“Congolese Women: We’re Not Just Victims”
Peace X Peace (January 30, 2012)
Christina Mitchell provides insight into the views of Congolese women on conflict, peace, international assistance, and victimization.
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“Egypt: A Revolution in Women’s Rights is Not Over”
Peace X Peace (January 24, 2012)
Yasmina Mrabet interviews Georgia Tech’s, Laura Bier, about her thoughts on “the role of Islamic feminism and the challenges and opportunities for women in post-revolutionary Egypt.
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“A Nobel Laureate’s Problem at Home”
New York Times (January 20, 2012)
Silas Kpanan’ayoung Siakor and Rachel S. Knight highlight some of the problematic aspects of Nobel Laureate, and current Liberian leader, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s administration. One particular problem, which could lead to future conflict, has to do with the land deals President Sirleaf continues to make with private investors.
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“Africa Unleashed: Explaining the Secret of a Belated Boom”
Foreign Affairs (Nov/Dec 2011)
In this article, Edward Miguel reviews Steven Radelet’s Emerging Africa, which explores possible reasons behind the recent economic boom in Africa.
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“Be Aware: Nick Kristof’s Anti-Politics”
The New Inquiry
Elliott Prasse-Freeman critiques Nicholas Kristof and problematizes current trends in journalism focused on human suffering.
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“Pizza Aid”
Africa is a Country
Elliot Ross discusses Action Against Hunger’s new ad campaign that focuses on abstract ideas and omits photos of starving human subjects.
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“East Africa: The Unholy Alliance in Somalia – Media, Donors and Aid Agencies”
allAfrica.com
Rasna Warah, a writer and journalist, sheds light on the problematic relationship between aid organizations and journalists as relates to portrayals of the famine in Somalia.
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“A Discussion with Jacqueline Moturi Ogega, Director, Women’s Program at the World Conference of Religions for Peace”
Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, & World Affairs
Jacqueline Ogega discusses her work to develop the Religions for Peace Women of Faith network and her ongoing research in Kenya, which focuses on the roles women of faith may play as peacebuilders in the ethnic conflicts.
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“The Folly of Protection: Is Intervention Against Qaddafi’s Regime Legal and Legitimate?”
Foreign Affairs
Michael Doyle, Harold Brown Professor of International Affairs, Law and Political Science at Columbia University and Chair of the United Nations Democracy Fund Advisory Board, discusses the legitimacy of military intervention in Libya.
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“Youth and the revolution in Egypt”
Anthropology Today Vol 27 No 2, (April 2011)
Selim H. Shahine, lecturer in anthropology at University of California, Irvine, powerfully describes the recent revolutionary events in Egypt in this guest editorial. Contextualizing this account through his own upbringing in Egypt, Shahine imagines the possibilities for a new generation and the impact they are having in Egypt, the Arab world, and beyond.
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“Bloody Democracy in Ivory Coast: What Went Wrong?”
Huffington Post (April 1, 2011)
Dr. Jean G. Tompihe, founder of the Ivorian Presidential Debate Commission, describes the recent crisis in the Ivory Coast resulting from the runoff election between incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo and challenger Allasane Ouattara, and the implications of its contested aftermath.
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MENA WATCH, established by the Peace Action Training and Research Institute of Romania (PATRIR), has been created to support the democratic nonviolent movements in North Africa and the Middle East, and to provide people with broad coverage of up-dates and events from nonviolent actions and people’s movements. Each day MENA WATCH will collect articles, reports, analysis and links to blogs and video blogs.
Please circulate this broadly to any individuals, organisations, networks, journalists, policy and decision makers, citizens, and those in the region and internationally who may find it of interest. Feel free to repost, add to your web-site, or forward as appropriate.
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“Twenty-eight Hours in Tahrir”
AlJazeera, In Depth, Opinion (February 11, 2011)
Mark LeVine, professor of history at UC Irvine and senior visiting researcher at the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University in Sweden, describes firsthand the sense of exhilaration among Egyptians at Cairo’s Tahrir Square following the announcement of Hosni Mubarak’s resignation.
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“Why there is a need for conflict-sensitive land policy in Africa”
Joost van der Zwan (accessed via Peace and Collaborative Development Network)
(February 8, 2011)
The 2008 global spike in food prices that caused widespread riots and instability and the recent predictions of another global food crisis highlight the urgency of establishing sustainable food systems, especially in Africa.
However, sustainable food systems can only be created if there are coherent and comprehensive approaches to land rights, land policy and land governance. Incorporating a conflict-sensitive approach when designing and implementing land policies and land reform is consequently crucial in order to realise increased equity, greater socio-economic development and food security, as well as contribute to peace and stability on the continent.
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“New UN SC Resolution Passed on Sexual Violence in Conflict”Zoneziwoh’s Blog (accessed via Peace and Collaborative Development Network)
(December 16, 2010)
A new UN Security Council Resolution on Sexual Violence in Conflict was adopted unanimously. This will further strengthen the normative standards on women and peace and security – in particular UN SC Resolution 1888. It was sponsored by the US and co-sponsored by about 30 countries.
Among its many important provisions, this new resolution calls on the Secretary-General to include in his annual reports detailed information on perpetrators (parties to armed conflict that are credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for acts of rape or other forms of sexual violence) and to provide a list of such.
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New Publication – Joint Protection Teams: A Model for Enhancing Civilian Security
Author: Tobie Whitman
Published: November 2010
Abstract: Joint Protection Teams (JPTs) are a promising model for advancing protection efforts by peacekeepers currently being used by the UN in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By promoting contact between peacekeepers and the local community, bringing civilian expertise to inaccessible areas, and increasing the number of women involved in protection efforts, JPTs are an encouraging tool. However, by refining and enhancing the JPT approach more can be done to promote engagement with local women to combat sexual violence and to enhance peacebuilding. This policy brief highlights the keys to success for promoting women’s engagement in peacekeeping using JPTs in the DRC and other conflict-affected regions globally.
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Funder Collaborative shares Report on Lessons From African Education Partnership
The report, Lessons From a Ten-Year Funder Collaborative: A Case Study of the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa, examines the evolution, successes, and shortcomings of the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa, an initiative created by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Ford, MacArthur, and Rockefeller foundations (and later joined by the Hewlett, Mellon, and Kresge foundations).
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On 31 October 2000 the UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1325 on “Women, Peace and Security.” For the first time in the history of the UN the Council recognized the disproportionate impact of armed conflicts on women and girls and further emphasized the decisive role of women in preventing conflicts and consolidating peace. At the time of its adoption, resolution 1325 was recognized as a major breakthrough for greater gender equality in the area of peace and security and the acceptance of women as active agents in conflict management.
Ten years after the adoption of resolution 1325, the authors Swen Dornig and Nils Goede assess the impact and implementation of the women, peace and security agenda in their INEF Policy Brief – Ten Years of Women, Peace and Security. Gaps and Challenges in Implementing Resolution 1325. In the face of considerable deficits in implementing resolution 1325, the authors provide recommendations for bringing the agenda from rhetoric to practice.
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Check out the Peacebuilding Podcast: Stephen Oola on Ugandan Elections
In the second episode of Insight on Conflict’s new Peacebuilding Podcast, local correspondent for Uganda, Stepehn Oola, talks about the upcoming elections. In 48 years of independence Uganda has yet to have a peaceful, democratic transfer of power. Stephen describes the fears of violence, the impact of the LRA, and the role civil society is playing to ensure a peaceful, free, and fair election period in 2011.
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2010 Report by the International Catholic Migration Commission: “Working in concert: Building common ground for the global governance of migration”
The report is a synthesis of findings borne of the informal dialogue that was held with a broad range of senior migration actors to help stimulate public discourse of the need for a global governance of migration, facilitate relevant benchmarks and encourage decision makers to take up the cause with appropriate urgency.
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Cumulative Impacts of Peacebuilding in Mozambique: “Confronting War: Critical Lessons for Peace Practitioners”
From 1999 to 2003, the Reflecting on Peace Practice Project (RPP) engaged over two hundred agencies and hundreds of individuals who work on conflict around the world in a collaborative effort to learn how to improve the effectiveness of peace practice. The agencies included international peace and conflict resolution NGOs as well as local organizations and groups working for peace in their countries. RPP conducted 26 case studies, consulting over 200 agencies and more than 1,000 people, to analyze peacebuilding experiences.
The Gender Training for Peacekeepers Map (UN-INSTRAW/UN-WOMEN)
The UN-INSTRAW (as part of UN-WOMEN) Gender, Peace and Security programme is pleased to announce the launch of the new gender training for peacekeepers map. The interactive map provides a global overview of pre-deployment and in-mission gender training from relevant training officials.
Scrolling over locations provides the user with in-depth information on gender mainstreaming and training activities from each of the respective facilities and missions. To view the map and information about each of the training centers and missions.
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New Book: The Trouble with the Congo: Local Violence and the Failure of International Peacebuilding
Author: Severine Autesserre
The Trouble with the Congo suggests a new explanation for international peacebuilding failures in civil wars. Drawing from more than 330 interviews and a year and a half of field research, it develops a case study of the international intervention during the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s unsuccessful transition from war to peace and democracy (2003–2006).
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“A Breakthrough in Justice? Accountability for Post-Election Violence in Kenya”
Authors: Chandra Lekha Sriram and Stephen Brown
A new policy paper on accountability for serious violence and abuses in the wake of the 2007 Kenyan elections.
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New edited volume: Peacebuilding and rule of law in Africa: Just peace?
Edited by Chandra Lekha Sriram, Olga Martin-Ortega, Johanna Herman
This book explores the expanding international efforts to promote rule of law in countries emerging from violent conflict. With a focus on Africa, the authors critically examines the impact of these activities in relation to liberal peacebuilding, rule of law institutions, and the range of non-state providers of justice and security. They also assess the virtues and limitations of rule of law reform efforts, and policy alternatives. It brings together expert scholars and practitioners from politics, law, anthropology and conflict studies, and features detailed case studies on Rwanda, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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Women Under 30 who Inspire, Mentor the African Continent
Women under 30 looks at young African women who mentor, inspire their community by challenging the existing discourse / notion of women being incompetent to perform certain responsibilities. The team is therefore in search of young women under 30 who are doing everything possible within their reach to speak out for themselves – their own tales in their own style.
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“The Other Half of the African Sky: Women’s Struggles in Zimbabwe”
Origins
A recent article in the monthly publication Origins highlights the work of WOZA (Women of Zimbabwe Arise) to improve the lives of women and men in Zimbabwe through locally-driven development projects and political activism.
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Check out the latest issue of Just Change – “What is Good Governance?”
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“Ripples Into Waves: Locally Led Peacebuilding on a National Scale”
Peace Direct
The concept paper takes four cases studies of when locally-led peacebuilding has contributed to national-level peacebuilding. These four situations are ones in which either outsiders were never involved (Somaliland), stayed for only a short time (Mozambique), arrived after the local initiative had started (Kenya), or made a conscious effort to find and mobilise local capacity (Guyana). They thus illustrate a variety of relationships between ‘outsiders’ and ‘insiders’.
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“Gender Symposia During Donor Conferences: A Model to Guarantee Women Leaders A Voice in Setting Priorities for Reconstruction”
Authors: Carla Koppell with Jacqueline O’Neill
Published: November 2009
A new publication on women leaders setting priorities in post-conflict reconstruction.
A previous post on this blog by George Wachira regarding the politics of donor funding.
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Fundraising Guide for Women’s Community-Based Organizations
Women Thrive Worldwide
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“What Women Want: A Survey of Southern Women’s Perceptions of Aid, Agriculture, and Trade”
Women Thrive Worldwide
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“The Vuvuzelization of world football: Ghana & the real story of SA2010”
Author: Steve Sharra, Afrika Aphukira blog
Excerpt: The more compelling story worth telling about the global tournament in South Africa this year has two sides to it. First is the story of what Ghana’s triumph symbolizes, at the center of which symbolism is Africa’s past and future. This symbolism is embodied in the vuvuzela, the cheering trumpet. Riding on the success of Ghana is also the story of how the 2010 World Cup has thus far proved wrong most of its critics, detractors, pessimists and doubting Thomases. The vuvuzela, much like Ghana’s Black Stars, has beaten odds to become more than a cheering instrument. It has now attained the status of an African metaphor for the unacknowledged ways in which Africa determines particular discourses at the global level.
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Check out the January newsletter for IFLA, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, for an article about Daniel Mangale’s work on literacy with abcproject Kenya.
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Listen to a recent interview with UC Davis Assistant Professor of African History Benjamin Lawrance on his work providing expert witness testimony in West African asylum hearings in the US and abroad.
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Update from Guinea
By Dr. Kenneth E. Keirstead
The Lyceum Group (TLG) and its affiliate ONG Groupe Lyceum (LGL) is a professional “collective” working in West Africa. We have also been focused in selected rural regions for nearly ten years in order to build infrastructure for local development. Programs to do this are managed by the indigenous people trained by our working collective. The above introduction points to a certain amount of immunity to global financial issues and their impact on local political systems. For example, just this past week we hosted over 1,000 local people to the launch of the wheelchair distribution in Guinea (Free Wheelchair Mission). This is spite of major tension with the Junta President having been shot in the head during an attempted assassination attempt, and international governments taking boycott actions against the country.
Do these situations and influences affect us in Guinea? Of course they do. We are always on high alert as we service almost 10,000 people in education, health and wellness services, social programs and micro-finance. Travel is complicated and sometimes dangerous, and in the face of dire poverty, the management of programs and donor funds can be very complicated. Probably what has helped us the most over the last years is the fact that we are considered “local” with compliance to both local requirements and international transparency needs. Our staff and half our board (those that are African) are well known and live in Guinea. We long ago gave up on trying to build an outside driven program in Africa based on usually solicited proposals. Instead, we focus on “untied” demand-driven programs that are non-sectarian and that contribute substantially to empowerment of the local people. This is how and why we started a “home” for children disabled by polio. There are at least 3,000 children under 12 years of age in Guinea who have suffered from polio with no infrastructure to do anything for them. This drove us to build a center for housing, nutrition, medical intervention, and potential rehabilitation in the very rural Guinean village of Dominghia. It is already an icon of progress and pride for the local people and is the epicenter of most development programs in that District.
International partners to The Lyceum Group include the Rotary International Clubs in both North America and Africa. Local African partners include the African Muslim Agency, the Anglican Diocese of Guinea and Guinea Bissau, PLAN Guinea, local industrial partners, and relevant government ministries. These groups and a growing cadre of smaller groups and donors are doing their best to reshape “aid” into “self-empowerment” programs whose success is measured by the development of a sustainable middle class of new managers and workers.
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See Cecelia Lynch’s essay on Haiti for the Social Science Research Council blog, the Immanent Frame that briefly compares the role of Haiti in the northern imagination to that of African states and societies as well as post-Katrina New Orleans.
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Some African nations are providing aid to Haiti after the earthquake on January 12th. This article asks whether Africa can afford to help Haiti.
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The NIH Fogarty International Center has awarded Dele Ogunseitan and Guiyun Yan’s proposal to implement a global health framework at the University of California, Irvine.
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”Continent’s Leaders Should Stand Up for Justice”
allafrica.com
African leaders’ reactions to the Omar al-Bashir arrest warrant issued by the ICC.
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Human Rights Consultative Committee’s Statement on the adoption of a second child by Madonna.
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Laura J. Mitchell’s article on the recent elections in South Africa.
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Commemoration of the 15 Year Anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide
“Candles for Rwanda” – Tribute by various political figures
“Candles for Rwanda” – Tribute from Hollywood
“Candles for Rwanda” – Tribute: Rwanda, Fifteen Years Later
Cool blog!