Sub-Saharan Africa

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Program(s): Congo Research Group, Peace and Security

Testing Indonesia’s commitment to UN peacekeeping

Indonesia is committed to becoming one of the top ten countries contributing to UN peace operations. With its Roadmap Vision 4,000 Peacekeepers, Jakarta aims to dramatically increase the 2,724 peacekeepers now deployed in ten UN missions by 2019.

Compared to 2014, this would be a doubling of troops deployed in only five years. This is a noble and ambitious goal of international good citizenship, but what will be the challenges on this journey?

Publication Date: Jul 07, 2015

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Jim Della-Giacoma

Region/Country: East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa

Program(s): Peace and Security

Topic(s): United Nations

CAR Scandal Reflects U.N. Peacekeeping’s Loss of Strategic Direction

Do peacekeepers do more harm than good? An appalling abuse scandal has come to overshadow the two parallel peace operations, led by France and the United Nations, currently based in the Central African Republic (CAR).

Read the full World Politics Review article CAR Scandal Reflects U.N. Peacekeeping’s Loss of Strategic Direction

Publication Date: Jun 08, 2015

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Richard Gowan

Region/Country: Sub-Saharan Africa

Program(s): Peace and Security

Topic(s): United Nations

Alex Fielding: Africa’s forgotten butchers, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda

Boko Haram attacks in northern Nigeria have dominated African headlines since the Islamist militants kidnapped over 200 girls in Chibok in April 2014. But there is a lesser known group of rebels, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), who have been intimidating the local population, albeit on a different scale, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for over 20 years.

Publication Date: Mar 16, 2015

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Alex Fielding

Region/Country: Sub-Saharan Africa

Program(s): Peace and Security

Topic(s): Humanitarian Crises

Burundi chaos shows anger against long-time Africa rulers, but Big Men are as dead set to fight back – and stay

The riots and the failed Burundi coup that followed President Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term highlight a rising trend in Africa of protests against leaders who try to prolong their terms.

Read the full Mail and Guardian Africa article Burundi chaos shows anger against long-time Africa rulers, but Big Men are as dead set to fight back – and stay

Publication Date: May 15, 2015

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Jason Stearns

Region/Country: Sub-Saharan Africa

Program(s): Peace and Security

Bilan de la mise en oeuvre de l’accord-cadre d’Addis-Abeba

Deux ans après la signature de l’accord-cadre d’Addis-Abeba pour la paix et la sécurité en RDC, le coordonnateur national du mécanisme de suivi de cet accord, affirme que la RDC a réalisé la majeure partie de ses engagements.

Lit l'article entier et ecoutez au dialogue par Radio Okapi Bilan de la mise en oeuvre de l’accord-cadre d’Addis-Abeba

Publication Date: Mar 10, 2015

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Jason Stearns

Region/Country: Sub-Saharan Africa

Program(s): Peace and Security

Slow start revives doubts about Congo campaign against Rwandan rebels

The government soldiers manning an outpost high above the town of Kashuga have a panoramic view of the hills and valleys of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, home to hundreds of Rwandan Hutu rebels their government has promised to crush.

Read the full Reuters article Slow start revives doubts about Congo campaign against Rwandan rebels

Publication Date: Mar 22, 2015

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Jason Stearns

Region/Country: Sub-Saharan Africa

Program(s): Peace and Security

Coalition Sign-On for Appointment of New Special Envoy for Great Lakes Region and DRC

Jason Stearns along with 22 organizations and various individuals who advocate for peace in the DRC and the entire Great Lakes Region of Africa signed a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry asking him to appoint a new, high-level Special Envoy to continue the great work of Senator Feingold.

Read the full Enough Project letter Coalition Sign-On for Appointment of New Special Envoy for Great Lakes Region and DRC

Publication Date: May 03, 2015

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Jason Stearns

Region/Country: Sub-Saharan Africa

Program(s): Peace and Security

Congo Escalates Crackdown on Pro-Democracy Activists

Congolese government security agents are cracking down on pro-democracy activists and sympathetic U.S. diplomats, raising concerns about the intentions of President Joseph Kabila who is due to relinquish control of a country with a history of heavy-handed rule.

Read the full Wall Street Journal article Congo Escalates Crackdown on Pro-Democracy Activists

Publication Date: May 19, 2015

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Jason Stearns

Region/Country: Sub-Saharan Africa

Program(s): Peace and Security

Suspending Money Transfers to Somalia Hurts the Poor, Not Terrorists

Earlier this month, Kenya suspended the licenses of 13 Somali money transfer agencies operating in Nairobi in a bid to limit funding to al-Shabab militants. In an email interview, Sarah Hearn, CIC associate director and senior fellow, discussed the role of remittances in Somalia’s economy.

Read the full World Politcs Review inteview Suspending Money Transfers to Somalia Hurts the Poor, Not Terrorists

Publication Date: Apr 21, 2015

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Sarah Hearn

Region/Country: Horn of Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa

Topic(s): Fragile States, International Security

As peace deal looms, rebels still control parts of north Mali

As Tuareg rebels said they were not ready to sign a planned peace deal with the government on Wednesday, towns like this in desperately poor north Mali hold clues to what greater autonomy in this region would be like.

Read the full Thompson Reuters Foundation article As peace deal looms, rebels still control parts of north Mali

Publication Date: Apr 14, 2015

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Richard Gowan

Region/Country: Sub-Saharan Africa

Program(s): Peace and Security

Topic(s): United Nations