Nice and Saint Etienne-du-Rouvray are the latest of many massacres that, since the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States, have contributed to the global state of insecurity being experienced worldwide. Yet there is still a lack of understanding of why these actions continue and of what al-Qaida, ISIS and other Islamist paramilitary groups really are....
Many African countries are today characterized by predominantly adversarial dynamics between governments and civil society organisations (CSOs), due mainly to a lack of mutual trust and to the weakness (or lack) of institutional settings for dialogue and structured collaboration. As a result, it is hard for government representatives and civil society leaders to work together...
Last week, during a conference organized by the Instituto di Affari Internazionali (IAI) on June 14, Paolo Gentiloni, Italy’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, spoke about the stabilisation of Libya. He admitted that the pace of the political process had been slow, but at the same time lauded Italy’s contribution to improving the situation on the...
The issue of sexual violence in the conflict in the East of Ukraine is subject of much speculation. While the parameters for sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in the areas affected by the conflict in the Donbass region are all there, documented cases are scarce. The United Nations Human Rights Mission in Ukraine (OHCHR) and...
Italy’s participation to the stabilization mission in Libya, which was announced more than a year ago, is now imminent. On December 16, 2015, the country’s main political factions have signed an agreement to form a government of national unity, one of the preconditions for Italy’s participation. The intervention’s launch date is approaching and the next...
The conflict in the Donbas region between Ukrainian forces and separatist groups of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) entered its third year in March 2016. While a fragile peace deal has been in place since September 2014 (Minsk Protocol) further reinforced by a second agreement in February 2015 (Minsk II),...
In 2000, the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) formalized the international community’s commitment to promoting the role of women in peace processes. The landmark resolution led to an injection of vast resources with the aim of improving the situation of women, especially in those contexts affected by war and violence. In...
Tanzania is a good example of how conflict prevention is crucial even in countries that are considered stable. The Global Peace Index lists Tanzania as the 64th more peaceful nation in the world out of 162 considered, and among the 10 more peaceful in Africa. However, some signals show that prevention of different forms of...
It wasn’t too long ago that different authors and reports showed data suggesting that a significant decline of violence was taking place across the world: the number of wars was decreasing and, at the same time, investments in conflict prevention and peacebuilding were growing. The events of the last few years have however debunked that...
