The study presented here has been commissioned by the UK government's Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP) to obtain a better understanding of the situation in the North Caucasus for all actors with an interest in socio-economic recovery and stabilisation in the region.

The study takes the form of a Strategic Reconstruction and Development Assessment (SRDA), core of which is an analysis of security, development and governance (and the relationships between them) in the North Caucasus at regional and local levels.

Overview

The current fighting in North Kivu is a stark reminder that the setting up of the Transitional National Government (TNG) in the capital of Kinshasa in June 2003 has still done little to end the conflict in the Eastern part of DRC. Politicians in Kinshasa have pledged their support to political process while continuing to support military solutions to the unresolved problems in both the Kivus and Ituri. It is unlikely that the planned national elections will resolve this crisis.

The fall of Bukavu, the Democratic Republic of Congo's fourth city, on June 2 has highlighted the underlying problems of the local and national peace process. Tensions have been mounting in the region since October 2003. Bukavu has existed in a state of armed peace since a dispute in February between former partisans of the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) and the pro-Kinshasa commander of the 10th military region. Peace is not static and in the face of potential overrun of violence to other armed groupings it is imperative that the DRC's Transitional Government

The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels have been waging a seventeen-year war that has led to gross violations of human rights against civilians living in the northern areas of Gulu, Kitgum, Pader, Arua (Acholiland) and Soroti. The issue of child abductions has persisted ever since the beginning of the LRA insurgence 17 years ago. It is reported that the rebel group has abducted at least 5,000 children

The road map for peace in Côte d'Ivoire as laid down in the January 2003 Linas-Marcoussis Peace Agreement received a boost when President Laurent Gbagbo, hitherto vehemently opposed to the deal, declared his intention to implement the agreement. Meeting in Yamoussoukro, December 4, 2003, President Gbagbo for the first time pledged to fully comply with the Marcoussis document, much to the chagrin of his supporters who remain opposed to Pax Marcoussis, which they describe as a disgrace

The military engagement of the first

Executive Summary
Following the Linas-Marcossis-Kléber Peace Accord (also referred to as the Paris Peace Accord - see appendix for a summary), Côte d'Ivoire is again facing the abyss of civil war. The concessions made at the peace talks in Paris by the Ivorian government have emboldened the rebels. On the other hand, the government itself, the security forces and political elite, supported by popular protest in Abidjan, are rejecting key aspects of the agreement. The key question facing Côte d'Ivoire today is whether peace and the progress made in Paris can be salvaged.