Middle East and North Africa

International Alert is proud to present its new annual report, “Peace Talks”, which looks back at Alert’s work and impact in 2011 – when Alert celebrated its 25th year – using dialogue as a theme.

Dialogue is a vital tool we use in our peacebuilding work, and we hope that by showing you in this annual report some of the practical ways in which we use dialogue to bring people together or to improve face-to-face communication in situations where communication has broken down, you will get a good sense of how we work as well as our objectives. The regions we focus on in this report to illustrate our theme are Uganda, South Caucasus, Lebanon and Sri Lanka.

Although Lebanon is known in the Middle East for its relative political openness and for the degree of freedom Lebanese women enjoy, it paradoxically has one of the lowest rates of women’s political engagement in the region. This report examines the extent to which women are currently involved in politics in Lebanon, as well as the opportunities for increasing their involvement, by drawing on Alert’s work with the youth wings of Lebanese political parties and a conference Alert held on the topic of promoting gender equality in political parties. The first part of this report presents diverse perspectives from Lebanese and international experts within their conference speeches, and the second part includes an analysis of interviews with Lebanese youth, in which they reflect on their hopes, concerns and ideas for improving gender equality in Lebanese politics in the future.

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.

A report on the first ever Afghan consultation on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. The consultation was organised by International Alert's Gender and Peacebuilding Programme and the Afghan Civil Society Forum (ACSF).

This publication makes the case that the local business community in conflict-affected countries can and should play a role in building peace. Linking up with other peacebuilding actors, and taking advantage of their own resources and skills, business communities should address socio-economic, security, political and reconciliation dimensions of peacebuilding. Section 1 is divided into 5 thematic chapters, and Section 2 contains 19 country case studies. Executive Summaries are also available in Spanish and French.

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.

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.