Peace and Conflict Studies Commons^™

Faces Of Mine Action: Ammco’S Ermira Keraj, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Ermira Keraj lives in the Kukes district of Albania, a region that until recently had the most landmine contamination in the country. Keraj became involved in mine action to make her country, especially her home district, a safer place to live.

Honeybees Trained To Locate Landmines, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Croatian researchers from Zagreb University are training honeybees to detect landmines in the Balkans. By feeding the bees a solution of sugar and TNT, the insects learn to associate the scent of explosives with a possible food source.

Military Ordnance Found On U.S. Shores, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

(WWII) bomb was detonated 25 June 2013 after it washed ashore on Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland, U.S.

Do-It-Yourself Weapons In Syria, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Free Syrian Army forces fighting against President Bashar Assad have filled major gaps in their arsenals by building improvised weapons to combat the Syrian government’s superior arsenal of artillery, tanks and warplanes.

In Remembrance: Moul Piseth, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

On 12 June 2013 Cambodian deminer and HALO Trust (HALO) employee Moul Piseth, 34, was killed in an explosion caused by an explosive remnant of war (ERW), possibly an anti-tank (AT) mine.

Issue 17.3 Endnotes, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Issue 17.3 Endnotes

In Remembrance: Michael Creighton, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Michael Creighton of Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) was killed in an airplane crash in Laos along with his father, Gordon Bruce Creighton, and 47 others on 16 October 2013.

Landmine Injuries And Human Rights: The Terminology Of Victims And Survivors, Cameron Macauley

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

“The words victim and survivor are not interchangeable. The word victim refers to someone who is the object of abuse and as such implies helplessness. It is correct to use victim when discussing someone who is injured by a landmine, but not someone who is in the process of recovering, since we do not consider that person to be helpless.”
~ Jerry White, co-founder of Landmine Survivors Network, November 2005

Ikea’S Solar-Powered Refugee Shelter, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Innumerable refugees in many countries lack sustainable, economic housing. In response, Swedish furniture company IKEA collaborated with the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (the U.N. Refugee Agency or UNHCR) to develop a reliable, pop-up refugee shelter as an alternative to traditional refugee tents.

Adapting Survivor Assistance To The Needs Of Child Survivors, Ayda Eke

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The needs of child survivors of landmine and explosive remnants of war incidents differ significantly from those of adult survivors and must be considered when developing assistance programs.

Faces Of Mine Action: Aepd’S Nguyen Thi Thanh Hong, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Nguyen Thi Thanh Hong has a personal connection to her work at the Association for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (AEPD).

Faces Of Mine Action: Osce’S Azamjon Salokhov, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

With almost 10 years of mine action experience, Azamjon Salokhov has an impressive resume in mine risk education and developing mine action programs in his home country of Tajikistan.

Faces Of Mine Action: Tran Hong Chi Addressing The Legacy Of Uxo In Vietnam, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Tran Hong Chi grew up amid Vietnam’s unexploded ordnance (UXO) contamination. Now as an adult, Chi works as a program coordinator for Clear Path International, which provides medical and rehabilitative assistance to survivors of UXO incidents.

Human Rights Organizations As Agents Of Change: When Do They Succeed And When Do They Fail?, Kyla Mcentire, Matthew Krain, Michele Leiby

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

As a key actor within the human rights transnational advocacy network, NGOs, such as Amnesty International, strive to shape individuals’ values on such contentious issues as the use of torture and to mobilize them to act on their values. While much has been written describing this advocacy work, little systematic research has been done evaluating its efficacy. We conducted archival research to identify the three most common messaging techniques employed by AI: (1) informational frames, where the focus is to educate the reader by presenting them with core facts and statistics; (2) personal frames, where a personal narrative is told …

Red Drops For A Rainbow, Zakiya A. Brown

SURGE

Splashes of pool water licked my ankles, scenting my coffee-colored toes with chlorine. Bareback guardians, robed in red, hovered high as flocks of fleshy tangible innocence skipped jubilantly across the pool deck and disappeared into a wet square pocket of sapphire. [excerpt of poem]

Inequality And Regime Change: The Role Of Distributive Conflict, Terence Teo

Political Science Publications

No abstract provided.

Little Soldiers, Macy F. Collins

Student Publications

"Little Soldiers" is a poem that examines the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on a personal level.

Livelihood Security Among Refugees In Uganda: Opportunities, Obstacles, And Physical Security Implications, Karen J. Norris

Student Publications

This research project was designed to investigate the challenges refugees face in securing a livelihood, to understand the extent to which the United Nations, the government of Uganda, and various aid groups are able to assist refugees in achieving self-reliance, and the capacity that refugees have to empower themselves. It also endeavors to expose any disparities between nationality groups, and the impact of these differences. Furthermore, this project aims to explore the impact of refugee livelihood security on regional physical security and community stability.

The study found that despite international and national policies, and efforts by both non-governmental organizations and …

Coalition For Prisoners' Rights Newsletter, Vol 38-Gg, No. 10, Coalition For Prisoners' Rights

Coalition for Prisoners' Rights Newsletters

Even Higher Human Prices Guaranteed

Life Sentences Increase

Prison Hunger Strike Suspended: What Has Been Won

Milestones Observed: The Struggle Continues

El Dia de la Raza en 12 de Octubre

Comercialización Contra Capitalización: Nuevas Visiones De Desarrollo En La Lucha Por La Tierra En La Puna, Katherine Luke

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The rise of indigenismo in the province of Jujuy, Argentina led by the Asociación de los Pequeños Productores de la Puna (the APPP) and the Red Puna has transformed the relationship between the “pueblos originarios” and the state. Historically disenfranchised by the political and economic system, a wave of radical activism began with the national constitutional reform in 1994 that for the first time recognized the pre-existence of the original pueblos before the formation of the Argentine state and conferred communal land rights and a right to cultural sovereignty. The protests and petitions that followed over the last …

The Movement Of A Movement: Vetëvendosje! And The Transition From Grassroots To Government, Helena Bruce

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Fifteen years after the enactment of UN Resolution 1244, the resulting international administration in Kosovo has been experiencing a waning sense of legitimacy among the state’s population. Heading up the opposition to this ongoing administration is a group of self-proclaimed ‘young international activists,’ also known as Lëvizja VETËVENDOSJE!, or the Self-Determination Movement! Since its creation in 2005, however, this group has transformed from a small, tightly-knit group of outspoken activists to a new type of political force with an elected body of officials in Parliament. This paper attempts to determine how such a transition from political movement to political party …

Filmmaking, Reconciliation & Peacebuilding In Rwanda: Challenges And Opportunities., Kierran Petersen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Rwandan filmmaking industry is in its infancy, only emerging after the 1994 genocide. Since then, a small group of pioneer filmmakers have simultaneously built a community structure with the capacity to train young filmmakers, showcased Rwandan talent and attempted to integrate cinema into Rwandan culture. This cinema-related development is also taking place in a post-genocide context, where national unity and reconciliation is on the forefront of national policy and individual consciousness. Film in Rwanda has played a role in moving the country past the genocide that decimated the population and destroyed the existing infrastructure and severed the social ties …

Challenges Affecting Street Children In Post-Conflict Northern Uganda: Case Of Gulu Municipality, Annie Weber

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Northern Uganda has been beleaguered with political unrest and rebellion for over two decades. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has wreaked havoc on the entire northern population, causing lives to be lost and leaving a stain of physical and mental trauma that will last forever. Children, having been the most affected during the war, are still feeling the influence that the LRA has left behind. This study sets out to try to understand the phenomenon of street children in post-conflict northern Uganda, specifically in Gulu Municipality. The phenomenon of street children is considered to be one of the most prevalent …

Livelihood Security Among Refugees In Uganda: Opportunities, Obstacles, And Physical Security Implications, Karen J. Norris

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research project was designed to investigate the challenges refugees face in securing a livelihood, and to understand the extent to which the United Nations, the government of Uganda, and various aid groups are able to assist refugees in achieving self-reliance, and the capacity that refugees have to empower themselves. It also endeavors to expose any disparities between nationality groups, and the impact of these differences. Furthermore, this project aims to explore the impact of refugee livelihood security on regional physical security and community stability.

Research for this study was conducted in Kyangwali and Nakivale Refugee Settlements in Uganda, as …

Appointment At Bu Dop, Brian Wright O'Connor

New England Journal of Public Policy

Brian O’Connor writes about his father, who was killed in Viet Nam. He methodically documents his father’s battle with Viet Cong forces, recreates the circumstances that led to his death, and describes his unquenchable to-the-death devotion to his squad. Lieutenant Colonel Mortimer Lenane O’Connor, the son concludes, was “a gung-ho infantry officer, a West Pointer with a sense of gallows humor who believed that large-force engagements were the quickest way to conclude the war.” Earlier this year the University of Pennsylvania awarded his father posthumously a doctorate for the thesis he was working on when he put everything aside and …

What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love, And Understanding, Jordan G. Cinderich

SURGE

Last Saturday I stood on Stine Lake with a group of friends to pray and spread a message of “Peace for Syria.” This event was sponsored by the Newman Association in response to Pope Francis’s request that “Christians, and our brothers and sisters of other religions and every man and woman of good will, cry out forcefully: Violence and war are never the way to peace!” Students of all religions and backgrounds came to support us, and it was a very rewarding day for me as a Catholic and as a human longing for world peace and understanding. [excerpt …

Coalition For Prisoners' Rights Newsletter, Vol 38-Ff, No. 9, Coalition For Prisoners' Rights

Coalition for Prisoners' Rights Newsletters

Update from Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB)

Inequality is Killing Us

Soliciting Holiday Card Designs

The American Prison Writing Archive

Contents Claimed to be a Problem

The Fourth Meeting Of States Parties To The Convention On Cluster Munitions (2013), Ccm

Global CWD Repository

The Fourth Meeting of States Parties (4MSP) took place in Lusaka, Zambia, from 9 to 13 September 2013 and gathered some 464 delegates from 58 States Parties, 18 signatories States, 30 observer States and 12 international organizations (see list below). The 4MSP was opened by Ambassador Steffen Kongstad, President of the 3MSP. During the opening session, H.E Wylbur Simuusa Minster of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Zambia was elected by the Meeting as President of the 4MSP.

Fearless: Maurice Phiri, Maurice W. Phiri

SURGE

As the class of 2017 joins Gettysburg College, we recognize first-year student, Maurice Wezi Phiri, who already has already showed his fearless commitment to social justice. [excerpt]

Patterns Of Anti-Muslim Violence In Burma: A Call For Accountability And Prevention, Andrea Gittleman, Marissa Brodney, Holly G. Atkinson

Publications and Research

In this report, the authors documents how persecution of and violence against the Rohingya in Burma has spread to other Muslim communities throughout the country. Physicians for Human Rights conducted eight separate investigations in Burma and the surrounding region between 2004 and 2013. PHR’s most recent field research in early 2013 indicates a need for renewed attention to violence against minorities and impunity for such crimes. The findings presented in this report are based on investigations conducted in Burma over two separate visits for a combined 21-day period between March and May 2013.