Post Conflict Projects

Amidst criticisms against the United Nations, one man stands out like a light at the end of the tunnel. It is a pity, however, that his diplomatic prowess and leadership has been suddenly cut short when a suicide bomber managed to infiltrate the UN office in Baghdad in 2003. By time of his tragic death on Aug. 19, 2003, the Sergio Vieira de Mello Brazilian diplomat had spent nearly 35 years inside the U.N. system, sent from hellhole to hellhole as one of the international organization's most dependable troubleshooters. Representing the United Nations in Iraq, a job he reluctantly accepted at the behest of then Secretary-General Kofi Annan and George W. Bush's administration, was to be his final assignment in the field. He was, as biographer Samantha Power put it Monday at a Washington event previewing Sergio, the moving documentary based on her book, the world's "go-to guy." The film, which airs May 6 -- on HBO, of all places -- is both a celebration of Vieir...

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 Ampat...

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...

You will find some interesting reads below excerpted by a colleague from the UN Integrated office in Burundi. Rethinking Post-War Insecurity: From Interim Stabilization to Second Generation Security Promotion Source - Journal of Humanitarian Assistance (http://jha.ac/2009/02/21/rethinking-post-war-insecurity-from-interim-stabilization-to-second-generation-security-promotion/) The scope and scale of post-war violence is often more severe than anticipated. If left unchecked, many fear that complex forms of insecurity can potentially tip 'fragile' societies back into armed conflict. A host of conventional security promotion activities are routinely advanced to contend with such violence including disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) and security sector reform (SSR). There are also many less widely recognised examples of security promoting activities that deviate from – but also potentially reinforce and enhance – DDR and SSR. Innovation and experimentation by med...

The MINUSTAH Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) programme has been approved for a sixth year with a budget of USD 3 million to reinforce MINUSTAH’s renewed drive to win the hearts and minds of the Haitian population. The deterioration of living conditions, due to a rise in food and energy costs on the world markets, has been further exacerbated by the 2008 hurricanes which wiped out an estimated three to four years of economic growth. QIPs, even though limited in scope to lastingly change the challenging situation in the country, would help to significantly improve the environment for effective mandate implementation and help ameliorate security conditions for MINUSTAH personnel. Owing to their popularity and high visibility, QIPs can make a difference in boosting and maintaining public confidence in the Mission, its activities and the democratic process. Three major areas of support have been sought by the Government – the rehabilitation of infrastructure, the resumption of the school y...

Ile Cayemite, a small island of about 20,000 inhabitants and 500 households is just around two hours away by boat from the mainland of Corail. Even before setting foot on the island, one could not help but notice the desolation in the area - lambi shells scattered on the shore; makeshift houses; children left to fend for themselves; a mid-sized boat buying all the catch of the day and paying just enough for the islanders' subsistence. It is futile to ask whether they have access to electricity much less basic health care or fresh drinking water. One school, one mini health clinic, one cistern to collect rain water - c'est tout. A priest tries to use all his means to help these people live through each day. In spite of this simplicity and seeming lack of basic necessities, the people have this aura of contentment about them. It's the wonder of adaptation to one's environment. As we sailed around the island, the crystal clear waters, white sand patches and isolated...

In 2007, several countries that have long served as the poster children for failed states managed to achieve some unlikely gains. The Ivory Coast, which unraveled in 2002 after a flawed election divided north and south, experienced a year of relative calm thanks to a new peace agreement. Liberia, the most improved country in last year's index, continued to make gains due to a renewed anticorruption effort and the resettlement of nearly 100,000 refugees. And Haiti, long considered the basket case of the Western Hemisphere, stepped back from the edge, with moderate improvements in security in the capital's violence-ravaged slums. A common thread links these most improved players: All three host U.N. peacekeeping operations. Nearly 15,000 U.N. troops have monitored Liberia's fragile gains since the end of its 14-year civil war in 2003, disarming former fighters, training new police, and repairing roads, schools, and hospitals. Haiti's U.N. mission, nearly 9,000 strong, h...