News

Central African Republic: Program Food Security

Apr 22, 2015 | ACTED

ACTED is a French humanitarian NGO, founded in 1993, which supports vulnerable populations, affected by humanitarian crises worldwide. ACTED provides continued support to vulnerable communities…

Afghanistan: Participatory Watershed Management Project Consultant

Apr 22, 2015 | Afghanaid

Afghanaid (leader of the Afghanistan Resilience Consortium – ARC) is a British-registered international NGO, which has worked in Afghanistan for over 30 years. We assist…

Haiti: Haiti Earthquake Programme Consultants (3)

Apr 22, 2015 | British Red Cross

Following the Haiti earthquake of January 2010, the British Red Cross, within the framework of the International Red Cross Red Crescent, supported the affected population…

Tracing the Source of ‘Conflict Minerals’

Apr 22, 2015 | Denis Mukwege

BUKAVU, Democratic Republic of Congo — From 1998 through 2002, my country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, endured a devastating civil war. The cease-fire that…

Conflict Minerals: Conflict Minerals Remain Unchecked by Most U.S. Manufacturers

Apr 22, 2015 | Stephen E. Stapczynski, Bloomberg

Metals that are sold to help fund armed groups in Africa could be making their way into the U.S manufacturing industry unchecked, a Global Witness…

DRC: Responsible Gold Also Means Supporting Livelihoods of Artisanal Miners

Apr 22, 2015 | Tyler Gillard and Roel Nieuwenkamp, The Huffington Post

Last year, Congolese civil society leader Eric Kajemba helped broker a deal between the army, local authorities, three powerful Congolese families and a Canadian mining…

Water: OSU Geoscientist Wins $250,000 Award for Global Water Negotiations

Apr 22, 2015 | The Oregonian

An Oregon State University geoscientist who specializes in resolving complex international water conflicts will receive a $250,000 Heinz Award for Public Policy. Professor Aaron Wolf…

Conflict Minerals: Why Most US Companies 'Failed' a Conflict Mineral Test

Apr 22, 2015
Scripps News

Four out of five US-listed companies aren't doing enough to show the minerals they use don't come from conflict zones in Central Africa. That's according…

Call for Abstracts: Peace Conference at Wageningen University

Apr 21, 2015 | Wageningen University

Natural resources often lie at the heart of wars and civil strife. At least forty percent of all intrastate conflicts over the past sixty years…

Liberia: Logging Company Dumps Defendants in PUP Six Million Case

Apr 21, 2015 | Abednego Davis, Liberian Observer

Drama unfolded yesterday in the ongoing trial of four dismissed managers of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) and a senior surveyor of the Ministry of…

Sudan: Sudan Gold-Mine Collapse Leaves Six People Dead, Dozens Missing

Apr 21, 2015 | Bassem Abo Alabass Mohammed, Bloomberg

A gold-mine collapse in Sudan’s western region of Darfur killed six people and may have left more than 30 others trapped underground, a community leader…

The Coming Water Wars

Apr 20, 2015 | Jo Ankier and John Fengolio

“Around 60% more food will be needed to feed the world’s growing population by 2050 and with the demand for water set to increase by…

China: Pressure Mounts on China for Water Security

Apr 20, 2015 | The Asian Age

Way back in 1999, before he became China’s Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao warned that water scarcity posed one of the greatest threats to the “survival…

Liberia: Banks Raising $400m for Palm Oil Expansion 'Must Examine High Risks'

Apr 20, 2015 | Oliver Tickell, The Ecologist

Banks preparing to launch a $400m bond issue for a global palm oil giant with a history of legal violations and broken standards have been…

Iraq: BP Says Taking More Oil from Iraq as Payment

Apr 20, 2015 | Reuters

BP (BP.L) has been lifting more crude oil cargoes in the past couple of months as payment for its work in southern Iraq, and is…

Sudan/South Sudan: As Gold Fuels Darfur Conflict, Activists Push for More Sudan Sanctions

Apr 19, 2015 | Johnny Magdaleno, Al Jazeera

Taj el-Bisary, an independent researcher for aid groups, visits the Darfur region in western Sudan, where he was born, at least three times a year.…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Oil Refinery at Baiji Secured, but Iraq Fighting Still Rages at Ramadi

Apr 19, 2015 | Mitchell Prothero, McClatchy DC

Iraqi security forces backed by heavy air support from the American-led coalition have secured Iraq’s largest oil refinery from a determined Islamic State offensive. But…

Colombia: In Colombia, Land Mines Are Cleared, Inch by Inch

Apr 19, 2015 | William Neuman, New York Times

Luvin Mejía kneels on the ground, wearing a heavy Kevlar vest and pants, a thick clear plastic shield over his face. It can take him…

A New Climate for Peace Report

Apr 17, 2015 | adelphi, International Alert, The Wilson Center, and the European Union Institute for Security Studies

The executive summary of an independent report commissioned by the G7 Foreign Ministers was released on April 14th to coincide with the G7 Foreign Ministers’…

New Photo Shows China's First Airfield in the World's Most Contested Archipelago

Apr 17, 2015 | Ishaan Tharoor

The image, provided by IHS Jane's Defense Weekly, shows that China has begun building a runway on an island in the disputed Spratly Islands in the…

China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Beijing, Hanoi Reach Agreement on Handling Disputes at Sea

Apr 16, 2015 | Today

China and Vietnam have agreed to manage their maritime disputes in the South China Sea through peaceful negotiations based on mutual interests, Chinese state media…

Water Wars: Battle Lines Drawn for Control over Water

Apr 16, 2015 | Suparna Dutt-D’Cunha, Gulf News

Societal unrest and strategic manoeuvring over water have pervaded the Middle East for a long time now, pushing people to act aggressively to secure the…

Liberia: FDA's U.S.$6 Million PUP Trial Defendants Linked to 'Falsifying Signatures of Land Deeds'

Apr 16, 2015 | Abednego Davis, Liberian Observer

Several former managers of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) on trial for illegally issuing sixty-one (61) Private Use Permits (PUPs) in the amount of US$6M…

Conflict Minerals: Global Witness Criticises Proposed EU Conflict Minerals Law

Apr 16, 2015 | Metal Bulletin

Campaign group Global Witness has called proposed European conflict minerals legislation “weak and ineffective”.

It criticised the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee following its vote on…

DRC: Illicit Wildlife, Gold, Timber Trade Funds DRC Conflict

Apr 16, 2015 | Environmental News Service

Organized crime funded by illegal trade in natural resources is fueling the 20-year-long conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, that has…

Catalyzing Cooperation: Disaster Diplomacy and its Potential to Short-Circuit the Climate-Conflict Link

Apr 15, 2015 | Tim Kovach

Here is a growing chorus of voices claiming climate change will foster more conflict and violence. Books have been released on the impending age of climate…

Yemen: Yemen War Puts 2015 Crop at Risk, Food Security Worsening - FAO

Apr 15, 2015 | Reuters

Conflict in Yemen is disrupting the crop planting season and threatens to create food shortages, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on…

Iraq: Oil Minister Says Iraq Close to Securing Refinery From Militants

Apr 15, 2015 | Jim Snyder, Bloomberg

Iraq’s oil minister said troops were closer to securing the country’s largest refinery after an attack by Islamic State militants last week.

“They are clearing their…

Nepal: Nepal's Community Forests Fight Poverty and Destruction

Apr 14, 2015 | Jennifer Collins, Deutsche Welle

From low-lying grasslands and steamy subtropical jungles, to soaring snowy peaks and pine forests, Nepal is a country of dramatic extremes. This tiny mountain nation…

Ethiopia: Ethiopians Talk of Violent Intimidation as Their Land is Earmarked for Foreign Investors

Apr 14, 2015 | David Smith, The Guardian

The human cost of Ethiopia’s “villagisation” programme is laid bare by damning first person testimony published on Tuesday. The east African country has long faced…