Africa

This study examines the impact of the Peace, Recovery and Development Plan for Northern Uganda (PRDP) on peace and conflict in the region. It is the second in a series of studies which examine the impact of the PRDP on peace and conflict in northern Uganda over a five-year period. This study presents the findings from 2012. The PRDP was introduced in 2007 as a comprehensive framework designed to guide efforts to consolidate peace and security and lay the foundation for recovery and development in the region.

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This study examines the impact of the Peace, Recovery and Development Plan for Northern Uganda (PRDP) on peace and conflict in the sub-regions of Acholi and Lango. It is the first in a series of studies which will examine the impact of the PRDP on peace and conflict in northern Uganda over a five-year period. This study presents comparative findings from a 2011 baseline survey and 2012 re-run surveys. The PRDP was introduced in 2007 as a comprehensive framework designed to guide efforts to consolidate peace and security and lay the foundation for recovery and development in the region.

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Given the nature of pervasive violence, peacebuilding needs to throw its net wider, to encompass all kinds of pervasive violence in society as part of its remit. This means that peacebuilding organisations should work more deliberately on other types of organised violence and in a sense rethink peacebuilding – focusing not only on conventional conflict settings, but also targeting unconventional types of conflict. This paper examines the challenges and opportunities for peacebuilders in responding to criminal groups in conflict environments. This is part of our Peace Focus series.

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Last month International Alert participated in the conference 'Sharing the benefits of the commodity boom', organised by Mining on Top: Africa in partnership with the Commonwealth Business Council and UK Trade and Investment.

International Alert, in partnership with the School of Global Studies at Sussex University and the Royal Commonwealth Society, held the fifth in its series of Peace Talks events, which was on the subject of "Congolese prospects. Land and minerals – resources for peace?" in London on 12 June.

Watch the discussion here:

The Network of African Women Parliamentarians and Ministers (REFAMP), International Alert's partner in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has called on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and President of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim to step up efforts to end the armed conflict in the country.

This report examines how forestry projects under the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) initiative affect pre-existing structures of power, economy, fairness, safety and wellbeing in Brazil, Indonesia and Uganda, and how they may exacerbate pre-existing conflicts over land and resources. The report also looks at how REDD+ funds could provide the opportunity to diversify livelihoods, encourage sustainable development and enhance the adaptive capacity of local populations in the face of a changing climate.

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“For the first time ever, we sit together, women politicians and activists, and talk about what we can do together. It is big and so important.”
Chou Chou Namegabe, Association des Femmes des Médias

On 15-16 May, International Alert co-hosted a conference in Monrovia on natural resource management in Liberia.

This article first appeared in The Huffington Post on 22 May 2013

As oil and gas exploration gathers pace on Uganda’s northwestern border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), efforts are being made to minimise conflicts among border communities and ensure that the border remains tension-free.

Dear Secretary-General,

As NGOs working in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), we remain very concerned by the grave humanitarian situation that continues to severely affect the civilian population, characterized by persistent high levels of violence, human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law. Renewed fighting between M23 and FARDC around Goma this month highlights the significant and continuing insecurity faced by communities.

This year Africa celebrates 50 years of collective action: first through the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and more recently the African Union (AU).

In both low and middle income countries, well established arguments and solid evidence confirm that there is no real development without peace and only the peace of the graveyard without development. These conclusions have shifted the fulcrum of discussion about development over the past several years. But they have not yet added up to telling anybody how to do it.