scholarly journals Introduction

Focaal ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 (57) ◽  
pp. 3-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marita Eastmond
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Special Section ◽  
Peace Building ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Political Upheaval ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
Building Activities ◽  
Post War ◽  
Social Recovery

This special section of Focaal explores processes of social recovery and peace-building in the aftermath of radical violence and political upheaval. The articles draw on detailed ethnographic case studies from Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country that was shattered by war and ethnic cleansing in the 1990s, and raise issues of relevance to other post-conflict situations. Challenging “reconciliation” as a moral discourse with universalist claims, the articles highlight the dynamics of its localization in different contexts of intervention in post-war society. The four contributions explore different facets of this dynamic as it is played out in the key areas of justice, the return of refugees and internally displaced persons, and NGO peace-building activities. They illuminate what happens when the global paradigm of reconciliation encounters and filters through meanings and motivations of actors in local contexts. They also note that everyday interactions between former adversaries take place not as a moral engagement with reconciliation but as part of rebuilding a sense of normality. The findings point to the need to critically investigate the conditions under which such encounters may empower or prohibit the rebuilding of social relations and trust in post-war societies.

Jus Post Bellum and the Responsibility to Rebuild – Identifying the Contours of an Ever More Important Aspect of r2p

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 284-305
Author(s):  
Peter Hilpold
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Responsibility To Protect ◽  
Peace Building ◽  
Jus In Bello ◽  
Jus Post Bellum ◽  
Jus Ad Bellum ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Sustainable Peace ◽  
Building Activities ◽  
Post War

In the last years, the traditional dichotomy in international law between jus ad bellum and jus in bello has been more and more abandoned in favour of a system comprising also norms designed to create fair and sustainable peace. It has been recognized that post-war societies need help in order to avoid a relapse into conflict and chaos. But what is the essence of this jus post bellum? What are its sources? Did the introduction of a Responsibility to Protect (r2p) change the rather sceptical attitude by most governments towards peace-building activities that were often considered intrusive? Particular attention will be given to two recent post conflict countries, Kosovo and Libya, where the Responsibility to Rebuild was of considerable importance, but the State community only partially considered (Kosovo) or did not consider at all (Libya). In this contribution it will be shown that the contours of the jus post bellum are still rather unclear but that nevertheless it is very likely that this concept is here to stay.

scholarly journals Syrian Refugee Migration, Transitions in Migrant Statuses and Future Scenarios of Syrian Mobility

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marko Valenta ◽  
Jo Jakobsen ◽  
Drago Župarić-Iljić ◽  
Hariz Halilovich
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Future Scenarios ◽  
Future Prospects ◽  
Status Change ◽  
Syrian Refugee ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
Forced Migrations ◽  
Post War

Abstract This article analyses the international migrations and statuses of people who left Syria after the outbreak of the civil war. In addition to exploring the dynamics of Syrian refugee migrations since 2011, we also discuss future prospects and possibilities of return. The ambition of the article is twofold. First, we aim to develop and nuance the typology of migrations of Syrians. Secondly, the article seeks to explore useful lessons from former large-scale refugee migrations; that is, knowledge which may hopefully contribute to preparing the relevant institutions and organisations for Syrian migrations in the eventual post-war period. Based on experiences from other post-conflict situations, several possible future scenarios of Syrian migrations are discussed. The proposed typologies of migrants and repatriation regimes may help us understand the nuances, the dynamic of status change and the complexity of the forced migrations. It is maintained that migration trends, reception, and repatriation conditions and policies are highly interconnected. Refugees’ responses to reception and repatriation regimes result in transitions in their legal statuses in receiving countries and changing motivations for migration and repatriation.

Unlocking the Potential of CEDAW as an Important Accountability Tool for the Women, Peace and Security Agenda

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pramilla Patten
Keyword(s):  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Optional Protocol ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Access To Health ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
General Recommendation ◽  
Gender Based

This chapter explores the application of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) to conflict and post-conflict contexts as detailed in General Recommendation 30. It examines the implications of CEDAW and General Recommendation 30 on gender-based violence, the trafficking of women, the situation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees, women’s participation, and women’s access to health, education, employment, and justice. It also focuses on CEDAW’s reporting procedure, and suggests that this tool be utilized more effectively to address women’s situations in conflict and post-conflict situations. The chapter also examines the Optional Protocol to CEDAW as an accountability tool. The chapter concludes by emphasizing the importance of CEDAW acting in synergy with the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda.

Gender, Conflict and Peace-keeping Operations

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Hadjipavlou
Keyword(s):  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Peace Building ◽  
Social Fabric ◽  
Gender Conflict ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
Marginalized Women ◽  
Peace Initiatives

Gender shapes how both men and women understand their experiences and actions regarding armed conflicts. A gender perspective in the context of conflict situations means to pay close attention to the special needs of women and girls during peace-building processes, including disarmament, demobilization, repatriation, resettlement, rehabilitation, reintegration to the social fabric in post-conflict reconstruction, as well as to take measures to support local women’s peace initiatives. In this light, the overall culture, both within the UN and its member states, needs to be addressed. This culture is still patriarchal and supportive of state militaries, and peacekeeping operations that are comprised of them, which are based on a hegemonic masculinity that depends on the trivialization of women and the exploitation and commodification of women’s bodies. The values, qualities, and qualifications for peace-keeping personnel, on the ground and in senior positions, have been framed and adopted through a patriarchal understanding of peace-keeping, peace-building, and peace-making which has defined security narrowly, has relied on state militaries and military experts to be peace enforcers and makers, has been disinterested in the relationship between conflict and social inequalities, has imposed new social inequalities and new violences in the name of peacekeeping, and has systematically excluded or marginalized women in peace-keeping, peace-building, and peacemaking processes. Although the recent advances, reflected in Security Council, other UN, and member state resolutions and mandates, of integrating gender concerns into these processes have made a positive difference in some operations, implementation of these is still marginal.

scholarly journals Covering Post-Conflict Elections: Challenges for the Media in Central Africa

2011 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Soleil Frère
Keyword(s):  
Central Africa ◽  
Peace Building ◽  
The Past ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
The Press ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Many ◽  
Congo Brazzaville

In the past ten years, elections were held in six countries of Central Africa experiencing “post-conflict” situations. The polls that took place in Burundi (2005), the Central African Republic (2005), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2006), Congo-Brazzaville (2002, 2007), Chad (1996, 2001, 2006) and Rwanda (2003) were crucial for peace-building. In some cases, they were widely supported and supervised by the international community, being considered the last step of a peace process and the first step toward establishing a truly representative “post-conflict” regime. The media were expected to play a large part in supporting these elections, both to inform the citizens, so they could make an educated choice, and to supervise the way the electoral administration was organizing the polls. This paper attempts to show the many challenges faced by the media while covering these post-conflict electoral processes. In a context of great political tension, in which candidates are often former belligerents who have just put down their guns to go to the polls, the media operate in an unsafe and economically damaged environment, suffering from a lack of infrastructure, inadequate equipment and untrained staff. Given those constraints, one might wonder if the media should be considered actual democratic tools in Central Africa or just gimmicks in a “peace-building kit” (including “free and fair” elections, multipartism and freedom of the press) with no real impact on the democratic commitment of the elite or the political participation of the population.

Life after violence in North India: Islamic relief orgaizations and transactional relationships in a plural humanitarian space

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Larouche
Keyword(s):  
Positive Influence ◽  
Peace Building ◽  
North India ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Transformative Power ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Humanitarian Space ◽  
Displaced People

Abstract Religious humanitarianism is often closely scrutinized, as it is either viewed as exerting a positive influence in post-conflict contexts—through peace-building and sense-making—or a negative one—through proselytism and division. This article contends that both these (negative and positive) perspectives on the role played by religious organizations overemphasize, to a certain extent, their transformative power in post-conflict contexts, at least in the short term. Based on ethnographic fieldwork with both Islamic and non-confessional humanitarian organizations supporting internally displaced people—victims of anti-Muslim violence in Muzaffarnagar, India—I suggest that the inherent plurality and competitive dimension of the humanitarian field leads to a form of transactional relationship between displaced people and organizations and tends to reduce the importance of ideological differences between organizations. Paying attention to this particularity of the humanitarian field and how displaced people deal with it can provide us with a better understanding of the actual influence of religious humanitarianism in post-conflict contexts.

scholarly journals Contested Inclusions: Pitfalls of NGO Peace-Building Activities in Liberia

2010 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 3-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronika Fuest
Keyword(s):  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Peace Building ◽  
Secret Societies ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Traditional Institutions ◽  
Building Activities ◽  
Post War ◽  
Participatory Intervention

In post-war situations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) feature highly in peace-building processes in their (perceived) capacities as both representatives of civil society and as grassroots agents to be employed in the reconstruction and transformation of society. As elsewhere, in Liberia, peace-building approaches include, first, international blueprints of representation that intend to empower groups generally perceived to be socially subordinate and, second, supporting traditional institutions considered social capital in reconciliation. Using the example of Liberia, this paper explores how in local conflict arenas, NGO workshops – the most popular mode of participatory intervention – are interpreted and appropriated by local actors; it highlights some fallacies and unintended consequences of inclusive procedures in practice and questions the support furnished to heads of gendered secret societies.

Experience of Gender-based Violence by Internally Displaced Women in Southern Nigeria: A Cross-sectional Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110014
Author(s):  
Oluwadamilola A. Adejumo ◽  
Lorretta Ntoimo ◽  
Michael S. Odimayo ◽  
Wasiu O. Adebimpe ◽  
Benedette Okiei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Violence ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
Reproductive Health Issue ◽  
Edo State ◽  
Gender Based

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a reproductive health issue prevalent among persons in conflict and post-conflict situations, but is largely under-reported in Nigeria. Although GBV affects both sexes, the prevalence is higher in women as compared to men. The objective of this study was to assess the experiences of female internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Nigeria during conflict and post-conflict situations. The study was conducted among IDPs in Edo State, south-south region of Nigeria. Data were collected with a semi-structured questionnaire administered on 300 female IDPs. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted. GBV perpetrated by non-family members during conflict was experienced by 22.2% of the respondents while 13.5% experienced post-conflict violence. Up to 12.2% reported violence by intimate partners. Physical violence was commonly experienced during conflict, while sexual violence was most common post-conflict. Logistic regression analysis showed that the vulnerable categories of women were adolescents, unmarried women, women of Hausa origin, women who never attended school, and those whose displacement took place in the year prior to the study. The IDP camp appeared to offer some protection against GBV as those who had stayed in the camp longer were less likely to experience post-conflict GBV. The lack of implementation of effective laws and regulations that prevent violence against women and punish perpetuators in the country, and the ineffective security systems are some of the factors that sustain GBV. The results of this study have implications for the design of programs for the prevention of GBV during conflict and post-conflict situations.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document