Monday 18 September SPLM (IO) criticized IGAD’s plan to revitalize the 2015 peace accord. (IO) claim the approach is biased in favour of President Kiir and calls for a new peace and mediation process. Tuesday 19 September South Sudan’s High Court acquitted six former presidential aides who were initially sentenced to life in prison in… Read more »
Month: September 2017
This Week in South Sudan – Week 37
Monday 11 September New report from the Institute for Security Studies (ISS): “How the AU can promote transitional justice in South Sudan” The Government of South Sudan (GoSS) summoned the U.S. Embassy’s charge d’affaires to formally protest the recent US sanctions against three current and former GoSS officials. During his recent visit to Juba, the… Read more »
Education and Systematic Group Inequalities in Nigeria
On the night between 14 and 15 April, 2014, 276 girls were kidnapped by Boko Haram from their school in Chibok in Borno State in Northeastern Nigeria. The Islamist terrorist group does not believe that girls should attend school, and these girls were targeted precisely because they were in school. However, conservative views on gender and education is only one reason why many girls in… Read more »
Education and Conflict: What the Evidence Says
These are the key conclusions from the first systematical review of the empirical, quantitative literature on the relationship between education and civil conflict. Evidence from 30 statistical studies indicate that Increasing education levels overall have pacifying effects Rapid expansions of higher education is not a threat Education inequalities between groups increase conflict risk The quality… Read more »
Batman in Vienna: Choosing How to Confront Migrant Smuggling
There’s a lot to gain from better management of migration. That was the idea that inspired States in 2016 to set out on a path towards a Global Compact for Migration. As a step in the process, UN Member States gathered in Vienna on 4 September to discuss the issue of migrant smuggling. a large… Read more »
This Week in South Sudan – Week 35 & 36
Tuesday 29 August South Sudan’s parliament passed the 2017/2018 budget of 46.5 billion South Sudanese pounds (USD $300M); more than a 30 per cent spending increase from 2016/2017. The Ministry of Finance has previously stated that more than a third of the proposed budget must be funded by external donors. Meanwhile, Kiir has vowed to… Read more »
Information Technology Can Help Build Peace. This Is How.
In a recent episode of the caustic sitcom “Silicon Valley,” the hard-luck start-up protagonists attend a big technology convention. They stumble across an app called PeaceFare, a game that lets players “build peace” on their phones by giving virtual money to virtual homeless people or virtual corn to virtual starving villagers. Launched by a rich entrepreneur… Read more »