South and South-East Asia

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. The study critically explores the challenges that VMLRs encountered when enrolling in the rehabilitation programme, the vocational training options they were presented with, as well as the inhibiting factors which impacted on their ability to find gainful employment and attain sustainable livelihoods upon graduation. It highlights the tensions between ex-combatants’ immediate versus long-term interests, the need to align training modules with local market realities, and the barriers that misinformation and suspicion within the business community can pose to reintegration processes.

This report is part of the case study series, Enhancing socio-economic opportunities for ex-combatants in post-conflict environments.

This report focuses on how theories of change can improve the effectiveness of peacebuilding interventions. A review of 19 peacebuilding projects in three conflict-affected countries found that the process of articulating and reviewing theories of change adds rigour and transparency, clarifies project logic, highlights assumptions that need to be tested, and helps identify appropriate participants and partners. However, the approach has limitations, including the difficulty of gathering theory-validating evidence.

This series of three country “Insights” identifies peacebuilding priorities in Burundi, Liberia and Nepal, and discusses the response of the international institutions operating there. The focus institutions are primarily the World Bank and the UN. The insights provide a brief snapshot and analysis of each country’s particular peacebuilding needs, as well as the dynamics that either facilitate or hinder institutional ability to address these needs. Findings inform a synthesis report entitled ‘Peacebuilding, the World Bank and the United Nations: Debates and Practice in Burundi, Liberia and Nepal’, the summary of which is available here. This work is part of Alert’s International Institutions Programme which seeks through research and engagement to strengthen the peacebuilding impacts of international institutions in fragile and conflict-affected countries.

This snapshot briefing paper looks at the situation of security and justice provision in Rasuwa district in the central region of Nepal. This sparsely populated mountain district is situated due north of Kathmandu and shares a border with China on its northern side. The security situation in Rasuwa district is fair in comparison to many other districts, particularly those in the Terai where the police struggle to control the activities of numerous armed and criminal groups. In contrast to the Terai districts where levels of gender based violence are extremely high, this district populated by 63.75 percent of Tamang ethnicity has different story to tell. This briefing assesses security and justice provision against this backdrop and outlines implications for national and international policy-makers.

These ‘snapshot’ briefings are part of a longer-term initiative by International Alert to help address the current gaps in knowledge and understanding between those actors at the district level and those in Kathmandu. Each briefing aims to outline current security and justice needs and challenges in a particular district, and advance constructive recommendations for ways in which national and international actors could address these challenges. The briefings are based on research undertaken as part of Alert’s work for the Initiative for Peacebuilding project.

This snapshot focuses on Rukum, a district in the western hill region at the heart of the Maoist conflict. This briefing examines the security situation in the district four years after the signing of the peace agreement.

These ‘snapshot’ briefings are part of a longer-term initiative by International Alert to help address the current gaps in knowledge and understanding between those actors at the district level and those in Kathmandu. Each briefing aims to outline current security and justice needs and challenges in a particular district, and advance constructive recommendations for ways in which national and international actors could address these challenges. The briefings are based on research undertaken as part of Alert’s work for the Initiative for Peacebuilding project. This snapshot focuses on Bara, a district in the central Terai where the activities of armed groups are contributing to feelings of insecurity.

This paper argues that at the core of the problem of persistent violence in Mindanao is the exclusionary political economy that is developed and sustained through a complex system of contest and violence. “Rebellion-related” violence relating to the vertical armed challenges against the infrastructure of the state combines with “inter- or intra-clan and group violence” relating to horizontal armed challenges between and among families, clans, and tribes. These two types of conflict interact in ways that are poorly understood and which sustain conditions serving the interests of those with access to economic and political power at the expense of the majority of those in Mindanao. The publication informs a dialogue process now underway in Mindanao exploring the key issues raised through the research.

The ‘Snapshot’ briefings are part of a longer-term initiative by International Alert to help address the current gaps in knowledge and understanding between those actors at the district level and those in Kathmandu. Each briefing aims to outline current security and justice needs and challenges in a particular district, and advance constructive recommendations for ways in which national and international actors could address these challenges. The briefings are based on research undertaken as part of Alert’s work for the Initiative for Peacebulding project. Snapshot 1.2 focuses on Morang an industrial hub hit hard by unrest in the eastern Terai region.

This series of four country case studies explores the ways in which the economic causes, drivers and impacts of conflict have been tackled in different ways in a number of conflict-affected countries where Alert works. The aim is to encourage cross-country learning, and inform what has become a vibrant international debate in the last few years on how to adapt economic development interventions to conflict contexts, to make them conflict-sensitive, and able to support longer-term peacebuilding.
The report discusses the complex links between political and economic causes, as well as legacies, of conflict. To address them, effective partnerships need to be forged between different actors, including government, development agencies and civil society. In particular, the report highlights that reaching out to the business community is key, bearing in mind however the huge diversity of the Nepali private sector, and the numerous challenges it currently faces.

The Global Monitoring Checklist is a pilot research project designed to contribute towards international understanding on women, peace and security efforts. It highlights relevant activities at the local and national level by women, civil society, national governments and the international community. It is not a comprehensive survey of all initiatives relating to women, peace and security; rather, it is a first step in gathering and collating information that links directly to UNSCR 1325 implementation. International Alert is an active member Gender Action for Peace and Security UK (GAPS) and also hosts the working group at the London offices. GAPS is a research and advocacy group working to bridge the gap between the realities of women (activists and non-activists) at the local level in conflict and post-conflict regions with UK decision makers and practitioners working on peace and security.

This report reflects some of the perspectives and lessons learned from the Philippine-Nepal Exchange on the Peace Aspects of Constitution-making that took place in Kathmandu in August 2008. The report includes pertinent lessons from the Philippines experience of constitution-making from the perspectives of a Filipino peace practitioner, who served as a member of the Constitutional Commission that drafted the 1987 Philippines Constitution. It also reflects on debate and opinions amoung Nepali Constitutional Assembly members, constitutional experts, political party and government representatives, international organisations and a diverse range of civil society thinkers and activists in Nepal.

Climate change is upon us and its physical effects have started to unfold. That is the broad scientific consensus expressed in the Fourth Assessment Review of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change. This report takes this finding as its starting point and looks at the social and human consequences that are likely to ensue – particularly the risks of conflict and instability.

This paper aims to summarise the key community security concerns and issues that were voiced by youth and student groups in consultations carried out in Sunsari and Morang districts between the 25th September and the 5th November 2007. Voluntary ‘Youth Steering Committees’, comprising active and knowledgeable youth stakeholders, have played a key role as representatives for their district and in steering the project process. Local level interactions were then held in order to understand the particular issues facing rural youth. The paper looks first at the community security issues affecting youth in the two districts, then moves on to explore ways in which respondents felt that the current situation of unrest and insecurity could be changed.

Friends for Peace and International Alert undertook research in Morang, Makawanpur, Kailali and Jumla to assess the existing community security situation, people’s perceptions towards it and prospects for the future. The research was based on individual and group interviews and wider community interactions and was led by the communities themselves.