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Abstract: Deux ans après la victoire d’Alpha Condé au terme de la première élection vraiment compétitive de l’histoire de la Guinée postcoloniale, le pays n’a toujours pas d’Assemblée nationale. Les élections législatives s’annoncent compliquées : les tensions ethniques avivées par l’élection de 2010 demeurent et le système électoral est au cœur de la controverse. Une étape a été franchie en septembre 2012, avec la création d’une nouvelle Commission électorale nationale indépendante (CENI), mais la situation s’est bloquée à nouveau en décembre autour de la question du fichier électoral. Le président Condé doit engager un dialogue franc avec l’opposition, tandis qu’il revient à la CENI d’arriver à une solution consensuelle à propos du fichier électoral. Le pouvoir et l’opposition, avec le soutien international, doivent consolider le système électoral. Des élections législatives apaisées et crédibles, sont indispensables pour doter le pays d’un parlement représentatif de sa diversité, donner sa place à l’opposition et équilibrer le dispositif institutionnel. Elles sont cruciales pour que l’espoir suscité par le remplacement de dirigeants militaires illégitimes par un président civil élu ne se transforme pas en désillusion.
Le dialogue direct, le Cadre de dialogue politique inclusif (CDPI), sur l’organisation des législatives s’est ouvert entre le pouvoir et l’opposition seulement le 27 décembre 2011, un peu plus d’un an après la prise de pouvoir d’Alpha Condé. Il s’est clos deux mois plus tard, sur un bilan limité. Entre mars 2012 et février 2013, il n’y a pas eu de dialogue direct, mais interventions, facilitations, consultations et annonces se sont succédé. Certaines questions ont été réglées ou mises de côté, mais l’opposition a maintenu son désaccord sur deux points fondamentaux : la CENI et le fichier électoral. Peu après une nouvelle manifestation interdite de l’opposition, le 27 août 2012, qui a suscité des troubles importants à Conakry, les autorités ont entrepris la création d’une nouvelle CENI, et le très controversé président sortant de la Commission a demandé à ce que son mandat ne soit pas renouvelé. Son successeur, Bakary Fofana, a présenté en décembre dernier un chronogramme fixant le scrutin au 12 mai 2013. Le temps du déblocage est-il donc venu ? S’agit-il là d’une manière particulière de dialoguer, avec des menaces, des accusations, des manœuvres et de l’agressivité, mais aussi avec des progrès ?
Abstract: Within a decade, the Gulf of Guinea has become one of the most dangerous maritime areas in the world. Maritime insecurity is a major regional problem that is compromising the development of this strategic economic area and threatening maritime trade in the short term and the stability of coastal states in the long term. Initially taken by surprise, the region’s governments are now aware of the problem and the UN is organising a summit meeting on the issue. In order to avoid violent transnational crime destabilising the maritime economy and coastal states, as it has done on the East African coast, these states must fill the security vacuum in their territorial waters and provide a collective response to this danger. Gulf of Guinea countries must press for dynamic cooperation between the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), take the initiative in promoting security and adopt a new approach based on improving not only security but also economic governance.
The recent discovery of offshore hydrocarbon deposits has increased the geostrategic importance of the Gulf of Guinea. After long neglecting their maritime zones, Gulf of Guinea states are now aware of their weakness. On the international front, renewed Western interest in the region is accompanied by similar interest from emerging nations. In this context, the rise in maritime crime has increased collective concern in a region where, for decades, the problems of sovereignty and territorial control have only been posed on dry land.
Abstract: This 58-page report analyzes Guinea’s efforts to hold those responsible for the crimes to account. On that day, several hundred members of Guinea’s security forces burst into a 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, and dozens of women had suffered brutal sexual violence, including individual and gang rape. More than three years later, those implicated have yet to be held accountable.
Abstract: Consolidating the transitional process and improving resource exploitation in Guinea-Conakry would help to create stability and prosperity in the West Africa region. For the European Union [EU], this would mean enhanced conditions for trade and less incentive for illegal immigration into its member states. It would also enable the EU to gain broader security cooperation in the Sahel. So, redressing state fragility is a priority for external donors. In the aftermath of Guinea’s disputed 2010 elections, development partners hoped a successful democratic transition would improve resource management and secure peace and economic development. Democracy index Polity IV changed Guinea’s rating from 1 in 2009 to 6 in 2010, suggesting that the country would become a success story of a speedy and effective transition. This policy brief challenges this optimistic view and examines European policies in Guinea, a country that ranks 156th out of 169 in the UN Human Development Index. The EU is Guinea’s most important development partner – it spent €155 million on aid to the country in 2008. But it could improve its diplomatic influence. To counter state fragility, the EU must support institutions and not just rely on withholding aid. In this way, it can help to shape Guinea’s economic and security environment as the country takes its first steps towards a functioning democracy.
Abstract: A large number of elections have been conducted in West African countries in recent years, and these elections provide insights into some of the strengths and weaknesses of the electoral process. Successful transfers of power in countries such as Senegal, Guinea, and Niger have resulted in significant progress toward peace and stability in the region.
However, the region has also seen election-related crises, and election-related violence remains a concern. Coups took place just before scheduled elections in Mali and Guinea-Bissau in March and April of 2012, in addition to earlier high-profile cases of election violence in Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria.
There is a consensus emerging that in African states with structural and institutional weaknesses, especially those emerging from years of conflict, increasing attention should be paid to creating conditions conducive to holding elections, and a regional conference was convened in May 2011 in Praia, Cape Verde to discuss elections and stability in the region.
This meeting note summarizes an IPI roundtable discussion following up on the Praia conference, organized in partnership with the UN Electoral Assistance Division (UN EAD). The report identifies a new paradigm for electoral assistance—one that integrates conflict-prevention strategies; gives increased attention to the political, not just technical, aspects of the electoral process; and views elections as one component of a longer-term commitment to building democracy.
Abstract: Transboundary rivers may contribute to increased hostility between riparians. This may contribute to increased hostility between riparians. This article accepts earlier arguments about water scarcity. Structural Scarcity occurs in river basins with unequal resource distribution, often created by geographic asymmetries. Hence, this article argues that the geographic asymmetries present in many river basins are key determinants of conflict risk among riparians. In a river basin the upstream state enjoys an inherent advantage and upstream river use is likely to produce unidirectional externalities that harm the states downstream. This in turn, is likely to produce grievances or claims downstream that may contribute to worsen overall state relations and consequently increase the risk of dyadic conflict.
Abstract: Le concept de la « sécurité humaine » est relativement nouveau et ses contours sont encore flous dans la mesure où il n’existe pas encore une définition précise ou consensuelle du concept. Le terme a été popularisé à partir de 1994 grâce à un rapport du Programme des Nations Unies pour le Développement (Pnud ). Ce rapport plaidait pour une transition conceptuelle de la sécurité d’État ou militaire vers celle dite « humaine ».
Abstract: In West Africa, conflicts have often had a sub-regional impact or spilled over to neighbouring countries through ethnic relations, allegiances and economic interests across borders, movements of fighters between conflicts, or the mass influx of refugees fleeing violence.
Findings and recommendations in this brief aim to inform the EU's analysis and programming by presenting the reflections of local people and their state and non-state representatives on some of the key challenges facing countries in the region.
Abstract: The Niger River is the third longest river in Africa, flowing for 4,200 km from its source in the Guinea highlands, within the humid tropics, through Mali and Niger with their semi-arid Sahelian climates, to the Niger detla in Nigeria. The drainage basin covers a surface area of just over 2.2 million square km, extending into 10 countries. Seventy-six percent of the basin area is located within Mali, Niger and Nigeria. The Niger River and its tributaries are a key source of water for the estimated 100 million people living in the basin, especially for the drier regions within the western Sahel zone.
This report examines the links between environmental stress, climate change, human security, conflict and adaptation at different scales and localities along the Niger River. Despite a growing interest in the possible linkages between climate and conflict, limited evidence on these linkages exists, much of which is contradictory. The Niger Basin has experienced significant climate variability during the 20th century, making it suitable for studying the links between climate and conflict.
This report explores a number of issues. Firstly, it examines how climatic and environmental stresses influence water resources and human security in the Niger Basin. Secondly, the report examines whether climate stress on water resources increases the risk of conflict. Thirdly, it asks what types of adaptations, conflict resolution and governance mechanisms provide resilience to climate stresses and reduce the risk of conflict.
Abstract: While the United Nations has extensive experience in helping to mediate the end to civil wars and implement peace agreements, its experience with non-civil-war transition crises is comparatively limited. This study examines the UN experience in five cases of unconstitutional changes in government between 2008-2011: Kenya, Mauritania, Guinea, Madagascar, and Kyrgyzstan.
The study examines some of the trends across these five cases, drawing lessons learned regarding transitional political arrangements and international mediation. The cases suggest that the use of power-sharing mechanisms to resolve either unconstitutional ousters of elected presidents or electoral disputes raises questions for legitimacy, democracy, and state-society relations. They also suggest that electoral disputes pose more risks for legitimation than unconstitutional ousters of duly-elected governments. Commissions of inquiry offer opportunities to facilitate the restoration of constitutional order without sacrificing justice. They facilitate mediation by “bracketing” the heated controversies over disputed events, removing them from the purview of immediate negotiations.
In each of the cases studied, international mediation played an important role in moving the actors towards compromise, and the UN was vital to these mediation efforts, providing crucial technical and political expertise during constitutional crises. The cases also reveal a remarkable ability of the UN to work collaboratively and effectively with regional and subregional organizations in mediation efforts.
Among the recommendations are the following:
1. Strengthen DPA’s Mediation Support Unit.
2. Expand and support UN regional offices.
3. Senior mediators should have experience with multilateral organizations beyond just the UN.
4. The UN system should systematically prepare for electoral disputes.
5. DPA should enhance communication with resident coordinators and cooperate with UNDP to prepare country teams for political crises.
6. The UN system should develop ways to monitor transitional arrangements.
7. The UN should avoid issuing a blanket condemnation of all departures from constitutional order and address crises on a case-by-case basis.
Abstract: The report covers the period from December 2010 to November 2011 and includes: information on parties to conflict credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for acts of rape or other forms of sexual violence; highlights major outcomes of missions and political engagements undertaken by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict; and describes key initiatives taken by the UN to address conflict-related sexual violence.
Abstract: Over the last decades, there has been an increasing reliance on electoral processes as the principal way to
legitimize governance at national, regional, and local levels. Besides this positive potential of elections,
there is also a growing awareness of problems that might arise during and after elections in [post-]conflict
situations and in fragile contexts. Even though in recent years there has been more work on the topic, it
remains unclear when and why elections are a catalyst for and when they are a peaceful way of resolving
violent conflict. The Conference Paper brings together analytical and practical insights into the question of
elections as a peace building instrument in post-conflict societies. On the one hand, it tackles structural,
macro-level issues like the relevance of elections within the liberal peace paradigm and the relationship
between violence and elections. On the other hand it gives more practical, process and actors-related
insights on how to include conflict sensitivity in electoral support or how the international community can
best use elections as a peace building instrument.
Abstract: In Sudan a Sudanese Armed Forces offensive in Blue Nile state, and renewed clashes in Southern Kordofan between the SAF and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, fuelled fears of a return to civil war. Insurgent attacks intensified in Afghanistan, stoking fears of further escalation in October ahead of international conferences in Istanbul and Bonn.Yemen is on the cusp of full-scale civil war between security forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and troops and militia loyal to his opponents. A brutal crackdown in Sanaa on 18 September, with regime forces killing at least 26 unarmed protesters, dimmed prospects for a peaceful compromise.Violence broke out in the north of Kosovo as Kosovo Serbs resisted the Pristina government’s attempts to take control of border points with Serbia. In Guinea, increasing repression and lack of political dialogue mark the build up to December’s legislative elections. Police violently dispersed an opposition demonstration in the capital Conakry on 27 September, leaving three people dead and around 40 injured. Political violence escalated further in Burundi. At least 39 people were killed in an attack on a bar in Gatumba near the capital on 19 September. In Central African Republic, over 49 people were killed in a series of clashes in the diamond-rich town of Bria and its surroundings between the Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace and the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity rebel groups. Tensions rose in Bolivia at the end of the month as police forcibly dispersed a group of indigenous marching on La Paz in protest against a planned highway through indigenous territory and a national park.
Abstract: After the election of Alpha Condé to the presidency in November 2010, legislative elections are set to complete a new phase in Guinea’s political transition. However, recent violent ethnic politics and the political actors’ mistrust in the electoral arrangements are cause for concern. Condé’s unilateral move to overhaul the electoral system has gained little praise, and with his party’s gloomy prospects for the legislative elections, suspicion is increasing. He has done too little too late to promote reconciliation or dialogue with the opposition. Guinea can afford neither a makeshift electoral system, nor a new campaign based on ethnic factors. Rising pre-electoral tensions could spark inter-communal violence and offer an opportunity to take action for those in the army unhappy about loss of power. The 19 July military attack launched by some soldiers on the presidential residence confirmed this is a real possibility. A genuine agreement between the main political actors on the organisation of the legislative elections is crucial and urgent. Without the international community’s significant involvement, chances of success are slim.
Abstract: Après l’élection d’Alpha Condé à la présidence en novembre 2010, des élections législatives doivent clôturer une nouvelle étape de la transition politique guinéenne. La récente expérience de politisation violente des ethnicités et le manque de confiance des acteurs politiques dans le dispositif électoral sont des motifs d’inquiétude. Le président Condé a engagé unilatéralement une refonte du système électoral, mais il suscite d’autant plus de méfiance que les perspectives du parti présidentiel pour les législatives sont incertaines. Il n’a prêté que peu d’attention, et bien tard, à la réconciliation et au dialogue avec son opposition, très mobilisée. La Guinée ne peut se permettre ni un bricolage du système électoral ni une nouvelle campagne fondée sur des arguments ethniques. Un accroissement des tensions à l’approche du scrutin pourrait susciter des violences intercommunautaires. Il pourrait aussi offrir une opportunité d’agir à ceux qui, dans l’armée, se satisfont mal d’avoir regagné les casernes. L’attaque lancée le 19 juillet 2011 par des militaires contre la résidence du président confirme la réalité de ce risque. Un véritable accord entre les principaux acteurs politiques sur les modalités des élections législatives est impératif et urgent. Sans une forte implication internationale, les chances de parvenir à un tel accord sont minces.
Abstract: I consider it a singular honour to have been invited today by Chatham House
to address this august forum. The Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS), which I represent, is a regional organisation which has,
over the years, gained your attention only for the unfortunate reasons of state
implosion and instability caused by bad governance and marginalisation. I
therefore welcome the opportunity to throw further light on its objectives,
challenges, and achievements, which factors have effectively brought
together fifteen West African states in the enterprise of improving upon the
living standards of 230 million people as well as integrating them.
The term ‘Chatham House Rule’ is today an internationally-accepted cliché
that this Institute has contributed to international diplomacy discourse, a
reference norm in rigorous and policy-oriented exchanges on global peace
and security. I therefore view your invitation to lead today’s discourse about
‘Democracy in the context of Regional Integration in West Africa’ as an
unique honour for me personally, and a recognition of ECOWAS as a leading
brand in regional integration.
Ladies and gentlemen, the evolution of ECOWAS can only be properly
understood against the backdrop of the fascinating history and circumstances
of West Africa since establishing contact with the world beyond its borders.
The fact that slavery, colonialism, as well as racial and economic
marginalisation, had left an intrinsic yearning for freedom, unity and solidarity
among peoples of African descent everywhere defines its wish to integrate its
states and peoples.
Abstract: In his books The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries
Are Failing and What Can Be Done about It and Wars, Guns, and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places (cited henceforth
as BB and WGV, respectively), Paul Collier attempts to
bring African and other poor countries with problems of
“stuck” development back into the conversation of economists,
policymakers, and an educated nonspecialist readership. Book cover testimonials from The Economist, Larry
Summers, Larry Diamond, and New York Times columnist
Nicholas Krist of give a sense of the readership Collier
has targeted. Using analysis based on econometric studies
he has conducted with his research colleagues at Oxford
and the World Bank, he first tries to make sense of the
world’s “basket cases,” and then to propose policy interventions
that may help them to set themselves right.
Abstract: In early 2008, International Alert and its partner organisations in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone
launched a new sub-regional initiative funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and
intended to empower citizens to challenge actual and perceived threats to human security and
personal safety experienced by vulnerable groups, especially women and girls, in the war-affected
area where the original three member states of the Mano River Union (MRU) converge.1
Between 1989 and 2003, these three countries experienced a catastrophic series of interlinked
wars that straddled the boundaries of the MRU, killing up to 300,000 people and displacing
several million, hundreds of thousands of them fleeing as refugees to neighbouring MRU states.
One of the legacies of these sub-regional wars and displacements has been a culture of impunity
surrounding sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
Untold, thousands of women and girls, but
also many men and boys, live with the psychological and sometimes physical or human legacy of
SGBV across the sub-region.
Such behaviour has not existed in isolation. In parallel to sexual violence, there is a legacy of
domestic violence and disempowerment of women that is embedded in many patriarchal cultures,
not just in West Africa.
In response to these post-war challenges, International Alert and its partners designed a tricountry
initiative to reduce threats to personal security, especially threats to women and girls, and
to challenge the culture of impunity around SGBV. The aim has been to empower communities
to lobby for more comprehensive and gender-sensitive reporting of SGBV, for more inclusive
and gender-sensitive security and justice responses, and for a coherent sub-regional response to
violence in border communities. The project has developed culturally- and linguistically-specific
programming for a network of community radio stations along the borders of the three countries
in order to promote a transformative dialogue that challenges local knowledge, attitudes and
practices around SGBV to reduce perpetration and the stigmatisation of survivors. It has also
developed a network of “animators” in nine war-affected communities who provide information,
counselling and advocacy to men and women in order to guide them through prevention and
redress actions, including access to statutory security and justice systems.
This report aims to capture the experiences of the project over two and a half years in the context
of work in three interlinked but quite specific country contexts. It looks at the extent of SGBV and domestic violence as experienced in the target communities, details the challenges and best
practices of project staff in their attempts to raise awareness and change attitudes and practices,
and analyses the particular challenges of providing security and accessing justice (statutory or
customary) in the various target communities. It concludes with a series of recommendations
for the improved provision of security and justice for women, girls and other vulnerable groups
within the MRU.
Abstract: In June and November 2010, the Guinean people went to the polls and for the first time since
the country’s independence from France in 1958, elected their president in an atmosphere
largely free of intimidation, fear, or manipulation. Many Guineans viewed these hugely
significant elections as having the potential to end over 50 years of authoritarianism, human
rights abuse, and corruption.
Since independence, Guinean presidents Ahmed Sékou Touré (1958-1984), Lansana Conté
(1984-2008), and Captain Moussa Dadis Camara (2008-2009) have relied on ruling party
militias and security forces to intimidate and violently repress opposition voices. Thousands
of Guineans—intellectuals, teachers, civil servants, union officials, religious and community
leaders, and businesspeople—who dared to oppose the government have been tortured,
starved, or beaten to death by state security forces, or were executed in police custody and
military barracks.
This report calls on the government to bring to justice those responsible for massacres in 2007 and 2009. It says that the government should strengthen the judiciary and provide it with adequate resources, rein in and reform the security sector, and ensure that Guinea’s population can benefit from the country’s abundant natural resources. Human Rights Watch also recommended establishing a truth commission to uncover the causes of Guinea’s violent past and an anti-corruption commission to end the misuse of its wealth.
Abstract: This special research report provides an analysis of a set of new issues that have been emerging in the West African subregion and possible implications for the Security Council in the coming year(s). It identifies some key emerging threats to peace and security in the 16-state subregion and their linkages to existing security challenges. The report points to a key feature: the fact that some of the new threats are essentially criminal rather than political in nature. However, it explains also the growing political and security implications. The report also highlights action already taken by the Council to recognise these threats and considers options available to the Council to tackle these issues going forward.
The raw material for the study was derived from literature research; field research in a number of countries in the West African subregion (including Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria); and interviews in the region with diplomats, government officials and officials of relevant international intergovernmental bodies (e.g. UN Office in West Africa or UNOWA, UN Office for Drugs and Crime or UNODC, the Economic Community of West African States or ECOWAS and the AU), NGOs and academics.
Abstract: Since gaining independence from France in 1958, Guinea has remained relatively stable and has never experienced violent conflict. Until the bloodless military coup of 2008, it had had only two governments: the socialist administration of Sékou Touré (1958-1984) and the liberal regime of Lansana Conté (1984-2008). Despite some moves towards a more democratic system, including the adoption by referendum of a new constitution in 1990, the latter years of the Conté government were marked by bad governance, human rights violations, weak rule of law and impunity. This was compounded by the prolonged illness of the president, whose fitness to govern was widely doubted, and by 2003 there were fears that Guinea could become yet another failed state.
This analysis examines key factors (both structural
and dynamic) that could influence change
or cause instability in Guinea: the forces and
processes at work on the ground, the chances
of resolving issues that arise, and the challenges
and potential pitfalls that lie ahead. It includes
information based on interviews conducted with
government officials, bilateral partners and donors,
multilateral organisations, NGOs, academics
and the media in Conakry in May 2010.
Abstract: Background
Maternal mortality can be particularly high in conflict and chronic emergency settings, partly
due to inaccessible maternal care. This paper examines associations of refugee-led health
education, formal education, age, and parity on maternal knowledge, attitudes, and
practices among reproductive-age women in refugee camps in Guinea.
Methods
Data comes from a 1999 cross-sectional survey of 444 female refugees in 23 camps.
Associations of reported maternal health outcomes with exposure to health education
(exposed versus unexposed), formal education (none versus some), age (adolescent
versus adult), or parity (nulliparous, parous, grand multiparous), were analysed using
logistic regression.
Results
No significant differences were found in maternal knowledge or attitudes. Virtually all
respondents said pregnant women should attend antenatal care and knew the importance
of tetanus vaccination. Most recognised abdominal pain (75%) and headaches (24%) as
maternal danger signs and recommended facility attendance for danger signs. Most had
last delivered at a facility (67%), mainly for safety reasons (99%). Higher odds of facility
delivery were found for those exposed to RHG health education (adjusted odds ratio 2.03,
95%CI 1.23-3.01), formally educated (adjusted OR 1.93, 95%CI 1.05-3.92), or grand
multipara (adjusted OR 2.13, 95%CI 1.21-3.75). Main reasons for delivering at home were
distance to a facility (94%) and privacy (55%).
Conclusions
Refugee-led maternal health education appeared to increase facility delivery for these
refugee women. Improved knowledge of danger signs and the importance of skilled birth
attendance, while vital, may be less important in chronic emergency settings than
improving facility access where quality of care is acceptable.
Abstract: This briefing note seeks to contribute to the knowledge on Resolution 1325, building on
International Alert’s work in the MRU region during the last few years. The first section briefly
discusses the need to adjust the approach to implementing Resolution 1325 in challenging
contexts such as post-conflict Sierra Leone and Liberia and conflict-prone Guinea.2 Based on a
brief discussion of salient issues and thematic priorities across the three countries, the subsequent
section sketches the contours of a comprehensive agenda for implementing Resolution 1325 in
the MRU region. The three components of this agenda are addressing women’s security needs,
enhancing their political participation, and implementing gender equality legislation and policies.
The briefing note ends with the following four broad recommendations to sustain and enhance
work on Resolution 1325 in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone:
1. Working (better) with what exists: Engage custodians of the customary justice system.
2. Address sexual and gender-based violence: Mobilise communities through change agents.
3. Economics matters: Address the economic dimension of gender, peace and security.
4. From plans to action: Make smart investments in civil society.
Abstract: Across the globe today, you'll find almost three dozen raging conflicts, from the valleys of Afghanistan to the jungles of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the streets of Kashmir. But what are the next crises that might erupt in 2011? Here are a few worrisome spots that make our list. [Captions provided by International Crisis Group]
Abstract: Five actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and two improved in December 2010, according to the latest issue of the International Crisis Group’s monthly bulletin CrisisWatch released today.
Côte d’Ivoire was gripped by political crisis as incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo refused to cede power after losing to rival Alassane Outtara in the late-November presidential runoff polls. Post-election violence claimed thTensions remained high on the Korean peninsula just one month after North Korea shelled Yŏnp’yŏng Island in South Korea. Pyongyang threatened “brutal consequences beyond imagination” against the South as Seoul held live-fire artillery drills on the island. Russia and China called for a calming of tensions on the peninsula, but South Korea refused to cancel the drills amid domestic pressure to stand firm against the North.
Nigeria was hit by several deadly bomb attacks and ongoing Islamist militant violence over the month. At least 80 people were killed in coordinated explosions in the central city of Jos on 24 December. e lives of at least 170 people and more than 15,000 fled to neighbouring countries.
In Pakistan, the Taliban launched a wave of suicide attacks during the month that left scores dead. Many of those killed were locals supporting efforts against the militants. The situation in Guinea improved as former Prime Minister Cellou Diallo conceded defeat in the November presidential runoff and Alpha Condé was sworn in as the country’s first democratically elected president. Following a tense election period and concerted international efforts to avert renewed conflict, world leaders commended Guinea for a “historic achievement”.
Iraq ’s parliament unanimously approved a new 42-member government under incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on 21 December. The move ends nine months of political deadlock and protracted negotiations over government formation following parliamentary elections in March.
CrisisWatch also notes a marked deterioration in Mexico’s drug-related violence over the course of the past year, despite the killing of several high-profile cartel leaders
