Sudan conflict marks failure of transition plan
21/4/2023: The 2021 civilian-military power-sharing deal was supposed to kickstart a two-year transition to democracy in Sudan and the international community urged all sides to get behind it. Those local pro-democracy groups and political parties that doubted the sincerity of the two forces’ willingness to hand over power have been proved right.
Source: Inter Press Service
Recommendations for the G7 summit on nuclear weapons
10/4/2023: The current war in Ukraine has shown that nuclear deterrence is deeply flawed. It relies on the assumption of “rational actors” in power - which we know is far from reality. This year’s G7 summit presents an opportunity to seriously rethink our understanding of security and international peace.
Source: Inter Press Service
Putin ICC arrest warrant poses dilemma for South Africa
13/4/2023: Putin is due to attend a summit of the BRICS, a bloc which includes Russia, in South Africa in August. But the host nation is a member of the International Criminal Court and has an obligation to arrest Putin if he enters the country.
Source: The East African
Global arms sales decline despite surge in wars
12/4/2023: Arms sales have been booming for years, thanks to the many flashpoints all over the world. But this trend came to a halt in 2022 — albeit only temporarily. This is according to the latest report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Source: DW
International Criminal Court issues arrest warrant for Putin
17/3/2023: The UN-backed International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin of Russia, in connection with alleged war crimes concerning the deportation and “illegal transfer” of children from occupied Ukraine. Neither Russia nor Ukraine are parties to the ICC.
Source: UN News
Russia pulls out of New Start nuclear treaty
22/2/2023: The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was the latest in a series of agreements stretching back half a century between the US and Russia (and before, the USSR) on their nuclear weapons. Experts are likely to be divided on the implications of President Putin's decision to withdraw from the Treaty.
Source: The Conversation
US suggests Rwanda has illegally deployed troops to DR Congo
24/2/2023: The US Department of State has called on Rwanda to cease support for the M23 armed group and to withdraw its troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The US cited a request by the African Union Peace and Security Council for all foreign armed groups to leave DRC.
Source: The East African
How Sierra Leone and Liberia escaped the conflict trap
16/2/2023: After a tough year for UN peacekeeping operations in Africa, it is pertinent to review the factors that contributed to post-war stability in Sierra Leone and Liberia. It is 20 years since the civil wars in those countries ended.
Source: PassBlue
Germany calls for special Ukraine tribunal for war crimes
16/1/2023: Germany's Foreign Minister has called for a special international tribunal to prosecute Russian war crimes in Ukraine. Although the International Criminal Court has sent a team to Ukraine, its jurisdiction is questionable because Russia does not recognise the Court.
Source: DW
What’s left of Russia-US nuclear arms control?
3/1/2023: Thirty years ago, the United States and Russia agreed to reduce and limit their nuclear weapons and signed the START II treaty. Today, with a war raging in Ukraine, all hopes for disarmament seem to have been shattered.
Source: DW