Dear Kira:

Thanks for posting this lecture.  The part on governance, checks and balances, etc is highly relevant to Mali where oil has been discovered in the North and where a revolution (not a coup) took place due to the lack of governance (ie, massive corruption countrywide by the previous regime).

I also found your interest in the military and humanitarian response interesting, since the Malian military will soon be playing a major role in reconquering the…

• A new American initiative to improve the notoriously poor LGBT rights in sub-Saharan Africa is reportedly inspiring a large backlash. Sub-Saharan Africa is marked by widespread homophobia as well as chronic dependence on foreign aid, in particular from the US, and the idea that the two issues might now be linked seems…

• Experts say the increasing trend of illicit financial flows are posing a great threat to Africa’s fragile growth as they pump back more dollars to developed countries than those send to poor African states.
• The Open Society Media Program released background papers earlier this month on Mapping Digital…

• The West African Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) has just launched a new book on election management in West Africa.
• The African Union Chairman announced on Saturday he will visit some of the continent’s conflict areas including Sudan, South Sudan, Mali and Libya for…

• The UN and Interpol discussedtransnational organized crime in West Africa, including illicit drug trafficking and the proliferation of illegal arms, as well maritime piracy in Lyon, France on Monday.
• An anti-homosexuality bill is being once again resurrected by the Parliament in Uganda with…

• The West African Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) will be launching its new book, “Election Dispute Management Practice Guide for West Africa” on February 14^th, 2012 at the Grand Mensvic Hotel, in East Legon, Accra, Ghana at 9am. The keynote speech at the launch will be delivered by Sierra Leone’s Chair of the Electoral…

• The African Union summit in Addis Ababa ended in deadlock after the group failed to chose a new chairman for the executive commission. A new election was then scheduled to be held in June or July, though they managed to elect President Boni Yayi of Benin as the new…

I decided to start a new type of post on a Peace of Conflict reviewing conflict situations in the world on a somewhat weekly basis. I figured, I read this stuff every week anyway-- I might as well share it with readers in condensed form.

Here's some of what's happening in the world of conflict this week:

World

• The UN General Assembly voted to recognize the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation in a…