Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Colombian Youth Bolster Peace Accord with New Skills
The young Colombians wasted no time after finishing their first training in conflict management from the U.S. Institute of Peace. One garnered funding from Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp. for a two-day conference on youth in peacebuilding that might draw 300 people. ...
Iraqi Tribes Sharpen Legal Tools to Root Out ISIS
As the Islamic State’s self-declared caliphate crumbles in Iraq, tribal leaders are taking unprecedented steps to avert a new cycle of violence that could follow the extremist group’s defeat. In a pact reached earlier this month, more than 100 sheikhs of tribes in and around the city of Hawija made a path-breaking pledge to forego traditional justice in dealing with ISIS fighters and supporters. Instead, they agreed to embrace Iraq’s formal legal system.
To Advance Peace in Burma, Take One Step Back
At Burma’s latest country-wide peace conference last month, participants made some progress toward broad agreements that can help end the country’s decades of ethnic conflicts. The talks advanced toward ideas for the country’s future in matters such as politics, the economy and principles for environmental policies. But not security.
Libya’s Civil War: Brewing Terrorism in Europe
When Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old Libyan-British man, detonated a suicide bomb among concert-goers in Manchester last month, his attack was the latest of several linked to the Libyan chapter of the Islamic State. Abedi, born and raised in England, committed the attack days after returning from the last of several visits to Libya.
Iraqi Child Marriage Proposal Reflects Worrying Trend
New legislation in the Iraqi parliament that would allow girls as young as 9 to marry is drawing stiff opposition from a nationwide coalition of civil society groups.
Afghanistan: Is Peace Possible Without Justice?
When Gulbuddin Hekmatyar returned to Kabul on May 9 after two decades in hiding, the former warlord received a hero’s welcome by authorities who had struck the peace deal that ushered him back. His convoy was escorted by helicopters and armed police. His supporters gleefully marched through the streets of the Afghan capital ...
As ISIS Fighters Return Home, Mobilizing Communities
The dozen senior officials seated around the room were veterans of high-level strategy and planning. They work in ministries. They serve as analysts and advisors on security, counterterrorism, human rights. They had helped craft their national policy to prevent violent extremism. Now they were embarking on a specific plan for handling the next stage of the problem.
To Help Afghanistan, Leverage China’s Investments
A stable Afghanistan is critical for security in much of Asia and internationally, yet continued violence in the country has prevented key states from building the economic opportunities, and the transport links and energy trade with the region, that Afghanistan desperately needs.
Curbing the Next Wave of Radicals
A seaside suburb of Dakar, Senegal’s capital, Guédiawaye boasts a new coastal highway, large stadiums for wrestling and soccer, and new urban parks that even have marshes to manage periodic flooding. By all appearances, it is a growing, productive community. Yet underneath, the city struggles with high crime rates, environmental degradation, extreme poverty, unemployment and a disturbing growth in the number of suspected extremists.
Burma Dialogue Inches Ahead Amid Tough Issues for Peace
The second round of Burma’s high-level political dialogue, part of an ongoing peace process that seeks to resolve one of the world’s longest running civil conflicts, produced some movement by the time it wrapped this week, even as leaders on all sides struggle with some of the most contentious questions.