Post Conflict Projects

Jakarta/Brussels, 21 December 2009: The international outrage generated by last month’s massacre in Maguindanao, southern Philippines, of 57 men and women, half of them journalists, may offer opportunities to make progress in the areas of justice, security and peace.   The latest update briefing from the International Crisis Group, shows how the 23 November killings were not the result of a clan feud, as widely reported, but of Manila’s deliberate nurturing of a ruthless warlord in exchange for votes.   “To call it a feud is to diminish the Arroyo administration’s role in allowing a local despot to indulge his greed and ambition, including through building up a private army in the name of fighting insurgents”, says Sidney Jones, Senior Adviser to Crisis Group’s Asia program. The immediate trigger for the killings was the decision of one man, Esmail “Toto” Mangudadatu, to run for governor of Maguindanao province, which for the last decade has been the fiefdom of the Ampatuan famil

A few months back, I wrote about a visit to Iles Cayemites, an isolated island off the coast of Corail/Pestel in Jeremie (Haiti). With a population in thousands, the island was bare of even the most basic of necessities. MINUSTAH , through its Quick Impact Project funding constructed several water cisterns to collect rain water in several communities in the area. This has allowed the people to get access to fresh water and be less dependent on expensive water transported by boat to the island. Next? This month, we installed sixteen solar-powered street lamps along the main thoroughfares Yes, solar-powered! Low maintenance; virtually zero running cost not to mention, environmentally-friendly. More importantly, these will improve security in the area where with a population of around 20,000, not a single police can be found. The children who used to study under the candlelight or with gas lamps will now have this new found convenience. The locals showed their full support for th