Combatants on all sides of the conflict in Eastern DRC have been using sexual violence purposefully asa weapon of war. Acts of sexual violence continue to be committed with unprecedented cruelty, the perpetrators inflicting the most humiliating and degrading treatment on their victims that they can devise. This report is based on interviews with 492 women and 50 soldiers in Eastern DRC. It documents the violation of women's human rights during the war and examines the socio-cultural roots of this violence and the different forms it takes.
This five-year strategic perspective is based on International Alert's strategic review conducted in 2004. Approved at our Board meeting in April 2005, this perspective guides the work of the organisation in the coming period. Our first step has been to assess our current work in the context of this perspective and begin to plan the necessary adjustments. The perspective is, therefore, reflected in our annual plans from 2006 onwards.
This is a set of tools for companies concerned about improving their impact on host countries to begin thinking more creatively about understanding and minimising conflict risk, and actively contributing to peace. It consists of guidance on doing business in societies at risk of conflict for field managers working across a range of business activities, as well as headquarters staff in political risk, security, external relations and social performance departments. It provides information on understanding conflict risk through a series of practical documents. Each section includes additional resources where company staff can find further useful data and analysis. The guidance as a whole is designed to mirror a basic project cycle for companies engaged in mining, oil and natural gas, but can be picked up at any particular point in the cycle. It is also designed to complement current industry best practice in social performance, political risk analysis and ESIA, adding in a ‘conflict lens’.
The challenge of dealing with Ammunition is one of the key issues in the contemporary international SALW debate. Not only is ammunition vital for firing a weapon it is significantly more volatile, and therefore dangerous, leading to special care being necessary in stockpile management. This report examines the mechanisms of ammunition destruction and disposal open to governments as well as discussing why it is an important SALW issue.
This report examines the potential impact that gender issues have on small arms and light weapons (SALW) proliferation generally and specifically in relation to the 2001 UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (PoA). It provides a general background to the interrelationship between the PoA and gender and provides recommendations to the UN on how the PoA can be better implemented by taking into account gender considerations.
In development circles, the debate about the role of business in conflict-affected regions has tended to focus on petroleum and mining. This paper begins with a review of the extractive industries, but then broadens the discussion to discuss three other sectors: mobile phones, construction and commercial banks. It cites examples from Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, Somalia, Sierra Leone and Timor- Leste.
This report investigates Sri Lankan perceptions of the role of business in society, and businesses's; own perception of this role, including its potential in supporting social, economic and political development. It also explores whether Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), as presently understood by businesses and the wider community, can be a useful entry point for Sri Lanka's private sector to contribute to peace.
This report analyses the interaction between the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and its political context in the South Caucasus, with particular reference to the frozen conflict over Nagorno Karabakh. It examines a range of conflict actors and assesses the dual potential of the pipeline for conflict reduction or escalation, as well as the possible impact of the changing political status quo on the pipeline itself.
This is the product of an 18-month period of research and analysis that aimed to explore how a better understanding of the region’s current economic dynamics might contribute to the resolution of its conflicts. It is the first book to examine this topic from the perspectives of those living in the region - the authors are members of the Economy and Conflict Research Group; a pool of experts from throughout the South Caucasus, covering Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and including Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh and South Ossetia.
Это результат восемнадцати месяцев исследований и анализа, направленных на изучение того, как более полное понимание существующей экономической ситуации в регионе может способствовать решению региональных конфликтов. Это также первая книга, в которой данный вопрос изучается с точки зрения людей, живущих в регионе - авторы являются членами Исследовательской Группы по Экономике и Конфликтам; команда экспертов собранана со всего Южного Кавказа, включая Армению, Азербайджан, Грузию, Турцию, а также Абхазию, Нагорный Карабах и Южную Осетию.
The objectives of this informal Small Arms Consultative Group have been to develop shared understandings of two linked issue areas that are of key importance to the implementation and further development of the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons: transfers of SALW to non-state actors and guidelines for national decisions on whether to authorise weapons transfers.
An overview of International Alert's work on conflict 2003-4.
The report is organised in three parts: first, summaries of the seminar presentations and plenary discussions; then analysis of the issues discussed and some conclusions; lastly a sketch of relevant policy actors and processes, with a view to further research and advocacy.
Report commenting on the European Commission's “provisional draft non-paper” on EIDHR programming for 2005-2006.
This report looks at the factors that drive international development organisations towards or away from integrating conflict analysis into their programming.
This study examines the activities and identifies the organisations that have been involved in the work against the illicit trafficking of small arms, following the July 2001 UN Conference on the Illicit Trade of Small Arms and Light Weapons in all its Aspects.
A briefing for the OECD-DAC Conflict, Peace and Development Co-operation Network meeting, March 2004.
This report seeks to document governmental and civil society activity in Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal with regard to the control of SALW.
This report presents the findings of a consultative research project examining the potential of oil majors to support peace in Angola. It looks in particular at oil companies’ relations with stakeholders, and argues that frequent and meaningful engagement with all stakeholders is essential for enabling business to become conflict-sensitive and to fulfill its peacebuilding potential.
The aim of this document is to highlight practical steps that the EU could take to better link the progress being made with its developing European Security and Defence (ESDP) operations and crisis management with longer-term conflict prevention. The paper outlines four key areas for the EU Member States, officials in the Council and the Commission to address to enhance the EU’s capacity to prevent violent conflict.