Tuesday 21 November Conflicting reports over clashes in Ayod area, Jonglei State. SPLM (IO) rejected the recent reunification deal between SPLM and SPLM Former Detainees (SPLM-FD) signed in Cairo, Egypt. Pagan Amum denies that the SPLM (IO) is excluded from the process, saying that this is part of the implementation of the Arusha agreement. Wednesday… Read more »
Climate Change, Jihadism and Policy Failures in the Sahel
On the 22 November 2017, the Subcommittee on Security and Defence in the European Parliament held a public hearing on the ‘The Security Dimension of Climate Change – What Implications for EU Common Security and Defence Policy?’. I was one of three invited speakers at this event, and talked about ‘Climate Security in the Sahel’…. Read more »
This Week in South Sudan – Week 46
Monday 13 November The President of Sudan, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, arrived in Kampala for a two-day state visit to met with his Ugandan counter part, President Yoweri Museveni to discuss, amongst other things, the situation in South Sudan. Tuesday 14 November Following diplomatic pressure from the US, the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) has promised… Read more »
Why Isn’t Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Treated the Same as Gender-Based Violence in Humanitarian Contexts?
The recent #MeToo hashtag and associated social media storm highlighted the extensiveness of sexual abuse and harassment and the exploitation of women and girls (and in some cases men and boys) by those in positions of power. It showed that the problem does not come down to a few “bad apples”, but is systemic, impacting people around the globe and of varying socio-economic levels.
UN Peacekeepers Day celebration in the DR Congo. PHOTO: Wikimedia Commons
Sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) is most prominent in contexts where people experience gendered and material vulnerabilities or inequalities, such as in conflict and post-conflict contexts and during natural disasters where unequal power dynamics, material deprivation and insecurity are rife. SEA perpetrated by UN peacekeepers is probably the most insidious and well-known example of this dynamic.
Zimbabwe: from Coup to Democratization?
In the early hours of the morning on 15 November, the Zimbabwean military placed President Mugabe under house arrest. The coup against one of the longest serving rulers in Africa appears to have been a reaction to Mugabe’s ouster of his vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa, to pave the way for his wife as the successor to his rule.
Robert and Grace Mugabe. Wikimedia Commons
Dictators are often deposed in military coups, and historically as many as 2/3 of all deposed dictators suffer this fate. The question now is: what kind of rule will Zimbabwe see after the fall of Mugabe? In a best-case scenario, this coup could be the beginning of the end of dictatorial rule in Zimbabwe.
This Week in South Sudan – Week 45
Tuesday 7 November Sudanese presidential assistant Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid met with the British and Norwegian special envoy to discuss the regional and international efforts to end South Sudan’s civil war. SPLA officer from Aweil, Col. Chan Garang Lual, has reportedly defected to join the SPLA (IO) together with an unconfirmed number of other SPLA officers and… Read more »
Europe’s Quiet Offensive Against People Helping Refugees
A look back on three years since the end of Operation Mare Nostrum.
Three years ago today, pressure by the European Union on Italy forced the end of one of the EU’s most successful humanitarian missions, Mare Nostrum, a search-and-rescue operation that in just one year brought 130,000 refugees safely to Europe’s shores.
Photo: Seawatch.org
As the death toll mounted in the wake of this decision, including 1,200 victims at sea five months later, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) stepped into the breach, launching their own rescue missions in a desperate attempt to save lives. Their efforts were part of a wave of compassion across Europe that year, as people organised convoys to refugee reception centers, warmly greeted arrivals at German train stations and lined highways to provide food and water to those making the arduous trek from war-torn regions of Syria and elsewhere.Read More
This Week in South Sudan – Week 44
Tuesday 31 October New in-depth working-paper from Small Arms Survey: “Isolation and Endurance: Riek Machar and the SPLM-IO in 2016–17” The Mail and the Guardian in-depth investigative report on the leaked audit report: “How South Sudan’s elite looted its foreign reserves” TIME, op-ed: “What the U.S. Must Do to Save South Sudan, a Nation it… Read more »
Migrant Smugglers Are Winning. Here’s Why
Migrant smuggling: moving people across borders for profit, is reported to be one of the fastest-growing and most lucrative forms of organized criminal activity.
Smugglers crowd their human cargo into shipping containers and onto boats and trucks. Many migrants arrive safely and consider the investment well spent. But migrant smuggling is a dirty business: excessive profiteering and exploitation routinely place the lives and wellbeing of smuggled migrants at serious risk.
Photo: UNODC
The current international narrative around migrant smuggling, most clearly spelled out in the ongoing negotiations around a Global Compact for Migration, identifies smuggling as a criminal enterprise that must be stopped at all costs – and clearly asserts that it can be stopped with sufficient resources and cooperation between states.
This analysis reflects a distorted view of reality. It makes the challenge seem straightforward, but it is fundamentally misguided. Smugglers are winning and they will continue to do so for the following reasons.Read More
Climate, Peace and Security
Despite rapid scientific progress, firm knowledge about the societal consequences of global warming remains limited. What are the implications of climate change for peace and security? Should we expect more wars and more political instability as the world heats up? The real concerns linked to climate change are not about shrinking glaciers, eroding coastlines, or… Read more »