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News
Ukraine’s Parliament Moves for Immediate Disarmament of Militias
On April 1, 2014, Ukraine adopted a resolution calling for the immediate disarmament of all illegal militias. The resolution was approved by 256 Ukrainian lawmakers after a representative of the radical nationalist movement Right Sector opened fire and wounded three people in downtown Kiev. –Rapsi
Liberia: Women CSOs Join Security Sector Reform
As the United Nations mission draws down in Liberia, a number of women organizations have pledged to assist with reform initiatives in the security sector, in an effort to consolidate peace in the country. Representatives of the women’s groups said that there are many security issues that affect women directly and disproportionately, and as a result security sector reform should treated as an important woman’s issue. –C. Winnie Saywah-Jimmy, All Africa
IOM Supports Community Policing in Iraq
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in order to improve community policing within Iraq. The Ministry and IOM will work together to spread awareness about community policing to both police officers and civilians, and implement community policing training, and the adoption of best practices. –International Organization for Migration
UN to evacuate 19,000 Muslims from CAR
The UN has begun efforts to remove 19,000 Muslims from Bangui and other parts of the Central African Republic (CAR), following threats and acts of violence from anti-balaka Christian militias. According to UN High Commissioner for Refugees spokeswoman Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba, the UN doesn’t want to “stand by and watch people being slaughtered.” –Reuters
UN Security Council to take on security sector reform in April
According to Joy Ogwu, Nigerian ambassador to the UN and president of the Security Council, the UN Security Council will focus on security sector reform in the coming months. New initiatives will include a focus on reforming the security institutions of member states and ensuring that they become tools for the prevention of conflict and equal application of the rule of law. –Alliance News
EU-Africa leaders to tackle Central African Republic
At a two-day summit in Brussels, European Union (EU) and African leaders pledged to do “everything possible” to improve the international response to the crisis in Central African Republic (CAR). 30 heads of state and government (15 from Africa and 15 from Europe) participated in the conference, as UN Secretary-General Bank Ki-Moon warned that people in CAR were facing “grave and deplorable atrocities.” –BBC News
Amnesty International: 1,500 Nigerians Killed in Boko Haram Violence in 2014
According to Amnesty International, 1,500 people have been killed this year in conflict between Nigeria’s security forces and Boko Haram insurgents. Three northeast states have been under emergency rule for nearly 11 months, amidst attacks on government forces, churches, schools, markets, and mosques by the Islamist militant group. Amnesty estimates that more than half of the victims were civilians. –Heather Murdock, Voice of America.
Chad to pull peacekeepers from African Union CAR force
Chad is set to pull its peacekeepers from an African Union mission to Central African Republic (CAR), following claims that Chadian soldiers aided rebels. Chad has contributed approximately 859 soldiers to the 6,000-strong contingent. The Chadian foreign ministry responded to the allegations in a statement, declaring that the Chadian soldiers had been victims of “a gratuitous and malicious campaign” to blame them for “all the suffering in CAR.” –BBC News
Analysis
Security Service Reform Elusive Three Years After Arab Spring
Three years after the Arab Spring revolts led to changes of government in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen, there are few signs that the uprisings have created any notable change in one of the most significant protester grievances: the oppressive behaviour and impunity of security services across the Arab world. –Mohamed Elshinnawi, Voice of America
Peace in Brazil’s favelas? 5 challenges facing police units
Cracks have begun to show in Brazil’s “pacification program,” in which security forces enter neighbourhoods previously beyond the reach of the central state and attempt to impose a police presence. This article examines some of the most important issues surrounding Brazil’s pacification strategy, including long-term challenges. –Rachel Glickhouse, Christian Science Monitor
Is Kenya’s heavy-handed response to security threats justifiable?
After years of waging an aggressive counter-terrorism campaign, the reputation of the Kenyan police has become tarnished by allegation of corruption, extrajudicial killings, and excessive use of force. While there have been some attempts at reform, any move towards substantive change has been hampered by a lack of political will. –Abdullahi Boru Halakhe, Al Jazeera
Security Forces and Police in North Caucasus Systematically Violate Human Rights
Authorities in the North Caucasus are increasingly turning a blind on unlawful actions by government agencies, including serious human rights abuses. Rights groups in the region have been hampered by the government’s unwillingness to deal with abuses by security agencies, and only a handful of cases out of thousands receive proper treatment. –Mairbek Vatchagaev, Eurasia Daily Monitor
In April, the Security Council is planning on holding an open debate on security sector reform in order to consider the Secretary-General’s August 2013 report, “Securing States and Societies: Strengthening the UN Comprehensive Support to SSR.” In this post, Security Sector Report takes an in-depth look at the Council’s planned security sector reform debate, including the key issues, options, and wider dynamics. –Security Council Report
The East and South China Seas are home to growing tensions between China and its neighbours, including Japan, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The tensions are shaped by a variety of factors, including China’s growing assertiveness. This InfoGuide explores growing concerns about the security imbalance in the Asia-Pacific region. –Council on Foreign Relations
Publications
A Question of Plausibility: The Art of Evaluating Peacebuilding Interventions
This policy brief explores the difficulties involved in evaluating peacebuilding interventions in crisis and conflict situations. While evaluations in the peacebuilding sector continue to be regarded with skepticism, often conducted using less sophisticated designs, there is good reason to believe that sound evaluations would enhance the relevance and effectiveness of such interventions. –Andreas Wittkowsky, Centre for International Peace Operations
When do disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes succeed?
One of the biggest obstacles in post-war societies is discovering effective methods of convincing former combatants to set aside their weapons and reintegrate into civil society. Disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) programs have become key components of efforts to facilitate the transition from war to peace. Drawing on the nascent body of literature in this field, including the emerging body of quantitative research, reports from practitioners and in-depth case-studies, this discussion paper seeks to answer two critical questions: How effective are DDR programmes? What factors and circumstances contribute to or impede their success? –Lilli Banholzer, German Development Institute
Curbing violence in Nigeria (II): The Boko Haram Insurgency
Over the past four years Boko Haram has waged an insurgency that led to 4,000 deaths, displaced close to half a million Nigerians, destroyed hundreds of schools and government buildings, and devastated an already fragile economy in one of Nigeria’s poorest regions. The latest report from the International Crisis Group examines this increasingly destructive Islamist insurgency in northern Nigeria. –International Crisis Group, Africa Report No. 216
Peace and Security Council Report No 57
The most recent edition of the ISS Peace and Security Council Report includes analyses of security sector issues in Burundi and Libya. In Burundi there are growing levels of tension within the ruling coalition, continuing efforts by opposition groups to negotiate new political space, and a series of ongoing security concerns. Meanwhile, Libya continues to see violence, civil unrest, and ongoing reaction to the ouster of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan. –Duke Kent-Brown (Editor), Institute for Security Studies
Security Sector Reform Resource Centre
Informal Security Provisioning in Nigeria: Implications for Security Sector Governance
Informal security providers have become the dominant feature of Nigeria’s security landscape. The inability of Nigeria’s state institutions to provide security for the people has created a security vacuum increasingly bridged by informal entities, which now constitute key actors in the security sector, notwithstanding the constitutional role of the formal security institutions. For the majority of people excluded from mainstream security provisioning, informal mechanisms have become parallel strategies for protection. Hence, security is increasingly becoming a public good managed by both the Nigerian state and private entities. –Chris Kwaja
Miscellaneous
Call for Papers: The Extractive Industries and Post-conflict Reconstruction in Developing Countries
A special of issue of The Extractive Industries and Society will examine the linkages between natural resources and post-conflict reconstruction in the developing world. Possible topics include the role that governance, institution-building, transparency initiatives, corporate social responsibility, and civil society engagement and/or community-driven development can play in post-conflict development.
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