We All Look Alike, But We Are Not the Same: The Root Cause of the Conflict in Sri Lanka
UPeace Asia Leaders Fellow Aingkaran analyzes the conflict in Sri Lanka within the framework of the relationship between political power and modern ethnic identities.
Colombia’s Peace Communities
The author argues that if more and more communities in Colombia followed the path of protesting peacefully against the brutal and aggravating conflict, the Comunidades de Paz could well constitute a bottom-up way to peace in a political setting where top-down approaches such as leadership declarations and negotiations have continuously failed. Non-violent protest, however, takes enormous courage.
Embezzlement of Public Funds: A Crime against Humanity in Cameroon
Joseph Agbor Effim studies embezzlement in Cameroon, arguing that the consequent suffering experienced by Cameroonians that follows renders it tantamount to a crime against humanity.
Ecuador and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Ecuador has long championed the struggle against colonialism and criticized exploitative neoliberal policies in Latin America, however, the government’s continued support of resource extraction on Indigenous lands have led them to repress legitimate protest movements, and to violate key legal documents including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the country’s own constitution.
A Victory for Democracy: Bolivia
The Bolivian President has promoted a true transition: A constitutional reform, which introduces elements of direct democracy and allows for the postulation of independent candidates in municipal elections, the systematic depolitization of public posts, the ratification of reasonable and realistic agreements (which reconstructs the confidence in negotiation), the rejection to the old practice of “buying” leaders, the revision and reformulation of the Hydrocarbon Law.
Masscre in Nigeria. More Than 200 Killed, 4000 Houses Burnt
Lawal Tsalha discusses the recent reports of massacre in Northern Nigeria involving the Multinational joint Task Force and Boko Haram, as well as the steps taken by President Goodluck Jonathan to respond.
Landmarks in the Historical Development of Human Rights Theory: A Synoptic View
This essay touches on conceptual debates around theories of human rights, particularly as they apply to language and universality, before presenting a narration of philosophical development towards the contemporary understanding of human rights through Greek and Roman thought, Mediaeval Europe, liberal and revolutionary individualism, and the creation of the UN system after WWII.
Interview with Mary King
ASHOK PATNAIK, a journalist working mostly on the Indian sub-continent, questions Professor Mary King, peace activist, academic, authority on non-violence and author of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr: The Power of Nonviolent Action, which is about to be reissued in India and elsewhere. Professor Mary King is currently professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at UPEACE where, amongst other duties, she advises the Rector on the development of the Africa programme.
Military Intervention and the Return of Absolute Monarchy: an Impediment to Political Security in Thailand
Thailand is encountering the problematic situation of military intervention and the return of absolute monarchy. Those incidents violate human security, particularly, political security.
Devolution and the new Constitutional Dispensation in Zimbabwe
Dr Jephias Mapuva and Loveness Muyengwa-Mapuva discuss the potential of Zimbabwe’s 2013 constitutional reform to decentralize governmental powers and bolster democratic participation in local governance while also recognizing the many challenges to its implementation.