Reporting on Conflict | Media Watch BlogPeacemakers 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.
At 9:15 EDT, President Obama is chairing a Security Council meeting on non-proliferation and disarmament. You can follow the proceedings on channel 3 of the UN Webcast. The Times is reporting that U.S. delegation expects a unanimous vote in favor of a resolution strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty…
(...more)Engdahl: Obama’s speech to the UN left out his reversal of Bush missile policy in Poland and Czech Rep.
(...more)The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has announced it will manage a $44 million fund to promote the peaceful staging of presidential, parliamentary and local elections next year in Burundi, which was been wracked by ethnically-based strife for decades.
(...more)BANGKOK – Having released more than 7,000 prisoners in the last few days as part of the preparations for next year’s planned polls, Burma’s military rulers are up to their old tricks, according to Burmese activists and human rights groups.
(...more)The campaign to plant seven billion trees has achieved its goal, the United Nations announced Tuesday. 7.3 billion trees have been planted in 167 countries since the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) launched the initiative in 2006. The effort aimed to sequester vast amounts of carbon from the atmosphere while generating benefits for human populations and wildlife.
(...more)This is the full Goldstone Report on the War in Gaza, including all aspects of the war, its aftermath, full documentation of Hamas’ violations, crimes by the IDF, recommendations, reparations, as well as a review of what happened inside Israel during the war. It is over 500 pages of documentation and represents a powerful statement of truth from a man who has been at the forefront of the most important truth commissions in modern times. This is a good place to start in terms of future documentation of all violence in this conflict, Jewish and Arab, and a good model to build upon in terms of what exactly needs to happen to prevent such tragedies in the future. It is the details that everyone should read and debate.
(...more)This post will therefore focus upon the Responsibility to Protect doctrine or, “R2Pâ€, as it has become known (for earlier posts on the R2P see here). This post considers the most recent institutional development which R2P has been subjected to- the General Assembly’s July 2009 Thematic Debate on R2P.
(...more)My sympathies are with those who have to drive anywhere in Manhattan this week as the General Assembly gets underway. In past years I have experienced the privilege of being inside the security cordon and also the inconvenience of being outside it. But now we can all experience being inside the main public events through the UN Webcast! The link is here (real player installation needed). If you are wondering what to watch for, Mark Leon Goldberg has a useful guide over at Foreign Policy…
(...more)Sultana Kamal dreams of a country “where every single citizen will live in democracy, in equality” and where everyone has “equal share to resources and opportunities.” Fulfilling this dream has been her lifelong advocacy as a human rights advocate.
(...more)Joun, Southern Lebanon – Some Lebanese, especially those with a sense of irony, like to share an American traveller’s impressions of their homeland on the eastern Mediterranean:
William Thomson noted that Lebanon’s religions and sects—there are 18 recognised ones in a country smaller than Connecticut—share a country but little fraternal feeling…
Breaking such deeply embedded and historical suspicions is no easy task, but Search for Common Ground (SFCG), an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) specializing in conflict resolution, has launched a nationwide, grassroots initiative to train schoolteachers in techniques to mediate and resolve classroom disputes among Lebanese youths…
(...more)The majority of people in Venezuela say that the government led by president Hugo Chávez is threatening the country’s democracy, according to a poll by the Venezuelan Institute for Data Analysis (IVAD). 56.7 per cent of respondents agree with this view, while 39.2 per cent disagree.
(...more)Political competition may produce better governance. This column shows that Italian politicians shirk less when they are from a more closely contested district. But it’s not simply a re-election incentive – parties are more likely to choose qualified candidates rather than loyalists to run in contestable district, therefore putting better politicians in office.
(...more)The vast majority of people in 24 different countries want to live under a democratic government, according to a global poll by WorldPublicOpinion.org. 67 per cent of all respondents say it is important to live in a country that is governed democratically, while an additional 23 per cent say this is somewhat important.
(...more)Recent political graffiti from the streets of Bogotá provides creative commentary on militarism, US military bases, President Ãlvaro Uribe and extrajudicial military killings.
(...more)In a statement issued today, more than 500 business leaders have called for “an ambitious, robust and equitable global deal” on climate change.
(...more)In preparation for Conflict Resolution Day (October 15th in 2009), Kathleen Doyle (CREducation.org Program Manager) and I (CREducation.org Developer and Webmaster) have put together a fun set of interactive games on the theme of conflict resolution and peace.
(...more)The Catholic relief organization Caritas has developed a nice collection of training materials designed to support Peacebuilding activities. The Peacebuilding Web Toolkit for Trainers is organized into a set of Resource Kits…
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