Sunday 24 June 2007

Jobs- Associate Director of Reconciliation & Peacebuilding, World Vision

World Vision is recruiting for an Associate Director of Reconciliation & Peacebuilding. The purpose of the post is to establish and promote a partnership-wide strategy and operational capability for peacbuilding and reconciliation as an integrated global theme in all the lines of ministry in WVI, in close collaboration with the Director of Reconciliation and Peacebuilding. Particular responsibility is focused on developing capacity and capability for conflict sensitive programming in Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs (HEA), Food Programming Management Group (FPMG) and Christian Commitments (CC).


Jobs- Various positions with DPKO, Worldwide

DPKO is carrying out rolling recruitment for the following profiles:

Senior Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration Officer, P-5
Senior Recovery, Return and Reintegration Officer, P-5
Recovery, Return and Reintegration Officer, P-3
Recovery, Return and Reintegration Officer, P-4

Jobs- International Peacebuilding Support Network- Project of Justice in Times of Transition

The International Peacebuilding Support Network's on Project of Justice in Times of Transition is seeking candidates that have experience restructuring or introducing new legal systems or have had involvement in projects designed to reintegrate former combatants. In particular IPSN is
interested in recruiting former national leaders with direct experience in managing such issues in post-conflict contexts.



Jobs- Resident Program Director, Governance Program- NDI, Iraq

The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) is seeking a Resident Program Director, Governance Program to be based in Baghdad. The Resident Program Director for the Governance Program will report to NDI’s Resident Director and will oversee the program of assistance provided by NDI to the Council of Representatives and other government bodies.

Jobs- Deputy Head of Rule of Law, UNDP Sudan

The UNDP Governance & Rule of Law Unit is recruiting a Deputy Head of Unit to be based in Khartoum. The Head of the Governance & Rule of Law Unit is supported by two deputies in charge of the Rule of Law Programme and the Governance Programme, respectively. The present position relates to the Deputy Head of the Governance & Rule of Law Unit for the Rule of Law Programme.

The Governance and Rule of LAw unit plays a key role in Sudan in providing capacity building support to national stakeholders in the sectors of the Rule of Law and Governance. To this end, the Unit implements programmes at central level (Khartoum) and at state- and community-level across Northern Sudan and the Three Areas. With the current implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), and recently signed peace-agreements in Darfur (DPA) and the East (EPA), the UNDP Governance and Rule of Law Programmes are tailored to address both crisis and post-crisis situations through early recovery, recovery and development programming.

Jobs- Peacebuilding/Governance Program Manager, CRS Sudan

CRS seeks a Peacebuilding/Governance Program Manager for the Sudan. The candidate is being sought to weave Peacebuilding through all program areas. In 2006, CRS in partnership with the Local Governance Board, UNDP and PACT began a long term capacity building program aimed at strengthen the capacity of local government to be more responsive to the needs of civil society and establish this decentralized layer of governance in compliance with the CPA.



Darfur- UN links climate change to war

A report on Darfur by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) is getting a good deal of press currently:

'The conflict in Darfur has been driven by climate change and environmental degradation, which threaten to trigger a succession of new wars across Africa unless more is done to contain the damage, said a UN report published on Friday.

"Darfur ... holds grim lessons for other countries at risk," an 18-month study of Sudan by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) concluded.'


The links between natural resources and conflict have been well-studied over the last years, so the UNEP report is not ground-breaking. That said, it is good to see analysis on Darfur that goes beyond the travails of deploying a more robust peacekeping force. The report's statistics give some stark indications of the projected impacts of global warming:

'It [the report] found that the desert in northern Sudan has advanced southward by 80km over the past 40 years and that rainfall has dropped 16 percent to 30 percent. Climate models for the region suggest a rise of between 0.5oC and 1.5oC between 2030 and 2060. Meanwhile, yields in the local staple, sorghum, could drop 70 percent.'

Jobs- Conflict Analysis and Resolution

Nova Southeastern University is seeking a Faculty Member speclializing in Conflict Analysis and Resolution.

Resource- Peacebuilding: A Caritas Training Manual

This Peacebuilding Manual of Caritas is an excellent resource. It was published with the intent to train Caritas workers and partners to incorporate conflict prevention, peacemaking and reconciliation into their relief, development and social work worldwide.

From the preface:
'Peacebuilding: A Caritas Training Manual builds on the Caritas Handbook Working for
Reconciliation,and extends the material into peacebuilding training and programming. It is a resource that contains both conceptual and practical tools to help fill the peacebuilder’s toolbox. In the manual, peacebuilding in development work is introduced with core concepts, peacebuilding skills, and ideas to connect peacebuilding to programming. The manual aims to provideCaritas Internationalis workers, and other NGO (non- governmental organisation) workers, with flexible training suggestions and materials to support and enhance their efforts in peacebuilding and reconciliation. It is designed for both expert trainers and novices. More specifically, the manual goals are to:
1. Provide ideas and resources for effective peacebuilding trainers;
2. Provide interactive materials that cover the basic conceptual dimensions of
peacebuilding;
3. Provide training modules that identify and enhance skills needed for peacebuilding and reconciliation work;
4. Provide trainers with flexible options that allow them to tailor training to fit
participants’ needs and their local context.

This training manual is designed to assist trainers doing training at two levels. The first is training local Caritas and other NGO workers in peacebuilding concepts, and the second is training the trainers
.'

Friday 22 June 2007

Looking at early ideas for the Iraq Surge: Bush $1bn jobs plan to draw Iraqis into fold

The battle to win the war in Iraq will apparently be not only include a surge of 20-30,000 US troops, but will include an absolutely massive hearts-and-minds employment-creation campaign:

"The other sweetener will be a doubling of reconstruction efforts. Up to $1bn is to be spent on a programme in which Iraqis are employed to clean the streets and repair and paint schools.

The Pentagon-run scheme would try to draw young men away from insurgent groups and back into the mainstream economy. It would be administered by officials embedded in US combat brigades in a bid to persuade Iraqis that the Americans were there as a force for good and not just of occupation."

The 'embedding' issue will clearly be one for humanitarian organizations to fume about; more importantly, even the least-experienced development worker would ask about the sustainability of spending 1 billion US dollars on ad hoc employment generation projects.


Editorial - Where's the police? | IHT

This was originally posted on civilmilitaryrelations-


'Another excellent article written by a civilian expert, lamenting the lack of security as the Achille's heel of what appeared to be an otherwise successful project. This echoes the mantra of 'no security without development, no development without security':

'In the long-term plan, alternative livelihoods meant helping Afghan farmers export high-value crops like saffron and cumin. It meant restoring the orchards and vineyards that had once made Afghanistan a power in the raisin and almond markets. It meant providing credit to farmers who had relied on traffickers for affordable loans.

In the short run, however, with the first eradication tractors already plowing up poppy fields, we had no time for those approaches. Instead, we created public-works jobs. We handed out shovels to thousands of local Afghans and paid them $4 per day to repair canals and roads. By May 2005, we had paid out millions of dollars and had some 14,000 men on the payroll simultaneously.

Security was our Achilles' heel. There was a new American military base by the graveyard on the edge of town, but the few score Iowa National Guard members there lacked the manpower and the local knowledge to protect us. We could not afford the professional security companies in Kabul.''

Public, Private, Non-Profit?- Clear Path International Contracted by DynCorp as part of a US Department of State Contract

The non-profit Clear Path International (CPI) has just received a multi-year contract from DynCorp International to start a landmine survivor assistance program in Afghanistan on behalf of the U.S. Department of State. This is an excellent illustration of how complex working relationships have become in Afghansitan. The press release makes great pains to delineated the particular identities and characters of each group:

- Since 2000, Clear Path International has assisted nearly 4,000 survivors of accidental landmine and explosive remnants of war incidents in Vietnam, Cambodia and along the Thai-Burma border. It has also sent 65 containers of medical equipment and supplies to 25 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

- The Department of State's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement is one of the world's largest sponsors of mine clearance, risk reduction education and survivors assistance. It has directly funded Clear Path's programs in Vietnam and Cambodia and some of the organization's public awareness and fundraising efforts in the United States.

- DynCorp International is a U.S-based company that provides support services to military and civilian government institutions in such areas as aviation, infrastructure development, security and logistics.

Are there issues in such a blurred public-private-NGO relationship?
As we post on articles such as 'Under fire, aid workers face life as a soft target', and DynCorp staffers being similarly targeted, it does pose questions as to how some agencies are balancing risks and their presence in a context such as Afghanistan.

DRC: Army, police involved in human rights abuses in the east - report

The February human rights assessment report by the UN mission in the DRC (MONUC) stated that, '...soldiers of the Democratic Republic of Congo's national army and the police have been involved in human rights violations in the eastern Ituri region, and are allegedly responsible for growing insecurity in North Kivu'. It wasn't clear what measures have been taken by MONUC, despite long knowledge of such violations being committed.

Confusion in the Margins: Narrow or Wide? Saving Lives or Building peace?

An insightful piece by Antonio Donini, Senior Researcher at the Feinstein International Center.

He looks at the question of how wide the definition of humanitarianism should be- a narrowly defined niche only for civilian do-gooders who prize neutrality and independence? Or, as he succinctly puts it:

"Thus, humanitarianism is in the eye of the beholder. It is self-defined. The term is ambiguous in that a diverse range of actors claim to operate under a banner that is used to justify a multitude of interventions. There is no formal standard to which organizations, who see themselves as humanitarian, can be held to account. This is one of the problems: there is not one humanitarianism; there are many. And, quite naturally, there is a range of views on whether humanitarian action should be narrowly defined or broad in scope."

Antonio presented this paper at the ICVA Conference: A Contribution to the Debate, in Geneva, Switzerland, 2 February 2007.

Refugees International- Security Sector Reform Must Focus on Protection of Civilians


Refugees International (RI) sent a statement to the UN Security Council on February 16, 2007, appealing for a coordinated UN approach to Security Sector Reform (SSR). The 'punchline' of their appeal was that SSR must place more focus on the protection of civilians.

RI makes some excellent points in their piece, notably on the rationale behind their appeal:
'Regenerating and strengthening of the security sector post-conflict have been issues of UN concern for some time. Modern integrated UN peacekeeping missions incorporate military, political, humanitarian and development actors. Like the more traditional peacekeeping missions, these multidimensional missions still fulfill short-term stabilization and protection duties. But today peacekeepers are also expected to lay the ground work for long-term development and a self-sustaining peace. The weak or corrupted security institutions that make peacekeeping necessary in the first place must be developed into strong, accountable institutions that protect civilians, ensure stability, and create the necessary conditions for lasting peace, security, and rule of law.'

Curious as to how these initiatives on SSR link into the UN Peacebuilding Commission.

David Phinney- Preparing for the Iraq Prison Surge

David Phinney blogs on the issuing of contracting civilian private sector actors to augment the Iraqi prison system- described as being an initiative paralleling the famed ongoing troop 'surge'.

Congolese radio show gives war victims a voice | csmonitor.com

CSMonitor ran an interesting story on a radio program initiative in the Ituri region of DRC. The program's objective is to provide the following service to its listeners, in the style of a phone-in show. The show is introduced with the following:

'Your questions can concern the way justice is organized, the way it functions, abuses and violations of human rights.'

A sampling of questions from participants:
Are military elements authorized to carry weapons while in civilian clothes?

Various armed groups of Ituri randomly planted mines, which cause great damage among the population. Can this also constitute one of the crimes to be charged against those responsible among armed groups who will be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court?

There is a custom according to which a woman can be abducted by the friends of the one who wants to marry her. In some cases, the young woman is 13 or 14 years old. Will the law condemn this practice?

UN PBC Endorses Strategic Framework for Burundi Aimed at Internal Challenges Threatening Long-term Peace, Development

UN General Assembly PBC/15:
UN PBC Endorses Strategic Framework for Burundi Aimed at Internal Challenges Threatening Long-term Peace, Development

Event- The Role of Civil Society in Security

RUSI will be hosting the following event of the Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform (GFN-SSR) on the 28th of June in London:

'It is generally acknowledged that a vibrant civil society is important for sustainable and meaningful development. Security is often cited as a priority concern by the poorest and most marginalised, and the provision of a safe and secure environment for development is a vital function for governments worldwide. However, there is little substantive discussion or clear meaning behind how civil society actors can influence decisions on security and defence involving the military, police, intelligence services and judiciary. Some would argue that the role of civil society is little understood by the military and defence sectors, which have traditionally been resistant to public input. Others would state that civil society doesn’t have either the necessary expertise or interest needed to provide an informed input into what is a uniquely specialised policy area.

This half-day seminar aims to begin addressing this issue by broadening the parameters of the current debate to explore grassroots civil society perspectives and participatory approaches to the provision of security.'


DPKO- Discipline for peacekeeping troops vital

Yesterday, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping operations, Jean-Marie Guehenno, talked about the upcoming introduction of formal discipline standards for United Nations peacekeepers, standards which troop-contributing nations must accept.

A separate article focused on the staggering budget of DPKO on the International Day of UN Peacekeepers. The article includes a roundup of views on the effectiveness and efficiency of the UN system, and those states who are footing important parts of the overall cost.

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Female Police in Liberia Hope to Curb Rape Epidemic

ABC reported on the deployment of an female Indian Para-military force serving with the UN Peacekeeping force in Liberia. Theirs is the first deployment of an all-female unit by the United Nations.

A direct impact of this group of peacekeepers has been to give Liberian women the confidence to report assaults directly to them- not a small achievement, given that the UN in Liberia has convicted peacekeepers with 30 cases involving sex for food in 2006 alone.



'Part of the policewomen's mission here is to encourage Liberian women to join a national police force of their own. Their belief is that the sight of uniformed women in positions of authority can reduce the level of violence against all women.'

Poppy Fields Are Now a Front Line in Afghanistan War - NYT

NYT has an excellent article on the new front line in Afghanistan- the drug war.



The article doesn't shy away from the evident criticism- that having avoided fighting the opium trade in Afghanistan has seriously eroded the military, political and development progress made elsewhere. The issue of exactly 'who?' should take on the drug war has been a political- and military- hot potato since the 2001 war. At alternating intervals, ISAF, Coalition Forces and the Afghan government have denied their role in the drug war, and often even its importance.

One interlocutor made an interesting parallel with Iraq:
“This is the Afghan equivalent of failing to deal with looting in Baghdad,” said Andre D. Hollis, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for counternarcotics. “If you are not dealing with those who are threatened by security and who undermine security, namely drug traffickers, all your other grandiose plans will come to naught.”<

PriceofPeace.org- Video Petition

Couldn't resist posting this flashy video from PriceofPeace.org. Beyond the quality of the video production, the message isn't too bad either- 'Peace. It's cheaper than war.'

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Good Offices and Peace Support, Development of a Constitution, Public Administration and Government Strengthening, Local Governance, Economic Strategy and Coordination of International Assistance, Financial Transparency and Accountability, Elections, Political Parties, Civil Society, Media, Humanitarian Protection, Humanitarian Assistance, Gender, Physical Infrastructure and Reconstruction, Employment Generation, Economic Foundations for Growth and Development, Security Sector Governance, Law Enforcement Institutions

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Aid Policies

AFaidhand193


Two contrasting articles:

China reviews aid policy as its global might grows
A poignant article looking at how China will attempt to streamline its foreign aid policies to focus its diplomatic strengths. This glimpse compliments a slew of reports over the last weeks, looking at the exponential rise of (visible) Chinese projects, often bilateral in nature, with very commercial (i.e. not development) terms of engagement. Is the infighting amongst Chinese Ministries such a particular challenge?

U.S. House puts conditions on Afghan aid
'U.S. lawmakers voted on Wednesday to bar U.S. government aid to areas of Afghanistan where officials are engaged in the drug trade or helping insurgents, brushing aside Bush administration protests against such conditions.'