The institutionalisation of mediation support within the ECOWAS Commission
Executive Summary The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission established the Mediation Facilitation Division (MFD) in June 2015 to backstop mediation efforts undertaken by its mediation organs, member states, non-state actors and joint initiatives with other international organisations, such as the African Union Commission (AUC) and the United Nations (UN). In January 2016, […]
The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region as a peacebuilding instrument for civil society organisations
Executive Summary This policy paper examines the prospective role of civil society organisations (CSOs) within the mechanisms and structures of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), which was created to address conflict challenges faced by states within the Great Lakes region.1 The ICGLR was established in 2003 to provide an inclusive platform […]
Protecting the rights of women
Executive Summary Gender is increasingly becoming an integral consideration in peace processes, as called for in the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, adopted in 2000 as the first ever formal women, peace and security resolution passed by the United Nations (UN). Other UN documents that recognise the importance of gender mainstreaming in peace […]
Angolan refugees in Zambia
Executive Summary Local integration continues to be an important option in the basket of comprehensive strategies to achieve long-term solutions to refugee crises, particularly those caused by protracted conflicts. While many refugees may voluntarily repatriate to their countries of origin, with some benefiting from resettlement in third countries, local integration presents a durable solution that […]
When refugees cannot return home
Executive Summary The large number of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Great Lakes region poses immense challenges to peacebuilding processes within the countries affected, as well as in that entire conflict system. An influx of refugees impacts peace and security, citizenship considerations, as well as cross-border and ethnic conflicts, among others. A […]
Reclaiming protection of civilians under international humanitarian law
Executive Summary Over the past sixty years, international humanitarian law (IHL) has established a comprehensive legal framework for the protection of civilians (PoC) in armed conflicts. There is broad consensus that these guidelines afford non-combatants significant protections from the effects of military operations – provided they are carefully implemented by all sides to a conflict. […]
The African Union migration and regional integration framework
Executive Summary This Policy & Practice Brief (PPB) evaluates how well-equipped the African Union’s (AU) migration policy framework is to address various domestic challenges that individual African states face in managing international migration. It reviews these issues, then analyses the key policy instruments underlying the AU’s continental migration framework. The focus of this PPB is […]
Picking up the pieces
Executive Summary Liberia is at a critical juncture in terms of its ability to maintain its hard-won peace and ensure that its reconciliation and sustainable development efforts are not derailed. The West African country, with a population of 3.124 million,1 celebrated ten years of peace in 2013, following brutal civil war (1989–97 and 1999–2003) that […]
Then and Now
Lesley Connolly examines the successes and failures of the UNPBA in bringing peace to African countries emerging from conflict
Nigeria’s 2015 General Elections
Concerns over the disparities within Nigerian society loom in the face of the country’s upcoming general elections