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132. Participation of V4 countries in African peacekeeping missions
- Author:
- János Besenyő
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Security and Defence Quarterly
- Institution:
- War Studies University
- Abstract:
- The article explores the peacekeeping activities of Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia and the characteristics of their activities on the African continent. The paper examines the African peacekeeping missions carried out by Visegrád countries. The study uses comparative scientific literature and analysis of statements released by these governments and other papers and studies related to the African peacekeeping missions. In addition, I used my own experience from my previous African peacekeeping/peace support missions, and the lessons learned from other African operations published in my previous book about Hungarian peacekeeping missions. In summary, of the Visegrád states with differing levels of training and equipment, Poland was the most active in peace operations in Africa and in the lead, followed by the Czech Republic and Hungary, while Slovakia was the least involved in the African continent. This trend is, moreover, in line with the involvement of the above countries in Africa to date. Although these states cooperate in several areas, this is not the case for African peace operations, although cooperation in this area would be important. The research examines the background to the activities of the V4 countries in peace operations in Africa. The study is particularly important in view of the fact that, for a number of reasons (migration, terrorism), the V4 countries are preparing for greater engagement in Africa, one area of which is peace-support operations.
- Topic:
- International Cooperation, Peacekeeping, Military Affairs, and European Union
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Europe
133. Human Rights (Syllabus Resource)
- Author:
- Peace and Security (GIWPS) Georgetown Institute for Women
- Publication Date:
- 02-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS)
- Abstract:
- The following is material to consider for your syllabus related to: International Law; Peacekeeping; Race in International Relations; The Global Human Rights Regime; Women’s Rights and Gender in International Relations.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Education, Human Rights, International Law, Race, Peacekeeping, Women, and Syllabus
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
134. Violence, Inequality and Transformation: Apartheid Survivors on South Africa's Ongoing Transition
- Author:
- Jasmina Brankovic, Brian Mphahlele, Sindiswa Nunu, Agnes Ngxukuma, Nompumelelo Njana, and Yanelisa Sishuba
- Publication Date:
- 02-2020
- Content Type:
- Book
- Institution:
- Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
- Abstract:
- Despite its lauded political transition in 1994, South Africa continues to have among the highest levels of violence and inequality in the world. Organised survivors of apartheid violations have long maintained that we cannot adequately address violence in the country, let alone achieve full democracy, without addressing inequality. This book is built around extensive quotes from members of Khulumani Support Group, the apartheid survivors' social movement, and young people growing up in Khulumani families. It shows how these survivors, who bridge the past and the present through their activism, understand and respond to socioeconomic drivers of violence. Pointing to the continuities between apartheid oppression and post-apartheid marginalisation in everyday life, the narratives detail ways in which the democratic dispensation has strengthened barriers to social transformation and helped enable violence. They also present strategies for effecting change through collaboration, dialogue and mutual training and through partnerships with diverse stakeholders that build on local-level knowledge and community-based initiatives. The lens of violence offers new and manageable ways to think about reducing inequality, while the lens of inequality shows that violence is a complex web of causes, pathways and effects that requires a big-picture approach to unravel. The survivors' narratives suggest innovative strategies for promoting a just transition through people-driven transformation that go well beyond the constraints of South Africa's transitional justice practice to date. A result of participatory research conducted in collaboration with and by Khulumani members, this open-access book will be of interest to activists, students, researchers and and policy makers working on issues of transitional justice, inequality and violence.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Apartheid, Peacekeeping, Transitional Justice, Peace, Justice, Community, and Marginalization
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
135. 2020 Review of the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture African Regional Consultation Report
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- The 2020 United Nations (UN) peacebuilding review takes stock of the progress made over the first 15 years of the UN’s Peacebuilding Architecture (PBA). ACCORD consulted a number of stakeholders in Africa on their experiences to date with the PBA between March and May 2020, culminating in a virtual webinar consultation that took place on 10 June 2020 in partnership with the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) and the African Union (AU) Commission. The 2020 UN peacebuilding review has a special interest on the impact of peacebuilding efforts at the field level. In this regard, ACCORD decided that the theme for its African Regional Consultation will be “Sustaining Peace in Africa: Local Capacities for Peace”. Inputs received for the African Consultation show that despite policy commitments to local ownership and investments in local and national capacities for peace, the funding, coordination, planning, and the state-centric decision-making structures still favour UN agencies, international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), and national authorities. Local peacebuilders are not sufficiently involved in the identification of needs, the framing of the issues or the design of the programmes and results frameworks. The majority of those who were consulted for this report had little knowledge of the Sustaining Peace concept. Those who are more familiar with the concept feel that the degree to which it emphasizes local and national ownership, early preventative action, and system-wide cooperation, collaboration, and coherence is exemplary. However, they felt its implementation strategies or mechanisms were weak.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, International Relations, International Cooperation, Regional Cooperation, United Nations, and Peacekeeping
- Political Geography:
- Africa and African Union
136. Implementing the UN Management Reform: Progress and Implications for Peace Operations
- Author:
- Wolfgang Weiszegger
- Publication Date:
- 07-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute (IPI)
- Abstract:
- In September 2017, UN Secretary-General António Guterres proposed a new management paradigm to enable the UN to confront global challenges and remain relevant in a fast-changing world. The new management paradigm would bring decision making closer to the point of delivery, empower managers, increase accountability and transparency, reduce duplicative structures and overlapping mandates, increase support for the field, and reform the planning and budgeting processes. Eighteen months after the management reform came into effect, this paper examines the implementation of the reform and its impact on peace operations from the perspective of both UN headquarters and the field. The paper highlights the current state of the reform, identifies good practices, flags areas for possible improvement or attention, and offers forward-looking recommendations for UN headquarters, mission leaders and managers in the field, global or regional support offices, member states, and staff at large. While the reform is still a work in progress, it has continued to gain momentum, and implementation has become more systematic. Nonetheless, the paper concludes that greater effort must be made to get input from personnel in peace operations to ensure that the reform responds to their needs and constraints. More work is also needed to fully realize the potential of the management reform and ensure that it aligns with parallel reforms underway in the UN peace and security architecture and development system.
- Topic:
- United Nations, Peacekeeping, Reform, and Accountability
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
137. Woman First, Soldier Second: Taboos and Stigmas Facing Military Women in UN Peace Operations
- Author:
- Lotte Vermeij
- Publication Date:
- 10-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute (IPI)
- Abstract:
- Despite efforts to increase the participation of women uniformed peacekeepers, military women continue to face taboos and stigmas that are barriers to their inclusion and successful deployment. These range from gender stereotypes that cause military women to face more scrutiny than their male counterparts to difficulties speaking up about discriminatory and sexualized behavior, including racism, sexual harassment, and assault. Being confronted with persistent taboos and stigmas can have far-reaching consequences for military women before, during, and after deployment. This paper, which is based on interviews with 142 military women from fifty-three countries, assesses the taboos and stigmas facing military women at three levels: (1) at the individual and community levels; (2) within their national defense structures; and (3) during deployment to UN peace operations. It also looks at the strategies women use to mitigate these taboos and stigmas and the formal and informal support structures they turn to. The paper concludes with recommendations for national defense structures and the UN: For national defense structures, it recommends improving standards of behavior and accountability, educating men and women on taboos and stigmas, recruiting and retaining more women, proactively reaching out to and selecting women for deployment to peace operations, providing women the support they need, and designing equipment that better suits women’s needs. For the UN Department of Peace Operations, it recommends strengthening narratives on the importance of female peacekeepers, ensuring that all peacekeepers respect UN values, developing mission-specific gender strategies and plans, engaging more firmly with troop-contributing countries, making recruitment and selection processes more gender-sensitive, holding personnel accountable for discriminatory and sexualized behavior, and establishing in-mission support systems.
- Topic:
- Security, United Nations, Peacekeeping, Women, and Peace
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
138. UN Reform and Mission Planning: Too Great Expectations?
- Author:
- Marc Jacquand
- Publication Date:
- 11-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute (IPI)
- Abstract:
- Since 2017, the UN system has undergone a historic process of reform at several levels and across many entities. Several of these reforms have either directly aimed at improving the planning of UN missions or included elements that have a significant bearing on mission planning. As the focus shifts from designing to implementing these reforms, it is possible to begin reflecting on whether these aims have been met. This paper takes stock of the various strands of UN reform and explores their impact on the planning of UN missions, drawing on the experiences of four missions that have recently started or transitioned. In addition to the peace and security, management, and development system reforms, it looks at the impact of several other recent initiatives. These include the launch of a series of independent strategic reviews of peace operations, the reinvigorated use of the secretary-general’s transition planning directives, the rollout of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment System, and the establishment of the Executive Committee. The paper concludes by recommending that the UN consider: Tying together the strands of reform related to planning to prevent fragmentation; Making increased and better use of peace and security management mechanisms at the initial stages of planning to ensure that UN leaders have a unified tone and vision; More formally and transparently involving the Security Council in strategic reviews; Clarifying and strengthening the role of all relevant departments and the shared regional divisions in the mission budget process; Repositioning DPO’s planning cell in the Office of Shared Services to move toward a shared planning capacity; and Incentivizing lateral movement of personnel across departments and entities to broaden their perspectives.
- Topic:
- United Nations, Peacekeeping, Reform, and Transparency
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
139. Community Engagement in UN Peacekeeping Operations: A People-Centered Approach to Protecting Civilians
- Author:
- Harley Henigson
- Publication Date:
- 11-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute (IPI)
- Abstract:
- As the practice of the protection of civilians (POC) has evolved in peacekeeping missions, the UN has increasingly focused on “people-centered” approaches. As a result, community engagement has emerged as a core component of POC efforts. By engaging with communities, missions can build trust, gather information, and build a protective environment, ultimately improving their ability to protect civilians. This paper examines the positive implications and impact of this increased focus on community engagement, as well as the challenges and risks it can pose for communities and missions. It analyzes the community engagement activities of the military, police, and civilian components of the UN missions in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, and South Sudan. The paper concludes with recommendations for these four missions, the UN Secretariat, and UN member states on the Security Council: UN member states should continue to refine the language on community engagement in peacekeeping mandates. The UN Secretariat should develop more in-depth modules on community engagement in relevant training materials. Relevant UN stakeholders should explore how missions’ military personnel can improve their community engagement. The UN Secretariat and missions should optimize their use of community liaison assistants. The UN Department of Peace Operations should continue to explore where the unarmed civilian protection methodology could complement community engagement by UN missions.
- Topic:
- United Nations, Peacekeeping, Civilians, and Community Engagement
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
140. Parallel Tracks or Connected Pieces?: UN Peace Operations, Local Mediation, and Peace Processes
- Author:
- Arthur Boutellis, Delphine Mechoulan, and Marie-Joelle Zahar
- Publication Date:
- 12-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute (IPI)
- Abstract:
- Track-1 mediation processes have increasingly struggled to deliver comprehensive peace agreements that address fragmented conflict dynamics and include local communities’ needs. As a result, local mediation has increasingly been a focus for the UN, including for UN peace operations. UN peace operations can play an important role in supporting local mediation initiatives, whether these initiatives are separate from, complementary to, or integrated into national processes. This paper considers how local mediation fits into the broader political strategies of UN peace operations. Building on a series of country case studies published by IPI and the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs’ Mediation Support Unit, it provides preliminary answers to whether, when, where, and how the UN can engage in local mediation efforts. It explores what capacities the UN would need to increase its engagement in local mediation, what role it can play, and how it could better configure itself and engage in partnerships. While this paper does not advocate for UN peace operations to engage more or less in local mediation processes, it concludes that missions ought to assess whether, when, and how short-term investments in local mediation can contribute to longer-term, sustainable conflict resolution. In each case, they should tailor their role based on informed strategic decisions and appropriate partnerships and as part of a broader effort to strengthen and foster greater coherence in national peace processes.
- Topic:
- United Nations, Peacekeeping, and Mediation
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus