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AMISOM: Changing the Mission to Reflect Somalia’s New Reality
Mon, 01/23/2012 - 16:52
It was six months ago that famine was declared in Somalia. The steady
flow of refugees already fleeing conflict was joined by a torrent of new
asylum seekers – people fleeing because of hunger and looking for a
more hopeful place in which to re-build their lives. During the past
six months, hundreds of thousands of people made their way to
neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia, and aid organizations scrambled to ramp
up their operations in order to serve these new arrivals.
Amazingly, a Dysfunctional Congress Delivers
Wed, 01/18/2012 - 15:11This week, the Washington Post published a poll showing that the U.S. Congress has set a new record for disapproval. A whopping 84 percent of Americans do not approve of the way Congress is doing its job. Media coverage of the House and Senate highlights the brinksmanship and polarized politicking that seems to surround every piece of legislation – and now, even routine nominations and confirmations.
A Day They Thought Would Never Come
Tue, 12/20/2011 - 15:54“The goal is as simple as it is profound: to empower half the world’s population as equal partners in preventing conflict and building peace in countries threatened and affected by war, violence and insecurity. Achieving this goal is critical to our national and global security.” -- The US National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security
US Engagement in International Peacekeeping
Wed, 10/19/2011 - 12:28At the National Press Club today, members of the Partnership for Effective Peacekeeping (PEP) unveiled their new report, "US Engagement in International Peacekeeping: From Aspiration to Implementation." RI was proud to co-host the event with our other PEP partners, the Better World Campaign and Citizens for Global Solutions.
It's Election Day in Liberia!
Tue, 10/11/2011 - 10:34Today, Liberians head to the polls in the country's second presidential election since the end of a brutal fourteen-year civil war.
In 2009, I lived and worked in Liberia, and got to experience first-hand the diverse civil society that the country is famous for. During my time there, I met the National Election Council's (NEC) chairwoman Elisabeth Nelson, the first woman to hold the post. The NEC is crucial to making sure that all Liberians are engaged in a fair, transparent political process - and this includes women.
Women and the Security Sector Part II: Gender Equitable Peacekeeping
Tue, 09/20/2011 - 13:05
"Send me your female troops, your police, your civilian personnel and your senior diplomats and I will ensure that they are all considered; that qualified candidates are rostered; and that the maximum number is deployed to the field as quickly as humanly possible," was a call from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2008,and continues to have important implications for the United States, whose comparative surplus of qualified women staff would be an excellent resource for peacekeeping missions.
The Security Sector and Women: Improving National Capacities
Fri, 09/09/2011 - 11:46
In post-conflict societies, security systems and women are often at odds. Police and military may have acted as perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence during and after conflict. Displaced and refugee women are particularly at risk with the erosion of social, cultural and formal legal protection mechanisms. Consider, for example, the recent HRW report from Kenya, which identified abuses committed by local camp police. Haiti also provides a compelling example.
An advantageous relationship: UN peacekeeping and U.S. interests
Mon, 07/25/2011 - 13:51
The Partnership for Effective Peacekeeping (PEP), for which the Refugees International peacekeeping team serves as the secretariat, held a forum here in Washington on July 19. We invited three experts to come and talk about UN peacekeeping and US interests.
Sudan: A deadly cycle of déjà vu
Thu, 07/21/2011 - 11:04
Do you ever feel like you are caught in a bad cycle of déjà vu?
Since June 5th the Nuba people in Sudan’s Southern Kordofan state have endured attacks on their homes, executions, arbitrary detention, and – perhaps most terrifying of all – indiscriminate bombing from the air. Roughly 73,000 people have been displaced at the hands of their own government.
In a display that surprises no one, the Government of Sudan is once again mounting a vicious offensive against an ethnic minority inside their own borders.
Since June 5th the Nuba people in Sudan’s Southern Kordofan state have endured attacks on their homes, executions, arbitrary detention, and – perhaps most terrifying of all – indiscriminate bombing from the air. Roughly 73,000 people have been displaced at the hands of their own government.
In a display that surprises no one, the Government of Sudan is once again mounting a vicious offensive against an ethnic minority inside their own borders.
RI's Web Roundup
Tue, 07/12/2011 - 15:17The Horn of Africa – Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Uganda – is experiencing the worst drought in 60 years, leaving millions of people to face starvation and overflowing refugee camps.
Refugees International (RI) advocates for lifesaving assistance and protection for displaced people and promotes solutions to displacement crises.
We are an independent organization, and do not accept any government or UN funding.
We are an independent organization, and do not accept any government or UN funding.