Peacemakers Trust posts news, reports or announcements of interest to people studying or working in the field of dispute resolution, conflict transformation and peacebuilding. Inclusion of an item on the media watch blog does not imply endorsement or agreement of Peacemakers Trust with views expressed by authors of posted items.
In the middle of the African wilderness and staring down the barrel of a pistol held by a reputed madman, Ben Hoffman wondered if he would ever see his wife and children again.
He had been acting as a personal envoy of President Jimmy Carter to try and broker a peace deal in a bloody civil war within the Sudan -one which ultimately ended with an agreement in 2005 -when he was called out to work in a neighbouring conflict within Uganda, itself embroiled in an uprising which had ties to the fight in the Sudan.
The Ugandan government had agreed to sit at the peace table, but only if Dr. Hoffman met with the leader of the rebels in the north of the country and try to convince him to join in.
The man holding the gun was Joseph Kony, the feared head of the Lord’s Resistance Army… (more)
[Peacemakers Trust watch blog editor's note: This story portrays Joseph Kony inaccurately in that the reported "gun" was not a real gun. Rather, Dr. Hoffman reports that Joseph Kony had fashioned a gun with his hand. Otherwise the story is reportedly a fair summary of the meeting between Dr. Hoffman and Joseph Kony.]
In conjunction with law firm Hammonds and the Standing Conference of Mediation Advocates, the Mediator Magazine today publishes a new, 26-page report on mediation advocacy techniques. Entitled Effective Mediation Advocacy, the report is the brainchild of Hammonds consultant Charles Middleton-Smith and comprises the thoughts and observations of a dozen leading mediators as to what differentiates advocates who get the best outcomes for their clients and those who don’t.
Somewhere on a dusty soccer pitch in Mozambique, a group of boys are playing a game of soccer. Suddenly a man runs onto the field shouting. He stops the game and accuses the boys of stealing his condoms. There are different ways to use condoms. In Mozambique, young boys are great consumers of them…
recently wrote One Use for an Unnecessary Confidentiality Clause, where I outlined a tactic that helped me buy a house I really wanted. In that same deal I learned how to stop what Chester Karrass describes as “the nibbler†with a technique that can translate well beyond your next home purchase — whether you are settling a lawsuit or just working to close your next business transaction.
While you might not know him by name, you know the Nibbler already. On the cusp of getting your deal done, your opponent asks for just a bit more — we’ve all heard something like “if you’ll pay today’s mediator, too, we will accept your settlement offer.â€
Filed under: Africa files — story spotted by Catherine Morris @ 10:02 UTC
News source:
28 November 2008
The Standard (Kenya)
By Alex Ndegwa
President Kibaki has given the green light to establish a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission to probe gross human rights violations.
This sets the stage for Kenyans to publicly confront the atrocities that have threatened the national fabric.
The forum will provide an opportunity to bring closure to the nation’s painful past that boiled over earlier this year and pushed the country to the brink.
The commission is mandated to investigate the root causes of the post-election violence in which over 1,300 people were killed, over 350,000 displaced and property worth billions of shillings destroyed.
Many students are interested in finding appropriate internships in the field [of peace and collaborative development] to help develop their skills and experience…
Filed under: Middle East files — story spotted by Catherine Morris @ 21:57 UTC
News source:
27 November 2008
McClatchy Newspapers
The agreement calls on the U.S. military to pull back from cities and towns by June, to consult with the government of Iraq before conducting an operation and to withdraw completely from the country by Dec. 31, 2011.
By Adam Ashton
BAGHDAD – In a country where agreements are hard to reach, Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki built a broad political coalition to muscle through a divisive U.S.-Iraq security pact that could set his place in his nation’s history as the man who ended the American occupation.
He took the mantle of a nationalist in televised remarks Thursday night after the pact he helped broker passed parliament by a landslide 149-35 vote.
“We have gotten an important achievement by signing the withdrawal agreement for the foreign troops from Iraq and bringing back its sovereignty,” he said.
That’s a major role change for Maliki, who came to power in 2006 as a sectarian Shiite lawmaker propped up by a tenuous coalition of political blocs.
By David Lanz, Martin Wählisch, Lars Kirchhoff, Matthias Siegfried | Swiss Peace Foundation // European Union Initiative for Peacebuilding // Center for Peace Mediation // Crisis Management Initiative
Contemporary peace mediation is a crowded and increasingly competitive field currently lacking established accountability mechanisms. The present paper proposes a general framework for evaluating international mediation activities. Its main purpose is to provide a tool for observers, donors and desk officers to achieve better quality control of mediation processes, while also facilitating critical reflection and lessons learnt among mediators.
The world is still “largely silent and unresponsive†to the needs of boys as both victims and survivors of sexual abuse, according to humanitarian agency, World Vision.
A report on attitudes to sexual abuse of children in Cambodia, and face-to-face interviews with more than 400 children and young people around the world has revealed that while abuse of boys is widespread, it is just not taken as seriously as abuse of girls.
Filed under: News Watch Blog — story spotted by Catherine Morris @ 21:31 UTC
News source:
27 November 2008
press release
By Civil Society Forum on Financing for Development - Doha, Qatar
As one of the lead elements proposed for recommendation to the Financing for Development Review Conference, the Civil Society Forum supports an international summit on financial and economic architecture and global economic governance structures, in 2009. The Forum position challenges the proposal of some governments that the Bretton Woods Institutions (the World Bank and International Monetary Fund) organize an event, as well as moves to concentrate decision-making in the G-20 group of governments.
Speaking to the plenary, Rana Al Sairafi, a civil society delegate from Bahrain, said “instead of focusing on ad hoc mechanisms like the G-20, such a conference should be under the umbrella of the United Nations with the inclusive principles that govern the Financing for Development process, including the active participation of civil society organizations.†In preparation for the event, the UN should be asked to prepare a comprehensive review of the existing global financial architecture.
There are currently four alternate proposals (para.58) regarding the conference in negotiations for the Review Conference. The Forum recommendation supports the UN-led option.
Phnom Penh – Survivors of the Khmer Rouge want justice for those killed and reparation for the rest.
Not only survivors, but Cambodia’s younger generation too is seeking reparations for the nearly 2 million victims of the Khmer Rouge. Nobody yet knows what exactly that will mean.
“We need hospitals for victims,†Chhou Ny Sinan, project officer for justice and reconciliation of Youth for Peace, said Thursday, during a two-day seminar on reparations for victims. “We need support to build centers for the old, widows and children.â€
GENEVA – The Red Cross appealed on Thursday for more than 1.1 billion Swiss francs for its life-saving programmes in war zones often forsaken by other aid agencies, including areas of Sudan, Somalia and Iraq.
Mediation World provides resources on mediation for governments, courts, businesses, lawyers, mediators, and NGOs. The site offers free access to mediation news, articles, mediation organisations, legislation, court schemes. It also offers free information about mediation in a variety of countries. The site has been created by Conflict Management International (CMI).
… Take a look at this article on juror reactions to successful female trial lawyers saying that research consistently finds that both males and females characterise woman who have been successful in male dominated fields as cold, unlikeable businesswoman…
... referendum to ratify the new body of law on Jan. 25, 2009.
The majority of people in Bolivia agree with the revised version of a new Constitution, according to a poll by Equipos MORI. 56 per cent of respondents support the changes to the new charter agreed upon by government officials and members of the opposition. referendum to ratify the new body of law on Jan. 25, 2009…
The new draft includes a bill of rights and an entire chapter dedicated to Bolivia’s 36 indigenous nations. It also puts the economy in the hands of the state, limits landholdings, redistributes revenues from gas fields in the eastern lowlands to the country’s poorer areas, and includes a compromise that allows the current president to seek only one additional five-year term.
A critic praises the president's stand on war criminals and international law.
By Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch rarely lauds the Bush administration. But when it comes to supporting international efforts to prosecute Sudanese leaders for their slaughter in Darfur, the administration so far has it right.
The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor is seeking an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for the atrocities he allegedly directed in Darfur. Sudan’s government is trying to convince the United Nations Security Council to suspend the prosecution.
On the one hand, Khartoum has launched a charm offensive, announcing on Nov. 12 yet another cease-fire and peace initiative. On the other hand, it is subtly threatening violence against civilians, peacekeepers and humanitarian workers should prosecution proceed. Backing Sudan are Libya and China, as well as South Africa — whose concept of African solidarity tends to favor African persecutors over their African victims.
Surprisingly, the toughest governmental defender of the proposed indictment is the Bush administration — which entered office vowing to undermine the ICC because of the theoretical possibility that it might someday prosecute an American.
ATLANTA—As a young Jesuit, Father John Dear choose to add his own vow of nonviolence, along with the required vows of obedience, poverty and chastity.
A hero of his, Mahatma Gandhi, lived a life of 16 vows, including to “only speak the truth†and “fearlessness,†so Father John’s vows were small in comparison. It was rooted in what he jokingly called a “secret training school of nonviolence†as he studied to be a priest.
Filed under: Middle East files — story spotted by Catherine Morris @ 11:12 UTC
News source:
26 November 2008
Al Jazeera
Iraq’s parliamentary vote on a wide-ranging accord that would allow US troops to stay in the country for another three years has been postponed.
MPs will now vote on the pact on Thursday, after reservations by Sunnis and fierce opposition by Shia groups threatened to derail the agreement altogether.
The agreement has been subject to numerous revisions in an attempt to keep various political factions on board and push the deal through parliament with a respectable majority.
The pact now makes provision for Iraqi supervision of US forces and also meets demands for a clear exit timetable for the 150,000 American troops in Iraq.
Filed under: News Watch Blog, Rwanda — story spotted by Catherine Morris @ 11:10 UTC
News source:
26 November 2008
The New Times (Kigali)
By Tony Barigye
The National University of Rwanda [NUR] is in the final stage of setting up a Civic and Peace Education course, to be made compulsory for every student at the university.
