Peace and Conflict Studies Commons^™

Managing Residual Clearance: Learning From Europe’S Past, Samuel Paunila

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Lessons learned from residual clearance in post-1945 Europe may apply to long-term clearance efforts after more recent conflicts.

Lessons From Lebanon: Rubble Removal And Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Erik Lauritzen

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The insight and knowledge gained from rubble removal and explosive ordnance disposal in the Nahr el-Bared Camp, which was destroyed during heavy fighting in Lebanon in 2007, could greatly benefit future reconstruction efforts in war-damaged urban areas.

Conventional Munitions Disposal Capacity Development In South Sudan, Fran O'Grady

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The United Nations Mine Action Service is training members of South Sudan’s National Police Service in order to develop a self-sustainable nationwide capacity for conventional munitions disposal in the country.

Environmentally Responsible Saa Disposal, Ian Biddle

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The need to dispose of small arms ammunition (SAA) for short-term stability and security concerns has traditionally outweighed the long-term need for environmentally responsible disposal. The author suggests the international community should change its procedures concerning SAA disposal and promote more environmentally friendly disposal methods.

Applying Ngo Resource-Mobilization Strategies To The Mine Action Community, Dane Sosniecki, Suzanne Fiederlein

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Due to funding concerns, the mine action sector is shifting its approach to resource mobilization and allocation. Emerging funding trends suggest that it would be advantageous for mine action centers and nongovernmental organizations to increase sustainability by seeking financial and technical support from a variety of sources.

Get More Value For Money: The Benefits Of Multiyear Funding, Fabienne Moust, James De La Vingne

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In the experience of the government of the Netherlands, multiyear funding plans increase the efficiency and effectiveness of humanitarian mine action programs for donors, operators and national authorities.

Quality Management Systems In Mine Action Programs, Pascal Simon, Stefan De Coninck

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The United Nations Mine Action Service in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is in the process of implementing a new quality management system (QMS) for mine action in DRC. The QMS was implemented in July 2013 and its progress continues to be carefully monitored each quarter.

Survivors’ Assistance In Conflict: Challenges From Eastern Drc, Douglas Felix Kilama

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Because of the ongoing conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), providing aid and rehabilitation assistance to survivors of mine-related injuries is difficult. Beyond essential rehabilitation services, the United Nations Mine Action Service's victim assistance efforts in DRC aim to provide economic skills to promote self-reliance and enable survivors to provide for their families.

Machine-Integrated Magnetic Collector Design And Testing, Erik De Brun, Stephan Ahnert

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining led a test program to evaluate a machine-integrated magnetic collection system. Promising results suggest it could speed up manual follow-up activities and provide valuable data during technical survey operations.

A Discrimination Method For Landmines And Metal Fragments Using Metal Detectors, Alex M. Kaneko, Edwardo Fukushima, Gen Endo

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

While discrimination methods for distinguishing between real mines and metal fragments would greatly increase the efficiency of demining operations, no practical solution has been implemented yet. A potentially efficient method for the discrimination of metallic targets using metal detectors uses a high-precision robotic manipulator to scan the minefield. Further field research is needed, however, before this method can deploy for operational use.

Daniela Jiménez Alcázar, Megan Hinton

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Before working in humanitarian demining, Daniela Jiménez Alcázar was involved in demarcation and boundary maintenance between Ecuador and its neighbors, Peru and Colombia.

Anama’S Ahmad Manafov, Dane Sosniecki

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Ahmad Manafov repeatedly uses the word proud to describe his time with the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA).

U.S. And Vietnam Sign Memorandum Of Understanding, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

On 16 December 2013, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam David Shear signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to locate and clear remaining Vietnam War-era unexploded ordnance (UXO) contamination in Vietnam.

Issue 18.1 Endnotes, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Issue 18.1 Endnotes

Typhoon Haiyan Leaves Ordnance Contamination In Its Wake, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

On 8 November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, a category 5 super typhoon, landed in the Philippines causing widespread destruction.

The U.K. Completes Destruction Of Stockpiled Cluster Munitions, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

On 19 December 2013, the U.K. announced that it destroyed its last cluster munition, a Multiple Launch Rocket System M26 basic tactical rocket, at a weapons demilitarization facility in Casalborino, Italy. In doing so, it became the 17th States Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) to complete its Article 3 obligations on stockpile destruction.

Mercer University Professor Provides Prostheses In Vietnam, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

According to the U.S. Department of State, innumerous explosive remanants of war and landmines remain hidden in nearly every region of Vietnam.

“We’Ve Lost Sight Of The Blue And White, And We Need To Find It Again.” Youth, Divergence Of Memory, And Political Polarization In Post- Conflict Nicaragua, Cameron Kesinger

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In this essay, I analyze the results from 20 interviews I completed in Managua, Matagalpa, and San Ramon, selecting 8 to delve into in depth. I conducted the interviews in pairs, asking parents about their memories of the Nicaraguan Contra war in the 1980s and then asking their children about the histories their parents shared with them and their personal views of Nicaragua. Through these interviews, I sought to understand in a Nicaraguan context the presence of historical memory, the politicization of historical memory, the diversity of youth activism, and the way that youth view reconciliation within their countries. My …

Peacemaking Embodied: Dance As A Connecting Thread Weaving Senegalese Ethnicities, Rachel Ulrich

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Senegal remains one of the more peaceful, stable countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with little to no ethnic conflict or racial tension. Numerous social factors are credited with promoting this peace, ranging from political decisions to friendly jokes between different ethnic groups. Some artists claim that dance promotes positive relations between ethnicities; however, little to no academic literature reflects this social dynamic. Thus I have used formal interviews, informal interviews, observation, and participant observation to explore if Senegalese dance serves to promote peace between ethnic groups and, if so, why it has the power to serve this purpose. Through connecting the …

“Nous Souffrons” Examining The Problems Facing Urban Refugees In Yaoundé, Cameroon, Morgan Walbert

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper is the product of a study that examines the experiences of urban refugees in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Refugees around the world, often victims of unthinkable human rights abuses, are forced to rely fully on the hospitality and protection of the international community. This unique relationship between a refugee and his/her host state can present serious challenges to both parties. This research examined the resources available to refugees in Yaoundé, evaluated their effectiveness, and explored possibilities for improving the experience of these urban refugees. I utilized eighteen structured interviews with refugees and four follow-­‐up in depth interviews with three refugees …

Bridges Between Worlds | Chairperson's Summary | April 2014, Ap Mine Ban Convention

Global CWD Repository

Bridges between Worlds was a global conference sponsored by the European Union that addressed fundamental questions about the place of landmine victim assistance in other domains, such as the worlds of disability, heath care, education, employment, development, poverty reduction and human rights.

The Bridges between Worlds Chairperson’s Summary highlights that those who care deeply about the fulfilment of the Convention’s promise to landmine victims and survivors have much in common with those concerned with the wellbeing and the rights of women, girls, boys and men injured and living with disabilities regardless of the cause.

Safety, Security, And Socio-Economic Wellbeing In Somaliland, Laura Hammond

Global CWD Repository

This report provides the findings of an extensive research exercise carried out in 12 communities in Somaliland in March 2013. The research aimed to determine:

1. Whether there had been an improvement or deterioration in people’s perceived levels of safety and security in their communities since DDG had first engaged with them, and if so, what was the evidence of improvement/deterioration.

2. Whether there had been an improvement or deterioration in people’s socio-economic wellbeing since DDG had first engaged with them, and if so, the evidence for either, and the reasons people associated with it.

3. Whether the trends identified …

The Vicious Circle Of Data Gaps, Lack Of Prioritization And Low Capacity: A Study On Post-Conflict Education In Sierra Leone, Meixi Guo

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper is meant to present the findings and analysis of a one-month independent study project on the topic of post-conflict education in Sierra Leone. By using databases and institutional reports, the study examines the issue of data availability of Sierra Leone’s education sector and the data collection process. Through analysis of documents and interviews with experts, the study identified the importance of education reconstruction and the role of ministry of education. In the case of Sierra Leone, low capacity of ministry of education was shown as well the lack of prioritization from the government and international community. By analyzing …

Understanding The Use Of Prodders In Mine Detection, Andy Smith

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Can prodding reliably detect mines? Though it may seem obvious to many in humanitarian mine action (HMA) that prodding alone cannot safely and reliably detect mines, recent accidents show that some expatriate newcomers to HMA do not know the risks involved in prodding or that prodding to a depth of 30 cm (12 in) is impossible.

Meeting Pm/Wra’S New Director Col. (Ret.) Stanley L. Brown, Alexandra Berkowitz

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Continuing the funding for conventional weapons destruction programs remains a primary objective for Stan Brown, the new director of the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/WRA). This interview introduces the director, provides a snapshot of his past experience and shares his hopes for the future of humanitarian demining.

Coalition For Prisoners' Rights Newsletter, Vol 39-Mm, No. 4, Coalition For Prisoners' Rights

Coalition for Prisoners' Rights Newsletters

The Worst of the Worst?: Population Cap Decision

El Derecho a Volver

Save The Date: Free Her Rally

Crime of the Month

Voices From Inside

Mixed Motives? Explaining The Decision To Integrate Militaries At Civil War's End, Caroline A. Hartzell

Political Science Faculty Publications

Book Summary: Negotiating a peaceful end to civil wars, which often includes an attempt to bring together former rival military or insurgent factions into a new national army, has been a frequent goal of conflict resolution practitioners since the Cold War. In practice, however, very little is known about what works, and what doesn't work, in bringing together former opponents to build a lasting peace.

Contributors to this volume assess why some civil wars result in successful military integration while others dissolve into further strife, factionalism, and even renewed civil war. Eleven cases are studied in detail—Sudan, Zimbabwe, Lebanon, Rwanda, …

“Little Soldiers With Big Guns”: The Language Of Child-Soldiering In Africa, Karen J. Norris

Student Publications

This project examines the language of child-soldiering in Africa, specifically in Sierra Leone, Rwanda, and Uganda, comparing its use between Western observers and the Africans who experienced the conflict first hand. It concludes that Westerners unilaterally display ethnocentric conceptions of the sanctity of childhood in their admonitions of child-soldiering, while former child-soldiers, perpetrators, victims and local aid workers exhibit more diverse perspectives that more accurately reflect the complexity of the conflicts. Furthermore, it concludes that the use of rhetorical, monolithic language regarding child-soldiering perpetuates stereotypes about African conflict and state-failure while diverting attention from underlying root causes of conflict, and …

Musical Influence On Apartheid And The Civil Rights Movement, Katherine D. Power

Student Publications

Black South Africans and African Americans not only share similar identities, but also share similar historical struggles. Apartheid and the Civil Rights Movement were two movements on two separate continents in which black South Africans and African Americans resisted against deep injustice and defied oppression. This paper sets out to demonstrate the key role that music played, through factors of globalization, in influencing mass resistance and raising global awareness. As an elemental form of creative expression, music enables many of the vital tools needed to overcome hatred and violence. Jazz and Freedom songs were two of the most influential genres, …

Juvenile Diversion Programs: High-Risk Youth And Their Effect On Offense Targeting, Chelsey R. Warner

Political Science Theses and Capstones

One of the largest problems that plague the juvenile justice system today is how to better handle juvenile crime without causing the juvenile to revert back to that behavior, but still helping them understand and acknowledge the crime they have committed. The state of Minnesota has created juvenile diversion programs as an attempt to aid in that endeavor. These programs however are under researched. The goal of this article is to shed some light on what those programs look like and how some counties programs vary from other programs on other counties; specifically focusing on the variation between offense-targeting for …