South and South East Asia

On 7 February, Janani Vivekananda, International Alert’s Climate Change and Conflict Programme Manager, spoke at the Strengthening Responses to Climate Variability in South Asia conference at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington DC. Janani presented four case studies - on Nepal, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh - to illustrate levels of risk and resilience to environmental change at village level.

International Alert recently launched a new book called Out of the shadows: Violent conflict and the real economy of Mindanao.

The book presents the results of research into the linkages between violent conflict and the informal or ‘shadow’ economy in Mindanao, the conflict-affected region in the southern Philippines.

On Tuesday 4th December the southern Philippines was hit by Typhoon Bopha (known locally as Pablo), with the island of Mindanao worst affected.

International Alert has been supporting more inclusive and conflict-sensitive economic governance in the Compostela Valley province of Mindanao, which bore the brunt of the devastation.

Last month saw delegates from around the world assemble in Doha for the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP18) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in an effort to inch towards a global deal on climate change. Yet discussions on how much financing should be provided and by whom didn’t reach satisfying conclusions, despite a week’s worth of negotiations.

‘We should go and see David Cameron about this!’, was the conclusion of the Lancashire youth group taking part in our project, “Promoting Positive Voices in Diaspora Communities”.

In November, International Alert organised a visit of four doctors from the British Sri Lankan diaspora community to Sri Lanka, to learn about the country’s healthcare challenges.

In October, our partner organisation Voices for Reconciliation brought together people from Sri Lanka’s diaspora communities to talk about how their personal identities influence their opinions and understanding of Sri Lanka’s history, and how such identities are shaping the country’s post-war future.

In the context of transition from conflict to peace in Nepal, and the associated urgent need for the state to be seen to enforce rule of law and ensure access to justice for all, this report documents research which examines the relationship between state and non-state justice mechanisms. The purpose of this research is to begin to identify opportunities for strengthening coordination between state and non-state justice providers, with the aim of improving access to justice.

Full report

Sri Lankan parliamentarians Honourable Vasantha Senanayake MP (Sri Lanka Freedom Party), Honourable Harin Fernando MP (United National Party), and Mr Raghu Balanchandran (Tamil National Alliance) visited the UK from 25th-31st October 2012 in the second of a series of dialogues between this cross-party group of Sri Lankan parliamentarians, political activists and Sri Lankan diaspora communities in the UK. 

This case study discusses rehabilitation efforts in Nepal following the Comprehensive Peace Accord of 2006 and geared towards those ex-combatants who were either verified minors or late recruits (VMLRs). It examines the outcomes of the process and highlights the role that private sector actors can play in the socio-economic reintegration of ex-combatants.

Full report

This report summarises the findings of a series of case studies which explore the socio-economic aspects of reintegration programmes for ex-combatants in a number of conflict-affected countries where International Alert works: Nepal, Liberia and

This report summarises the findings of a series of case studies which explore the socio-economic aspects of reintegration programmes for ex-combatants in Nepal, Liberia and Uganda.