Reporting on Conflict | Media Watch Blog

• News source:
• Press release: Campaign to establish a Canadian Department of Peace

Once again, two of Canada’s most important and respected figures in the field of human security, peacebuilding and disarmament are calling for the creation of a Canadian Department of Peace and for all national party leaders to respond to this proposal.

The Hon. Lloyd Axworthy, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Hon. Doug Roche, former Canadian Ambassador for Disarmament and Chair, UN Disarmament Committee, state, in their letter, that, “it would be timely to provide for greater balance, coordination and direction in peace and security policy by creating a Minister and Department of Peace, working closely with Foreign Affairs Canada, DND and civil society organizations.”

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• 1 October 2008
• Deutsche Welle

A jury has named winners from Germany, India, Somalia and the United States as recipients of the 2008 Right Livelihood Awards, often called the Alternative Nobel Prize.

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• 1 October 2008
• Andy Worthington

On September 24, Col. Lawrence Morris, the chief prosecutor of Guantánamo’s Military Commission trial system, announced that Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld, the prosecutor in the case of Mohamed Jawad (an Afghan — and a teenager at the time of his capture — who is accused of throwing a grenade at a jeep containing two US soldiers and an Afghan translator), had asked to quit his assignment before his one-year contract expired.

Although Col. Morris attempted to explain that Lt. Col. Vandeveld was leaving “for personal reasons,” the real reasons were spelled out in a statement issued by Vandeveld (PDF), in which he expressed his frustration and disappointment that “potentially exculpatory evidence” had “not been provided” to Jawad’s defense team…

• News source:
• 1 October 2008
• Media with Conscience
• By Agencies

Karzai said on Tuesday, in his traditional message to mark the Muslim Eid-al-Fitr holiday, that he was trying to encourage the group, which was forced from power by a US-led invasion in 2001, to lay down their arms.

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• 1 October 2008
• IMEMC News
• By Saed Bannoura

Syrian President, Bashar Asad, stated on Tuesday that an Israeli-Syrian peace deal will not have any impact on the relations between Syria and Tehran and will not affect the relations between Syria and any other Arab country.

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• 1 October 2008
• Ekklesia

Building bridges with storytelling is the focus for an information week beginning on Saturday, when Quakers in Britain will profile their life, faith and practice as a distinct and viable commitment in a divided world.

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• 1 October 2008
• Just World News
• By Helena Cobban

This week’s lengthy cover article in Germany’s Der Spiegel is definitely worth reading. Non-German readers can even read it in English there.

• News source:
• 1 October 2008
• mediator blah...blah...
• By Geoff Sharp

Like many commercial mediators I fall in and out of love with transformative mediation all the time.

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• 1 October 2008
• Reuters

LONDON – Wind turbines do not drive birds from surrounding areas, British researchers said on Wednesday, in findings which could make it easier to build more wind farms.

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• 1 October 2008
• VOX
• By Valentina Bosetti, Carlo Carraro, Massimo Tavoni

Policymakers seeking to fight global warming need to reach an international agreement for post-2012 climate change policy, but developing countries seem unlikely to immediately participate. This column explains the importance of full global participation in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and proposes means of inducing developing countries, most notably China, to participate in an international agreement.

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• 1 October 2008
• UN News Centre

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for ensuring the dignity and well-being of older persons, noting that despite the commitment of States to eliminate discrimination against this vital segment of society, their rights are being violated every day.

• News source:
• 29 September 2008
• Institute for Policy Studies
• Foreign aid and diplomacy are key to strategic success.
• By Lawrence Korb, Miriam Pemberton

At a time when national consensus on anything is rare indeed, here’s one example: The balance between our spending on military forces and other security tools – like diplomacy, nonproliferation, foreign aid and homeland security – needs to change.

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• 29 September 2008
• AlertNet Blogs
• By Global Voices

Five months ago, Tropical Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar which killed more than eighty thousand people and left 50,000 missing and 20,000 injured…

The ruling junta of Myanmar was initially criticized for the slow relief work and for refusing the entry of international relief groups. Thanks to international pressure, the junta welcomed relief efforts from other countries. After several months, relief groups noted the improving situation inside Myanmar, with regards to the coordination of humanitarian assistance.

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• September 2008
• Jossey Bass

Practicing Narrative Mediation: Loosening the Grip of Conflict
by John Winslade, Gerald Monk
JosseyBass, 2008

Practicing Narrative Mediation provides mediation practitioners with practical narrative approaches that can be applied to a wide variety of conflict resolution situations. Written by John Winslade and Gerald Monk—leaders in the narrative therapy movement—the book contains suggestions and illustrative examples for applying the proven narrative technique when working with restorative conferencing and mediation in organizations,

• News source:
• originally published 23 September 2008
• New York Times
• By BARBARA EHRENREICH

GREED — and its crafty sibling, speculation — are the designated culprits for the financial crisis. But another, much admired, habit of mind should get its share of the blame: the delusional optimism of mainstream, all-American, positive thinking.

• News source:
• originally published 23 September 2008
• IRIN

By day the northern Ugandan town of Gulu is a busy municipality, but at night it really comes alive, when its pubs, powered by generators and fuelled by the local spirit, Waragi, fill up with boisterous patrons looking for a good time… Many girls and women have resorted to sex work to earn a living because they were orphaned or unable to complete their schooling as a result of the two-decade war between the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government. Attempts to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict have stalled, but although the LRA have allegedly been active in neighbouring Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo recently, their last attack in northern Uganda was over two years ago.

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• August 2008
• Abstract published on Human Security Gateway
• By University of California, Los Angeles | International AIDS Conference, Mexico, August 2008

Conflict and post-conflict settings pose specific challenges to HIV prevention and care efforts. Whereas armed conflicts have decreased very considerably in number, the interactions between HIV epidemiology and conflict remain problematic. This review describes factors that affect HIV in conflict and post-conflict settings, identifies challenges to addressing HIV, and presents actionable and measurable programming and funding recommendations that can be implemented immediately.