European Peace Institute / News

On Wednesday, March 13th, IPI together with Peace is Loud are cohosting a screening of scenes from the PBS documentary film series “Women, War and Peace II.”

Remarks will begin at 3:15pm PST / 6:15pm EST

© Thirteen – PBS – 2019

This event will focus on two of the four films that make up the Women, War & Peace II series: Wave Goodbye to Dinosaurs and A Journey of a Thousand Miles.

Wave Goodbye to Dinosaurs places a spotlight on the all-female political party, comprised of both Catholic and Protestant women, in Northern Ireland, who earned a seat at the negotiating table for the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Their focus on human rights, equality, and inclusion shaped the historic peace deal, which put an end to years of violent conflict and established sustainable peace.

In A Journey of a Thousand Miles, an all-female Bangladeshi peacekeeping contingent charts a path forward to international peace and security through the UN peacekeeping mission to Haiti. The film shines a light on stereotypes shattered by the Bangladeshi police unit through their contributions to building peace in a country affected by poverty and natural disaster.

Following the screening, there will be a moderated discussion featuring filmmakers and eminent women peacemakers.

Opening Remarks:
Dr. Adam Lupel, Vice President, International Peace Institute

Speakers:
Ms. Monica McWilliams, Co-Founder, Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition; Negotiator, Good Friday Agreement
Ms. Eimhear O’Neill, Documentary Film Director, Wave Goodbye to Dinosaurs
Ms. Geeta Gandbhir, Documentary Film Director, A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers
Ms. Nahla Valji, Senior Gender Advisor in the Executive Office in the Secretary-General of the United Nations

Moderator:
Dr. Sarah Taylor, Senior Fellow, International Peace Institute

On Wednesday, March 20th, IPI together with Our Secure Future are cohosting a policy forum to discuss the launch of Mobilizing Men as Partners for Women, Peace and Security.

Remarks will begin at 10:15am PST / 1:15pm EST

Research by UN Women and other institutions, including the 2015 Global Study on UN Security Council Resolution 1325, provides empirical evidence that peace processes involving a critical mass of empowered women are far more likely to build and achieve stable, just, and prosperous post-conflict societies than those that do not.

Speakers at this event will discuss strategies for global leaders to reinforce and amplify the importance of inclusion. They will discuss how to open doors for advocates who are advancing the women, peace and security agenda—especially grassroots activists from conflict-affected countries.

This event will focus on new efforts in this area, particularly the “Mobilizing Men as Partners for Women, Peace and Security Initiative,” which brings together global citizens—including prominent men from the defense, diplomatic, development, civil society, faith-based, and business sectors—who believe the full leadership, empowerment, and participation of women is essential to preventing and resolving deadly conflict; building stable, prosperous, and just societies; and creating a peaceful and secure future.

Welcoming remarks:
Dr. Adam Lupel, Vice President, International Peace Institute

Opening remarks:
H.E. Ms. Ana Maria Menéndez, Under-Secretary-General, Senior Adviser on Policy, United Nations
Amb. Anwarul Chowdhury, Former Senior Special Adviser to the President of the UN General Assembly

Speakers:
Amb. Donald Steinberg, Executive Director, Mobilizing Men as Partners for Women, Peace and Security
Mr. Mirsad “Miki” Jacevic, Vice Chair, Institute for Inclusive Security
Ms. Fatima Kadhim Al-Bahadly, Director, Al-Firdaws Society, Basra, Iraq
Ms. Karin Landgren, Executive Director, Security Council Report

Moderator:
Dr. Sarah Taylor, Senior Fellow, International Peace Institute

Closing remarks:
Ms. Sahana Dharmapuri, Director, Our Secure Future: Women Make the Difference, a program of One Earth Future Foundation

In recent years, the UN and its member states have promoted comprehensive approaches and integrated structures and processes to improve coherence and consistency between political peacekeeping, humanitarian, human rights, and development efforts undertaken by the UN and its partners. For POC specifically, coordination between the military, police, and civilian components of peace operations; between peace operations and UN agencies, funds, and programs; and between the UN system and other protection actors has been pursued to maximize impact in the field. Joint planning, analysis, and action at these three levels are key to leveraging different types of expertise, tools, and responses in a holistic way in order to better prevent and respond to threats to civilians.

However, while the UN’s normative and policy frameworks provide the basis for coordination and organizational arrangements have been set up to facilitate integrated efforts at these three levels, recent developments in the peace and security sphere have reinvigorated the debate over the costs and benefits of integration. Coordination for POC has proven to be increasingly difficult in non-permissive environments where, for example, peacekeepers may be perceived as party to the armed conflict or as having too close or tense a relationship with the host state or non-state actors. Integration in such contexts has led to debates around the preservation of humanitarian space, the independence of human rights advocacy, and the security of actors too closely linked to peacekeeping efforts.

This issue brief analyzes the costs, benefits, and challenges of coordinated and integrated approaches to POC in peacekeeping contexts. It considers the added value of mission-wide and system-wide coordination for POC and concerns over comprehensive coordination between peacekeeping and humanitarian actors, which have different rationales and methodologies for protection. In a context of UN reform emphasizing prevention and political strategies, it questions the political and institutional push for more comprehensive POC strategies and reflects on the associated risks. It also offers considerations for how to coordinate and integrate multi-actor efforts in order to better protect civilians.

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In a ten-day period in November 2018, more than 125 women and girls were raped, beaten, and robbed in the town of Bentiu in South Sudan. The attacks happened in broad daylight, as these women and girls were on their way to food distribution sites. Research shows that understanding this violence against women and girls in the context of the ongoing conflict means understanding the continuum of gender-based violence before, during, and after conflict. In order to build peace in South Sudan, prevention of violence against women has been found to be a large contributing factor.

On February 27th, IPI with support from CARE International, the Global Women’s Institute (GWI), and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) held a closed-door roundtable to address how South Sudan came to have some of the highest rates of violence against women and girls in the world and how it can be prevented. Experts gathered to address this topic in the lead-up to the renewal of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan’s (UNMISS) mandate in March.

The meeting, held under the Chatham House rule of non-attribution, was comprised of civil society leaders, member states, UN entities, and gender-based violence experts from South Sudan. Participants reflected on the key findings of two research reports that are part of the “What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls” program, highlighting that conflict exacerbates all types of violence against women and girls, including intimate partner violence.

Tackling violence against women and girls is critical to achieving sustainable peace in South Sudan, as is women’s political participation. But women in South Sudan have been largely excluded from the peace process and wider political conversations. The reports also concluded that institutions that work on women’s rights during the critical post-conflict phase play a significant role in efforts to eliminate violence against women and girls and in the advancement of a more peaceful society.

Drawing on the research on violence against women and girls in South Sudan, participants made the case for women and girls to be central actors in state building and peace building efforts.

Addressing gender-based violence is difficult in all settings, but in South Sudan, survivors and service providers face heightened challenges around reporting allegations of violence that hamper the delivery of legal and psychological support and medical aid to survivors. Furthermore, in a society where gender inequality is so deeply ingrained, it can be nearly impossible to hold perpetrators to account for the crimes they have committed.

One discussant reinforced this point, saying that in conditions like those in South Sudan, we must pursue the most innovative solutions to gender-based violence emergencies. Humanitarian actors must find ways to make rapid lifesaving response possible. While a comprehensive case-management system requires resources that are currently unavailable in this context, one viable solution could be offering basic healthcare, a participating humanitarian expert suggested.

Another hurdle in preventing gender-based violence is the lack of accountability for perpetrators both by local governments and the international community. Discussants surfaced the obstacles to legal protection for the victims and the need to change laws that protect violators, including those that allow perpetrators of sexual crimes to marry their victims. This often devalues evidence of abuse and makes seeking recourse even more difficult for survivors.

Participants noted that while issues such as health and food security get more significant funding, action to curb gender-based violence does not. One recommended that humanitarian actors seek out stronger collaboration with peacekeepers in enforcing peace and security in South Sudan. Participants warned that necessary changes will require sustained long term investment and effort.

Experts noted that in conflict settings, the incidence of gender-based violence increases. One participant offered the figure that women who had experienced armed attacks and/or conflict are twice as likely to experience rape or attempted rape and intimate partner violence. Research makes it clear that in conflicts, it is women who bear a disproportionate burden, according to the report. This is, in part, because women in South Sudan are seen only as the value of their dowry and not as human, according to a South Sudanese participant. Rape is an effective weapon of war, in which women are seen as strategic targets. “They accept that they have to live with it,” she said. As to the question of justice, she responded with an emphasis on women’s involvement in all stages of negotiating and implementing the peace process and its outcomes.

Meanwhile, humanitarian organizations on the ground are striving to find the means to prevent violence and provide victims with assistance. One such measure is to alert victims when a perpetrator is released from investigative questioning or arrest. Ultimately, a participant recommended that legal protection for the victims would be necessary, as well as changing laws that protect violators.

In order to prosecute perpetrators, safe and ethical data collection is needed with responsible monitoring and calculating, said one discussant. A key point was that information sharing practices should be formalized. In the renewal of the UNMISS mandate, this would mean finding simple ways to make information-sharing practices more systematic in the field. At headquarters, this would translate into looking at mandates for management positions. A draft toolkit for donors was recommended on how to implement this into internal work. In addition, holding discussions between UN peacekeepers and humanitarian workers could improve collaboration and identify hotspots

Ultimately participants stressed the necessity for collaboration between the international community and regional actors for prevention of violence against women and girls in South Sudan. However, concluded one participant, real transformation takes place only with the consultation, participation, and expertise of women, and in addressing gender equality at every level.

IPI Senior Fellow Sarah Taylor moderated.

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Addressing a high-level audience of government officials, ambassadors, and private sector representatives as a guest speaker at the February 18th “Rendezvous Series” at Capital Club Bahrain, IPI MENA Director Nejib Friji highlighted key IPI initiatives that focus on managing risk and building resilient societies.

Mr. Friji called for further commitment for achieving regional cooperation and integration through sustainable development and peace in the MENA region. He stressed the importance of integrating universal values of diplomacy and dialogue across all sectors of society.

Pointing to the European Union’s formation following the World Wars as an example of regional integration, Mr. Friji stressed the need for a “homegrown” initiative in the Middle East and North Africa.

“We must engage regional players to find solutions to regional problems that are connected to wider global issues,” he stated. He underlined the formation of IPI’s Taskforce on Regional Cooperation and Integration in the MENA Region as a core project aiming to produce concrete, actionable ideas for cooperation.

Highlighting IPI’s mission promote peace through multilateralism, Mr. Friji referred to the Independent Commission on Multilateralism Report (ICM), an international, multi-stakeholder process organized by IPI and chaired by former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd for its role in making the United Nations more “fit for purpose.”

Mr. Friji also emphasized the value of IPI’s Water Diplomacy and Energy Security initiatives as two fundamental areas of focus within the Taskforce project.

During an interactive slide-show presenting the Global Leaders Series, Mr. Friji said, that the initiative’s aim “is to engage in debate that will nurture a constructive and dynamic exchange of views on a range of issues—peacebuilding, development and security.”

Mr. Friji pointed to an initiative running parallel to IPI’s Global Leaders Series, the Future Leaders Series, which provides a platform to actively involve and empower youth as writers and key actors in the promotion of the Culture and Education of Peace.

He also noted the recent book launch of 17 SDGs (UN Sustainable Development Goals) by 12-year old Adam Jade Kadia, the youngest peace writer in the region, which was held at IPI MENA as part of the Future Leaders Series program. The book launch convened dozens of schoolchildren to discuss their contribution to promoting the SDGs within their societies.

Concluding the interactive session, Mr. Friji urged participants to invest in human resources to build sound and resilient societies.

On Friday, March 1st, IPI is hosting a discussion featuring Ambassador Md. Shahidul Haque, Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh.

Remarks will begin at 10:15am PST / 1:15pm EST

In partnership with local and international development agencies, H.E. Mr. Md. Shahidul Haque has been leading the work of the government of Bangladesh to address the needs of refugees from Myanmar and facilitate their safe, dignified, and voluntary return. Eighteen months after 700,000 people fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state, camps in Bangladesh are now hosting more than one million refugees. Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed to a procedural framework for repatriation of these refugees in November 2017, but the situation in Rakhine state has so far not allowed for safe, dignified, and voluntary returns, requiring a greater focus on resolving the crisis and considering long-term approaches.

Ambassador Haque has been serving as Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh since January 2013. Prior to assuming this post, he occupied several senior positions at the International Organization for Migration (IOM). From 2001 to 2012, he served as Director of IOM, dealing with its external and donor relations and international migration policy. He also served as Regional Representative for the Middle East from 2007 to 2009 and as Regional Representative for South Asia from 2001 to 2006. Prior to working at IOM, Ambassador Haque worked in the Bangladesh missions in London, Bangkok, and Geneva. He also served as director in various wings of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, including as Director of the Foreign Secretary’s Office from 1996 to 1998.

Ambassador Haque served as Chair of the 9th Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) and is currently serving his second term as an elected, Independent Expert to the UN Committee on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (CMW). He is a member of IOM’s Migration Advisory Board and has been actively working with NGOs and civil society to promote the rights of migrants.

The event will be moderated by Dr. Adam Lupel, Vice President of IPI.

Speaker of the Council of Representatives H.E. Fawzia Zainal, IPI MENA Director Nejib Friji, IPI MENA Policy Analyst Dalya Al Alawi

IPI MENA Director Nejib Friji and H.E. Fawzia Zainal, Speaker of the Council of Representatives (Parliament) to the Kingdom of Bahrain and the first woman to be elected as Speaker, made a commitment to further uphold women’s rights and encourage their political participation across all sectors of society to achieve a culture of peace through the engagement of Parliamentarians as lawmakers.

During a February 24th meeting, both parties agreed that additional efforts are needed to encourage and support women as stipulated through the reforms put forward by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and the National Action Charter (NAC).

Stressing the importance of men working alongside women in efforts to promote gender equity, the Speaker of Parliament supported IPI MENA’s initiative to engage Parliamentarians, both in the Kingdom of Bahrain and through their counterparts in the MENA region and beyond, to assess the progress achieved in advancing women’s political participation and ways forward to build on progresses to further ensure full integration within political, economic, social, and cultural structures.

Accompanied by IPI MENA Policy Analyst Dalya Al Alawi, Mr. Friji congratulated the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Parliament for electing a woman as their Speaker, emphasizing the importance of women as active participants and positive drivers of change.

The Speaker awarded IPI MENA Director Friji the Parliament’s Shield as a token of recognition for IPI’s role in serving sustainable and world peace.

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IPI MENA Director Nejib Friji and H.E. Mohammed Adnan Mehmood, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq to the Kingdom of Bahrain, stressed the fundamental importance of Iraq’s role in building peaceful relations to achieve regional integration in the MENA region at a February 24th meeting.

Accompanied by IPI MENA Policy Analyst Dalya Al Alawi, Mr. Friji emphasized the necessity of economic cooperation and investment in sustainable development as mechanisms to reinforce regional integration. He also underlined the need for reconciliation to change the environment of hostility to one of sustainable development and forward-looking, rights-based constructive growth to achieve durable peace.

During the meeting, both parties explored means of cooperation, including the active participation of Iraqi women in peace processes to build a resilient society, achieve long-term sustainable development, and nurture peaceful relations with MENA countries and beyond.

On Monday, February 25th, IPI together with the Government of Canada are cohosting a policy forum event on the Training for Senior Leaders in Field Operations: Gaps, Challenges and Techniques for Improvement.

Remarks will begin at 10:15am PST / 1:15pm EST

The report of the High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations (HIPPO) described leadership as “one of the most crucial factors in the success or failure of UN peace operations.” Yet, due to the unique and complex nature of these operations, the UN Secretariat faces a challenge finding and rapidly deploying leaders who possess the requisite mix of diplomatic and managerial skills, situational knowledge, political judgment, and stamina. Few, if any, mission leaders are fully prepared for their responsibilities upon selection, no matter how rigorous the appointment process. Senior mission leaders therefore require continuous, institutionalized, and sustained training and learning support.

In an effort to support this process, in 2016, IPI developed the Scenario-Based Training for Senior Leadership in Peace Operations project. Under that umbrella, various authors have created a series of scenarios covering issues that senior leadership will likely face during their deployment. These scenarios are based on complex crises but go beyond operational responses to challenges, aiming to support team building, leadership skills, and critical thinking by leaders.

To complement these scenarios, the project has published a policy paper on the training provided to senior leaders, gaps in the preparation of senior leaders, factors that have hindered reform, and recommendations to better prepare senior leaders for the challenges they face in contemporary missions.

Welcoming remarks:
Brig. Gen. Martin Girard, Military Advisor, Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations

Opening remarks:
Mr. Fabrizio Hochschild, Assistant Secretary General for Strategic Coordination in the Secretary General’s Executive Office, United Nations

Speakers:
Mr. Kevin S. Kennedy, lead author of IPI Paper: “Senior Leadership Training in UN Peace Operations” and Principal Officer, DPKO (ret.)
Mr. Mark Pedersen, Chief, Integrated Training Services, Department of Peace Operations, United Nations
Ms. Gabriella Seymour, Chief, Leadership Support Section, Office of the Director for Coordination and Shared Services, United Nations
Maj. Gen. Robert Gordon, CMG CBE (ret.) and Senior Mentor at the Senior Mission Leadership training Program

Moderator:
Ms. Lesley Connolly, Senior Policy Analyst, IPI

On Tuesday, February 26th, IPI is hosting the next event in its “Leading for Peace: Voices from the Field” series, featuring Mr. Parfait Serge Onanga-Anyanga, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the Central African Republic and Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).He will share his experience and analysis on stabilization efforts and peace consolidation efforts in the Central African Republic. He will also share his insights and ideas regarding the Political Accord for Peace and Reconciliation in the CAR, signed in Bangui on February 6, 2019, as well as what he believes will be necessary for its sustainability.

Remarks will begin at 3:15pm PST / 6:15pm EST

Mr. Parfait Onanga-Anyanga has served as the Acting Special Representative for the Central African Republic and Head of MINUSCA since August of 2015, when he succeeded Babacar Gaye of Senegal, who served as the first Special Representative of the Secretary-General of MINUSCA. Mr. Onanga-Anyanga has extensive experience with the United Nations in conflict-affected areas, including in his role as the Coordinator of United Nations Headquarters Response to the Boko Haram crisis since January 2015, and, previously, as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Burundi and Head of the United Nations Office in Burundi, as well as Assistant Secretary-General and System-Wide Senior Coordinator on Burundi (2012-2014).

The event will be moderated by Jake Sherman, IPI Director of the Brian Urquhart Center for Peace Operations.

In September 2018, warring parties in South Sudan signed the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS), which has resulted in several positive developments, including the establishment of transitional committees and a reduction in casualties of political violence. In spite of this, however, the UN mission (UNMISS) and humanitarian actors continue to confront impediments to complete and unhindered success. Threats against civilians continue, armed groups are clashing, and implementation of key R-ARCSS provisions is behind schedule.

In this context, the International Peace Institute (IPI), the Stimson Center, and Security Council Report organized a workshop on February 6, 2019, to discuss UNMISS’s mandate and political strategy. This workshop offered a platform for member states, UN actors, and outside experts to share their assessment of the situation in South Sudan. The discussion was intended to help the Security Council make informed decisions with respect to the strategic orientation, prioritization, and sequencing of the mission’s mandate and actions on the ground. The workshop focused on the dynamics of the current political process in South Sudan, including the challenges facing the implementation of the R-ARCSS and continuing threats to civilians, the UN mission, and humanitarian actors. Participants identified several ideas to strengthen and adapt UNMISS’s mandate to help the mission advance its political strategy and achieve the Security Council’s objectives in the coming year.

Workshop participants encouraged the Security Council to maintain the UNMISS mandate’s flexible nature and advised against making radical changes. They highlighted several opportunities to improve the mission’s mandate by refining existing tasks to ensure the mission is well-positioned to respond to changes in the operating environment. Among these, the Council should authorize the mission to provide technical support to the peace process, maintain flexible POC language and mandate the mission to facilitate voluntary returns from POC sites, and encourage continued regional engagement in South Sudan’s political process.

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Myanmar simultaneously faces multiple armed conflicts and crises, each with its own challenges. In Rakhine state, the government’s persecution of the Rohingya people has led to massive displacement, as have decades of armed conflict in Kachin and northern Shan states. Combined with chronic underdevelopment, these humanitarian crises have left people without access to adequate healthcare, leading international humanitarian actors to step in.

The public health system in Myanmar is generally poor, and government funding for health services is among the lowest in the world. There are wide discrepancies in health services between rural and urban populations and between central and peripheral states. In Rakhine, there are only nine public health workers per 10,000 people, and access to secondary and tertiary healthcare is limited. Community-based or ethnic health organizations provide primary healthcare in many areas without government facilities. In crisis-affected areas, UN agencies and international and local NGOs play an important part in providing healthcare services. However, international action can be unbalanced both regionally and medically. In many areas, health actors have focused on responding to diseases like malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis, leaving a critical gap in mental health services and clinical health responses to sexual and gender-based violence. Likewise, funding has been imbalanced, with Rakhine state receiving more funding than Kachin or northern Shan.

This paper looks at the state of healthcare in Rakhine, Kachin, and northern Shan states, the role of humanitarian actors in the provision of health services, and the trends and challenges affecting the humanitarian health response. It provides several recommendations for improving the humanitarian health response in Myanmar, including:

1. Adjust the scope of the humanitarian response;
2. Advocate for better humanitarian access;
3. Strengthen local capacities, and;
4. Address the dilemmas inherent in providing aid amid a development and human rights crisis.

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On Wednesday, February 20th, IPI is hosting a Distinguished Author Series event featuring Richard Haass, author of A World in Disarray: American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Old Order, with a new afterward to account for a new president with strikingly different ideas of America’s role in the world. The conversation will be moderated by IPI Senior Adviser for External Relations Warren Hoge.

Remarks will begin at 3:15pm PST / 6:15pm EST

In A World in Disarray: American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Old Order, one of America’s best known and most respected foreign policy experts, Council on Foreign Relations president Richard Haass, offers a profound examination of a world increasingly defined by disorder. He explains why the fundamental elements of a world order that has served the West well since World War II have largely run their course. Haass makes the case that the world needs a new operating system—call it World Order 2.0—that reflects the reality that power is widely distributed and that borders count for less. He argues for a new approach to sovereignty, one that embraces its obligations and responsibilities as well as its rights and protections, and he asserts that the US needs to define national security in broader terms than it has. A new afterward addresses what he considers the US’s unilateral abdication of world leadership over the past two years and issues the stark warning that the alternative to a US-led international order is less international order.

On Thursday, February 21st, IPI together with the United Kingdom Mission to the UN are cohosting a policy forum event, entitled “A Legacy of Peacemaking: Celebrating the Centennial of Sir Brian Urquhart.”

Remarks will begin 3:15pm PST / 6:15pm EST

The event will mark the 100th birthday of Sir Brian Urquhart (born February 28. 1919), a lifelong supporter of the United Nations and former IPI Board Member.

The discussion will reflect on Sir Brian’s extraordinary career as a peacemaker, which began when he was a member of the British diplomatic staff working to help establish the United Nations in 1945. The conversation will highlight, in particular, the important role Sir Brian played in the founding and development of UN peace operations. It will be framed by the history of peacekeeping at the UN, where we are today, and where we are headed.

Opening remarks:
Dr. Adam Lupel, Vice President, International Peace Institute

Speakers:
Mr. Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, United Nations
H.E. Amb. Karen Pierce DCMG, Permanent Representative, the United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations

Moderator:
Mr. Jake Sherman, Director of the Brian Urquhart Center for Peace Operations, International Peace Institute

Due to their unique and complex nature, UN peacekeeping missions depend on effective leadership. Because few, if any, mission leaders have the requisite skills, knowledge, political judgment, and physical and mental stamina upon being selected, they require continuous, institutionalized, and sustained training and learning support. While the Secretariat has undertaken a number of training and learning initiatives, critical gaps remain.

This paper identifies these gaps and analyzes obstacles that impede progress in addressing them. It looks at gaps in three broad areas: knowledge of peacekeeping doctrine, policy, and practice specific to UN peacekeeping; knowledge of UN policies and procedures on financial and human resources management; and leadership and team-building skills. To address these gaps, it recommends that the Secretariat prioritize action in several areas:

• Centralize responsibility for mission leadership training in a single unit;
• Integrate training into planning and recruitment processes;
• Provide more sustained support to training; and
• Employ new tools such as scenario-based exercises for in-mission training.

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Due to ongoing conflict and insecurity in northern Mali, 1.8 million people require humanitarian health assistance, and 2.5 million are considered food insecure. Given the level of need, Mali’s healthcare system is ill-equipped to respond, and humanitarian health actors play an important role filling the gaps.

This issue brief maps the challenges these health actors face and assesses their response. It accompanies a policy paper published in 2018 entitled “Hard to Reach: Providing Healthcare in Armed Conflict,” as well as another case study on provision of healthcare in Nigeria. These papers aim to assist UN agencies, NGOs, member states, and donor agencies in providing and supporting the provision of adequate health services to conflict-affected populations.

This issue brief concludes with recommendations for how health actors can improve delivery of health services in Mali:

• UN agencies, international NGOs, and donors should continue to focus on strengthening and supporting Mali’s community healthcare structures.
• Military, political, and humanitarian actors need to preserve the humanitarian space in Mali.
• Relevant UN agencies, local and international health NGOs, donors, and the Ministry of Health should place greater emphasis on noncommunicable diseases, particularly mental health.
• Humanitarian health actors and donors, as well as development actors and global health actors, should improve coordination with each other on the health response.
• Humanitarian health actors should better ensure that they are accountable for the health services they provide, in particular to affected populations.

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The humanitarian situation in Nigeria’s northeast is deteriorating, with more than 5 million people in need of healthcare and over 800,000 out of the reach of humanitarian actors. Given this level of need and the poor state of the healthcare system in northeastern Nigeria, humanitarian and other nongovernmental health actors play an important role.

This issue brief maps the challenges these health actors face and assesses their response. It accompanies a policy paper published in 2018 entitled “Hard to Reach: Providing Healthcare in Armed Conflict,” as well as another case study on provision of healthcare in Mali. These papers aim to assist UN agencies, NGOs, member states, and donor agencies in providing and supporting the provision of adequate health services to conflict-affected populations.

This issue brief concludes with recommendations for how health actors can improve delivery of health services in northeastern Nigeria:

• Humanitarian health actors should improve coordination both with each other and with global health actors working in northeastern Nigeria.
• Relevant UN agencies, local and international health NGOs, donors, and the Ministry of Health should scale up the response to under-prioritized health services.
• Humanitarian and development NGOs, donors, and the Ministry of Health should focus efforts to implement the humanitarian-development nexus for health services on areas where it is relevant and feasible.
• Humanitarian health actors should improve their accountability for the health services they provide.
• Humanitarian donors need to ensure that counterterrorism clauses in their funding contracts are not overbroad and do not impede neutral, independent, and impartial aid.

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The Middle East and North Africa region could benefit from additional efforts to promote the Culture of Peace, according to IPI MENA Director Nejib Friji, President of Bahrain’s Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA) Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa, and BACA Adviser Mounir Bouchenaki.

This was the subject of a January 30th meeting during which the three parties pledged to further promote the Culture of Peace and the protection of world heritage. In order to do so, they asserted that it would be necessary to initiate dialogue among cultures, maintain the protection and conservation of world cultural heritage during conflict, and enact more preventive measures to do so in peace contexts as well.

At the meeting, Mr. Friji and Shaikha Mai Al-Khalifa discussed the substance and objectives of the forthcoming conference “World Forum for Culture of Peace” to be held at the Peace Palace in the Hague on June 13, 2019, in cooperation with the Al-Babtain Cultural Foundation, UNESCO, Leiden University, and IPI, and highlighted the forum’s focus on Iraq and Yemen.

Shaikha Mai Al-Khalifa confirmed her attendance and participation to the international conference, which is set to bring together heads of states, ministers, and high-level officials to advocate education of the culture of peace as a tool to protect world cultural heritage, with a focus on Iraq and Yemen in efforts to consolidate peace, transition, and reconstruction.

IPI MENA Director Nejib Friji met with Ahdeya Ahmed, the newly elected President of the Bahrain Journalists Association (BJA). Mr. Friji emphasized that the cooperation between IPI and BJA promotes the Culture of Peace and Sustainable Development involving print, audiovisual, digital, and social media.

The IPI MENA Director congratulated the BJA for electing a woman at their helm, stressing the need for women’s participation in leadership.

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How can we build on the achievements of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)? This was the topic of this January 29th forum entitled “The UDHR: A Legacy Continued for Development and Human Rights Protection.” The event marked the 70th Anniversary of the Declaration, which was December 2018.

The forum was held at the Royal University of Women (RUW) in collaboration with the National Institute for Human Rights (NIHR); the Ombudsman’s Office, United Nations Bahrain; the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Kingdom of Bahrain; and IPI MENA.

Dr. Pasquale Borea, Dean of the College of Law at RUW, stressed the educational value of the declaration as a seminal international legal instrument whose influence can be seen in  regional conventions, national legislations, and instruments of soft law.

“Spreading knowledge and awareness of the UDHR among the youth can be an antidote to extremism, radicalism, and intolerance,” Dr. Borea stated. “It represents a fundamental step to inculcate values such as dialogue, respect, and tolerance in the next generation.”

Focusing on Article 7 within the Declaration, United Nations Resident Coordinator Amin El Sharkawi underlined its connection to the fifth Sustainable Development Goal, gender equality, and the role women played in conceptualizing the UDHR.

Mr. Sharkawi highlighted the roles of Hansa Mehta of India, Minerva Bernardino of the Dominican Republic, and Begum Shaista Ikramullah of Pakistan who fundamentally transformed the UDHR by including women.

German Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain Kai Boeckmann offered examples of how his government urged companies to implement human rights. He also highlighted the private sector’s responsibility in upholding and promoting human rights.

Noting that International Holocaust Remembrance Day was on January 27th, Mr. Boeckmann pointed to the achievements of the international community in working together following the mass violations of human rights. “We need to resolutely defend all that we have achieved,” he stated.

After noting the gender imbalance on the panel, moderator and IPI MENA Director Nejib Friji gave the floor to IPI MENA Program Assistant Dalya Al Alawi to deliver IPI MENA’s statement and reiterated the importance of including women and youth to build on the legacy of the UDHR.

Ms. Al Alawi emphasized the connection between respect for human rights, peacefulness, and “positive peace,” and she advocated for the participation of women and youth in leadership to whom the 2030 Agenda’s pledge to “leave no one behind” applies.

Mr. Abdulla Ahmed Alderazi, Vice Chairperson of the NIHR’s Council of Commissioners reminded citizens and civil society of their duties to uphold human rights and in particular the importance of Article 29 of the UDHR.

Mashael Al Qutami, Specialist Investigator at the Ombudsman Office, pointed to the timeliness of the UDHR and drew on the example of how the 1970s international feminist movement gave way to the Convention on the Elimination of All Discrimination Against All Women (CEDAW), a significant treaty born from the UDHR.

In attendance were parliament representatives, private sector representatives, diplomatic corps, students, media, and the first female judge in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Mona Al Kawari.