Melanie Gould

Dominican Republic/United States

“To those feminists who struggle for a voice and power in the developed world, perhaps you may find liberation in experiencing the power these women inherently possess.”

***

Imagine your home to be an 8 x 8 tin shack, shared with 6 people, with no windows or light. Imagine 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…

• A lawyers group claim that police arrested a carpenter on Wednesday who questioned whether Zimbabwe’s President still had the strength to blow up balloons at his 88^th birthday celebrations, under a law making it an offense to insult the President.
• The top UN envoy to Libya expressed…

• 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 Council of Europe Commission for Human Rights warned this week of rising racism and xenophobia in Europe amid the current economic crisis, with austerity budgets undermining social rights and putting vulnerable groups at greater risk.  On Wednesday, British PM Cameron…

• 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…

Christina Mitchell

United States/Democratic Republic of Congo

“A failed state does not mean a failed people or, more notably, failed women.”

***

After three years of preparation, I finally met the women of the eastern Kivu provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, regions hosting what has been called Africa’s World War. These are women who have seen the worst, but work toward the best. Who have fought and…

Hello, hope all is well!

This week’s conflict reports will be a little thinner than usual, as I have been feeling a bit under the weather the last couple days and haven’t been reading as extensively as normal. Please be sure to add anything I have missed in the comments below or send via email to apeaceofconflict@gmail.com.

Thanks!

Rebecca

• The New…

• Transparency International’s new report concluded that police forces in eastern Africa are perceived as the most corrupt body among the six institutions surveyed; the police, judiciary, customs, registry and permit services, land services, medical services, tax revenue, utilities and education systems. According to the report, 54% of people surveyed reported to have paid a bribe in the past year.
• The…

Here are some interesting links I came across this week:

• For those of you in the academic world who haven’t heard of this free citation service, Zotero, check it out. Makes collaboration, citation and organizing your sources much easier.
• In the face of the recent attention afforded to the London riots, this view is…

Last week, Reuters reported that The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday renewed the mandate of UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, further emphasizing they would remain present until Kinshasa can show more signs of being self-governed.

Follow the link to read the full story

United…

Taken from my blog, The Harmattan Within Raged:

The media has recently highlighted the violence plaguing the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) eastern region.  Less is known of the complex domestic and…

This week in conflict...

World

• The world's twenty richest nations will be footing an $83 million (USD) bill for three new man-made "floating islands" in Seoul for the upcoming G20. The November meetings will be assisted by apparently
  
  more than 400,000 police.

Africa

• Rwanda's election process saw…

I have may have spoken too hastily in the past regarding conflict resources in the DR Congo. My rage at the inherent abuse led me to think that boycotting and protesting companies was perhaps the best way to go. I realize now, that I was wrong. This is the wrong approach.

Over the past six years, I have delved into this subject more than any other and have even gone so far as to ban all products for my personal use if I didn't know EXACTLY where they came from and what…

MONUC, the UN's mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will sadly soon be coming near an end, even though the country is arguably home to the most deadly and violent humanitarian crisis the world has ever seen.In December, the UN extended their mission another couple of months until…