Displaying items by tag: Conflict & insecurity

The seven-year war in Sierra Leone again reached the capital Freetown in early January after months of intense fighting upcountry between the rebel coalition of the former junta AFRC/RUF (Armed Forces Ruling Council and the Revolutionary United Front), and the CDF (civil defence forces) backed by the Nigerian-led ECOMOG. Following the reinstatement by ECOMOG of the democratically elected Kabbah government in February 1998, the rebel coalition retreated, strengthened by their period in control of state power. Their use of terror against civilian populations has led to continued displacement, with over 600,000 Sierra Leonean refugees in Liberia and Guinea, and at…

The alleged support by Liberia for the rebel forces in Sierra Leone’s war epitomises the current problems facing the country in its attempts to rebuild a functioning and credible state following the civil war. While Liberian officials have continually denied any such role, strong evidence shows that, at the very least, Liberian border areas have been used by the AFRC/RUF for re-supplying. Many observers are convinced that links exist at the highest levels and that Liberia is playing an important role in the network controlling the exchange of diamonds for arms, ammunition and mercenaries. Charles Taylor’s close personal connections with Burkina…

A political crisis, simmering for the best part of two years, finally boiled over in January and Haiti is once again headline news. The continuing power struggle between supporters and opponents of former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide caused the cancellation of partial parliamentary elections in 1997 and 1998, and has left the government without a prime minister since June 1997. In an attempt to break through the stalemate current president Rene Preval declared, in early January 1999, that according to a 1995 electoral law the terms of most remaining members of parliament and other elected local officials had expired. In a televised…

The peace process agreed by the Angolan government and UNITA with the signing of the Lusaka Protocols in 1994, and which had appeared increasingly fragile over the last two years, finally broke down in December 1998. It had been clear that far from demobilising, as required by the protocols, UNITA had been using the time to actively re-arm. In early December the government attacked the UNITA strongholds of Bailundo and Andulo in the central highlands in an attempt to extend state administration ‘by force of arms’. UNITA responded with weaponry of a sophistication that surprised the Angolan armed forces. In a…

After three years of structural adjustment, inflation in Georgia fell from 19,000 per cent in 1996 to 7 per cent in 1998 and the economy began to grow at around 10 per cent/annum. Such positive macro-indicators belie the harsh realities on the ground. Unemployment and poverty are high and growing (affecting between 40 and 50 per cent of Georgians), the economy remains one-third its 1990 size, and tax revenues are some of the lowest in the world. Public investment is non-existent, and most revenues are disbursed recurrent costs or debt service payments. Following the economic crisis in Russia late last year…

This conference brought together experts from the political, financial, humanitarian and human rights world, from government circles, the UN and NGOs. It deliberately inscribed itself into a growing critical review of sanctions policy which includes, among others, the so-called ‘Interlaken process’ on financial sanctions sponsored by the Swiss Government , and work by international researchers, notably in the US. The consensus is that comprehensive trade sanctions have many undesirable ‘side-effects’, and that sanctions must be more humane and effective. In this light, the con-ference focused on two questions: Can humanitarian assistance, even with swifter and more streamlined pro-cedures, provide an…

This workshop was particularly timely given growing policy concerns regarding the impact of armed conflict on children. This is due to the increasing involvement of civilians as victims and perpetrators of war. The event raised several issues and debates surrounding the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the UN’s role in protecting the children’s human rights, and the reality and complexity of children in conflict situations. The conference began with an overview of the history and implications of the CRC, followed by a critique of the rights-based approach. Discussion centred around the practicality of enforcing the convention and…

[This issue is also available in French: Échange Humanitaire No. 12] Three months after the Liberian civil war, Commanding Officer “Dirty Ways” one morning begged his neighbours to call him by his real name. “I have come to tell you not to call me “CO Dirty Ways” anymore. Call me by my real name. I am Junior Sawyer.” Since the end of the civil war, a major source of violent conflicts among youths in Liberia is name calling. One specific case that comes to mind took place in a secondary school located in a rural county of Liberia. A former child…

The state of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence in 1991. Following years of war, the Washington Agreement of 1994 led to the establishment of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBH) whose main population consists of Croats and Muslim Bosnians. The Dayton Agreements of 1995 then created the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which comprises the Federation and the mainly Serb Republica Srpska. The peace is still fragile, and very dependent on the presence of 30,000 NATO soldiers. In the Washington Agreement, the authorities in FBH made a commitment to respect human rights as expressed in several human rights conventions…

In September this year, several peacebuilding, human rights and other civic organisations from Liberia, Sierra Leone, Benin, Togo, Cameroun, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and the USA gathered in Accra, Ghana, to give birth to the West African Network for Peace-building (WANEP). A strategic planning and endorsement meeting followed a twelve-month intensive exploratory exercise carried out in 8 countries of the sub-region, and consultation with prominent persons from 3 others. The exploratory team reported the following as challenges to peacebuilding in West-Africa: A proliferation of human rights, conflict resolution/transformation, inter-confessional, trauma healing and reconciliation groups in all countries visited. This is partly…