Data source: ESRI

Data source: UNEP-GRID, ACASIAN

This document highlights practical steps that the EU could take to better link progress being made with its developing European Security and Defence (ESDP) operations and crisis management with longer-term conflict prevention.

For this purpose, the paper outlines four key areas for the EU Member States, officials in the Council and the Commission to address to enhance the EU's capacity to prevent violent conflict:
 
- Linking crisis management with conflict prevention
- Addressing the root causes of violent conflict
- Tackling weapons transfers and organised

This paper examines challenges and obstacles to ensuring gender justice and accountability in the context of international peace support operations (PSOs). It looks at the issue of gender justice from three perspectives:

 - How PSOs can foster a culture of gender justice and accountability
 - How to strenghten the capacity and mandates for PSOs to respect, protect and promote civilians' human rights
 - How to better address violations committed by UN civilian or military peacekeepers

The paper provides recommendations for UN

Sexual violence is ubiquitous; it occurs in every culture, in all levels of society and in every country of the world. Data from country and local studies indicate that, in some parts of the world at least, one woman in every five has suffered an attempted or completed rape by an intimate partner during her lifetime. Furthermore, up to one-third of women describe their first sexual experience as being forced. Although the vast majority of victims are women, men and children of both sexes also experience sexual violence. Sexual violence can thus

Begun in 1977, the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices are designed to assess the state of democracy and human rights around the world, call attention to violations, and - where needed - prompt needed changes in U.S. policies toward particular countries. They are an expression of U.S. vigilance in monitoring other countries and holding leaders accountable for their treatment of fellow citizens.

Each year's Country Reports identify gaps between principles and practice, between espoused standards on the

Although food security projects have always included capacity building activities, there is not enough monitoring, evaluation, and documentation of these activities to generate lessons learned and best practices. The USAID Office of Food for Peace's new strategic plan for 2004-08 will give a higher priority to capacity building activities within projects, providing an incentive for cooperating sponsors to more systematically conduct, monitor and evaluate capacity building activities within their projects.
This paper establishes a conceptual

KATHMANDU, Feb 1 (AFP) - Nepal's Maoists have abducted a total of 192 school students in western Nepal in recent days and are forcing them to undergo military training, witnesses and officials said Sunday.

Ramesh Pokharel, a teacher at Bajura district, 340 kilometres (212 miles) west of Kathmandu, said 104 school students and some teachers were taken by the rebels last Thursday from a school in Rameswori village to an unknown location.

Another 88 students were abducted from a school in Pujyatala village in Achham district, 360 kilometres (225 miles)