Items related to "Human Security Gateway: Conflict Resolution and Peacemaking ". Sat, 17 May 2008 0:30:29 +0000 Sat, 17 May 2008 0:30:29 +0000 robert_hartfiel@sfu.ca (Robert Hartfiel) Fri, 16 May 2008 15:29:10 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24415 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24415 Several hundred kilometres from the simmering conflicts between pastoralists and farmers [over natural resources] in Sudan's Darfur region, the two communities in the village of Gereigikh in North Kordofan State have learnt to cool the tension with watermelons. "Our farmers discovered that whenever the Kawahla tribe [traditionally pastoral] brought their livestock into the fields, the animal droppings helped improve production, so the members of the Gawamha [traditionally farmers] started planting watermelons to attract the livestock to the field," recalled Ad-Dukhri Al-Sayed, a community leader in Gereigikh, about 100km northeast of the state capital, El Obeid. "The situation has improved so much. Now everyone lives in peace, we never have problems." Most of Sudan comprises arid land or desert, and lies in the Sahel, a region described by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) as the most vulnerable in the world to droughts. Historically, there has always been tension over land and grazing rights between nomads and farmers, according to a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) conflict resolution project document . "But recently, some parts of the country have been caught in a complex tangle of severe droughts and dwindling resources." As a result, the pressure on scarce resources like water and pasture has become the trigger of most conflicts, and climate change is set to exacerbate the situation. SOURCE: Integrated Regional Information Networks // Global Policy Forum Integrated Regional Information Networks // Global Policy Forum Fri, 16 May 2008 15:20:55 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24411 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24411 Sorting out the victor from the vanquished in Iraq's internal skirmishes is proving increasingly difficult. A deal reached on May 10 (Voices of Iraq) between lawmakers loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and those allied with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki brought a wave of contradictory proclamations from the Western media punditry. McClatchy Newspapers called the deal to disarm the cleric's Mahdi Army in Sadr City a "surprising capitulation" sure to be hailed as a major win for Maliki's government. The Independent, meanwhile, declared Sadr "the great survivor of Iraqi politics." Attacks on U.S. forces days into the truce raises questions (NYT) about whether the deal will amount to anything in the end. SOURCE: Council on Foreign Relations Council on Foreign Relations Fri, 16 May 2008 12:46:22 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24406 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24406 We present the last installment of Michael Bhatia's exploration of post-9/11 Afghanistan. As his photographs reveal, the simple process of walking broadens one's conceptions of the country. He concludes that our view of Afghanistan should incorporate the twin realities of placid everyday life — and of conflict and insurgency. SOURCE: The Globalist The Globalist Fri, 16 May 2008 12:45:30 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24405 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24405 We present the second installment of Michael Bhatia's three-part photogallery examining post-9/11 life in Afghanistan. His photographs reveal a different view of the country outside of security concerns and meta-descriptions — revealing an Afghanistan of trade and poverty, of reconstruction and continued deprivation, and of daily life next to and within conflict. SOURCE: The Globalist The Globalist Fri, 16 May 2008 12:31:53 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24404 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24404 Although Iraq dominates the headlines, Afghanistan remains a crucial battleground. This week, we present Michael Bhatia’s three-part photo essay examining life in post-9/11 Afghanistan. Today’s gallery features images of combatants going through the disarmament process — and depicts the continued role of commanders in Afghan daily life. SOURCE: The Globalist The Globalist Fri, 16 May 2008 11:48:56 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24400 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24400 Last weekend’s daring raid on greater Khartoum by Darfur’s rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has shaken the regime and effectively disrupted the already morbid peace process in West Sudan. Though often referred to as a Darfur rebel group, JEM in fact has a national agenda, much like John Garang’s Sudanese Peoples’ Liberation Army (SPLA), which always maintained it was a movement of national liberation rather than a southern separatist group. Until 2006, JEM was also involved militarily in the revolt of the Beja and Rashaida Arabs of Eastern Sudan against Khartoum. The Zaghawa tribe that straddles Darfur and Chad dominates the JEM leadership, marking a major challenge to traditional Arab superiority in Sudan (see Terrorism Monitor, March 7). While some of the leaders of Darfur’s badly-divided rebel groups have fought the rebellion from the cafés of Paris, JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim has remained at the front, forging a disparate group of refugees, farmers and ex-military men into the strongest military force in Darfur and the greatest threat to the Sudanese regime. SOURCE: Global Terrorism Analysis // The Jamestown Foundation Global Terrorism Analysis // The Jamestown Foundation Fri, 16 May 2008 11:46:10 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24398 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24398 Politics in Yemen has always been a violent affair. Two of its four presidents have died unnaturally—one in a hotel room surrounded by drugs and prostitutes; his successor, suddenly and absurdly, by an exploding briefcase. The next man to take office, a young tank commander named Ali Abdullah Saleh, was not expected to fare much better. He did, though, and is approaching his thirtieth year in power. He survived and, through his intimate knowledge of Yemen’s tribal politics, consolidated his rule. He oversaw the unification of his country with the formerly socialist South Yemen, and then crushed the south in a civil war. He never fully expanded his government’s writ over the chaotic, tribal north, but he stayed in power and kept his country together better than anyone could have predicted. SOURCE: Global Terrorism Analysis // The Jamestown Foundation Global Terrorism Analysis // The Jamestown Foundation Fri, 16 May 2008 11:27:04 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24396 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24396 On May 10, one of Darfur's key rebel factions, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), struck military targets within Omdurman, the twin city of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. Although rumored for days, the long-distance rebel attack seemed to catch the ruling National Islamic Front (NIF) regime by surprise. This was an extraordinary military event, one without precedent under the regime, and its leaders have been badly rattled--perhaps the primary ambition of an assault that had no chance for sustainable military success. But satisfying as the attack may have been for JEM, it is likely to prove extremely bad news for the people of Darfur. There have already been multiple reports from human rights groups and the Sudanese diaspora that Darfuris are being beaten, arrested, and in some cases, summarily executed. Most have been Zaghawa, the Darfur tribal group dominant in JEM and its leadership. SOURCE: Reeves, Eric Reeves, Eric Fri, 16 May 2008 11:14:01 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24395 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24395 The peace process in Aceh has been lauded as a great success, both internationally and within Indonesia. And so it is. Coming in the wake of the cataclysmic Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004, the mediators and the conflict parties pulled off what many observers had previously considered to be a virtual impossibility: a sustained end to armed hostilities. In just over six months, former President Ahtisaari of Finland succeeded in convincing the two sides to agree to a comprehensive peace settlement, the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed in August 2005. At the heart of the agreement was acceptance by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), of expanded autonomy for Aceh within Indonesia. For its part, theGovernment of Indonesia (GoI) made concessions on matters including the formation of local political parties and security arrangements in Aceh. In short order, an Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) sponsored by the European Union (EU), with support from ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), deployed to Aceh, former GAM fighters disarmed, their weapons were destroyed, and government troop levels in the territory were reduced. SOURCE: Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue Fri, 16 May 2008 10:32:11 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24394 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24394 Make no mistake, there will continue to be bloodshed in Iraqi streets until Iraq’s leaders decide otherwise—even though various Iraqi leaders have signaled a truce in the ongoing battle for control of Sadr City in downtown Baghdad. And that won’t happen until the United States signals a date certain for the redeployment of U.S. forces out of the country. No matter whether the United States exercises what President Bush and U.S. Army General David Petraeus call “strategic patience”—an indefinite commitment of 140,000 U.S. troops—or begins a reduction and redeployment of U.S. forces, the lasting political accommodations necessary to produce a stable and democratic Iraq will not occur until the United States issues a definitive timeline for troop reduction. Only then will Iraq’s leaders work to find political solutions to the country’s instability. SOURCE: Center for American Progress Center for American Progress Fri, 16 May 2008 09:38:53 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24393 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24393 The Afghan War is not an unreported war in the media, but it is a largely unreported war in terms of useful, unclassified reporting by governments and NATO/ISAF. Only the UN has provided consistent analytic reporting on the progress of the war, and its reporting only goes into significant detail in the area of counternarcotics. The US government has cut back on its reporting over time, and its web pages now do little more that report on current events. Unlike the Iraq War, there is no Department of Defense quarterly report on the progress of the war, and on efforts to create effective Afghan security, governance, and development. There is no equivalent to the State Department weekly status report. Testimony to Congress, while useful, does not provide detailed statements or back up slide with maps, graphs, and other data on the course of the war. SOURCE: Center for Strategic and International Studies Center for Strategic and International Studies Fri, 16 May 2008 09:34:29 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24392 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24392 During a two week research trip to Pakistan in mid-April 2008, the PCR team interviewed more than 200 Pakistanis and several dozen expatriates in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Peshawar, Attock, Quetta and Karachi. The team met with the newly elected leadership, former generals, journalists, economists, nationalist leaders, trade unionists, diplomats, university professors, bloggers, ulema, aid workers, security analysts, leaders of the lawyers’ movement, and students at an elementary school, a madrassa, an Afghan refugee primary school, and a university. The post-election visit focused on the major issues affecting the country and examined ways in which the United States can be most supportive of Pakistani-led initiatives during this critical transition period. SOURCE: Center for Strategic and International Studies // PCR Project Special Briefing Center for Strategic and International Studies // PCR Project Special Briefing Thu, 15 May 2008 14:59:35 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24388 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24388 This article discusses and reviews the role of decentralisation in peace making and conflict management processes. In the paper, we argue that decentralisation as devolution plays an ambiguous role in such processes. In some cases, decentralisation may provide opportunities for peace and conflict management due to being an instrument of power sharing, while in other cases such sharing of power may ignite further conflict. Examples from armed conflicts in African countries are used to illustrate this ambiguity. In order for decentralisation to lead to peace making and conflict management, we argue that an interdependent central-local relationship is crucial. Such a relationship entails that the state devolves powers and resources and at the same time ensures fiscal equity between local government areas and that local governments are accountable. Moreover, we argue that there is a tendency in African countries which have been in processes of peace making and conflict management where decentralisation has been introduced that there is a move from regionalism to municipalism. This move is in some cases applied by central government authorities as a strategy of cooptation, because by transferring power to the local level, regional authorities are enforced to split and act at lower levels of government. SOURCE: Peace Studies Journal Peace Studies Journal Thu, 15 May 2008 13:03:29 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24386 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24386 It seems possible that the Council will take up the situation in Lebanon in the coming days. The recent fighting in Beirut brought back memories of the Civil War and underlined to all how fragile the situation has become with the ongoing political crisis. An Arab League delegation is arriving in Beirut today to try to mediate between the two sides. The “Friends of Lebanon” have called for the immediate cessation of fighting. Some Council members are currently considering whether the Council can add its voice in a constructive way to reinforcing these initiatives and calming the crisis. However, at press time, the timing and the format of any Council action remained unclear. SOURCE: Security Council Report Security Council Report Thu, 15 May 2008 12:47:20 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24384 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24384 The recent clashes between government supporters and Hizbullah, which claimed more than 80 lives, marked the most serious escalation in Lebanon's internal divisions since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war and demonstrates how the impending threat of a new civil war is constantly present. The decision by the government of Fouad Siniora to ban Hizbullah's phone network, which is critical to its military operations, and dismiss a Shia army officer responsible for security at Beirut's airport, was taken as a "declaration of war" by Hizbullah which laid siege to west Beirut and government institutions. The government's decision to withdraw the measures marked a significant victory for Hizbullah, at least for the short term. SOURCE: Foreign Policy Association Foreign Policy Association Thu, 15 May 2008 12:37:54 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24383 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24383 Hizbollah’s takeover of much of West Beirut began as a cost-of-living strike on 7 May 2008. Yet the course of events, their speed and ultimately violent turn exposed the true stakes. For almost four years, Lebanon has been in a crisis alternatively revolving around the government’s composition, its program, the international tribunal investigating Rafiq al-Hariri’s assassination, the choice of a new president and the electoral law. All attempts at peaceful resolution having failed, it has reverted, more dangerously than ever, to its origins: an existential struggle over Hizbollah’s arms. The government’s 14 May decision to reverse the measures – removal of the airport security chief and questioning Hizbollah’s parallel telephone system, a key part of its military apparatus, precipitated the crisis – is welcome as is the Arab League-mediated solution. The onus is now on all Lebanese parties to agree a package deal that breaks the political logjam and restricts how Hizbollah can use its military strength without disarming it for now. SOURCE: International Crisis Group International Crisis Group Thu, 15 May 2008 12:10:58 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24380 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24380 Two agreements signed since the end of 2007 offer some hope for an end to more than a decade of violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), even if fighting has continued and a lasting solution has yet to be found to the presence in the region of Rwandan Hutu rebels, according to analysts. Since the DRC government and various armed groups in the chronically unstable North Kivu province signed a ceasefire in January, the truce has been repeatedly violated and the number of displaced civilians in the province has increased. The ceasefire was one of the highlights of an ‘Act of Engagement’ signed on 23 January in Goma, capital of North Kivu province, where some 847,000 people are displaced. SOURCE: Integrated Regional Information Networks Integrated Regional Information Networks Thu, 15 May 2008 12:08:57 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24379 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24379 Negotiations toward a ceasefire in Gaza, mediated by Egypt and other channels, have been ongoing for some time. Now, however, Egypt's efforts to convince Hamas and the other armed groups in Gaza to agree to a ceasefire while relinquishing some of their demands have borne fruit. The Egyptian minister of intelligence, Omar Suleiman, came to Israel to urge the government to accept Egypt's proposal for a six month ceasefire. Israel must decide whether such a ceasefire would harm Israel's broader interests, and whether its conditions resolve Israel's principal hesitations. The main terms of the ceasefire that must be agreed upon are: The territory to which it applies; Who is governed by it; Its linkage to the easing of pressure on Gaza. * Its linkage to the issue of arms smuggling into Gaza SOURCE: Institute for National Security Studies Institute for National Security Studies Wed, 14 May 2008 15:18:24 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24366 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24366 Michael Young, a political analyst in Beirut, says Hezbollah’s efforts to impose its will in Lebanon have led to “a prolonged crisis that is a reflection of the cold war in the region” between Iran and the United States and their respective allies. He worries that Hezbollah’s latest efforts to show off its military power may spawn genuine hatred between Shiites and Sunnis in Lebanon. “Things could get a lot worse before they get better,” he says. SOURCE: Council on Foreign Relations Council on Foreign Relations Wed, 14 May 2008 14:01:54 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24364 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24364 Comprehensive stabilization and reconstruction of Afghanistan are not possible given the current fragmentation of responsibilities, narrow lines of authorities, and archaic funding mechanisms. Afghans are supportive of U.S. and international efforts, and there are occasional signs of progress, but the insurgent threat grows as U.S. military and civilian agencies and the international community struggle to bring stability to this volatile region. Integrated security, stabilization, and reconstruction activities must be implemented quickly and efficiently if failure is to be averted. Much more than a course correction is needed to provide tangible benefits to the population, develop effective leadership capacity in the government, and invest wisely in reconstruction that leads to sustainable economic growth. A proactive, comprehensive reconstruction and stabilization plan for Afghanistan is crucial to counter the regional terrorist insurgency, much as the Marshall Plan was necessary to combat the communist threat from the Soviet Union.1 This paper examines the health sector as a microcosm of the larger problems facing the United States and its allies in efforts to stabilize Afghanistan. SOURCE: Center for Technology and National Security Policy // National Defense University Center for Technology and National Security Policy // National Defense University Wed, 14 May 2008 13:35:49 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24360 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24360 The May 4 referendum in Bolivia's Santa Cruz region to approve an autonomy statute highlights the deep lack of consensus that permeates Bolivian politics and society. Under its terms, the statute establishes Santa Cruz as an “autonomous department” within Bolivia with many of the rights and privileges normally reserved for a national government. The referendum, denounced by President Evo Morales and his supporters as illegitimate and unconstitutional, in fact tracks closely with the overall course of Bolivian politics during the last five years, leading to a situation in which the exercise of political power and the rule of law are often at odds. If this tendency is not reversed, Bolivia’s already weak social, regional, ethnic, and political fabric will fray. SOURCE: Center for Strategic and International Studies Center for Strategic and International Studies Wed, 14 May 2008 12:39:03 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24353 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24353 In late 2006, the European Union awarded Oxford Research Group, the Middle East Policy Initiative Forum (MEPIF) and Conflicts Forum €500,000 over two years under its Partnerships for Peace programme. This project is designed to help develop more inclusive and legitimate approaches to transforming the Middle East conflict. The landscape of conflict and security is shifting across the Middle East. This project aims to support a new, inclusive approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict by opening new space for consultations among legitimate yet opposed stakeholders through civil society-brokered dialogue, analysis and engagement. The goal is to explore accommodations grounded in real support in the societies. The action will engage rooted elements of Palestinian and Israeli societies and stakeholders from the wider region, including faith-based movements. SOURCE: Oxford Research Group Oxford Research Group Wed, 14 May 2008 12:38:00 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24352 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24352 Since the horrific events of 9/11, Western leaders have held up international terrorism as the greatest threat to world security. However, it is not enough to simply insist that terrorism is the greatest threat to the world, when the evidence does not support this claim. In fact, our research paints a very different picture of the fundamental threats that we all face, with these threats coming from four interconnected trends: 1) Climate change Displacement of peoples, severe natural disasters and food shortages, leading to much higher levels of migration, increased human suffering and greater social unrest. 2) Competition over resources Competition for increasingly scarce resources, especially from unstable parts of the world – such as oil from the Persian Gulf. 3) Marginalisation of the majority world Increasing socio-economic divisions and the marginalisation of the vast majority of the world’s population. 4) Global militarisation The increased use of military force and the further spread of military technologies (including weapons of WMD). SOURCE: Oxford Research Group Oxford Research Group Wed, 14 May 2008 12:06:57 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24347 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24347 In a significant change of policy, Turkey recently initiated high-level official dialogue with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq. A columnist for the Turkish mass circulation daily Zaman commented that such an official dialogue “was not an ordinary step. It was a turning point in the approach to the Kurdish issue and broke a taboo” (Zaman, May 5). The talks—which focused on a wide range of political, economic and security issues—are the first to occur on such a high official level. The May 2 talks in Baghdad involved a delegation led by KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and a Turkish delegation led by Ahmet Davutoglu, the senior advisor to the Turkish prime minister; Murat Ozcelik, the special coordinator for Iraqi affairs at the Turkish Foreign Ministry; and Derya Kanbay, Turkey’s ambassador in Baghdad. SOURCE: Global Terrorism Analysis // The Jamestown Foundation Global Terrorism Analysis // The Jamestown Foundation Wed, 14 May 2008 11:52:53 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24342 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24342 The imperatives of peace and justice are often juxtaposed, as if they pose a choice between two mutually exclusive options. As the ICTJ increasingly works in contexts with varying degrees of conflict or transition, we are sometimes confronted by the notion that justice must either wait or be sacrificed entirely for peace. The Center’s work has affirmed that both peace and justice may be pursued simultaneously, including in countries where a transition may not have occurred yet or where conditions remain precarious (continued below). SOURCE: International Center for Transitional Justice International Center for Transitional Justice Wed, 14 May 2008 11:48:38 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24341 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24341 The present report is submitted pursuant to paragraph 6 of Security Council resolution 1769 (2007), by which the Council requested me to report every 30 days on the status of financial, logistical and administrative arrangements for the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) and on the extent of progress by UNAMID towards full operational capability. The report covers significant developments during the month of April 2008, including the security and humanitarian situation in Darfur. It also provides an update on the Darfur political process. SOURCE: United Nations Secretary General Report United Nations Secretary General Report Wed, 14 May 2008 11:08:23 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24336 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24336 Né en 1954 à Jérusalem, Moustapha Barghouti est médecin, formé dans les universités de Moscou, Jérusalem et Stanford. Il est secrétaire général d’Al-Mubadara (Initiative nationale palestinienne, INP), une organisation politique laïque. Il a été ministre de l’information dans le gouvernement palestinien d’union nationale constitué en 2007 après les élections législatives. Il fut aussi, en 2006, candidat à l’élection présidentielle. Il obtint un tiers des voix et se classa en seconde position, derrière le président actuel de l’Autorité palestinienne, M. Mahmoud Abbas. Leader de la principale organisation de Résistance de masse qui s’appuie sur la force de la non-violence, le Dr Barghouti a pour modèle de référence Gandhi, le père de l’indépendance de l’Inde, obtenue contre les Britanniques au moyen d’une stratégie de non-violence. Au sein d’une société palestinienne malmenée par six décennies de conflits, lasse de la corruption du Fatah et méfiante à l’égard du fondamentalisme religieux du Hamas, le soutien populaire, en particulier des couches laïques, aux thèses d’Al Mubadara se renforce sans cesse. SOURCE: Le Monde Diplomatique Le Monde Diplomatique Wed, 14 May 2008 10:25:02 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24332 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24332 Ce document porte sur le conflit des Grands Lacs en Afrique, qui a donné naissance au génocide rwandais en 1994 avant d'aboutir à l'affrontement de sept pays sur le même sol de la république démocratique du congo. Ces nombreux affrontements de plus de quarante ans qui ont opposé les hutu et les tutsi ont coûté beaucoup à l'Afrique, particulièrement sur le plan économique. Il a fallu attendre les années 2004 pour qu'un espoir de paix se fasse jour ; une paix à laquelle la communauté internationale veut apporter un timide soutien. Le portail propose également une rubrique "Repères", ainsi qu'une carte géographique du continent africain. Table des matières : Introduction I- Un conflit ancien 1.Hutu et Tutsi : 40 ans d'affrontements 2.Le génocide rwandais de 1994 3.Le premier conflit du Zaïre 1996-1997 II- La régionalisation du conflit 1998-2003 1.Sept pays en guerre sur le sol de la Rép. dém. du Congo (RDC) 2.Un conflit meurtrier 3.Le pillage des ressources naturelles III- La RDC entre paix et guerre depuis 2003 1.La transition démocratique 2.Persistance des violences SOURCE: La Documentation française, Paris, France La Documentation française, Paris, France Wed, 14 May 2008 10:22:14 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24331 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24331 U.S.-backed security operations in the southern Philippines are making progress but are also confusing counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency with dangerous implications for conflict in the region. The “Mindanao Model” – using classic counter-insurgency techniques to achieve counter-terror goals – has been directed against the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and has helped force its fighters out of their traditional stronghold on Basilan. But it runs the risk of pushing them into the arms of the broader insurgencies in Mindanao, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). The U.S. and the Philippines need to revive mechanisms to keep these conflicts apart and refocus energies on peace processes with these groups. That imperative has become particularly acute since the Malaysian government announced with­drawal, beginning on 10 May, from the International Monitoring Team (IMT) that has helped keep a lid on conflict since 2004. If renewed attention to a peace agreement is not forth­coming by the time the IMT mandate ends in August, hostilities could quickly resume. SOURCE: International Crisis Group International Crisis Group Wed, 14 May 2008 10:01:53 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24328 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24328 L'adhésion des Africains au rejet de la guerre ne faisant aucun doute comme l'attestent le sens de leur vote à l'Assemblée générale des Nations Unies, les dispositions de la charte de l'O.U.A ainsi que les autres normes élaborées à cette fin, ce document cherche à comprendre les facteurs explicatifs de la persistance des conflits, et pose la question de savoir comment résoudre les conflits sur le continent. SOURCE: Université Cheikh Anta Diop. Faculté des Sciences juridiques et politiques. Dakar. Sénégal Université Cheikh Anta Diop. Faculté des Sciences juridiques et politiques. Dakar. Sénégal Tue, 13 May 2008 12:33:24 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24326 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24326 The risk of renewed violence in Ituri is limited today by the presence of the UN Mission in the Congo (MONUC), the dismantling of the majority of armed groups and the local population’s war weariness after years of suffering and destruction. To ensure lasting stabilisation, however, it is essential to tackle simultaneously the conflict’s root causes and abandon purely reactive or short-term approaches. Those root causes persist, including unequal access to land and unfair sharing of revenues from exploitation of natural resources. As local elections in 2009 approach, the absence of inter-community reconciliation and persistence of impunity for the majority of crimes committed during the war are also extremely worrying. To prevent new violence, which would affect women particularly, an integrated peacebuilding strategy has to be implemented, involving national and provincial institutions and with the active support of MONUC and donors. SOURCE: International Crisis Group International Crisis Group Tue, 13 May 2008 12:30:36 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24325 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24325 Zimbabwe is facing a deepening political crisis, marked by state-sponsored violence against opposition party supporters. Following the March 29 presidential and parliamentary elections, in which the opposition won control of parliament and won more votes in the presidential contest, the government unleashed a nationwide campaign of violence against opposition groups. At least 32 supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change, or MDC, have been killed, over 700 have sought medical treatment, over 6700 have been displaced, and over 1000 people have been arrested. All signs point to the situation worsening, with the government using violence and intimidation ahead of a runoff presidential election announced by the government. SOURCE: ENOUGH Project ENOUGH Project Tue, 13 May 2008 11:56:38 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24323 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24323 The armed conflict and humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan has become a rallying cry for Western civil society, and is held to represent the worst series of ongoing human rights violations in the world today.Yet try as it might, the international community has not been able to stall the bloodshed, nor has the government in Khartoum shown great interest in pacifying the restive region. On Wednesday April 9, FRIDE held a closed seminar on international organisations’ response to the Darfur crisis. It is generally accepted that the outcome of the missions (UNAMID and EUFOR) in the region is highly unpredictable, and that the UN, the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU) are facing one of the largest humanitarian crises of the 21st century, testing the credibility and reputation of all three organisations. SOURCE: Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior Mon, 12 May 2008 14:54:24 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24310 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24310 On January 8, 2007, Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed set foot in the capital city of Mogadishu for the first time since taking office in 2004. His arrival symbolized a victory by Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) over the Islamic Courts, a group of fundamentalist Islamic militias that had grown so powerful over the preceding year that they briefly controlled much of the country’s territory. Though international observers had hoped the TFG would bring stability to the war-torn nation after sixteen years of “failed state” status, by mid-2008 experts said the TFG was fraught by internal divisions. Meanwhile, the Islamists have made a strong comeback, with an increasingly radicalized extremist movement holding sway over more moderate factions of the Courts. SOURCE: Council on Foreign Relations Council on Foreign Relations Mon, 12 May 2008 13:43:41 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24305 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24305 In February 2006, Ugandans voted in the first multi-party elections in almost 26 years. President Yoweri Museveni and his ruling National Revolutionary Movement (NRM) parliamentary candidates won a decisive victory over opposition candidate Kizza Besigye and the Forum for Democracy Coalition. Nevertheless, poll results showed a notable decline in support for President Museveni from previous elections. International election observers did not condemn the election results, nor did they fully endorse the electoral process. Critics charged the government with intimidating the opposition during the pre-election period, and Besigye spent much of the campaign period in jail. The election followed a controversial move by the Ugandan parliament in July 2005 to remove the constitutional two-term limit on the presidency. SOURCE: Congressional Research Service Congressional Research Service Mon, 12 May 2008 13:42:07 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24304 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24304 The attacks on U.S. soil on September 11, 2001, coupled with the rise of militant transnational Islamism, have prompted both the Bush Administration and the U.S. Congress to reassess foreign policy in Africa and to begin to give considerable attention to Africa’s Muslim populations and it’s failed and failing states. Some experts have noted that Africa’s failing and failed states may serve as a breeding ground for terrorists.1 In response to terrorist threats, the United States, in partnership with countries across Africa, has developed a range of strategies to help regional governments face the challenge of terror. Since September 11, 2001, the size of U.S. diplomatic missions in sub-Saharan African countries with large Muslim populations has increased. Presently, there are 45 active embassies in sub-Saharan Africa, including 16 new compounds built since 2001. Most recently, President Bush returned from a five-country visit to Africa, his second trip to the continent. Some observers view these trips as reflective of the Administration’s focus, which has seen increasing American engagement with the continent in recent years. SOURCE: Congressional Research Service Congressional Research Service Mon, 12 May 2008 13:20:18 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24302 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24302 Many forces combine in Pakistan to threaten global peace and security, rendering it the most dangerous country in today’s world. Violence is a dominant feature of the political landscape—most notably in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in December 2007. The February 2008 elections, however, may have put Pakistan on a tortuous path toward democracy. In most respects, the current administration’s policy toward Pakistan has not paid off. The next President must change the agenda and seek to alter the mood, by revamping Pakistani visions of America. Pakistani people must be persuaded that America supports democracy in their country and can be a long-term and reliable ally. They should feel that the struggle against Al Qa’eda and its allies is their war as well as ours. SOURCE: The Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution Mon, 12 May 2008 13:08:12 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24300 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24300 In the spring of 1999, American political leaders debated how to respond to the ongoing military and humanitarian crisis in the Kosovo region of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, where armed Serbs under the control of then- Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic appeared to be conducting an ethnic cleansing campaign against the province’s predominantly Albanian population. Six months earlier in the fall of 1998, the Yugoslav army had forced members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), an armed separatist group comprised of ethnic Albanians, into the remote mountains of Kosovo, along with thousands of civilians. With winter approaching and the civilians in danger of freezing, the United States and other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) threatened attacks against Serb forces unless civilians were allowed to return to their homes unmolested. Serbian leaders relented and drew back their forces, but in March 1999 they launched yet another military campaign in defiance of international warnings. Once again, Albanian Kosovars fled the assault, this time in even greater numbers; thousands of refugees crossed into neighboring countries, recounting stories of summary executions and forced expulsions by Serbian forces. NATO responded on 24 March 1999, after the failure of negotiations in Rambouillet, France, by bombing Serbian targets for eleven consecutive weeks until Yugoslav forces finally withdrew from the province in early June. NATO ground troops then entered Kosovo and began escorting the refugees back to their homes. SOURCE: University of Ottawa // Paris, Roland University of Ottawa // Paris, Roland Mon, 12 May 2008 13:03:42 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24298 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24298 Why do peacekeeping agencies, such as the United Nations, pursue certain strategies and not others? Most accounts suggest that peacekeeping mandates reflect the interests of major parties, along with perceptions of how effectively certain strategies will accomplish the goals of peacekeeping. This article argues that another factor — the international normative environment, sometimes called ‘global culture’ — also shapes the design of peacekeeping operations in fundamental ways. Peacekeeping agencies seem predisposed to adopt strategies that conform with global culture, and to reject strategies that they view as normatively inappropriate, even if the rejected strategies are potentially more likely to accomplish the goals of peacekeeping. Changes in the international norms have been accompanied by corresponding shifts in peacekeeping policy; and UN officials have summarily rejected certain proposals for more effective peacekeeping, including the idea of establishing a new trusteeship system, on largely normative grounds. These observations suggest that global culture limits the range of possible policies that peacekeepers can realistically pursue. SOURCE: University of Ottawa // Paris, Roland University of Ottawa // Paris, Roland Mon, 12 May 2008 13:01:44 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24297 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24297 The United Nations and other international agencies conducted three major post-conflict peacebuilding operations in central America in the 1990s: in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. Like the many other international peacebuilding missions that were deployed during the 1990s, the operations in Central America aimed to assist local actors in the implementation of peace settlements after civil wars, and more generally to create the conditions for what UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called a 'stable and lasting peace,' or a peace that is likely to endure for the foreseeable future. Peacebuilding, in other words, is more than merely the supervision of ceasefires among former combatants. According to both Annan and his predecessor, Boutros Boutros Ghali, the overarching goal of peacebuilding is to eliminate the underlying sources of conflict in a war-shattered state, in order to reduce the likelihood of renewed violence. SOURCE: University of Ottawa // Paris, Roland University of Ottawa // Paris, Roland Mon, 12 May 2008 12:42:14 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24291 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24291 Although long a component of U.S. foreign policy, strengthening weak and failing states has increasingly emerged as a high-priority U.S. national security goal since the end of the Cold War. The past three U.S. National Security Strategy documents point to several threats emanating from states that are variously described as weak, fragile, vulnerable, failing, precarious, failed, in crisis, or collapsed. These threats include providing safe havens for terrorists, organized crime, and other illicit groups; causing conflict, regional instability, and humanitarian emergencies; and undermining efforts to promote democracy, good governance, and economic sustainability. SOURCE: Congressional Research Service Congressional Research Service Mon, 12 May 2008 12:40:48 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24290 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24290 Kenya, a nation of about 36.9 million people, has been an important ally of the United States for decades. Kenya moved from a one-party state to a multi-party democracy in 1992. Kenyans voted in record numbers in the country’s first multiparty election in almost 26 years. President Daniel arap Moi defeated opposition candidates by a small margin. In 1997, Kenya held its second multi-party elections, at the height of tensions between the opposition and the ruling party. President Moi was re-elected with 40% of the votes cast, while his nearest rival, Mwai Kibaki, won 31%. In the 2002 presidential and parliamentary elections, the opposition National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) defeated the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU). In the presidential election, NARC leader Kibaki defeated Uhuru Kenyatta, the leader of KANU. SOURCE: Congressional Research Service Congressional Research Service Mon, 12 May 2008 12:39:17 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24289 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24289 Sudan, geographically the largest country in Africa, has been ravaged by civil war intermittently for four decades. More than 2 million people have died in Southern Sudan over the past two decades due to war-related causes and famine, and millions have been displaced from their homes. There were many failed attempts to end the civil war in southern Sudan, including efforts by Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, former President Jimmy Carter, and the United States. In July 2002, the Sudan government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) signed a peace framework agreement in Kenya. On May 26, 2004, the government of Sudan and the SPLM signed three protocols on Power Sharing, on the Nuba Mountains and southern Blue Nile, and on the long disputed Abyei area. The signing of these protocols resolved all outstanding issues between the parties. On June 5, 2004, the parties signed “the Nairobi Declaration on the Final Phase of Peace in the Sudan.” On January 9, 2005, the government of Sudan and the SPLM signed the final peace agreement at a ceremony held in Nairobi, Kenya. SOURCE: Congressional Research Service Congressional Research Service Mon, 12 May 2008 12:31:35 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24287 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24287 Despite a peace agreement being reached - and the largest UN peace-keeping mission in attendance - eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is still racked by violence. For the eastern (Kivu) region is home to a plethora of militias who continue to use violence in order to propagate ‘criminal’ economic-related activities; to protect their communities – reinforced by strong ethnic allegiance; and to exploit the post-transition political climate in order to resist the demilitarisation process. Link such insecurity with government DRC forces who frequently loot, terrorise and abduct members of the local population and the effect on civilians is calamitous – they have to endure forced displacement, death, economic and physical insecurity and sexual violence. To address such chronic instability and violence, international bodies continually seek attempts at Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) of the local militias in Kivu. This paper presents an overview of such attempts and seeks to explore methods and processes which can help effect DDR and address the endemic insecurity of the region. SOURCE: Institute for Security Studies // Eldis Community Institute for Security Studies // Eldis Community Mon, 12 May 2008 10:50:12 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24282 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24282 On 20 May, the Council will take up a new British initiative on securing peace in post-conflict situations, which was launched by Prime Minister Gordon Brown in the Security Council on 16 April 2008. The meeting will be chaired at the ministerial level by Foreign Secretary David Miliband, and it is expected that the Council will be addressed by a number of countries which have recently emerged from conflict. Moreover, in recognition of the fact that the issues raised in the UK initiative include aspects which are clearly within the province of other parts of the UN system, a briefing from the World Bank is also expected. At the time of writing, members were expecting to begin negotiations on a possible statement to be adopted by the Council. It was unclear whether this would be adopted at the debate or whether the debate would set up an ongoing process of discussion and negotiation. SOURCE: Security Council Report Security Council Report Fri, 09 May 2008 14:09:51 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24280 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24280 On November 19, 2001, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) convened a roundtable discussion on “Rebuilding Afghanistan: Establishing Security and the Rule of Law.” Participants in the discussion included experts on Afghan law and legal traditions; practitioners and specialists on such issues as post-conflict administration of justice, civilian policing, institution- and capacity-building, technical legal assistance programs, the role of peacekeeping forces in the administration of justice, and the investigation and prosecution of terrorism; and members of the NGO and policy communities. The event was organized in recognition that the process of political transition, reconstruction and recovery in Afghanistan will involve enormous challenges for the people of Afghanistan and for the international community. SOURCE: United States Institute of Peace United States Institute of Peace Fri, 09 May 2008 11:21:28 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24274 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24274 The background of the symposium relates to the need to address the formidable threats to human security posed by the twin crises of violent conflict and HIV/AIDS in Africa. The number, and nature of violent conflicts and related complex emergencies, coupled with the HIV/AIDS pandemic are now setting development in Africa back, and negating many of the gains achieved over the last 50 years. Half of all the conflicts going on in the world in 1999 were located in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), involving 2/3 of the countries in the region. Six high intensity conflicts (causing over a thousand deaths per year), were still raging in the region in late 2000. Africa is also the part of the globe that has been hardest hit by AIDS. Over 25 million people, or nearly 70% of the world’s infection by HIV/AIDS, and 90% of deaths from AIDS are to be found in a region that is home to just 10% of the world’s population2. The 3.8 million new HIV/AIDS cases reported from the Africa this year, is a reduction of approximately 200,000 in relation to the new cases reported in 1999. It is too early, however, to say if this is the start of a declining trend. SOURCE: United States Agency for International Development // Complex Emergency Response Transition Initiative United States Agency for International Development // Complex Emergency Response Transition Initiative Fri, 09 May 2008 11:18:12 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24273 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24273 This policy brief is based on a research report of the same name, prepared under contract with Tulane University and funded by the USAID Bureau for Africa, Complex Emergency Response and Transition Initiative (CERTI). The CERTI project includes seven principal institutions plus a network of organizations seeking to establish broad-based consensus on best practices for providing public health services in advance of, during, and following complex humanitarian emergencies. The aim of this work is to strengthen the response capabilities of organizations involved in public health interventions during these critical periods. Because of its previous work on the subject, the GW Center for International Health (GWCIH) was mandated to conduct desk research and produce a technical report examining the concept and practice of "Health as a Bridge for Peace" (HBP) and how it could be translated into an approach to providing health inputs before, during, or after crises. SOURCE: United States Agency for International Development // Complex Emergency Response Transition Initiative United States Agency for International Development // Complex Emergency Response Transition Initiative Fri, 09 May 2008 10:30:10 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24265 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24265 The ongoing negotiations between Morocco and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front regarding the future status of the disputed Western Sahara territory have yet to demonstrate that a seemingly elusive settlement could be a realistic, if distant prospect. With Morocco on the one hand supporting autonomy for the territory within its international border, and Polisario on the other hand advocating the resumption of the stalled UN process leading to a self-determination referendum, the search for a common ground looks to be a near impossible task. Though autonomy in the abstract world (sometimes intersecting with Washington’s short attention span) seems a perfect fit for an international dispute pitting pro-independence and pro-annexation camps, in the volatile North African context, which sets the dispute in complex parameters, reconciling these two opposites seems a stretch. Yet, the debate about the virtues of each position is worth an exercise in clarifying what’s behind and what’s beyond such eloquent re-statements of interests and objectives. SOURCE: Middle East Institute Middle East Institute Thu, 08 May 2008 16:55:20 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24261 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24261 Ce document cherche à analyser le processus relatif aux crimes graves (Chambres spéciales et Groupe des graves crimes) établi par l’ONU au Timor-Leste pour le jugement des graves violations commises en 1999. Le mécanisme mis en place a achevé sa mission en mai 2005. Ce document présente une analyse générale de ses suites. Il fait partie d’une série destinée à documenter et analyser les questions pratiques et de politique auxquelles les tribunaux hybrides se trouvent confrontés. Il couvre ainsi : · un bref historique du conflit et de la nature des atrocités commises au Timor-Leste · le contexte de l’établissement des Chambres spéciales et du Groupe des crimes graves · l’analyse des Chambres spéciales · l’analyse du Groupe des crimes graves · la juridiction et le cadre juridique · les capacités de la défense et les questions d’équité · les questions d’efficacité et de financement · la portée et les perceptions du public · la propriété nationale et le soutien politique · le rapport avec la Commission Réception, Vérité et Réconciliation · les questions de legs · la stratégie d’accomplissement et l’avenir du processus relatif aux crimes graves Cette étude de cas vise à apporter une information générale, encore peu disponible à certains égards, sur ces différents points dans le but de guider les décideurs politiques et autres intéressés dans l’établissement et la mise en oeuvre de mécanismes comparables. Des études de cas similaires ont été réalisées sur le Kosovo et la Sierra Leone. SOURCE: Centre International pour la Justice Transitionnelle Centre International pour la Justice Transitionnelle