Conflict Resolution
Last updated December 2007
In the decade from 1990 to 2000, sub-Saharan Africa experienced more
than twice the number of casualties from conflict of any other region
in the world. While significant progress is now being made toward ending
some of the continent's most deadly conflicts, continued violence and
insecurity threaten millions of people.
It is important to note that most of Africa is not at war. However, where
conflicts do exist, they affect not only the stability of the countries
involved, but also their neighbors and the entire sub-region. For each
of the major conflicts ongoing in Africa there exists a peace process,
often a settlement plan, and an African body to guide a peace process.
What is crucially missing, in many cases, is the U.S. and international
support - financial, diplomatic and peacekeeping - needed to ensure peace
and stability, and to enforce negotiated agreements.
The U.S. has a particularly important role to play in supporting African
peace-making initiatives. Sustained U.S. financial and diplomatic commitment
to the resolution of African conflicts is essential to both regional and
global stability. Therefore, such a commitment should be a U.S. priority.
The achievement of peace and security is also a prerequisite for sustainable
social and economic development, and for democratic progress.
The U.S. also has a particular historic responsibility for many of Africa's
current conflicts. During the Cold War, the U.S. provided more than $1.5
billion worth of arms to African countries that were considered geo-strategic
allies. The U.S. also bankrolled dictators in several African states -
such as Mobuto Sese Seko in the former Zaire and Mohamed Siad Barre in
Somalia. Many of these African countries that had "special"
Cold War relationships with the U.S. fell into political turmoil and violence
in the 1990s and are often referred to as "failed states".
For instance, Somalia has been without an effective government since 1991.
In June 2006, a coalition of Islamic courts seized much of the south,
including the capital, and began to establish order and enforce Islamic
law throughout these regions. In December 2006, U.S.-supported Ethiopian
forces retook the capital, disbanding the Union of Islamic Courts and
reinstating the United Nations (UN)-backed Transitional Federal Government
(TFG). The inability of the TFG to govern effectively has plunged Mogadishu
back into the most chaotic state of violent anarchy seen in years, and
the power vacuum across Somalia has exacerbated tensions between Eritrea
and Ethiopia that threaten to escalate into a massive regional war. This
heightening crisis has caused a spike in the number of refugees seeking
asylum in neighboring regions, with an estimated 600,000 people displaced
from Mogadishu and its environs in 2007 alone. The U.S. must take responsibility
for the continuing destabilizing effect of past interventions in Somalia
and other countries.
However, the current U.S. approach to promoting security in Africa intends
to keep the U.S. one step removed from engagement with African initiatives.
The focus is on arming and training African armed forces rather than making
a sustained investment in conflict prevention and diplomacy. The U.S.
refuses to participate in multilateral peacekeeping efforts, committing
only bare logistical support in some cases. This "hands off" approach
undermines international peacekeeping operations and hinders African initiatives
in conflict resolution. It also reveals the lack of U.S. commitment to
addressing Africa's most urgent challenges.
U.S. security cooperation with Africa has taken on new meaning since 9/11.
Increased U.S. military action in the Middle East has led to greater U.S.
military presence in the Horn of Africa and elsewhere on the continent.
The Bush Administration is concerned with the counter-terrorism efforts
of African countries to the extent that they provide security for U.S.
interests.
In June 2005, the Pentagon introduced a program called the Trans-Sahara
Counter Terrorism Initiative. With proposed funding of $500 million over
seven years, this initiative is intended to train troops and provide technical
assistance to government military forces in Algeria, Chad, Mali, Mauritania,
Niger, Senegal, Nigeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, as well as to deploy more
military officers to U.S. embassies in these countries in order to increase
cooperation in the so-called "War on Terror".
In October 2007, the Bush administration launched a unified U.S. Africa
Command (AFRICOM) to centralize continental operations. AFRICOM represents
the expansion of the U.S. military role in Africa, as humanitarian efforts
previously implemented by the State Department and United States Agency
for International Development (USAID) will now fall under Department of
Defense directive. Still in its early planning stages, AFRICOM continues
to formulate mission, location and staffing options. This renewed preoccupation
with narrow geo-strategic interests and the singular focus on militaries
as key institutions in Africa threaten to undercut African peacebuilding
mechanisms.
The concern with counter-terrorism has also undermined an effective and
urgent U.S. response to the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. While the U.S.
provided support for the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the government
in Khartoum and former rebels in the South, it has dismally failed to
take the necessary action to provide security in Darfur, where the government
has waged a campaign of genocide since 2003. Although the Bush Administration
is the only government to have publicly declared that genocide is occurring
in Darfur, it has yet to take the substantive action needed to stop the
violence and protect civilians. Instead, addressing the genocide is taking
a backseat to the intelligence-sharing relationship the Bush Administration
wishes to maintain with the genocidal regime in Khartoum in the context
of the so-called "War on Terror".
In Darfur, the U.S. and the international community have too long abandoned
the African Union to cope with a crisis that is beyond its capacity. The
African Union (AU) plays an increasingly critical role in conflict resolution
in Africa. In 2003, it deployed peacekeeping troops in Burundi and later
successfully handed over the mission to the UN. In 2005, it supported
democracy in Togo after the death of Gnassingbe Eyadema, Africa's longest
ruling dictator. However, as its mission in Darfur demonstrates, the AU
is a nascent organization and needs concerted international support. Its
mission lacks the troop strength, the mandate, and the logistical capacity
to enforce the ceasefire and protect civilians in Darfur.
Even after the passage of Security Council Resolution 1769 calling for
a robust UN-AU hybrid peacekeeping force to replace the AU force in Darfur,
the people of Darfur remain without adequate protection and the international
community continues to drag its feet on deploying the new mission.
If the U.S. is to expect African cooperation on U.S. priorities, the Bush
Administration must be willing to address African concerns and priorities,
including HIV/AIDS, poverty, conflict resolution, genocide, and other
crimes against humanity. The social and economic disruption wrought by
ongoing conflicts remains a real source of instability in Africa. A true
U.S.-Africa partnership must be built on a commitment to promoting peace
and security in Africa.
Links
Africa Action Releases Statement on Escalating Human Rights Abuses in Zimbabwe
April 28, 2008
"Systematic acts of violence and human rights abuses are on the rise in Zimbabwe as the post election crisis deepens. Today Africa Action released a statement condemning these abuses and calling for action..."
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African Post-Conflict Reconstruction Policy Framework
This 45-page policy framework document from the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Secretariat addresses the nexus between the peace, security, humanitarian and development dimensions of post-conflict reconstruction in Africa.
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Relief Web
This website has the latest news for the Humanitarian Relief community all over the world. It also has links to various United Nations reports.
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Institute for Security Studies -- South Africa
This is the website of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in South Africa, which publishes reports on a variety of conflict and security issues in Africa. The ISS features reports on topics like the genocide in Darfur, the African Union as a peacekeeping force, the arms trade, as well as the justice system in Africa.
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A “Sudden Outbreak of Tranquility”: Assessing the New Peace in Africa
In this 18-page article, Ken Menkhaus argues that one of the recurring problems hampering external interventions in Africa has been misdiagnoses of the crises. These misreadings are in no small measure responsible for the many failed diplomatic initiatives and peace operations littering the continent since 1992.
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African Women and Conflict in a Globalizing World
"This document from the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) states that civil strife and armed conflict in Africa has led to massive violations of women’s human rights and a tremendous increase in female-headed households..."
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The International Crisis Group
"The International Crisis Group has field teams in 16 Africa countries to monitor and report on conflict on the continent. Through field-based analysis and high-level advocacy, the ICG works to prevent and resolve deadly conflict..."
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The African Union
This is the official website of the African Union (AU). Its website includes the latest news on their work, official documents, historical information about the AU and its structure as well as other important information.
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United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
This website features news from the United Nations Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) on humanitarian issues in Africa. The articles focus on topics such as conflict, refugees, disasters and poverty.
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Latest News on Peace & Security in Africa
AllAfrica.com
This website compiles the latest news from hundreds of African media sources on conflict, peace and security issues. The articles can also be searched by topics such as arms, terrorism, civil war, peacekeeping, post-conflict, refugees, and by region or country.
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Human Security Gateway -- Africa
This website, a joint venture of the Human Security Centre (HSC) and the Canadian Consortium on Human Security (CCHS), compiles a range of up-to-date news articles focused on security issues in Africa.
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Op-Ed: "Where's 'Hotel Sudan'?"
January 31, 2005 - Salih Booker, Knight Ridder Newspapers
"The western world, the white world, will not intervene to stop genocide in Africa. That is one of the central messages of the critically acclaimed film "Hotel Rwanda". It is a message hard to refute in the case of Rwanda, 10 years ago, and again today in the case of Darfur, Sudan..."
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