General

Welcome news, apparently, in Obama's announcement today to postpone his decision about how to respond to the chemical attack in Damascus. Because there is no sense in firing a barrage of missiles as a response to the use of chemicals. Perhaps Obama's reason was his not wanting to be in Russia next week during or just after a US-led attack on Russia's ally. Perhaps he was given pause by the UK Commons vote on Friday. Or perhaps he is not so stupid after all, and has listened to wise counsel.

International Alert has launched a new report on the successes and challenges of 20 years of civil peacebuilding in the Nagorny Karabakh conflict context.

Our latest research in Uganda examines the impact of the Peace, Recovery and Development Plan for Northern Uganda (PRDP) on peace and conflict in the region.

The prospect of military action against the Assad regime by western powers has become increasingly real. Soon it may be all but inevitable. But what kind of action, for what purpose, in the service of what larger strategy? All this remains obscure.

EU High Representative and EC Vice-President Catherine Ashton steps down from leading the European External Action Service (EEAS) in late 2014. She has presented her review of the organisation and how to make it more efficient.

Almost two decades after the ceasefire agreement, the official peace process on the Nagorny Karabakh conflict mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group has been unable to reach a peaceful settlement. In the meantime, civil society groups in the region have sought to advance the prospects for peace at different levels of society outside of political negotiations. This study represents a landmark attempt to collectively reflect on 20 years of civil society-led peacebuilding efforts on the Nagorny Karabakh conflict.

Full report

This article first appeared on the Thomson Reuters Foundation website here.

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.

Full report

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.

Full report

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.

Full report

International Alert is co-hosting a series of workshops to identify and share good practice on how to create good relations within and between communities in England.

We are organising the events in partnership with Talk For a Change and local host organisations, with funding from Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and Oxfam.

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:

“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

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