The Sahrawis hail from neighbouring Western Sahara, a country invaded and occupied by Morocco in 1975. Western Sahara is on the UN list of Non-Self-Governing Territories and still considered a colony. Repeated attempts to get Morocco to live up to…
Following each country visit, the UN Representative, Walter Kälin (like his predecessor, Francis Deng) issues a publicly available mission report1 which includes a comprehensive list of recommendations. These recommendations – primarily directed at national governments – outline what improvements should…
Uganda has a massive number of IDPs – more than 1.7 million, over 6% of the national population. Although it is one of the few countries with a national IDP policy, ineffective implementation means many IDPs still face security threats,…
When the RSC was established in 1982, the world of refugees and the patterns and processes of forced displacement were far simpler than today – at least it seems that way in retrospect. The label ‘refugee’ was clear-cut and the…
We, the delegates to the International Symposium on Sexual Violence in Conflict and Beyond, call for urgent and long-term action to: 1. Prevent sexual and gender-based violence by promoting gender equity and equality and the economic, social and political empowerment…
This unprecedented mass migration of Tibetans is the result of an ongoing conflict between Tibet and the People's Republic of China (PRC) over questions of political autonomy and cultural self-determination. Tibetans continue to follow their spiritual leader into exile due…
This is recognized by Article 39 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which deals with the child’s right to psychological recovery and social reintegration of the child victim of armed conflict. In recent years emphasis has increasingly…
Dividing them – setting apart problematic children in front of the whole community – is not advisable. On the other hand, setting up only social activities, leaving psychologically severely traumatized children without due attention, is wrong. This article summarizes the…
These images originate from training in Participatory Learning Appraisal (PLA) techniques and participatory theatre for members of seven theatre companies across Zambezia Province, Mozambique. The programme was funded by UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) and took place in November and…
Asked, some 200 years after the event, to comment on the significance of the French Revolution, the Chinese Premier Zhou En-lai is reported to have replied, “It’s too soon to tell”. If it is still too early to assess the…