Conflict

Gauteng, March 21: On this day 53 years ago, thousands of people went to the Sharpeville police station to hand in their passes in a peaceful protest against Apartheid pass laws. The South African police opened fire on a crowd of protestors killing 69 people. As we commemorate Human Rights Day today, not only should we be reflecting on our own emancipation but we should also be thinking about human rights around the world.

While we look back on the oppressive pass laws, we should be thinking about all the Palestinians who still have to carry permits while going through Israeli Defence Force checkpoints on a daily basis. While we think about our own Bantustans and forced removals, which still define the geography of our country, we should remember the people in Gaza who continue to live in what is referred to as the biggest open – air prison in the world.

When we remember the whites-only train carriages and schools, we should think about Israeli-only roads and buses. Our liberation is incomplete if such segregation persists in the world today. If we dismiss this as too far from home or as a religious war, we lose sight of what is at stake.

On 31 October 2000 the United Nations Security Council unanimously
adopted Security Council Resolution 1325 (SCR 1325) on Women and
Peace and Security. The objectives of the resolution are to protect women’s
rights during armed conflicts, prevent impunity for gender based crimes,
mainstream gender aspects in peacekeeping operations and increase
women’s participation in the various phases before, during and after
armed conflicts.
SCR 1325 puts forward concrete recommendations to the UN member
states, entities of the UN System, civil society and other actors involved
in international peacekeeping and development cooperation. The
resolution is considered to be a milestone in the Security Council’s work
with women, peace and security. Yet, the impact of the resolution
depends entirely on the political will of the various actors to bring into
operation, implement and monitor the recommendations and objectives
set out in the resolution.

UN Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) recognizes the importance of promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women in order to achieve the goals of peace and development, and emphasizes the critical role Member States can play in that respect. It urges Member States to take action at the national level in the following key areas:
Women’s participation in decision-making and peace processes.
The protection of women and girls and
Gender training.

After the 1991À“2001 civil war, Sierra Leone employed a new model of transitional justice, concurrently utilising a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and a Special Court. Encouragingly, this process incorporated special gender considerations, by expanding the mandate of both the TRC and Special Court to address sexual violence and encourage women to come forward and testify without fear of retribution. Both these institutions have been praised for successfully fulfilling their specific mandates and for aiding the country’s transition to peace. However, some parts of Sierra Leone’s society were left largely untouched by the process, as evidenced by widespread discrimination and gender inequalities which still occur today. It is proposed that this is not just a fault of Sierra Leone’s approach, but that it is an inherent flaw of the transitional justice process as a whole as the process is not suitable for use in addressing the root causes of conflict. For this reason, it is argued that a new mechanism of transitional justice, one which incorporates a peacebuilding process, would better address the needs of a post-conflict society. This would be done by focusing on transformation and promoting a long-term sustainable peace.

This monograph is a study of the security sector in six Southern African countries, namely Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. It highlights the strengths and challenges of the various institutions that make up the security sector, including defence, police, prison, intelligence, private security, oversight bodies and the policy and legal frameworks under which they operate. The monograph represents an attempt to provide baseline data on the security institutions in the region so that we can better determine where security sector reform measures are needed.

The African Journal on Conflict Resolution is a biannual peer-reviewed journal published by the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) for the multidisciplinary subject field of conflict resolution. It appears on the list of journals accredited by the South African Department of Education. ACCORD is a non-governmental, non-aligned conflict resolution organisation based in Durban, South Africa. ACCORD is constituted as an education trust. The journal seeks to publish articles and book reviews on subjects relating to conflict, its management and resolution, as well as peace-making, peacekeeping and peace building in Africa. It aims to be a conduit between theory and practice. Views expressed in this journal are not necessarily those of ACCORD. While every attempt is made to ensure that the information published here is accurate, no responsibility is accepted for any loss or damage that may arise out of the reliance of any person upon any of the information this journal contains.

A research report based on the AU High-level Retreat held in Cairo, Egypt, from 4-5 September 2011, organized by the African Union Peace and Security Department in cooperation with the Government of Egypt, the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and the Cairo Regional Centre for Training on Conflict Resolution and Peacekeeping in Africa.

A fundamental argument throughout this special issue is that the youth in Africa are an important constituency and the failure to engage this population group is problematic. Case studies from Sierra Leone, Kenya, Liberia and South Sudan underline the urgent need to absorb the youth meaningfully to curtail exploitative forces that seek power through violence in previously war-torn societies.

The definition of land reform is not easy. Even in the most stable countries, it is a volatile and politically challenging process. This study seeks to critically engage with the nexus that informs land and agrarian reforms, poverty reduction and conflict prevention/reduction in five southern African countries: South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Mozambique. In essence what are some of the key prerequisites that must be adhered to in any land reform programme, if the reform initiatives are going to contribute to poverty reduction. And conflict reduction in these countries.

The African Journal on Conflict Resolution is a biannual peer-reviewed journal published by the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) for the multidisciplinary subject field of conflict resolution. It appears on the list of journals accredited by the South African Department of Education. ACCORD is a non-governmental, non-aligned conflict resolution organisation based in Durban, South Africa. ACCORD is constituted as an education trust. The journal seeks to publish articles and book reviews on subjects relating to conflict, its management and resolution, as well as peace-making, peacekeeping and peace building in Africa. It aims to be a conduit between theory and practice. Views expressed in this journal are not necessarily those of ACCORD. While every attempt is made to ensure that the information published here is accurate, no responsibility is accepted for any loss or damage that may arise out of the reliance of any person upon any of the information this journal contains.