U.N. Peacekeeping
Monday, November 17, 2014 - 06:12
Sudan has refused to let U.N. and African Union peacekeepers visit a village in the western Darfur region to investigate allegations of mass rape for the second time this month, saying it was skeptical about the motives for the visit.
Monday, November 17, 2014 - 06:10
Despite a cease-fire in July and a United Nations mission in September that raised hopes of restoring order, the crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR) flared up again last month.
Friday, November 14, 2014 - 06:29
Guatemala recently sent a fresh group of military police agents to Haiti to help the United Nations Stabilization Mission’s (MINUSTAH) efforts.
Monday, November 10, 2014 - 07:01
The United Nations said on Friday that South Sudanese security personnel had impounded four trucks carrying armored vehicles and equipment for peacekeepers in the capital Juba and assaulted the drivers, accusing them of transporting weapons to rebels.
Friday, November 7, 2014 - 05:44
Zhong Jianhua, China’s Special Representative for African Affairs, is in many ways surprisingly candid and disarming. In a recent interview with Independent Newspapers, Zhong, China’s previous ambassador to South Africa, happily acknowledged the deficiencies in China’s understanding of the South Sudan conflict, which is the current focus of his attention.
Thursday, November 6, 2014 - 06:09
Two soldiers were killed in northern Mali and four injured after an improvised explosive device blew up at a checkpoint, the government and the United Nations said on Sunday.
Wednesday, November 5, 2014 - 12:05
According to a new report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) last month, military personnel from the U.S.-supported African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) “have sexually abused and exploited vulnerable Somali women and girls on their bases in Mogadishu.” The full report, titled “‘The Power These Men Have Over Us’: Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by African Union Forces in Somalia,” urges the United States to push for more independent oversight of AMISOM military personnel to ensure they are not complicit in such gender-based violence.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014 - 13:15
During the frenzy of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, thirty-one countries met on September 26 for a summit on “Strengthening International Peace Operations,” during which the importance of expanding the participation of women in peacekeeping operations was the theme. To reverse the imbalance, the UN launched an initiative to recruit more female police officers in August 2009, with the goal of women comprising 20 percent of police by 2014. However, between 2009 and today, women involvement in police increased by a mere 2.5 percent—from 7.3 to 9.8 percent. And shockingly, recruitment for involvement of women in military forces has been even less successful as women comprise a mere 3.2 percent of military forces, down from 4.9 percent in 2009.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014 - 06:04
South Africa enjoys unique access to multilateral arrangements such as Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) and India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA), and should use these to strengthen peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction and development (PCRD) on the African continent.
Monday, October 6, 2014 - 05:24
Nine United Nations peacekeepers in Mali were killed when heavily armed gunmen on motorbikes ambushed their convoy on Friday, the deadliest attack yet on UN troops in Mali, the mission said.