English Publications

A detailed study of how the UN adresses the "youth crisis" globally and in West Africa. The report concludes that while donors and international aid agencies have recognised the need to ensure more participation by youth to ensure sustainability of projects, the gap between policy and practice is quite large.

The Fall of Bukavu. South Kivu Situation Report. (29 July 2004: 163kb)

The fall of Bukavu in June 2004 has put the spotlight on two key challenges for the DRC transition: 1) the military calendar must speed up to ensure the demobilisation of former combatants and the integration of soldiers into a unified army; 2) spoilers to the peace process must be dealt with swiftly and neutralised. This is part of a series of occasional papers by FEWER-Africa and AIP.

Peace and Conflict Factors in the DRC (9 July 2004: 77kb)

A briefing that was delivered in person by Peter Sampson to the German Bundestag in preparation for their visit to the region in 2004. The briefing provides an analysis of variable affecting the peace and conflict with regard to Rwanda and the DRC, focusing on disarmament, demobilization, repatriation and possible entry points for German engagement.

Eastern DRC: Women Building Peace (9 June 2004: 101kb)

A briefing on FEWERs partner organisation, Africa Initiative Programme (AIP), operations in Ituri, including an interview with Brigitte Mapendo, Director of the AIP.

Ituri Update: Status Quo? (2 February 2004: 74kb)

The overall political and security environment in Ituri remains fragile. The transitional government has sent several delegations to Ituri as a sign of its attempt to assert administrative control over the region. Positive developments on the political scene include increased acceptance of the national transitional process by armed groups, who have commenced handing over areas under their control. Despite these developments on the political scene, there has been no major improvement on the security situation since December 2003.

Uganda: situation report (9 January 2004: 66kb)

Despite condemnation of human rights abuses voiced by NGOs, religious institutions and the international community, the atrocities in the north continue unabated. Beyond the provision of basic humanitarian assistance, no significant action by the international community or regional institutions has been taken to address the conflict in northern Uganda. The government’s military response has thus far proved ineffective.

Workshop report - DRC: Assessing the Ituri Interim Administration (7 January 2004: 54kb)

At its inception in April 2003, the Ituri Interim Administration (IIA) was assigned two specific missions: reconciling communities (pacification) and effectively manage public services in Ituri (administration). Despite these assigned tasks, the IIA continues to have limited resources and its capacity to carry out its objectives have been questioned. This report highlights the findings of a series of workshops with members of the IIA ran in 2003.

Ituri: Stakes, Actors Dynamics (13 November 2003: 202kb)

Baseline Study on Ituri before, during and after Operation Artemis. Improved conditions in Ituri are extremely fragile, and require continued international attention beyond the departure of the EU’s Interim Emergency Multinational Force (IEMF). For the first time in decades there are prospects for an ethnically integrated Congolese army, a reasonable if imperfect transitional government and and end to the de facto partition of the Congo by warring factions. However, the success of the peace process at the national level depends on the simultaneous success of peace processes at the local level in areas such as Ituri.

WANEP West Africa Early Warning and Response Network Training Module (327kb)

Contribution from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the Roundtable on Ways to Peace in Chechnya: Good Practice in Peace Accords and Settlement Processes (108kb)

A Strategic Roundtable held in Sweden, July 2003 entitled, ‘Ways to Peace in Chechnya: Good Practice in Peace Accords and Settlement Process’, organized by the FEWER-Eurasia office incorporated lessons learnt from FEWER-Africa members in the DRC. The briefing highlights parallels between the situation in Chechnya and that in the DRC. Lessons can be learned from the following: (a) high levels of violence and state failure; (b) the issue of displaced people; (c) human rights violations and the question of impunity versus amnesty; (d) assuring security before political settlement; (e) inclusion of civil society into the peace process; and (f) acting in a window of opportunity.

Urgent measures for Ituri, DRC (23kb)

June 2003