There is a rare consensus emerging about the future direction of drug policy reform.
There is a rare consensus emerging about the future direction of drug policy reform.
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.
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.
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.
Without a corresponding political process, UN protection activities are an ineffective bandaid in situations of widespread violence.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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…
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.
If the UN is to prevent a resurgence of conflict following the exit of MONUSCO, it is imperative that comprehensive peacebuilding measures are implemented to address the structural drivers of conflict in the DRC, including systemic inequality and exclusion.
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.
Noemi Florea has compiled some key data visualizations from 2021 for the Global Observatory that highlight progress on climate change, from expanded research on the global environment to emerging developments for climate adaptation.
In the wake of COP26, there is a need to examine the current structures and dynamics of global climate governance.
Permafrost thaw presents a major challenge to Arctic communities and ecosystems and has enormous potential to accelerate climate change and its global impacts.
If the WPS agenda does not recognize the relationship between participation and protection it will continue to perpetuate the binary between the participation of women as leaders with agency and the protection of women as passive victims of conflict.
The COVID-19 pandemic and growing recognition of climate-related security risks have presented the international community with an opportunity to reevaluate what is considered a threat to international peace and security, and how gender should be included in the response.
It is remarkable that two decades of extensive global counterterrorism law and cooperation have proceeded from a normative black hole: the absence of a common definition of terrorism.
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.
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.
The International Peace Institute is an independent, international think tank located in New York and Manama, dedicated to the settlement and prevention of armed conflict.