Since May 2010, Burundi has embarked in a marathon electoral season, with five successive elections (at district, presidential, legislative, and village level) over a period of five months.
In the district elections on May 24th, the ruling party won a landslide victory. Despite some minor irregularities, international and national election observers stated the elections were largely fair, while opposition parties claimed they were fraudulent and withdrew from the election process.
In just two years’ time, elections in Sierra Leone will mark a decade since the end of the bloody civil war. Since the war was officially declared over, there have been some notable achievements. The country’s first peaceful and democratic handover of power from one political party to another took place in 2007. Free health care for all pregnant and breastfeeding women has been introduced to combat Sierra Leone’s alarming maternal mortality rate.
International Alert and Réseau Haki na Amani, a Congolese NGO, have recently published a manual in order to support local communities dealing with land conflicts in Ituri, a North-eastern district of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Chris Dolan, director of the Refugee Law Project in Uganda, has recently been conducting research for International Alert for an upcoming report on sexual violence in eastern Congo. In this interview he concluded democracy is not possible in the eastern Congo without big changes in relations between men and women. Article published on 20th October 2010, Guardian.
Background
The Republic of Guinea in West Africa is rich in natural resources, but its people remain poor. Guineans have endured decades of autocratic governance, but they currently have an opportunity to turn a new corner towards a more democratic future. International Alert has worked there for the past few years, helping Guineans seize this opportunity for change and with a particular focus on holding dialogues where people can discuss and envisage practical ways forward.
Le petit commerce de produits vivriers (légumes, fruits etc.) entre la Province du Nord Kivu de la RDC (Goma) et la Province de l’Ouest du Rwanda (Gisenyi) est très important. Le petit
commerce transfrontalier est défini comme « activité commerciale génératrice de revenus dont la valeur des transactions commerciales journalières ne dépasse pas 100 dollars américains (USD) par commerçant ».
International Alert is seeking to build on previous initiatives to inform and advance EU thinking on the reintegration of ex-combatants into post-conflict societies and economies. This is the second of two briefing papers produced as part of a year-long initiative aimed at reinvigorating the debate on reintegration. Based on research in Burundi, Liberia and Nepal, it discusses why the lessons of past reintegration programmes are not being learned and what implications this has for future EU disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) programming.
This paper discusses why the lessons of past reintegration programmes in Burundi, Liberia and Nepal are not being learned and what implications this has for future EU disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) programming.
This case study, commissioned by International Alert, examines the governance of natural
resources in São Tomé and Príncipe by focusing on the management, oversight and
transparency mechanisms or structures set up to monitor oil revenues since 2007. The study
explores the activities, challenges and social communication strategies of these oil-related
bodies from 2007 through 2009, identifying problems areas and analysing if and how these
problems are linked to larger social dynamics, and how they could be exacerbated by the
This case study examines the governance of natural resources in São Tomé and Príncipe, focusing on the management, oversight and transparency mechanisms or structures set up to monitor oil revenues since 2007.
Africahas suffered a total of one third of global armed conflicts over the past decade. The bottom 27 countries in the UNDP’s human development index are African and there are an estimated 6.1 million refugees and 20 million internally displaced persons across the continent. Now, more than ever, an effective EU-Africa partnership is required to address the underlying and proximate causes of conflict, insecurity, instability and underdevelopment to effect a demonstrative, positive and sustainable impact on the ground.
This is a briefing by Saferworld and International Alert to the EU-Africa Summit 2003 in Lisbon
This In Brief article exams EU policy on conflict prevention and the instruments at the Union's disposal, exploring how these instruments can be used to support African initiatives to counter conflict. This article is available in French.
This report is an overview of illicit small arms and light weapons (SALW) proliferation in West Africa, focusing on the implementation of sub-regional control instruments. In this regard, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Moratorium on the Importation, Exportation and Manufacture of Small Arms and Light Weapons in West Africa (ECOWAS Moratorium) stands out as the main platform on which arms control in the sub-region is based.
This report is an overview of illicit small arms and light weapons (SALW) proliferation in West Africa, focusing on the implementation of sub-regional control instruments. In this regard, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Moratorium on the Importation, Exportation and Manufacture of Small Arms and Light Weapons in West Africa (ECOWAS Moratorium) stands out as the main platform on which arms control in the sub-region is based.
This report documents the processes and outcomes of a needs assessment carried out with women in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria between the 12th and 20th of July 2002. The Niger Delta region has been subject to a three-pronged conflict between communities, oil companies and the Nigerian government, as well as facing conflict within communities.
This report documents the processes and outcomes of a needs assessment carried out with women in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria between the 12th and 20th July 2002 - part of a project to build the capacities of women leaders to contribute towards a non-violent resolution of conflict.
The West Africa Programme at International Alert (IA) has been actively working with partners from the region for many years in seeking to transform conflicts in the area through projects that contribute to bringing about social justice and peace. We are very much aware that other actors have also played a role in conflict transformation in the region. This overview is designed to provide an insight into the history of IA’s work there, particularly since the inception of the West Africa Programme in 1998.
This is an overview of International Alert's work in West Africa.
Introduction
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.
This report seeks to document governmental and civil society activity in Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal with regard to the control of SALW. The case studies provide an overview of the main sources of SALW proliferation. The report also aims to assess the current national legislation on SALW, the implementation of SALW control policies, as well as the role of national governmental and nongovernmental structures in addressing the issue of SALW proliferation in the three countries.
This report seeks to document governmental and civil society activity in Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal with regard to the control of SALW.