The third issue of the Gender, Peace and Security Update this year features a presentation of the PRIO project Making Women Count for Peace: Gender, Empowerment and Conflict in South Asia and an interview with the new Coordinator for Women, Peace and Security at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mariann Murvoll. You will also find news about a variety of recent events such as seminars, conferences and books/publications.

Summary

This study is the second part of a research project on violence in Haiti. The project was started after President Aristide’s departure into exile in early 2004 and the arrival of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

Within Norwegian defence and foreign policy, the establishment of an international legal order and the global rule of law have been identified as key objectives. As articulated in various Norwegian policy documents and statements, these objectives appear to presume (i) that there exists a harmonious and complementary relationship between human rights and humanitarian law, and (ii) that the convergence of the two bodies of law is necessarily a good thing.

We are happy to share with you this year's first issue of the newsletter on Gender, Peace and Security. This issue is headlined by an interview with Inger Skjelsbæk on her recent book, The Political Psychology of War Rape: Studies from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The book is a valuable contribution to literature on war rape, how to understand rape as a weapon of war, how it affects victims and society at large, as well as how to study it.

The joint Chr. Michelsen Institute - United States Institute of Peace - PRIO project 'Achieving Durable Peace in Afghanistan' seeks to identify and clarify through research and dialogue key domestic issues and options for Afghanistan to move towards durable peace.

In the aftermath of 9/11, madrasas have become a subject of great controversy. In Afghanistan, it is commonplace to blame Pakistani madrasas for the recruitment of Afghan youths to militant groups. In response, the Afghan government has initiated a comprehensive reform of the Islamic education sector. However, despite the massive focus on the institution of the madrasa, very little analytical attention has been given either to Afghan madrasas or to the connections between religious education in Afghanistan and across the Pakistani border.

Executive Summary

Violence and insecurity threatens peacebuilding in the Southern Sudan and the 2011 referendum on self-determination. The Sudan's interim period which started with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) 9 January 2005 is now reaching its final phase but communities in the South still face multiple types of violence stemming from local and regional tensions as well as conflicts at the national and even international level. The underlying causes of this predicament are

In the period January - April 2007 a short survey of SPLM structures, capacity and processes of decision making was conducted in three out of ten states in South Sudan: Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Eastern Equatoria and Jonglei.(1) These states were selected because of their heterogeneity in terms of political, geographical and ethnical background, but they may not be regarded as fully representative of all states in the Southern Sudan.(2) The study is based on a combination of extensive interviews in the field and the study of key SPLM documents.

2. Background