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Author: Bianca Selway

  • Atrocities in South Sudan Feed Cycle of Violence: Interview with Ivan Šimonović

    February 12, 2014by Bianca Selway

    Ivan Šimonović, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, says that, during the fighting in December, there were human rights violations on both sides.

    Interviewshuman-rights, peace-processes
  • New Threats in Africa Mean New Questions for UN Peacekeeping: Interview with Major General Patrick Cammaert

    December 16, 2013by Bianca Selway

    UN peacekeepers are encountering threats never seen before in Africa, and it may be time to re-examine peacekeeping, said Major General Patrick Cammaert.

    Interviewsafrica, democratic-republic-of-the-congo, peacekeeping
  • Who Pays for Peace?

    November 4, 2013by Bianca Selway

    Peacekeeping is far less costly than war, but comparatively little research has been done on key questions of peacekeeping finances.

    Analysispeacekeeping, united-nations
  • Proposal on Asylum Seekers Could Tarnish Australia’s Image: Interview With Khalid Koser

    go image
    August 28, 2013by Bianca Selway

    A proposed policy to relocate asylum seekers in Australia to Papua New Guinea could tarnish the country’s image as a champion of human rights.

    Interviewshumanitarian
  • Oil Problem Could Inflame Tensions in Sudan

    February 24, 2012by Bianca Selway

    The lack of a workable resolution between Sudan and South Sudan could contribute to renewed conflict in the region.

    Analysisafrica, conflict, fragile-states
  • Recent Intertribal Conflicts in South Sudan Bring Challenges for Peacekeepers

    February 22, 2012by Bianca Selway

    In long-standing conflicts like South Sudan, it becomes difficult to distinguish the combatants from the civilians that need protection.

    Analysisafrica, peacekeeping, united-nations

This week

  • One Crisis, Multiple Norms: Strengthening Human Protection in Mali and the Sahel

    June 17, 2022by Adrian Gallagher, Charles T. Hunt and Blake Lawrinson

    The UN Security Council does not have the luxury of choosing between normative imperatives associated with preventing atrocities, protecting civilians, and countering terrorism in Mali, the Sahel, and elsewhere.

    Analysispeacekeeping, sahel
  • Peacebuilding Financing in Guinea-Bissau and Lessons for Overlooked Countries

    June 3, 2022by Gustavo de Carvalho

    Despite the instability it faces, Guinea-Bissau—alongside countries like Madagascar, Chad, or the Central African Republic—has long been overlooked by donors. There is an urgent need to re-orientate the international community toward supporting and financing conflict prevention and early action.

    Analysisafrica, peacebuilding, united-nations

Trending

  • The Role of Peacekeepers in Protecting Civilians from Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

    May 25, 2022by Jenna Russo

    There are a number of reasons why it is difficult for peacekeepers to protect civilians from sexual and gender-based violence, particularly those forms that fall outside of conflict-related sexual violence.

    Analysispeacekeeping, protection-of-civilians, women-peace-and-security
  • Protecting Peace? How the Protection of Civilians Contributes to Peace Processes

    May 23, 2022by Jenna Russo

    Without a corresponding political process, UN protection activities are an ineffective bandaid in situations of widespread violence.

    Analysispeacekeeping, protection-of-civilians
  • Russia, NATO, and International Organizations

    May 23, 2022by Kseniya Oksamytna

    As Finland and Sweden begin the process of applying for NATO membership, misleading narratives about the role of NATO’s so-called eastward expansion in “provoking” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continue to hold sway.

    Analysisconflict, eastern-europe
  • Sanctions and the Costs of Russia’s War in Ukraine

    May 12, 2022by Erica Moret

    The sanctions imposed against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine mark a new page in global sanctions practice yet lessons from earlier cases could help increase efficacy and minimize costs.

    Analysisconflict, europe, ukraine
  • A4P+ and Uniformed Women’s Participation in Peacekeeping

    April 26, 2022by Gretchen Baldwin and Jake Sherman

    The UN, in its implementation of A4P+, must address the heavily masculine, exclusionary, and militarized structures which often preclude women (and anyone outside of a very particular gendered profile) from deploying.

    Analysisa4p, peacekeeping, women-peace-and-security
  • Despite Constraints, MINUSMA Remains the Legitimate International Partner to Mali

    April 21, 2022by Rida Lyammouri

    Facing its most difficult period since its inception in April 2013, MINUSMA, and the Security Council, now need to acknowledge that their biggest problems in Mali are political.

    Analysisafrica, mali, peacekeeping
  • While Afghans Wait, States and Banks Decrypt the Humanitarian Exception in the Taliban Sanctions Regime

    April 14, 2022by Agathe Sarfati

    Amid mounting pressure to alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan, the United Nations Security Council took the rare step of creating a humanitarian exception for the 1988 Taliban sanctions regime.

    Analysisafghanistan, humanitarian
  • What Are the International Military Options for the Sahel?

    April 12, 2022by Nina Wilén and Paul D. Williams

    The complex, and not always coordinated, ecosystem of military operations across the Sahel has been aptly labeled a security traffic jam. Why are external forces in the Sahel? Can they help resolve any of the region’s crises? And, if so, what configuration of external forces makes the most sense?

    Analysismali, peacekeeping, sahel
  • The Benefits, Challenges, and Limitations of Criminalizing Ecocide

    March 30, 2022by Rachel Killean

    The campaign to introduce a new international crime of “ecocide” at the International Criminal Court is long-standing but has received increased support over the last couple of years.

    Analysisenvironment
  • How Adaptive DDRR Could Help Address Violent Extremism in Cabo Delgado

    February 11, 2022by Gwinyayi Albert Dzinesa

    Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado Province has suffered violent extremism perpetrated by the Ahlu-Sunna Wa-Jama’a (ASWJ) armed group since 2017. One aspect that needs to be addressed is the Disarmament, Demobilization, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration (DDRR) of those ASWJ combatants that choose…

    Analysisafrica, extremism
  • ECOWAS Sanctions Against Mali Necessary, but May Be Counter-Productive

    February 2, 2022by Festus Kofi Aubyn

    The new sanctions were triggered by months of growing tensions between ECOWAS and the military-dominated transitional government over the timetable for Mali’s return to civilian rule after two successful coups d’état.

    Analysisafrica, sanctions
  • Ugandan and Congolese Troops Are Conducting Joint Operations: What Could that Mean for MONUSCO?

    December 20, 2021by Daniel Levine-Spound

    The joint operations against the Allied Democratic Forces in the Beni territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo raise critical legal, operational, and reputational challenges for MONUSCO.

    Analysisafrica, peacekeeping
  • How Permafrost Thaw Puts the Russian Arctic at Risk

    November 22, 2021by Katarina Kertysova and Akash Ramnath

    Permafrost thaw presents a major challenge to Arctic communities and ecosystems and has enormous potential to accelerate climate change and its global impacts.

    Analysisclimate-change, climate2021
  • When Militarism Meets Gender Reform: Fixing the Contradictory Legacy of the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda in Afghanistan

    October 27, 2021by Zinab Attai and Sabrina Karim

    The prevention pillar of the WPS agenda focuses on preventing the root causes of war and violence. Efforts being made under the protection and participation pillars can fundamentally contradict the prevention pillar. Nowhere is this more visible than in Afghanistan.

    Analysiswomen-peace-and-security, wpsat21
  • The Role of Sanctions in Afghanistan’s Humanitarian Crisis

    October 14, 2021by Erica Moret

    As the international community grapples with how to approach the crisis in Afghanistan, many are questioning the role that international sanctions should play in seeking to encourage or pressure the Taliban not to revert to its ways of the past.

    Analysisafghanistan, sanctions
  • The Pitfalls of UN Peacekeeping in Afghanistan

    September 1, 2021by Paul D. Williams

    Neither local nor international politics are currently right for a UN peacekeeping deployment in Afghanistan.

    Analysisafghanistan, peacekeeping
  • Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Counterterrorism and Peacekeeping in the Sahel

    July 20, 2021by Naureen Chowdhury Fink and Arthur Boutellis

    The end of Operation Barkhane will leave MINUSMA with a heavier burden in countering terrorism and violent extremism in the Sahel.

    Analysispeacekeeping, terrorism
  • Reflecting on the UN’s Role in Counterterrorism Twenty Years After 9/11

    June 1, 2021by Jake Sherman and Agathe Sarfati

    As the 20th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, there is value in assessing the emergence of counterterrorism as the “fourth pillar” of the UN, its effectiveness to date, and the way ahead.

    Analysisctat20, terrorism
  • The Exclusion of Women’s Voices from Afghan Peace Talks Remains the Norm

    March 30, 2021by Masooma Rahmaty

    As the peace talks gain momentum again, ensuring that women’s voices are sufficiently represented in peace efforts should be a top priority.

    Analysisafghanistan, asia, peace-processes
  • Regional Special Forces Pose Threat to Peace and Security in Ethiopia

    February 22, 2021by Bereket Tsegay

    The peace and security arrangement between federal and regional states has allowed special forces to instigate conflicts in unique ways.

    Analysisafrica, peace-and-security

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The Global Observatory provides timely analysis on peace and security issues by experts, journalists, and policymakers. It is published by the International Peace Institute. The views expressed here represent those of the contributors and not IPI.

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