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In the second quarter of the year the total number of armed conflicts, dropped from 28 to 27, because of the sustained reduction of interpalestinian violence between Hamas and Fatah. |
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The situation worsened in Nigeria (Niger Delta), DR Congo (east), Philippines (Mindanao-MILF) and Philippines (Mindanao-Abu Sayaf). |
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For the first time, the Darfur’s armed group JEM carried out an offensive in Khartoum with the intention of overthrowing the Government. |
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Sri Lanka registered an unprecedented rise in the number of bomb attacks in public sites, mainly in the capital. |
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The signing of an agreement between the Transitional Federal Government and the moderate sector of the opposition alliance opened the way for the deployment of a UN mission in Somalia but did not mean the end of the violence. |
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In the second quarter, the total number of tension, rose up from 72 to 75, because of the Eritrean attack on Djibouti, the violence in South Africa and the situation in Palestine. |
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In Zimbabwe, the holding of the presidential elections provoked a rise of violence which caused the displacement of 200,000 persons. |
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The Peruvian armed forces deployed more than 5,000 troops, in the biggest military offensive of the last years against remnant factions of the armed group Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path). |
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The Constitutional referendum took place in Myanmar amid accusations of fraud and intimidation and criticism for the lack of government action in the humanitarian crisis of the cyclone Nargis. |
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The tension between Georgia and Russia in relation to the secessionist region of Abkhazia rose up sharply after a range of diplomatic and military measures were adopted by the Russian Government. |
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The incidents related to the protest against the rising prices of bread in Egypt ended up with the death of 15 people, while the Government extended the estate of emergency until 2010. |
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With regard to peace processes, the peace negotiations between the Ugandan Government and the LRA broke up temporarily. |
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The Pakistan Government intensified the dialogue with several Taliban groups in the northwest of the country. |
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The Governments of Myanmar and Thailand reviewed the Indonesian experience in Aceh to achieve peace in their respective countries. |
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The Parliament of Kosovo approved a new Constitution which defines the state as a parliamentarian, secular and democratic republic. |
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Israel and Hamas agreed on a cessation of hostilities, Israel and Syria began a dialogue to reach a peace agreement, with the mediation of Turkey; and Hamas and Fatah started a constructive dialogue process in Senegal. |
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The Lebanon Government signed an agreement with the opposition, with the mediation of the Arab League. |
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Relating to postwar rehabilitation, after the holding of the constitutional elections in Nepal, the new elected Assembly approved the abolition of the monarchy, declaring the establishment of a Federal Democratic Republic. |
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The presidential elections in Côte d’Ivoire, expected to take place in July, were postponed once again to the 30th of November. |
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The prime minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nikola Spiric, signed an Agreement of Association and Stabilisation with the EU thanks to the measures approved related to the reform of the police sector. |
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The Government of Timor-Leste initiated the so awaited recognition of the ex combatants, publishing the names of the potential beneficiaries of the public pensions for combatants and martyrs of the national liberation war. |
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As for humanitarian crisis, the Government of Zimbabwe cancelled the activities of International NGOs, accusing them of lack of neutrality, and hindering the assistance to more than a third of population that is dependent on external help. |
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FAO-led Roma’s summit, which was aimed at looking for global solutions to the increase of food prices, ended without successful results. |
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More than 120,000 people died in Myanmar due to the effects of Nargis cyclone and the opposition of the Burmese Government to the entrance of humanitarian staff into the country. |
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The number of displaced people increased for the second consecutive year exceeding the number of 37 million people according to UNCHR, of whom 26 are internal displaced. |
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In relation to disarmament, the Governments of 110 countries reached in Dublin an agreement to prohibit the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster bombs. |
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The EU Code of Conduct on arms trade commemorates its 10 years with advances as well as certain deficits. |
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The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers published its new report that denounces the marginalization suffered by this group of population in DDR programs. |
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The Forces Nouvelles resumed the disarmament process in Côte d’Ivoire, with the aim that by mid-October around 35,000 combatants enter the program. |
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The Governments of Sudan and South Sudan and the UN sign an agreement for the demobilization and reintegration of around 180,000 former combatants. |
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As for human rights, Sudan (Darfur), Zimbabwe, Gaza, Iraq and Myanmar were the places with the worst record on human rights in 2007, according to Amnesty International Report 2008. |
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The Human Rights Council (HRC) ended the examination of the first group of countries that have faced the Universal Periodic review. |
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The EU passed the directive on the expulsion of immigrants in an irregular situation, strongly criticised by several sectors. |
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Belgian authorities arrested Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, former vicepresident of DR Congo, as requested by the ICC, which turns Bemba into the first detainee for crimes in Central African Republic. |
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Indonesia refused to set a date for the release of the Commission on Truth and Friendship’s report, which was ended in March. |
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In the section of gender issues in peace building,the Security Council passed a resolution on sexual violence in conflicts, amid criticisms by activists for the depolitization of the issue. |
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The UN warned on the impact that the global food crisis is having on women and highlighted the need to consider them as active agents for the overcoming of the crisis. |
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Social Watch published the Gender Equity Index 2008, stressing that no country has reached full equity. |
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The Convention on Cluster Convention integrated several of the civil society recommendations in relation to the gender dimension, especially regarding victims. |
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Domestic violence is having a serious impact on women in countries affected by armed conflicts, as showed during this quarterly by the cases of Afghanistan and Pakistan. |
