Mediating peace in Africa
Although the need to engage women in peace processes is widely acknowledged, most mediation teams do not include or encourage the voices and representation of women. Promoting women’s capacities to participate in peace processes is crucial for their advancement and ability to contribute to peace, development and security. This Policy & Practice Brief (PPB) mainly […]
The never-ending pursuit of the Lord’s Resistance Army
There has recently been heightened concern regarding the activities of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), one of the most deadly insurgent movements in Africa. The LRA can best be described as a quasi-religious-rebel armed group that began operating in the Acholi region of northern Uganda in 1986, but has now grown into a regional concern […]
Enhancing security and justice in Liberia
Justice and security are core components of healthy and functional societies. The security sector comprises, government structures with authority to execute force, detain and arrest to protect the state, its citizens and those civil bodies responsible for security sector management and oversight.2 A state’s failure to guarantee security and justice presents major obstacles to the […]
Navigating post-peace agreement plebiscites
This Policy & Practice Brief is informed by the persistent problem of contested electoral processes and results in a number of African countries. These are often accompanied by violence, with devastating effects not only on human security, but also on the prospects of democratic consolidation in these countries. Paying attention to the reality that in […]
The troubled road to peace
Madagascar was thrown into political crisis in 2009 by an unconstitutional change in leadership which replaced Marc Ravalomanana with Andry Rajoelina as head of state. Over the past four years this crisis deteriorated into a firmly-imbedded political impasse. This stalemate seemed to have eased slightly when both Ravalomanana and Rajoelina declared, in December 2012 and […]
The peace process in the DRC
Since the 1990s the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has continued to be mired in intractable conflicts. Despite the establishment of an elected government in 2006 following the implementation of a series of peace agreements, the country still faces challenges in consolidating peace throughout its territory. The eastern regions of the DRC have consistently […]
Kenya’s military intervention in Somalia
In the midst of Somalia’s decades of conflict, al-Shabaab, a Somalia-based terrorist group with al-Qaeda links, has become particularly noticeable not only nationally but also regionally. Foreign intervention, therefore, is no new phenomenon in Somalia. Yet, when on 16 October 2011, Kenyan troops entered Somalia to launch a military offensive against al-Shabaab, called Operation Linda […]
Ghana
Located in West Africa, a generally tumultuous region characterised by political instability of varying magnitude, ranging from coups, political turmoil, violent sectarian conflicts, to simmering political tension even in some seemingly ‘stable’ countries, Ghana stands out as an encouraging success story. Besides being the first nation in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve independence from a colonial […]
Preventing and Punishing Sexual Violence
Executive Summary Efforts to build lasting peace at regional level involve multiple strata of actors, institutions and processes. Regional organisations that are in search of shared peace and security must take cognisance of the various layers of political and social history of many sovereign states. These bodies must accommodate different economies, legal systems and security […]
Responsibility to Protect
While the intervention in Libya saved relatively many lives, there is hesitation to intervene in Syria due to geopolitics, despite the threshold for intervention having been reached. However, by endorsing the notion of responsibility to protect, UN Member States, including the Security Council, agreed to act collectively to save humanity from atrocities. Therefore, the international […]