From Rwanda during the 1990s to Syria today, the mass killing of civilians strikes at the very idea of an international community and undermines the UN’s founding principles.
From Rwanda during the 1990s to Syria today, the mass killing of civilians strikes at the very idea of an international community and undermines the UN’s founding principles.
While on some subjects reform can appear implausible, there are still numerous migration-related issues where the parliament has been able to act.
Questions around domestic security will continue to be of concern to the elected government, who will need to be aware that the consequences of insecurity could define Nigeria’s socio-political stability well…
While the natural endowments, economic structures, and demographics are very different between the two countries, there are several aspects of Vietnam’s…
In recent years, a new generation of “guns for hire” appears to be emerging, prompting questions for both African governments and the UN.
President Morales’ moves against CICIG represented a significant turnabout for a politician who originally campaigned on an anti-corruption platform, praised CICIG early in his term, and renewed CICIG’s…
At the start of every month, the Global Observatory posts a list of key upcoming meetings and events that have implications for global affairs.
Improving the effectiveness of notification practices is critical to ensuring humanitarian assistance and protection can be safely delivered.
In the current context of increased securitization and a focus on counter-terrorism, states are grappling…
Gender equality is a universal agenda and its absence has profound consequences for all of humanity. There is perhaps no area where this becomes clearer than in relation to matters of peace and security.
In the lead up to the 20th anniversary of UN Security Council resolution 1325, perhaps one of the boldest steps the global community can make is to truly upend how it approaches peace: to move away from ideas of merely including women in broken processes, and to move towards creating necessary systemic changes, built on and unleashing…
Critics of the notion that human rights are universal often assert that human rights originated in the West, reflect Western interests, and are a weapon of cultural hegemony or a new form of imperialism.
Felix Maradiaga, Executive Director the Managua-based Institute for Strategic Studies on Public Policy, discusses the current climate in Nicaragua and what has transpired in the country in recent…
No state is perfect, but Costa Rica does offer an example of a nation promoting opportunities for trust, cooperation, and commonality within its borders.
The joint force should not become yet another pretext for not carrying out the needed governance reforms.
July’s outburst of anger points to several factors driving southern Iraqi instability that extend beyond the recent escalating protest movement.
Nobody wants to create a complex or time-consuming reporting system to track A4P. The best option would be to find light-weight mechanisms.
Now is an ideal time to take stock of how the concept of sustaining peace has developed since it was adopted and assess the challenges to its implementation.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project is due to be completed later this year. The $5 billion project is expected to take between five and 15 years to fill—in a…
Climate change risks are directly related to the present scale of mitigation action. So what can we expect in the years ahead?
The Cruz report is a welcome contribution to supporting reform, strengthening self-protection, and improving the effectiveness…
Current attempts to revitalize the ARCSS, although welcome, face an array of obstacles. To overcome these and to avoid repeating the same mistakes that led to the demise of the ARCSS, new thinking and approaches are needed.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is set to gain jurisdiction over the crime of aggression. For the first time since the end of World War II, world leaders could be held accountable for waging war.
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, Vienna, and Manama, dedicated to the settlement and prevention of armed conflict.