“Will They Protect Us For The Next 10 Years?” Challenges Faced By UN Peacekeeping Mission
The United Nations faces an unprecedented challenge in South Sudan. The country has been devastated by the civil war that broke out in December 2013, just two and a half years after South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan. It is alleged that armed actors on both sides have committed horrific abuses against civilians based […]
Making UN-Safe Areas Safer: From Srebrenica to South Sudan
By Sarah Bosha: In 1995, during the Bosnian war, Serbian forces overran a ‘safe area’ in Srebrenica, resulting in the death of 6,000 Muslim men and boys. Then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in speaking of the conflict remarked that, the Muslims in Bosnia were not only victims of brutal aggression but “also victims of […]
Perceptions of Security Among Internally Displaced Persons in Juba, South Sudan
Many Fear Violence in South Sudan as Nearly 100,000 Seek Shelter at UN Focus Group Findings Released on Eve of Major Peacekeeping Summit An unprecedented 96,800 people are seeking shelter from violence inside U.N. peacekeeping operation bases in South Sudan, with many living in fear of killing, rape, and abduction according to a study released […]
U.N. facing unprecedented challenge in South Sudan
By Alison Giffen: The U.N. Security Council delegation visiting South Sudan last week came face-to-face with a troubling reality: The country has been seized by an eight-month civil war between parties that have committed violence against civilians on a devastating scale. The result is an unprecedented challenge for the organization, which now finds itself protecting almost 100,000 […]
The Great Security Shift
The White House is hosting a major summit of African leaders this week. Elected and unelected heads of state and officials from nearly 50 African countries are in Washington, D.C., to discuss the future of the U.S. relationship with Africa. The sad part about this meeting is that the administration’s Africa policy is gaining visibility and attention […]
Perceptions of Security in Aweil North County, South Sudan
View press release here. The recent crisis in South Sudan highlights the importance of research on how civilians can and should be protected from deliberate violence. In December 2013, fighting broke out across South Sudan between government forces led by President Salva Kiir and opposition forces led by former Vice President Riek Machar. From its […]
Aditi Gorur’s op-ed on relations between peacekeepers and afflicted communities published in IOC
Organisations working on conflict prevention and peacebuilding increasingly understand the importance of making their programmes responsive to the communities with which they work. That means that they need to engage with those communities to understand their priorities and perceptions. But how can these organisations avoid inadvertently putting communities in danger in the process? Since 2012, […]
Working safely with communities: how to mitigate risks?
Organisations working on conflict prevention and peacebuilding increasingly understand the importance of making their programmes responsive to the communities with which they work. That means that they need to engage with those communities to understand their priorities and perceptions. But how can these organisations avoid inadvertently putting communities in danger in the process? Since 2012, […]