UNU’s Activities in and on Africa
Peace, Security and Human Rights
Kenya, Turkana District, Rift Valley Province — Lowoi Lokadite, a Nilotic Turkana herdsman, carries an AK-47 Kalashnikov rifle as he watches over his camels grazing in the Kenyan-Ugandan border region. Photographer © Sven Torfinn
Completed projects appear below those ongoing.
Gender violence and conflict: Africa, war, and the spectre of rape
UNU Institute for Sustainability and Peace (UNU-ISP)
Contact: Obijiofor Aginam
Timeframe: 2010-2012
This UNU-ISP project, conducted with the Institute of African Studies at Carleton University (Canada), and the Canadian Peacebuilding Network, explores sexual violence in conflict zones in Africa. Over the last 15 years, a number of conflicts have become synonymous with large-scale incidences of rape and sexual violence, combined with other acts of brutality. Women and children have been the major targets and primary victims. The phenomenon of rape in warfare, particularly in Africa, has given rise to a range of responses in legal, political, media and culture, and academic circles.
Location: Rwanda, Darfur, southern Sudan, Liberia, Chad, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Tags: conflict/post conflict, gender, mass crimes, peace and security, HIV/AIDS
Completed Projects
New perspectives on liberal peacebuilding
UNU Institute for Sustainability and Peace (UNU-ISP)
Contact: Nicholas Turner
Timeframe: 2006-2010
This UNU-ISP research project explored the implications of major UN and other peacebuilding missions for broader debates about power, legitimacy and international order. Going beyond the narrow focus on democracy and market economics, the project interrogated a wider range of peacebuilding activities, including the (re)construction of state institutions. It also took the debate beyond the realms of liberal Western academia by involving scholars and analysts from post-conflict societies, including Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sierra Leone and Timor-Leste.
Location: Africa, Sierra Leone
Tags: conflict/post conflict, economic growth, fragile state, peace-building, peace and security, UN
Publications: Newman, E., R. Paris and O. P. Richmond (eds.), New Perspectives on Liberal Peacebuilding, UNU Press, 2009
Gender and small arms
UNU Institute for Sustainability and Peace (UNU-ISP)
Contact: Nicholas Turner
Timeframe: 2006-2010
This UNU-ISP research project investigated the daily impacts of small arms and light weapons (SALW) on millions of adults and children in war zones, and communities in violent environments. The effects of these widely available weapons can be vastly different for women and men, girls and boys, but consideration of gender and age has been missing in SALW policy and research. The project drew upon experience and research on gender, age, violence and small arms in developing and developed countries, providing targeted recommendations for future policy formulation and research to illuminate and counteract the impacts of SALW.
Location: Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Uganda
Tags: conflict/post conflict, gender, peace-building, peace and security, disarmament
Publications: Farr, V., H. Myrttinen, A. Schnabel, (eds.), Sexed Pistols: The Gendered Impacts of Small Arms and Light Weapons, UNU Press, 2010
Farr, V., H. Myrttinen, A. Schnabel, Sexed Pistols: The Gendered Impacts of Prolific Small Arms, UNU Policy Brief 1, 2010
Expert roundtable: The African Union Peace and Security Council - A five year appraisal (2004-2009)
UNU Institute for Sustainability and Peace (UNU-ISP)
Contact: Obijiofor Aginam
Timeframe: 29-30 March 2010
UNU-ISP presented an expert paper on the future relationship between the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council and the UN Security Council. The Expert Roundtable was organized and funded by the Institute for Security Studies, and held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 29-30 March, 2010. The Roundtable was attended by AU Ambassadors, civil society groups, policy makers, academic scholars and representatives of international organizations.
Location: AU Member States
Tags: conflict/post conflict, peacekeeping, peace and security, UN, responsibility to protect (R2P)
◊◊◊
Page last modified 2019.04.16.
