Posts by Ruairi Nolan

Interview Jason Stearns: elections, minerals and impunity in DRC

Jason Stearns is the author of a new book, Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa. He has worked on the conflict in the Congo for the past ten years, including work for the United Nations and the International Crisis Group. Listen here to an exclusive interview about his new book and the different challenges facing DR Congo today, including the upcoming elections, the role of minerals in the conflict and impunity for crimes committed during the Congolese Wars. Read more >>>

Commentary Talk on ‘the Nonviolent Soldier of Islam’

Late notice, but for anyone living in Bradford, UK, tonight (20 January) there will be a public illustrated talk on ‘The Nonviolent soldier of Islam, Abdul Ghaffar Khan’  in Manningham.    This giant of a man (in all ways) fought nonviolently for independence from the British and was especially active between 1910-1940 in the Khyber Pukhoonkhawa province of what was to be Pakistan.   He was a Pashtun political and spiritual leader, a lifelong pacifist, and a devout Muslim. He was a champion of womens’ rights.   Nor did he lose faith in the compatibility of Islam and nonviolence. Read more >>>

Guatemala added – and a happy Christmas from Insight on Conflict!

We’re really pleased to add that we have just added Guatemala to Insight on Conflict. We’ve started off with a selection of 11 peacebuilding organisations there, and will be adding more in the new year. Our many thanks to Soluciones Comunitarias, who have done a fantastic job in gathering the information on these groups. Read more >>>

Commentary Gender, Conflict and the Millennium Development Goals

In 2000, two separate policy frameworks were launched: the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), and UN Security Council resolution 1325, which calls for increased participation of women in peacebuilding. Ten years on,  progress on both remains far from what was hoped for. Furthermore there are insufficient links between the security and development agendas, according to a new [...] Read more >>>

From the field Peace Day in Pakistan: Growing Militancy Versus Growing Efforts for Peace

Growing militancy and extremism is increasing the sense of insecurity among the civilians of Pakistan, which is very obvious from the recent incidents in Pakistan. The killing of civilians – two motorcyclists and one cyclist – by the personnel of law enforcing agencies has led to an atmosphere of fear and insecurity in the city. The kidnapping of Vice-Chancellor of Islamia College Peshawar, a major Educational Institute and the blowing up of three Schools in the suburbs of Peshawar are viewed as clear attacks on “Youth Education” by militants. The increasing militancy has fuelled the need among civil society to speed up their efforts for promoting peace at local, national, and political level. A number of activities were thus organized by the civil society organizations of Pakistan around International Day of Peace to highlight the importance of Peace in the country and to build momentum for peace among young people. Read more >>>

Interview Interview with Séverine Autesserre

We’re very pleased to today release an interview with Séverine Autesserre, author of a new book, The Trouble With The Congo. Based on more than 330 interviews, it argues that international intervention in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in recent years has been deeply flawed because it has focused on national and regional-level tensions and ignored the grassroots causes of violence. The book also suggests a new approach for peacebuilding to avoid such mistakes in the future. Séverine has kindly agreed to discuss her findings with Insight on Conflict. Read more >>>

From the field Peace through health in DR Congo

‘Peace through health’ (PtH) is a relatively new movement in the world of peacebuilding, but according to a new study of an organisation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), it’s one that has potential to make a real impact in regions affected by conflict. Healing Africa? Reflections on the peace-building role of a health-based NGO operating in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, by Nicole D’Errico, Chris Wake and Rachel Wake was published this year in the journal Medicine, Conflict and Survival, and looks at the work of the organisation HEAL Africa. Chris Wake kindly agreed to discuss the article with Insight on Conflict, and Nicole D’Errico generously provided the photos used. Read more >>>

From the field Walking Barefoot for Peace in Uganda

Several thousands of people around the world took off their shoes and walked bare foot for kilometres to advocate for peace in northern Uganda and all areas affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The walk was to mark the International Day of Peace and was organised by the International Refugee Trust and local peacebuilders in northern Uganda. The UN in 1981 declared September 21 as an International Day of Peace to commemorate and strengthen the ideals of peace within and among all nations and people and a day of global cease-fire and non-violence. Read more >>>

From the field Bangwe-Makobola Seminar for Peace

On Wednesday 1 September 2010, a seminar was held for the benefit of the victims of the Makobola massacres in Eastern DRC. The seminar was organized by the Association of the Makobola Massacre Survivors (ARMMK) in collaboration with five other Congolese peacebuilding organizations. Having met at the Goma Peace Exchange , the organisations decided to form a platform/network, of peacebuilders in order to consolidate the effectiveness of their conflict work and this was their first major joint undertaking. Read more >>>

Scholarships at UPeace for Asian Peacebuilders

The United Nations-mandated University for Peace has announced how to apply for scholarships for its Asia Leaders Programme. This 19-month scholarship programme is being funded by The Nippon Foundation – Japan. As a dual campus programme, it is run at their main campus in Costa Rica and at the Ateneo de Manila University, and its partner university in the Philippines. Read more >>>