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Garget
About this event: World Environmental Day Competition
Related to country: Austria








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May 14, 2010 | 11:40 AM Comments  0 comments

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Influx of Pakistani refugees could spark crisis – ministry official
About this event: World Environmental Day Competition
Related to country: Afghanistan
About the book: "From the Barrel of a Gun: The United States and the War against Zimbabwe, 1965-1980"

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

KABUL, 6 October 2008 (Reporter) - Any increase in the flow of refugees from northwestern Pakistan into eastern parts of Afghanistan could lead to a humanitarian crisis unless international aid organisations deliver urgent assistance, a senior official at Afghanistan's Ministry of Refugees and Returnees Affairs (MoRRA) has said.

"We are deeply concerned about insecurity in the Tribal Areas [of Pakistan] and the influx of Pakistani refugees into Afghanistan," Abdul Qader Ahadi, deputy minister in the MoRRA, told Reporter in Kabul on 5 October.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said over 3,900 families (about 20,000 individuals) had abandoned their homes in the Bajaur Agency of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and sought refuge in Afghanistan's eastern province of Kunar over the past few weeks.

The Afghan government's warning echoes similar concerns raised by others.

"The continued fighting in southern Afghanistan and the more recent conflict in northern Pakistan are creating a very dangerous situation in the region for civilians trying to find refuge. With the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, there is an expectation that even more civilians will leave their homes to avoid the fighting," Amnesty International said in a statement on 3 October.

Afghan refugees in FATA?

Armed clashes between Pakistani security forces and Islamist militants associated with the Taliban in FATA and elsewhere in Pakistan have affected local people and Afghan refugees living there, aid agencies said.

In a bid to clear the FATA of Islamist insurgents, the Pakistani government on 3 October reportedly called on Afghan refugees living in the Bajaur border region to vacate the area within three days.

Nader Farhad, a spokesman for the UNHCR in Kabul, said there were no confirmed reports of "registered Afghan refugees" living in the volatile Tribal Areas.

"UNHCR does not have access to the Tribal Areas and we are not aware of registered Afghan refugees there," Farhad told Reporter, adding that refugee camps in FATA were closed down in 2005 at the request of the Pakistani government.

"We have requested the Pakistani authorities to ensure that registered refugees who may still live in the FATA are not forced to return to Afghanistan," Farhad said, adding that the option to relocate elsewhere in Pakistan must be made available to refugees.

Both MoRRA and the UNHCR said any unregistered Afghans living in the FATA might be deemed eligible for forced deportation.

Humanitarian response

Afghan government bodies and several aid organisations, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, have delivered food and non-food assistance to some Pakistani refugees in Kunar Province, the MoRRA said. No figures were available.

The UNHCR said it had distributed non-food items such as plastic sheets, blankets, jerry cans and lanterns to families and was coordinating aid activities for the Pakistani refugees.

October 6, 2008 | 9:37 AM Comments  1 comments

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Promising Business Growth Prompts New Management Hires At Interbank FX / IBFX.com

On the heels of more than 128 percent growth in 2007, IBFX (www.IBFX.com), a leading provider of online foreign currency (Forex) trading, recently announced the appointments of Daren Thayne, Chris An and Carrie Matteson to the company's growing management team.
Daren Thayne, who joined the company in November of 2007, came from The Generations Network (formerly MyFamily.com), where he served as

May 30, 2008 | 6:05 AM Comments  0 comments

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THE UNIVERSAL FLAG
About this event: World Environmental Day Competition
Related to country: Nigeria

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

The Universal Flag was created as a symbol of our Interconnection and Oneness with All. It is a signpost to help us remember the Truth of who we are. By consciously remembering this truth, we can begin to eliminate the fear and violence that exists, and make our world a more peaceful and harmonious place for our children and future generations.

The Universal Flag embraces All, and can therefore, never represent any one particular group, race, religion, creed, or anything that creates the illusion of separateness. It is a symbol that transcends differences, while honoring the uniqueness and commonality of all people.

April 28, 2008 | 7:07 AM Comments  1 comments

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Conflict case studies - Asia
Related to country: Cambodia

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Page contents


South East Asia
(Cambodia, Indonesia)

South Asia
(India, Nepal, Sri Lanka)

Central Asia
(Central Asian Republics, Afghanistan)


Cambodia
This article provides a chronology of Cambodian conflict from World War II to 2002, including the genocide and the role of the international community in the rise and fall of the Khmer Rouge.

Kiernan B., 2002, 'Conflict in Cambodia, 1945-2002', Critical Asian Studies, 34 (4), pp. 483-495
How did the geo-politics of the Far East, and in particular the policies of the US and China affect the recent history of Cambodia? Why did the United Nations prevaricate about recognising the genocide? While confrontation continues what are the related fates of democracy, the environment, and the rule of law in Cambodia’s development? This chapter from Critical Asian Studies on “Conflict and Change in Cambodia” introduces this investigation by explaining the complex historical background since 1945 and by summarising the other contributions.
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The following two articles question the compatibility of economic liberalisation, advocated by donor agencies, with post-conflict reconstruction and security sector reform in Cambodia.

Hendrickson, D., 2001, 'Globalisation, Insecurity and Post-War Reconstruction: Cambodia's Precarious Transition', IDS Bulletin, vol. 32 no. 2, 2001, pp. 98-106
Taking Cambodia as an example, this article argues that imposing rapid marketisation on a weak political and legal framework can increase socio-economic insecurity among vulnerable groups. Post-war reconstruction focusing on macro-economic stability exacerbated political tensions, while donors' desire to down-size the civil service conflicted with one of the key stabilising features of the first post-war coalition - the integration of members of the two incoming parties into the administration and security apparatus.
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Hendrickson, D., 2001, 'Cambodia's Security-Sector Reforms: Limits of a Downsizing Strategy', Conflict Security and Development, vol. 1, Issue 1, pp. 67-82
The IMF's loan assistance to Cambodia is conditional on economic liberalisation and stabilisation programmes, including a reduction in public spending. Military expenditure was judged excessive and thus a key security sector reform was downsizing. Demobilisation reforms were through the Cambodia Veteran's Assistance Programme (CVAP), re-established by the World Bank in 1999 after political obstacles hindered its implementation in 1994. However, a paper from the Conflict, Security and Development Group argues lessons were not learnt from previous, failed, reform efforts.
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Indonesia
This document takes an empirical approach to considering the nature of communal violence in Indonesia before and after the fall of President Soeharto in 1998.

Varshney, A., Panggabean, R. and Tadjoeddin, M.Z., 2004, 'Patterns of Collective Violence in Indonesia (1990-2003)', United Nations Support Facility for Indonesian Recovery (UNSFIR), Jakarta
Regardless of violent incidents, no systematic reports on conflict have been published by the Indonesian government, which has remained intent on maintaining the appearance of order and stability. How widespread is collective violence? What patterns of can be observed? This paper by the United Nations Support Facility for Indonesian Recovery is based on the first database ever constructed on group violence in Indonesia (in the period 1990-2003), and identifies various national, regional and local patterns of collective violence.
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This IDEA report considers challenges that Indonesia faces in the process of democratisation and identifies key areas for advocacy, policy and reform.

International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, 2000, 'Democratization in Indonesia: An Assessment', International IDEA: Stockholm
The fall of President Soeharto in 1998 triggered and created opportunity for democratic reform in Indonesia. What are the compelling democratisation issues for the government and the people of Indonesia? What recommendations can be made about the direction of the ongoing reform? This paper, a product of the Forum for Democratic Reform facilitated by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, identifies the core issues for review and offers extensive recommendations for democratic reform in Indonesia.
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India
Despite the establishment of a secular state on independence, India continues to be troubled by internal inter-religious conflicts. The diverse population of India's Northeastern provinces has witnessed insurgent, secessionist and tribal conflict since its relative isolation from the rest of the country on Independence. This survey details conflict backgrounds, dynamics and official and civil society resolution attempts across the seven 'sister-states' of Northern India.

Sahni, A., 2002, 'Survey of Conflicts and Resolution in India's Northeast', Faultlines: Writings on Conflict and Resolution, Vol 12, South Asia Terrorism Portal and Institute for Conflict Management
India's Northeast has a long history of conflicts, corruption and terrorist violence. How are the conflicts to be defined and what methods of conflict resolution are appropriate? How should development and security be promoted in the region? While there have been several governmental peace initiatives, multi-track diplomacy and non-governmental organisations' peace activities are at an incipient stage. International interventions - direct or indirect - in any conflict resolution processes are not encouraged by the government, though mediated developmental interventions are sanctioned.
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This report reviews one of the most recent and disturbing incidents of communal violence in Gujarat, western India, 2002, including allegations of state collusion and recommendations for action.

Human Rights Watch, 2002, ''We Have No Orders To Save You': State Participation and Complicity in Communal Violence in Gujarat', Human Rights Watch report, 14, No 3 (C)
Communal violence rose in the state of Gujarat following the torching of two train cars carrying Hindu activists in February 2002. This report from Human Rights Watch overviews the fervent attacks, analyses the context of growing Hindu nationalism and state participation in violence, and provides recommendations to local and international powers to restore security and stability in the region
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Nepal
This document provides more detailed background information about the conflict and the 2003 ceasefire.

International Crisis Group, 2003, 'Nepal Backgrounder: Ceasefire - Soft Landing or Strategic Pause?', ICG Asia Report No 50, ICG, Brussels
The announcement of a ‘code of conduct’ which was reached between the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and the government forces signalled an opportunity for a genuine peace in Nepal. However, each side continued to accuse the other of persistent violations and the situation remains fragile. What are the chances for genuine peace and stability in Nepal? This report by the International Crisis Group lays out the background of the conflict and analyses the positions of the various actors, both domestic and international.
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This brief paper presents an update after the collapse of the 2003 ceasefire.

International Crisis Group, 2003, 'Nepal: Back to the Gun', ICG Asia Briefing Paper October 2003, ICG, Brussels
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Sri Lanka
Twenty years of ethno-political conflict has precipitated insecurity and limited the impact of development across Sri Lanka. This conflict assessment analyses the conflict and resolution attempts in Sri Lanka in order to understand better the links between conflict and donor poverty reduction attempts.

Goodhand, J., 2001, 'Conflict Assessments: Aid, Conflict and Peace Building in Sri Lanka', Conflict, Security and Development Group, University of London, London
Donors increasingly recognise the need to understand better the links between development, conflict and poverty, and to design programmes that address the roots of conflict. This report for the Conflict, Security and Development Group at the University of London analyses how donors could improve their strategies in Sri Lanka, where violent conflict has prevented the country from reaching its potential.
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The following paper draws lessons from recent peace process attempts to make recommendations to all stakeholders for successful future peace negotiations.

Ferdinands, T., Rupesinghe, K., Saravanamutthu, et al., 2004, 'The Sri Lanka Peace Process at a Crossroads: Lessons, Opportunities and Ideas for Principled Negotiations and Conflict Transformation', Centre for Policy Alternatives, Colombo
The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) need a negotiated settlement to the island's ethno-political conflict. There have been more than five decades of conflict for a more inclusive state and nearly two decades of civil war. What lessons, opportunities and ideas came from the Oslo Communiqué that could enhance the next phase of the peace process? Five authors, employed by Non-governmental organisations working in Sri Lanka, wrote this discussion document in a personal capacity.
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Central Asian Republics
The short history of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan since the demise of the Soviet Union has been turbulent, and the future appears unsettled. The region is troubled by ethnic tensions, border disputes, poverty and natural resource shortages. This report focuses on border disputes as a potential source of conflict.

International Crisis Group, 2002, 'Central Asia: Border Disputes and Conflict Potential', ICG Asia Report No 33, ICG, Osh/Brussels
How can peaceful resolution of border disputes be achieved? What would the benefits be? This study by the International Crisis Group describes how the borders of the states of Central Asia, drawn up by the Soviets in 1920s, often followed neither natural geographic boundaries nor strict ethnic lines. For independent states these international borders create considerable conflict. Following a decade of mainly antagonistic attempts to re-define them and resolve the conflicts, this report suggests alternative ways to proceed.
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This report explores state relations with Islam in case studies from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and the potential this raises for instability.

International Crisis Group, 2003, 'Central Asia: Islam and the State', ICG Asia Report No 59, ICG, Osh/Brussels
To avoid future instability, Central Asian states need to re-examine their policies towards Islam. This report from the International Crisis Group looks at Islam in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. It argues that these governments need to undermine support for extremist groups through policies of political liberalisation, economic reform and effective governance.
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The following report is the first of a series of case studies on the Global Conflict Prevention Pool, covering Chechnya, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan.

Austin, G. and Bergne, P., 2004, 'Russia and the Former Soviet Union', Evaluation of the Conflict Prevention Pools Case Study, DFID
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Vaux, T., and Goodhand, J., 2001, 'Conflict Assessments: Disturbing Connections: Aid and Conflict in Kyrgyzstan', The Conflict, Security and Development Group, University of London, London
How do development assistance and conflict dynamics interact in Central Asia? This report, published by the Conflict, Security and Development Group at the University of London, looks at sources of conflict in Kyrgyzstan from the viewpoint of the aid donor. It analyses how development policy and practice could be made more sensitive to the dynamics of conflict and peace.
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Cramer, C. and Goodhand, J., 2002, 'Try Again, Fail Again, Fail Better? War, the State and the 'Post-Conflict' Challenge in Afghanistan', Development and Change, vol. 33, no. 5, pp.885-909
Peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan require a significant expansion of institutionalised economic interdependence. This must build on existing patterns of interdependence, despite these being forged in a war economy. The article argues that an effective, centralised state, with a clear monopoly of violence, is necessary. This argument challenges standard international policy paradigms of reconstruction and points to an alternative basis for international engagement in Afghanistan.
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Afghanistan
The recent history of Afghanistan is narrated by religious based conflict, most recently punctuated by the US attack against the Taliban regime. This essay provides an historical and political analysis of conflict and state formation in Afghanistan in order to inform future international engagement.

Strategies for peace-building in Afghanistan were articulated in Bonn in 2001. Responding to the Bonn Agreement, this paper advocates a long-term perspective on peace-building and reconstruction in Afghanistan.

Wimmer, A. and Schetter, C. 2002, 'State - Formation First: Recommendations for Reconstruction and Peace-Making in Afghanistan', Journal of International Development, Volume 15, Issue 5 , pp. 525 - 539
This discussion paper recommends revisions of the programme for reconstruction and peace-making in Afghanistan, as defined at conferences in Bonn and Tokyo. The programme needs to take a more long-term perspective; have a clearer strategic vision and be better adapted to Afghanistan's situation. It must be designed to overcome political fractures through state-building rather than through 'civil society', the current focus of development policies. Recent Security Council decisions are moving in the right direction, opting for aid to be coordinated through the transitional government and suitable local authorities rather than a special UN organisation.

This report critically assesses the progress in peace-building and reconstruction two years after Bonn, and considers the policy agenda that lies ahead.

Suhrke, A., Harpviken, K.B. and Strand, A., 2004, 'Conflictual Peacebuilding: Afghanistan Two Years after Bonn', Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI), Norway
The Bonn Agreement established a transitional regime for Afghanistan. How far has peace-building progressed after two decades of conflict? Have the strategies been right? This paper from the Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI), Norway reviews the developments since Bonn. It recommends new guidelines for peace-building strategies and a more specific role for Norway’s involvement in Afghanistan.


February 21, 2008 | 9:41 AM Comments  0 comments

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Conflict case studies - Africa
Related to country: Nigeria

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Page contents

Southern Africa
(Angola, Mozambique)
Great Lakes
(Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Uganda)
West Africa
(Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone)
East Africa
(Somalia, Somaliland and Horn of Africa, Sudan)


Angola
After nearly half a century of conflict, Angola has reached a state of incomplete peace through military means. This collection of essays provides several perspectives on the nature of the conflict, the progress to peace and options for the future.

Meijer, G., 2004, 'From Military Peace to Social Justice: The Angolan Peace Process', Accord: An International Review of Peace Initiatives, Issue 15, Conciliation Resources, London
What lessons can be learned from the Angolan peace process? This report, published by Conciliation Resources in its Accord series, argues that the military peace brokered by the Angolan government may have consolidated their power as the victorious party, but that the 'peace through war approach' has hindered the process of democratisation, which relies on dialogue and negotiation. The secessionist war in the enclave of Cabinda further demonstrates that peace cannot be achieved through military force. A shift from military peace to social justice is needed to fully resolve conflict in Angola.

Mozambique
After many years of conflict and extended peace negotiations, the General Peace Agreement for Mozambique was signed in 1992, marking the start of the transition to peace. The following resources cover in turn the origins of the conflict, the process of building peace and the development of the political party system and its implications for future democratisation.

Saul, J.S., 1999, 'Inside From the Outside? The Roots and Resolution of Mozambique's Un/Civil War', in Civil Wars in Africa: Roots and Resolution, Ch. 5, ed. T.M. Ali, pp. 122 - 166
This chapter, in Civil Wars in Africa: Roots and Resolution, outlines the roots of the Mozambican conflict by considering the relative importance of internal and external factors. This analysis leads to a consideration of how these parallel forces shaped the recent resolution of armed conflict, tracing the negotiations that lead to multi-party 'democratic' elections. In each stage of this peace process, it is demonstrated that both internal and external actors played prominent roles.

Armon, J. (ed), 1998, 'The Mozambican Peace Process in Perspective', Accord: An International Review of Peace Initiatives, Issue Number 3, Conciliation Resources, London
An issue of 'Accord: An International Review of Peace Initiatives' brings together various articles recounting the history of Mozambique's anti-colonial and civil wars and the subsequent 1992 peace settlement. Mozambique's war was driven by both internal and external interests due to its links to the Cold War and conflicts with and among neighbouring states. Despite often unco-ordinated and incompatible agendas, the diverse initiatives by a wide range of state and non-state actors ensured the impetus of the peace process, resulting in the Rome talks and the 1992 General Peace Agreement (GPA). Future stability and reconciliation will depend on how successfully Mozambique's reconstruction process addresses both the poverty and political divisions that drove the war and the new tensions and trauma resulting from it.

Carbone, G.M., 2003, 'Emerging Pluralist Politics in Mozambique: The Frelimo-Remano Party System', Crisis States Programme Development Research Centre, Working Paper 23, Series No. 1, LSE, London
Multi-party politics emerged as an instrument for peace in Mozambique in 1992, marking an end to violent civil conflict and heralding a new era of democratic change. However, multi-party democracy continues to suffer from a lack of legitimacy in Mozambique. This article, published by the London School of Economics, argues that the overall transition towards a fully democratic and pluralist system has been limited, and that the crucial test for democracy in Mozambique centres on the actual turnover of power in future elections.

Burundi
Burundi has experienced several periods of violent conflict since independence; the most recent of these is the protracted civil conflict, which began in 1993. A long-running peace process has been assisted by high profile international figures. This article investigates economic interpretations for what is commonly considered an ethnic conflict.

Nkurunziza J. and Ngaruko F., 2000, 'An Economic Interpretation of Conflict in Burundi', Journal of African Economies, 9(3), pp. 370-409
What are the root causes of conflict in Burundi? This report commissioned by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) uses economic and political analyses to investigate the factors of the post-independence conflicts in Burundi. It argues that poverty, exclusion and the fight for control of limited resources have been underlying causes of the violence. To end the recurrence of war, the cycle of predation-rebellion-repression must be broken and there must be an end to impunity for war crimes.

This document stresses the key role of the international donor community in building peace in Burundi:

International Crisis Group, 2003, 'A Framework For Responsible Aid To Burundi';, ICG Africa Report No. 57, ICG, Brussels
The Burundian people, economy, and state structures have suffered heavily from a decade of fighting. As a ceasefire is set in place and the peace process gains momentum, the time is ripe for the international community to resume aid programmes. But how can donors also play a role in building peace? This document by the International Crisis Group examines the need for responsible aid and offers extensive recommendations to donors and the wider international community for the key role they can play in Burundi.

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
The DRC has experienced two waves violent conflict since 1996, giving rise to the highest death toll of any African conflict. The transition to peace continues to be fraught with crises. This briefing paper gives a recent update of events in the DRC.

International Crisis Group, 'Pulling Back from the Brink in the Congo', Africa Briefing July 2004, ICG, Brussels
The optimism surrounding political transition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been short-lived. The outbreak of violence in the Bukavu in 2004 serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of the peace process. This briefing paper, by the International Crisis Group, argues that renewed peace-building efforts in the Kivu regions are crucial to bring about lasting peace and stability. Donors can assist by supporting the transitional government, strengthening the mandate of the UN mission and by increasing pressure on Rwanda to cease all military activity in the region.

The following paper considers possibilities for peace-building that involve civilians not only as victims but as stakeholders in peace.

Kent, V. and McIntyre, A., 2004, 'From Protection to Empowerment: Civilians as Stakeholders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo', ISS Paper 84, Institute of Security Studies: South Africa
The importance of civilians as actors in conflict and supporters of the peace process needs to be acknowledged and re-defined if there is to be long-term stability and economic recovery in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This paper by the Institute for Security Studies reveals the profound political importance of re-casting those perceived as 'victims' to understand and value their role as stakeholders, and suggests that the notion of mainstreaming must be broadened beyond the peacekeeping mandate to all aspects of the peace process.

This paper critiques the involvement of regional states in the DRC conflict, particularly the role of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Ngoma, N., 2004, 'Hawks, Doves or Penguins? A Critical Review of the SADC Military Intervention in the DRC', Institute for Security Studies Occasional Paper 88, Institute for Security Studies
The military intervention in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 1998 by only certain member states of the South African Development Community (SADC) raised questions about the state of this grouping. What has been the impact of the varying responses on sub-regional cohesion and stability? This paper by the Institute of Security Studies examines the decisions taken by important actors in SADC and analyses the implications for the survival and future of SADC.

Rwanda
An estimated 800,000 Rwandans, mostly belonging to the minority Tutsi ethnic group, were killed within a period of 100 days in 1994. This article locates the genocide within the history of Rwandan state formation.

Mamandi, M., 1996, 'From Conquest to Consent as the Basis of State Formation: Reflections on Rwanda', New Left Review no. 216, pp. 3-36
This article studies the background of and options for the Rwandan genocide of 1994. It looks at the roots of the hostilities between the Bahutu and Batutsi and how relations shifted from one of Batutsi domination to their massacre at the hands of the Bahutu.

This article takes a provocative approach to the genocide by exploring Tutsi responsibility leading up to the conflict:

Kuperman, A., 2003, 'Explaining the Ultimate Escalation in Rwanda: How and Why Tutsi Rebels Provoked a Retaliatory Genocide', Paper presented at The American Political Science Association Conference, Philadelphia, PA
The field of genocide studies has tended to focus on explaining the actions of the perpetrators and to ignore the role of victim groups and third parties. This paper, prepared for a meeting of the American Political Science Association, attempts to rectify the current bias by re-examining the roots of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. It highlights the strategic interaction of ethnic groups and the international community.

Uganda
Security for the people of Northern Uganda has been devastated by the brutality of the long running conflict between the Lord's Resistance Army and the Ugandan government. The following resources explore the reasons behind, and initiatives to end, the violence.

Lomo, Z. and Hovil, L., 2004, 'Behind the Violence: The War in Northern Uganda', Monograph No 99, Institute for Security Studies, Pretoria, South Africa
What are the roots of conflict in northern Uganda? This monograph, by the Institute for Security Studies, argues that the war emerged on two fronts: initially as a popular rebellion against the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) and later transformed by the insurgency of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The protracted nature of the war has created new conflict dynamics and led to serious consequences such as mass displacement and a military response that often fails to protect civilians. These consequences sustain a cycle of violence.

Lucima, O. (ed), 2002, 'Protracted Conflict, Elusive Peace: Initiatives to End the Violence in Northern Uganda', Accord: An International Review of Peace Initiatives, Issue 11, Conciliation Resources, London
Since 1986, the violent conflict in Acholiland region of Northern Uganda has caused countless deaths and violations of human rights, and the destruction of economic and social infrastructure. What peace initiatives have been undertaken so far? In this publication by Conciliation Resources' Accord Programme, different authors explore the history of the conflict, provide insight into the main parties involved, document key peace initiatives and analyse some of the cross-cutting issues.

Liberia
Both of the following documents relate to Liberia's complex political emergency that lasted much of the 1990s. The first paper explores the causes and consequences of the complex political emergency.

Qutram, Q., 1999, 'Liberia: Roots and Fruits of the Emergency', Third World Quarterly, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 163 - 173
This paper discusses the origins and the political legacy of the 1990-1997 complex political emergency (CPE) in Liberia, a country which unlike most African states has never been a formal colony.
This journal issue charts and analyses the peace processes of the Liberian conflict.

Armon, J. and Carl, A. 1996, 'The Liberian Peace Process,' Accord: An International Review of Peace Initiatives, vol. 1, no. 1., Conciliation Resources, London
This paper charts the progress of conflict resolution in Liberia. Hostilities began in 1989 when the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) attempted to oust Liberia's then dictator, President Doe. The retaliation and resultant war were brutal, with numerous massacres of civilians - often along ethnic lines, as the army and rebel movement each comprised rival ethnic groups.

Federal Republic of Nigeria: Strategic Conflict Assessment (SCA) Report, Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, The Regent Ltd: Kaduna
Although Nigeria has been spared conflict on the scale experienced by many other African countries, it experiences a mass of relatively minor conflicts. This Strategic Conflict Assessment report from the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, funded by DFID, UNDP, USAID and the World Bank, aimed to develop a deeper understanding of the underlying causes of conflict in Nigeria and to develop new policy responses. It focuses on the interaction between resource competition and the corruption of the political system, and calls for action in the overall area of conflict prevention.

Nigeria
Nigeria has a long history of political instability and ethnic/religious tension. Since independence Nigeria has had 30 years of military rule, returning to civilian rule in 1999. This strategic conflict assessment analyses the causes, actors and dynamics of the conflict as well as responses and policy options.

This article focuses on Nigeria as a case study to understand ethnic conflict and proposes policy recommendations.

Leith, R. and Hussein, S., 2001, 'On Ethnicity and Ethnic Conflict Management in Nigeria', African Journal on Conflict Resolution, 2 (1)
Ethnic conflict has been at the forefront of international political debates for the past decade. Is it possible to find practical solutions to reconcile diverse ethnic groups in the modern democratic state? This article examines the concept of ethnic conflict and the impact of variables such as governance, civil-military relations, economics and religion on ethnic identity. Through a case study of ethnic conflict in Nigeria, it advocates a ‘power-sharing model’ that promotes integration and co-operation as a means of overcoming differences and establishing a basis for dialogue.

Zack-Williams, A.B. 1999, 'Sierra Leone: the Political Economy of Civil War, 1991 - 1998,' Third World Quarterly, vol. 20, no.1, pp.143 - 162
This report analyses Sierra Leone's political and economic history since independence to find out what lessons can be learnt. Violence and corruption became institutional under the All People's Congress, which governed for 23 years. This led to a break down of civil society and democratic accountability.

Sierra Leone
Violence has played a leading role in Sierra Leone's post-independence history, recently characterised by the 1991-1997 civil war. This article explores the political and historical causal factors behind the recent conflict.

This paper provides a chronology of events up to 2002 and considers factors that supported peace-building initiatives in Sierra Leone.

Fitz-gerald, A.M., 2004, 'Security Sector Reform in Sierra Leone', Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform (GFN-SSR), Shrivenham, UK
There is a need for more comprehensive solutions to wider security sector challenges in conflict resolution. This report, from the Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform, provides an overview of the security reforms that were implemented in Sierra Leone. It serves as a set of guidelines for practitioners supporting similar programmes in the future. It argues that the different elements of a Security Sector Reform programme should be sequenced strategically.


Somalia, Somaliland and Horn of Africa
Clan-based conflict has contributed to unrest in the Horn of Africa since the unification of Somalia by colonial powers on independence. This paper provides an overview of key actors, events and peace attempts of the long running conflict.

Cornwell, R., 2004, 'Somalia: Fourteenth Time Lucky?', Occasional Paper 87, Institute for Security Studies
Somalia is one of the ongoing nation-building exercises which seems to have established itself as a permanent feature on the international landscape. After a succession of failed attempts, what is the likelihood that the current round of negotiations will achieve sustainable results? Compiled for the Institute for Security Studies, this paper provides an account of modern Somali history, charting the perennial problems that have dogged peace negotiations and that seem likely to impede nation-building endeavours for some time to come.

This article examines peace-building and governance experiences in Somaliland and the implications for Somalia.

Jama, M.A., 2003, 'Somalia and Somaliland: Strategies for Dialogue and Consensus on Governance and Democratic Transition', Paper Prepared for the UNDP Oslo Governance Centre
How can a peaceful democratic state be built out of several clan-based, faction ridden, territorial entities? This paper, prepared for the UNDP Oslo Governance Centre, examines peace building in Somaliland and looks at its experience of forging effective institutions of governance. Set in the context of a review of the collapse of Somalia as a unified state, it offers lessons and implications for Somalia as a whole.

The following paper identifies the causes of conflicts, obstacles to and prospects for peace processes across the horn of Africa, including Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.

Nyuot Yoh, J.G., 2003, 'Peace Processes and Conflict Resolution in the Horn of Africa', African Security Review, 12(3), pp. 83-93
Discussion of the issues of war, peace and development in the Horn of Africa require critical analysis of the situation in each country (Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia). How can just and lasting solutions to the conflicts in this region be found? What are the initiatives and obstructions to peace, both regionally and in each country? This paper published in the African Security Review of the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa evaluates the peace process in the region.

Sudan
Sudan has suffered one of Africa's longest civil wars. This article discusses competing perceptions of the conflict and the potential for peace.

Sudan also currently faces a humanitarian crisis and allegations of genocide in the Darfur region. This report provides background to the development of the conflict in Darfur and the key actors involved.

International Crisis Group, 2004, 'Darfur Rising: Sudan's New Crisis', ICG Africa Report No 76, ICG, Nairobi/Brussels
The Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) peace talks in Kenya between the government of Sudan and the insurgent Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) face deadlock. The steadily worsening, ethnically polarised conflict in Darfur forms the biggest threat to the IGAD peace process and the stability of the country as a whole. This paper by the International Crisis Group offers recommendations to Sudanese and international players aimed at addressing the conflict that would risk the lives of some 7 million people.


February 21, 2008 | 9:24 AM Comments  0 comments

Tags:


International, regional and UK government responses to conflict
Related to country: United Kingdom

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Efforts to prevent and manage conflict based on multilateralism and co-operation have become increasingly important since the end of the Cold War. Regional organisations and the United Nations are rapidly increasing their capacities in this area. Conflicts causes and dynamics often operate across countries, therefore requiring international responses.

Page contents

Where is a good place to start?
Regional approaches to conflict management
The international community
UK Government approaches
Additional information resources


Where is a good place to start?
The following briefing introduces ideas behind regional and international approaches to conflict prevention, describing regional African initiatives and the policies of the EU.

Alexander, L., Higazi, A. Mackie, J. et al., 2003, Regional Approaches to Conflict Prevention in Africa. European Support to African Processes, ECDPM In Brief 4, Maastricht
The situation is ripe for enhancing regional approaches to conflict prevention in Africa. This paper, published by the European Centre for Development Policy Management and International Alert, argues that the EU should adopt a broader view of regional conflict prevention by involving all stakeholders including civil society, local and multinational business and parliamentarians. A more integrated strategy is required to ensure a holistic and mutually-reinforcing approach at continental, regional, national and local levels.

Regional approaches to conflict management
Regional networks may be the most effective and legitimate external actors for conflict management. Conflicts often involve regional causes and dynamics such as insecurity and poor governance in neighbouring countries, the presence of cross-border rebel groups, and regional illegal or grey trading networks. Regional cooperation institutions, such as the Association for South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the African Union (AU), have increasingly begun to work to promote peace and stability. Approaches range from diplomacy, to peacekeeping, to regional cooperation over infrastructure and regional public goods.

The following paper highlights the challenges to building regional 'security communities' in Africa, and outlines innovative sub-regional conflict prevention approaches.

Shaw, T., 2003, Conflict and Peacebuilding in Africa: The Regional Dimensions, WIDER Discussion Paper No. 2003/10
What are the patterns of conflict in African wars? What role do non-state actors play in these conflicts? This paper for the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU/WIDER) analyses and compares regional conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa. The author argues that the causes and characteristics of Africa’s conflicts are heterogeneous. Continental perspectives need to be replaced by regional ones in order to develop policies for peace.

The NEPAD African Peer Review Mechanism is designed to promote stability, economic growth and good governance.

Cilliers, J., 2003, Peace and Security through Good Governance; A Guide to the Nepad African Peer Review Mechanism, Institute for Security Studies Occasional Paper No. 70, Institute for Security Studies

This paper examines how policymakers can respond to destabilising regional economic trading networks.

Studdard, K., 2004, War Economies in a Regional Context: Overcoming the Challenges of Transformation, International Peace Academy, New York
What is the relationship between the regional dimensions of war economies and peacebuilding in post-conflict situations? This report, published by the International Peace Academy, argues that the failure to consider the regional dynamics of war economies undermines peacebuilding efforts. Policy-makers should distinguish between economic activities that pose a threat to peace processes and activities that contribute to social and economic stability. Certain informal regional economic activities that are presently ignored or criminalised should be incorporated into peacebuilding and reconstruction strategies.

The international community
An increasingly popular phrase to describe the collection of organisations, mechanisms, and relationships through which the international community manages conflict is the 'International conflict architecture'. Although there is consensus that the current system is failing to prevent or manage conflict adequately, there remains controversy over how the system should be reformed. International responses to conflict and insecurity may help to reduce conflict, but they can also aggravate conflict dynamics. There are challenges over the legitimacy of interventions, and over coordination and competing agendas between different external actors. The resources below address various forms of international intervention, including diplomatic, developmental assistance, peacekeeping and military intervention. They cover a range of actors, including the UN, the EU, NATO and individual country governments.

The concept of the 'Responsibility to Protect' was developed with the aim of addressing tensions between human rights, state sovereignty and legitimacy of military intervention. Like most attempts to redesign the international conflict architecture, this proposal is controversial. For example, disagreements remain over how best to balance the need to respond effectively and quickly to the threat of genocide, with the need to avoid inappropriate or unjustified invasion.

International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, 2001, ‘The Responsibility to Protect’, International Development Research Centre, Ottawa
When, if ever, is it appropriate for states to take coercive - and in particular military - action, against another state for the purpose of protecting people at risk in that other state? This paper, by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, argues that where a population is suffering serious harm and the state in question is unwilling or unable to halt or avert it, the principle of non-intervention yields to the international responsibility to protect.

Brahimi, L. et al 2000, 'Report of the Panel on UN Peace Operations', United Nations, New York
This report commissioned by the UN Secretary-General assesses the shortcomings of the existing peacekeeping system and makes recommendations for change. Force alone cannot create peace; it can only create the space in which peace may be built. Member states have to summon the political will to support the UN politically, financially and operationally to enable the United Nations to be truly credible as a force for peace.

The following two UN reports are some of the most recent policy statements concerning the future of the international conflict architecture.

United Nations, 2004, 'A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility', Report of the Secretary-General's High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, United Nations
The changes that have taken place in the world since the Millennium Declaration demand that consensus be revitalised on key challenges and priorities. What are these and how can they best be achieved? This report, by United Nations Secretariat, suggests that security, development and human rights must be advanced together, otherwise none will succeed. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) can be met by 2015, but only if all governments dramatically increase their efforts.

UN Secretary-General, 2005, 'In Larger Freedom. Towards Development, Security and Human Rights for All', Report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, United Nations

This conference report explores the record and potential of the UN, EU and NATO in international peace operations.

Luckham, R., 2004, The International Community and State Reconstruction in War-torn Societies, Journal of Conflict, Security and Development, Vol. 4, No. 3
What are the problems of state-reconstruction in war-torn societies? This paper from the Journal of Conflict, Security and Development, examines the role of international actors in the hugely ambitious project of rebuilding states after war. The study argues that the traditional linear model of conflict progression as pre-, during, and post-conflict, with attendant progression from relief to reconstruction and development, is too simplistic. Effective interventions must take account of individual contexts, have national "buy-in", and must be founded on good political and moral principles to gain legitimacy.

The following is one of the most comprehensive studies of the international community's response to a conflict, encompassing the response before, during and after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Danida, 1996, The International Response to Conflict and Genocide: Lessons from the Rwanda Experience, Vol. 1-5, Danida

The following reviews UN operations in Afghanistan, East Timor, Kosovo and Sierra Leone.

Darendorf, N., 2003 A Review of Peace Operations: A Case for Change, Kings College, London
In 2000, The Brahimi Report made recommendations for improving peace operations, but insufficient progress has taken place since. This synthesis report from the Conflict, Security and Development Group at Kings College London explores why this is the case. The report is based on a comprehensive review of three core peace operations in East Timor, Kosovo and Sierra Leone, as well as insights from ongoing operations in Afghanistan. It argues that whilst the continuing relevance of the Brahimi Report needs to be recognised, it does have limitations in light of developments on the ground.

It is generally acknowledged that conflict impacts women and men differently. Women account for the vast majority of those adversely affected by armed conflict, highlighting the special needs of women and girls in conflict contexts. It is also becoming increasingly recognised that women have a significant role to play in the prevention, management and resolution of violent conflict. In 2000, the UN passed Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security which has placed the issue of women and armed conflict on the international agenda.

The following UNIFEM document presents guidelines for incorporating a gender perspective into the transformative processes that follow conflict.

United Nations Development Fund for Women, 2005, ‘Securing the Peace: Guiding the International Community towards Women’s Effective Participation throughout Peace Processes’, UNIFEM, New York
How and why should women be involved in peace processes? This paper from the United Nations Development Fund for Women highlights the importance of involving women at every stage of peace negotiations and gives recommendations for how this might be achieved in practice. It argues that when approaching the task of ending war, the stakes are too high to neglect the resources that women have to offer.

UK Government approaches
The British Government is working on new and emerging approaches to conflict, security and development, and fragile states. This section provides the latest policy statements and strategy documents in this area.

The Cabinet Office has produced the following paper mapping the causes of instability and developing a strategic response.

Prime Minister's Strategy Document, 2005, 'Investing in Prevention. An International Strategy to Manage the Risks of Instability and Improve Crisis Response', a PMSU Report to the UK Government, London
How can the UK improve its strategic approach to countries at risk of instability? This paper from the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit outlines the challenges and risks of instability. It identifies practical steps the UK Government can take to improve its prevention and response strategies in partnership with other international actors. It argues that more effective action will require common or aligned strategic approaches across all countries and key international agencies

DFID's strategy document on security and development:

Department for International Development, 2005, 'Fighting Poverty to Build a Safer World: A Strategy for Security and Development', DFID, London
What is the link between security and development? What is the best way to achieve both? This strategy paper by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) outlines how DFID, through its commitment to fighting poverty, can help tackle insecurity among the poor. It explains the complex connections between security and development and sets out how DFID can build security by working with poor people, their governments and international partners.

The UK Government has developed a joined-up approach to dealing with conflict-affected countries. The Global Conflict Prevention Pool and the Africa Conflict Prevention Pools are jointly managed by DFID, the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Department for International Development, 2004, 'Evaluation of the Conflict Prevention Pools. Synthesis Report', DFID Evaluation Report, London
How effective has the UK Governments approach to conflict prevention been through the Conflict Prevention Pools (CPPs)? What lessons have been learned and what recommendations are there for the way forward? This Evaluation Report, prepared for the Department for International Development, offers the first evaluation of the CPPs based on consultation between the various departments and conflict prevention teams.

DFID's latest policy statement on working in 'fragile states':

Department for International Development, 2005, 'Why We Need to Work More Effectively in Fragile States', DFID, London
Why has aid not reduced poverty in fragile states? Why do donors need to work more effectively in fragile states, and how should they go about this? This policy paper from the Department for International Development (DFID) brings together the latest analysis from DFID and others on how to make development more effective in fragile states. It sets out some objectives and makes commitments about how DFID will work differently in the future.

Additional information resources
African Union (AU)

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)

Southern African Development Community (SADC)

Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford
This university department has a Centre for International Cooperation and Security.

Institute for Security Studies, Pretoria
This research institute carries out research, consultancies and training on security and justice issues, including regional approaches working across Southern Africa.

International IDEA, Stockholm
International IDEA is an inter-governmental organisation that seeks to promote democracy across the world, through research, training and capacity development, and the production of tools for practitioners. It works on post-conflict democracy and transitional justice.

International Peace Academy, US
IPA is an independent, international institution aiming to promote the prevention and settlement of armed conflicts through policy research and development. IPA has a completed programme on UN, NATO and other regional actors in the 21st century and on strengthening regional approaches to peace operations.

The OECD DAC Network on Conflict, Peace and Development Co-operation
This is an international forum working on conflict prevention and peacebuilding, involving experts from bilateral and multilateral development agencies, including from the UN system, EC, IMF and World Bank.

United Nation's Department of Peace Keeping Operations
This web site has a section on resources from the best practices unit, and details of all current missions.

UN Department for Political Affairs (DPA)
This web site addresses issues such as conflict prevention, peace building, and Security Council Affairs, and includes detailed information on the activities and reports of UN agencies.

UNDP Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR)
The UNDP's BCPR has a webpage on Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding, which outlines its conflict-sensitive approach and includes a short document on conflict analysis.

UK Conflict Prevention Pools
DFID's website hosts the GCPP evaluation documents. The FCO has a conflict prevention pools web page, including a CPP strategy document.

UK Government Post-Conflict Reconstruction Unit
This interdepartmental unit was created to build the UK Government's capacity to deal with post conflict stabilisation.

West Africa Network for Peace building (WANEP)
WANEP is a regional network of peacebuilding initiatives in West Africa.

Working Group on Women, Peace and Security
This project monitors and works toward rapid and full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325.

February 21, 2008 | 9:18 AM Comments  0 comments

Tags:


The reconstruction of states affected by conflict
Related to country: East Timor

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Reconstruction is a contested term. It is in widespread use, but it can involve problematic assumptions. For example, it can imply the conflict is over once peace agreements have been reached, whereas the sources of conflict remain. 'Post-conflict' countries are particularly likely to experience a renewal of violent conflict, so conflict prevention is an essential part of governance reconstruction interventions.

Some reconstruction efforts occur in states experiencing protracted violent crises. It may not be desirable to reconstruct institutions that existed before the onset of violent conflict, as the institutions might never have existed in the first place, or might have been part of the causes of conflict. Post-conflict governance involves difficult challenges. They include destroyed infrastructure, weak institutional capacity, and financial constraints. At the same time, there are huge needs for governance functions such as the rule of law and service delivery. There are also challenges around how to identify and respond to reform opportunities (including gender issues), and the sequencing of reconstruction efforts in different sectors. The challenges and opportunities vary widely depending on the type of conflict and peace process, so contextual knowledge is vital.

Page contents

Where is a good place to start?
Political systems
Post-conflict public financial management
Aid policy and conflict-affected contexts
Service delivery
Where is a good place to start?
The following paper warns of the need for humility from the international community when engaging in the complex field of state reconstruction.

Luckham, R., 2004, 'The International Community and State Reconstruction in War-torn Societies', Chapter 1 in After Intervention: Public Security Management in Post-Conflict Societies: From Intervention to Sustainable Local Ownership, Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), Geneva
What are the problems of state-reconstruction in war-torn societies? This paper from the Journal of Conflict, Security and Development, examines the role of international actors in the hugely ambitious project of rebuilding states after war.

The following document provides practical guidance on rebuilding capacity and institutions in post-conflict situations, including electoral systems, parliamentary development, public administrative reform, and the justice and security sectors. In each case it introduces the likely challenges and offers entry points for programme design.

United Nations Development Programme / Chr. Michelsen Institute, Norway , 2004, Governance in Post-Conflict Situations, Background paper for working group discussions, Bergen Seminar, UNDP/CMI, Oslo
What is the best way to rebuild governance institutions and the rule of law following a conflict? How can nations rebuild trust and promote dialogue? This paper prepared by the Chr Michelsen Institute for the UNDP draws on recent experiences of post conflict governance in countries like Timor Leste and Afghanistan.

World Bank, 2003, Building Capacity in Post-Conflict Countries, World Bank Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction Unit, Social Development Notes no. 14, Washington
When conflicts end, both the local population and international community have high expectations that living conditions in a country will improve. To achieve this, capacity must be built up quickly. This article from the World Bank publication Social Development Notes argues that the best option is to create permanent capacity, and suggests lessons for more sustainable capacity building.

This paper argues that a gender approach to all aspects of post-conflict reconstruction is vital in order to restore peace and prosperity.

Zuckerman, E. and Greenberg, M.E., 2004, The Gender Dimensions of Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Paper presented at the Making Peace Work Conference, WIDER, 4-5 June 2004
Why do post-conflict reconstruction (PCR) programmes need to address gender relations and equality? How can gender be ‘mainstreamed’ in PCR interventions? This draft conference paper by Gender Action considers gender, particularly the needs of women, in post-conflict situations. PCR programmes commonly fail to recognise and address gender issues. Investing in women and promoting gender equality are necessary both for maintaining peace and achieving sustainable development.

The ECDPM's 2001 study of European Commission responses to conflict and fragile states generated the following set of lessons on timing, strategy, institutional arrangements and coherence.

Higazi, A., 2003, Dilemmas And Definitions In Post-Conflict Rehabilitation, European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), Maastricht
What are the major dilemmas of post-conflict reconstruction, and how can the European Union (EU) respond? This paper from the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) discusses this question in the light of an ECDPM research project on assistance to six conflict-affected African countries. It argues there needs to be a higher tolerance of risk in post-conflict programmes and that flexibility, responsiveness and high levels of co-ordination are essential.

Political systems
This section provides resources on efforts to rebuild, reform or create new political institutions in states affected by conflict. The resources cover activities to promote stable democracies, including constitutional and electoral arrangements and parliamentary strengthening.

State institutions can be severely weakened or subverted by conflicts. Conflicts are often caused by failures in political systems, including lack of legitimacy, political violence and political exclusion. As a result, reconstruction must respond to political grievances in order to ensure that conflicts between groups can be addressed within the political system. International interventions to rebuild state institutions after violent conflict involve challenging dilemmas. These include designing institutions that can accommodate intractable divisions, ensuring the participation of excluded groups, supporting local ownership and promoting legitimacy of political reforms, and tensions between short-term stability and the longer-term goals of reconciliation and democratisation.

This chapter concludes an edited volume about the challenges of constitutional design in several transitional contexts.

Bastian, S., and Luckham, R., 2003, 'Conclusion: The Politics of Institutional Choice,' in Can Democracy be Designed? The Politics of Institutional Choice in Conflict-Torn Societies, eds S. Bastian and R. Luckham, Zed Books, London
Can democracy be designed? Or are political constitutions always dependent on accident and force? This study looks at the situation in South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, Boznia-Herzogovina Sri Lanka and Fiji and suggests that there are no easy answers to these questions.

The following paper provides a good overview of the challenges, dilemmas and dangers involved in post-conflict state reconstruction.

Cramer, C. and Goodhand, J., 2002, 'Try Again, Fail Again, Fail Better? War, the State and the 'Post-Conflict' Challenge in Afghanistan', Development and Change, vol. 33, no. 5, pp.885-909
Peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan require a significant expansion of institutionalised economic interdependence. This must build on existing patterns of interdependence, despite these being forged in a war economy. The article argues that an effective, centralised state, with a clear monopoly of violence, is necessary. This argument challenges standard international policy paradigms of reconstruction and points to an alternative basis for international engagement in Afghanistan.

International IDEA produced this handbook of practical guidance on post-conflict democracy building, covering constitution building, electoral systems and human rights instruments, among other topics.

Harris, P., and Reilly, B., 1998, Democracy and Deep-Rooted Conflict. Options for Negotiators, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Stockholm
How do we get an agreement at the negotiating table that will deliver a sustainable and peaceful outcome to a violent conflict? This handbook, by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), offers practical advice to negotiators and politicians to assist them in creating durable solutions to long-term violent conflicts. It suggests that the process of negotiation, and the agreed outcomes, need to be structured so as to maximise the prospects of democracy taking root in the post-conflict period.

The following is an introduction to the various aspects of electoral assistance, laying out dilemmas and lessons learned in post-conflict contexts. It includes an overview of debates about the relative advantages of consociational and 'centripetal' electoral systems for divided societies.

Reilly, B. 2004, Electoral Assistance and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding - What Lessons Have Been Learned? Paper presented at the WIDER Conference on Making Peace Work, 4-5 June 2004, Helsinki
Since the end of the Cold War, there has been an unprecedented growth in the number of electoral democracies, particularly in post-conflict societies. What lessons have been learned from the role of international assistance for elections in societies emerging from violent conflict? This paper from UNU/WIDER argues that the ‘quick fix’ approach to elections that is often promoted by international actors has created more problems than it has solved. International actors should focus on putting in place the short-term conditions for a transition to democratic rule by helping to create coherent and robust political institutions, rather than engaging in broader attempts at social engineering.

The following is a good piece on the role of post-conflict elections in building peaceful politics.

Lyons, T., 2004, Post-Conflict Elections and the Process of Demilitarizing Politics: the Role of Electoral Administration, Democratization, Vol. 11, No.3
How can the process of peace implementation increase opportunities for post-conflict elections to promote the dual goals of war termination and democratisation? This article from the journal ‘Democratization’ tackles this question by examining interim regimes in general, and electoral administrations in particular, in seven post-conflict countries. It argues that when these institutions are based on joint problem solving and consultation they may demilitarise politics and help transform institutions to sustain peace and democratisation. The international community should put more emphasis on processes that shape how parties to conflict relate to each other during transition.

This chapter from an edited volume explores ways in which democratic deficits can be tacked, to avoid inequalities leading to conflict, and to promote inclusive politics based on broad consent and common citizenship in countries emerging from identity-based conflict.

Luckham, R., Goetz, A. and Kaldor, M., 2003, 'Democratic Institutions and Democratic Politics' in Can Democracy be Designed? The Politics of Institutional Choice in Conflict-Torn Societies, eds S. Bastian and R. Luckham, Zed Books, London
Contemporary governance debates often assume the positive contribution of democracy to civil and political equality, poverty reduction, and conflict resolution. This paper makes a distinction between institutions and politics, seeking to demonstrate that the spread of democratic institutions does not guarantee the spread of democratic politics. This is argued on the basis of an analysis of the meanings of democracy and through an exploration of the potential of democracy for creating politics of inclusion, poverty reduction, and conflict resolution. The paper investigates ways in which democratic institutions can be designed to foster democratic politics that embody popular demands for participation, social justice and peace.

Post-conflict public financial management
Post-conflict governments often experience constraints due to extremely limited resources and public financial management capacity. Violent conflict can have a severe impact on institutions, especially where public financial management systems have been undermined or bypassed during the conflict. Accountability often suffers particularly during conflicts.
Resources on public financial management in post-conflict contexts tend to focus on the management of security spending.

Ball, N. and Holmes, M., 2002, 'Integrating Defence Into Public Expenditure Work', Department for International Development, London
The importance of security to development has become widely recognised in recent years. This report, commissioned by the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), argues that donors need to accept security and the defence sector as one core component of a well functioning public sector and adjust their policies accordingly. The report presents options for the World Bank and other donors for incorporating the defence sector into public expenditure work.

The following paper considers fiscal institutions and social contracts, considering how broad or narrow distribution of public resources can affect the chances for sustainable peace.

Addison, T. and Murshed, M., 2001. The Fiscal Dimensions of Post-Conflict Reconstruction UNU/WIDER Discussion Paper No. 2001/49
What are the fiscal dimensions of conflict? What are their implications for reconstruction? This paper by the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research examines these questions using research on African conflicts. The authors find that fiscal dimensions are always significant even if they are not always the most important factor, and usually have a regional as well as combatant impact. There needs to be a better understanding of the incentives of fragile-state governments to improve fiscal institutions, and the role that conflict has in affecting their motivation.

This document examines the role of oil in undermining financial accountability, and the impacts for governance and stability.

Gary, I. and Karl, T.L., 2003, Bottom of the Barrel: Africa's Oil Boom and the Poor, Catholic Relief Services, Baltimore
How can Africa’s oil boom contribute to alleviating poverty? What policy changes should be implemented to promote the management and allocation of oil revenues such that it will benefit ordinary Africans? This study from the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) assesses the new situation and argues that it offers great opportunity but also great peril for countries beset by wide-scale poverty.

Aid policy and conflict-affected contexts
Development aid was traditionally suspended during violent conflicts, and assistance was limited to humanitarian relief until peace was restored. With increased awareness that violent conflicts do not follow set paths, and that some contexts involve complex and protracted crises, there has been a trend towards increased flexibility in donor approaches to conflict. This involves new aid instruments, which have been developed to deliver aid in the context of contested legitimacy, shadow institutions and capacity constraints caused by conflicts or fragile states.

The following report is a detailed examination of changing aid policy in response to protracted crises. Chapter five examines aid instruments in particular.

Harmer, A., ed., 2004, Beyond the Continuum. The Changing Role of Aid Policy in Protracted Crises, Humanitarian Policy Group Report No. 18, Overseas Development Institute, London
Until recently, assistance to countries in protracted crises was seen only in terms of humanitarian aid. This review by the Overseas Development Institute argues that there has been a shift in the linking of relief and development. It suggests that policy has moved towards areas of shared responsibility. However, it warns that humanitarian actors must communicate more clearly and fully the distinctiveness of their experience in these environments and work with development actors to explore common ground.

The following considers the World Bank experience with multi-donor trust funds (MDTFs), one example of aid mechanisms developed for post-conflict situations.

Schiavo-Campo, S., 2003, Financing Aid Management in Post-Conflict Situations, CPR Working Paper Number 6, Social Development Department
What has been learned from financing post-conflict reconstruction? How should aid moneys be channelled and allocated? What is the architecture of the aid management entity of the recipient government? What is the proper interaction among donors and between donors and the government in post-conflict settings? How can the dilemma between short-term urgencies and longer-term institutional development be managed?

This quantitative study from the World Bank analyses absorptive capacity in post-conflict countries. It finds that because of initial constraints to absorptive capacity, development assistance is most effective in the middle of the post-conflict decade. Yet, by this point, the funds available from donors have often declined.

Collier, P. and Hoeffler, A. 2002, Aid Policy and Growth in Post-Conflict Societies, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 2902, Washington D.C.
Countries coming out of conflict are in atypical need of both financial resources and policy advice. Their societies are often extremely fragile and so it is important that the response of the international development community should be as appropriate as possible. However, have donor responses taken into consideration the special circumstances of post conflict societies to allocate aid? Has aid allocation been effective in those situations? Have these countries received aid and advice according to their particular needs?

Service delivery
Post-conflict contexts tend to combine extensive and urgent demand for service delivery with weak institutions and severe financial constraints. Non-state providers may offer advantages where state institutions have been weakened and subverted during conflict. However, excessive reliance on non-state delivery may further undermine state capacity and ownership. Flexibility in approaches to service delivery in conflict-affected contexts is often emphasised as essential, in line with the protracted and complex nature of many violent conflicts. The old distinction between humanitarian relief and development assistance is increasingly rejected by policy makers, and there is increased attention to the challenges of effectively working in 'grey area' in between humanitarian relief and development assistance.

The following DFID report examines the challenge of maintaining services for poor people in conflict-affected areas of Nepal.

Armon, J. et al, 2004, Service Delivery in Difficult Environments: the Case of Nepal, Policy Division, Asia Policy Division, and the Nepal country office, Department for International Development
What are the challenges for service delivery in difficult environments? What lessons can be learnt from the conflict areas of Nepal? How effective are different strategies for delivering services to the poor and the vulnerable? This collaborative report from the DFID Nepal Office, Asia Policy Regional Policy Unit and DFID Policy Division (PD) describes the different approaches development agencies have used to support service delivery in Nepal and highlights key areas for future support.

The following document traces the development of aid policy towards crises, and contrasts the 'relief-development continuum' agenda, developed during the 1990s, with more recent trends.

Harmer, A., ed., 2004, Beyond the Continuum. The Changing Role of Aid Policy in Protracted Crises, Humanitarian Policy Group Report No. 18, Overseas Development Institute, London
Until recently, assistance to countries in protracted crises was seen only in terms of humanitarian aid. This review by the Overseas Development Institute argues that there has been a shift in the linking of relief and development. It suggests that policy has moved towards areas of shared responsibility. However, it warns that humanitarian actors must communicate more clearly and fully the distinctiveness of their experience in these environments and work with development actors to explore common ground.

These notes from the World Bank summarise preliminary lessons learned on civil service reform in conflict-affected contexts.

World Bank Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction Unit, Rebuilding the Civil Service in a Post-Conflict Setting. Key Issues and Lessons of Experience, World Bank, CPR Dissemination Note 1, March 2002

The following DFID-commissioned study asks whether service delivery can help prevent conflict.

Vaux, T. and Visman, E., 2005, Service Delivery in Countries Emerging from Conflict, Bradford University, Report for Department for International Development, London
What is the role of service delivery in promoting social and political pro-poor change? How does it contribute to the avoidance of future conflict? How does it strengthen institutions in countries emerging from conflict? This report, by Bradford University, examines service delivery in Mozambique, Uganda, Cambodia and East Timor. It looks at the relationship between service delivery and violent conflict, showing how it changes. It tries to determine appropriate and sustainable service delivery systems.

The following two documents are selections from the large literature on education delivery and conflict.

Smith, A., and Vaux, T., 2003, 'Education, Conflict and International Development', Department for International Development
What is the relationship between education and conflict, and how should the education sector respond to conflict? This paper, written for the Department for International Development, argues that more attention should be paid to the fact that education is not always a force for good and can sometimes help create the conditions for conflict. Donors need to consider this when allocating resources.

Buckland, P., 2004, Reshaping the Future: Education and Post-Conflict Reconstruction, World Bank, Washington D.C.
What is the relationship between education systems and conflict? How should policymakers deal with education in post-conflict situations? This paper by the World Bank (WB) argues that schools are usually complicit in conflict. Simultaneously, reforming education is viewed as a critical element in the strategy to reduce the risk of conflict or relapse into conflict. Conflict presents not only challenges for reconstruction but also significant opportunities for reform of education systems.


February 21, 2008 | 9:10 AM Comments  0 comments

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Conflict prevention and conflict sensitive approaches
Related to country: Sudan

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Since the mid-1990s, academics and practitioners have highlighted the potential for development assistance and relief to have unintended impacts that worsen conflict. Donors have responded by improving their conflicts analyses and by developing conflict-sensitive approaches to working in conflict. The 1990s also saw increased donor focus on conflict prevention, and a diverse range of approaches to preventing disputes from becoming violent have emerged. Conflict prevention and conflict-sensitive approaches have considerable overlap and both require detailed political and socio-economic analysis and an awareness of how aid interacts with local dynamics. This page provides key resources in all these areas. It is designed to be used alongside the page on the conflict causes and dynamics.

Page contents

Where is a good place to start?
The cost-effectiveness of conflict prevention
International approaches to conflict prevention
Conflict-sensitive approaches
What other resources are available on the GSDRC?
Additional information resources



Where is a good place to start?
This paper traces the history of external developmental approaches to violent conflicts. It outlines the evolution of thinking and practice, including the 'Do No Harm' approach and conflict prevention agendas.

Uvin, P., 2002, 'The Development/Peacebuilding Nexus: A Typology and History of Changing Paradigms', Journal of Peacebuilding and Development, vol. 1, no. 1
The nexus between development and peace has become a central focus of development thinking and practice. What should the relationship between development aid and peace building be? This article from the Journal of Peace building and Development presents and critiques a typology of seven ways in which this interaction has historically been conceived.
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The following resource pack introduces theory, principals and provides practical guidance for external agencies on conflict-sensitive approaches.

FEWER, International Alert and Saferworld, 2004, Resource Pack on Conflict-Sensitive Approaches, FEWER, International Alert and Saferworld

The cost effectiveness of conflict prevention
The catastrophic personal, social, economic and governance costs of conflict demonstrate the importance of conflict prevention. A recent series of papers centred around the Copenhagen Consensus in 2004 – a project set up to prioritise a list of solutions to the world’s greatest challenges - presented the results of cross-country statistical analysis estimating the cost-effectiveness of conflict prevention.

Collier, P. and Hoeffler, A., 2004, ‘The Challenge of Reducing the Global Incidence of Civil War’, Copenhagen Consensus Challenge Paper
This paper, prepared for the Copenhagen Consensus, focuses on the challenge of reducing the incidence of civil war by looking at the costs and benefits of five different policy interventions. It argues that whereas some instruments would be radically uneconomic, some could offer remarkably large returns. Such interventions include international action to improve domestic governance of resource rents and curtailing rebel access to natural resource markets.

International approaches to conflict prevention
Prevention can address all stages of conflicts, including stopping the onset of violence, diffusing situations of tension and crisis, containing existing conflicts, and preventing violent conflict from re-emerging. At all stages, this can include long-term measures to address the structural causes of conflict and to prevent societal conflict from becoming violent. The diverse and complicated causes of conflict make prevention extremely challenging. Approaches require thorough political and socio-economic analysis. This section provides resources on international approaches to conflict prevention. The approaches of donor governments can include designing aid to address the structural causes of conflict and joined-up approaches to a range of development, trade, foreign policy and security issues involving coordination across departments.

The following two documents provide recommendations for how donors can design development assistance that contributes to conflict prevention.

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2001, ' Helping Prevent Violent Conflict' OECD, Paris
The Development Assistance Committee (DAC) guidelines provide ways for donor governments to honour their commitment to conflict prevention as an integral part of the quest to reduce poverty. Based on experience provided by practitioners, they identify concrete opportunities for donor assistance in support of peace that include: democratisation; inter-community relations; education and cross-cultural training; human rights training; freedom and access to information; the reintegration of uprooted populations; the demobilisation of former combatants; and the restoration of a capacity for economic management.

The OECD-DAC Conflict Prevention Network has also produced a series of short Issues Briefs on Preventing Conflict and Building Peace that highlight good practice and entry points in key areas including understanding conflict prevention and social drivers of conflict.

Sriram, C.L. and Wermester, K., 2003, ‘From Promise to Practice: Strengthening UN Capacities for the Prevention of Violent Conflict’, International Peace Academy, New York
Conflict prevention has risen to the fore of the United Nations’ policy agenda since the end of the 1990s. Despite the promise to move from a culture of reaction to a culture of prevention, there are significant shortcomings in the practice of preventing violent conflict. This report, published by the International Peace Academy, claims that the UN system should develop more conflict-sensitive programming by incorporating the regional and sub-regional dimensions of conflict. The UN should also recognise the role that development professionals play in responding to conflict.

The UK Government has developed a joined-up approach to dealing with conflict-affected countries. The Global Conflict Prevention Pool and the Africa Conflict Prevention Pools are jointly managed by DFID, the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The following report evaluates the progress to date.

Department for International Development, 2004, ‘Evaluation of the Conflict Prevention Pools: Synthesis Report’, DFID Evaluation Report, London
How effective has the UK Governments approach to conflict prevention been through the Conflict Prevention Pools (CPPs)? What lessons have been learned and what recommendations are there for the way forward? This Evaluation Report, prepared for the Department for International Development, offers the first evaluation of the CPPs based on consultation between the various departments and conflict prevention teams.

The Cabinet Office has produced the following paper mapping the causes of instability and developing a strategic response to prevention.

Prime Minister's Strategy Document, 2005, 'Investing in Prevention. An International Strategy to Manage the Risks of Instability and Improve Crisis Response', a PMSU Report to the UK Government, London.
How can the UK improve its strategic approach to countries at risk of instability? This paper from the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit outlines the challenges and risks of instability. It identifies practical steps the UK Government can take to improve its prevention and response strategies in partnership with other international actors. It argues that more effective action will require common or aligned strategic approaches across all countries and key international agencies.

This study describes the peacebuilding activities of Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK.

Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2004, ‘Towards a Strategic Framework for Peacebuilding: Getting their Act Together’, Overview Report of the Joint Utstein Study of Peacebuilding, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The term peacebuilding entered the international vocabulary in 1992 through the UN Agenda for Peace. Peacebuilding attempts to encourage the development of the conditions, attitudes and behaviour that foster and sustain social and economic development that is peaceful, stable and prosperous. This Utstein study of peacebuilding was commissioned by the development ministers of Germany, The Netherlands, Norway and the UK. It contains a survey of peacebuilding projects with the aim of improving the implementation of existing policy.

Different approaches to conflict prevention include promoting legitimate and equitable political, justice and security institutions, and supporting civil society organisations that promote peace or human rights.

The following paper urges for a focus on addressing horizontal inequalities in approaches to conflict prevention.

Stewart, F., 1999, 'Crisis Prevention: Tackling Horizontal Inequalities', Working Paper no. 33, QEH, University of Oxford
Civil wars not only cause huge amounts of human distress, but are also a major cause of low incomes. Hence, their prevention should be a central aspect of poverty reduction strategies. Yet in the past this has not been so. This Queen Elizabeth House working paper draws attention to conflict prevention.

Reforming the security sector to promote legitimacy, accountability and human rights can be an important part of conflict-prevention strategies. More resources on this issue can be found in the Security and Development topic guide.

Greene, O., 2003, ‘Security Sector Reform, Conflict Prevention and Regional Perspectives’, Journal of Security Sector Management, Vol. 1, No. 1
What is the added-value of regional or sub-regional approaches to security sector reform (SSR) and conflict prevention strategies? This article, published in the Journal of Security Sector Management, argues that the UK government and other donors should assist in establishing or further developing regional and sub-regional SSR programmes due to the cross-border nature of many security challenges. Equally, donors should strengthen their ties with established regional mechanisms and institutions to facilitate links between SSR programmes and wider conflict prevention activities.

The need to mainstream gender into conflict analyses is acknowledged, although much still needs to be done to ensure this is carried out. The following document presents an initial framework on how to ‘engender’ conflict early warning.

Schmeidl, S., with Piza-Lopez, E., 2002, 'Gender and Conflict Early Warning: A Framework for Action', International Alert, London
This paper is divided into two: part one offers a brief overview of definitions, processes and development of conflict early warning, and part two examines links between gender and early warning, and identifies areas where the integration of a gender perspective can improve existing models. By drawing on the experiences of a number of different conflicts throughout the world, a list of gender- sensitive early warning indicators are proposed for the purpose of verification and expansion. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for future research and action, with particular emphasis on conducting empirical tests on the assumptions put forth.

The following paper argues among other things that the causes of conflicts are so long-term that early warning approaches to conflict prevention are unlikely to be successful.

Nathan, L., 2004, 'The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse' The Structural Causes of Crisis and Violence in Africa, DESTIN Research Seminar Series, London School of Economics
Is external intervention in Africa successful in solving violent conflicts? Does it manage to address the structural causes of violence or does it exacerbate the problem? Are the “early warning” and “crisis prevention” approaches effective? This article explores these questions and adopts a radical stance by challenging the main approaches in conflict prevention and resolution. Focusing on examples from South Africa and Zaire, the article criticises the pattern of Western intervention in Africa and suggests a thorough examination of the structural causes of internal conflicts.

This DFID-commissioned study asks whether service delivery can help prevent violent conflict.

Vaux, T. and Visman, E., 2005, Service Delivery in Countries Emerging from Conflict, Report for DFID
What is the role of service delivery in promoting social and political pro-poor change? How does it contribute to the avoidance of future conflict? How does it strengthen institutions in countries emerging from conflict? This report, by Bradford University, examines service delivery in Mozambique, Uganda, Cambodia and East Timor. It looks at the relationship between service delivery and violent conflict, showing how it changes. It tries to determine appropriate and sustainable service delivery systems.

The following document provides a case study of how conflict was avoided in Ghana.

Hutchful, E., 2003, Pulling Back from the Brink. Ghana's Experience, in Governing Insecurity, Democratic Control of Military and Security Establishments in Transitional Democracies, Cawthra, G. and Luckham, R. (eds), Zed Books, London
How did Ghana avoid violent conflict during the 1970s and 1980s, despite a failing state, economic crisis and loss of state monopoly over institutionalised violence? This chapter has interesting implications for Drivers of Change analysis as it describes the combination of factors that allowed the state to reform and avoid the pattern of escalation of state repression and political violence common to many African countries' descent into conflict. A combination of particular state economic, political and security reforms and flexibility of the state in adapting its support base in response to stages in the reform process were important in achieving economic growth and conflict prevention. However there were limits to the success of the reforms, and Hutchfall also emphasises the role of Ghana's strong social networks and vibrant civil society in avoiding conflict.
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Conflict-sensitive approaches
In recent years, conflict-sensitive approaches to development, relief and peacebuilding interventions have been developed, which aim to minimise negative impacts and maximise support for the dynamics of peace. Conflict sensitivity involves thorough analysis of the context in which an intervention takes place, and of the interaction between the context, conflict or peace dynamics, and the intervention. Programming should be based closely on this analysis, and should adapt in response to regular monitoring and evaluation.

FEWER, International Alert and Saferworld have pioneered approaches to conflict sensitivity, and have developed a pack for external agencies. This pack covers theory and principles, as well as practical guidance on conducting analysis, planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluation and capacity building.

FEWER, International Alert and Saferworld, 2004, Resource Pack on Conflict-Sensitive Approaches, FEWER, International Alert and Saferworld

The ECDPM's 2001 study of European Commission responses to conflict and fragile states generated the following set of lessons on timing, strategy, institutional arrangements and coherence.

Higazi, A., 2003, ‘Dilemmas And Definitions In Post-Conflict Rehabilitation, European Centre for Development Policy Management’, Maastricht
What are the major dilemmas of post-conflict reconstruction, and how can the European Union (EU) respond? This paper from the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) discusses this question in the light of an ECDPM research project on assistance to six conflict-affected African countries. It argues there needs to be a higher tolerance of risk in post-conflict programmes and that flexibility, responsiveness and high levels of co-ordination are essential.

This report offers insights into how interventions in conflict situations can help to transform regional war economies.

Studdard, K., 2004, ‘War Economies in a Regional Context-Overcoming the Challenges of Transformation’, International Peace Academy, New York
What is the relationship between the regional dimensions of war economies and peacebuilding in post-conflict situations? This report, published by the International Peace Academy, argues that the failure to consider the regional dynamics of war economies undermines peacebuilding efforts. Policy-makers should distinguish between economic activities that pose a threat to peace processes and activities that contribute to social and economic stability. Certain informal regional economic activities that are presently ignored or criminalised should be incorporated into peacebuilding and reconstruction strategies.

With the global resurgence of religion and religious conflicts, many analysts have also begun to consider the potential role of religion in conflict transformation.

Smock, D.R. (ed.), 2006, 'Religious Contributions to Peacemaking: When Religion Brings Peace, Not War,' United States Institute of Peace, Washington D.C.

What other resources are available on the GSDRC?
Thorough understanding of conflict causes and dynamics and the impact of development assistance is needed for programming to be conflict-sensitive in practice. With this aim, conflict assessment methodologies have been developed by donors such as the DFID, UNDP, USAID, and the World Bank. More information is available in the conflict assessments section of this topic guide.


Additional information resources
Conflict-Sensitive Approaches - FEWER/International Alert/Saferworld
This is a key resource pack on conflict sensitive approaches, developed through collaboration between the NGOs International Alert and Saferworld, and the FEWER network.

Conflict Prevention Web
This is a USAID funded project for the Greater Horn of Africa Initiative. The website provides tools and strategies on conflict prevention for practitioners.

The OECD DAC Network on Conflict, Peace and Development Co-operation
The OECD DAC's CPDC, is an international forum working on conflict prevention and peacebuilding, involving experts from bilateral and multilateral development agencies, including from the UN system, EC, IMF and World Bank.

Do No Harm Project, Collaborative Development Action (CDA)
CDA is a US development consultancy firm, with an online web resource on the 'Do No Harm' agenda originally proposed by Mary Anderson in a seminal 1996 book. It is concerned with limiting the negative impacts of development and humanitarian interventions in conflict situations.

The European Union's Conflict Prevention and Civilian Crisis Management Page
This page provides an introduction and documents on the EU's policies in this area.

International Alert
International Alert is an NGO working to build lasting peace through capacity building, mediation and dialogue. It carries out advocacy and produces policy analysis, available on the website, covering the conflict aspects of themes such as business, gender, religious, and small arms and light weapons.

The International Peace Academy (IPA)
IPA is an independent, international institution aiming to promote the prevention and settlement of armed conflicts through policy research and development. IPA's Conflict Prevention webpage contains many online publications and workshop reports on donor approaches in this area.

Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict
The Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict is an international network of organisations working in conflict prevention and peacebuilding worldwide. One of its research programmes examines relationships between civil society, governments and the UN.

USAID Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation
The USAID's internal Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation has a website housing conflict assessments, an 'essential reading' list, and forthcoming toolkits and resources on conflict warning and analysis.


February 21, 2008 | 9:02 AM Comments  0 comments

Tags:


Conflict causes and dynamics
Related to country: Sudan

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

This page covers the causes of armed conflict and the dynamics through which these causes interact and change. A thorough understanding the causes and dynamics of armed conflict in a particular country is vital for designing interventions that will not exacerbate violence. Conflict is inherent to all societies and arises when two or more societal groups pursue incompatible objectives. It is a dynamic process that can lead to positive or negative change. Certain forms of conflict are essential for developmental change, such as democratic debate in parliament. Violent conflicts occur when the institutions that manage conflict in society (such as political systems, informal institutions, or the justice sector) are no longer able to accommodate different interest groups through negotiation, compromise and grievance resolution. Different analysts accord varying importance to the following groups of causal factors:

Inequality (political, economic, social, 'grievances')
Identity (mobilisation of groups with shared ethnic or religious identities)
Political factors (crises of state legitimacy, weak state institutions)
Economic factors (economic motivations for engagement in conflict, 'greed')
Political economy (where access to resources is determined by violence)
International factors (trade, regional instability, development assistance).
It is generally agreed that none of these factors act alone, but that it is the dynamics, or interplay, between the factors that can lead to violence. For example, political and economic inequalities can enable elites to manipulate ethnic or religious identities into violent conflict. Natural resources may not cause conflict, but they may prolong it, and are often central to the political economy of war.

Page contents

Where is a good place to start?
Inequality, poverty and conflict
Identity and conflict
Political causes of conflict
Economic and political economy explanations

Where is a good place to start?
The following paper is a policy-oriented analysis of the structural causes of conflict in Africa, highlighting the importance of governance. It seeks to overturn assumptions and to develop a sophisticated approach to analysing crises.

Nathan, L., 2004, 'The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: The Structural Causes of Crisis and Violence in Africa', DESTIN Research Seminar Series, London School of Economics, London
Is external intervention in Africa successful in solving violent conflicts? Does it manage to address the structural causes of violence or does it exacerbate the problem? Are the "early warning" and "crisis prevention" approaches effective?

The following article analyses data across 161 countries to identify factors that increase the risk of civil war. The paper finds that ethnic or religious diversity is not a risk factor, but that poverty, political instability, rough terrain and large populations do involve a higher risk of armed conflict.

Fearon, J. and Laitin, D., 2003, Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War, American Political Science Review 97(1), pp. 75-90
What factors lead to civil war? Is there a link between civil conflicts and ethnicity? In contrast to traditional views, this paper from Stanford University argues that the current prevalence of civil wars results from the steady accumulation of protracted crises from the 1950s and 1960s onwards, rather than recent changes in the post-Cold War world system. Moreover, issues such as poverty, political instability and weak states contribute to the outbreak of civil wars as they favour rebel recruitment and lead to corrupt counterinsurgency practices.
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DFID's strategic conflict assessments provide in-depth analysis of the causes and dynamics of conflict in particular country cases. These studies can be accessed in the conflict assessments section of this topic guide.


Inequality, poverty and conflict
Poverty and inequality are often cited as both causes and outcomes of conflict. Whether or not conflict becomes violent may depend on the type of inequality and the way in which it is created. Grievances can become particularly severe where there are horizontal inequalities between the opportunities and access to resources of different groups. Causes of horizontal inequalities can include unequal legal and citizenship rights, or discriminatory public spending and services. Social exclusion can also occur as a result of conflict, affecting for example unemployed and excluded youth combatants returning from conflict or women who are stigmatized because of rape during conflict.

The following two papers examine the concept of horizontal inequalities and the impact on development and social stability.

Stewart, F., 2004, Horizontal Inequalities: A Neglected Dimension of Development, CRISE Working Paper No. 1
Why are groups important for individual welfare and social stability? When and how do horizontal inequalities lead to conflict? Current thinking about development places individuals firmly at the centre of concern for analysis and policy. Attention is focussed on inequality between individuals. This paper by the Director of the Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security, and Ethnicity (CRISE), UK, explores why groups are important for individual welfare and social stability, and argues that inequalities between culturally formed groups (horizontal inequalities) are an important but neglected dimension of development.

Ostby, G., 2004, ‘Do Horizontal Inequalities Matter for Civil Conflict?’, International Peace Research Institute, Oslo.
Do nationwide inequalities between social groups increase the likelihood of civil conflict? This paper from the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo, compares levels of economic, social and health-related inequality between ethnic groups with the risk of civil conflict in 33 developing countries. It argues that, while there is no statistically important link between economic or health-related indicators and civil war, there is a strong connection between social inequality and conflict.

The next paper examines the conditions under which economic inequality would lead to conflict.

Cramer, C., 2003, 'Does Inequality Cause Conflict ?', Journal of International Development, vol.15, pp. 397-412
What is the role of economic inequality in civil conflict? This paper from London University assesses the shortcomings of recent research and suggests that economic inequality is hugely important to explaining civil conflict, but only insofar as the economic is viewed as inseparable from the social, political, cultural and historical.
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The following paper traces the various ways in which violent conflict impacts on poverty and inequality.

Luckham, R., Ahmed, I., Muggah, R. and White, S. 2001, 'Conflict and Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Assessment of the Issues and Evidence.' IDS Working Paper 128, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton
Conflict is a major determinant of poverty; and poverty remains the major course of conflict. Armed conflict has affected over half of the countries in Sub- Saharan Africa over the last twenty years. Analysis of the linkages between conflict and poverty remain inadequate, including the effect of conflict on economic, social and political structures. Understanding these linkages is essential to bring peace and development.


Identity and conflict
Some approaches to understanding conflict focus on the role of identity. Ethnic or religious identities are frequently cited explanations of conflict. However, popular explanations of conflict caused by a 'clash' between different ethnic or religious groups have been discredited as simplistic by academic research. Such explanations contain problematic assumptions about the innate characteristics of identity, assuming that it is unchanging and uniform, rather than being individually defined and constantly changing through time. Conflict is also sometimes reduced to 'irrational hatreds', ignoring the role of inequalities, and political and economic factors. However, accounts that take note of how identity is socially constructed do offer important insights into the causes of conflict. For example, disaffected groups may mobilise around shared identities, or elites may manipulate and redefine identities and stereotypes in order to further their own agendas.

Van Hoyweghen, S. and Vlassenroot, K., 2000, 'Ethnic Ideology and Conflict in SSA. The Culture Clash Revisited', in Politics of Identity and Economics of Conflict in the Great Lakes Region, eds R. Doom and J. Gorus, VUB Press, Brussels
How did the concept of ethnicity emerge and to what extent is it linked to colonialism? What is the relationship between ethnicity and conflict within Sub-Saharan Africa? This article explores the complexity of ethnic conflicts though examining the social and political context on the ground. It summaries the theoretical debate on ethnicity, explores the context in which ethnicity emerged and examines post-colonial politics to explain ethnicity within African societies today. It argues that current ethnic conflict should be understood as a form of intensified political and economic competition, not as a result of ethnic hatreds.
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Avruch, K., Culture and Conflict Resolution, United States Institute for Peace, Washington, DC
What is the role of culture in conflict resolution? Culture provides a way for us to talk about the world’s social, political, religious, economic and psychological context – and yet the place of culture in theories of negotiation has remained peripheral. The fourth part of the book, ‘Culture and Conflict Resolution’ examines how culture has been used or ignored in some classic conflict resolution techniques. In particular it discusses third party interventions, and highlights two problem-solving workshop practitioners, Burton and Lederach. Ultimately, in any sort of intercultural conflict resolution, a cultural analysis is an irreducible part of the process.
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The global rise in ethnic and religious conflict has renewed interest in the relationships between religion and violence. Many analysts argue that religion is not the dominant cause factor for conflict, but that the potential for violence increases when religious factors overlap with and enforce social, economic and political factors.

Appleby, S. R., 2000, ‘The Ambivalence of the Sacred’, Rowman and Littlefield, Lanham
Under what conditions do religious actors become violent? Under what conditions do they reject violence? How do non-violent religious actors become agents of peacebuilding? This book from the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict examines these questions using a number of case studies from different religions. It argues that a new breed of religious peacemakers have the capacity to advance the cause of peacebuilding in troubled regions, and deserve greater recognition and support.


Political causes of conflict
One of the fundamental roles of governments is to manage conflict and resolve grievances in a peaceful and consensual manner. The onset of violent conflict often involves conflict management failures linked with shortfalls in state legitimacy and weak state capacity. In addition, where states lack the capacity to enforce the rule of law or control the use of violence, there are opportunities for rebel groups and international criminal networks to operate. In turn, conflicts weaken state institutions, and may further undermine state responsiveness and legitimacy.

The following three papers offer nuanced analyses of the role of state failures in the onset and dynamics of conflict. All three argue that common assumptions need to be questioned in order to design appropriate responses.

Cliffe, L. and Luckham, R.,1999, 'Complex Political Emergencies and the State: Failure and the Fate of the State,' Third World Quarterly, vol.20, no.1, pp. 27-50
This paper provides an analytical framework to explore the different origins, shapes, and outcomes of CPEs, with a strong focus on the characteristics of the state before, during and after a conflict. The report seeks to draw practical lessons from CPEs around the world, with special reference to Africa, where most post cold-war conflicts have, and are still, occurring. It strongly warns against the danger of over- simplification, however, instead concentrating on the characteristics of a conflict.

Nathan, L., 2004, 'The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse' The Structural Causes of Crisis and Violence in Africa, DESTIN Research Seminar Series, London School of Economics
Is external intervention in Africa successful in solving violent conflicts? Does it manage to address the structural causes of violence or does it exacerbate the problem? Are the "early warning" and "crisis prevention" approaches effective?

The following paper looks specifically at state collapse.

Doornbos, M., 2002, 'State Collapse and Fresh Starts: Some Critical Reflections', Development and Change, vol. 33, no. 5., pp.797-815
Incidences of state collapse appear to be on the increase. What does this mean? What are the triggers? What are the implications of collapse both internally and internationally? This study, from the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, examines these questions and argues that the solutions offered by the international community need to be informed by a understanding of the particular circumstances that gave rise to a state's collapse.

The final paper in this section explores the relationships between conflict and fiscal institutions. Among other things, it examines the role that bad fiscal management can play in the causes of conflict.

Addison, T. and Murshed, M., 2001. The Fiscal Dimensions of Post-Conflict Reconstruction UNU/WIDER Discussion Paper No. 2001/49
What are the fiscal dimensions of conflict? What are their implications for reconstruction? This paper by the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research examines these questions using research on African conflicts. The authors find that fiscal dimensions are always significant even if they are not always the most important factor, and usually have a regional as well as combatant impact. There needs to be a better understanding of the incentives of fragile-state governments to improve fiscal institutions, and the role that conflict has in affecting their motivation.
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Economic and political economy explanations
No matter what beliefs and ideologies are involved, all armed conflicts are funded by economic activities. Conflict economies develop and can perpetuate the use of violence and create disincentives for peace. Economic relations may become coercive and peacetime economic activities may be disrupted or looted by belligerents. Trade in commodities during conflicts can also interact with and reinforce other causes of conflict, including state weakness and lack of accountability. This section examines each of these issues in turn.

In the late 1990s, a number of academic studies countered popular assumptions that war is irrational or senseless by highlighting the role of personal profit and 'rational choice' in individual motivations for engaging in violence. The following frequently cited article introduces the role of economic motivation in conflict.

Keen, D. 1997, 'A Rational Kind of Madness,' Oxford Development Studies, vol. 25, no. 1, International Development Centre, Oxford
This paper looks into pre-modern history to explain the seemingly senseless nature of war and violence. It is revealed that in history wars have not always been fought for the purposes of winning them. Rather, the goal has been material profit. The economic dimension of warfare has been central for decisions as to whether to start a war or end it. This is argued also in relation to contemporary conflicts. The cases of the civil wars in Sudan and Sierra Leone are considered within this framework.

Two popular concepts in academic and policy debates on the causes of conflict are 'greed' and 'grievance' as motivating factors for individual engagement in war economies. These are examined in the following document.

Collier, P. and Hoeffler, A., 2004, 'Greed and Grievance in Civil War', World Bank, Washington
Are civil wars really caused by political repression, inequality, or religious and ethnic differences? What roles do factors other than grievance play in rebellion? This paper for the World Bank looks at the causes of civil war, using a new data set of wars during 1960-99. The authors test a `greed’ theory focusing on the ability to finance rebellion, against a `grievance’ theory focusing on political factors, concluding that greed considerably outperforms grievance as an explanation of the causes of civil war.

The following World Bank book goes beyond the greed and grievance arguments, to develop a more comprehensive analysis of conflict causes.

Stern, N. 2003, 'Breaking the Conflict Trap: Civil War and Development Policy', Policy Research Report, World Bank/Oxford University Press
This document introduces a Policy Research Report from the World Bank on the relationships between civil war and development, citing two reasons for turning international attention to civil wars.

The next paper provides a useful caution about the potential dangers of rationalist explanations of conflict.

Cramer, 2002, 'Homo Economicus Goes to War: Methodological Individualism, Rational Choice and the Political Economy of War', World Development Vol. 30, No. 11 pp. 1845-1865
Why have neoclassical economic theories of war become popular in recent years among donors and policy-makers? Is there an alternative framework for examining conflict? This paper from the School of Oriental and African Studies claims that orthodox neoclassical economic theories have converged with conflict studies through rational social choice models. It argues that rational social choice theories are based on unconvincing and misleading theoretical and empirical assumptions. In contrast, an alternative approach can be used to understand contemporary wars based on an analysis of social relations from a political economy perspective.
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High value natural resources such as precious minerals can play a significant role in the political economy of war. The key texts below show how the potential to extract huge profits and rents from resources can create incentives for violence. Even where natural resources do not cause the onset of violence, they can become important perpetuating factors as part of the political economy of conflict and by encouraging poor governance.

Ross, M., 2003, 'What Do We Know About Natural Resources and Civil War?', University of California, Los Angeles
What is the relationship between natural resources and violent conflict? What causal mechanisms produce these outcomes? This study by the University of California reviews recent cross-national econometric and qualitative studies. It suggests that collectively they imply four underlying regularities in the relationship between natural resources and civil war. There is a wealth of data on causal links in specific conflicts but it is difficult to generalise. There are plausible theories behind each of the patterns, though efforts to test them are still in their infancy.

The following paper critically assesses the limitations of resource curse and rentier state explanations of conflict, highlighting the role of politics in determining how resources are exploited.

DiJohn, J., 2003, 'Mineral-Resource Abundance and Violent Political Conflict: A Critical Assessment of the Rentier State Model' Crisis States Working Paper No. 20, Development Studies Institute, London School of Economics, London
How useful is the idea of a 'resource curse' in understanding the causes of conflict in low and middle-income countries? This paper from the Crisis States Programme at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) critically examines this argument on both methodological and empirical grounds. It finds little convincing evidence that mineral abundance in itself causes conflict, and argues that the most influential models of conflict offer only a superficial understanding of the causes of conflict in poor economies.

This paper draws out the policy implications of resource conflict arguments, and examines the impact of these issues on poverty in Africa.

Karl, T.L. and Gary, I., 2003, 'Bottom of the Barrel: Africa's Oil Boom and the Poor', Catholic Relief Services, Baltimore
How can Africa’s oil boom contribute to alleviating poverty? What policy changes should be implemented to promote the management and allocation of oil revenues such that it will benefit ordinary Africans? This study from the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) assesses the new situation and argues that it offers great opportunity but also great peril for countries beset by wide-scale poverty.


February 21, 2008 | 8:55 AM Comments  0 comments

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LET ALL AFRICA UNITE FOR BETTERMENT OF OUR FUTURES


August 10, 2007 | 4:30 AM Comments  1 comments

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Peace as Protocol Conversations & the Value of Diplomacy
About this event: World Environmental Day Competition
Related to country: Afghanistan


Peace is Possible, this is not a dream. World Peace Plans are the ONLY
PERFECTED PLANS before the 1990's to include "Replenishing" the soil as
it
says in the Bible without the use of electronic manipulation & with the
use
of GREEN Native Indigenous Ancestral ECONOMIES supported by Self
Reinforcing Stock Market Instruments & Indicies.
No matter how many Narcotics Cult Members there are Earth-lings will be
closer to World Peace than War than Narcotics Junkies will be to an
Aryan
Heaven on Earth.
Hindi Pakistani Sri Lankans are involved in promoting an Aryan Heaven
on
Earth, somehow it looks like Hell.
There's a price for every Impoverished Diseased Life lost that has for
the
past 17 years because of the Hindi Pakistani Sri Lankans, Spanish & UK,
United States, CA, SA AU NZ Citizens decreased.
An Impoverished Diseased Life allegedly was at the cost of a Cellular
Phone
with Service & now is down to Five Cellular Phones with service.
IT IS POSSIBLE TO ENCOURAGE DIPLOMACY WITHOUT ENCOURAGING NAZI
NARCOTICS
MYOPIC SELF-LOVE & NARCOTICS CULT PARTICIPATION.
1. TRANSLATE ALL NEWS TO NON EU LANGUAGES OF NATIVE INDIGENOUS
LANGUAGES,
2. TEACH all Native Indigenous Languages to Non Native Children & ALL
CHILDREN of your Country,
3. Publish all EU Wester News in NATIVE INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES,
4. Encourage Conversation in Communities to INCLUDE Government
Officials to
"BREAK THE SPELL" of the UK EU Royal Syndrome where Lives mean less
than
their own Life while in office & when out of office.
5. CONVERSATIONS are the key. Encourage Conversations with News
Agencies
about Native Indigenous Issues that are LOCALIZED issues instead of
Global
issues to Involve everyone in the Community witht the Goal of Meeting
Native Indigenous Ancestral Community Needs.
Trapped in the UK CA SA US AU NZ Bollywood Actor's Narcotics "Royal"
Cult:
NEWS AGENICES
Government Employees
Govnerment Officials
INSIST ON HAVING CONVERSATIONS:
1. SHOW RESPECT,
2. SHOW CONCERN, Native Indigenous Ancestral Issues & Language need
Support,
3. SHOW PROGRESS, Participate in the Community of A Well Earth with the
Creation of BLOGs in YOUR NATIVE INDIGENOUS ANCESTRAL LANGUAGE to Speak
to
the Youth of your Community & Write Books to RAISE FUNDS & Raise
Awareness
of the Vision for Your Native Indigenous Ancestral Communty's Strong
Future.

July 12, 2007 | 5:55 AM Comments  0 comments

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My Group
Related to country: Nigeria



June 26, 2007 | 11:09 AM Comments  0 comments

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SUDAN: Special Report on women in the south
Related to country: Sudan


NAIROBI, 20 Aug 2003 (PRESS) - While the international community watches Sudan’s leaders edge closer to a peace deal, the average southern Sudanese woman, although desperate for peace, has more immediate concerns.Historic under-development, over 20 years of war, and inequalities in traditional power structures have left southern women in a precarious position - they now suffer some of the poorest quality of life indicators in the world.In some war-affected areas the rate of maternal deaths rises as high as 865 per 100,000 births, according to a UNICEF-sponsored study by Nimila Chawla entitled, “From Survival to Thrival: Children and Women in the Southern Part of Sudan”. This compares with a rate of 550 per 100,000 births across the whole of Sudan, as reported in the UN Human Development Report for 2003.In addition, estimates made by a group of major aid agencies in 1998 suggest the literacy rate among women in parts of southern
Sudan could be as low as 10 percent. Even among literate women only a small number have had the luxury of attending secondary school.Apart from deprivations resulting directly from war and underdevelopment, a drastic reduction in the male population in some areas has placed additional responsibilities on many of the women left behind.Many southern Sudanese men have joined the armed rebellion and been called away to the front, while still others have left the south in order to gain education and training in the north, or even abroad. According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates the population of Bahr al-Ghazal in 2001 was only about 25 percent male. The women left behind, who were already largely responsible for keeping the family alive under fraught circumstances, are now shouldering extra burdens in traditional societies that give them a low status, poor access to income-generation activities, few education opportunities, and little or no legal redress.Marriage problemsIt is in the arrangements for marriage that the relative powerlessness of women in many southern Sudanese cultures can be most easily understood. When a young woman gets married, her husband will be required to pay a dowry to her family, usually in the form of heads of cattle. The union is therefore seen primarily as a material transaction between the husband and the woman’s family, rather than a personal bond between husband and wife.The marriage establishes an alliance between the two families; an alliance which frequently makes divorce for the woman a virtual impossibility as she usually has to gain the support of her own family. Since, in the event of a divorce, her family would have to return the dowry they are very often reluctant to allow the separation to proceed.“One of the driving cultural premises throughout southern Sudan is that of survival through the redistribution and sharing of wealth. The linchpin for this economic and social dynamic is bride-wealth,” states Mary Anne Fitzgerald in a 2002 report on the impact of war on southern Sudanese women. “Thus women are hostage to power structures that are underpinned by material assets,” Fitzgerald concludes.In-keeping with their lowly status, a woman cannot seek divorce without the approval of her family, cannot in some cases seek medical attention without the permission of her husband, and does not generally own property or have an income of her own.Education the keyArguably the most crippling disadvantage faced by southern Sudanese women is their limited access to education. Regular schooling is out of reach for most girls as they will be expected to work on household chores such as water collection and grinding grain during normal school hours. Not too long after a girl reaches puberty, she will become eligible for marriage, and once she is married is very unlikely to be able to attend school.The lack of educated women in southern Sudan is particularly troubling in light of recent progress that has been made towards ending Sudan’s civil war. A peaceful Sudan, particularly in the historically disadvantaged south, will need all the educated people it can muster to provide able doctors, lawyers and teachers and to foster sustainable development.“Invariably, when women living inside Sudan were asked what was needed to improve their lives, they cited education as the key to advancement”, Fitzgerald says.In education as in the other areas of their lives, women have been disadvantaged both by the war and by traditional attitudes. Insecurity and cycles of displacement have turned regular schooling into nothing more than a pipe dream for many children, whether male or female.The disparity in school enrolment between boys and girls is huge, and gets wider as one moves through the age-sets. According to the UNICEF ‘School Baseline Assessment Report’ for 2002, the gap between girls and boys in primary school enrolment widens from 42 percent in the lowest age-group class, to 59 percent in the highest.However, some attempts to improve the situation appear to be bearing fruit. A UNICEF-led initiative to build and run village girls schools in Rumbek
County, Bahr al-Ghazal, is thought to have raised significantly the enrolment rate of girls in primary education over the last year. Twenty-six such schools are already up and running, with another 10 planning to open their doors to pupils in the coming months.In an attempt to keep attendance rates high and drop-out rates low, no fees are charged, attendance is only required for three hours per day and, to prevent the arduous journeys which are so often the plight of schoolchildren in rural areas, the girls must live within 15 minutes walk of the school.The hope is that, after three years attendance at the village schools, girls will have a solid base with which they can continue their education in the local community schools, or maybe in the girls school in Rumbek town.However, there are still several obstacles to be overcome before girls’ education is thought of as routine in southern Sudan. Girls’ families, and especially their fathers, will have to be convinced that they should be afforded equal status in education with their brothers; that it is worthwhile paying the school fees to educate girls as well as boys.Also, if women are to eventually force their way into key roles in the administration of the ‘New Sudan’ they will need access to secondary education. At the moment, opportunities for secondary schooling for girls in southern Sudan are very limited. For example, although there is a secondary school in Rumbek town, it has very few female pupils enrolled in its classes. There are signs, however, that attitudes are slowly beginning to change. Some families have realised that an educated girl can be of more value to both her family and to a future husband, as she will be better placed to bring in income and to manage the household affairs. Increasing numbers of people are also becoming aware that education of girls helps to improve the health of the family, especially in reducing the rates of infant, child and maternal mortality.In the village girls’ school at Cai Agok location, 8-year-old Rebecca Marial is diligently practising her sums in the hope that one day she will be able to complete her education. Who knows, maybe she will become a respected female professional playing a vital role in the rehabilitation and development of a peaceful, prosperous southern Sudan.Web links:Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women: www.un.org Convention on the political rights of women: www.unhchr.ch Legal resources relating to women’s rights: www.law-lib.utoronto.ca Human Rights Watch: www.hrw.org Women’s Human Rights Net: www.whrnet.org

June 22, 2007 | 4:39 AM Comments  0 comments

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SUDAN: Humanitarian needs continue despite Darfur accord
Related to country: Sudan


NYALA, SOUTHERN DARFUR, 15 Apr 2004 (PRESS) - Sudan watchers have welcomed the renewable 45-day ceasefire deal signed between Darfur’s two rebel groups and the Sudanese government on 8 April, but the situation on the ground has prevented some observers from being overly optimistic.Under the deal, the parties agreed to meet within two weeks to “negotiate a definitive settlement of the conflict”, to guarantee humanitarian access to the region and to “facilitate the return of the refugees and displaced” to their homes on a voluntary basis.Both parties agreed to “ensure that all armed groups under their control” complied with the agreement, while the government stated that it “shall commit itself to neutralise the armed militias” in the region.However, observers are urging caution, not least because the details of how and when the armed militias known as the Janjawid are to be “neutralised” have yet to be outlined.The Janjawid who have been held responsible for mass displacements and what Human Rights Watch (HRW) has referred to in a report issued on 2 April as “crimes against humanity”, are neither signatories to the agreement nor specifically referred to in the text.Indeed local and national authorities in Sudan do not generally acknowledge the Janjawid and their actions, referring instead to isolated incidents of “banditry” over which, they say, they have no control.Sulaf al-Din Salih, the commissioner-general of Sudan’s Humanitarian Aid Commission, told PRESS in an interview in Khartoum on 2 April that the international community had been misinformed about the reality in Darfur.“It is not only the Janjawid. People forget about the other groups called Tora Bora and others as well. Definitely the government did not have enough forces to control all the area. So these groups have committed atrocities and have gone beyond the normal security or military operations…[but] we have succeeded in controlling all these groups to a very great extent,” he said.Meanwhile, the militiamen remain at large. Just a day after the ceasefire came into effect on 12 April, a Janjawid attack was reported outside Kalma camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in southern Darfur.MASS DISPLACEMENTCeasefire or no ceasefire, the humanitarian situation in Southern Darfur State is now worse than it has ever been, with 140,000 IDPs and the whole of the state affected, except for the extreme east and south.During the first week of April alone, almost 20,000 IDPs arrived in towns from rural areas, while in Kas, in the northwestern corner of the state, the number of IDPs rose from 20,000 to 35,000, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported this week.The current trend is expected to continue as large bands of Janjawid descend on the south from Northern and Western Darfur states, moving towards the Nyala and Sharaya areas, according to UN officials familiar with the situation.Reasons for the deteriorating security remain unclear, but may be related to the traditional migration of Arab nomadic pastoralists migrating southwards from the north between November and April in search of water and pasture.Neither the UN nor other agencies have managed to map in any detail the areas depopulated as a result of militia activity, but according to humanitarian sources in the area, a clear trend is emerging of non-Arabs being hounded out of rural areas into urban centres. The Fur and Masalit are the main targets in southern Darfur, while small numbers of Dinka from southern Sudan are also affected.Many of the attacks take on a similar pattern, eyewitnesses told IRIN. Hundreds - some say thousands - of Janjawid riding horses and camels arrive in an area from different directions before engaging in a major offensive. Rich from looting thousands of head of cattle, and carrying modern communications equipment, they easily coordinate their attacks.Before and after burning the non-Arab villages (or sections of such villages) collectively accused of harbouring rebels, they often loiter, armed with automatic rifles, around water sources. Here they can intimidate and rape local women, loot their animals, and destroy key infrastructure, humanitarian workers and eyewitnesses told PRESS.“The destruction of water sources, burning of crops and theft of livestock are a key element in the government’s campaign. For obvious reasons, cutting off all sources of food and water to civilians in their homes will inevitably lead to their displacement - or starvation,” HRW said in its report.The Janjawid have sometimes been accompanied by the Sudanese army or have travelled in army vehicles; often they wear army uniforms, according to eyewitnesses. “Whenever these people [the Janjawid] come and attack villages, you expect that once people have resisted the army will come. That’s the scenario recently,” an MP from Darfur told PRESS.“They [the militias and army] tie them [up], they torture them, trying to get information about the rebellion. Sometimes you can be killed if you are suspected, or if you try to resist, you can be tied, you can have your hand broken or legs, you can be whipped - all kinds of torture, beatings and shootings,” he added. “They don’t allow anyone who is a boy, anyone from 13 to 20, [to go free], they [the Janjawid] kill them straight away when they find them.”The inhabitants of the villages have no choice but to flee. Even then, thousands are subjected to further attacks on the road, with more looting and violence at Janjawid “checkpoints”, the IDPs said.INCREASED VIOLENCE AND RAPESitting in a tiny, makeshift straw hut in Kalma camp just outside Nyala town, 27-year-old Ajoiya, a member of the Fur community, recalled how she and her baby took refuge in a mosque in Kaileik, about 50 km southwest of Kas. “They [the Janjawid] came at night, they pulled back the bedclothes to see if the women had babies. If there was no baby, they would take them away to rape them,” she told IRIN.Up to 30 women in Kaileik had been taken by groups of armed Janjawid and raped each day before they fled to Kalma camp in Nyala, she said. “About 20 of my relatives were taken away. We were crying out for rescue, but no one came,” she said.Civilians from 21 villages in the Shetaya and Kaileik areas, in rural Kas, had descended on Kaileik village in early March after being attacked by the Janjawid and the military.Ajoiya’s two sisters-in-law, one of their babies and her brother were shot dead as they fled their attackers, she told IRIN. “I lost everything I had: goats, 30 kg of groundnuts, blankets and donkeys.”Over a two-week period, 200 men from the villages also “disappeared”, she said.“They [the Janjawid] would gather the people every day, men on one side, women on the other. Men were selected randomly, some of them were beaten, some were killed. They used to take them away to kill them,” one man, who spoke anonymously, told IRIN.“We are civilians, we don’t know why we are being attacked,” said another.OBSTACLES TO AIDLocal authorities in Nyala are quick to draw attention to the humanitarian needs of the IDPs. They urgently needed proper shelter before the rains began in June, medical assistance and in some cases food, they told IRIN.But the provision of aid to the victims of the Darfur conflict is fraught with difficulty, according to humanitarian workers.“The humanitarian community has very little overall understanding of the situation, which makes it very difficult to plan for and respond to the crisis,” the UN reported at the end of March.While a number of agencies are awaiting permission to open offices in Southern Darfur, there were no international NGOs operating on the crisis in the south, humanitarian sources told PRESS in Nyala last week.Compounding the absence of agencies was a late and inadequate response to the crisis, a lack of knowledge about the victims’ real needs and the unwillingness of local commercial truckers to transport aid to many areas for security reasons, a regional analyst told PRESS.A further dilemma is centred on the role that humanitarian aid agencies should play in the current conflict. While they are mandated to provide assistance to the needy, some aid workers are wondering whether by doing so they are perpetuating the problem of displacement.“There is a lack of overall policy on the approach [to aid]. The reasons for the creation of the crisis should be reflected in the response. There is no reflection on how to address this crisis,” said one regional analyst.Responses so far had been oriented towards the delivery of “goods” in areas to which the IDPs had fled, whereas they should have been focusing on lobbying the Sudanese government to provide protection, he said. “In Southern Darfur there has been no local [government] response to the security situation at all. The Janjawid have been written a blank cheque,” he asserted.On the other hand, the needs are such that without some immediate assistance many more thousands will die, some humanitarian workers fear.“IDPs should not pay the price for a conceptual dilemma about humanitarian assistance. We should act,” Alexandre Liebeskind, an official from the International Committee of the Red Cross told PRESS. “You have the survival line. We want to give them [the IDPs] the dignity line, where you have enough space to live with your family, you can wash, you have certain structures to protect your family, you have basic medical services and you don’t have to live on the move,” he added.GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITYEfforts to help vulnerable populations in Darfur had been thwarted for months, according to HRW, which reported that “between October 2003 and January 2004, the Sudanese government almost entirely obstructed international assistance to displaced civilians in Darfur - and provided virtually no aid from its own coffers”.International aid workers often still have to wait weeks before being granted visas to enter Sudan, and some areas have been inaccessible for weeks or even months.At the local level, government humanitarian aid commissioners (HACs) in each state are officially responsible for the IDPs’ welfare, but they often lack both resources and power.The HAC in Nyala, Jamal Yusuf Idris, told IRIN that the authorities were responsible for providing food, health care, some shelter and security in the camps “if they get the money”.“But the UN has more money than our government”, he said. “I will ask the NGOs to provide proper shelter materials in Kurma camp [near Nyala] before I request the government to do so.” He added that 500 mt of food had already been delivered to the camps from Khartoum, but said he had no money to assist the IDPs.Meanwhile, the thousands of displaced in Kalma “camp” - which has no sanitation or proper shelter - say the authorities keep promising aid but not actually delivering anything.Confined within Kalma, with hundreds of Janjawid camped nearby, they say they cannot even consider returning to their homes. “In order [for us] to go back, there should be no Janjawid. There should be law and order, police organised to provide protection,” an elder in the camp told PRESS.“We have been attacked by people who are armed by the government, wearing official uniforms, with instructions from the government. The ultimate responsibility lies with the government,” he stressed.

June 22, 2007 | 4:26 AM Comments  0 comments

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SUDAN: Displacement and food shortages in Darfur
Related to country: Sudan


AL-FASHIR, NORTHERN DARFUR, 19 Apr 2004 (PRESS) - The 14-month conflict in Darfur, western Sudan, has displaced over one million people, in addition to the more than 100,000 who have fled across the border into neighboring Chad, according to United Nations estimates.Humanitarian workers in the region say that it is too early to predict the long-term implications of the conflict on either the internally displaced persons (IDPs), the refugees or the host populations in the areas they have fled to. But with many of the IDPs fleeing from the region’s best food-producing areas to urban centers, the aid workers say, food shortages and dependency on food aid will be an ongoing problem.“Even if the displaced were able to return to their farms immediately to avail themselves of the current planting season, they would still be dependent on food aid until the end of 2004,” said Laura Melo, spokeswoman for the World Food Programme (WFP).If, on the other hand, this year’s April to June planting season is missed, the next harvest of staples like millet and sorghum will not be available until the end of 2005.LONG-TERM DISPLACEMENTDespite the 45-day renewable ceasefire signed last week between the government and Darfur’s two rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Human Rights Watch (HRW) estimated that 20,000 Janjawid militiamen - who it said are generally regarded as responsible for mass displacement, killing, raping and looting - remain at large in the region.Since the ceasefire came into effect late on Sunday, there have already been a number of reports of violations. On 12 April, a herdsman from the village of Deja, several kilometres from Nyala in Southern Darfur, was killed by Janjawid after insisting on collecting his herd, the UN reported. The entire village, about 300 people, tried to flee to the nearby Kalma camp to seek protection, but were turned back by police.In Western Darfur, attacks and harassment by Janjawid have also been reported to the UN. On 15 April, an elderly woman was attacked while collecting fodder outside Adramata camp for IDPs, while in Riyad five girls “disappeared” after venturing outside another camp.Jamal Yusuf Idris, the government’s Humanitarian Aid Commissioner in Nyala, the capital of Southern Darfur State, said all the IDPs would go home immediately if the conflict ended. “If the war stopped, all of them are farmers, they would go home.”Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report issued 2 April - before the Ndjamena ceasefire agreement - that it was unlikely that Darfur’s IDPs would be able to return to their farms to plant any time soon. “More bad times await the displaced. They will probably have no crops to look forward to in 2004,” it said.“It is highly unlikely that the displaced communities will be able to return home and plant, given the continuing war and insecurity permeating the rural areas, the scale of the destruction of their shelters and water systems, and the lack of seeds and tools,” HRW added.Since then, the ceasefire agreement has been signed and all three parties have agreed to facilitate the return of the IDPs to their homes, to put in place “adequate protection measures” for them and to ensure that “their property will be restored or their losses compensated”. However,HRW warned, in another statement released on Wednesday, that in the absence of immediate and rigorous international monitoring, it was highly unlikely that this would happen.“Without the international spotlight, the Sudanese government is unlikely to disarm and disband its Arab militia, re-establish security in the rural areas, or guarantee the safety of displaced persons who wish to return home for planting season - crucial benchmarks for any improvement in the situation,” said Jemera Rone, a Sudan researcher at HRW.Without protection and greatly increased humanitarian assistance, displaced civilians ran the risk of dying from epidemics and a “man-made famine”, she added.DROUGHT, PESTS AND WAR IN NORTH
Northern Darfur (home to 1.5 million people), which has been experiencing a drought over the last two decades, as well as desertification of its northern areas, is particularly vulnerable.After several years of drought, an expected “bumper harvest” in 2003 was all but ruined in November when grasshoppers descended on key millet-producing areas, according to Bashir Abd al-Rahman, an official with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in al-Fashir, the capital of Northern Darfur State.Mass displacement has now added to the state’s woes. Conflict in the north has resulted in an estimated 60 percent of villages there being destroyed, burned, or abandoned because of fear of attacks, according to a survey conducted by the Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG) in February and March 2004.Even in undestroyed villages, over 50 percent of households had migrated, ITDG reported, some of them to hide in mountainous areas and others fleeing temporarily to avoid either aerial bombardments or forcible recruitment by the
SLA and the JEM.Many of the IDPs are from the main millet-producing areas of Tawilah, Korma, Kutum and Dar al-Salam and already lost a harvest in 2003. According to ITDG, about 40,000 households Northern Darfur missed the harvest season due to displacement, while many of those who did manage to harvest their crops later lost their food stocks to looters.Meanwhile, livelihoods in the state are collapsing as market systems and seasonal labour opportunities have been lost due to insecurity, and commercial transport has all but ground to a halt.All markets in the Jabal Si area and most markets in Kabkabiyah had closed, ITDG reported, noting that crop failure last year had rendered most people dependent on the markets for food. On one hand, grain prices had risen to as high as 10 goats for one sack of millet, from one to two goats per sack before the conflict escalated. On the other hand, livestock prices had dropped as people tried to sell their animals off before they were looted, it added.Much of the region’s infrastructure and thousands of fruit trees - a key source of food - had also been destroyed. In Kabkabiyah alone, over 150 irrigation pumps had been lost, damaged or looted from farms, and 35 shallow wells destroyed, said ITDG.The combination of conflict, drought and pests had been overwhelming, Bashir told PRESS. “The majority of the IDPs are destitute. It is difficult to find an income. Without an income, and if they are unable to cultivate, how can they feed themselves?”Host communities which had been sharing food with IDPs were also running out of food, he said. The UN has received reports of as many as 20 families being accommodated by a single host.“Survival in Darfur is a delicate balance with limited room for margin. While most communities have developed complex coping mechanisms to deal with a single bad season of drought or failed harvest, a second failed, ruined, burned or looted harvest can push families to the edge of survival,” HRW warned.CHANGED DEMOGRAPHYAt a recent meeting of humanitarian actors in the national capital, Khartoum, a participant surmised that less than 50 percent of the IDPs would return to the places they had fled from. Instead they would go to irrigated settlements closer to the Nile river, move to urban centres such as Khartoum, or remain on the peripheries of towns in Darfur, he said.Over the last decade, Darfur has been experiencing a slow migration towards urban centres, which may have been drastically accelerated by the conflict, according to observers.Humanitarian actors who spoke to PRESS in Darfur said the numbers of returnees were impossible to predict at this early stage, but added that there was a danger of the growing settlements or “camps” on the edges of towns becoming permanent, with many of the IDPs remaining dependent on aid.Speaking before Sunday’s ceasefire agreement, Sulaf al-Din Salih, the national Humanitarian Aid Commissioner, told PRESS in Khartoum that people were already able to return to their homes.“People are already going back home. People have the ability to assess the situation, whether they can go back or not. This has been done through local mechanisms or tribal systems. They make an agreement between themselves that they are going to protect this process of return, that no one is going to attack them. So whether there is a ceasefire or not, this process has already started,” he said.He added that extra army and police had been sent to Darfur to maintain law and order, and had achieved a good degree of success. “We think that things are improving quite a lot.”But humanitarian agencies say it is highly unlikely that people will return without tangible guarantees for their safety.Meanwhile, aid agencies are under pressure to pay for and provide assistance in the urban centres that people have fled to, but not in their home areas, aid workers told PRESS.


June 22, 2007 | 4:17 AM Comments  0 comments

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CHAD-SUDAN: Darfur’s invisible refugees living rough in eastern Chad
Related to country: Sudan


KOURBILEKE, EASTERN CHAD, 4 Feb 2004 (PRESS) - Driving through the arid dustbowl around Birak in eastern Chad, just a few kilometres from the western border of war-torn
Sudan, you could easily miss the influxes of refugees. Hidden away from the naked eye, only local people can point to where the thousands are gathering in scattered groups.A wall of thorny branches marks out a family’s territory, cooking pots and bowls hang from the trees, a brightly coloured piece of clothing flaps in the wind, a dusty child sits playing in the dirt: through the scattered foliage and thicket, isolated signs of life become discernible.Spread out across 600 km of desiccated desert, protected only by trees and bush, and foraging to survive in the scrub, are up to 135,000 people from the Darfur region of western
Sudan.Hidden from the outside world, and extremely hard to find for aid workers trying to assist them, refugees in Kourbileke (about 2 km from the border) told IRIN they had fled for their lives from Sudanese bombs on 16 January.“The bombing was in the surrounding villages, then it came to our village [Habilah],” said Abd al-Karim Abbakar Anaw, who described himself as a Sudanese chief. “They are [still] bombing every day. We heard it today at 7.00 a.m. this morning.”First the army came in tanks with militias on horseback, then they stole the villagers’ cattle from near the well, he said. The next day a plane dropped bombs on the village, killing eight people and forcing the entire population - about 1,750 - to flee. In the chaos, seven people - four men and three women - were abducted, he added.“The goal is to drive away the villagers so they can take over… They burn all the houses, steal everything, and the population flees because they don’t have anything left.”A teacher, Muhammad Husayn Ali, told IRIN that between 40 and 50 army vehicles had arrived in Habilah that day, accompanied by 500 militiamen, followed by “intense aerial bombardments” by Antonov bombers.Ten women were raped, five of whom were carried off to Junaynah in western
Darfur, added a young woman with four children, Samirah Hasan Salih.MASS EXODUSHounded by bomber planes and helicopters, their homes pillaged and burned by militias and the army, their women raped and shamed, pockets of Sudanese refugees have been entering Chad haphazardly ever since July. Numbers have peaked sporadically, with the vast majority - about 48,000 - arriving since December.
Most of the Sudanese who have arrived north of the Chadian town of Adre fled from bombing and fighting between Darfur’s main rebel groups - the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement - and the government, while further south militia attacks have driven them across the border, according to Robbie Tomson, a consultant with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.All of the refugees - as well as the over 600,000 displaced within Darfur - tell similar stories. Rumours and inaccuracies about dates or numbers are frequent, but the substance remains the same: The “Arab” militias and the army attack villages together or successively, burning them to the ground and randomly killing their inhabitants.EXPLOITATION OF Darfur, where the vast majority of people are Muslims, Arabic-speaking and share a mixed gene pool, the distinction between “Arab” and “African” is more cultural than racial. But for the victims of the conflict, the “racial” aspect to the attacks is a constant theme.Armed raids on rich agricultural areas of Darfur, largely inhabited by the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawah ethnic groups, have historically been part of a way of life for the region’s Arab nomadic pastoralists.The minority Arabs engaged in low-level skirmishes with sedentary farmers until the 1970s. But since the mid-1980s, following a prolonged drought in 1983, skirmishes with subsistence farmers developed into larger-scale battles as the nomads were pushed further south.At the same time, successive northern governments began using Arab militias to crush rising dissent in the region, including a rebellion led by Sudan People’s Liberation Army rebels in 1991-1992. Analysts say this gave the Arab nomads leverage with the government, which rewarded them with local administrative positions, financial gains and arms, and lately a carte blanche to loot, steal and kill - all at the expense of the sedentary tribes.“It’s a tribal problem. Black with black, Arab with Arab,” says Muhammad Husayn. “There are no rebels in Habilah. It’s a black population, that’s why they came and bombed,” he said. “All the blacks they find they kill.”Government bombs and attacks are indiscriminately killing both armed rebels and innocent civilians, who are all tarnished with the same “black” brush, say the refugees.
SICK, TIRED AND HUNGRYMost of the refugees in Kourbileke say their food supplies have run out, while their children have fevers and stomach bugs. Tired and hungry, sleeping in the sand with just a thin plastic floor mat to cover them, their resistance to illness is wearing thin.Fourteen-year-old Fatimah Adam told IRIN: “It’s not good, we are here in the open, it’s cold…I want something to eat.”Sixty-five-year-old Khadijah Adam, who said her bones hurt everywhere, agreed. “We need food, drink, blankets, clothes, shoes, sugar, soap, mats and jerry cans for water,” she said.Hoping to remain in Chad, where extended families may be able to support them, the refugees are sending messages along the border to Kourbileke. But many of their loved ones are stranded hours away, while others were left behind in Sudan.Meantime they live in fear of bombs “accidentally” falling on the Chadian side of the border - a number fell in Tine on 29 January - and further attacks. “We are scared that the militias will come here. We have no arms, if they arrive we will have to flee again,” lamented Khadijah Adam.The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has reported frequent incursions across the largely unguarded border.URGENT TRANSFERUNHCR, which started giving some of the refugees food and blankets in December, plans to move them to an emergency transit centre in Kounoungo, about 18 km southwest of Guereda. From there they will be transferred to one of six sites - one of which has already been set up in Farachana - before the rainy season begins in June and renders transport impossible.But aid workers must first find sites with an adequate water supply. The lack of water, remoteness of the hostile desert environment and the difficulty in finding the scattered refugees are the main hindrances to helping them, says Helene Caux, a UNHCR spokeswoman. “It’s a great challenge to assist the refugees. You can drive for kilometres and kilometres before finding them,” she says. “Then you have to drive kilometres to find any more.”Compounding this is the difficulty in ascertaining who is a refugee - i.e. has fled from conflict - and who is not, with little accurate data available.The porous border, which was drawn up in colonial times, means little to the semi-nomadic Zaghawah, whose lifestyles and family connections on both sides have meant frequent toing and froing.FORGOTTEN CRISISDespite the suffering, donations for the victims are few and far between, note observers.Last September, UNHCR appealed for US $10.3 million for 2004 to provide assistance to about 65,000 refugees. No contributions have so far been received, while the increasing numbers mean more money is now required.“Funds are urgently needed because we are in a race against time to relocate refugees from the volatile border area to safer sites farther inside Chad,” said UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski.Other organisations have had similar experiences. “We in the Red Cross, up to now we’ve found it very difficult to fund-raise for Chad,” said Robbie Tomson. “It’s not headline news. Who in Europe or the US knows about this war?” he asked.“This has the potential to become a real disaster if the international community doesn’t assist,” he added.Observers say the international community’s determination to focus on Sudan’s ongoing north-south peace process - at the expense of the victims of the Darfur conflict - coupled with a nonchalance towards events in one of Africa’s least developed countries, Chad, are helping to prolong the conflict.Compounding this “indifference” has been the lack of media coverage. “People are dying every day, but nobody is diffusing the information because there are no journalists here,” said the Sudanese chief, Abbakar Anaw. “Peace can only come back if the UN puts pressure on the government,” he added.The indifference of both the international community, and the Sudanese government towards the plight of Darfur’s civilians was pushing them to take up arms, added one of the victims. “What the government is doing is encouraging people to fight back,” he said.


June 22, 2007 | 4:11 AM Comments  0 comments

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Darfur - old conflict takes on new dimension
Related to country: Sudan


The Sudanese region of Darfur has been a major focus of regional and international attention this year, with expressed concern for the more than one million people affected by a massive humanitarian crisis reaching crescendo levels in March and April. A UN fact-finding mission travelled to the area in late April to look into the human rights situation. A high-level multi-agency mission arrived in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, on 27 April for talks with the government and a look at the Darfur crisis. And the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, sent a team to the Chadian border to verify reports that 200 to 300 Sudanese refugees have been crossing weekly from Darfur into Chad since the beginning of April despite a ceasefire accord.
The humanitarian crisis in Darfur has drawn much of the attention away from talks in Kenya between Sudan's government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). The negotiations are brokered by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development [IGAD], a regional body which includes Sudan and many of its neighbours. The two sides reached agreement on some key issues, including the sharing of oil wealth between northern and southern Sudan, but were yet to agree on the question of Islamic rule (shar'ia) in Khartoum, and the status of three areas in central Sudan: the Nuba Mountains, Upper Blue Nile, and oil-rich Abyei.
Parallel talks in Ndjamena, Chad, between the Sudanese government and two rebel groups from Darfur yielded a renewable 45-day ceasefire on 8 April. As the month of April drew to a close, media reports from the Chadian capital had it that the talks were deadlocked, a claim denied by Chad's government.
Despite reports in early April that it had been violated by Arab militias known as Janjaweed, accused of attacking non-Arab communities in the three states that make up Darfur, the ceasefire enabled relief workers to access some vulnerable people from whom they had been cut off. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), for example, reported on 27 April that it had begun assisting people who had been unreachable before the ceasefire.
The Darfur conflict
Northern, Southern and Western Darfur, located along Sudan's border with Chad, are home to about a quarter of the 25 million Sudanese. Its people are divided between pastoral, and mostly nomadic, Arabic-speaking communities, loosely known as "Arabs", and sedentary ethnic groups who speak African languages: mainly the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa. An ongoing ethnic conflict in Darfur between Arab and non-Arab communities escalated in late 2002. In February 2003, a group called the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) took up arms in reaction, it said, to underdevelopment, political marginalisation and a lack of government protection against attacks by nomadic groups against sedentary populations. In response to the insurgency, the government mobilized and armed Arab militias, according to various sources, including the International Crisis Group (ICG), a highly respected think tank. The government denied arming Arab militias, saying it had called upon all ethnic groups to defend Darfur against the insurgents. The Darfur crisis has uprooted over a million people, according to UN estimates. Most have been displaced within Darfur, while over 110,000 have fled to Chad. The United Nations has appealed for donor funding to cater for the growing needs in the region. In September 2003, it had asked for US $23 million for Darfur. Since then needs had increased fourfold, according to UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland, and at least US $115 million was needed, plus US $30 million for refugees and host communities in Chad. Reports of ethnic cleansing cause concern
The refugees in Chad told similar stories of atrocities against civilians by the Janjaweed. In some cases, they said, Sudanese military aircraft would bomb villages, after which the militias would attack. The militias, they said, killed men and boys over the age of 15, raped women and girls and abducted children. Similar abuses were reported by human rights groups.
UN officials, non-governmental groups such as Amnesty International and the ICG, the US and other governments and institutions such as the African Union have raised concern about the reported atrocities. "We receive reports now on a daily basis from our own people on the ground in Darfur on widespread atrocities and grave violations of human rights against the civilian population," Egeland told Press in an interview in early April."Stopping these attacks against women, children, the displaced and refugees and ensuring their protection is our number one priority.
"We have also seen an organised campaign of forced depopulation of entire areas that has resulted in the displacement of hundreds and thousands of people, both within Darfur and to neighbouring Chad," he said. In the latter part of March, the outgoing UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Mukesh Kapila, noted that the violence in Darfur appeared to be "particularly targeted at a specific group based on their ethnic identity and appears to be systematized."
"Thus," he said, "it is akin to ethnic cleansing." Sudanese officials deny claims of ethnic cleansing
Such claims have been denied by Sudanese government officials. In an interview with IRIN on 8 April, the Sudanese under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, Abdelrahman Abu Doum, said that the situation in Darfur had been misrepresented. He said that while there was no denying that there was a conflict, there was no basis for talk of ethnic cleansing.
The media, he charged, were not reporting peace initiatives that were being conducted at the local level. People, he added, were helping each other. "The so-called people ["Arabs"] who, according to the international media are behind these atrocities, are the ones providing camels for the displaced to take whatever goods they have in their displaced camp back to their villages," he said.
Dr Sulaf al-Din Salih, commissioner-general of Sudan's Humanitarian Aid Commission, told IRIN the international community was misinformed over the situation in Darfur. In an interview on 2 April in Khartoum, that claims that the militias, aided by the military, were carrying out a scorched-earth policy or ethnic cleansing were part of a political campaign against the Sudanese government.
He also denied that the state had been arming one group against the others. "We asked all the people of Darfur to help in protecting themselves against the rebellion," he said. "This is standard practice which we do in this country. Whenever there is an attack on a community, we ask the local community to support, to help." Insufficient access hampers relief effort
Efforts to assist the victims of the Darfur conflict were hampered by the insecurity in the area - vehicles carrying relief supplies have come under attack in recent months - and, according to humanitarian agencies, long delays in obtaining clearance from the Sudanese authorities to go to Darfur. And despite the fact that many of the displaced were destitute, and accomodating them was placing already poor host families and communities under severe strain, some of the victims had reportedly declined assistance - or reduced the amount they accepted - for fear of becoming targets of militia attacks. Egeland reflected the hopes of the humanitarian community when, in an interview with IRIN in early April, he argued that the government of Sudan should commit to the disarmament and control of the Janjaweed militia, ensure that the targeting of civilians ceased immediately, and make sure all humanitarian personnel had full, unimpeded access to all areas of Darfur.
Access appeared to have improved in the latter part of April: UNICEF was able to vaccinate children in previously inaccessible parts of the region, while Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) also carried out immunizations against measles. Urgent action required However, MSF warned in a 28 April news release that the health of hundreds of thousands of displaced persons was worsening because urgently needed aid was lacking. The NGO reported high malnutrition levels among the displaced, especially among children, and noted that "despite announcements of forthcoming aid, assistance [was] utterly inadequate".
"Mobilization of aid efforts is slow and the few organizations operating in Darfur cannot meet the full range of needs," it said. "People in the region are completely dependent on aid to survive. […] "If promised aid does not materialize quickly, the decline already underway will only worsen."
MSF also noted that the threat to the survival of hundreds of thousands of displaced persons would increase when the rainy season began in May and roads became impassable, further hindering the delivery of aid. "Urgent action is required," it urged.

June 10, 2007 | 10:51 AM Comments  0 comments

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SUDAN: Peace and the Region
Related to country: Sudan


With a landmass of over two million sq km, Sudan is the largest country in Africa. It has borders with nine countries, all of which will be affected to a greater or lesser degree by the conclusion of a peace deal in their giant neighbour. A comprehensive peace agreement between the Sudanese government and rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) also has the potential to change the dynamics of the region. In the 1990s, the Sudanese National Islamic Front (NIF) of President Umar al-Bashir (who came to power in a military coup in 1989) launched an aggressive Islamist-based foreign policy and tried to export radical Islam to the region. Relations with neighbouring countries, particularly Ethiopia and Eritrea, quickly deteriorated. But the new century has seen a realignment of alliances and shifting allegiances due to factors such as the Ethiopia-Eritrea border war, the ongoing rebellion in northern Uganda and the global war against terror. And undoubtedly one of the greatest effects of a peace deal would be the return of hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees to their country from the neighbouring states.
ETHIOPIA:
The Ethiopian government believes the country could reap enormous rewards from lasting peace in Sudan. Bilateral ties have been steadily improving over the last few years, particularly in the aftermath of the Eritrea-Ethiopia war of 1998-2000. "Peace in Sudan is a harbinger of regional peace," says Information Minister Bereket Simon, stressing that the whole image of the war-ravaged Horn of Africa would change in the eyes of the international community. "Achieving unity in Sudan within the framework of peace and democracy will offer a significant advantage for both Ethiopia and our region," he told Press in March.
The government believes that a Sudanese peace deal will also bring an end to religious extremism, while fostering greater trade, stability and economic development. Hopes also exist that a lasting solution will bring an end to frequent clashes between rival ethnic groups struggling for ascendancy along the 1,600-km Ethiopia-Sudan border. Bereket also stated that the "field of operation will be narrowed down" for guerrilla groups intent on destabilising border regions with stable governments. For Ethiopia, cross-border cooperation has been formalised, with the emphasis on boosting the current limited trade levels through business development and oil exports. New negotiations are also under way on fully utilising access and use of the Nile river, which flows from Ethiopia into Sudan. An all-weather road now links northern Ethiopia with Sudan, and Ethiopia benefits from access to Port Sudan and the Red Sea. Telephone networks have been integrated between the two countries, and Ethiopia is delivering surplus electricity to Sudan.
The United Nations is also hoping for a "spillover" effect in Ethiopia and Eritrea, two countries emerging from a bloody border war and whose relations are still in deep freeze. "This example of statesmanship in settling a seemingly ingrained and intractable conflict could motivate the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea," said one senior UN peacekeeper. And while historically, add analysts, Ethiopia’s relations with SPLM/A rebels have been cool in the last decade, they too are warming as peace approaches. The SPLM/A leader, John Garang, has visited the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, twice in recent months, meeting Prime Minister Meles Zenawi there to brief him on the ongoing peace initiatives.
ERITREA:
Eritrea’s relations with Sudan, meanwhile, have been steadily declining with each side accusing the other of supporting its rebel groups. Eritrea is historically mistrustful of Khartoum, which sought to export radical Islam into the Horn in the mid-1990s. The Sudanese opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has its headquarters in Asmara, the Eritrean capital, although it stresses that it gets no military support from the Eritrean authorities. Earlier this year, the Eritrean government accused the Sudanese authorities of arresting its nationals and closing community centres frequented by Eritreans in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. It also believes that a new regional alliance, grouping Ethiopia, Sudan and Yemen, is aimed at isolating Eritrea in the region. The border between Sudan and Eritrea remains closed, although they each have diplomatic representation in each other’s capitals. Khartoum has repeatedly accused Asmara of backing Sudanese rebels in a bid to topple the regime, but the Eritrean government denies the charges.
"We don’t have an agenda of regime change in Sudan," says Yemane Gebremeskel, Director of the Eritrean President’s Office. "If the Sudanese want to change their government, then it’s up to them." He admits that bilateral ties are currently poor, but stresses that "there are no insurmountable problems". Regional analysts say radical Islamist groups seeking to destabilise Eritrea could lose their base if a peace deal is concluded in Sudan. Recently there has been a spate of attacks in western Eritrea, believed to have been carried out by the Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement (EIJM) - a Sudan-based Eritrean rebel group. The EIJM has previously claimed carrying out attacks on the Eritrean military, but denies targeting civilians.
UGANDA:
Uganda’s relationship with its northern neighbour over the past 20 years has been strained, largely due to each country supporting the other’s rebels. At the end of the 1990s, however, a significant warming of relations officially put an end to this although both sides have periodically accused each other of violating a peace pact signed in Nairobi in 1999. In June 2002, the two countries signed an agreement under which Sudan authorised Uganda to send forces into Sudanese territory in a strategy known as Operation Iron Fist to attack Lord’s Resistance Army rebels (LRA) based there. For Uganda, the "Sudan question" is paramount, regional analysts say. Should peace come to Sudan, there could be an end in sight to northern Uganda’s civil war, which has been raging for nearly 18 years and has caused untold mayhem, destruction and loss of life. The Ugandan rebel LRA, led by Joseph Kony, operates from bases in Sudan.
"A comprehensive peace deal which sticks, between Khartoum and the SPLM/A, will remove the imperative to support the LRA," one analyst said. "Rogue elements in the Sudanese army will no longer feel the need to support Kony, because the SPLA will no longer be a threat."
"Once a peace deal is in place, our full attention will turn to the LRA," George Riek Machar, the SPLM/A's spokesman in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, said earlier this year.
KENYA:
Kenya, which has borne the burden of thousands of Sudanese refugees on its territory, stands to gain greatly from peace in its northwestern neighbour. Other peace dividends, according to regional analysts, include a reduced influx of illegal firearms from regional war zones and improved economic prospects due to cheaper oil imports.
A local analyst, Charles Omondi, says the rise in violence in Kenya can be attributed to the ease with which firearms are being acquired through porous borders. He also noted that Kenya, which currently imports its crude oil from the Middle East, stands to gain from cheaper Sudanese oil.
"I envisage a situation where one day a pipeline is built to supply Kenya directly with Sudan’s crude oil," he told Press.
Former Defence Minister Marsden Madoka, who is currently the shadow foreign minister, noted that Kenya had built up an image as a regional peacemaker, and a Sudanese peace deal would enhance this image. Kenyan mediation of the regional Inter-Governmental Authority-sponsored peace talks between the Sudanese government and the rebel SPLM/A has been widely praised.
"What Kenya has been out to do is to play a very neutral role," Madoka told IRIN. "But most important now is the question of peace and stability."
"Instability in any of our neighbouring countries is a great threat to our own stability," he pointed out. "We have a lot of firearms in the country, which has contributed to much instability in Kenya."
Gitau Warigi, a political commentator with the Kenyan Daily Nation newspaper, also underlined that peace in Sudan would release development funds for other needy countries.
"Poverty has been spreading in the east African region, but Sudan has diverted attention from other issues that the international community should look at," he said.
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC:
For the CAR, the biggest benefits from a peace deal in Sudan would be trade and the repatriation of the more than 37,000 Sudanese refugees it hosts. The two countries share a border of over 1,000 km with the same ethnic groups on either side. But the civil war in Sudan prompted tens of thousands of refugees to flee into the CAR, ushering in a climate of permanent insecurity.
According to CAR officials, during the dry season, SPLM/A rebels would infiltrate towns and villages in eastern CAR in order to obtain food supplies and other commodities. "They would enter the CAR up to 100-200 km from the border," Come Zoumara, the presidential adviser in defence matters, told Press
For the first time in two years, CAR soldiers were able to reach Bangouti 1,500 km east of the capital, Bangui, on the border with Sudan, which had been under SPLM/A control, Gen Antoine Gambi, the army chief of staff, revealed earlier this month during a debate on state-owned Television Centrafricaine. Hamis Hagar Zat, an adviser at the Sudanese embassy in Bangui, said a peace accord would constitute an enormous boost for trade between the two countries. The decades-long war subjected the southeastern tip of CAR to abject poverty and underdevelopment, due to the long distance separating it from Bangui. "With peace and stability restored in southern Sudan, people on both sides of the border would engage in trade and commercial exchanges and develop their region," Hagar Zat said. He added that, in time, the two governments - which signed a trade accord in 1967 - would consider building or repairing roads linking the two countries.
But one of the most significant effects would be the return of the refugees. In February, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) reopened its office in Mboki to educate and organise the voluntary repatriation of refugees.
"The decision to reopen the UNHCR office was motivated by the progress made in negotiations between the rebels and the [Sudanese] government," Jean-Richard Fabomy, a UNHCR field officer, told IRIN. He said the repatriation programme would most probably start in July.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO:
In the DRC, tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees are also anxiously awaiting the conclusion of a peace deal so that they too can go home. Around 69,000 refugees have been registered by UNHCR, most of them in the northeastern Province Orientale close to the border with Sudan. The UNHCR spokeswoman there, Fatoumata Kaba, said that in theory the repatriation of refugees should start towards the end of this year. "Most of the refugees say they want to go home, but they are waiting for cast-iron guarantees regarding the ceasefire, education and infrastructures," she told IRIN. She stressed that the number of registered refugees was "very far from the reality", as thousands more were living outside the camps. Many of them have been in the DRC for over 20 years. But according to DRC officials, there have not been many problems between the refugees and the local people. "These people are the same on both sides of the border," explained External Trade Minister Roger Lumbala. He was the leader of the former rebel group, Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie/national, which had close ties with SPLM/A rebels operating from DRC territory. The DRC government, meanwhile, is launching a diplomatic offensive to boost relations with Sudan. Foreign Minister Antoine Ghonda is due to visit Khartoum for discussions on issues such as the repatriation of refugees. According to the US State Department, the DRC’s relations with its neighbours, including Sudan, have often been driven by security concerns, leading to intricate and interlocking alliances. The recent crisis in eastern DRC was exacerbated by the use of DRC territory as a base by various insurgency groups attacking neighbouring countries, and by the exploitation of the DRC's resources by its neighbours.
CHAD:
Ever since fighting broke out in the three Darfur states of western Sudan over a year ago, Chad has been drawn into the Sudan conflict on a different axis. It is currently hosting an estimated 110,000 Sudanese refugees who fled combat between Darfur rebels and the Sudanese army and militia allied to it. Despite close relations between Chad and Sudan, concerns have been raised about regional stability in an area where cross-border ethnic ties are stronger than nationality. Much of the top brass of the Chadian army belongs to the same Zaghawah ethnicity as many of the refugees. President Idriss Deby of Chad is himself a Zaghawah. Deby is therefore walking a tightrope, say observers. "He can't afford a falling-out with Sudan," a regional analyst told IRIN. "If he supports his clansmen openly, Sudan will come down on him like a ton of bricks. If he does it covertly, he risks taking the war home with him." Whether a peace deal between the Sudanese government and SPLM/A will help bring the deteriorating situation under control remains to be seen, say regional analysts. The SPLM/A spokesman, Yasir Arman, maintains that a "democratic solution" to the Darfur conflict will be one of the SPLM/A's first priorities once it enters a transitional government. "Any peace agreement is going to inject a new momentum and new ways of looking at things in Sudan. It will allow transformations and political participation," he told IRIN. "If we have an agreement, the present policy of the government is going to change... There will be new thinking for all the parties, including ourselves." An EU official noted that a constitutional review was foreseen during the six-and-a-half-year transition period due to follow the signing of a peace deal. "This would be a good opportunity to address the political aspects of the Darfur crisis, but within a broader framework of addressing the issue of marginalisation of various areas," he said.
EGYPT:
Egypt and Sudan resumed diplomatic relations in March 2000, which were broken off in 1995 after Cairo accused Khartoum of attempting to assassinate President Husni Mubarak in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. Egypt does not want to see a divided Sudan as this would increase the competition for the resources of the Nile river. "Moreover, as well as strongly supporting a united Sudan, Egypt has long assumed some extraterritorial rights in Sudan based on historical-cultural linkages, the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium and its assumed natural and historical rights to the waters of the Nile," says Sudan analyst John Young. "From such a perspective, Cairo has always favoured an amenable and conciliatory regime in Khartoum," he added. "And no doubt, as its premier ally in the region, the US has been influenced by the changing perspectives of Cairo on Khartoum."
"Thus, in the present context, Cairo can reasonably conclude that things are moving its way on Sudan... For its part the NIF welcomes Egypt’s involvement in the peace process to ensure that self-determination is removed or sufficiently undermined in the peace negotiations," says Young.
In March, Egypt’s ambassador to the UN, Ahmed Abul-Gheit, stressed his country’s interest in maintaining Sudan’s territorial integrity and in "bringing about justice, peace and equality to all the people of Sudan". He added that Egypt was keen to get solid international peace guarantees for Sudan.
LIBYA:
Throughout the 1980s, Sudan's relations with Libya alternated between extreme hostility and cordiality. Observers note that the former Sudanese leader, Ja'far Numayri, and the Libyan leader, Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi were especially antagonistic towards each other. Numayri permitted the opposition Libyan National Salvation Front to broadcast anti-Qadhafi propaganda from radio transmitters located in Sudan. The Libyan government responded by training anti-Numayri forces in Libya and providing the SPLM/A with financial and material support.
According to regional analysts, repairing relations with Libya has been a goal of the various governments since 1985. The Al-Sadiq al-Mahdi government allowed Libya to station some of its military forces in Darfur, from where they assisted Chadian rebels in carrying out raids against government forces in Chad. The expanding relations between Sudan and Libya were not viewed favourably in Cairo, and in 1988 - apparently in response to pressure from Egypt and the US - the Sudanese government requested a withdrawal of the Libyan forces.
Observers say relations between Libya and Sudan now can be described as "stagnant", although Sudanese officials and opposition leaders visit Tripoli occasionally. But Libyan investment in Sudan has dropped to almost nothing. This is largely attributed to lack of Libyan funds after years of sanctions, and Qadhafi's displeasure after sponsorship of the Sudanese peace talks was "hijacked" by the US.

June 10, 2007 | 10:44 AM Comments  0 comments

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Background to the peace process
Related to country: Sudan


The Sudanese government and the main rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) resumed their meetings in Kenya on 17 February, for what observers hope will mark the final stage of an 18-month peace process.
Bitter foes, the government and the SPLM/A are expected to reach agreement on hitherto inadmissible topics, and hopes are high that a comprehensive peace deal will finally put an end to a continuous and devastating 20-year civil war, in which about two million people have lost their lives, and millions more their homes, livelihoods and even their country.
AT WAR SINCE 1956
As the Horn of Africa analyst, Dan Connell, notes, Sudan has been at war with itself since the day it emerged from colonial rule in 1956. By then, the stage for conflict had already been set by the British and the Egyptians by way of a scenario of glaring inequalities between the north and the south, with much of the country's resources and the instruments of policy-making concentrated in the Arab north. In such a context, the mostly Christian and animist southerners took up arms to fight against the imbalance. There has been almost constant conflict, alleviated only by an 11-year hiatus from 1972 when a peace deal gave southerners limited regional autonomy. But fighting, led by the SPLM/A, resumed in 1983 after the then president, Ja'far Numayri, dissolved the regional government and imposed Islamic shari’ah law nationwide. He was overthrown in 1985 in a military coup led by Lt-Gen Abd al-Rahman Siwar al-Dhahab, who dissolved Numayri's ruling Sudanese Socialist Union, then paved the way for a return to civilian rule by way of elections in 1986, which brought to power Al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, leader of the Ummah Party, as prime minister. Al-Mahdi was in turn deposed in 1989 in another military coup, this time led by the current president, Lt-Gen Umar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir.
THE PEACE DEAL IN A NUTSHELL
Since 1994, the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) had been attempting to broker peace between the SPLM/A and the government, but its efforts failed until a breakthrough was made in 2002, leading to the landmark Machakos Protocol signed in Kenya on 20 July.
This success was partly due to the stewardship of the process by the chief mediator, Kenya’s Gen Lazarus Sumbeiywo, but also because each side acknowledged the other’s chief concern: the SPLM/A’s demand for a referendum on self-determination after a six-and-a-half-year interim period, and Khartoum's insistence on retaining shari’ah law in areas under its control. The result was a momentum to move forward.
In October 2002, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed on a cessation of hostilities for the duration of the talks and, in the course of the negotiations, momentous accords were reached on key issues. These included security arrangements for the interim period (which provide for the deployment of joint units in some areas) and an agreement on wealth-sharing (under which oil revenue will be equally split between the south and the north, and a dual banking system will be in operation). The talks have been given added weight by face-to-face meetings in the Kenyan Rift Valley town of Naivasha between the SPLM/A leader, John Garang, and Sudanese First Vice-President Ali Uthman Muhammad Taha. Both sides have made references to the irreversibility of the process. The lengthy talks took a break in April when both the Sudanese vice-president and the SPLM/A leader left the venue. Taha returned to Khartoum "for consultations" while Garang travelled "on other business". The two, however, returned in the last week of April to resume the talks.
Observers said two major contentious issues remained. One was the status of three disputed regions: southern Blue Nile, the Nuba mountains and Abyei, which are technically in the north, but whose inhabitants, according to the SPLM/A, identify with the south. Progress has been made on southern Blue Nile and the Nuba mountains, but observers say Abyei is particularly problematic because of its large oil reserves and rich pasture lands.
The other sticking point was whether shari’ah law should be maintained in Khartoum.
HUMANITARIAN DEVASTATION
A probable peace deal between the government and the SPLM/A does not mean that Sudan’s overwhelming humanitarian problems will be at an end. Instead, many of the burdens will be concentrated within the country as millions of displaced people try to regain their homes, and hundreds of thousands of refugees start streaming back. They will be returning to a country ripped apart by years of war and neglect. A massive rehabilitation programme will be needed for the south - an infrastructure will have to be built, services extended to the area, and people will have to learn how to live in peacetime rather than in wartime. Sudan’s vast oil wealth is due to be divided equally between the north and south. With production currently standing at 250,000 barrels a day and set to rise, oil revenue will undoubtedly bring some benefits to the long-suffering people. But observers note that billions more dollars will be needed for the reconstruction of the south. Sudan already hosts about 320,000 refugees, many of them from Eritrea: Africa’s longest-running refugee caseload. But tense relations between the two neighbours and the closure of their common border have posed problems for an ongoing repatriation exercise after the UN High Commissioner for Refugees declared an end to refugee status for Eritreans in Sudan in 2002. Conflict in the Gambela region of western Ethiopia has led to a further 5,000 refugees fleeing into the Pachala area of Sudan’s Upper Nile region over the last few weeks.
But it is the outbreak of another civil in western Sudan that is giving the greatest cause for concern and which risks torpedoing any peace gains. As the Kenya talks made headway, intense fighting between the government and rebels in the Darfur region of western Sudan led to the deaths of several thousand people and the displacement of an estimated one million more. Over 110,000 fled into neighbouring Chad. Their flight did not lead them to safety. International aid agencies and journalists reported Sudanese government aerial bombardments of the Chadian side of the border, as the authorities attempted to gain control of the situation in Darfur. Incursions by mounted Arab militiamen, known as the Janjawid and believed to enjoy the support of the government have been a daily fear for most Darfur civilians, who have long complained of neglect by Khartoum.
The Chadian government has been mediating between the government and Darfur's two rebel groups - the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement. That mediation yielded a renewable 45-day ceasefire on 8 April, meant to allow better humanitarian access to the displaced people in Sudan and the refugees in Chad.
THE EAST-WEST THREAT
Unless the situation in Darfur is addressed, there is a very real threat that the north-south problem will be replaced by an east-west conundrum. Most sides outside the SPLM/A and the government feel marginalised by the peace process. The leaders of the SPLM/A and the Khartoum government both come from powerful circles, but nevertheless represent only a section of their respective regions. And with a full-blown war in the west, and rumblings of disquiet in the east, the chances of conflict on a different axis are strong. "The lack of meaningful participation of opposition groups can threaten the entire structure," the International Crisis Group (ICG) think-tank has warned. "Unless Chad’s mediation on Darfur is first linked to the IGAD [the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development] process, agreement between the government and SPLA on how to divide the power and wealth ‘pie’ could exacerbate the conflict in Darfur." Disgruntled rebel groups in the west and the east have already joined forces to eradicate "marginalisation, poverty, ignorance and backwardness". Darfur’s SLA and the Eritrea-based Beja Congress in the east say their grievances are essentially the same and they will confront the government on the same platform. The Beja Congress has even warned of an escalation of fighting in the east unless its concerns are addressed and the government ceases seeking "partial solutions" to Sudan’s problems.
Indeed, the ICG has spoken of a "reactivation" of the eastern front under the banner of the opposition umbrella group, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). It notes that indigenous groups such as the Beja Congress, the Rasha'idah Free Lions and the Fatah Forces have a few hundred fighters each, "but more than compensate for numerical weakness by intimate knowledge of the terrain and support from indigenous communities".
These groups want direct access to the negotiations, rather than simply being "represented" by the SPLM/A, which is the largest group within the NDA. A crucial issue now is the implementation of last December’s Jiddah accord, which provides for power-sharing between the government and the NDA, and which some observers see as an indication that the authorities want to involve the Alliance in the political reform process.
REGIONAL CONCERNS
The Sudan peace process, of course, cannot be conducted in isolation. The largest country on the continent has borders with nine nations, most of which will undoubtedly be affected by the outcome of the process. Many hope the prospect of peace will have a positive impact on a volatile region. But this may not always be the case.
Egypt, jealously protecting its vanguard position on the Nile, opposes a divided Sudan, which would create a new state on the river. Rebels in northern Uganda risk losing support from Khartoum.
Subregional groupings outside the aegis of IGAD are springing up. Ethiopia, Sudan and Yemen across the Bab al-Mandab strait have formed a strategic alliance aimed, they say, at enhancing regional cooperation and facilitating exchanges. Eritrea - which has had disputes with all three nations, and whose borders with Sudan and Ethiopia are closed - calls it an "axis of belligerence". The three deny they are attempting to isolate the tiny Red Sea state and have even called on it to join them.
Eritrea, which hosts Sudanese opposition groups, has accused Khartoum of backing the extremist Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement (EIJM), saying that the EIJM has been carrying out attacks on its territory from eastern Sudan. Khartoum denies the charges.
Analysts note that in the Horn in particular, a settlement of the Sudan issue could lead to a general release of tension and a change in the international community’s hitherto detached attitude towards the region.
PROSPECTS
The Sudan peace process has received a tremendous boost from direct US involvement, and independent observers are optimistic that a deal will be reached between the Sudanese government and the SPLM/A. They warn, however, that this progress will be minimised if the violence in the west is allowed to continue unchecked.
"It would be a terrible tragedy if peace in the south were to be achieved just as Sudan enters a new and equally vicious war in Darfur," says Justice Africa, a UK-based think-tank. "As well as humanitarian assistance, the Darfur war needs immediate political attention by the international community."
Many observers agree that both the government and the SPLM/A should commit themselves to a peaceful settlement of the Darfur crisis, and that this should be enshrined in the comprehensive peace agreement.
Noting the international community’s support for the IGAD-led process, the ICG urges formally linking the process to the Darfur peace negotiations in Chad "to ensure that an end to conflict in the south does not become the catalyst for a new bloody chapter in the west".
Other issues also need to be resolved, such as south-south and north-north reconciliation, and human rights questions. The most critical factor will be the actual implementation of the final peace accord.
"It is crucially important that the international community and Sudanese civil society remain closely and constructively engaged with ensuring that the transition to peace is successfully completed, and the parallel transition to democracy is also effectively undertaken," Justice Africa stresses.

June 6, 2007 | 12:38 PM Comments  0 comments

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Opposition groups from the East and West complain of exclusion.
Related to country: Sudan


As the Sudanese government and rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) inched closer to a comprehensive peace deal, observers said the chasm between the north-south accord and east-west discord appeared to be growing ever wider.
Opposition groups at the east-west extremities of the country complained of exclusion from the peace accord. For them, this simply reinforces the marginalisation they say they have felt for years. A year-long, full blown conflict in the west between the government and rebels in the Darfur region is gathering momentum as prospects for a deal approach. And now rebels in the east, who have hitherto been relatively quiet, have threatened to remobilise unless they are included in the peace process.
Regional analysts point out that there is a growing sense of regional identity among diverse communities sharing the same experience of marginalisation. Justice Africa, a UK-based think tank, notes that eastern Sudan, along with Darfur, are among the most neglected regions of the country and have the lowest proportion of people holding positions in the central government.
RESUMPTION OF WAR
Observers warn of simmering conflict in the eastern region, particularly by the indigenous Beja people - who are Muslims but not Arabs - and whose grievances are essentially the same as those faced by the Darfur rebels. The Beja say there has never been any sign of the government in their area - basics such as education and medical care have been completely overlooked.
The various groups making up the Beja are represented by the Beja Congress which is a member of the Asmara-based Sudan opposition grouping, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Salah Barqueen of the Beja Congress is a leader of the civil administration in the "liberated areas" of eastern Sudan and says his group’s armed forces are the second largest in the area after the SPLM/A. He says the NDA controls a swathe of territory from Karora to Hameshkoreb, which it wrested from government forces in October 2002 after weeks of heavy fighting. Bejaland, he adds, covers some 100 sq km in eastern Sudan and 20 percent is under NDA control. He insists the Beja are not seeking secession, and want to be part of a federal system. "One Sudan for all Sudanese," he states.
Salah says there has been no fighting for two months now to give the Naivasha peace talks in Kenya a chance. "We are giving them [the government and SPLM/A] a chance to include us," he said in the Eritrean capital Asmara. "But we are not going to wait much longer."
His fellow NDA members concur. NDA chairman Moulana Mohamed Osman al-Mirghani is currently involved in intensive negotiations to ensure that the Alliance’s members are included in the phase of the negotiations concerning power-sharing.
In February, the Sudanese government broke off negotiations with the NDA, saying that its newest member - the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) rebel group from Darfur which joined earlier this year - was fighting a war and therefore could not take part in peace negotiations.
NDA Leadership Council member Awad Elbari Elsir expressed regret over Khartoum’s decision. An agreement signed in Jeddah between the NDA and the Sudan government in December 2003 provided a basis for power-sharing talks between the two sides. Awad said he hoped the Khartoum authorities would restart the negotiations. Injured man, either soldier or from militia, in Junaynah hospital, western Darfur "We are trying to explain to the government that the SLA’s membership of the NDA means it is seeking peace," he said.
Motaz Osman El Fahal, NDA Executive Bureau member, added that the NDA is now actively seeking participation in the Kenya peace talks.
"This is our last chance to join the process," he told IRIN. "The issue of power-sharing concerns all groups in Sudan, not just the Khartoum authorities and the SPLM/A."
"We will see if there is a way, but if not we will continue to fight," he warned. "The unity of Sudan will not happen without an all-inclusive agreement and there will not be peace."
The NDA believes that the international community has paid no attention to the concerns of the marginalised groups and that it ignores warnings of the resumption of war at its own peril.
The Alliance’s various fighting forces say they are ready to resume combat at any moment. All warn that the situation in the east could mirror that in the west.
CONTAINMENT
Abdel-Aziz Khalid, chairman of the Sudan National Alliance/Sudan Allied Forces (SNA/SNF), another NDA member, says that the troops are exercising a policy of containment at the moment.
"The front is calm except for minor operations," he said. "But we want to exhaust the enemy to stop them from moving forces to the west. We are increasing the tension, they don’t know when we will attack."
He acknowledged that his group has connections with the western rebels. "There is coordination," he said. "Both fronts are putting pressure on Khartoum."
But the government has dismissed any potential threat from the various NDA forces, although it says it recognises the NDA as a "political player" because the SPLM/A is part of it.
"The NDA decided some months ago to renounce violence as a means of achieving its ends," Sudanese government spokesman, Said Khatib, told IRIN. "Until they explain this [the SLA membership] it looks like relations with the government will remain suspended."
The SLA and the Beja Congress officially joined forces in January stating that their grievances were essentially the same and henceforth they would oppose the government from a common platform.
"The government asks why a fighting force has been accepted into the NDA when peace talks are going on," Salah explains. "But we are also a fighting force."
NDA STRENGTHENED?
Observers point out that the SLA’s membership of the NDA could strengthen the Alliance’s negotiating position with the Khartoum, which has been trying to organise peace talks with the Darfur rebels - now under the glare of the international community.
"The SLA made a smart political move in applying for admission to the NDA," Justice Africa points out. The NDA, it says, remains a negotiating forum whereby power-sharing in the north could be accomplished. Girl caught in Janjaweed crossfire, Junaynah hospital, western Darfur
The Alliance meanwhile has dismissed rumours of a split, caused by reports of the possible entry into government of the traditionalist Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) - one of the strongest members of the NDA. NDA chairman Mirghani is also the DUP leader.
Bakri al Khalifa Ahmed, a member of the DUP president’s office, told IRIN this was misinformation created by the Khartoum government. "Khartoum is trying to decapitate the NDA by spreading these rumours about the DUP," he says. The NDA is firmly behind by the SPLM in the hope that it will negotiate an all-inclusive deal. By remaining part of the NDA, the SPLM could give the Alliance some clout in any future power-sharing talks.
NEGLECT
But longstanding and unaddressed humanitarian problems are also pushing the patience of the NDA groups to the limit. Eastern Sudan has been overlooked for years by both the government and the international community. The NDA says the outside world is totally ignorant of a mounting catastrophe in this region.
Many of the NDA members have their humanitarian wings, and although their intentions are good, their resources are very limited.
Sheikh Ahmed Ali Betai of the civil administration in the "liberated areas", and a member of one of the most prominent families in the Hameshkoreb area, says the east is a "forgotten problem."
"We expect a lot of good for the area now it is under the NDA," Sheikh Ahmed told IRIN. "But we urgently need relief services - education, medical and so on."
Another group, Sudan Future Care, which is allied to the SNF/SAF, is implementing projects to tackle tuberculosis and malnutrition in the areas under NDA control. Its executive director, Sabir Abdin, also bemoans the almost total lack of international activity in the region where quality food is scarce because of the extreme aridity.
"Our most urgent problems are water, food, health and education in that order," he says. His organisation has also launched an education campaign to stamp out traditional practices such as female circumcision, and the concealment of women by some of the Beja tribes.
The NDA parties say the only international organisations working in the area are the Samaritans and the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Occasionally some Eritrea-based organisations go into the area. The Sudanese government admits that the eastern areas, particularly Bejaland, have been neglected by successive governments since independence.
"It is a fact, it is one of the least developed areas," Khatib told IRIN. But he stressed that as part of the wealth-sharing agreement in the peace deal, money would be available for the east and elsewhere through the National Reconstruction and Development Fund.
"The most pressing needs are human development, including health and education," Khatib acknowledged.
ERITREA
Despite the fact that its headquarters are in Asmara, the NDA is adamant that it is getting no military support from the Eritrean authorities. Salah of the Beja Congress says that Eritrean assistance comes in the form of facilitation. The Eritrean authorities allow the NDA members to use the ports for export - for example camels and livestock.
"We helped them during their 30-year struggle, now they are helping us with civil activities," he says. "They don’t give us weapons and they never intervene."
According to some reports, the Eritreans have been supplying the Darfur rebels in the west but all sides dismiss this as propaganda by the Sudanese authorities.
"This is far-fetched," says Yemane Gebremeskel, Director of the Eritrean President’s Office. "Just think about the logistics."
"We don’t have an agenda of regime change in Sudan," he told IRIN. "If the Sudanese want to change their government, then it’s up to them." But he admitted that relations between Khartoum and Asmara were currently poor, adding that "there are no insurmountable problems".
The problem was historical, caused by Khartoum’s desire to export Islam to the Horn in the mid-1990s, he claimed. Yemane says they chose to focus on Eritrea first, because they believed that due to its small size it would be easier. "That is the basis of the problem between our countries," he says. "The lack of trust has its roots in the past."
According to Horn of Africa expert, Professor Lionel Cliffe, "the incursion from Sudanese territory of a multinational group of Islamist guerrillas into the Sahel region of Eritrea in December 1994 proved pivotal in the decline in relations between Khartoum and Asmara."(ii)
Yemane denies there is a contradiction between Eritrea’s professed support for the Sudan peace process and its hosting of Sudanese opposition groups on its territory.
Female refugee from Darfur describes how she and her family were attacked by militia and government forces in Darfur
"The NDA has a political presence here just as it does in many other countries," he says. "The emphasis is on trying to find a political solution to Sudan’s problems. If the peace process is successful, the problems will be resolved. The NIF [National Islamic Front] won’t monopolise the government."
Asmara brushes off a recent spate of terrorist activity in the west of the country, near the border with Sudan. Earlier this month, at least three people were killed in a bomb blast at a hotel in the town of Tesseney. Other explosions have been reported, and last year a British geologist was murdered in western Eritrea, as were two local staff members of the international NGO Mercy Corps.
Eritrea blames these attacks on a Sudan-based Islamic extremist group, the Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement (EIJM), which it says is supported by Khartoum - charges denied by Sudan.
The government has issued travel regulations for foreign organisations working in Eritrea, requiring them to apply for permission to travel in the country 10 days prior to the journey. Aid workers complain that this could have repercussions on their ability to reach needy people quickly, but Yemane says the measures are in place for security reasons and that the permits are rarely refused.
He declined to specify the reasons, but said the measures were temporary. But, he added, the government was not concerned by the activities of the EIJM.
"They don’t have a local constituency inside Eritrea," he said. "These attacks are sporadic, like terrorist acts everywhere."
The EIJM has previously claimed carrying out attacks on the Eritrean military, but denies targeting civilians.
INCLUSIVITY
"All hopes are pinned on the Kenyan talks in the apparent belief that if an agreement can be reached that ends the country’s longest rebellion, all others will simply fade into insignificance," says the newsletter ‘Africa Analysis’. "It is obvious they will not - and they constitute a real danger of future fragmentation."
Salah is not at all optimistic that a peace deal will hold. Marginalised groups such as the Beja distrust the government intensely and believe Khartoum is being “compelled” to sign a peace deal by countries such as the US in order to have sanctions lifted.
"If fighting breaks out again, the whole strategy could be changed," he warns. "Now we are fighting for our land, but the fighting can shift. We can even go to Khartoum. If we are forced to, we will."

June 6, 2007 | 12:26 PM Comments  0 comments

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SUDAN: A future without war?
Related to country: Sudan


If signals coming out talks in Chad and Kenya between Sudan's warring parties continue to be positive, lasting peace could be within reach for the first time in over two decades. Many now dare to hope that a war which has claimed the lives of at least two million people and forced millions of others from their homes may end within the foreseeable future.
Sudan's government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) have spent the last 18 months in the western Kenyan town of Naivasha discussing how to stop fighting and build peace in their country. They resumed their discussions on 17 February, in what analysts say could mark the last stage of peace negotiations and lead to the signing of a comprehensive agreement.
At the same time talks between the government and two other rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) to resolve the crisis in the western Darfur region, have been going on in the Chadian capital, N'Djamena.
Both the talks in Kenya and in Chad are being watched keenly by the international community. As much attention, if not more, is being devoted to the situation in Darfur, where the deaths of innocent civilians, massive destruction and mass displacement have aroused widespread international concern.
This web special explores the issue of conflict in the Sudan. It takes an in-depth look at the situation in Darfur, where UN assessment teams are trying to determine the magnitude of one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, and across the border in Chad. Further, it reflects the perspectives of various actors in Sudan on prospects for lasting peace and provides an assessment, based on analyses and expert opinions from a wide range of sources, of what a resolution of armed conflict in Sudan would mean for its neighbours.

June 6, 2007 | 12:23 PM Comments  0 comments

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TAJIKISTAN: Returnees held up by property disputes
Related to country: Tajikistan

Translations available in: English (original) | Russian

Returning from the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, where she had lived for eight years, Safargul Davlatova had expected to find the home she used to live in before the civil war in Bokhtar district, in the southern Khatlon region, destroyed. She had prepared to be confronted with a burnt out shell that would need lots of work to make it habitable again, but at least it would be hers. "But instead, to my utter surprise, I found a new building with white curtains at the windows and a well-groomed kitchen-garden," she told IRIN. It appears that in 1992, when everybody fled, fearing for their lives and those of their children, her husband's brother sold the house they shared for next to nothing to their neighbor. When she demanded the house back, the new owner showed a receipt for payment and refused to return it. During the civil war, bitter fighting between militias representing different regions of Tajikistan led to massive destruction and tore the country apart. The conflict and its aftermath resulted in the deaths of over 50,000 people and led to a humanitarian catastrophe, with some 1.2 million people becoming refugees or internally displaced persons (IDPs). The issue of legal ownership of property that changed hands during the war is hampering the return of thousands of refugees and IDPs who fled the conflict. While waiting for their property to be returned to them, perhaps in vain, Davlatova, her husband and three children live in a two-room apartment in a hostel close to the Sakhovat farm market in a Dushanbe suburb. They chose the place carefully. The two rooms are basic and cheap to rent and the market where Davlatova and her husband, Nizom, run a small produce stall is close by. This has allowed them to buy some of life's necessities. "We bought two new carpets, a few blankets, dishes," she said, pointing at the inexpensive belongings in the room. However, life remains at subsistence level. In the corner, corncobs are being boiled on a hand-made electric stove. "This is for sale," Davlatova explained. "When it is boiled, the children will go out to sell it." The family believes their lives would be easier back in Bokhtar, but without a house to go back to, they are stuck in their miserable existence in the capital. The family cannot afford to send the children to school, so they sit staring at the walls or help out the parents at the market. "It is necessary to buy school uniforms, footwear, belongings for them for school," she said. "We are not able to do that." Latofat Dzhafarova, the judge of Bokhtar, confirmed that the majority of forced migrants, who are trying to return are homeless. He fears disputes over ownership could turn violent unless there is swift action to resolve the problem. "Many people apply to the court to get back their houses, which were illegally taken away," Dzhafarova said. "But people who sense there is no justice could resort to using weapons, as they did several years ago." The problem is likely to worsen as more refugees make their way home from neighboring countries. According to the protection adviser to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Khurshed Junusov, 56 people returned from Turkmenistan in 2004, and 12 have come back from Kyrgyzstan. A spokesman for the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, Boi Radjabov, said his ministry, along with local law enforcement bodies and UNHCR, were working to help refugees and IDPs get their properties back. "However, if a house has been sold and a sale and purchase agreement was formalized, we are not able to help them," Radjabov says. "In such a case, the sides should settle the matter on their own or via the court." Meanwhile, UNHCR said it was offering practical help to returnees where possible. "We help them to develop and strengthen their farms - we distribute agricultural seeds and cattle," Junusov said. "Some have to accept the reality that they have no house anymore." In addition to this aid, this year UNHCR started micro-credit assistance through its partners. The returnees receive small credits to develop their farms and start small businesses, according to Idibek Gadoev, a UNHCR field officer. The beneficiaries, mostly women, receive US $100 - $300 dollars at a nominal monthly rate of two or three percent, to develop their farms or start small businesses. Still, many returnees are saying this help is not enough. Some are calling for government compensation for the houses taken from them. "Then we could feel good about making a new start in life in our old communities," one homeless returnee from Kyrgyzstan said. The government argues it does not have the resources to be able to offer cash payments of this kind.

May 4, 2007 | 1:05 PM Comments  0 comments

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InterSwitch, Globacom and First Bank launch GloFirst CashCard

InterSwitch in conjunction with telecommunication giants, Globacom, and Nigeria’s foremost bank, introduced an innovative card product called GloFirst CashCard. GloFirst CashCard is a pre-paid debit card which allows users who do not have bank accounts to perform electronic transactions like bank account holders and debit card users via the Glo Mobile network. This is the first time non-bank

May 4, 2007 | 12:05 PM Comments  0 comments



SKYE Bank Introduces SkyeBank CashCard (Magic Card)

Skye Bank Nigeria Plc recently launched three new card products into the market on the platform of CashCard, powered by InterSwitch. The products are TeensCard, CampusCard and SkyeBank CashCard which is also called the Magic Card.All three cards can be funded electronically even via the Internet on www.mynigeriacashcard.com or mobile phone and made to serve as an electronic purse to enhance the

May 4, 2007 | 12:05 PM Comments  0 comments



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ERONDU JUDE CHISOM
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GHJ
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grandma
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IKE DENNIS
ilyes
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isaac
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أنس عبدالمؤمن الخربي
الجمعية الثقافية لشباب العراق
ِAbu Yehia
๑۩۞۩๑ brightEYES™๑۩۞۩๑

Links
Doyin Oladimeji Site
Meetup Site
My Power Mall


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