	Strengthening EU Action in Afghanistan and Pakistan
	Reforming Counterterrorism: Institutions and Organizational Routines in Britain and France
	A Distinction with a Difference: Conflict Sensitivity and Peacebuilding

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MYANMAR: Impunity Prolonged: Burma and its 2008 Constitution
Burma (also known as Myanmar) has been under military rule since 1962 when General Ne Win took power from the democratically elected government. Following nationwide protests in 1988, another coup marked the commencement of the current regime (initially called the State Law and Order Restoration Council, or SLORC, and now called the State Peace and Development Council, or SPDC). The new regime promised to usher in democracy and elections were held in 1990. However the military rulers refused to allow the winning National League for Democracy (NLD) to form a new government. Instead, they convened a National Convention to draft a new constitution, handpicking most of the initial 702 delegates and inviting only 106 of the elected Members of Parliament to participate. After many delays, the convention completed the draft on September 3, 2007. The convention ended just after a sudden rise in fuel costs caused the prices of commodities to increase considerably, prompting Buddhist monks to lead mass demonstrations calling for economic reform and national reconciliation. The military responded with ferocious force, raiding monasteries and firing on crowds of peaceful protestors. Many of the protesters were detained and reportedly tortured, and some were sentenced to long prison terms. International Center for Transitional Justice (30 September)

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SUDAN: Skirting the Law: Sudan's Post-CPA Arms Flows
In an effort to reduce insecurity in Darfur and throughout Sudan, the international community has established legal restrictions on arms transfers to Sudan, including the 2004 and 2005 United Nations arms embargoes on Darfur, and the 1994 European Union (EU) arms embargo on Sudan (updated in 2004). In addition, the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People�s Liberation Movement/Army establishes restrictions on the resupply of military equipment to forces within the agreement�s Ceasefire Zone. Despite these measures, however, arms transfers to all parts of Sudan continue unabated and, in some instances, are increasing. On the basis of interviews, customs and trade data, original documentation, published reports, and evidence from photographs and satellite imagery, and by focusing on specific case studies, this Working Paper provides a snapshot of what is known about arms transfers to Sudan�s state forces since the signing of the CPA, as well as the distribution and circulation of weapons to nonstate armed groups. Small Arms Survey // Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva // Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (30 September)

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COLOMBIA: Countering Threats to Security and Stability in a Failing State: Lessons from Colombia
Colombia in the mid-1990s was in deep trouble. The insurgent group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) appeared capable of defeating the Colombian military in pitched battles and, combined with the Army of National Liberation (ELN) and growing paramilitary forces, controlled vast areas of the country. A confluence of negative variables, including a rapid expansion in the cultivation and trafficking of narcotics, pointed to potential state failure. A decade later, however, Colombia, aided by substantial U.S. support, had returned from the brink of implosion. Years of progress by the Colombian government in expanding legitimate state control over national space, population, and infrastructure effectively countered the threats to security and stability posed by extra-state actors. This report from the CSIS Americas Program examines developments in Colombia to assess the lessons to be learned from that country's impressive recovery. The report analyzes why Colombia was on the road to possible state failure, how the process was reversed, and what will be needed to sustain progress. Center for Strategic and International Studies (29 September)

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NEPAL: UN Support for Peacebuilding: Nepal as the Exceptional Case
In the annals of UN peace operations, the mission in Nepal (UNMIN) appears as an exceptional case. Most peace support operations today are multidimensional � covering the security sector, political transition, relief and economic recovery, statebuilding, and transitional justice � and target the underlying causes of conflict as well. Peacebuilding means ensuring that 'exclusionary social, economic and political structures � [are not] left untouched, perpetuated or strengthened,' UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan declared when he inaugurated the UN Peacebuilding Commission in 2006. The language seemed tailor-made for Nepal, where the UN established a peace mission after the end of a ten-year civil war. Yet the UN operation to help consolidate peace in Nepal was a �focused mission of short duration', a minimalist operation with a razor-thin mandate. This paper explores why this was so, and what were the consequences for peacebuilding. Was a limited UN mission appropriate to the challenges of peacebuilding, or was the mission unduly restricted? Did a high degree of Nepali �national ownership� consolidate or complicate the peace process? Chr. Michelsen Institute (30 September)

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AFGHANISTAN: Toward an Afghan Democracy? Exploring Perceptions of Democratisation
Since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 and the subsequent beginning of the Bonn Process, Afghanistan (with the input of international donors) has embarked on the technical and political process of democratisation. This has involved the (re-)establishment of a presidential system of government, a bicameral parliament, provincial councils and an electoral cycle which has seen one round of elections completed and another begun. Much emphasis has been placed by the international community in particular on the initial set-up and existence of these democratic institutions, but the question remains (especially in the aftermath of 2009 elections): Above and beyond these efforts, what are Afghan perspectives on democracy? This discussion paper explores different perspectives of democracy and democratisation held in three provinces of Afghanistan. It provides a brief background to democracy as a global movement, and to its origins in Afghanistan, before focusing on two key thematic areas: definitions, perceptions and interpretations of the term 'democracy', and respondents' current experiences of representative processes. Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (28 September)

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GAZA STRIP: Bearing the Brunt Again: Child Rights Violations During Operation Cast Lead
This report illustrates the scale and range of serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law perpetrated by the Israeli army during Operation Cast Lead. It stresses that these violations follow decades of impunity for previous violations and demonstrates how eight months on, in the context of the Gaza blockade and continued military occupation, Palestinian children remain unable to rebuild their lives. The report is based on sworn victim and witness testimonies and extensive field investigations. Through the presentation of 43 case studies, the report illustrates the scale and range of serious violations of international law, in particular rules and norms related to international humanitarian law, child rights and children in armed conflict, perpetrated during Israel's 23-day military offensive Operation Cast Lead. These violations include unlawful killing and maiming, the obstruction of medical access, the destruction of schools, homes and life-sustaining infrastructure such as water and sanitation networks, the use of children as human shields and the arbitrary detention of children. Defence for Children International / Palestine Section // Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights (28 September)

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YEMEN: Avoiding a Downward Spiral
Yemen faces a great and growing number of challenges that endanger its political future and threaten its neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula. War, terrorism, a deepening secessionist movement, and interconnected economic and demographic trends have the potential to overwhelm the Yemeni government, jeopardizing domestic stability and security across the region. Yemen�s oil�the source of over 75 percent of its income�is quickly running out, and the country has no apparent way to transition to a post-oil economy. The dire economic situation makes it increasingly difficult for the government to deliver the funds needed to hold the country together. Yemen remains the poorest country in the Arab world, and in the next two decades, its population is expected to double to over 40 million. This rapidly expanding and increasingly impoverished population will place unbearable pressures on the government. The ongoing civil war in Saada against Shi�i Zaidi rebels, a revitalized secessionist movement in the South, and a resurgent al-Qaeda all endanger the Yemeni state. While none of these challenges has yet turned critical, they will all converge on the eve of the presidential election in 2013, about the time when Yemen will need to address a pending political leadership transition. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (1 September)

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PAKISTAN: Disaggregating the Pakistani Taliban: Does the Good, the Bad and the Ugly Taliban Distinction Represent a Failed Policy?
With the recent elections of August 20, 2009 in Afghanistan the question of reaching out to dia-logue-friendly parts of the Taliban has regained relevance. Critics have argued that such an ap-proach could mean the gradual return of a Taliban regime in Afghanistan. With Taliban mili-tants intensifying acts of violence and issuing threats to chop off fingers if they were found with traces of voting ink on them, the whole idea of a distinction between moderate and extreme Taliban has once again been contested. Those who are sceptical of this approach have pointed towards the difficulties of isolating 'the good' from the 'bad and the ugly' Taliban and argue that even were it possible to isolate the moderates that this would not stop the violence of less reconcilable groups. Critics also often point to previous 'failed' attempts to enter into dialogue with the Afghan Taliban. However, as recently noted by Michael Semple, Former Deputy to the EU Special Representative for Afghanistan, there has been no credible effort at Taliban or insurgent reconciliation since 2001. The main arguments against a negotiation ap-proach are often ideological in nature since the Taliban represents an interpretation of religion that stands in stark contrast to what opinion makers in the U.S. and Europe like to define as 'our values and our way of life.' However, the idea of a difference is often misunderstood and needs to be re-interpreted. Danish Institute for International Studies (21 September)

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NIGERIA: Understanding the Armed Groups of the Niger Delta
When a group of Western oil workers was kidnapped in the Niger Delta in January 2006, the immediate hike in prices at gas stations around the world served as a timely reminder of the importance of this unstable region to international oil supplies. A previously unknown group announced it was holding the workers. It called itself the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and quickly sparked panic within the oil industry with a second set of kidnappings and a series of attacks on oil facilities. Anxiety reached new heights when, in an email sent to journalists, MEND claimed responsibility for an attack on an offshore facility, Bonga, in mid-2008. The installation, located a full seventy-five miles from the mainland, had previously been considered too ambitious a target for the militants. By the summer of 2008, oil was trading at $147 a barrel and oil production in the Delta was down by a quarter. Who was this mysterious group, whose members�armed with little more than a few AK-47s and speedboats�were able to massively disrupt oil supplies and wreak havoc on world commodity prices? Where did it come from, and what does it want? Is it a coherent group with clearly defined aims and political ambitions? Or is it merely a disparate ragtag of disillusioned youths, with powerful backers, intent on little more than petty criminality? This paper attempts to identify MEND and the other main armed groups in the Niger Delta, trace their origins, explain their motivations and influences, and suggest ways of addressing their grievances. Council on Foreign Relations (9 September)

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REFUGEES: Realising Protection: The Uncertain Benefits of Civilian, Refugee and IDP Status
Protecting civilians from the worst effects of violent conflict, human rights abuses and persecution lies at the heart of the humanitarian agenda. Central to this is the attempt to secure respect for the protected status conferred on civilians and displaced people by international law and custom. This report considers the meaning and implications of three categories of protected status for non-combatants � �civilian�, �refugee� and �internally displaced� � and the changing forms of protection associated with them, in theory and in practice. International humanitarian, human rights and refugee law provide a strong normative protection framework, but in practice, policy and agenda-setting is made against a backdrop of shifting political priorities and engagement by governments and regional and international actors. In the final analysis, it is the observance or otherwise of basic protection rules and norms by national and international duty-bearers that has the greatest impact on people�s safety, security and wellbeing. This report is principally concerned with highlighting the importance of the application and observance of established protection norms by belligerents, governments and international actors � a crucial part of the broader protection picture which calls for far closer scrutiny within civilian security and protection agendas, including debates surrounding R2P. Humanitarian Policy Group // Overseas Development Institute (30 September)

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LANDMINES: Explosive Violence: The Problem of Explosive Weapons
This report considers the broad humanitarian problems arising from the use of �explosive weapons� � weapons that cause injury, death or damage by projecting explosive blast, and often fragmentation, from the detonation of an explosive device. Explosive weapons are a subset of what are often called �conventional weapons.� As a technological category, explosive weapons include artillery shells, bombs (such as aircraft bombs, car bombs, �suicide� bombs), grenades, landmines, mortars and rockets, amongst others. The category covers both mass-produced explosive ordnance and improvised explosive devices � in other words, it includes weapons associated with both state and non-state use. The category of explosive weapons is distinct from firearms, which fire bullets, and from weapons that blind with lasers, heat the body with microwaves, or burn people and property with incendiary substances, and is distinct from nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, the so-called weapons of mass destruction. The boundaries between categories of technology will always be blurred in some places, but explosive weapons can be seen to form a relatively distinct grouping. This report argues for a reframing of conventional attitudes to weapons and violence. It presents explosive weapons (e.g. bombs, artillery shells, rockets, grenades) as a category of technology generally considered unacceptable where those employing armed force are directly responsible to the population amongst whom they are operating. Landmine Action (28 September)

More on Small Arms, Light Weapons and Landmines |

PEACEKEEPING: UN Peacekeeping Economies and Local Sex Industries: Connections and Implications
'Peacekeeping economies' have not been subject to much analysis of either their economic or socio-cultural and political impacts. This paper uses a gendered lens to explore some ramifications and lasting implications of peacekeeping economies, drawing on examples from four post-conflict countries with past or ongoing United Nations peacekeeping missions: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Liberia, and Haiti. The paper is particularly concerned with the interplay between the peacekeeping economy and the sex industry. It examines some of the characteristics and impacts of peacekeeping economies, arguing that these are highly gendered � but that the 'normalization' of peacekeeping economies allows these effects to be overlooked or obscured. It also contends that these gendered characteristics and impacts have (or are likely have) broad and lasting consequences. Finally, the paper considers the initial impacts of UN efforts to tackle negative impacts of peacekeeping economies, particularly the zero-tolerance policy against sexual exploitation and the effort to 'mainstream' gender and promote gender equality in and through peacekeeping. The paper suggests that the existence and potential longterm perpetuation of a highly gendered peacekeeping economy threatens to undermine the gender goals and objectives that are a component of most peace operations. MICROCON (14 September)

More on Peace Operations and Post-Conflict Reconstruction |

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