March 2010
152 posts
"Fearless Blogger" →
When he was a child, Nasim Fekrat ’13 stood by a boulder at his parents’ farm in Afghanistan and watched other children heading off to school. His father, taking a break from tending to wheat, cows…
Changing Congo's Constitution →
It was to be expected: President Kabila had broached the subject of changing the constitution. Of course, this is cause for alarm: Mobutu did the same when he first came to power in 1965,…
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Somalia: An Open Critique of Newswire Coverage →
Dear Western newswires covering Somalia and other war-affected countries,
After working in Somalia three times, interviewing hundreds, and traveling to all three regions, I’ve come to the…
Pakistani president asks U.N. to delay report... →
Pakistani
President Asif Ali Zardari prevailed
upon the U.N. Tuesday to delay the release for two weeks of a fact-finding
report that is expected to criticize Pakistan’s security establishment…
Stocks waver after upbeat economic data →
NEW YORK – Stock edged higher after investors made last-minute portfolio adjustments before the end of the quarter.
The mood in the market has been upbeat Tuesday on a report that consumer…
For Once, UPDF, FARDC and LRA All Agree →
For once, the Lord’s Resistance Army has found a point of agreement with the Congolese and Ugandan armies: that Human Rights Watch is wrong. HRW came out with a report two days ago that says…
UN Human Rights Rep in Kabul Calls for Repeal of... →
The UN adds its voice to a growing number of critics of an Afghan law that grants amnesty to militia leaders responsible for human rights abuses.
The United Nations’ highest human rights…
Haiti to unveil $3.9 billion reconstruction plan →
Haitian
President René Préval on
Wednesday will unveil a $3.9 billion plan to begin to radically reshape Haiti’s
post-earthquake economy and physical infrastructure, including hundreds…
Longtime U.N. booster rips Ban Ki-moon →
Stephen C. Schlesinger, an ardent U.N. booster and erstwhile
defender of Ban Ki-moon and his
low-key diplomatic style, has written a bruising assessment (pdf) of the U.N.
secretary-general’s…
Five Major Upcoming Global Peace Events →
Gone (gladly) are the days when peace events were limited to elite congresses or mass protests. Today, peace-related events are as diverse as peace itself, with something for everyone, from…
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What Do Somalia and Southern Russia Have in... →
Today’s deadly metro bombings in Moscow, Russia, along with the street protests in Somalia, re-confirm ideas I have on the nature of chronic war. Largely, the radical terror wielders are…
Shaking Hands with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar →
Part two of a two part series about why political reconciliation with a brutal warlord should be treated with extreme caution.
Representatives from Hezb-i-Islami, the smallest of…
Many felony pot cases getting tossed out of court →
SAN FRANCISCO – Police in a northern California town thought they had an open-and-shut case when they seized more than two pounds of marijuana from a couple’s home, even though doctors authorized…
Applaud the Movement to Ban Cluster Bombs →
Stop Cluster Munitions is a leader in the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC), that is, the movement to stop the manufacture and use of cluster bombs. They’ve got some serious momentum going in…
Afghanistan: Where all the donor money went →
Afghanistan: Government websites review →
Tajikistan: Afghan Refugees in Tajikistan →
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Where is Dongo? →
For those who haven’t been following the Dongo crisis that closely (how is that possible?), here is the best map of the area I could find. Basically, Dongo is on the opposite side of the…
What the UN Counter-Terrorism Chief Has to Say... →
The role of the Al-Qaida and Taliban Monitoring Team is to advise the Security Council on the threat from Al-Qaida, the Taliban, their affiliates and associates, and to monitor the…
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Why Congo is the world's most dangerous place for... →
I was unemployed, trying to kickstart a career in political journalism, when I received a call from a BBC producer making a documentary about theDemocratic Republic of Congo. My uncle works in the Congolese community in north London, translating, teaching English, offering advice; the documentary makers had come to him looking for a young woman, living in Britain but born in DRC, who had not been...
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'Stench of death' in Congo confirms resurgence of... →
Fighters from Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army have hacked or beaten to death at least 321 Congolese villagers in one of the worst single atrocities of their 23-year insurgency.
The attacks occurred in a remote part of northern Democratic Republic of Congo between 14 and 17 December last year, but their scale has only now been made public. Human Rights Watch, which today releases a...
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Dongo Crisis Timeline →
Below is also a picture of Odjani, the leader of the militia, sitting in the middle in robes. 1946 - The colonial administration intervenes following an outbreak of violence between Inyelle and…
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Exclusive interview on Dongo crisis with Refugees... →
The following is an interview with Refugees International’s Camilla Olson (advocate) and Steve Hege (consultant) on the Dongo crisis. They will be releasing a report on Wednesday on the situation…
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Ghana News :: Gov't to crack down on arms trade... →
Government will deal ruthlessly with politicians found culpable in the proliferation of arms in the northern regions of Ghana, the northern regional minister has declared. Moses Bukari Magbenba told Joy News the government will be excited to use a “big fish” as scapegoat in order to deter others from engaging in the illegal act.
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Are we in 1962 or in 1965? →
I attended a panel discussion yesterday at Columbia University on peacebuilding in the Congo and Sudan. One of my fellow panelists was Herbert Weiss, Emeritus professor at the City University of…
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The Bloody Hands of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar →
Part one of a two part series about why political reconciliation with a brutal warlord should be treated with extreme caution.
Representatives from Hezb-i-Islami, the smallest of…
Then there were four: The short list for the top... →
Candidates for the top human rights post at U.N. headquarters have been narrowed down to
a short list of four, according to senior U.N. diplomats familiar with the
process.
Paulo Sérgio
Pinheiro,…
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Link →
In this photo taken December. 22, 2008, a man inhales heroin in the abandoned Russian Cultural Center in Kabul, Afghanistan. The former cultural center is inhabited by drug…
Azerbaijan, It's Time to Take the Deal on Karabakh →
This week Armenian President Serzh Sarkisyan reiterated his offer to mitigate conflict over the Karabakh region after twenty-two years of war and instability with neighbor Azerbaijan by…
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United Nations Radio: UN calls for repeal of... →
The United Nations has called for the repeal of an amnesty law in Afghanistan that shields alleged war criminals from prosecution.
The Reconciliation and General Amnesty Law was passed by parliament in 2007 and quietly published in an official gazette in December 2008.
The law was heavily criticised by Afghan and international human rights groups after it surfaced in the news earlier this year.
...
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Civilians in Somalia face ongoing human rights... →
Clear patterns of human rights abuse have emerged during the latest cycle of violence in Somalia, which began when armed opposition groups launched a major offensive against the government in Mogadishu in May 2009, Amnesty International said on Thursday. In the document, No end in sight: The ongoing suffering of Somalia’s civilians, Amnesty International reviews violations of international...
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Green light for the global Arms Trade Treaty |... →
“We can now say that a global arms trade treaty is possible.” The statement was made by the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Sérgio Duarte, after a meeting between the European Union and the United Nations held this February in Vienna, Austria.
“We have entered an important new stage,” said Oistein Thorsen (photo) Oxfam humanitarian campaigner…
Musical chairs →
U.N. leaders are trying to persuade Edmond Mulet of Guatemala, the U.N.’s assistant
secretary general for peacekeeping operations, to stay on as the U.N.’s interim
special representative for…
Africa: Notes From the Field →
Minerals & oil →
Over the past few years, reporting for the Congo has changed focus a bit. Reuters was bought up by Thomson (a publishing and financial research company) in early 2008, and began to focus more on…
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How's that Hopey Changey Thing Working Out? →
In January this year the Congolese army launched a new set of operation together with UN backing: Amani Leo (Peace Today - they really need better code names). Let’s take a quick look at South Kivu
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Afghanistan Should Have a Council of Grandmothers →
After reading Thomas Ruttig’s wonderfully detailed post for the Afghanistan Analysts Network, “Gulbuddin ante portas,” I’m convinced now that what Afghanistan really needs is a grand…
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Sudan elections put U.N., U.S. in an awkward spot →
As Sudan’s key political leaders vowed today to press ahead with the country’s first competitive elections in 24 years, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court reminded the world…
Commentaires sur Un Noël pas comme les autres pour... →
http://www.easterncongo.org/
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Affleck, Amanpour & Congo →
Christiane Amanpour hosted a show on the DR Congo today, with myself, Ben Affleck and human right activist Sylvie Maunga as guests. The story behind the show was that Affleck launched his…
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SUDAN: Terror train turns the corner →
WAU, 22 March 2010 (IRIN) - During wartime, trains heading south to this former garrison town used to deliver violence and terror; now they are bringing lower prices. The first two trains in about a decade arrived in the southern city of Wau in March 2010, one with goods and the other with maintenance crews and supplies, Sudan Railways official Al Haji Maktoub told IRIN.
British envoy: Iran is getting weaker →
The West
needs to convince ordinary Iranians that it cares as much about peace in the
Middle East and political freedom inside Iran as it does about the threat posed
by Tehran’s nuclear…
It's a new year in Afghanistan →
——— This year, the Nowruz festival holds even more significance and importance in the lives of Afghans since the United Nation’s General Assembly recognized March 21 as International…
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AFGHANISTAN: Money well spent? →
KABUL, 22 March 2010 (IRIN) - Afghanistan has been showered with foreign aid since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, but it has been an uphill battle for the government and its donor allies to prove it was all money well spent. Critics contend there has been a lack of transparency and coordination and that much of the funding has been squandered through corruption, mismanagement and poor...
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Are Women Peacekeepers More Effective Than Men? →
Another way to ask the question posed in the headline is: does it really matter if women or men make and maintain peace? According to a growing consensus among experts in the fields, it does,…
Exclusive: Only 50 of 1000 Seats at Afghan Peace... →
Our correspondent in Kabul reports that an upcoming peace conference has only sparse room at the table Afghan women.
(Kabul, Afghanistan) UN Dispatch has acquired details about the…
Can We All Stop Overusing the Term PTSD? →
Hard-hitting Lily Casura of the excellent site, HealingCombatTrauma.com, recently forwarded an interesting story for consideration by her readers. It was by John Omaha at Truthout, called,…
Commentaires sur Lubumbashi : « Opération Boss... →
@BONY Sans vouloir douter de votre expertise en matiere d’alcool, je crois que vous n’avez pas saisi le sens de l’action louable de l’administration provenciale. Il s’agit la d’un fleau et d’une…
Citizen Journalist: Some called him a hero, others... →
Citizen journalism got a fair bit of mention during last week’s Pan African Media Conference, I understand. I look forward to seeing how that attention translates into concrete…
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YEMEN: Water project set to help thousands of IDPs... →
HAJJAH, 22 March 2010 (IRIN) - Up to 30,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in two camps in northern Yemen are set to benefit from a new water project funded by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and implemented by Oxfam. Inaugurated on 19 March to mark World Water Day, the project involves 26 tankers, four reservoirs and a network of pipes in Mazraq camps one and three in Haradh...