Archive: September, 2011
From the field Uganda: Trail of LRA Commander Kwoyelo halted
The Constitutional Court in Uganda has halted the trial of former LRA commander Col. Thomas Kwoyelo. Kwoyelo was facing trial on multiple charges amounting to crimes against humanity. Kwoyelo had applied for amnesty, for which he was entitled under the law, but the Director of Public Prosecution and the Amnesty Commission had not issued him with a Certificate. Kwoyelo appealed the decision, and in a unanimous judgement a Constitutional Court has granted him amnesty. Read more >>>
Interview Pakistan: Bargad – youth development and peace
Perhaps the only youth development organisation founded entirely by students, Bargad is a leading peace organisation in Pakistan. Bargad was formed in 1997 by a group of enthusiastic students from Lahore in Pakistan. Its mission is to promote peace, justice and cooperation among young people in Pakistan. To find out more about Bargad and how the group has been promoting peace through youth-focused projects, I interviewed Sabiha Shaheen, Executive Director of Bargad. Read more >>>
Sudan Briefing: 2011-09-26
Following the independence of South Sudan, Insight on Conflict will be producing a weekly round-up of the news. To subscribe to receive the updates via email, please contact [email protected] Read more >>>
Commentary Burundi: Escalating violence threatens transitional justice
In its long, bloody history of violence since achieving independence in 1962, Burundi has witnessed several watershed moments. Potentially it now faces its latest. The Gatumba massacre on 18 September 2011 demonstrates the unresolved problems simmering beneath the surface and that threaten to completely derail attempts to consolidate ‘peace’ and finally implement transitional justice. How Burundi deals with this latest round of violence, together with its commitment to genuine transitional justice, are crucial to finally addressing impunity after decades of violence. Read more >>>
Commentary CeaseFire in Kenya
Kenya’s slums are some of the largest in the world and are a breeding ground for disease, crime and violence. Creating options, sharing experiences and building strategy for dealing with organised crime, violence and militia growth in Kenya were the running themes for a week-long programme convened by the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa and the United Nations Development Programme. Presenting at the programme was Brent Decker, Coordinator of International Programmes at CeaseFire, who looked at how to apply a model developed for gang-involved young people in Chicago to inter-tribal and militia violence. Read more >>>
Sudan Briefing: 2011-09-19
Following the independence of South Sudan, Insight on Conflict will be producing a weekly round-up of the news. To subscribe to receive the updates via email, please contact [email protected] Read more >>>
Interview Sisi Ni Amani, ‘peacemapping’ in Kenya
Many of us are familiar with the concept of crisismapping through the work of organizations like Ushahidi. Two students have recently started asking the question: Why only map crisis? Why not also map peace? It seems only natural then that Sisi Ni Amani, a peace-mapping initiative has, like Ushahidi, also come out of Kenya. Read more >>>
Sudan Briefing: 2011-09-12
Following the independence of South Sudan, Insight on Conflict will be producing a weekly round-up of the news. To subscribe to receive the updates via email, please contact [email protected] Read more >>>
Commentary DR Congo: the role of locals and internationals
The history of state predation and neglect in DR Congo led to the development of a strong and professionalised civil society in the 1980s. Since 2003 there has been a proliferation of international NGOs working in the eastern region, and a concomitant proliferation of ‘local partners’, oriented towards the international donor regime, leading some to speak of two civil societies. In June 2011 I visited DR Congo to gain more insight into the role of internationals and locals in the DR Congo conflict. Read more >>>
Commentary Anna Hazare and 21st Century Indian Politics
Corruption in South Asia is not a problem, it’s not an epidemic – it’s a way of life. In Pakistan, and in India as well, from the smallest fruit vendors, to the factory owners, to the highest echelons of the political sphere, everyone asks for, and dolls out, bribes. But now, in the world’s largest democracy, one man, Anna Hazare, is leading a nationwide non-violent crusade for social and political change against corruption. Read more >>>
