Search

Begin New Search Topic Violence Political Geography Africa Content Type Policy Brief Publication Year within 25 Years Publication Year within 3 Years Publication Year within 5 Years

1. Immediate Risk of Mass Atrocities in South Sudan

Author:
Sarah McIntosh
Publication Date:
02-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Abstract:
South Sudanese civilians face a risk of mass atrocities from government forces, armed militia, and opposition groups as political instability at the national level increases. Impunity has fostered a culture in which the commission of mass atrocity crimes is normalized. In the leadup to the 2023 elections, President Salva Kiir could lead violent crackdowns on organized gatherings in an effort to silence opposition. If government and opposition forces continue to unify into a single army, infighting could spill over into violence against and among civilian groups.
Topic:
Impunity, Violence, Atrocities, Opposition, and Instability
Political Geography:
Africa and South Sudan

2. Youth Inclusion in Transitional Justice Policy in Africa: Youth Contribute to Shaping the Way Forward

Author:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
Including youth in the design and implementation of transitional justice is now being recognized as a key priority that has been long neglected. Such inclusion and participation would strengthen the value of transitional justice initiatives for society and make them more responsive to youth priorities and perspectives. This policy brief draws on the voices of youth in four African countries to guide the debate about how youth can be involved in transitional justice policy development and provide recommendations on taking this forward.
Topic:
Transitional Justice, Youth, Violence, Participation, and Inclusion
Political Geography:
Africa

3. How Violent Conflicts Impact Women in Oil-Producing Niger Delta Communities: A Policy Perspective

Author:
Onyinyechukwu Durueke
Publication Date:
02-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Social Science Research Council
Abstract:
This policy brief focuses on how women are affected by violent conflicts in the oilproducing Niger Delta region of Nigeria, including the coping mechanisms women victims adopt in conflict-affected communities. It draws on the findings of fieldbased research on the experiences of women in the aftermath of the military invasions of Odi1 and Gbaramatu,2 the leadership tussle in Rumuekpe,3 communal/ intra-ethnic conflict in K-Dere and B-Dere,4 communal conflict with a multinational oil corporation in Evwreni,5 and electoral violence in Imiringi. This brief also makes recommendations for addressing gender-based violence in the region.
Topic:
Energy Policy, Oil, Natural Resources, Women, Violence, and Gender
Political Geography:
Africa and Niger

4. Mitigating Post-Apartheid Xenophobic Violence Through Language

Author:
Chimaobi Onwukwe
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Social Science Research Council
Abstract:
This policy brief draws on field-based research on multilingual practices and identity navigation among Nigerian Igbo migrants, their motivations for their language use/choices and how these relate to evading xenophobic violence in South Africa. It also makes recommendations for mitigating the effects of xenophobic violence.
Topic:
Apartheid, Discrimination, Violence, Language, and Migrants
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

5. Advancing Youth Inclusion and Violence Prevention through Public Support Programmes

Author:
Jasmina Brankovic
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
State-run socio-economic and livelihood support programmes have been shown to increase the social inclusion of young people and thereby contribute to the prevention of violence involving youth. This practice brief outlines strategies for civil society practitioners to advocate for these public programmes, improve their implementation and amplify their positive effects, based on experiences in Southern and East Africa.
Topic:
Youth, Violence, Inclusion, and Livelihoods
Political Geography:
Africa, South Africa, and East Africa

6. The Youth's Continent: Meaningful Youth Inclusion in Policy and Programme Cycles

Author:
Steven Rebello, Brian Kimari, and Mwangi Mwaura
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
This policy brief develops from research carried out by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR, South Africa) and the Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies (CHRIPS, Kenya). Known as the Youth Inclusion for Violence Prevention Project, this research investigated the role of socio-economic and livelihood support programmes in promoting youth social and economic inclusion and preventing violence. A key finding of the research highlighted how such programmes continue to follow a top-down approach, where youth are either merely viewed as beneficiaries or not meaningfully involved in conceptualising, implementing, evaluating and revising such programmes. A discussion around the value of greater youth inclusion is supplemented with examples of how youth may have been more meaningfully included in South Africa's Community Work Programme (CWP) as well as Kenya's Youth Employment Opportunities Project (KYEOP). The brief concludes with recommendations relevant to youth inclusion in these as well as other socio-economic and livelihood support programmes.
Topic:
Employment, Youth, Violence, and Inclusion
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

7. Our climate future depends on conflict dynamics in Congo

Author:
Peer Schouten, Judith Verweijen, and Fergus Simpson
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:
The Congo Basin rainforest – the second largest on earth – absorbs four percent of global CO2 emissions and constitutes a crucial line of defense against cataclysmic climate change. However, a complex mix of illegal resource exploitation and conflict is currently threatening the rainforest. To curb these threats and their global consequenses, we need to understand the interplay between resources, conflict and environmental protection in Congo.
Topic:
Agriculture, Climate Change, Development, Environment, Poverty, Food, Non State Actors, Armed Forces, Inequality, Fragile States, Violence, Police, and Justice
Political Geography:
Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo

8. The Status of Amnesty Provisions in Situations of Transition under the African Charter

Author:
Solomon Dersso
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
This policy paper presents a review of the analysis of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights on the legal validity of amnesty provisions under the African Charter. It examines how the obiter dictum of the Commission in Thomas Kwoyelo v. Uganda advances its jurisprudence on amnesty and the parameters the Commission has set for evaluating amnesty provisions.
Topic:
Human Rights, Legal Theory, Violence, Peace, and Reconciliation
Political Geography:
Africa

9. Still Not There: Global Violent Deaths Scenarios, 2019–30

Author:
Gergely Hideg and Anna Alvazzi del Frate
Publication Date:
02-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Small Arms Survey
Abstract:
The year 2018 was characterized by a decrease in lethal violence in several of the world’s hotspots, primarily due to a significant de-escalation of the armed conflicts in Iraq, Myanmar, South Sudan, and Syria. The homicide rate also decreased marginally due to population growth outpacing the nominal increase in killings between 2017 and 2018. These two trends jointly resulted in a modest positive change in the rate of violent deaths globally in 2018 which, at 7.8 violent deaths per 100,000 population, is at its lowest since 2012. Still Not There: Global Violent Deaths Scenarios, 2019–30, a Briefing Paper by the Survey’s Security Assessment in North Africa (SANA) project provides an updated trend analysis of global violent deaths and develops global-level scenarios for the years leading to 2030. Based on 2018 figures from the Small Arms Survey’s Global Violent Deaths (GVD) database, the paper also includes a specific analysis of developments in Northern Africa and the five nations of the G5 Sahel region. It finds that under a business-as-usual scenario, Northern Africa’s violent death rate would remain relatively stable by 2030. By contrast, under the same scenario, the fatality rate in the G5 Sahel region would increase significantly.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Conflict, Violence, and Death
Political Geography:
Africa, Iraq, Syria, Myanmar, and South Sudan

10. An evidence review of violence prevention in South Africa

Author:
Matodzi Amisi and Sara N Naicker
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Sexual Violence Research Initiative
Abstract:
This policy brief presents findings from an evidence review of violence prevention interventions implemented in South Africa. The review draws on an evidence map published in 2019,1 and additional papers since then. It includes evidence generated through qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The review summarises the available evidence, with an assessment of quality, and perhaps most importantly it highlights the contextual factors that impact success. The review was guided by the question: ‘How and in what context do interventions impact perpetration and victimisation; and how can violence prevention interventions be implemented at scale?’ The approach taken to answer this question is similar to a narrative review. The objective was not to aggregate results from the studies but to summarise the evidence. Narrative review typically involves the selection, chronicling and ordering of evidence to produce an account of the evidence. This allowed us to include both qualitative and quantitative studies, a range of interventions, and to be interpretive. The review was carried out in four phases (Chart 1). Each paper or report was read in full and data extracted. In addition, an assessment of the quality of evidence presented in each paper or report was undertaken. A standardised tool rated each study on its conceptualisation, research question, sample size, context, control of confounding variable, etc.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Gender Based Violence, Violence, Sexual Violence, and Victims
Political Geography:
Africa