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1132. The UN and the African Union in Mali and beyond: a shotgun wedding?
- Author:
- Thomas G. Weiss and Martin Welz
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- After the initial post-Cold War euphoria about the potential for the United Nations (UN) to maintain international peace and security, as imagined in its Charter, from the 1990s onwards subcontracting from the world organization to regional organizations has become essentially the standard operating procedure for major military peace operations. While UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali was bullish in his 1992 An agenda for peace, the UN has by and large withdrawn from the peace enforcement business following debacles in Somalia and Rwanda—as Boutros-Ghali's 1995 Supplement to 'An agenda for peace' and the 2000 Brahimi Report recommended.
- Topic:
- Security and Cold War
- Political Geography:
- United Nations, Rwanda, and Somalia
1133. Pathways to Security Council Reform
- Author:
- Richard Gowan and Nora Gordon
- Publication Date:
- 05-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center on International Cooperation
- Abstract:
- In this paper, New York University's Center on International Cooperation (CIC) seeks to explore potential pathways to United Nations Security Council (UNSC) reform. We begin with an overview of the current context, which has been characterized by increasing international pressure for Security Council reform. The Council's abysmal performance in the Syrian crisis has fueled the mounting pressure for reform, which includes the French proposal to limit use of the veto and Saudi Arabia's rejection of a non-permanent seat. We then offer a brief history and analysis of previous reform attempts; an explanation of global perspectives on the issue of UNSC reform; background on the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on UNSC reform in New York; and an analysis of discussions on reform in and around the African Union.
- Topic:
- Security, International Security, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Africa, New York, and Saudi Arabia
1134. Civil Defense Groups
- Author:
- Bruce "Ossie" Oswald
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- Between 1981 and 2007, governments in eighty-eight countries established or supported more than three hundred armed militias to provide security to local communities. Such militias often directly engage in armed conflict and law-and-order activities. A number of state-supported civil defense groups make local communities less secure by refusing to respond to state direction, setting up security apparatuses in competition with state authorities, committing human rights violations, and engaging in criminal behavior. The doctrine of state responsibility and the application of international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and international criminal law obligate the state or states that establish or support civil defense groups to investigate, prosecute, punish, and provide reparations or compensate victims. In many cases, the domestic laws of states are ineffective at holding members of govern¬ments or civil defense groups accountable. Local law enforcement authorities also often fail to investigate or prosecute members of civil defense groups. At present there is no specific international legal instrument to guide the responsible management of relationships between states and civil defense groups. Thus, the international community should develop a legal instrument that specifies the rules and principles that apply to states and civil defense groups and that includes a due diligence framework that focuses on accountability and governance of both states and civil defense groups. Such a framework would enhance the protection and security of communities by setting accountability and governance standards, assisting in security sector reform by establishing benchmarks and evaluation processes, and contributing to the reinforcement of legal rules and principles that apply in armed conflicts. For fragile states or those in a post conflict phase of development, the better management of such forces is likely to build state legitimacy as a provider of security to vulnerable communities.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Defense Policy, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- United States
1135. A Counterterrorism Role for Pakistan's Police Stations
- Author:
- Robert Perito and Tariq Parvez
- Publication Date:
- 08-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- Terrorism, secessionist insurgency, sectarian conflict, and ethnic turf wars have convulsed both Pakistan's major cities and tribal areas along the Afghanistan border. The escalation in mega-urban centers in particular has increased the importance of the police in controlling the endemic violence. The police station retains both its historic role as the symbol of government authority and its position as the basic law enforcement institution responsible for public order, law enforcement, and police services. Yet police stations and personnel are ill prepared and poorly equipped to meet the challenges of the country's complex, urbanized, and increasingly violent society. Pakistani police have found themselves on the front lines, and a growing number have given their lives to protect others in the struggle against terrorist and criminal groups. The need is now urgent to empower the police through a program of positive reform that would begin with modernizing police stations and reorienting and retraining their personnel. An effective program for police station reform would begin with assigning primacy to the police for controlling terrorism. It would include developing new organizational struc¬tures, positions, and standard operating procedures to ensure that local police understand their enhanced role and mission. It would also include improving police-public relations and networking police stations into a national information-sharing network with anti-terrorist agencies. Creating high-profile specialized units appears to offer a quick fix to a complex and increas¬ingly pervasive problem. The real solution, however, lies in empowering Pakistan's police stations to protect their communities from criminal and extremist violence through modern¬ization and reform.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan and Afghanistan
1136. Inclusive Approaches to Community Policing and CVE
- Author:
- Georgia Holmer and Fulco van Deventer
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- Accountable and effective policing institutions are key to stability in volatile environments, especially societies transitioning from conflict or authoritarian rule. From a development or peacebuilding perspective, community policing can aid in reform of security institutions and give civil society an active role in the process. Community policing—simultaneously an ethos, a strategy, and a collaboration—helps pro¬mote democratic policing ideals and advance a human security paradigm. Challenges to implementing such programs in transitional societies are considerable and tied to demographic and cultural variations in both communities and security actors. Developing trust, a key to success in all community policing, can be particularly difficult. Challenges are also unique when dealing with marginalized communities and members of society. Neither a police service nor a given community are monolithic. How police interact with one segment of a community might be—might need to be—completely different than how they approach another. Community policing programs designed to prevent violent extremism require a common and nuanced understanding between the community and the police as to what constitutes violent extremism and what is an effective response. When they agree, they can develop effective joint solutions to mitigate the threat. Key competencies can be grouped into four categories: those important to success for any com¬munity policing programs, those relevant to efforts to reform the security sector, to promote women's inclusion in security, or to prevent violent extremism. These objectives often overlap.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and Terrorism
1137. Former U.N. Peacekeepers: Agents of Cultural Change in Pakistan's Polic
- Author:
- Muhammad Quraish Khan
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- Former U.N. peacekeepers are an emerging cadre within Pakistan's police who are precursors of professionalization and other positive changes in police culture. Given their peacekeeping experience, they are torchbearers of human rights protection in policing, and believers in gender equality and the rule of law. They have also shown an ability to resist undue political pressure by government ministers, politicians and interest groups. They form a resilient force when it comes to fighting the tide of militancy and terrorism in Pakistan. This pool of trained resources may be utilized by the United Nations Department of Peace-keeping Operations (DPKO) for the quick start of new peacekeeping missions. The Government of Pakistan could also utilize them for police-reform initiatives, imparting training and demonstrating best practices. Given the potential gains from police participation in U.N. peacekeeping, Pakistan's recent, self-imposed ban on police joining peacekeeping deployments in the future should be reversed.
- Topic:
- Security and Culture
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, Africa, and United States
1138. Engaging Afghan Religious Leaders for Women's Rights
- Author:
- Palwasha L. Kakar
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- As the economic, security and political transitions take place in Afghanistan, it is essential to work with religious leaders who have credibility and moral authority among large segments of the Afghan public. Religious leaders are among Afghanistan's traditional "gatekeepers" for making local decisions, especially on questions of women's rights, and they can be effectively engaged. Despite the very negative reactions by religious leaders to women's rights at the national political level, some at the local level have shown continuing interest in women's rights when they are involved within an Islamic framework and have participated in protecting such rights. Effective engagement with religious leaders starts with respecting their opinions and involving them directly in processes of changing strongly held social norms on women's rights and other sensitive topics, such as tolerance and peacebuilding.
- Topic:
- Security, Politics, and Religion
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Africa
1139. Creating Spaces for Effective CVE Approaches
- Author:
- Georgia Holmer
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- Countering violent extremism efforts strive to prevent at-risk individuals from being recruited into or joining extremist groups. Identifying who is at risk and who poses a threat, however, is a complicated inquiry. In Kenya, as in many other places experiencing violent extremism, the young, the undecided, the coerced and others might—if properly guided—move away from rather than toward violence. Many at risk of becoming involved in violent extremist groups are too quickly categorized as an enemy and given no opportunity to move in a different direction. Empathy is critical both to learning why individuals are vulnerable to engaging in violent extremism and to creating the space and willingness in a community to help those at risk.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- Kenya and Somalia
1140. Stronger Together: Women Parliamentarians in Joint Action for Peace and Security
- Author:
- Agnes Venema
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- EastWest Institute
- Abstract:
- The United Nations Security Council passed resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) in 2000, which is considered to be the back - bone of efforts to include women in peace negotiations, post-conflict reconstruction and disarmament, demobilization and re - integration initiatives around the world. Ten years after this landmark resolution was passed, the East West Institute's Parliamentarians Network for Conflict Prevention started its work on the Women, Peace and Security agenda upon the request of women members of parliament from Afghanistan and Pakistan, who felt marginalized, sidelined and excluded from their national security processes as well as from international dialogues on this issue.
- Topic:
- Security, Gender Issues, Peace Studies, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, and United Nations