as its official currency in 2000 also created numerous new vulnerabilities for the state and advantages to criminal organizations. These factors, taken together with the changing internal situation in Colombia and the expanding influence of the Mexican drug cartels have, over the past three years, helped turn Ecuador into an important and growing center of operation for transnational organized criminal gangs. This poses a significant threat not only to the Ecuadoran state but all of Latin America and the United States. After decades as a transit route for cocaine and a secondary money laundering center, Ecuador is emerging as a key meeting ground for multiple transnational criminal and terrorist organizations and an important part of a pipeline that moves not only cocaine but human cargo, weapons, precursor chemicals and hundreds of millions of dollars a year....

November 24, 2009
openDemocracy

Abstract:

Border zones are incubators of criminal instability and violence. Weak state presence and the lucrative drugs trade is combining to challenge state sovereignty in acute ways. Consider Mexico, where the northern frontier with the US and southern border with Guatemala are contested zones. The bloody center of gravity of Mexico’s drug cartels is the ‘plazas’, the drug smuggling corridors that link the borders. When most think of conflict and border zones, they imagine territorial disputes such as India and Pakistan’s recurring battles over Kashmir or less serious tug-of-wars such as Japan and South Korea’s contestation of the Liancourt Rocks. To be sure, there have been territorial disputes, such as Nicaragua’s dispute with Colombia over several islands, or Colombia’s conflicts with Venezuela and Ecuador over narco-guerrillas operating from their territory. Yet, as former FRIDE researcher Ivan Briscoe argues, the biggest sources of violent conflict has been the erosion of government control over border zones and the rise of criminal groups, gangs, and cartels in loosely governed zones. As Briscoe argues, "violence and institutional corrosion have plagued as never before the frontier between Mexico and the United States, while Guatemala’s eastern border region and Colombia’s frontiers with Ecuador, Venezuela and Brazil witness these countries’ highest murder rates, as well as territorial capture by armed groups and narco-trafficking networks."...

October 28, 2009
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre

Abstract:

In March, 2008, the Colombian armed forces attacked a FARC camp located in the Ecuadorian province of Sucumbíos. This attack resulted in the death of FARC’s second in command, Raúl Reyes. This event, which turned around relations between the two countries, which to date continue severed, and received copious international attention, including a condemning resolution from the Organization of American States, merely evidenced what for years had been known to the people living near the Ecuador-Colombia border: that for many years, the Colombian conflict has been spilling over to Ecuador, and that in everyday life and for everyone all the same—armed actors, civilian population, and even government forces—the 600-kilometer border is not much more than an abstract political fiction. While for tens of thousands of Colombians Ecuador offers a much safer environment than the border departments of Nariño and Putumayo, the extensive presence of illegal armed groups and high levels of insecurity increasingly threaten the stability of the Ecuadorian border provinces, especially Esmeraldas, Carchi, and Sucumbíos. In addition to the well-documented flow of Colombian asylum seekers, recent reports signal that internal displacement of Ecuadorians may be a growing phenomenon. Humanitarian aid on the Ecuadorian side is limited and the response from the Ecuadorian government, even though highly superior comparatively to Venezuela’s and Panamá’s, is still insufficient....

March 3, 2010
Freedom House

Abstract:

As the governments of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) undertake the difficult process of enacting social and political change, the unequal status of women presents a particularly formidable challenge. In Iraq, deliberations over women's legal status have been as contentious as negotiations over how to structure the government. In Jordan, measures to increase penalties for so-called honor crimes faced strong resistance by ultraconservative parliamentarians and ordinary citizens who believe that tradition and religion afford them the right to severely punish and even murder female relatives for behavior they deem immoral. These debates are not just legal and philosophical struggles among elites. They are emotionally charged political battles that touch upon fundamental notions of morality and social order. In order to provide a detailed look at the conditions faced by women in the Middle East and understand the complex environment surrounding efforts to improve their status, Freedom House conducted a comprehensive study of women's rights in the region. The first edition of this project was published in 2005. The present edition offers an updated examination of the issue, with a special focus on changes that have occurred over the last five years. Although the study indicates that a substantial deficit in women's rights persists in every country in the MENA region, the findings also include notable progress, particularly in terms of economic opportunities, educational attainment, and political participation....

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....

February 16, 2010
Forced Migration Review // University of Oxford // Refugee Studies Centre

Abstract:

The striking fact that for the first time in human history there are now more people living in towns and cities than outside them is not in itself a reason for FMR to be covering urban displacement. Behind that fact, however, lies the multiplicity of reasons why people have been moving into urban environments and the reality that for many of them it is not a matter of choice. In their introductory articles in this issue of FMR, UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres and UN-HABITAT Executive Director Anna Tibaijuka emphasise the complexity of the challenges faced by those displaced into urban areas and by those seeking to protect and assist them, and argue for the need for a radical rethinking of approaches. The articles that follow address some of the practical and policy issues that urban displaced people face and that affect providers too. They also reflect the diversity of analysis and geography that is to be expected given the global nature of urbanisation....

February 9, 2010
Policy Review // Hoover Institution

Abstract:

U.S. democracy promotion in the Middle East has suffered a series of crippling defeats. Despite occasionally paying lip service to the idea, few politicians on either the left or right appear committed to supporting democratic reform as a central component of American policy in the region. Who can really blame them, given that democracy promotion has become toxic to a public with little patience left for various “missions” abroad? But as the Obama administration struggles to renew ties with the Muslim world, particularly in light of the June 2009 Cairo speech, it should resist the urge to abandon its predecessor’s focus on promoting democracy in what remains the most undemocratic region in the world. Promoting democratic reform, this time not just with rhetoric but with action, should be given higher priority in the current administration, even though early indications suggest the opposite may be happening. Despite all its bad press, democracy promotion remains, in the long run, the most effective way to undermine terrorism and political violence in the Middle East. This is not a very popular argument. Indeed, a key feature of the post-Bush debate over democratization is an insistence on separating support for democracy from any explicit national security rationale. This, however, would be a mistake with troubling consequences for American foreign policy....

January 21, 2010
United States Institute of Peace

Abstract:

This extensive paper examines the complex nexus between democratic change and U.S. security interests, with a principal focus on Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Yemen. It sets out a set of general and country-specific findings and recommendations for a long-term strategy by which “political liberalization” can enhance the stability and legitimacy of governments, thus strengthening security and peacemaking in the region. This report offers a set of general and country-specific findings and recommendations to assist the Obama administration in its efforts to tackle escalating security challenges while sustaining diplomatic, institutional and economic support for democracy and human rights in the Greater Middle East. The working group recognizes that addressing threats from terrorist groups affiliated with al-Qaeda, as well as stemming conflicts arising from the persistence of regional conflicts in the Middle East and South Asia, must be a top priority. But, as the case studies of Yemen, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon amply demonstrate, long-term political stability, economic development and security also requires a continued and even enhanced U.S. commitment, in both words and deeds, to fostering democratic transformation, human rights and effective governance. The architecture of security and peacemaking must be accompanied by a revived focus on democratic reforms. Absent such an effort, this study group believes that the already wide political, social and ideological gap between states and societies will further expand, thus making regimes, and even entire states vulnerable to internal and external shocks. It is the task and challenge of genuine reformers in both the regimes and oppositions of the Arab World and South Asia to chart an exit from the cul-de-sac of arbitrary rule and state-managed political reform by defining a common vision of substantive “democratic transformation.”...

May 5, 2009
Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform // University of Birmingham // Department for International Development

Abstract:

Peace agreements form a crucial entry point for security sector reform (SSR). However, there has been little consistency in the way that security sector reform provisions have been approached (or implemented) in peace agreements. This report is the result of a research project which examines peace agreements from eight countries in Africa (Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Sudan, Burundi, DRC, Sierra Leone and Liberia), two from Central America (El Salvador and Guatemala) and one from Asia (East Timor). The report demonstrates that there is a potentially high price to be paid for failing to integrate issues of SSR into peace negotiations and agreements at the very outset, or for doing so in a selective and shallow manner. The risks are detailed and recommendations for future provisions in peace agreements are presented....

February 18, 2009
Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael

Abstract:

In spite of the fact that UN peacekeeping operations are a relative new field for scholarly research, the literature on the subject has grown into a substantial body. This article distils from this body of scholarly literature eleven clusters of factors for success and failure for UN peacekeeping operations in general and tests these on four case studies – Cambodia, Mozambique, Rwanda and El Salvador – of one particular type of UN peacekeeping operation: the UN peace-building operations. It concludes that although the results of the four cases of UN peace-building operations largely confirm the factors for success and failure as found in literature for UN peacekeeping operations in general, theory on UN peace-building operations still needs adjustment and fine tuning. Amongst others, it appears from the cases that two factors that receive a lot of attention in literature – the non-use of force by the operation and the need for a clear and detailed mandate – are less important....

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....

January 6, 2009
The Heritage Foundation

Abstract:

Because of their growing membership and globalization, urban youth gangs have become a public security threat that must be addressed. Gangs once provided outlets for marginalized youths to socialize, control territory, and release aggression. More recently, some have evolved into informally affiliated international criminal networks. Two predominantly Hispanic gangs -- Calle 18 and Mara Salvatrucha -- began to proliferate in Los Angeles during the 1960s and now have fraternal links to some 130,000 to 300,000 members in Mexico and Central America and have expanded across the United States to major cities and rural communities on the Eastern Seaboard. Gang activities range from defending neighborhood turf to armed robbery, extortion, alien smuggling, and arms and drug trafficking. Gangs provide a handy supply of young collaborators for organized crime. Their transnational nature is facilitated by fluid migration across porous national borders, incarceration with experienced criminals in U.S. prisons, and the weak rule of law in Mexico and Central America. Although no hard evidence links them with terrorist networks, transnational gangs are a potential menace to the stability of North American neighbors of the United States....

November 12, 2008
Humanitarian Policy Group // Overseas Development Institute

Abstract:

The following case study of state responses to disasters in El Salvador was undertaken in the context of a broader project on ‘The Role of Affected States in Humanitarian Action’, overseen by the Overseas Development Institute. It sets out to examine the degree to which the Salvadoran state, in the aftermath of decades of conflict, assumed responsibilities for meeting humanitarian needs during three natural disasters that affected the country between 2001 and 2005, and how the state’s response has evolved since 2005. The analysis encompasses the actions of international aid actors and donors during these disasters, and their past and current support for state mechanisms for prevention and preparedness. Research was carried out during a ten-day mission to El Salvador in November 2007. The researcher interviewed key actors in government, NGOs and international agencies. In addition, the researcher assembled extensive materials relating to the events and analysing the consequences of national and international interventions....

July 9, 2009
Human Rights Watch

Abstract:

The government of Equatorial Guinea has set new low standards of political and economic malfeasance in handling its billions of dollars in oil revenue instead of improving the lives of its citizens, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 107-page report, "Well Oiled: Oil and Human Rights in Equatorial Guinea," details how the dictatorship under President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has used an oil boom to entrench and enrich itself further at the expense of the country's people. Since oil was discovered there in the early 1990s, Equatorial Guinea's gross domestic product (GDP) has increased more than 5,000 percent, and the country has become the fourth-largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, living standards for the country's 500,000 people have not substantially improved. "Here is a country where people should have the per capita wealth of Spain or Italy, but instead they live in poverty worse than in Afghanistan or Chad," said Arvind Ganesan, director of the Business and Human Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. "This is a testament to the government's corruption, mismanagement, and callousness toward its own people."...

March 26, 2008
Annual Convention of the International Studies Association

Abstract:

Resilience refers to the ability to rebound, maintain or strengthen functioning during and after a disturbance; to cope successfully in the face of extreme adversity or risk. In many cases where the term ´resilience´ is used, it is applied as a simple descriptor without analysis of why particular systems are resilient even when, by most accounts, they should not be. This paper provides (1) A framework for conceptualizing resilience with regard to vulnerable, fragile, and conflict prone states (in other words, what IS resilience and why is it relevant?) and (2) A small collection of case studies including Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti, Guinea and others which highlight particular adaptive strategies. The key argument of this research is that the nature of development strategies in such environments must tend towards enhancing the capacity of local communities to self organize, by prioritizing experimentation and local ownership over project designs and outcomes....

May 28, 2007
Freedom House

Abstract:

This overview report is a companion to the annual survey on the state of global political rights and civil liberties, Freedom in the World. The reports are excerpted from Freedom in the World 2007, which surveys the state of freedom in 193 countries and 15 select territories. The ratings and accompanying essays are based on events from December 1, 2005 through December 31, 2006. The 17 countries and 3 territories profiled in this report are drawn from the total of 45 countries and 7 territories that are considered to be Not Free and whose citizens endure systematic and pervasive human rights violations. Included in this report are eight countries judged to have the worst records: Burma, Cuba, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Also included are two territories, Chechnya and Tibet, whose inhabitants suffer intense repression. These states and regions received the Freedom House survey's lowest rating: 7 for political rights and 7 for civil liberties. Within these entities, state control over daily life is pervasive and wide-ranging, independent organizations and political opposition are banned or suppressed, and fear of retribution for independent thought and action is part of daily life. In the case of Chechnya, the rating in large measure reflects the fallout of a vicious conflict that in the last 12 years has disrupted normal life and resulted in some 200,000 deaths. The report also includes nine further countries near the bottom of Freedom House's list of the most repressive: Belarus, China, Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Laos, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Zimbabwe. The territory of Western Sahara is also included in this group. While these states scored slightly better than the "worst of the worst," they offer very limited scope for private discussion while severely suppressing opposition political activity, impeding independent organizing, and censoring or punishing criticism of the state. Massive human rights violations take place in nearly every part of the world. This year's roster of the "most repressive" includes countries from the Americas, the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, and East Asia; they represent a wide array of cultures and levels of economic development. This report from Freedom House to the United Nations focuses on states and regions that have seen some of the world's most severe repression and most systematic and brutal violations of human dignity. The report seeks to focus the attention of the United Nations Human Rights Council on states and territories that deserve investigation and condemnation for their widespread violations. [Ed. note: Exact publishing date not given]...

September 7, 2006
Freedom House

Abstract:

Freedom House has prepared this overview report as a companion to our annual survey on the state of global political rights and civil liberties, Freedom in the World. We are publishing this report to assist policymakers, human rights organizations, democracy advocates, and others who are working to advance freedom around the world. We also hope that the report will be useful to the work of the new United Nations Human Rights Council. The reports are excerpted from Freedom in the World 2006, which surveys the state of freedom in 192 countries and 14 select territories. The ratings and accompanying essays are based on events from December 1, 2004 through November 30, 2005. The 17 countries and 3 territories profiled in this report are drawn from the total of 45 countries and 8 territories that are considered to be Not Free and whose citizens endure systematic and pervasive human rights violations....

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.

February 4, 2010
United Nations Children's Fund

Abstract:

The Humanitarian Action Report is UNICEF's only publication dealing specifically with the needs of children and women in emergencies. It spotlights crises that require exceptional support, and additional funding, to save lives and protect children from harm in an increasingly challenging humanitarian environment. This year's report – subtitled 'Partnering for children in emergencies' – says the world is seeing crises exacerbated by larger trends, such as climate change and the international financial downturn, that are beyond the capacity of any one agency to address. The report appeals for nearly $1.2 billion in international donor funding for emergency-response efforts in 28 countries covering six regions – from Eastern Europe to Africa to Asia to Latin America. The funding will be used to support a greater emphasis on emergency preparedness, early warning, disaster risk reduction and rapid recovery....

January 26, 2010
German Institute of Global and Area Studies // Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

Abstract:

This article analyzes contemporary Eritrea’s acute crisis within the framework of the theory of anomie. It is based on the hypothesis that militarization, forced labor, mass exodus, and family disintegration can be interpreted as the consequences of two incompatible norm and value systems: the collectivist, nationalistic, and militaristic worldview of the former liberation front and ruling party People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), and the traditional cultural system of Eritrea’s society. In 2002 the regime introduced an unlimited “development campaign,” thereby forcing large parts of the society to live as conscripts and perform unpaid labor. This has caused a mass exodus of young people and a rapid process of family disintegration. The article is based on empirical fieldwork and evaluates the ongoing developments, which have led to rapid economic decline and the destabilization of the entire fabric of society....

January 19, 2010
Crisis States Research Centre // London School of Economics // Development Studies Institute

Abstract:

The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is the regional organisation of seven Eastern African countries with a stated ambition to achieve peace, prosperity and regional integration among its member states. Each of these objectives is challenging, but none more so than the prevention, management and resolution of violent conflict in a region that has been steeped in warfare for decades. The current conflicts in the Horn of Africa include civil war in Darfur, protracted state collapse in Somalia, deep hostility and a stalled peace process between Ethiopia and Eritrea, a fragile peace agreement between North and South Sudan, a border dispute between Eritrea and Djibouti and periodic bouts of unrest in the Ogaden and Northern Uganda. This paper assesses the contribution that IGAD has made to regional security in the Horn of Africa since the mid 1990s. It begins with a brief account of the origins of IGAD in 1986 and the development of its peace and security mandate in 1996, set in the context of an evolving African regionalism. It then examines the two major peace processes over which IGAD has presided, the first for Sudan (1993-2005) and then the Somali process (2002-2004). The next section considers the overall effectiveness of IGAD’s contribution to peace and security and assesses the success of IGAD’s reconciliation efforts in Sudan and Somalia. The paper argues that the regional security framework of IGAD was conceived during an exceptional (and brief) interlude of good relations among all its member states. It attributes the subsequent failure of IGAD to prevent or resolve much of the serious conflict in the Horn to an entrenched political culture that endorses the use of force and mutual intervention by states in each other’s conflicts and domestic affairs. It notes that IGAD member states continue to fuel conflict even when reconciliation talks are in progress and suggests that where positive results have been achieved these are more the product of regional power politics than of IGAD’s institutional strength. It concludes that the scope for the IGAD Secretariat to develop an autonomous conflict-resolution capability will remain limited, but that member states will still seek to utilise IGAD’s authority to legitimise their own regional policies....

January 13, 2010
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs // John F. Kennedy School of Government // Harvard University

Abstract:

The following is intended to provide a report of the discussions at the “Examining the ‘Bastions’ of Terror: Governance and Policy in Yemen and the Horn of Africa” conference held November 4-6, 2004 at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and the Sudan—the countries constituting the “Horn of Africa”— together with Yemen, are potential hostages to terrorism. Their largely unsecured territories provide a platform for terrorists, and their internal conflicts and weaknesses create potential breeding grounds for current and future anti-American terrorism. American efforts to combat terrorism in the region demand cohesive strategies across U.S. foreign policy agencies and across the region. The U.S. must employ multipronged social, economic, political, and military strategies to overcome not only the immediate threats but medium- and longer-term risks....

January 7, 2010
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs // Norsk Utenrikspolitisk Institutt

Abstract:

This report deals with the closure of the United Nations Mission in Eritrea and Ethiopia (UNMEE). This study seeks to understand why the UN Security Council decided to close the mission – before its completion, and counter to the recommendation of the Secretary-General. There is no unambiguous answer to this, but in unpacking UNMEE’s trajectory, contextual factors and addressing various stakeholders’ retrospective perceptions, there emerges a largely congruent master narrative of the mounting dilemmas and challenges that UNMEE was faced with, and that eventually led the Security Council to terminate the mission. Understanding this trajectory and the dilemmas it conveys should also be of relevance for the management of ongoing and establishment of new peacekeeping missions. In unravelling the UNMEE story and seeking an answer to why the mission was terminated, this paper also takes up aspects perceived to be general policy dilemmas with regard to managing peacekeeping mission. These relate to the political role of peacekeeping missions and the ability to detect and manage the impact of deteriorating political consent. This paper thus argues that UNMEE’s lack of a political component and role and its structural detachment from other instruments deemed central to the peace process were detrimental not only to the mission and the perception of UN, but also to the conflict, by shifting the focus from a comprehensive solution to the conflict and border issue....

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....

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....

February 4, 2010
United Nations Children's Fund

Abstract:

The Humanitarian Action Report is UNICEF's only publication dealing specifically with the needs of children and women in emergencies. It spotlights crises that require exceptional support, and additional funding, to save lives and protect children from harm in an increasingly challenging humanitarian environment. This year's report – subtitled 'Partnering for children in emergencies' – says the world is seeing crises exacerbated by larger trends, such as climate change and the international financial downturn, that are beyond the capacity of any one agency to address. The report appeals for nearly $1.2 billion in international donor funding for emergency-response efforts in 28 countries covering six regions – from Eastern Europe to Africa to Asia to Latin America. The funding will be used to support a greater emphasis on emergency preparedness, early warning, disaster risk reduction and rapid recovery....

January 19, 2010
Crisis States Research Centre // London School of Economics // Development Studies Institute

Abstract:

The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is the regional organisation of seven Eastern African countries with a stated ambition to achieve peace, prosperity and regional integration among its member states. Each of these objectives is challenging, but none more so than the prevention, management and resolution of violent conflict in a region that has been steeped in warfare for decades. The current conflicts in the Horn of Africa include civil war in Darfur, protracted state collapse in Somalia, deep hostility and a stalled peace process between Ethiopia and Eritrea, a fragile peace agreement between North and South Sudan, a border dispute between Eritrea and Djibouti and periodic bouts of unrest in the Ogaden and Northern Uganda. This paper assesses the contribution that IGAD has made to regional security in the Horn of Africa since the mid 1990s. It begins with a brief account of the origins of IGAD in 1986 and the development of its peace and security mandate in 1996, set in the context of an evolving African regionalism. It then examines the two major peace processes over which IGAD has presided, the first for Sudan (1993-2005) and then the Somali process (2002-2004). The next section considers the overall effectiveness of IGAD’s contribution to peace and security and assesses the success of IGAD’s reconciliation efforts in Sudan and Somalia. The paper argues that the regional security framework of IGAD was conceived during an exceptional (and brief) interlude of good relations among all its member states. It attributes the subsequent failure of IGAD to prevent or resolve much of the serious conflict in the Horn to an entrenched political culture that endorses the use of force and mutual intervention by states in each other’s conflicts and domestic affairs. It notes that IGAD member states continue to fuel conflict even when reconciliation talks are in progress and suggests that where positive results have been achieved these are more the product of regional power politics than of IGAD’s institutional strength. It concludes that the scope for the IGAD Secretariat to develop an autonomous conflict-resolution capability will remain limited, but that member states will still seek to utilise IGAD’s authority to legitimise their own regional policies....

January 13, 2010
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs // John F. Kennedy School of Government // Harvard University

Abstract:

The following is intended to provide a report of the discussions at the “Examining the ‘Bastions’ of Terror: Governance and Policy in Yemen and the Horn of Africa” conference held November 4-6, 2004 at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and the Sudan—the countries constituting the “Horn of Africa”— together with Yemen, are potential hostages to terrorism. Their largely unsecured territories provide a platform for terrorists, and their internal conflicts and weaknesses create potential breeding grounds for current and future anti-American terrorism. American efforts to combat terrorism in the region demand cohesive strategies across U.S. foreign policy agencies and across the region. The U.S. must employ multipronged social, economic, political, and military strategies to overcome not only the immediate threats but medium- and longer-term risks....

January 7, 2010
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs // Norsk Utenrikspolitisk Institutt

Abstract:

This report deals with the closure of the United Nations Mission in Eritrea and Ethiopia (UNMEE). This study seeks to understand why the UN Security Council decided to close the mission – before its completion, and counter to the recommendation of the Secretary-General. There is no unambiguous answer to this, but in unpacking UNMEE’s trajectory, contextual factors and addressing various stakeholders’ retrospective perceptions, there emerges a largely congruent master narrative of the mounting dilemmas and challenges that UNMEE was faced with, and that eventually led the Security Council to terminate the mission. Understanding this trajectory and the dilemmas it conveys should also be of relevance for the management of ongoing and establishment of new peacekeeping missions. In unravelling the UNMEE story and seeking an answer to why the mission was terminated, this paper also takes up aspects perceived to be general policy dilemmas with regard to managing peacekeeping mission. These relate to the political role of peacekeeping missions and the ability to detect and manage the impact of deteriorating political consent. This paper thus argues that UNMEE’s lack of a political component and role and its structural detachment from other instruments deemed central to the peace process were detrimental not only to the mission and the perception of UN, but also to the conflict, by shifting the focus from a comprehensive solution to the conflict and border issue....

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?...

May 27, 2009
Lowy Institute

Abstract:

Fiji President Iloilo’s abrogation of the 1997 constitution has entrenched a military dictatorship in Australia’s backyard. Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama’s dominant leadership of the interim government and his exclusion of dissenting voices will exacerbate and accelerate economic decline in Fiji and cause unprecedented hardship to Fiji’s population. The economic implications threaten the whole Pacific Islands region and challenge Australia’s capacity to demonstrate regional leadership....

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....

September 4, 2009
The Finnish Institute of International Affairs // Ulkopoliittinen Instituutti

Abstract:

In the shadow of a Europe-wide debate over military involvement in Afghanistan, Finland is in the process of drafting a comprehensive national crisis management strategy (CNCM). The timeliness of this exercise was thrown into dramatic relief in January, when Israeli missiles struck and destroyed Finn Church Aid’s Al Shujaia clinic in Gaza. The clinic bombing was one of several related incidences of violence against humanitarian facilities. On a policy level, both the debate over Afghanistan and the events in Gaza call attention to a post September 11 environment in which humanitarian facilities and personnel are increasingly targets of terror and military violence. Finnish policymakers should take into consideration the changing security environment and the mosaic of actors involved in crisis management. This briefing paper looks at the shrinking of humanitarian space and the increase in violence towards aid workers in the context of military- humanitarian integration. It is argued that increased integration has complicated aid agencies’ attempts to maintain neutrality in the field. The role of Finland in these issues is consequential. First, for Finland and aid agencies alike, joint operations raise the question as to whether impartiality requires neutrality. This relates to domestic debates over NATO involvement in Afghanistan and EU operations elsewhere. Though Finland has largely discontinued use of the term “neutral,” it continues to pursue the goal of impartiality in its humanitarian operations. Second, Finland has, through two successive EU presidencies, positioned itself as a leader in crisis management and as a proponent of expanded European civil- military coordination. In the words of Erkki Tuomioja, former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Finland “view[s] comprehensive crisis management operations, combining both the military and civilian instruments, as our challenge for the future.”...

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....

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....

October 26, 2009
Stanford University // Security Studies

Abstract:

This article seeks to explain why two states faced with a similar terrorist threat, perceiving it in a similar way, and drawing the same broad implications for their counterterrorist investigations, have nevertheless put in place significantly different types of organizational reforms in response to that threat. The study shows that although France and Britain have embraced a common preventive logic in the face of Islamist terrorism, the changes that they have made to the coordination of intelligence, law enforcement, and prosecution in that context have differed because of contrasting organizational routines and interinstitutional conventions in the two states. An analysis of the British and French cases shows that law enforcement can be preventive but that western states are likely to pursue different ways of bringing security agencies and the law together to prevent and prosecute terrorism. The organizational and institutional factors that give rise to such divergent practices have important consequences for the ability of a state to develop a coordinated operational response to terrorism and convict terrorist suspects of crimes in a court of law....

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....

September 3, 2009
MicroCon

Abstract:

This paper argues that both socio-economic disadvantage and political factors, such as the West’s foreign policy with regard to the Muslim world, along with historical grievances, play a part in the development of Islamic radicalized collective action in Western Europe. We emphasise the role of group identity based individual behaviour in organising collective action within radicalized Muslim groups. Inasmuch as culture plays any role at all in radicalization, it is because individuals feel an imperative to act on the basis of their Muslim identity, something to which different individuals will attach varying degrees of salience, depending on how they place their Muslim identity based actions in the scheme of their multiple identities. We also emphasize the role of the opportunistic politician, from the majority European community, in fomenting hatred for Muslims, which also produces a backlash from radicalized political Islam. We present comparative evidence on socio-economic, political and cultural disadvantage faced by Muslim minorities in five West European countries: Germany, the UK, France, Spain and the Netherlands....

July 2, 2009
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace // IPALMO // ARGO

Abstract:

The success of international efforts to foster security and economic growth in Afghanistan is increasingly linked to wider stabilization and development in the states in its proximity. In order to elucidate the challenges in the region and draw recommendations for the Italian G8 Presidency, an Experts Meeting on Afghanistan and Regional Stabilization was organized by Ipalmo, ARGO and Carnegie Europe on May 28-29th 2009 in Rome. Participants noted five areas of interest that could be taken into consideration at the June 2008 meeting of G8 Foreign Ministers in Trieste: 1) The countries of the region are interlinked in a regional security complex which requires a regional approach in response; 2) Constructive action by the states of the region and existing regional institutions need to be reinforced; 3) Border management is necessary to curb illicit trafficking while encouraging a better flow of resources across the region; 4) Security remains a major priority in the region; and 5) Greater economic cooperation would increase welfare for populations while encouraging cooperation and trust in the region....

June 15, 2009
London School of Economics

Abstract:

Over the past two decades, Western political leaders have scripted a new approach to foreign policy, wherein far greater weight is given to ethical considerations and protecting the rights and freedoms of extra-territorial citizens. Using the example of arms exports to developing countries, the present paper exposes the organized hypocrisy underlying countries’ self-declared ethical turn. We show that the major Western arms supplying states – France, Germany, the UK and the US – have generally not exercised export controls so as to discriminate against human rights abusing or autocratic countries during the post-Cold War period. Rather, we uncover ongoing territorial egoism, in that arms have been exported to countries which serve supplying states’ domestic economic and security interests....

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.

September 3, 2009
Angus Reid Global Monitor

Abstract:

n 1960, Gabon attained its independence from France. Leon Mba became the African country’s first president. In 1964, Mba was briefly deposed after a coup, but French forces reinstated him within days. In 1966, Albert-Bernard Bongo, who had served as foreign minister, took over as Gabon’s vice-president, eventually succeeding Mba after his death in 1967. In 1968, Bongo formed the Parti Démocratique Gabonais (PDG—Gabonese Democratic Party) and established Gabon as a de facto one-party state. In 1973, Bongo converted to Islam and adopted the name Omar. In the early 1990s, a decrease in oil prices led to anti-government demonstrations. French forces once again supported the government. To this day, France continues to influence Gabon to a very large extent. Currently, over 10,000 French people live in Gabon. The total population is 1.5 million. In 1991, a new constitution introduced a multi-party system. Bongo remained the country’s head of state, winning the 1993 presidential election, and defeating two contenders in the 1998 ballot with two-thirds of the vote. In 2003, the PDG-dominated National Assembly made significant changes to electoral regulations, which included abolishing the two-term limit for the head of state, and cancelling the second round in the event no candidate garners 50 per cent of the vote. The presidential term was extended from five to seven years. Bongo’s critics accused him of changing the law to secure a lifetime in office. Defence minister Ali Bongo—the current president’s son—has long been regarded as a possible successor. In February 2005, Togo announced that Faure Gnassingbé—son of long-time ruler Gnassingbé Eyadema—would be taking over as head of state. Gnassingbé eventually won an election in May. Oil production has allowed Gabon to boast one of Africa’s highest per capita incomes. More than 40 different ethnic groups are represented in the country. In November 2005, Bongo was elected to a new seven-year term with 79.2 per cent of the vote....

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.

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

Abstract:

The Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) is the continuation (envisioned in 1994) of the Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa (UEAC/UDEAC) created in 1964. The CEMAC consists of two Unions, the Economic Union of Central Africa (UEAC) and the Monetary Union of Central Africa (UMAC). The Community Court of Justice is one of the organs of the overarching Community. One of the main goals of the CEMAC is the creation of a "true African Common Market." The Court is composed of a Judicial Chamber and Chamber of Auditors. Both chambers are functioning....

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....

June 1, 2006
Sciences Po // Center For Peace And Human Security

Abstract:

Situated in between Ghana and Benin, with a coastline of no more than 56km, Togo is one of Africa's smallest countries. However, what has habitually been a little talked about West African nation holds a long history of political unrest and has recently entered into a phase of instability in the beginning of 2005. Civil society members and organizations are now regrouped in the WANEP network, (West African Network for Peacebuilding) in a joint effort to set a national agenda toward reconciliation, peace and security and lead the way in facing Togo's unprecedented public health, development and education challenges....

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 18, 2008
Amnesty International

Abstract:

This report illustrates how human rights violations in Gambia are perpetrated by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), army and police against real and perceived opponents of the government on a routine basis. It demonstrates that once people are in the custody of the government, they are susceptible to a whole range of human rights violations including unlawful detention, torture while in detention, unfair trials, enforced disappearance and extrajudicial executions. This report documents human rights violations that have taken place following the March 2006 foiled coup attempt....

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

Abstract:

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS/CEDEAO) is well known for its military intervention in Liberia and Sierra Leone. ECOWAS was created in 1975 to replace the Customs Union of West African States originally created in 1959 to redistribute customs duties collected by the coastal states of West Africa. The Treaty on the Economic Community of West African States was revised at the Cotonou Summit of July 1993 to replace the inexistent Tribunal originally envisioned with a Community Court of Justice....

June 1, 2006
Sciences Po // Center For Peace And Human Security

Abstract:

Situated in between Ghana and Benin, with a coastline of no more than 56km, Togo is one of Africa's smallest countries. However, what has habitually been a little talked about West African nation holds a long history of political unrest and has recently entered into a phase of instability in the beginning of 2005. Civil society members and organizations are now regrouped in the WANEP network, (West African Network for Peacebuilding) in a joint effort to set a national agenda toward reconciliation, peace and security and lead the way in facing Togo's unprecedented public health, development and education challenges....

June 1, 2006
Energy Information Administration

Abstract:

Regional leaders created the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on May 28, 1975 in Lagos, Nigeria. ECOWAS is comprised of 15 countries, which include: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire , The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria , Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. The leaders established ECOWAS to promote regional integration and economic growth in West Africa, as well as to create a monetary union in the region. However, ECOWAS has encountered problems in the process of regional integration including: political instability and lack of good governance that has plagued many member countries, the insufficient diversification of national economies, the absence of reliable infrastructure, and the multiplicity of organizations for regional integration with the same objectives....

February 26, 2010
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

The historically coveted region of Abkhazia has become even more dependent on Moscow since Russia’s controversial recognition a year and a half ago. Russia is financing half the region’s budget, and against vigorous Georgian protests, it is spending $465 million to refurbish existing and build new military installations in the picturesque Black Sea coastal area. Virtually the entire population holds Russian citizenship, and almost all trade is with the northern neighbour. It will take constructive, creative thinking on the part of Georgian, Russian, Abkhazian and international actors alike to restore even a modicum of confidence between the parties to the conflict. Given Abkhazia’s unrealistic insistence that Georgia recognise it as independent and the equally unrealistic prospect that Sukhumi will acknowledge Georgia’s sovereignty, the two parties should focus on creating economic and humanitarian links without status preconditions in order to benefit both, build stability and give momentum to a long reconciliation process. This report gives a snapshot of the state of affairs in Abkhazia today, particularly the extent of Russian involvement....

February 26, 2010
Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development

Abstract:

The August 2008 Russian-Georgian war had a major impact on the Georgian region of Shida Kartli, adjacent to South Ossetia, the main theatre of war operations. Given that for about two months after the war a large part of this region constituted a buffer zone controlled by Russian troops, much of its population fled. A large majority of residents have since returned to their native villages, though the security situation remains precarious and frequent abductions represent a major challenge, adding to the general sense of insecurity. The economic and social situation in Shida Kartli deteriorated considerably as a result of the war, as local residents have had to cope with the loss of homes, transport, livestock and agricultural equipment. There appears to be a general confusion and discontent among the locals regarding the volume of government aid, while IDPs from South Ossetia, who live in special settlements built in Shida Kartli, face a number of significant problems, including the lack of access to information....

February 26, 2010
International Alert

Abstract:

This paper is one of the results of a long-term engagement by International Alert in the South Caucasus, more specifically as a facilitator of dialogue between Georgian and Abkhaz civil society leaders. It presents the findings of a joint research initiative that resulted from a process in which two teams of researchers commissioned each other to study the question of security guarantees in their own societies. As such, this paper is an attempt to present a new analytical framework for dialogue to stimulate communication across the conflict divide. Alert’s work in the context of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict dates back to the 1990s, starting with tried and tested confidence-building methodologies, laying the foundations for peacebuilding. Alert’s partners themselves played an active and creative role in conceptualising ways in which dialogue might be established. Since the very beginning, meetings between the two sides have played an important role in bringing together different social groups united by gender, age or professional interest. Examples of these include meetings between journalists, youth, women activists, historians, combatants, government representatives and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). From such status-based groups, dialogue has evolved to focus around thematic issues, relevant for the two societies. The main purpose of these meetings has been to establish lines of contact between the sides that are independent of the facilitators, and to build confidence between the participants in the meetings and between the societies....

February 26, 2010
SaferWorld

Abstract:

The present crisis in Georgia is an unresolved conflict with profound implications for the country, the region and Europe at large. Tackling its causes and working towards enduring solutions should therefore be a top priority for Britain and Europe. Finding a solution will be politically complex and demands coordinated action, especially among western European countries. The UK is well placed to help build a consensus around policies for ensuring peace if it is attentive to the following complexities and perspectives that make up the conflict dynamic. This briefing is based on Saferworld’s experience of working on the ground in Georgia and the wider region, and is in three parts: 1. Understanding the nature of the conflict; 2. The fall-out from the conflict; 3. Shaping policies for peace and the contribution of the UK....

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....

October 9, 2009
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs // Harvard University

Abstract:

The outsourcing of military functions is always accompanied by a loss of control over the use of force. Whereas the variances in handling consequences by weak versus strong states have already been addressed in other studies, we know little about the causes of differences among strong states. I will argue that strong states are very well aware of the risk of losing control by outsourcing. In order to mitigate the risk, they develop outsourcing strategies. The strategies of the two states considered here—the United States and Germany—are similar. Despite the resemblance, the U.S. Army faces much greater losses of control than does the German Bundeswehr. This is the result of differences in the compliance with their respective strategies. Whereas the Bundeswehr almost always sticks to its strategy, the U.S. Army instead violates it in numerous cases. This difference can be explained by the different scopes of the two forces’ demand-capability gap, a factor that directly affects compliance-behavior with the strategy. The larger the gap, the less compliance is shown and the greater the loss of control. Since the U.S. Army experiences a larger gap than the Bundeswehr, the former suffers a greater loss of control....

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

Abstract:

During World War II, more than half a million tons of bombs were dropped in aerial raids on German cities, destroying about one-third of the total housing stock. This paper provides causal evidence on long-term consequences of large-scale physical destruction on the educational attainment, health status and labor market outcomes of German children. I combine a unique dataset on city-level destruction in Germany caused by Allied Air Forces bombing during WWII with individual survey data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP). My identification strategy exploits the plausibly exogenous city-by-cohort variation in the intensity of WWII destruction as a unique quasi-experiment. My findings are as follows: First, these children had 0.4 fewer years of schooling on average in adulthood, with those in the most hard-hit cities completing 1.2 fewer years. Second, these children were about one centimeter shorter and had lower self-reported health satisfaction in adulthood. Third, their future labor market earnings decreased by 6% on average due to exposure to wartime physical destruction. These results survive using alternative samples and specifications, including controlling for migration. Moreover, a control experiment using older cohorts who were not school-aged during WWII reveals no significant city-specific cohort trends in schooling. An important channel for the effect of destruction on educational attainment appears to be the destruction of schools and the absence of teachers, whereas malnutrition and destruction of health facilities during WWII seems to be important for the estimated impact on health....

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....

October 2, 2009
The Jamestown Foundation // Terrorism Monitor

Abstract:

Germany's federal elections passed without incident on September 27, though they took place against a backdrop of intense concern in the German security services about a growing number of increasingly pointed al-Qaeda videos threatening Germany over its military deployment in Afghanistan. These messages included a videotape from Osama bin Laden on September 25, entitled "To the Peoples of Europe." The video had English and German subtitles along with footage of German cities and monuments. The message appeared only two days before the German elections. Germany has 4,200 troops in northern Afghanistan, where they have come under more frequent attack in the last year as the Taliban insurgency spreads. While the message from bin Laden is alarming, it appeared to only incidentally target Germany, without the terrorist leader naming it specifically. A more direct threat came from a series of videos released by Bekkay Harrach (a.k.a. Abu Talha al-Alamani), a Moroccan-born German citizen who has joined al-Qaeda in the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier region....

September 29, 2009
openDemocracy

Abstract:

The general election in Germany on 27 September 2009 has seen the Christian Democratic Party again emerge as the largest party, giving Angela Merkel the opportunity to extend her term as chancellor and head a new governing coalition with the Free Democratic Party led by Guido Westerwelle. The election campaign was unusual in that foreign affairs, and especially Germany's military role in Afghanistan, played a prominent role - and in a way that has serious domestic-security consequences. The debate over Afghanistan began to feature strongly in the campaign after an incident on 4 September when Bundeswehr commanders requested an air-strike in Kunduz province against two fuel-trucks that had been hijacked by the Taliban, which led to the death of dozens of Afghan civilians. It intensified on 18 September with the broadcast of a new "video-letter" by Bekkay Harrach, a 32-year-old German citizen of Moroccan origin and purported al-Qaida "soldier". The message of "Abu Talha al-Almani [the German]" (as Harrach is also known) echoes that in his earlier such videos, released in October 2008 and January 2009: he urges the German people to take responsibility for electing a government that will withdraw from Afghanistan, and says that their failure to do so would legitimise violent (and economically destructive) al-Qaida attacks against them. The re-emergence of a jihadi threat increased security concerns in Germany in the last stages of the campaign. These are likely to continue long after the election. On the eve of the vote, an audio-announcement from Osama bin Laden himself was posted on jihadist websites; this "message to the European people" called on European states to pull their forces from Afghanistan or bear the consequences, but of immediate significance is that German as well as English subtitles are provided. In the wake of the election, on 28 September, German security agencies detained two men in Munich said to have links with Harrach amid warnings of a possible threat to the famous Oktoberfest in the city....

December 9, 2009
Conflict, Security and Development // Routledge

Abstract:

In recent years, the potential security threat posed by climate change has caught the world’s political imagination, generating a perceptible shift in the way that a growing number of decision-makers in the North and the South are talking about the subject. The African Union, in a January 2007 decision, expressed grave concern about the vulnerability of Africa’s ‘socio-economic and productive systems to climate change and variability and to the continent’s low mitigation and response capacities’. The European Security Strategy predicts that climate change will aggravate competition for natural resources, and likely increase conflict and migratory movements in various regions. Meanwhile, climate change has become a core foreign policy priority of many governments, including the new administration’s programme in the US, a move that is rationalised, at least in part, by the security threat it presents. This paper explores the development of conceptualisations of environment and security that influence current discussions over the potential impacts of climate change on security. To illustrate, we devote particular attention to the ways in which West Africa is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and draw upon recent empirical evidence and climate change scenario planning research from two West African countries: Ghana and Burkina Faso....

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....

September 1, 2009
African Centre for for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes // Conflict Trends Issue #2 2009

Abstract:

Ghana is touted as a model of electoral peace, having held five presidential and parliamentary elections since its “founding elections” in 1992. Two of these elections – the 2000 and the most recent 2008 presidential elections – have led to a turnover of power from the incumbent party to the opposition party: from the National Democratic Congress Party (NDC) to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2000, and vice versa in 2008. While the state is applauded for managing its conflicts well – making Ghana a so-called haven of peace – various individual communities are engaged in violent communal conflicts, some of which have been escalated by electoral politics. This article examines the politicisation or the recharging of latent and relatively unknown conflicts during Ghana’s 2008 elections, to challenge the electoral peace theory in general, and the Ghana case in particular. The conflict between two villages, Mirigu and Kandiga, in the Upper East Region of Ghana, is examined. The central purpose of this article is to contest the orthodox view in the extant literature on the relationship between elections and conflict management and transformation in Africa; namely, that through institutional design, elections can be an opportunity for conflict management. This claim – henceforth, the electoral peace paradigm – is widely accepted, not just as the panacea for conflict transformation and peacebuilding in post-conflict situations, but also as the test of democracy and conflict management in multi-ethnic societies. Unsurprisingly, one of the first things on the agenda of international peace missions in post-conflict situations is to organise elections – for example, the international community hurriedly organised elections in post-conflict situations in Bosnia, Kosovo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and even Iraq. Similarly, in “peaceful” multi-ethnic contexts, states like India, Ghana and post-apartheid South Africa are presented as models of electoral peace, because they hold periodic elections and rotate power between and within parties peacefully....

August 11, 2009
International Center for Transitional Justice

Abstract:

With socio-economic development a crucial priority in Africa, transitional justice practitioners are asking whether methods of addressing past human rights abuses can also help tackle development issues. ICTJ, in conjunction with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), explored this question during a workshop on Transitional Justice and Development in Cape Town, South Africa, from Sep. 15-19. In their discussions, the more than 20 participants concluded that transitional justice mechanisms need to be shaped by the socio-economic and political contexts in which human rights violations took place if the justice measures are to be relevant to the public. Engaging development issues is an important way to take a more holistic approach toward justice. The workshop was the third in a series devoted to the topic. At the previous workshops, in October 2006 and November 2007, experts examined the theoretical connections between transitional justice and development. The most recent seminar focused on the practical intersections between the two fields in post-conflict societies. The workshop brought together practitioners from government, civil society and international agencies in 11 African countries: Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Delegates drew on their own countries' experiences to offer lessons for others. There were talks on the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission's lessons for Kenya; the lessons of Liberian security sector and institutional reform efforts for Kenya and Zimbabwe; and a Gender and Development talk that focused on DRC, Zimbabwe and Sudan, as well as the role of international aid. A special session reflected critically on South Africa's transition. Participants also discussed the formation of a Transitional Justice and Development Network within the broader African Transitional Justice Network. Participants agreed that the nexus between transitional justice and development was of continuing interest and relevance to their own work. The presentations and discussion sessions are briefly summarized in the main body of this report. The next section reproduces the original concept paper that led to the workshop. It outlines in detail both the broad conceptual issues at stake as well as specific points of possible intersection between transitional justice and development. Following that is an overview of all of the formal presentation and discussion sessions that happened during the week. Finally, a brief conclusion discusses the ‘way forward.’ Appendices contain information about the workshop schedule, and the participants, presenters and observers....

July 16, 2009
Center for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity

Abstract:

This paper investigates the advantages and disadvantages of NGO as opposed to track one or official state-led peacebuilding. Drawing on empirical research into the Kumasi Peace Process of the mid-1990s, which followed a large-scale inter-ethnic conflict in Ghana’s Northern Region, it presents three key findings. Firstly it shows how the nature of the war, and how it was ended, shaped the peace that was built. Secondly, it outlines in what ways and by whom the peace process can be seen as a success, from the perspectives of its beneficiaries and its detractors. Finally, it demonstrates how the contingent nature of peacebuilding must be harnessed if negotiated peace processes are to leave a lasting positive impact....

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.

September 2, 2009
World Security Network

Abstract:

Recent news updates from leading Greek media citing commentary and exclusive information from high-level police and security circles indicate that arrests are underway regarding domestic terrorist groups that have managed over the past 5 years to launch impressive attacks against a variety of state, diplomatic and police targets. According to the reports there are indications that the Greek anti-terrorist unit and the Greek intelligence service have managed to acquire valuable information relating to the culprits of the attacks and several journalists have noted that arrests cannot be ruled out within the coming weeks. The two most sought-after terrorist groups in Greece are the "Revolutionary Struggle" and the "Revolutionary Sect". The former appeared in late 2003 and has launched a series of attacks since then, the most important being the rocket attack against the US Embassy in Athens on January the 12th 2007. The latter appeared in early 2009 and has attacked a TV station, public buildings and fatally wounded an anti-terrorist police Sergeant in June this year. The present article will provide several notes and information regarding the attack against the American Embassy in Athens, streaming from news reports at that time and public commentary thereafter in the Greek and international media....

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....

January 14, 2009
Harvard International Review

Abstract:

On December 8, 2008, a young boy was shot dead by a policeman in a neighborhood of Athens, known for the conflicts that frequently take place there between anarchist groups and the police. The shooting followed an exchange of insults between two policemen and a group of teenagers. It is still unclear whether the policeman in question shot directly at the boy, i.e. with the intention to kill him, or whether he just shot in the air, hitting the boy accidentally. An hour after the boy’s death, demonstrations started in Athens and soon spread to the rest of the country. Thousands of young people protested against the killing of one of their peers but also against the brutality of the police in general; in the margins of these demonstrations, shops were broken, cars were burnt, and stones were thrown at the police. The riots lasted for more than three days. It is not the only time that the Greek police have abused its power in recent years. In a video shown in Greek television in 2007, Greek policemen obliged two young Albanians accused of robbery to hit each other in a police station; in another one, a group of policemen laughed as two prostitutes were forced to dance in front of them. But though these videos were a shock for Greek public opinion, this kind of police abuse is, unfortunately, not new and certainly not a Greek privilege. Yet, one rarely sees reactions of similar violence and intensity as those that shook Greece during the last month. There are much deeper causes to the anger of the Greek youth....

January 14, 2009
World Security Network

Abstract:

Urban radicalism in Europe as portrayed by the recent riots in Athens is a constant worry of the European security services, since there is ample evidence of wider connections between radicals and terrorists. There are two major themes to be looked upon. Firstly the relationship between the extreme-leftist terrorist groups that operate in the so-called "Mediterranean axis" - France, Italy, Greece and Spain - and secondly, the connection of these groups to Islamic extremists. The radical - anarchist movement in Europe is pretty strong and well organized with thousands of loyal supporters. Back in 2005, the riots in Paris proved that the radicals and second-generation Muslim immigrants in France were able to form the political agenda of that time, although they were not successful in preventing Sarkozy’s ascendance to power 18 months later....

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....

December 10, 2009
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre // Norwegian Refugee Council

Abstract:

Structural inequality, restricted political participation and discriminatory state policies are at the core of Guatemala’s challenges today as they were 50 years ago when its war started. The Guatemalan civil war, which lasted from 1960 to 1996, was fuelled by racial discrimination, political exclusion and indigenous hunger for land. A growing insurgency was met by increasing vio-lence from the US-backed army and subsequently by military governments. The conflict ended with several years of negotiation between the guerrilla coalition and the government, which led to the signing of 11 separate peace accords between January 1994 and December 1996. The ample consultation with civil society organizations, including those representing internally displaced people (IDPs), set a new standard in the involvement of such groups in the transition from war to peace. 14 years have passed since the signing of the peace accord which marked the end of the country’s conflict and promised durable solutions for those people displaced. Many of the country’s IDPs have returned or resettled in areas where they live under simi-lar conditions as before they were displaced. But they face continuing poverty and new struggles to access land to farm; thousands of peasant farmers and smallholders have been forcibly evicted by businesses interested in large-scale export agriculture. Others fled to the capital and other cities, where they have struggled to integrate culturally and where they compete with economic migrants for poorly paid jobs in the informal sector. In cities, widespread violence by criminal gangs has caused new intra-urban displacements....

December 7, 2009
National Security Archive // George Washington University

Abstract:

The Guatemalan army, under the direction of military ruler Efraín Ríos Montt, carried out a deliberate counterinsurgency campaign in the summer of 1982 aimed at massacring thousands of indigenous peasants, according to a comprehensive set of internal records presented as evidence to the Spanish National Court and posted today by the National Security Archive on its Web site. The files on “Operation Sofia” detail official responsibility for what the 1999 UN-sponsored Historical Clarification Commission determined were “acts of genocide against groups of Mayan people.” After months of analysis, which included evaluations of letterheads and signatures on the documents and comparisons to other available military records, the National Security Archive’s Kate Doyle said, “we have determined that these records were created by military officials during the regime of Efraín Ríos Montt to plan and implement a ‘scorched earth’ policy on Mayan communities in El Quiché. The documents record the military’s genocidal assault against indigenous populations in Guatemala.”...

November 24, 2009
openDemocracy

Abstract:

Border zones are incubators of criminal instability and violence. Weak state presence and the lucrative drugs trade is combining to challenge state sovereignty in acute ways. Consider Mexico, where the northern frontier with the US and southern border with Guatemala are contested zones. The bloody center of gravity of Mexico’s drug cartels is the ‘plazas’, the drug smuggling corridors that link the borders. When most think of conflict and border zones, they imagine territorial disputes such as India and Pakistan’s recurring battles over Kashmir or less serious tug-of-wars such as Japan and South Korea’s contestation of the Liancourt Rocks. To be sure, there have been territorial disputes, such as Nicaragua’s dispute with Colombia over several islands, or Colombia’s conflicts with Venezuela and Ecuador over narco-guerrillas operating from their territory. Yet, as former FRIDE researcher Ivan Briscoe argues, the biggest sources of violent conflict has been the erosion of government control over border zones and the rise of criminal groups, gangs, and cartels in loosely governed zones. As Briscoe argues, "violence and institutional corrosion have plagued as never before the frontier between Mexico and the United States, while Guatemala’s eastern border region and Colombia’s frontiers with Ecuador, Venezuela and Brazil witness these countries’ highest murder rates, as well as territorial capture by armed groups and narco-trafficking networks."...

October 26, 2009
Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior

Abstract:

In order for fragile states and the concept of state weakness to be properly understood, they need to be considered in the contexts of political economy and world history. Four apparently disparate cases – Guatemala, Haiti, Kosovo and Angola – show surprising similarities, and highlight common lessons for international state-building efforts. In all four cases, behind a façade of ‘normal’ state institutions, public life and development are increasingly subject to shadow economies and shadow forces with strong international linkages. There are unfortunately no existing remedies for state weakness. However, methods of improvement should include autonomous non-state actors, sustained efforts to build state capacities and restore the fabric of society, and significantly improved governance of global flows....

October 20, 2009
The Institute for Inclusive Security // Hunt Alternatives Fund

Abstract:

As leaders in civil society, particularly during and following violent conflict, women are critical players in peace negotiations. In formal negotiations, they raise often-ignored political and social issues, ensure that the voices of victims and civilians are consistently heard, and build bridges among negotiating parties. They also have a solid record of successfully bringing together representatives of opposing factions in unofficial talks. Yet women remain the largest group of stakeholders regularly excluded from official negotiation processes. In October 2000, the UN Security Council acknowledged in Resolution 1325 the importance of inclusion, mandating women’s full participation in peace building; few policymakers, however, know how to fulfill this obligation. This guide provides the international community with concrete strategies to successfully bring women into peace negotiations....

February 24, 2010
Amnesty International

Abstract:

On Monday 28 September 2009, Guinean security forces inflicted acts of excessive force and unlawful violence, including sexual violence, and other gross violations of human rights against a group of unarmed civil society organisations and political parties peacefully protesting at the Conakry Stadium. In the space of a few hours, more than 150 people were killed by live ammunition or bladed weapons; over 40 women were raped in public or for some of them in private houses after being drugged; more than 1500 people were wounded; and many others went missing. Demonstrators were arrested and tortured while in detention before being released on payment of a ransom, and the military surrounded hospitals and mortuaries to prevent families from recovering the bodies of relatives....

February 4, 2010
United Nations Children's Fund

Abstract:

The Humanitarian Action Report is UNICEF's only publication dealing specifically with the needs of children and women in emergencies. It spotlights crises that require exceptional support, and additional funding, to save lives and protect children from harm in an increasingly challenging humanitarian environment. This year's report – subtitled 'Partnering for children in emergencies' – says the world is seeing crises exacerbated by larger trends, such as climate change and the international financial downturn, that are beyond the capacity of any one agency to address. The report appeals for nearly $1.2 billion in international donor funding for emergency-response efforts in 28 countries covering six regions – from Eastern Europe to Africa to Asia to Latin America. The funding will be used to support a greater emphasis on emergency preparedness, early warning, disaster risk reduction and rapid recovery....

January 27, 2010
West Africa Network for Peacebuilding

Abstract:

The September 28, 2009 massacres of over 150 Guineans and maiming of others; the brutal raping of women and reported hiding of corpses of the victims, have dashed all hopes of Guineans and pundits who still afforded to give the military junta a chance. Captain Dadis Camara has just plummeted from a 'hero to a villain.' The 'wait and see' period that followed the bloodless coup d'état after the death of President Lansana Conté and the seizure of power by Captain Dadis Camara has flickered out. Our conclusion is that Guinea is at the crossroads and what is needed now is to prioritize the priorities in addressing the present quagmire. A wrong approach, a deviation from the main focus may hijack the process and we may soon start counting loses and missed opportunities....

January 13, 2010
United Nations Security Council

Abstract:

The Commission is in a position to confirm the identity of 156 persons who were killed or who disappeared: 67 persons killed whose bodies were returned to their families, 40 persons who were seen dead in the stadium or in morgues but whose bodies have disappeared, and 49 persons who were seen in the stadium but whose fate is unknown. It confirms that at least 109 women were subjected to rape and other sexual violence, including sexual mutilation and sexual slavery. Several women died of their wounds following particularly cruel sexual attacks. The Commission also confirms hundreds of other cases of torture or of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Dozens of persons were arrested and arbitrarily detained in the military camps of Alpha Yaya Diallo and Kundara and in the barracks of the riot police (CMIS), where they were tortured. The security forces also systematically stole demonstrators’ property and engaged in looting....

December 17, 2009
Human Rights Watch

Abstract:

At around 11:30 a.m. on the morning of September 28, 2009, several hundred members of Guinea’s security forces burst into the September 28 Stadium in Guinea’s capital, Conakry, and opened fire on tens of thousands of opposition supporters peacefully gathered there. By late afternoon, at least 150 Guineans lay dead or dying in and around the stadium complex. In the hours and days following the violence, as desperate mothers, fathers, and other family members attempted to find their loved ones, the security forces engaged in an organized cover-up to hide the number of dead. After sealing off the stadium and morgues, security forces removed scores of bodies from those places and buried them in mass graves. For several days, additional abuses—including murder, rape, and pillage—were committed by members of the security forces who had deployed throughout the neighborhoods from where the majority of opposition supporters hailed. Scores of other opposition supporters were arbitrarily detained in army and police camps where many were subjected to serious abuses, including torture. To date, the Guinean government has failed to investigate, much less hold accountable, any member of the Guinean security forces for their role in the killings, rapes, and other abuses. In the course of an in-depth, on-the-ground investigation into the events of September 28 and their aftermath, Human Rights Watch interviewed some 240 individuals, including victims wounded during the attack, witnesses present in the stadium, relatives of missing people, soldiers who participated in the violent crackdown and the government cover-up, medical staff, humanitarian officials, diplomats, journalists, and opposition leaders. The investigation found that the majority of killings, sexual assaults, and other abuses described in this report were committed by members of the elite Presidential Guard, in particular the unit at the time directly responsible for the personal security of CNDD President Moussa Dadis Camara. Others who committed serious abuses included gendarmes, police, and men in civilian clothes armed with machetes and knives. The serious abuses carried out by the security forces on September 28 were not the actions of a group of rogue, undisciplined soldiers, as has been argued by the Guinean government....

March 3, 2010
United Nations Security Council

Abstract:

The present report is submitted pursuant to paragraph 14 of Security Council resolution 1876 (2009), by which the Council requested me to submit a written report every four months on the progress made in establishing the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) and in implementing the resolution. The report covers developments since my previous report (S/2009/552), dated 22 October 2009 and covering the period until 15 February 2010, with a particular focus on efforts to normalize the functioning of State institutions and on preparations for the national conference designed to promote reconciliation in the country....

February 15, 2010
German Institute of Global and Area Studies // Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

Abstract:

Recent development cooperation with Guinea‐Bissau, focusing on good governance, statebuilding and conflict prevention, did not contribute to democratization nor to the stabilization of volatile political, military and economic structures. The portrayal of Guinea‐ Bissau as failed a “narco‐state”, as well as Western aid meant to stabilize this state, are both based on dubious concepts. Certainly, the impact of drug trafficking could endanger democratization and state‐building if continued unchecked. However, the most pressing need is not state‐building facilitated by external aid that is poorly rooted in the social and political fabric of the country. Rather, it is grassroots nation‐building that is a pre‐condition for the creation of viable state institutions....

November 3, 2009
United Nations Security Council

Abstract:

The present report is submitted pursuant to paragraph 14 of Security Council resolution 1233 (1999), by which the Council requested me to keep it regularly informed and to submit a report on developments in Guinea-Bissau and on the activities of the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS). Subsequently, in paragraph 14 of its resolution 1876 (2009), the Council requested me to submit a written report every four months on progress in establishing the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS), with the first report due by 31 October 2009. The report covers developments since my last report (S/2009/302), dated 10 June 2009, with particular focus on the tension that followed the political assassinations of 5 June 2009, as well as the presidential elections of 28 June 2009 and the run-off that was held on 26 July 2009....

October 22, 2009
Norwegian Peacebuilding Centre // Noref

Abstract:

The history of Guinea-Bissau is intertwined with the armed conflicts that took place in the country as well as the underdevelopment and progressive demise of Guinean state structures. The war was not followed by peace, but rather by a ten-year period of chronic instability (Annex 1). The events that took place in 20095 are yet another part of this evolution. This paper argues that unless strong political conditionality and intervention takes place, and unless there is a consistent change in local governance, sustainable peace and development will remain at the simulation level. Along with domestic changes, international initiatives towards peacebuilding could play a positive role in this scenario shift. However, the most probable scenario suggests that this will not occur, since the responses of international actors and real local dynamics are disconnected. This means that, by phasing its intervention and focusing on the security level, the international community is assuming ownership of policies such as Security Sector Reform and the Plan Against Drug Trafficking, which may be counter-productive. Meanwhile, the structural dimensions of the economic and social crisis have yet to be addressed....

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....

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....

January 23, 2009
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....

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....

October 29, 2008
Partnership Africa Canada

Abstract:

Just as peace is not simply the absence of war, an end to conflict diamonds does not necessarily mean that diamonds will create prosperity or that human security will prevail in the areas where they are mined. The campaign to halt conflict diamonds has largely succeeded, although the phenomenon continues in Côte d’Ivoire, seemingly beyond the ingenuity and the powers of the 75 governments represented in the Kimberley Process (KP) and the world’s entire diamond industry. But the KP challenge today is not just Côte d’Ivoire; the larger challenge is to ensure that diamonds are controlled and tracked in ways that prevent a return of the much more deadly diamondfuelled wars of the past. Diamonds are not just symbols of love, fidelity and purity, they are the most concentrated form of wealth on earth, and because of that, they attract problems. A raid on a Damiani showroom in Milan netted thieves as much as $30 million in diamond jewellery in February. That was just one of many diamond heists. If you Google “diamond theft 2008” you will find more than five million articles. It stands to reason, therefore, that conflict diamonds could return to countries where development is stunted and governance weak. That is why organizations like the Diamond Development Initiative (DDI) are so important, and why efforts to bring greater transparency to the extractive sector need all the support they can get. The intergovernmental Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and the NGOled Publish What You Pay Campaign are key elements in this. Partnership Africa Canada (PAC) has been a leader in the campaign against conflict diamonds since 1999. It has been, and remains an active member of all Kimberley Process meetings and working groups. We have produced several background studies on diamond-related issues, 17 occasional papers and a quarterly newsletter, "Other Facets". All are available on the PAC website (www.pacweb.org). Starting in 2003, we began to publish standalone Annual Reviews of the Diamond Industry on Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola. The Annual Reviews, published in English (all), French (DRC) and Portuguese (Angola) aimed to provide governments, civil society and investors with information that would be helpful in the promotion of greater transparency and more positive developmental outcomes. The Annual Reviews have been widely quoted and have become documents of record on the diamond industries in those countries. For 2008 we have taken a different approach, expanding the project to cover more countries, but producing one report rather than three. This report — Diamonds and Human Security Annual Review 2008 — concentrates on the three countries most seriously affected by diamond- fuelled conflict – Angola, DRC and Sierra Leone – but we have also included articles on countries touched by those conflicts, or where internal controls over diamonds, and where development considerations, remain problematic....

February 4, 2010
United Nations Children's Fund

Abstract:

The Humanitarian Action Report is UNICEF's only publication dealing specifically with the needs of children and women in emergencies. It spotlights crises that require exceptional support, and additional funding, to save lives and protect children from harm in an increasingly challenging humanitarian environment. This year's report – subtitled 'Partnering for children in emergencies' – says the world is seeing crises exacerbated by larger trends, such as climate change and the international financial downturn, that are beyond the capacity of any one agency to address. The report appeals for nearly $1.2 billion in international donor funding for emergency-response efforts in 28 countries covering six regions – from Eastern Europe to Africa to Asia to Latin America. The funding will be used to support a greater emphasis on emergency preparedness, early warning, disaster risk reduction and rapid recovery....

January 27, 2010
African Centre for for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes // Conflict Trends Issue #4 2009

Abstract:

Haiti has had a very complex and dynamic history, from its role as the “Pearl of the Antilles” in the 18th century, to its label as the poorest country in the western hemisphere in the 21st century. In the last 60 years or so – despite gross violations of human rights, lack of security and poor or no delivery of basic services to the population – Haiti remained out of the United Nations (UN) security agenda because of its political inclusion under the United States (US) zone of influence. It was only after the end of the Cold War that the UN Security Council (UNSC) was involved with Haiti for the first time. From 1993 to 2004, six UN missions were approved and deployed to Haiti (the first one being a joint mission with the Organisation of American States). The last and current mission, deployed in June 2004 and still on the ground, is the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), and is the only one that has a truly multidimensional mandate. This seems to render it more able to provide stability, and (eventually) promote sustainable peace in Haiti. This article aims to provide an overall and introductory discussion of the UN’s recent involvement in Haiti, with special attention to MINUSTAH and its multidimensional nature, highlighting some of its features and main challenges....

January 5, 2010
Strategic Studies Institute // United Sates Army War College

Abstract:

The authors explore the definition of SSR as it has emerged in the international community. The makeup of the security sector is examined, emergent principles are identified for implementing SSR in the community of practice, and the outcomes that SSR is designed to produce are specified. The supporting case studies of Haiti, Liberia, and Kosovo assess the impact of SSR programs on host nation security sectors. The authors conclude that those conducting SSR programs must understand and continually revisit the policy goals of SSR programs so as to develop concepts that support a transitional process that moves forward over time. Intermediate objectives required in support of this transition also articulate what is good enough and fair enough at various stages in the transformational process. State actors must acknowledge and often accommodate nonstate security actors more effectively in SSR planning and implementation, while recognizing both the advantages and the risks of collaborating with such actors. The authors also identify a need for rebalancing resources committed to SSR, especially given that justice and civil law enforcement typically are badly under-resourced as elements of SSR programs. Finally, the authors note the need for more flexible and better integrated funding processes to support SSR activities within the U.S. Government....

November 24, 2009
Centre for International Governance Innovation

Abstract:

Some complex issues, both highly sensitive and political, sit at the nexus of security and development. In post-conflict contexts, peacebuilding programs generally prioritize activities that fall under the rubric of security governance to achieve stability, such as the development of the capacity of the security forces and the strengthening of national governance and the rule of law. Many observers and institutions are now recognizing the innate linkages between security sector reform (SSR) and other important facets of stabilization, such as disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR), small arms control, gender equality and human rights promotion. Although many would argue that Haiti is not a post-conflict setting, few would contest that the current polarized nature of Haitian politics and society makes such issues essential elements of the security equation. In 1994, upon his return from exile, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide demobilized the Haitian army and created a new non-military security force under the Ministry of Justice and Public Security. The new Haitian National Police (HNP) was based on a US urban police model. DDR programs were implemented with very limited impact. Since its first mandate in Haiti in 2004, the United Nations Stabilization Mission (MINUSTAH) has sought to implement, without much success, a comprehensive DDR program (senior NCDDR member, 2009a). Although existing best practices for DDR implementation, which emerged over the past decade from experiences in other post-conflict settings, would eventually form a foundation for the UN’s DDR thinking in Haiti, it took some time for MINUSTAH to develop a coherent approach tailored to fit the Haitian context. In the end, violence reduction initiatives were identified as better suited to the local environment....

October 26, 2009
Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior

Abstract:

In order for fragile states and the concept of state weakness to be properly understood, they need to be considered in the contexts of political economy and world history. Four apparently disparate cases – Guatemala, Haiti, Kosovo and Angola – show surprising similarities, and highlight common lessons for international state-building efforts. In all four cases, behind a façade of ‘normal’ state institutions, public life and development are increasingly subject to shadow economies and shadow forces with strong international linkages. There are unfortunately no existing remedies for state weakness. However, methods of improvement should include autonomous non-state actors, sustained efforts to build state capacities and restore the fabric of society, and significantly improved governance of global flows....

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....

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....

October 22, 2009
Foreign Policy in Focus

Abstract:

Since the June 28, 2009 coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya from office, the de facto regime has tried to stanch the flow of incriminating information coming from Honduras. But human rights organizations and grassroots delegations keep working to focus the Obama administration's gaze on the dire situation, particularly for Honduran women. The Committee of Relatives of the Detained and Disappeared of Honduras (COFADEH) began investigating abuses immediately after the coup, searching hospitals and jails. Their July 15 report documents 1155 human rights violations during the first two weeks of the coup. These include 1046 illegal detentions, 59 beatings, 27 assaults on reporters and the independent press, and four executions. Three of those killed are named: Isis Obed Murillo Mencías (19-years-old), Gabriel Fino Noriega (radio-journalist), and Caso Ramon Garcia. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued their first and most comprehensive report on the Honduran crisis on August 21. Consistent with COFADEH's findings, the IACHR charged the coup government with "disproportionate use of public force, arbitrary detentions, and the control of information aimed at limiting political participation by a sector of the citizenry." A scant six weeks after that IACHR report, at the end of September, the National Front Against the Coup in Honduras (FNR) estimated more than 100 coup fatalities — an appalling escalation. But if the violence appalls, it is not unprecedented. During the 1980s, the Battalion 3-16 death squad was responsible for forced disappearances, detentions, and torture in Honduras. COFADEH warns that members of the Battalion are returning to positions of power and influence. A particularly notorious Battalion leader, Captain Billy Joya Améndola, is now special security adviser to "Interim President" Roberto Micheletti....

August 19, 2009
Amnesty International

Abstract:

Amnesty International published a series of exclusive photos and testimonies on Wednesday revealing serious ill-treatment by police and military of peaceful protesters in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa. The organization warned that beatings and mass arrests are being used as a way of punishing people for voicing their opposition to the military-backed coup d’etat in June. As human rights violations increase, the need for the international community to seek a solution to the political crisis becomes ever more urgent. The photos and testimonies were gathered by an Amnesty International delegation who interviewed many of the 75 people who were detained at the Jefatura Metropolitana Nº3 police station in Tegucigalpa after the police, supported by the military, broke up a peaceful demonstration on 30 July. Most detainees had injuries as a consequence of police beatings with batons and having stones and other objects thrown at them. When they were arrested, no one was told where they were being taken, the reasons for their detention or the charges against them. All detainees were released a few hours later. “Mass arbitrary arrests and ill treatment of protesters are a serious and growing concern in Honduras today,” said Esther Major, Central America researcher at Amnesty International. “Detention and ill treatment of protestors are being employed as forms of punishment for those openly opposing the de facto government, and also as a deterrent for those contemplating taking to the streets to peacefully show their discontent with the political turmoil the country is experiencing,” said Esther Major. Amongst those held in detention on 30 July were 10 students. They had all been beaten with batons on the back, arms and backs of the legs by police. One of them said: “The police were throwing stones; they cornered us, threw us on the floor, on our stomachs and beat us. They took our cameras from us, beat us if we lifted our heads and even when we were getting into the police wagons.” Several of those interviewed told Amnesty International that during the demonstration, police officers wore no visible identification. They said some police officers had told them, “do not look at us, sons of bitches,” and that others wore bandannas to hide their faces....

August 11, 2009
Foreign Policy in Focus

Abstract:

While the Obama administration was careful to distance itself from the recent coup in Honduras — condemning the expulsion of President Manuel Zelaya to Costa Rica, revoking Honduran officials' visas, and shutting off aid — that doesn't mean influential Americans aren't involved, and that both sides of the aisle don't have some explaining to do. The story most U.S. readers are getting about the coup is that Zelaya — an ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez — was deposed because he tried to change the constitution to keep himself in power. That story is a massive distortion of the facts. All Zelaya was trying to do is to put a non-binding referendum on the ballot calling for a constitutional convention, a move that trade unions, indigenous groups, and social activist organizations had long been lobbying for. The current constitution was written by the Honduran military in 1982, and the one-term limit allows the brass-hats to dominate the politics of the country. Since the convention would have been held in November, the same month as the upcoming presidential elections, there was no way Zelaya could have remained in office in any case. The most he could have done was to run four years from now. And while Zelaya is indeed friendly with Chavez, he is at best a liberal reformer whose major accomplishment was raising the minimum wage. "What Zelaya has done has been little reforms," Rafael Alegria, a leader of Via Campesina, told the Mexican daily La Jornada. "He isn't a socialist or a revolutionary, but these reforms, which didn't harm the oligarchy at all, have been enough for them to attack him furiously." One of those "little reforms" was aimed at ensuring public control of the Honduran telecommunications industry, which may well have been the trip-wire that triggered the coup....

July 24, 2009
Foreign Policy in Focus

Abstract:

President Manuel Zelaya and his opponents now in charge in Honduras remain in a standoff. Inside the country, supporters of both sides are waging mass protests, while concerns continue regarding media censorship. This crisis provides an opportunity to look more closely at the Honduran political system and how it "broke." Even more importantly, it's a chance to consider what life is like for the average Honduran and how the United States impacts that small Central American country. It's somewhat ironic that Zelaya now bills himself as a "man of the people." It's even odder that he's accused of being a "leftist." In fact, he's the son of a wealthy rancher once accused of killing leftist leaders, whose bodies were found hidden on the family ranch. Before running for president, Zelaya's priorities in politics were mainly decentralizing government and protecting forestry against foreign concessions. If history tells us anything, his turn toward a more populist brand of politics has more to do with the energy of reform movements within Honduras itself, as well as throughout the rest of Latin America, than any personal awakening. From the shift to civilian rule in 1982 until Zelaya's ouster in June, the Honduran government appeared to be relatively stable. The country's two major political parties, the moderate Liberal Party (of which Zelaya is a member) and the more conservative National Party, have virtually controlled political affairs. Traditionally, both represented social and economic elites who settled on trading off the presidency. The pact between the two parties included a mutual stake in the practice of favoritism, government secrecy, and the protection of military officers accused of human rights abuses....

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....

March 1, 2010
International Institute for Counter-Terrorism // Harvard Africa Policy Journal

Abstract:

Piracy off the coast of Somalia has grown exponentially in recent years. This paper will explain the growing trend, which is the result of a number of factors, including the unstable political environment, the collapsed economy and the presence of Islamic terror groups in Somalia. The research concludes that only a unified stance by the international community that addresses a two-part strategy can facilitate the eradication of Somali piracy. If the global actors involved do not enhance cooperation in the fight against piracy while simultaneously enacting measures to improve stability in Somalia, global commercial trade will continue to suffer from extortion, and Islamic radicalism in Somalia will continue to thrive and potentially overtake the country....

February 23, 2010
Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung // Heinrich Böll Foundation

Abstract:

This publication tries to shed some light on the history and present reality of prolonged state collapse in Somalia with a specific focus on the possible reasons for the failures of the many attempts to rebuild the state so far. It takes a closer look at the internal and external actors taking part in such efforts and suggests paying more attention to Somali civil society and gender dynamics in particular. This collection includes the following articles: Somalia on the Horn of Africa. National and Regional Lines of Conflict in the Past and Present, by Dirk Spilker; Understanding State Failure in Somalia: Internal and External Dimensions, by Ken Menkhaus; Making Peace, Rebuilding Institutions: Somaliland – A Success Story?, by Mohammed Hassan Ibrahim and Ulf Terlinden; Civil Society in the Absence of a Somali State, by Jabril Ibrahim Abdulle; Gender, Society, and Politics in Somalia, by Shukria Dini; and The Heinrich-Böll-Foundation in Somalia: Engagements and Experiences, by Axel Harneit-Sievers....

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....

February 16, 2010
Forced Migration Review // University of Oxford // Refugee Studies Centre

Abstract:

The striking fact that for the first time in human history there are now more people living in towns and cities than outside them is not in itself a reason for FMR to be covering urban displacement. Behind that fact, however, lies the multiplicity of reasons why people have been moving into urban environments and the reality that for many of them it is not a matter of choice. In their introductory articles in this issue of FMR, UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres and UN-HABITAT Executive Director Anna Tibaijuka emphasise the complexity of the challenges faced by those displaced into urban areas and by those seeking to protect and assist them, and argue for the need for a radical rethinking of approaches. The articles that follow address some of the practical and policy issues that urban displaced people face and that affect providers too. They also reflect the diversity of analysis and geography that is to be expected given the global nature of urbanisation....

February 5, 2010
United Nations Security Council

Abstract:

A top United Nations official today urged a comprehensive, cohesive and broad-based strategy to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia, noting that the continued spread of the scourge points to the limits of a solely sea-based approach. In recent years, pirates operating from Somalia have been hijacking ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean and holding their crews and cargo for ransom. Charles Petrie, the UN's Deputy Special Representative for Somalia, told a meeting of the Contact Group on piracy off the coast of Somalia that improved coordination between the international maritime community and military forces in the region, among other elements, has contributed to a decline in the rate of successful pirate attacks and raised the cost of pirate operations. “And yet piracy continues to expand further out to sea, at times more than 1,000 nautical miles from the coast of Somalia,” he told the meeting at UN Headquarters. Mr. Petrie added that the rising costs of these attacks are met by ever more innovative financing mechanisms, including the establishment of stock exchanges which allow local investors to earn returns on their ‘investment’ in piracy operations. “These developments highlight the limits of an exclusively sea-based approach and emphasize the need for the international community to continue to deal with the issue of piracy in a comprehensive, cohesive and broad-based approach. “The United Nations remains committed to addressing the problem of piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia holistically, in close coordination with the international community,” he added. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a report issued last November, called for an integrated approach that would strengthen the capacities of the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) on land....

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....

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....

February 28, 2007
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

Abstract:

This book is a collection of essays, in English and Serbian, that were presented at the international conference "Women in the Army", organized in October 2006 in co-operation with the OSCE Mission to Serbia and the Serbian Ministry of Defence. The essays are dedicated to women in the Serbian Army and highlight experiences from Russia, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, Great Britain and France.

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....

February 26, 2010
United States Government Office of the Director National Intelligence

Abstract:

We face nation states, terrorist networks, organized criminal groups, individuals, and other cyber actors with varying combinations of access, technical sophistication and intent. Many have the capabilities to target elements of the US information infrastructure for intelligence collection, intellectual property theft, or disruption. Terrorist groups and their sympathizers have expressed interest in using cyber means to target the United States and its citizens. Criminal elements continue to show growing sophistication in their technical capability and targeting. Today, cyber criminals operate a pervasive, mature on-line service economy in illicit cyber capabilities and services, which are available to anyone willing to pay. Globally, widespread cyber-facilitated bank and credit card fraud has serious implications for economic and financial systems and the national security, intelligence, and law enforcement communities charged with protecting them....

February 25, 2010
New America Foundation

Abstract:

In 2006, the Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba entered the Afghan theater, necessitating its increased presence in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province and Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Sharing physical space in the NWFP/FATA and operational interests in Afghanistan has created the opportunity for increased conflict and collaboration with al-Qaeda and the various pro-Taliban elements there. As collaboration increases, so too does Lashkar’s threat to Pakistan and the West. This paper is divided into four sections. The first assesses Lashkar’s historical relations with the different actors operating in the NWFP/FATA. The second discusses the nature of Lashkar’s expansion in the area from roughly 2006 onward. The third explores its collaboration and conflicts with other groups operating there, and the nature of its involvement in anti-Western and anti-Pakistan activities emanating from the region. The paper concludes with a brief assessment of Lashkar’s threat to the West, particularly the impact of its presence in the NWFP/FATA....

February 22, 2010
Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses

Abstract:

The report examines the reaction of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to various cross-LoC contacts that have been initiated by India and Pakistanwhich is an important bilateral Confidence-Building Measure (CBM) between India and Pakistan. This report also analyses the problems and prospects of opening of other routes. Dialogue between India and Pakistan resumed after a long hiatus in 1997. The talks had broken down in 1994 due to Pakistan’s sponsorship of terrorism in India. The Foreign Secretary level meeting of June 23, 1997 agreed to constitute Joint Working Groups (JWGs) on eight issues that were identified to be discussed between India and Pakistan. This process is known as Composite Dialogue. The Lahore Agreement of February 1999 had reiterated the desire of the two countries to move forward on the path of dialogue....

February 19, 2010
Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi

Abstract:

Naxal related incidents and violence have been largely reported from a few rural areas in the country. However, this is no longer a rural phenomenon alone. They have been making constant efforts to make their presence felt in urban areas, especially in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Their urban focus is in line with their resolve to extend the struggle outside rural areas. Encircling cities by increasing their influence and dominance in rural areas is one of the primary goals of the Naxalites. Accordingly, the resolve to carry their struggle into urban areas was made at their Ninth Unity Congress at an undisclosed location in January/February 2007. Making their ideology better known and compelling the establishment to attend to the issues raised by them could be regarded as the significant reasons for the Naxalite’s decision to expand their struggle from rural to urban areas. The Naxal-related urban incidents, so far, have revealed that they have a different strategy for these areas....

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....

March 3, 2010
Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue

Abstract:

The violence in Poso was triggered by an incident that took place on Christmas Eve in 1998. It involved fighting between a Christian and Muslim youth in which the latter was subsequently stabbed. Rumours quickly spread and soon assumed religious overtones dividing Muslim and Christian communities. Subsequent incidents triggered more riots and violence between the two communities. In the single bloodiest incident on 28 May 2000, Christian militias massacred 200 Muslim men hiding at the Walisongo Islamic school and destroyed the adjoining village of Sintuwu Lemba. The underlying causes of the conflict are more complex however and can be attributed to a combination of horizontal and socio-economic inequalities. Historical inequalities between the Christian and Muslim communities were compounded by state-backed Islamisation in the 1990s, which fuelled enmities between the two religious communities. Transmigration of Muslims from other parts of Indonesia altered the religious balance in the region, which heightened tensions and increased Christian anxieties around political and economic marginalisation particularly in the face of scarce resources. During the New Order regime, outbreaks of violence occurred intermittently between Muslims and Christians in the region but were swiftly repressed by the Soeharto Government. Following the collapse of the New Order regime in 1998, the new political context led to intense political competition which exploited religion and identity cleavages....

February 26, 2010
International Center for Transitional Justice

Abstract:

Indonesia, now a decade into democratic reform, is no stranger to conflict. Its history is littered with episodes of mass violence, whether state-sponsored, communally driven or separatist in nature. But in recent times the Indonesian government has successfully negotiated several peace agreements and brought about an end to mass human rights violations. This report examines two such cases, the peace negotiations for Maluku and Aceh, with particular emphasis on issues pertaining to justice and accountability. Its aim is to uncover the dynamics of peace negotiations, to identify how transitional justice mechanisms – such as prosecutions, amnesty, truthseeking, reparations and institutional reform – were addressed by negotiators and to assess post-agreement implementation of justice-related provisions....

February 26, 2010
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung

Abstract:

This conflict analysis focuses on the conflict dynamics and issues arising in the post-otsus (Otonomi khusus or special autonomy) period after 2001 in Papua. The abundance of social, cultural and natural resources in Papua is in contrast to the level of human security in the area. Since its integration into the Indonesian state, Papua had suffered from persistent grievances arising from differences of perception about the history of its integration into the Indonesian state, continued impoverishment and an inferiority complex colored by human rights violations that undermined the dignity of Papuans. The birth of otsus in 2001 was one of the turning points when the grievances of indigenous Papuans started to come to light and to be addressed. Otsus has been expected to ensure affirmative action to protect the rights of indigenous Papuans and involve them actively both as beneficiaries and drivers of social change in Papua. Nevertheless, the implementation of otsus has been facing some challenges, including the lack of trust shown by the central government. The post-otsus period is still affected by persistent grievances: negative peace, problems arising from representational politics, culturally- incompatible policies, unbalanced extraction of natural resources, the approach to security, low levels of social capital, an anomic society in the phase of social change, a polarization that might trigger open conflict, and horizontal inequalities. These complex conditions have created anomalies in the post-otsus period that the international agencies working in Papua should be aware of. This paper also describes the role of each actor of change in Papua, such as grassroots and civil-society organizations, local governments, women, the military and the central government as well the international agencies and the impact of their intervention strategies. All institutions of change – be they provincial, national or international - should refrain from acting as agents of “salvation” that bring a “cargo cult” in disregard of Papuans´dignity. There is an urgent need to develop an integrated crisis prevention strategy that functions as a “safety valve” in combating anomalies in Papua and that deserves the attention of actors of change and the international agencies. The international agencies should have a deep and critical insight into the complex problems in Papua, including existing anomalies, and take them into account in the formulation of their intervention strategies by adding a culturally and conflict-sensitive dimension. The resultant intervention strategy might be expected to pay greater attention to aspects of dignity and to play a significant role in shaping human security in Papua....

January 14, 2010
The Jamestown Foundation // Terrorism Monitor

Abstract:

While terrorism will never be eliminated, Indonesia has developed a strong and effective counterterrorist force, while at the same time consolidating its democratic transition. There is no other country in the world that can make this claim. From 2002 to 2005, Indonesia was wracked by annual terrorist attacks perpetrated by a radical Salafist organization, Jemaah Islamiya (JI). JI’s 2002 Bali bombing remains the single most lethal terrorist incident after 9/11. That was followed by the August 2003 bombing of the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta, the October 2004 bombing of the Australian Embassy and the October 2005 triple bombing in Bali. In November 2006, JI’s master bomb-maker, Dr. Azahari bin Hussin, was killed and his cache of 23 bag bombs was seized. That set the organization back a year. Counterterrorism operations in July 2007 led to the arrests of top JI leaders, including Zarkasih, the group’s spiritual leader, as well as seizures of large caches of explosives. In July 2008, a ten-person cell in Pekenbaru, Sumatra was taken down with the cooperation of Singaporean security forces....

January 13, 2010
Human Rights Watch

Abstract:

Five years after the government of Indonesia committed to end the money-making ventures of the Indonesian armed forces, the promise of reform remains unfulfilled. New reform measures will perpetuate military businesses, rather than eliminate them. Dismantling the military’s independent businesses has long been recognized as a crucial step to make the Indonesian armed forces (Tentara Nasional Indonesia or TNI) fully accountable to civilian authorities. A law passed by the Indonesian parliament in September 2004 required the Indonesian government to shut down or take over all TNI businesses by October 16, 2009. While the 2004 law was flawed, since it did not clearly cover illegal and informal businesses, it represented a landmark commitment. As the five-year deadline drew near, however, the government had not yet implemented the required transfer of businesses. While sell-offs and business failures had reduced the scale of the TNI business empire, the armed forces still retained extensive holdings. This report assesses the new measures. After describing the nature of the TNI’s involvement in business and the push for reform, it details the lack of progress since 2004 and identifies the TNI’s main business holdings. Next, it analyzes the recent presidential decree and ministerial regulations in detail, noting their positive aspects as well as the ways in which they fall short. The report ends by offering recommendations to the Indonesian government. In particular, Human Rights Watch calls for changes to the government’s planned reform process so that, at a minimum, it covers a wider set of businesses, incorporates adequate civilian oversight, and provides for needed transparency and accountability....

March 3, 2010
Freedom House

Abstract:

As the governments of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) undertake the difficult process of enacting social and political change, the unequal status of women presents a particularly formidable challenge. In Iraq, deliberations over women's legal status have been as contentious as negotiations over how to structure the government. In Jordan, measures to increase penalties for so-called honor crimes faced strong resistance by ultraconservative parliamentarians and ordinary citizens who believe that tradition and religion afford them the right to severely punish and even murder female relatives for behavior they deem immoral. These debates are not just legal and philosophical struggles among elites. They are emotionally charged political battles that touch upon fundamental notions of morality and social order. In order to provide a detailed look at the conditions faced by women in the Middle East and understand the complex environment surrounding efforts to improve their status, Freedom House conducted a comprehensive study of women's rights in the region. The first edition of this project was published in 2005. The present edition offers an updated examination of the issue, with a special focus on changes that have occurred over the last five years. Although the study indicates that a substantial deficit in women's rights persists in every country in the MENA region, the findings also include notable progress, particularly in terms of economic opportunities, educational attainment, and political participation....

February 26, 2010
United States Government Office of the Director National Intelligence

Abstract:

We face nation states, terrorist networks, organized criminal groups, individuals, and other cyber actors with varying combinations of access, technical sophistication and intent. Many have the capabilities to target elements of the US information infrastructure for intelligence collection, intellectual property theft, or disruption. Terrorist groups and their sympathizers have expressed interest in using cyber means to target the United States and its citizens. Criminal elements continue to show growing sophistication in their technical capability and targeting. Today, cyber criminals operate a pervasive, mature on-line service economy in illicit cyber capabilities and services, which are available to anyone willing to pay. Globally, widespread cyber-facilitated bank and credit card fraud has serious implications for economic and financial systems and the national security, intelligence, and law enforcement communities charged with protecting them....

February 19, 2010
United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs // Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia

Abstract:

The fragmentation within the corridors of power in Iran—even staunch conservatives and hard-line clerics have now joined the opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei—is unprecedented in the country’s post-revolutionary history. Even political elites who helped establish the Islamic republic have joined the Green Movement and now stand in opposition to the state. The opposition protests have become an ever-present force in Iranian politics. It is apparent from the recent demonstrations in December that the protestors have become more determined, more violent, and willing to risk their lives for change. Perhaps the most significant outcome of the protest movement is that the sanctity around Supreme Leader Khamenei has been shattered. He is no longer respected as a powerful political authority, nor is he considered a religious leader with divine attributes. Moreover, the concept of supreme clerical rule, velayat faqih, is viewed by many as a form of government that inevitably leads to despotism and should be abolished. It is clear now that a country which once aspired to be an Islamic state and a republic cannot withstand all power concentrated in the hands of one ayatollah. As a result, in the eyes of many Iranians, the Islamic Republic of Iran is no longer an Islamic state or a republic....

February 19, 2010
United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs // Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia

Abstract:

The current democratic movement in Iran, which began after the rigged presidential election in June 2009, is a nonviolent movement which aims to rely on itself without asking for foreign help. The people involved in this movement believe that democracy is not a gift that can be received by others, but rather an internal effort of a people to emancipate itself from tyranny and realize its dream of justice, freedom and national sovereignty. The Iranian people appreciate President Barak Obama’s policy of not intervening in Iranian political affairs and allowing them to manage their way toward democracy. Therefore, any policy toward Iran should be chosen in a prudent and cautious way that would not affect the democratic movement in a negative manner....

February 19, 2010
United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs // Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia

Abstract:

The latest events in Iran (the death of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, whom many considered as the reformists’ spiritual leader; the unrest and brutal behavior of the regime’s thugs; the show trials; the firing and black listing of thousands of reformists; and the revelations about rape, torture and executions) are symptoms of a tectonic shift in Iran’s political environment. Despite the repeated warnings by the regime’s leaders, the revolutionary guards, the Basij, and the police that demonstrators would be mercilessly handled, sternly confronted and arrested, the reformist and opposition demonstrations have continued and are more daring than even during the post June elections. The longer these demonstrations go on in the face of hardliner demands to crack down, the clearer it becomes that the focus of the opposition is shifting from Ahmadinejad to the system itself and the Supreme Leader Khamenei. The chants of “Death to the Dictator”, the tearing and stomping on images of Khamenei, and the demands for justice clearly show that the protest movement is now questioning the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic....

March 9, 2010
United States Government Accountability Office

Abstract:

The U.S. government’s reliance on contractors, including the State Department’s and Department of Defense’s (DOD) use of private security contractors in Iraq, has been well documented. We and others have examined many of the challenges the government faces using contractors in Iraq, including issues related to the scope of private security contractors’ activities, the challenges in providing sufficient oversight, the appropriate accountability processes, and difficulties in conducting background screenings of foreign national contractor employees. (A list of related GAO products can be found at the end of this report.) What has not been so well examined is the comparative cost of using civilian employees or military members versus the cost of using contractors, particularly private security contractors, during contingency operations such as Operation Iraqi Freedom. Generally, when costs have been discussed, the focus has been on the daily rate paid to contractor employees, rather than on the total costs of using State Department or DOD personnel. However, in October 2005, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued a study that compared the cost of using military personnel, federal civilians, or contractors to provide logistic support for overseas operations....

March 9, 2010
International Relations and Security Network

Abstract:

New data from centrist Democratic pollsters shows President Barack Obama and the party losing ground on national security with key voters, and they urge him to toughen up his rhetoric on terrorism, but it’s a prescription that ignores an important point the president has been trying to make. The poll, conducted by veteran Democratic political consultants Stan Greenberg and Jeremy Rosner, found that President Obama had strong personal approval ratings among voters in most areas of national security - higher indeed than his approval rating overall, which was 47 percent approving and 48 percent disapproving. Conducted in late February, the poll surveyed 851 adults who voted in 2008 and said they were likely to do so again in 2010. More than half of the likely voters approved of the president’s handling of Afghanistan (58 percent to 37 percent disapproving); national security (57 percent to 40); “leading America’s military” (57 percent to 38); fighting terrorism (54 percent to 41); and Iraq (54 percent to 40). These numbers, though still strong, are down from the 60 percent plus territory they were in when the pollsters ran their survey in May last year. Nonetheless, the president’s approval ratings are currently in negative territory on only two national security issues: Iran (42 percent approving to 49 percent disapproving) and the “prosecution and interrogation of terrorism suspects.”...

March 8, 2010
Al Jazeera

Abstract:

In the run-up to today's historically significant parliamentary polls in Iraq, a volume of commentary has been offered on the complex internal dynamics in play and their critical import for the future direction of the country. But a question that begs asking is where do Iraq's neighbours stand on these critical elections. Given the volatile reality of the Middle East and its tortuous geopolitics, states in the region have an intimate interest and much at stake in how their neighbours are run. With much at risk for the stability of Iraq and its concomitant effects on bordering states, today's elections will be watched with great anxiety in capitals across the Middle East. Tehran, in particular, will be following electoral developments over its western border in Iraq. Iranian foreign policy vis-à-vis Iraq is not necessarily ideological in its underpinnings. It is misleading to analyse Iran-Iraq relations through the prism of a Shia alliance....

March 5, 2010
Institute for the Study of War

Abstract:

This backgrounder provides an update on the political landscape in Iraq on the eve of parliamentary elections. The paper begins with a brief overview of the electoral process. The second part of the backgrounder documents the Shi’a, Sunni, and Kurdish political landscapes. This paper concludes with some considerations on the post-election period of government formation. Roughly 18.9 million Iraqis are registered to vote in the upcoming election, at more than 10,000 polling centers across the country. Each polling center comprises one or more polling stations, of which there are more than 50,000 in total. More than 300,000 domestic election observers and observers from various political parties will monitor the election; in addition, eight diplomatic missions and international organizations have been asked to participate as international election monitors. Security for the polling sites will be provided by the Iraqi Security Forces, with some planning assistance and enablers provided by U.S. forces....

March 5, 2010
Royal United Services Institute Journal

Abstract:

The demands of counter-insurgency have sparked much discussion about the need for army reform. But it is also the case that government, as a whole, must adapt to the present campaign. Britain has lagged behind the US in this regard, and it is not clear that sufficient political will exists in the UK for real change. However, British capacity is only ever the first step: ultimately, what matters for successful stabilisation is the capability and legitimacy of the host government.

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....

October 20, 2009
The Institute for Inclusive Security // Hunt Alternatives Fund

Abstract:

As leaders in civil society, particularly during and following violent conflict, women are critical players in peace negotiations. In formal negotiations, they raise often-ignored political and social issues, ensure that the voices of victims and civilians are consistently heard, and build bridges among negotiating parties. They also have a solid record of successfully bringing together representatives of opposing factions in unofficial talks. Yet women remain the largest group of stakeholders regularly excluded from official negotiation processes. In October 2000, the UN Security Council acknowledged in Resolution 1325 the importance of inclusion, mandating women’s full participation in peace building; few policymakers, however, know how to fulfill this obligation. This guide provides the international community with concrete strategies to successfully bring women into peace negotiations....

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....

October 21, 2008
Journal of Peace Research // International Peace Research Institute, Oslo

Abstract:

Current understanding of the motivations of young people who engage in paramilitary activity is poor. The youth bulge literature has made important advances in understanding determinants of political violence at population level; however, the psychological processes that underpin engagement with political violence among young people are less clearly understood. Further, the pathologization of terrorist activity has hampered deeper understanding of the motivations of those who seek to effect change using violence. This article explores the explanations offered by 14–16-year-olds regarding possible motivations of young people who engage in paramilitary activities in Ireland. Seventy-four Protestant and Catholic young people residing in the border regions of Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic completed an essay-writing task which elicited explanations for paramilitary involvement. Young people’s explanations were multi-levelled and varied, reflecting the breadth and diversity of their personal circumstances and experiences. The essays were analysed using a Grounded Theory approach, which generated four categories of explanations for paramilitary involvement, namely, social identification explanations, family and socialization explanations, developmental explanations and pathological explanations. Though not asked to express a personal judgement regarding such activity, a substantial proportion of respondents did, with females being more likely than males to openly condone or condemn such activity. Discussion and interpretation of these findings centre on understanding of paramilitary involvement in areas affected by political violence....

September 25, 2008
Escola de Cultura de Pau // School for a Culture of Peace // Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Abstract:

This third edition of the Peace Process Yearbook analyses the conflicts in which negotiations are being held to reach a peace agreement, regardless of whether these negotiations are formalised, are in the exploratory phases, are bearing fruit or, to the contrary, are stalled or enmeshed in crisis. It also analyses certain cases in which the negotiations or explorations are partial, that is, they do not encompass all the armed groups present in the country (as is the case of Afghanistan and Iraq, for example). The majority of the negotiations are linked to armed conflicts, but other situations are also analysed in which despite the fact that there are currently no armed clashes taking place, the parties have yet to reach a permanent agreement to put an end to the hostilities and disputes still pending. Thus, the negotiations are relevant for preventing the beginning or resurgence of new armed confrontations. The yearbook also examines certain processes that have theoretically come to a close through a peace agreement, but that in our opinion are worth monitoring for at least another year with the purpose of revealing whether or not implementation of the agreements takes place as planned and whether the armed conflict can truly be regarded as over (such as in the cases of the Congo, Indonesia [GAM], Northern Ireland, Nepal [CPN], East Sudan and South Sudan), as there is a plethora of examples of peace agreements that for different reasons, have lasted a short time and hostilities have resumed. The way of organising the analysis of almost every case follows a standard pattern, namely: 1) a brief synopsis of the background of the conflict, with a short description of the armed groups and the main players participating in the conflict; 2) the lead-up to the peace process; 3) the events that took place throughout 2007; 4) a table displaying the most noteworthy events in the year in summarised form; 5) a list of websites where the conflict can be monitored; and 6) an illustration that helps to exemplify the relationship between the primary and secondary actors in each conflict, showing the spaces of intermediation that exist in each case. At the start of each country there is a small insert with basic information on the conflict in question; in the section entitled “Armed Actors” in this insert, the governmental armed forces are not included....

March 5, 2010
United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

Abstract:

Today, the Palestinians are divided geographically and politically. Hamas governs Gaza. Palestinian public discourse, including public education, about Israel and Jews is still infused with anti-Semitism, and the infrastructure of terrorism has not been dismantled. In Israel, a right-wing coalition governs, perceived by the Palestinians and others as more interested in enhancing Israel’s grip on the West Bank than negotiating a peace settlement based on Resolution 242. Settlement activity continues, despite the highly-conditioned and temporary moratorium on new housing starts. Some Israeli actions in East Jerusalem are provoking Palestinian protests that threaten to upset a relatively calm situation....

March 5, 2010
United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

Abstract:

In the seventeen years since it was first launched, the peace process has gone through times that were better and through times that were worse, but none that were more complex, confusing or contradictory as today. That is because of late so much that had been relatively stable -- in terms of the character of local actors, shape of the regional landscape and assessment of the U.S. role -- has undergone dramatic shifts. Only a handful of these recent transformations need mention: the death of Yasser Arafat, father of Palestinian nationalism, and incapacitation of Ariel Sharon, Israel's last heroic leader; Fatah's crisis; Hamas's electoral triumph and takeover in Gaza; the 2006 Lebanon and 2008 Gaza wars, which shook Israel's confidence and bolstered that of Islamist militants; the failure of the Abbas-Olmert talks; U.S. regional setbacks in Iraq and diplomatic disengagement elsewhere; Iran's increased influence; and the growing role of other regional players. This is not a mere change in scenery. It is a new world. As the ground beneath the peace process has shifted, U.S. efforts have yet to fully adjust....

March 5, 2010
United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

Abstract:

In addition to the vital diplomatic track, the Palestinian Authority has initiated the most important innovation in many years with regard to Middle East peace: the program of the 13th Palestinian Government issued last August by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and his Cabinet, under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas. The plan is for Palestinians to build the institutional, infrastructural, economic and administrative framework of their state in spite of the occupation with the intention of ending the occupation. All parties, including Israel, say it is their intention to realize the two-state solution. By adopting this program, Palestinians are taking up the responsibilities of self-government as they continue to insist on the right of self-determination....

March 5, 2010
United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

Abstract:

To date, the Israeli-Palestinian issue has not worked out as the Obama Administration had hoped. The picture is mixed. While the developments on the ground in the West Bank have shown promise and hope, the top-down political negotiations have not only made little progress, but have even regressed. We have gone from a point where Israeli Prime Minister Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were at advanced stages of negotiations, to a point where there have been no negotiations at all between the parties for nearly a year. There may be several reasons for this, yet as President Obama himself has publicly admitted, it is due in no small measure to an early miscalculation by Washington that triggered a series of events and expectations that could not be overcome during the Administration‟s first year. On Wednesday March 3rd, Arab foreign ministers gave their long-awaited support for Abbas to participate in proximity talks, whereby Senator Mitchell will shuttle between Israelis and Palestinians. Such talks must be a transition to direct talks between the parties themselves. In contrast, if these talks become an alternative to direct talks, they will fail. It is impossible for any party or any country to make the most vital decisions possible without the confidence of dealing directly with the other side....

March 4, 2010
Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism

Abstract:

The Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism maintains a searchable database on all suicide attacks from 1981 to 2001 and additional years will be added. The database includes information about the location of attacks, the target type, the weapon used, and systematic information on the demographic and general biographical characteristics of suicide attackers. The database expands the breadth of the data available in English using native language sources (e.g., Arabic, Hebrew, Russian, Tamil) that are likely to have the most extensive relevant information. The database allows filtering by location, group, campaign, target type, weapon and gender....

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....

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....

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....

July 2, 2009
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace // IPALMO // ARGO

Abstract:

The success of international efforts to foster security and economic growth in Afghanistan is increasingly linked to wider stabilization and development in the states in its proximity. In order to elucidate the challenges in the region and draw recommendations for the Italian G8 Presidency, an Experts Meeting on Afghanistan and Regional Stabilization was organized by Ipalmo, ARGO and Carnegie Europe on May 28-29th 2009 in Rome. Participants noted five areas of interest that could be taken into consideration at the June 2008 meeting of G8 Foreign Ministers in Trieste: 1) The countries of the region are interlinked in a regional security complex which requires a regional approach in response; 2) Constructive action by the states of the region and existing regional institutions need to be reinforced; 3) Border management is necessary to curb illicit trafficking while encouraging a better flow of resources across the region; 4) Security remains a major priority in the region; and 5) Greater economic cooperation would increase welfare for populations while encouraging cooperation and trust in the region....

January 14, 2009
World Security Network

Abstract:

Urban radicalism in Europe as portrayed by the recent riots in Athens is a constant worry of the European security services, since there is ample evidence of wider connections between radicals and terrorists. There are two major themes to be looked upon. Firstly the relationship between the extreme-leftist terrorist groups that operate in the so-called "Mediterranean axis" - France, Italy, Greece and Spain - and secondly, the connection of these groups to Islamic extremists. The radical - anarchist movement in Europe is pretty strong and well organized with thousands of loyal supporters. Back in 2005, the riots in Paris proved that the radicals and second-generation Muslim immigrants in France were able to form the political agenda of that time, although they were not successful in preventing Sarkozy’s ascendance to power 18 months later....

July 21, 2009
Amnesty International

Abstract:

The organization's assessment is part of its 32-page report, Public security reforms and human rights in Jamaica. Published on Tuesday, the report evaluates the Jamaican Government's plans to tackle deep rooted violence, serious human rights violations and impunity. Jamaica has extremely high rates of violent crime. According to police statistics, in 2008 alone there were 1,611 murders in Jamaica – in a population of only 2.7 million. Most of the victims live in socially-excluded inner-city areas. In 2008 the proportion of child victims grew significantly. During 2008, an additional 224 people were fatally shot by police officers. It is estimated that in the first five months of 2009 alone, police killings increased by 58 per cent, however, police officers are rarely punished for these crimes. There have been no convictions against a police officer since 2006 and only 4 convictions between 1999 and 2009 out of a total of more than 1,700 reports of fatal shootings. "The outlook for Jamaica is still grim with alarming rates of killings and almost no convictions of state agents accused of serious human rights violations," said Kerrie Howard, Americas Deputy Director at Amnesty International. "What is different now is that we finally see initiatives that might lead to real change." "Jamaicans cannot afford to wait any longer," said Kerrie Howard. "Initiatives have to be implemented and produce concrete results soon. The lives of thousands depend on that." Amongst the government's proposals are projects to reform the Jamaican Constabulary Force, the modernization of the justice system and the elaboration of a community safety and security policy to tackle some of the issues behind the high levels of violence in the country. Bilateral and multilateral donors have committed to supporting many of the recommendations included in these plans. Amnesty International's report reviews the proposal to reform the Jamaican Constabulary Force. In 2008 a strategic review of the force resulted in 124 recommendations that were accepted by the government. Some of the key objectives include the improvement of the forces' professionalism, responsiveness and accountability....

January 16, 2009
Asylum Aid // United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Abstract:

Women's Asylum News contains news and information on issues affecting women asylum-seekers and refugees.

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
Brooks World Poverty Institute // The University of Manchester

Abstract:

Terrorism on the African continent is a complex and emotional topic. One of the primary reasons for this is that a historical introspection for any country, or its people, that has been confronted with a conflicting past can only be described as ‘sensitive’. In addition to international developments and challenges, domestic circumstances predominately fuel domestic terrorism. It will therefore be a mistake to assess the threat of terrorism in any country in historic isolation. This is particularly true when one tries to assess and understand the ‘renewed’ threat of terrorism in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. This monograph will attempt to place the threat and implication of the name change announcement of the Salafist Group for Combat and Preaching (GSPC) to al-Qa’eda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM) in context, with the primary focus on events in 2007. The name change in itself implied that the original domestic group had transnational ambitions, but what influenced this development and what would the consequences be? Although this development led to immediate and extensive international interest in the Maghreb, it became clear that most assessments focused on the now, without appreciating the historical complexities that ultimately led to this development. In conducting a historical assessment, one can appreciate that while all three countries under review were confronted with similar challenges after independence, each country reacted in a different manner, which impacted on the manifestation and magnitude of the threat of terrorism and the eventual impact of the transnationalisation of domestic terrorism on transnational terrorism. Even the way independence was gained impacted on the psychological acceptance of violence as an acceptable strategy....

April 1, 2008
Amnesty International

Abstract:

This report by Amnesty International on the public security crisis in Jamaica forms part of a body of work by national and international organizations working on the crisis and its human rights implications. The research for this report was conducted by visiting Jamaica and its inner-city communities of Kingston, St Andrew and St Catherine during 2007 and speaking to a wide range of people from civil society and people holding positions of public office. During that research Amnesty International found: There is a public security crisis in Jamaica and the state is failing to effectively provide human security to its population, especially to those most vulnerable to crime and violence, namely people living in poverty in inner-city communities; An unspoken tolerance of policing based on strong prejudice and stigmatization, excessive use of force, extrajudicial executions and corruption among certain members of the police force that reinforces a circle of violence for people living in poverty in socially excluded communities; A lack of scrutiny and accountability of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) against allegations of corruption and human rights violations. This report also identifies the stigmatization and excessive use of force by, and corruption within, the police forces, which effectively exacerbate the violence these communities suffer and constitute a violation of the obligation to respect human rights....

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

Abstract:

As the Asia-Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect noted in its October 2008 on Japan and Korea on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), Japan is a supporter of the R2P principle which it sees as part of the broader human security agenda, a key pillar of Japanese foreign policy. However, Japan has recently been criticised for ‘most surprisingly and disappointingly’ opposing UN Security Council engagement in the humanitarian crisis that has been unfolding in Sri Lanka. Japan’s position appears to run counter to its support for human security and commitment to civilian protection, which has resulted in pressure for Tokyo to take a more robust stance by supporting efforts to introduce the situation in Sri Lanka onto the official agenda of the UN Security Council. The following Update Report offers an overview of Japan’s engagement in the crisis and seeks to contextualize the concern that Japan is falling short of following through on its responsibility to assist in protecting civilians at risk in Sri Lanka. It demonstrates that Japan’s position must be understood in relation to its commitment to the Sri Lankan peace process and broader Council dynamics....

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

Abstract:

In July 2009, the UN General Assembly held an Interactive Informal Dialogue and plenary session on the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP). The dialogue provided the first opportunity for the UN membership as a whole to discuss implementation of the 2005 World Summit’s commitment to the RtoP and the UN Secretary-General’s report on the matter. Fifteen governments from the Asia-Pacific region, namely Indonesia, the Philippines, Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Japan, China, Vietnam, Solomon Islands, Myanmar, Timor-Leste, DPRK, PNG and Malaysia, participated in the dialogue. This culminated in a resolution co-sponsored by, inter alia, Australia, Fiji, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Korea, Timor-Leste and New Zealand that noted the Secretary-General’s report, observed the fruitfulness of the interactive dialogue, and committed the Assembly to further consideration of the RtoP. According to the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, one of the most significant aspects of the dialogue was the positive transformation of attitudes towards the RtoP within the Asia-Pacific region. Having previously been considered the region most opposed to the RtoP, the region now boasts near unanimity in its endorsement of the principle and the Secretary-General’s efforts towards its implementation (with the exception of North Korea)....

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

Abstract:

Governments in the Asia-Pacific are often referred to as skeptics or spoilers in conversations about deepening and harnessing global consensus on the „Responsibility to Protect‟ (R2P). This working paper argues that, on the contrary, there exists a broad constituency within the region for moving the principle from rhetoric to reality at the United Nations (UN). Based on contributions to Security Council debates on the protection of civilians in armed conflict (POC), regional states have been both receptive to and promoters of tangible measures to operationalise institutional mechanisms to prevent and halt mass atrocity crimes. Statements in the two most recent meetings are of particular significance given that they represent one of the last opportunities to gauge regional positions ahead of the forthcoming General Assembly debate on the R2P. In conclusion, I suggest that the Asia-Pacific region is much more receptive to the R2P principle than has hitherto been acknowledged. The first section of the working paper walks through the development of the R2P principle and the history of the UN Security Council's thematic interest in POC. The subsequent section unpacks and clarifies the relationship between the R2P and POC. The paper then proceeds to analyse the contributions of Asia-Pacific states to the two lattermost Council debates on POC, emphasising the significance of these statements for the institutional future of the R2P at the UN, as well as normative traction and increased ownership of the R2P in and by the region. Finally, the paper concludes by recommending the way ahead if Asia-Pacific states are to remain constructive partners in moving the principle towards praxis....

July 2, 2009
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace // IPALMO // ARGO

Abstract:

The success of international efforts to foster security and economic growth in Afghanistan is increasingly linked to wider stabilization and development in the states in its proximity. In order to elucidate the challenges in the region and draw recommendations for the Italian G8 Presidency, an Experts Meeting on Afghanistan and Regional Stabilization was organized by Ipalmo, ARGO and Carnegie Europe on May 28-29th 2009 in Rome. Participants noted five areas of interest that could be taken into consideration at the June 2008 meeting of G8 Foreign Ministers in Trieste: 1) The countries of the region are interlinked in a regional security complex which requires a regional approach in response; 2) Constructive action by the states of the region and existing regional institutions need to be reinforced; 3) Border management is necessary to curb illicit trafficking while encouraging a better flow of resources across the region; 4) Security remains a major priority in the region; and 5) Greater economic cooperation would increase welfare for populations while encouraging cooperation and trust in the region....

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....

March 3, 2010
Freedom House

Abstract:

As the governments of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) undertake the difficult process of enacting social and political change, the unequal status of women presents a particularly formidable challenge. In Iraq, deliberations over women's legal status have been as contentious as negotiations over how to structure the government. In Jordan, measures to increase penalties for so-called honor crimes faced strong resistance by ultraconservative parliamentarians and ordinary citizens who believe that tradition and religion afford them the right to severely punish and even murder female relatives for behavior they deem immoral. These debates are not just legal and philosophical struggles among elites. They are emotionally charged political battles that touch upon fundamental notions of morality and social order. In order to provide a detailed look at the conditions faced by women in the Middle East and understand the complex environment surrounding efforts to improve their status, Freedom House conducted a comprehensive study of women's rights in the region. The first edition of this project was published in 2005. The present edition offers an updated examination of the issue, with a special focus on changes that have occurred over the last five years. Although the study indicates that a substantial deficit in women's rights persists in every country in the MENA region, the findings also include notable progress, particularly in terms of economic opportunities, educational attainment, and political participation....

February 24, 2010
International Rescue Committee

Abstract:

The IRC Commission on Iraqi Refugees was established in January 2008 by the International Rescue Committee to investigate and call attention to the plight of Iraq’s displaced. This is the Commission’s third report. Over a weeklong visit in late October 2009, with follow-up consultations in November, IRC Commissioners and staff members returned to Syria and Jordan to evaluate the conditions facing resident Iraqi refugees and traveled inside Iraq to the Kurdish region and Baghdad to assess the condition of internally displaced people and their prospects for returning home. During the trip, Commissioners met with the incoming Prime Minister of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), other KRG and Iraqi officials, representatives from the United Nations and senior officials of the governments of Syria, Jordan and the United States. Most importantly, Commissioners and staff heard firsthand about the ongoing crisis from scores of Iraqis living as internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Baghdad and northern Iraq or as refugees in Syria. Their accounts were harrowing. Since the IRC Commission last visited the region in February 2008, the needs of displaced Iraqis have become more acute, while international concern and assistance have diminished. In particular, assistance from European countries has begun to fall off. Refugees and IDPs are still clearly afraid to return to their homes. They cite insecurity, lack of access to housing and services, scarce job opportunities, ongoing criminality and persecution and mistrust of local government....

February 9, 2010
Policy Review // Hoover Institution

Abstract:

U.S. democracy promotion in the Middle East has suffered a series of crippling defeats. Despite occasionally paying lip service to the idea, few politicians on either the left or right appear committed to supporting democratic reform as a central component of American policy in the region. Who can really blame them, given that democracy promotion has become toxic to a public with little patience left for various “missions” abroad? But as the Obama administration struggles to renew ties with the Muslim world, particularly in light of the June 2009 Cairo speech, it should resist the urge to abandon its predecessor’s focus on promoting democracy in what remains the most undemocratic region in the world. Promoting democratic reform, this time not just with rhetoric but with action, should be given higher priority in the current administration, even though early indications suggest the opposite may be happening. Despite all its bad press, democracy promotion remains, in the long run, the most effective way to undermine terrorism and political violence in the Middle East. This is not a very popular argument. Indeed, a key feature of the post-Bush debate over democratization is an insistence on separating support for democracy from any explicit national security rationale. This, however, would be a mistake with troubling consequences for American foreign policy....

January 21, 2010
United States Institute of Peace

Abstract:

This extensive paper examines the complex nexus between democratic change and U.S. security interests, with a principal focus on Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Yemen. It sets out a set of general and country-specific findings and recommendations for a long-term strategy by which “political liberalization” can enhance the stability and legitimacy of governments, thus strengthening security and peacemaking in the region. This report offers a set of general and country-specific findings and recommendations to assist the Obama administration in its efforts to tackle escalating security challenges while sustaining diplomatic, institutional and economic support for democracy and human rights in the Greater Middle East. The working group recognizes that addressing threats from terrorist groups affiliated with al-Qaeda, as well as stemming conflicts arising from the persistence of regional conflicts in the Middle East and South Asia, must be a top priority. But, as the case studies of Yemen, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon amply demonstrate, long-term political stability, economic development and security also requires a continued and even enhanced U.S. commitment, in both words and deeds, to fostering democratic transformation, human rights and effective governance. The architecture of security and peacemaking must be accompanied by a revived focus on democratic reforms. Absent such an effort, this study group believes that the already wide political, social and ideological gap between states and societies will further expand, thus making regimes, and even entire states vulnerable to internal and external shocks. It is the task and challenge of genuine reformers in both the regimes and oppositions of the Arab World and South Asia to chart an exit from the cul-de-sac of arbitrary rule and state-managed political reform by defining a common vision of substantive “democratic transformation.”...

January 11, 2010
STRATFOR

Abstract:

As Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi exited the vehicle that brought him onto Forward Operating Base (FOB) Chapman in Khost, Afghanistan, on Dec. 30, 2009, security guards noticed he was behaving strangely. They moved toward al-Balawi and screamed demands that he take his hand out of his pocket, but instead of complying with the officers’ commands, al-Balawi detonated the suicide device he was wearing. The explosion killed al-Balawi, three security contractors, four CIA officers and the Jordanian General Intelligence Department (GID) officer who was al-Balawi’s handler. The vehicle shielded several other CIA officers at the scene from the blast. The CIA officers killed included the chief of the base at Khost and an analyst from headquarters who reportedly was the agency’s foremost expert on al Qaeda. The agency’s second-ranking officer in Afghanistan was allegedly among the officers who survived. Al-Balawi was a Jordanian doctor from Zarqa (the hometown of deceased al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi). Under the alias Abu Dujanah al-Khurasani, he served as an administrator for Al-Hesbah, a popular Internet discussion forum for jihadists. Jordanian officers arrested him in 2007 because of his involvement with radical online forums, which is illegal in Jordan. The GID subsequently approached al-Balawi while he was in a Jordanian prison and recruited him to work as an intelligence asset. Al-Balawi was sent to Pakistan less than a year ago as part of a joint GID/CIA mission. Under the cover of going to school to receive advanced medical training, al-Balawi established himself in Pakistan and began to reach out to jihadists in the region. Under his al-Khurasani pseudonym, al-Balawai announced in September 2009 in an interview on a jihadist Internet forum that he had officially joined the Afghan Taliban....

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....

February 11, 2010
Centre for Eastern Studies

Abstract:

The threat posed by radical Islam has invariably been perceived as the most serious challenge to stability in Central Asia since 1991. Fears were raised by the Islamic revolution which had developed internally in Cent ral Asia, the external invasion of radicals (from Afghanistan) and Islamic terrorism. Combating the Islamic threat became one of the key elements of individual Central Asian countries’ security policies and those adopted by regional and global powers towards this region. The Islamic threat hanging over Central Asia also became a regular issue raised in media discourse and in debates within analysts’ circles. Numerous conflicts and tensions in both Central Asia and its immediate neighbourhood seemed to provide grounds for such fears, which politicians and analysts alike have shared since the collapse of the USSR. Ini tially, the destructive influence from war-torn Afghanistan and from Iran, which was engaged in a policy of exporting its Islamic revolution, raised especially great concerns. The facts which seemed to prove that the risk was real included the civil war in Tajikistan (1992–1997), during which the Islamic Rebirth Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) played a key role on the side of the opposition; Muslim militias’ attempts to take power in the Uzbek part of the Fergana Valley (1991–1995); the activity of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (attempts at armed raids against Uzbekistan with the aim of setting up a caliphate in 1999 and 2000); terrorist attacks (including the series of attacks in Uzbekistan in 2004); the rebellion in Andijan (2005), etc....

January 11, 2010
Center for Strategic and International Studies

Abstract:

The development of new northern supply routes into Afghanistan, termed the Northern Distribution Network (NDN) by the U.S. government, and the expanded U.S. presence in Afghanistan has had considerable impact on regional geopolitics in Eurasia. For those states now involved in the NDN (Latvia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan), this cooperation has added a new dimension to their relations that increases their stakes in bilateral ties with the United States and vice versa. Washington is engaging these partners on an issue of utmost priority to U.S. security interests. Together and individually these states can play a constructive role in Afghan stabilization efforts. But persistent tensions, mistrust, paranoia, authoritarianism, and a near-exclusive focus on “regime preservation” make some of them unwieldy and volatile partners. Suspicion of U.S. intentions and commitment further complicate this calculation. Understanding the dimensions of and knowing how to manage the geopolitical challenges and opportunities associated with NDN transit states and other key players is critical for the United States....

October 13, 2009
EurasiaNet // Eurasia Insight

Abstract:

Signaling a sense of strategic urgency to counter recent Taliban gains, the Northern Distribution Network is being adapted to handle the transit of weaponry and hardware destined for US and NATO troops fighting in Afghanistan. The Northern Distribution Network (NDN) started out as a conduit for non-military supplies, including humanitarian assistance and reconstruction materials. But with the strategic situation for US and NATO troops in Afghanistan becoming more challenging, the scope of NDN’s operations is expanding. The United States has secured "lethal transit" deals with Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, Tom Tanner, the US embassy spokesman in Astana told EurasiaNet on October 13. Both the Kyrgyz Ministry of Defense and the US Embassy in Bishkek confirmed earlier that the Manas Transit Center is facilitating the shipment of military freight going to Afghanistan. Permission to use Manas in this way was granted under the terms of the new agreement struck between Washington and Bishkek on June 23, and did not need to be negotiated separately, the US embassy revealed....

July 15, 2009
Foreign Policy in Focus

Abstract:

In the past month, two seemingly unrelated events have turned Central Asia into a potential flashpoint: an aggressively expanding North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and a nascent strategic alliance between Russia and China. At stake is nothing less than who holds the future high ground in the competition for the world's energy resources. Early this summer, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicted a sharp drop in world oil reserves. According to energy expert Michael Klare, the "era of cheap and plentiful oil is drawing to a close," and is likely to result in "a new era of cutthroat energy competition." In early July, after a full-court press by Washington and an agreement to increase its yearly rent, Kyrgyzstan reversed a decision to close the U.S. base at Manas, thus giving the United States a powerful toehold in the countries bordering the oil- and gas-rich Caspian Basin. While Manas is portrayed as a critical base in the ongoing campaign against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, the war in Central Asia is less over "terrorism" than it is over energy. "Never reading the words 'Afghanistan" and 'oil' in the same sentence is still a source of endless amusement," says the Asia Times' Pepe Escobar. Escobar, who has coined the term "Pipelineistan" to describe the vast network of oil and gas pipelines that "crisscross the potential imperial battlefields of the planet," sees Afghanistan "at the core of Pipelineistan," strategically placed between the Middle East, Central and South Asia." As Escobar points out, "It's no coincidence that the map of terror in the Middle East and Central Asia is practically interchangeable with the map of oil."...

February 8, 2010
International Center for Transitional Justice

Abstract:

Efforts underway to address the 2008 Kenyan post-election crisis and the conditions that caused it have provided the country with a unique opportunity to address its long history of human rights violations. From the unspeakable atrocities of the pre-independence State of Emergency period, to the dark years of the repressive one-party state, to the emergence of state-sponsored ethnic violence in the 1990s, Kenya’s democratic institutions and its framework for human rights enforcement have tended to be unable to stem the tide of human rights problems. In some cases, democratic institutions, such as the police and the judiciary, have even been co-opted into the service of repression. The post-election crisis has brought into sharp focus the urgent need to fundamentally review the entire edifice of governance in Kenya as it relates to security, human rights, the rule of law, and democracy. The cornerstones of this ongoing reform process are the interlinked issues of transitional justice and constitutional change. While transitional justice refers to the set of activities and processes that can bring closure to the memory of past injustices and atrocities, constitutional change speaks to the need to create a new, democratic and human rights-responsive framework of governance. The two processes are now running concurrently as stipulated by Agenda IV of the Agreement on the Principles of Partnership of the Coalitio