Peacebuilding cannot succeed if half the population is excluded from the process. Crisis Group’s research in Sudan, Congo (DRC) and Uganda suggests that peace agreements, post-conflict reconstruction, and governance do better when women are involved.

Burundi escapó de una guerra civil y años de terror. Hoy se supone que vive en democracia, pero eso está por verse. Ante las próximas elecciones de mayo, y con el panorama de violencia política que asuela el país, parece imposible que éstas se celebren pacíficamente y bajo el paraguas de la democracia.

La fièvre des élections s’empare de l’Afrique centrale. Pour la seconde fois depuis la fin des guerres qui ont dévasté la région, les scrutins s’enchaînent au Burundi, au Rwanda, en République centrafricaine et au Congo.

Cameroon, until now a point of stability in the region, faces potential instability in the run-up to the presidential elections scheduled for late 2011.

Election fever has spread across Central Africa. For the second time since the end of the disastrous civil wars in the region, electoral processes have been launched in Burundi, Rwanda, Central African Republic and the Congo.

Vu du centre de l’Afrique – Tchad, République centrafricaine (RCA) et RD Congo –, le cinquantenaire des indépendances est un anniversaire à l’envers : on en parle davantage à Paris et Bruxelles qu’à N’Djamena, Bangui et Kinshasa. Sans doute parce que, en Europe, il s’agit avant tout de gérer des diasporas turbulentes et une relation bilatérale devenue épineuse tandis que, dans les capitales africaines, il s’agit d’éviter à tout prix le droit d’inventaire.

The attempt by Congo and Rwanda to end the deadly conflict in eastern Congo by a secret presidential deal and military force is failing and must be changed fundamentally by the Kinshasa government and the international community.

Extreme poverty and armed conflict in the diamond-rich areas of the Central African Republic (CAR) put thousands of lives in danger and demand urgent reform of the mining sector.

The international watchdog which seeks to prevent diamonds from fuelling conflict, the Kimberley Process, should take a very close look at the situation in the Central African Republic

A la veille de l’entrée en vigueur le 15 avril de l’obligation de rendre publique l’origine des minerais pour les grandes compagnies basées aux Etats-Unis, ICG a effectué une mission au Nord Kivu afin d’évaluer les différentes stratégies de lutte contre les minerais des conflits et leur impact sur le terrain.

As legislation requiring large U.S. companies to disclose the origins of the minerals they use is meant to come into force this year, Crisis Group sent a mission to North Kivu to assess the different strategies used to fight conflict minerals and their impact in the field.

Of the three political upheavals that have hit the Maghreb since the beginning of 2011, the Libyan crisis seems to be the most dangerous. First of all for Libya, because the popular uprising has taken the form of an armed rebellion that has cut the country in two; second, for the West, now that NATO, under the cover of United Nations Resolution 1973 (2011) and in order to protect the civilian population, has entered the conflict on the side of the rebels, rashly gambling on a speedy war; and finally, for the region as a whole, because the conflict recently "overflowed" into Tunisia, and neighbouring countries are beginning to feel its humanitarian consequences.

More than a decade after the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) was requested by the African Union (AU) to give life to a new peace and security architecture, political and security cooperation on the continent is still in need of reinforcement.

Insufficient political will has thwarted regional efforts to stop the murderous Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) but vigorous diplomacy led by the African Union (AU), an immediate military push and complementary civilian initiatives could end the misery of thousands.

Der Abbau seltener Mineralien ist ein Grund für die Gewalt im Kongo. Die EU könnte hier eine wirkungsvolle Regelung durchsetzen.

François Hollande semble hésiter à se rendre à Kinshasa en octobre pour le sommet de la francophonie. Il serait bien inspiré de ne pas offrir au président, Joseph Kabila, une telle occasion de s’afficher réconcilié avec les démocraties après les élections présidentielle et législative calamiteuses en République démocratique du Congo (RDC) qui privent le régime d’une véritable légitimité démocratique. En se rendant à Kinshasa, François Hollande enverrait un message plus que trouble aux pays d’Afrique où la démocratisation est encore une lutte quotidienne que l’on paie au prix du sang.

Rising piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, which supplies around 40 per cent of Europe’s oil and 29 per cent of the U.S.’s, demands effective regional security cooperation and better economic governance to prevent the region becoming another Gulf of Aden.

The collapse of the state and the disappearance of security forces from a large part of the territory may turn the Central African Republic (CAR) into a source of instability in the heart of Africa.
Please note the full report is only available in French.

The Framework Agreement signed by the UN, African organisations and eleven countries and the deployment of an intervention brigade in North Kivu are positive steps, but conflicts in the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo also require a bottom-up approach aimed at improving intercommunal relations and restoring peace at the local level.

All this foreign involvement has failed to prevent the recent coup or stabilize its aftermath. BINUCA has not been able to implement a disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration program, and it failed to convince Bozizé’s regime to reform the security sector or consolidate the peace. ECCAS has been unable to restore order in one of the smallest capitals of Africa, and troop-contributing countries have proved unable to deliver the 600 extra soldiers they committed to provide in April. Paradoxically, France, while securing Bangui’s airport, is also hosting ousted president Bozizé, who declared from exile in Paris his wish to retake power by force with the “support” of private actors.

Since the March 24 coup by the Seleka, a loose coalition of Muslim rebels, the Central African Republic has been in free fall. There are about 400,000 internally displaced people, 64,000 refugees, and burned villages, largely in the western part of the country. Banditry, the rise of self-defense militias and clashes between Christian and Muslim communities are now part of daily life for this mineral-rich country in the heart of Africa. The expanding insecurity makes the delivery of humanitarian assistance difficult, and the United Nations has even warned of the risk of genocide.

Los conflictos en los países pequeños suelen agravarse debido a la indiferencia internacional. Sin embargo, en el caso de la República Centroafricana (RCA), el problema es ligeramente distinto. Hay una importante presencia internacional en este Estado, pero los actores principales han decidido mantenerse al margen y esperar en vez de intervenir activamente en la crisis.

As the Central African Republic (CAR) stares into an abyss of potentially appalling proportions, the international community must focus on the quickest, most decisive means of restoring security to its population.

Depuis jeudi et l’attaque de Bangui par les groupes anti-balaka qui viennent de province et sont composés de villageois et d’anciens militaires constitués en milices d’autodéfense, un calme précaire est revenu dans la capitale centrafricaine grâce au déploiement des militaires français.

Unless the government revives land governance reform in Burundi, long-term peacebuilding efforts will remain compromised.

To avoid a revival of past ethnic tensions between Hutu and Tutsi, Burundi needs to find the right balance between land restitution and national reconciliation.

Le Burundi est l’un des pays les plus pauvres (le taux de pauvreté atteint 67 %) et les plus petits d’Afrique (27 834 kilomètres carrés) avec l’une des plus grandes densités humaines du continent (près de 400 habitants par kilomètre carré). C’est du reste un pays profondément rural où seulement 11 % de la population réside en ville. Alors que l’accès à la terre et à la propriété est un véritable enjeu socio-économique, le Burundi fait face à de sérieux problèmes agricoles.

By failing to engage when Crisis Group and others warned that the Central African Republic had become a phantom state, the international community has now had to become much more heavily involved, at much greater expense, after horrifying loss of life and massive displacement, with much greater odds of failure.