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Crafting a Viable DDR Strategy for Congo | Enough
Implementing a viable and effective national strategy on disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration, or DDR, of ex-combatants of armed groups in eastern Congo is an urgent issue in the regional peace process for the Democratic Republic of Congo, argues a new Enough report.
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The vibrant Amani Festival demonstrated how Goma is not only the epicentre of various conflicts, but a place where Congolese and their neighbours can unite in joy and hope.
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How did the DRC become the ICC’s Pandora’s Box? – By Thijs B. Bouwknegt | African Arguments
This Friday, Germain Katanga has the ambiguous honour of receiving the third ever judgement from the International Criminal Court (ICC). It comes a decade after Joseph Kabila outsourced his backyard of crime to international prosecutors. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) seemed to be the perfect case file for the newly established court that prosecutes genocidaires, war criminals and criminals against humanity. But the trials in The Hague show the opposite. Congo became the ICC’s Pandora’s Box.
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'Troubled waters’ sustaining Uganda’s Lake Victoria Nile perch fishery | Eldis
Lake Victoria supports one of the largest freshwater fisheries in the world. It is a critical source of food and income for the countries bordering the lake: Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. However, like so many fisheries, the sustainability of this resource is threatened by poor governance, a rapid increase in fishing pressure and widespread illegal practices. This study focuses on Uganda’s Lake Victoria Nile perch fishery. Nile perch is a highvalue species that dominates Uganda’s fish exports, which are the country’s second largest foreign-exchange earner after coffee.
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Tax evasion: the main cause of global poverty | Africa at LSE
LSE’s Isabella Mosselmans calls on Western governments to monitor and enforce global companies to pay the correct taxes in the countries in which they operate.
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Taking insurgency sponsorship as an instrument states have available for achieving foreign policy objectives, I consider how state-sponsors could best manipulate their support to maximize control of the proxy group. Building on research that models the state-sponsor–insurgent relationship using a principal–agent framework, I identify two key vulnerabilities to which the state-sponsor is exposed: adverse selection and agency slack. As an original contribution to the literature on state-sponsorship of insurgency, I articulate reasons why certain forms of support would be most conducive to overcoming these problems and illustrate how South Africa and Iran used those kinds of support to influence the behavior of their proxies, RENAMO and Hezbollah. Additionally, I consider how this principal–agent analysis of insurgency sponsorship also could apply when the principal is an international terrorist organization such as al Qaeda. Finally, I address the relevance of these ideas to two contemporary conflicts taking place in Syria and the Congo.
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Rwanda genocide: why the victims are not paid compensation | Guardian Professional
Genocide is an irreparable crime, but financial reparations for survivors would help mend damage done and educate society
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Paul Kagame has over 260,000 followers on Twitter, and has become well-known for using the service to engage with his followers. "I think it [Twitter] is very important from my perspective," he told Wired last year. "I learn a lot from that because you are having free access to as wide opinion as the whole world has ... I learn about people's views, about challenges, and that goes beyond Rwanda itself." For the past few weeks, however, the Rwandan president hasn't been tweeting, apparently taking a break from the service. That is, until Thursday morning, when something quite unusual – and possibly revealing – happened.
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Twenty years on, Rwanda's reconciliation goes on step by step | AFP
At least 800,000 people, the overwhelming majority a Tutsi minority were murdered in Rwanda - by soldiers, Hutu extremist militia and even ordinary people in 1994. Twenty years on and the process of reconciliation is on-going.
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Despite the post-war government's unprecedented efforts to stimulate growth of the rural non-farm (RNF) sector in Rwanda, evidence suggests that participation in this sector remains low compared with other developing and transition economies. This study investigates the micro and meso-level factors defining farm household's capacity and incentives to participate in RNF employment in the post-war Rwanda. Based on the household's time allocation theory, this study employs household survey data collected in Gisagara District in a double-hurdle regression. The results reveal that female-headedness, labour availability, education, social networks, access to finance and rural towns increase the probability of participating in RNF activities, whereas for participating households, the time allocated to RNF activities tends to decrease with age, land productivity, distance to market and dispersed settlements. The article concludes with key implications for rural development policies such as basic education and umudugudu settlements.
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The worldwide prevalence of waterborne diseases has been attributed to the lack of safe water, inadequate sanitation and hygiene. This study evaluated socio-demographic factors, microbiological quality of water at source and point of use (POU) at households, water handling and sanitation practices in a rural Rwandan community. Thirty five water samples from the source, Nyabarongo River, and water at point of use (POU) treated with the Slow Sand Filter (SSF) and Sûr’Eau methods, were analysed for total coliform and faecal coliform counts. Turbidity was measured in household samples. A structured questionnaire regarding water collection, storage, usage and waterborne disease awareness was administered to 324 women. Despite the significant reduction in coliforms and faecal coliforms from the Nyabarongo River following treatment using either SSF or Sûr’Eau, the water at point of use was found to be unsafe for human consumption. The frequency of diarrheal diseases were significantly higher among people who did not wash hands before food preparation (P = 0.002) and after using a toilet (P = 0.007) than among those who did. There was a statistically significant association between education levels and water treatment practices at the households (P < 0.05). Participants had limited knowledge regarding water storage practices for prevention of household water contamination. A combination of treatment methods with appropriate water handling should be considered. In addition, education is a fundamental precursor to advocating water treatment at POU.
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Woody biomass on farms and in the landscapes of Rwanda - Springer
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In the complex soilscape of Rwanda, failure to tailor soil fertility management technologies to specific soil types is the major constraint to their adoption. A study was undertaken to understand how scientists can introduce new soil-related technologies as part of the already functioning farmers’ soil knowledge (FSK) system and achieve soil-specific fertility management interventions. Farmer participatory research and biophysical diagnostic methods were used in Akavuguto watershed, southern Rwanda. The farmers’ practices follow a clear coping strategy in a poor and complex biophysical environment. In the Akavuguto watershed case study, the mountains, with their Urubuye (Entisols), are limited by the slope gradient and stoniness; they are planted with trees. It was concluded that understanding the biophysical environment in terms of land units and associated farmers’ soil types constitutes an appropriate entry point to achieve soil-specific and replicable fertility management technologies
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After having stalled in the 1990s, fertility in Rwanda resumed its downward trajectory between 2005 and 2010. The total fertility rate declined from 6.1 to 4.6 and modern contraceptive use increased. However, it is unclear which determinants lay behind the previous stall and the recent strong drop in fertility. This paper contributes to an ongoing debate on the impact of social upheavals on fertility decline. We use a decomposition analysis, focusing on the change in characteristics and reproductive behaviour of women and their contributions to levels of fertility during 1992–2000 and 2000–2010. Results show that due to widowhood and separation the proportion of women who were married decreased between 1992 and 2000, but their fertility increased in the same period due to replacement fertility and an unmet need for family planning. After 2000, postponement of marriage and lower infant mortality contributed to lower fertility, but the most important effect is the overall lower fertility due not only to improved family planning provision but perhaps also to the sensitizing campaigns of the Rwandan government.
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While potentially negative impacts of credit constraints on economic development have long been discussed conceptually, empirical evidence for Africa remains limited. We use a direct elicitation approach on a national sample of Rwandan rural households to empirically assess the extent and nature of credit rationing in the semi-formal sector and its impact, using an endogenous switching model. Elimination of all constraints could increase output by some 17 per cent. Implications for policy and research are spelled out.
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We evaluate the short-term impact of a pilot land regularization program in Rwanda using a geographic discontinuity design with spatial fixed effects. Three key findings emerge from the analysis. First, the program seems to have improved land access for legally married women (about 76% of married couples) and prompted better recording of inheritance rights without gender bias. Second, we find that the program was associated with a very large impact on investment and maintenance of soil conservation measures. This effect was particularly pronounced for female headed households, suggesting that this group had suffered from high levels of tenure insecurity which the program managed to reduce. Third, land market activity declined, allowing us to reject the hypothesis that the program caused a wave of distress sales or widespread landlessness by vulnerable people. Implications for program design and policy are discussed.
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During the last decade, African diasporas have emerged as agents of change in international development thinking. Diasporas are being courted by donors, sending states, and NGOs for their contributions to development in their countries of origin, praised for their remittances, investments and knowledge transfer. In this blog, Nauja Kleist, senior researcher in the Global Transformations research unit at the Danish Institute for International Studies, examines this trend.
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Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni recently assented to an anti-ponography legislation, as the country grapples with international pressure on another tough anti-homosexuality laws. The law will see homosexuals jailed for life, despite warnings from key allies including the United States. Rev, Simon Lokodo, is Uganda’s Minister of State for Ethics and Integrity, in the Office of the President and spoke to African Confidential’s Godfrey Olukya and we bring you the excerpts.
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Laws on homosexuality in African nations | African Confidential Magazine
Many African countries, with the notable exception of South Africa, have laws that ban or repress homosexuality. On Monday, Uganda’s president signed into law a bill that includes life terms for those convicted several times of practising homosexuality.
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analyses emphasize how the Ugandan regime was the main agent, wanting to divert attention from other issues. In this piece, I want to problematize these monocausal explanations. Instead, I want to highlight how due to a range of factors, Museveni was no longer in full control over the bill, leaving little other option than to sign it. More generally, different actors have been trying to influence the bill and had an impact on the debate – not always in the ways they intended to, such as Western donors. In this context, it is hard to put ‘blame’ on one particular set of actors, be it American evangelicals, Western donors or a master plan of the Museveni regime: all of them played a role in the bill becoming law.
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Using the Heckman sample selectivity model, this study identified farmers’ perception and adaptation to climate variability in Eastern Uganda, in order to support development of public policy and investment that can help increase adaptation to climate variability. The study was based on the premise that farmers who perceive change in climate and respond (or fail respond) share some common characteristics, which are important in understanding the reasons underlying their response (or failure to respond). Stratified random sampling was used to obtain a sample of 353 households across the three agro-ecological zones in Eastern Uganda, from which data was collected. In addition, 9 focus group discussions and 23 Key Informants Interviews were conducted, targeting smallholder farmers and agricultural stakeholders in the region. Results indicate that farmers’ decisions to adopt adaptation technologies are primarily determined by their perceptions of rainfall adequacy (subjective index). The probability of adoption of adaptation technologies by male headed households and those with more members showed a 12% and 23% higher chance of adaptation respectively as compared to their counterparts. These factors relate to labour endowment, implying the need to build strong social protection mechanisms at household and community levels. The probability of responding to climate variability also varied by location with a 15% and 6% smaller chance for location in Mbale and Sironko respectively as compared to Pallisa. Access to weather information is the single most important factor affecting farmers’ perceptions of climate variability, implying the need to develop and dissemination appropriate weather information to guide farmers in making adaptation decisions.
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This paper undertook a structural analysis of the youth labor force in Uganda by documenting their location in the Ugandan economy by residence, region, sector, and employment status. Whereas we find quite impressive labor force participation rates and the employment population ratio, they do not necessarily reflect more and better employment opportunities because of the high degree of informality where most of the youth are underemployed. Over 90% of the youth were employed in the informal sector outside agriculture with slightly more female youth than their male counterparts. The quality of the youth labor in terms of education is improving though will lower attainment rates at postsecondary level, however, the quality of the youth labor force is higher in urban than in rural areas. An increase in self-employment is observed which is an indication of high rate of job creation is in the informal economy. Very low youth unemployment rates are observed suggesting a significant time underemployment. Additionally, there is a significant proportion of the youth that are skill underemployed; their educational attainment was higher than the educational level required by their current main jobs. Youth unemployment problem is more of an urban phenomenon with a higher proportion of the youth unemployed in Kampala compared to other regions. Our findings suggest that increasing labor productivity in agricultural as well as in the non-agricultural informal sector where the majority of the youth are located might help to solve the youth unemployment and underemployment predicaments. There is also need to ensure access to cheap finance by the youth, practical education, secure premises for informal businesses, and design policies to slow down the current population growth rates.
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This article engages with recent attempts to bridge the apparent divide between disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) and transitional justice, and their implications for post-conflict environments characterized by large-scale displacement. Much of the literature on technical, institutional remedies to better coordinate DDR and transitional justice and respond effectively to displacement overlooks a series of theoretical and empirical challenges stemming from diffuse or decentralized conflict in the post-Cold War era. The article highlights these general problems by examining the cases of Rwanda and Uganda, neighbouring countries recovering from continuing cycles of mass conflict and forced displacement over the last two decades. Based on the author's interviews with over 1,000 respondents, it shows that attempts to coordinate DDR and transitional justice have been much more problematic in both countries than most commentators suggest. Greater recognition of the challenges of diffuse violence, and more careful policymaking by national and international actors, are required in the pursuit of lasting peace and security after mass conflict and displacement.
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Trust in others is a foundational feature of a prosperous and flourishing society and serves as the basis for collective action and cooperation. In this paper, we emphasize that trust is a learned capacity, one that educational efforts should attempt to cultivate among students. We provide an in-depth discussion of how trust is conceptualized, as well as how it relates to the capabilities approach in education. Drawing from qualitative data collected in Honduras and Uganda, we identify four potential ways that education can build trust: (1) teacher/student relations that emphasize shared learning; (2) peer relations that emphasize collaboration rather than competition; (3) direct engagement with the community through service projects; and (4) the incorporation of lessons about trust and community in the curriculum.
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Multinational corporations (MNCs) have a role to play in addressing pressing social problems such as chronic poverty in Africa. This article examines community perspectives on the role of MNCs in eradicating poverty in Africa. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered by interviewing members of the general public, Sheraton Uganda employees, and Sheraton trainees in urban Kampala, Uganda. The majority across the three categories of respondents believed that MNCs had a role to play in eradicating poverty. The most frequently cited roles that MNCs could play included providing employment, contributing to community development projects, and providing industrial training to youth. Other roles cited included providing local markets, providing emergency assistance to disaster survivors, environmental protection, staff development, and contributing to the tax base. The research findings from this study seem to suggest a mismatch between current MNCs' corporate social responsibility investments in East Africa and what the communities perceive as their real needs. There is, however, a need to undertake broader studies to confirm these findings.
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The article is concerned with the relationship between the processes of return after mass displacement, and social repair. If mass displacement frays the social fabric of the family and community, possibilities of re-crafting a viable sociality are also found within these intimate relations. Thus, we look to the everyday as a space of negotiation and renegotiation of social relationships that make life meaningful. The article considers these propositions in the context of the forced displacement of up to 90 per cent of the Acholi population during the height of the war in northern Uganda between 1986 and 2008, and in the processes of mass return of displaced persons after the war. It takes as a point of departure the efforts of two sisters as they struggle to overcome their displacement from family networks, and seek to restore their status through the performance of Acholi notions of motherhood. Their efforts are collectivized by working with other female heads of households to trace paternal clans, and secure a future for their children. The concept of social repair, we suggest, illuminates the way return involves the day-to-day processual negotiation of relationships.
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Recently, Mr. Museveni made himself the centre of a global debate on the rights of gay people by signing into law new legislation imposing harsh sentences for homosexuality. However, at the nerve centre of this public theatre is not the gay debate, but Mr. Museveni’s increasingly public show of independence from traditional western partners who have, until now, enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with him. This has been driven mainly by peace and security concerns in the Great Lakes region.
