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

Abstract:

The Burundi peace process has essentially been completed. At the time of writing this monograph (August 2009), the last rebel group to the conflict, Parti pour la Liberation du Peuple Hutu – Forces Nationales de Libération (PALIPEHUTU-FNL), had just begun its Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) process and had been registered as a political party. This monograph will focus on the role played by peacekeeping missions in the Burundian peace process to ensure that agreements signed by parties to the conflict were adhered to and implemented. The deployment of peacekeeping missions went full circle and more. An African Union (AU) peace mission followed by a United Nations (UN) mission replaced the initial South African Protection Support Detachment (SAPSD). Because the peace process had not yet been completed, and because of the return of the PALIPEHUTU-FNL to Burundi, the UN Security Council (UNSC) approved the redeployment of an AU mission to oversee the completion of the final phase by December 2008....

September 1, 2010
Amnesty International

Abstract:

Rwanda’s laws on “genocide ideology” and “sectarianism”, more commonly known as “divisionism”, were introduced in the decade following the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Up to 800,000 Rwandans were killed during the 1994 genocide, most of them ethnic Tutsi, but also some Hutu who opposed this organized killing and the forces that directed it. Aware of the role that hate speech1 and the infamous hate radio Radio Télévision Libre des Milles Collines (RTLM) played in inciting genocidal participation,2 the post-genocide government led by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) enacted laws to encourage unity and restrict speech that could promote hatred. Following six years of extensive reforms to the conventional justice system, the Rwandan government announced a review of the “genocide ideology” law in April 2010. Amnesty International welcomes this government initiative. This report identifies Amnesty International’s concerns about the current legislation and its application in light of the Rwandan government’s review process. This report is based on numerous interviews conducted by Amnesty International staff in Rwanda in September and November 2009 and March 2010. They conducted interviews in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, as well as in the provinces. Interviews were in English, French or Kinyarwanda with French translation. Some individuals were interviewed on more than one occasion. This report is not intended to be a comprehensive overview of all “genocide ideology” and “sectarianism” cases, convictions and acquittals. Instead, our research documents problematic trends in how these laws have been applied....

August 24, 2010
Amnesty International

Abstract:

Reports of torture committed by agents of Burundi’s National Intelligence Service (Service National de Renseignement, SNR) decreased in recent years. This was a sign of remarkable progress in respecting human rights for an intelligence service that often operates with little regard for the law. However, for a two week period in late June and early July 2010, torture re-emerged as a practice by Burundi’s intelligence service, a step backwards and a set-back in the respect and protection of human rights in Burundi. Drawing on three weeks of field research conducted by Amnesty International delegates in Burundi in July 2010, this briefing paper documents this re-emergence of torture. From 23 June to 5 July 2010, human rights observers – including Amnesty International – documented allegations of torture of 12 individuals, committed by the SNR. Those tortured were members of opposition parties arrested on allegations of threatening state security in relation to a series of grenade attacks. The SNR, in collaboration with the police, used physical and psychological torture to try to extract information and force confessions....

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

Abstract:

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

August 20, 2010
London School of Economics // PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP // Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Abstract:

Rwanda, one of Africa’s poorest and most backward countries in terms of economic development, is in a process of rapid and radical change. The political settlement underpinning the state in Rwanda was forged in the wake of a civil war and one of the 20th Century’s most brutal genocides. The government that came to power was born in an armed movement forged among exiles in Rwanda’s neighbouring countries whose families had been forced to flee dictatorship and systematic racist persecution. Statebuilding in Rwanda since 1994 has been a matter of national survival and those involved, whether from the state, from a nascent civil society or from the donor community have a strong sense of the urgency to succeed. Accomplishments in just fifteen years have been impressive and there is much that the rest of the world has to learn from Rwanda’s experience so far. This report forms one of six country case studies undertaken to examine the impact donors may be having on state-building processes in fragile states and situations. The study seeks to identify positive and negative practices of the donor community in relation to five central dimensions of state-building: the political processes that underpin state-building; the relations between state and society; the problem of building state legitimacy; social expectations of the state; and the capacities of states to perform their basic functions, considered in our study as providing security, establishing the rule of law and access to justice, taxation, the management of economic development and the delivery of essential services....

September 2, 2010
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

The January 2011 referendum on self-determination could result in Sudan’s partition, and the country’s North-South border may ultimately become the world’s newest international boundary. The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended two decades of civil war called for the border between the North and the semi-autonomous South to be demarcated within six months. Five years later, the task remains incomplete. The sooner the parties break the border deadlock the better, though the process need not necessarily be completed prior to the referendum as Khartoum has argued previously. Furthermore, a solution to the border is about not only drawing a line, but also defining the nature and management of that border and the future relations of communities on both sides. A “soft” boundary is ideal, one backed by a framework for cross-border arrangements and, if necessary, safeguarded by a joint monitoring mechanism. Progress toward both demarcating and defining the border will prevent it from becoming a source of renewed conflict in the post-CPA era....

September 1, 2010
Crisis States Research Centre // London School of Economics // Development Studies Institute

Abstract:

This paper examines the history of civil wars in Uganda through the concept of 'elite bargains', arguing that allowing a biased access to positions of state power fails to accommodate the dominant social cleavages and is more likely to lead to civil war. Drawing on the definition of 'elite bargains' as developed at the Crisis States Research Centre, as well as on the wider literature surrounding issues of state power and the distribution of rights and entitlements, the paper draws a distinction between 'inclusive' and 'exclusionary' bargains and their differential outcomes....

August 30, 2010
Combating Terrorism Center // West Point

Abstract:

This issue includes the following articles: The Mysterious Relationship Between Al-Qa`ida and Iran, by Bruce Riedel; Al-Shabab’s Agenda in the Wake of the Kampala Suicide Attacks, by Tim Pippard; The Punjabi Taliban: Causes and Consequences of Turning Against the State, by Ben Brandt; The Ghazi Force: A Threat to Pakistan’s Urban Centers, by Syed Manzar Abbas Zaidi; Pakistan’s Challenges in Orakzai Agency, by Tayyab Ali Shah; The Growing Threat of Female Suicide Attacks in Western Countries, by Houriya Ahmed; Countering Terrorist Financing: Successes and Setbacks in the Years Since 9/11, by Michael Jonsson....

August 30, 2010
Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre

Abstract:

At the end of July 2010, the UN Security Council is expected to renew the mandate of the African Union/United Nation Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID).The forthcoming renewal will mark the end of the third year of UNAMID existence and the beginning of the fourth year. The establishment of UNAMID is provided for by UN Security Council resolution 1769(2007) adopted on 31st July 2007 with the overall objective of protecting civilians in Darfur, in addition to facilitating the humanitarian relief operations and providing an environment conducive to the attainment of peace and security in the region. Realization of these ambitious objectives required mobilization of vast human and material resources and, above all, the necessary political will to enable robust response and action. So far UNAMID has achieved little success in any of these three vital areas. UNAMID has great potential to succeed but also all the ingredients to fail. The unprecedented attention accorded to the humanitarian situation in Darfur by high-level regional and international decision-making bodies is a clear signal of the world’s determination to put a halt to the commission of massive atrocities by States against their own citizens thus giving effects to the universally acclaimed concept referred to as the Responsibility to Protect (R2P). The mobilisation of massive human and material resources for relief operations in Darfur saved the lives of millions of war-affected communities and played a major role in averting a humanitarian crisis of a much larger scale. Yet UNAMID works against many odds in Darfur. It operates in difficult conditions in a hostile, dangerous and insecure environment that lacks sufficient infrastructure. UNAMID has also been left without choice but to collaborate with unwilling and intransigent local stakeholders some of them manifestly have no interest to see the peacekeeping operation comes to a successful conclusion. This Briefing Paper attempts to provide critical analysis of the role of UNAMID in Darfur and to advocate for measures to enhance its work....

August 26, 2010
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars // Africa Program

Abstract:

Sudan faces multiple crises. The CPA, which ended the southern conflict, has not been fully implemented. International support has been patchy. Demarcation of the North/South border has again been postponed. Preparations for the southern and Abyei referenda, due to be held in January, are well behind schedule, as are the popular consultations in Blue Nile and South Kordofan, where state elections have been put off until November. Inter-tribal conflict troubles the South. Opinion is increasingly polarized as the southern referendum approaches and the risk of renewed conflict grows, with damaging implications for the region and Africa as a whole. The two papers published here reflect the views of their authors only, but we believe that they will make a useful contribution to the policy debate, not least because they are written from very different perspectives. Prendergast and Jones argue that past US Sudan policy of pressure on Khartoum has been successful and plead for more leverage and more effective use of leverage, especially on the NCP, which they judge keen to repair its relations with the US. Satti, on the other hand, writing during a visit to Sudan, contends that past US policy has served only to reduce Sudanese faith in US promises and US influence in Khartoum. Basing himself on a shrewd analysis of the NCP and its objectives, he suggests a policy of constructive engagement. Both papers, however, agree on the need for the US to work closely and harmoniously with the international community, especially the UN and AU, and for more US diplomatic effort on the ground....

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

Abstract:

On 23 July 2010, the eve of the African Union’s Summit in Kampala, AU Commission chairperson Jean Ping announced that he had asked countries, including South Africa, Angola, Nigeria, Ghana and Guinea, to send troops to Somalia to boost the under-strength African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), currently comprising Ugandan and Burundian forces. This move came against the background of suicide bombing attacks on 11 July 2010 that had killed 79 people in the Ugandan capital. Al-Shabaab, the militant Somali organisation with undefined links to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the bombings, explaining that these were retribution for Ugandan and Burundian violence against the civilian population in Mogadishu. It would appear that the bombings were also aimed at testing the endurance of Uganda as a contributing country, as well as the resolve of other AU member states that may be contemplating contributing towards the required troop surge. AMISOM was first deployed in 2007 to protect the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and strategic infrastructures (the port and airport) in Mogadishu from the insurgents who had strengthened their position as Ethiopian forces withdrew, and to provide support for humanitarian assistance for the Somali population. The proposed additional deployment to Somalia must be viewed in the context of the chronically unstable situation in Mogadishu and in Somalia as a whole. In a nutshell, the AU decision to reinforce AMISOM by almost 2 000 troops would increase the size of the force from its current level of around 6 300 (4 Ugandan and 3 Burundian battalions), to the 8 000 mandated in 2007. Some AU member states had even called for the force to be augmented to between 14 000 and 20 000 troops. This Policy Brief examines the apparent urgency to increase AMISOM force levels. It interrogates the AU’s interventionist strategy in Somalia, including the planned troop surge, analyses the terrorist dimension of the bombings, drawing parallels with the Afghanistan case as a basis for suggestions for a clear and holistic approach to the conflict in Somalia....

September 1, 2010
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Abstract:

This map represents estimations of the total number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) throughout Somalia as of July 2010.

August 30, 2010
Combating Terrorism Center // West Point

Abstract:

This issue includes the following articles: The Mysterious Relationship Between Al-Qa`ida and Iran, by Bruce Riedel; Al-Shabab’s Agenda in the Wake of the Kampala Suicide Attacks, by Tim Pippard; The Punjabi Taliban: Causes and Consequences of Turning Against the State, by Ben Brandt; The Ghazi Force: A Threat to Pakistan’s Urban Centers, by Syed Manzar Abbas Zaidi; Pakistan’s Challenges in Orakzai Agency, by Tayyab Ali Shah; The Growing Threat of Female Suicide Attacks in Western Countries, by Houriya Ahmed; Countering Terrorist Financing: Successes and Setbacks in the Years Since 9/11, by Michael Jonsson....

August 24, 2010
United States Naval War College // Naval War College Review

Abstract:

Canada’s naval response to Somali piracy has been a mixed affair.On the positive side, in recent years the CanadianNavy has successfully dedicated a significant level of resources to countering Somali piracy: the destroyer HMCS Iroquois, the frigatesHMCS Calgary, Ville de Québec,Winnipeg, and Fredericton, and the oiler HMCS Protecteur. Collectively, these vessels operated effectively alongside the ships of several other navies, especially those of the U.S.Navy, that together form the various international flotillas confronting Somali pirates. The Canadian Navy’s level of involvement has been no mean task, because of the great distances involved, its limited number of surface combatants, and its other responsibilities. On the negative side, the effective handling of Somali pirates has been an ephemeral and problematic task. Despite the international naval presence, the incidence of Somali piracy has increased. In light of the counterpiracy mission’s prominence for Canada and the limited effect navies have had so far, a call by the United States for international commercial shippers to rely upon private security companies (PSCs) demands attention. What, therefore, are the call’s implications in terms of future Canadian activism and the overall effectiveness of countering Somali piracy?...

August 23, 2010
International Relations and Security Network

Abstract:

While Uganda has paid a bitter price at home for its military engagement in Somalia, al-Shabaab’s recent attacks will likely foster a more interventionist agenda in East Africa and play into the hands of insurgents, Georg-Sebastian Holzer writes for ISN Security Watch. It was the biggest militant attack in sub-Saharan Africa since the infamous 1998 al-Qaida bombings of the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. The two coordinated bombings in Uganda’s capital Kampala killed 74 people and wounded dozens of others watching the World Cup final on 11 July. For al-Shabaab it was a successful attack against the country that forms the backbone of the 6,000-strong African Union force in Mogadishu. The movement previously threatened both Uganda and Burundi, the second major troop-supplier to the AMISOM mission, which secures the survival of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) whose movement is virtually confined to a few blocks in the capital....

August 30, 2010
Combating Terrorism Center // West Point

Abstract:

This issue includes the following articles: Building a Strategic U.S.-Pakistan Nuclear Relationship, by Rolf Mowatt-Larssen; Beyond the Moscow Bombings: Islamic Militancy in the North Caucasus, by Christopher Swift; After Pune, Details Emerge on the Karachi Project and its Threat to India ,by Animesh Roul; Assessing the Recent Terrorist Threat to the Malacca Strait, by Peter Chalk; The Philippines Chips Away at the Abu Sayyaf Group’s Strength, by Zachary Abuza; Al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb: A Case Study in the Opportunism of Global Jihad, by Jean-Pierre Filiu; No Silver Bullets: Explaining Research on How Terrorism Ends, by Audrey Kurth Cronin;...

August 23, 2010
Danish Institute for International Studies

Abstract:

The purpose of the present report is to provide easily accessible background information about the main Islamist organizations in Morocco and about recent trends in regime responses to them. Islamist organizations are here defined as organizations and actors distinct from the wider Islamic community or umma by their seeking to create a political order defined in terms of Islam (Mandaville, 2007: 20). Morocco hosts a profusion of Islamist organizations. Among these are a number of radical organizations which do not shy away from using violence to obtain their goals. Such organizations were behind the terrorist attacks in Casablanca of 16 May 2003, were involved in the Madrid bombings in 2004 and have also been behind a number of small-scale events, such as an unsuccessful bombing attempt in Casablanca in 2007. However, the present report focuses predominantly on the two main and non-violent Islamist organizations in Morocco; namely Harakat al-Islâh wa at-Tawhid (Movement for Reform and Unity, MUR) and its related political party, Hizb al Adala wal Tanmia (Party of Justice and Development, PJD); and Al Jama’a al Adl wal Ihsan ( Justice and Spirituality Organisation). The report has been prepared on the basis of existing literature and on insights gathered during a field visit to Morocco in November 2009. Merieme Yafout (doctoral student at the University of Hassan II in Casablanca) has contributed with important research input in Morocco....

August 12, 2010
Norwegian Peacebuilding Centre // Noref

Abstract:

The conflict in Sudan’s western province of Darfur has revived even as the peace talks in Qatar between Sudan’s government and the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) seem to have collapsed. Egypt has hitherto refrained from involvement in negotiations to end the conflict, a strategy that has contributed to further diminishing Cairo’s already weakened status as a major player in regional politics and diplomacy. Now, however, several developments present Egypt with an opportunity to assume a more active mediating role. Among these is a direct invitation to Egypt from the JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim. Egypt’s position is complicated by its need to balance its relations with Sudan and those of other Sudanese political actors, and inhibited by narrow security calculations – chief among which is ensuring a stable government in Khartoum. But Egypt still has the political stature and regional influence to impel the parties to the conflict to negotiate in earnest. Such an effort would carry risks for Cairo, not least the possibility of damaging its relationship with both Khartoum and the rebel groups. However, a more active contribution to peace diplomacy over Darfur would restore Egypt’s position as a regional heavyweight and could help resolve one of the most intractable disputes of the past decade....

August 10, 2010
Foreign Policy

Abstract:

Marc Lynch is associate professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, where he is the director of the Institute for Middle East Studies. He is also a non-resident senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. He publishes frequently on the politics of the Middle East, with a particular focus on the Arab media and information technology, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, and Islamist movements. He also works on public diplomacy and strategic communications. His most recent book, Voices of the New Arab Public: Al-Jazeera, Iraq, and Middle East Politics Today, was selected as a Choice Outstanding Academic Book. Lynch began writing his influential Middle East politics blog Abu Aardvark under a pseudonym in 2002, and began blogging under his own name in the spring of 2005. Despite (or perhaps because of) the quirky name, Abu Aardvark gained a wide following among Middle East policy professionals, journalists, and academics....

July 8, 2010
Center for Strategic and International Studies

Abstract:

The Arab-Israeli military balance has steadily evolved in recent years to put more and more emphasis on irregular or asymmetric warfare, and the use of military force for political and ideological leverage – both inside the countries involved and in dealing with their neighbors. Most of this focus is driven by the steady strengthening of Hezbollah, and Hamas in Gaza, but it also includes a nascent nuclear arms race between Israel and Iran in which Israel seems to be strengthening both its long-range nuclear and conventional attack capabilities and is clearly strengthening its missile defense capabilities. At the same time, the conventional arms race has continued to narrow down to two countries. While Egyptian, Jordanian and Lebanese military development should not be ignored, the overall balance continues to center on evolving Israeli-Syrian confrontation and brinksmanship in the region. These shifts do not mean the conventional balance has lost its importance. The fact that Israel is at peace with Egypt and Jordan, and has a significant conventional superiority over Syria, has both been a major factor in stabilizing the peace process and deterring conventional clashes and wars. Yet, it also means that the regional military balance must increasingly be assessed in new ways, and kept in careful perspective....

September 1, 2010
Crisis States Research Centre // London School of Economics // Development Studies Institute

Abstract:

This paper considers the reasons behind Zambia's avoidance of civil war, despite persistent regional instability, focusing on the inclusiveness of the country's 'elite bargain', i.e. the inter-group distribution of access to positions of state power. The author hypothesizes that, although colonial rule left Zambia with high levels of social fragmentation - evident in pronounced tribal, linguistic and class cleavages - the country's post-colonial governments have all managed to accommodate the colonial legacy of high social fragmentation by forging and maintaining inclusive elite bargains. The paper argues that this achievement can be directly related to the avoidance of civil war since independence in 1964....

August 24, 2010
Swiss Peace Foundation

Abstract:

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

August 19, 2010
Centre for Conflict Resolution

Abstract:

The Centre for Conflict Resolution (CCR) in Cape Town, South Africa, held a two-day policy seminar on 19 and 20 May 2008 at Kopanong Hotel and Conference Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. The experiences and lessons at the local level in South Africa became a vital building block to expand interventions to the rest of southern Africa, beginning in Lesotho, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. CCR selected the three countries to inform interventions at the regional level on the basis of a shared common history and similar governance challenges following transitions to democracy. The Centre’s work aims to bring together key actors to resolve conflict utilising constructive approaches. To this end, CCR has sought to engage key actors in government and civil society in long-term capacity and skills-building exercises in order to enhance their knowledge and practice of constructive conflict management approaches while simultaneously building trust and confidence between polarised groups. Ultimately, this approach seeks to create opportunities for political and social dialogue between diverse groups....

August 19, 2010
Centre for Conflict Resolution // Southern African Development Community // Republic of Austria Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs

Abstract:

In recent years, the African Union; its socio-economic programme, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD); and Africa’s regional economic communities (RECs) – the Southern African Development Community (SADC); the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS); the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD); and the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) – have increasingly recognised that peace, security and democratic governance are the preconditions for sustainable development. The AU’s protocol relating to its 15- member Peace and Security Council (PSC) – established in 2004 – and the security mechanisms of the RECs advocate the creation of a more robust, Africa-wide system of peacemaking, peacekeeping and post-conflict peacebuilding. The need for the adoption of such a comprehensive strategy led NEPAD and the AU to develop post-conflict reconstruction frameworks in June 2005 and July 2006, respectively. The AU’s framework emphasises the links between the peace, security, humanitarian and development dimensions of peacekeeping and peacebuilding, and suggests that individual countries should develop peacebuilding strategies in response to their particular situations. A critical question that was asked at the Johannesburg seminar was whether the AU should focus on peacemaking and peacekeeping, and leave peacebuilding to the better-resourced and more experienced United Nations (UN)....

August 18, 2010
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees // Policy Development and Evaluation Service

Abstract:

This review examines the response of UNHCR and other stakeholders to three distinct but interrelated mixed migratory movements that are currently taking place to and within southern Africa. First, a movement of people from the Horn of Africa to South Africa, generally transiting through Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and, to some extent, Zimbabwe; second, a movement of people from the Great Lakes region of Africa (Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda) to South Africa, a proportion of whom are also taking up residence in Malawi and Mozambique; and third, the large-scale departure of Zimbabwean citizens from their country of origin, the majority of them also moving to South Africa. The second chapter of the report focuses on the irregular movement of people to and through Malawi and Mozambique. The chapter examines the way in which the journey is organized, the protection risks encountered by those engaged in this movement, as well as the challenges that it has posed for UNHCR and the two states concerned. The report draws attention to the fact many of the refugees involved in this movement, especially those from the Horn of Africa, have their own notion of protection - one that does not correspond to UNHCR’s traditional approach to the issue of asylum. Chapter 3 of the report analyzes the much larger movement of people from Zimbabwe to South Africa, an influx that continues at a rapid rate, despite the recent political and economic changes that have taken place in their country of origin and despite the xenophobic violence that continues to threaten foreign nationals living in South Africa. The fourth chapter of the report provides a more detailed account of the way that UNHCR, the authorities, regional organizations, civil society and other actors have responded to the large-scale mixed migration that South Africa has experienced in recent years....

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

Abstract:

Rule of law reforms in Liberia over the past five years serve as a clear example of how the international community has failed on this point, as the country’s own practices have been generally neglected in the process. Characteristically, there is little updated information on the customary law and traditional practices of Liberia. In investigating how the international community addresses SGBV in Liberia, we found within the liberal peacekeeping/building paradigm few analytical tools that could be used to gain a solid understanding of the host country ‘from below’. This area of society remains a professional blind-spot and represents a gap in the efforts of the international peacekeeping/-building community to build a sustainable peace in the country....

August 24, 2010
Global Consortium on Security Transformation

Abstract:

Adequate and effective security has long been recognized as a pre-requisite for the socio- economic development of states and societies, and thus most individuals and states engage in various activities aimed at the achievement of security. Generally, states are responsible for the provision of security to their citizens. In many developing countries however, state security provision has largely been inadequate, being focused mainly on using military, police and intelligence services for state preservation against external aggression and internal disorder. An inordinate focus on this form of security has resulted in the neglect of the physical and other socio-economic needs of a majority of citizens, who have consequently resorted to 'self-help' mechanisms using the private, non-state sector to address their security needs. The term non-state actors as used in this paper broadly refers to individuals, groups and organizations that provide security services, but are not part of formal, statutory institutions mandated by the state to provide security related services, such as the police or military. This paper is organized into five sections. The first section provides a background to the study as well as the methodology that was employed. This is followed by an overview of the security situation in the country. The third section presents the findings on the identified non- state security actors in the country. Section four analyses the impacts of their activities on security in the country, and the last section concludes the paper....

August 23, 2010
The Stanley Foundation

Abstract:

In 2003, more than a decade of civil war had cost more than 250,000 lives, earning Liberia The Economist’s dubious distinction as “the world’s worst place to live.” Seven years later, increasing stability in the country reflects the substantial progress that can be achieved by determined national leadership, active international community engagement, and realistic approaches to post-conflict peacebuilding efforts. Central actors in the immediate post-conflict period reflect on lessons learned from the implementation of Liberian disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration and security sector reform programs. Rooted in the concepts of human security and building basic state institutions, their approaches reveal telling insights with potential resonance across the diverse spectrum of post-conflict experience....

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

Abstract:

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

August 20, 2010
London School of Economics // PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP // Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Abstract:

In the following, we are outlining six separate but directly connected macro-level challenges confronting statebuilding in Sierra Leone. Sourcing extensively from interview transcripts as well as notes from the multi-stakeholder workshop, we pay particular attention to the roles, decisions and behaviour of donors and how these relate to strengthening state legitimacy and managing state-society relations. Five strategic dilemmas can be identified in the case of Sierra Leone. First, several international commentators criticized the quick fix approach allegedly adopted by donors in the post-war context, which impacts on the strength and scope of national ownership as propagated by the Paris Declaration. Second, it was felt that trade-offs existed between democratization, decentralisation and statebuilding in Sierra Leone. Third, with DFID being the lead agency in the country, the success of go-it-alone programs such as in the case of the reform of the security sector in Sierra Leone somewhat called into question whether a multi-donor approach to statebuilding really is the optimal configuration for supporting statebuilding processes from outside. Fourth, donors active in the field of statebuilding have been grappling with engaging constructively with civil society organisations. Fifth and finally, the widely shared insight that interpersonal violence in Sierra Leone during the 1990s was mainly due to an absence of socio-economic opportunities has so far not translated into large-scale effective support programs to build a productive economy in the country....