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United Nations Security Council Resolution 1820

library: 

UNSCR1820.pdf

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, October 2000

library: 

UNSCR1325.pdf

A UN Summit in September will review progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. It will find that they are not going to be met by 2015 as planned. But rather than push for an “MDG Rescue Plan” as some are proposing, it is time to ask some hard questions about how societies change, and what we really mean by "development".

Full report

The effective provision of security and justice is one of the main requirements for a peaceful society and sustained social and economic development. This is particularly important in post-settlement or post-conflict countries, where sources of insecurity may be exacerbated by the actual and anticipated return of ex-combatants, refugees and internally displaced persons to areas of minimal or degraded state presence. Depending on their training, pay, motivation and professionalism, security forces may be part of the solution or part of the problem.

Letter published in The Times on 14 January 2010

Letter published in The Guardian on 27 January 2010

Mid January to mid February 2010

As part of our partnership with radio station Passion for the Planet this month you can listen to the following interviews:

What impact does conflict have on our climate and what impact does climate change have on conflict?

Does overseas interference in conflict areas bring positive change or leave a lasting negative legacy?

And which countries are most vulnerable to conflict in the future?

Mid February to mid March 2010

As part of our partnership with radio station Passion for the Planet this month you can listen to the following interviews:

Just what is it that causes war and why have we had over 120 of them worldwide since the end of the Cold War in 1989?

What needs to happen for there to be a lasting peace after a conflict?

Can business influence peace? And should local businesses be included in a peace process?

The battle lines are starting to be drawn over how development assistance and peacebuilding do or don’t support each other, or can or can’t be made to work together, and about whether bad governance and insecurity are the right targets for international development policy and assistance. 

Listen, on demand, to interviews with International Alert

Last year we teamed up with the UK’s leading ethical radio station Passion for the Planet and recorded a series of interviews focused on peacebuilding.

These interviews, which were broadcast on Passion for the Planet, are now being made available to listen to on demand.

Mid April to mid May 2010

As part of our partnership with radio station Passion for the Planet this month you can listen to the following interviews:

Will oil in Uganda be a blessing or a curse for the country?

Is female empowerment the route to more peaceful societies?

Why is war so much easier than peace?

Mid May to mid June 2010

As part of our partnership with radio station Passion for the Planet this month you can listen to the following interviews:

Will water be the new oil when it comes to conflict?

Will climate change lead to war?

Can a radio station build bridges after the fighting has stopped?

Last year International Alert’s Secretary-General Dan Smith was selected to review the UK Department for International Development’s policy on state-building and peacebuilding, an issue which is a bit of a hot topic in many of the countries where Alert works. Smith challenged some of the UK Government’s key assumptions and provided new ways of thinking about the interlinkages between state-building and peacebuilding.

This article is an abstract from Dan Smith’s contribution to the new Foreign Policy Centre pamphlet Tackling the world water crisis: Reshaping the future of foreign policy.

Water is a basic condition for life. We depend upon it for daily use, agriculture and industry. Both declining availability and quality as well as an excess of water undermines welfare, impairs human security and generates risk of conflict.

Letter published in The Guardian on 5 June 2010

Andrew Mitchell, the new secretary of state for international development, has announced a new regime of transparency and accountability in how Britain's aid is spent. Welcome as that is, questions remain about what to measure, which means discussing the aims, and how to do it without distorting those aims.