LEGAL AND PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION

QUESTION 1
Examine the relevance of the local community action in conflict resolution in Sub-Sahara Africa and explain some of the challenges there in.
INTRODUCTION
A community is defined as a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household (Barker et al. 1987).
Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of some social conflict. Often, committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest of the group such as intentions, reasons for holding certain beliefs and by engaging in collective negotiation. Ultimately, a wide range of methods and procedures for addressing conflict exist and of course local community action is one of them (Robinson and Clifford (1974).
Local community action in conflict resolution use local actors and traditional community-based judicial and legal decision-making mechanisms to manage and resolve conflicts within or between communities. Local mechanisms aim to resolve conflicts without resorting to state-run judicial systems, police, or other external structures.
Local community negotiations in conflict can lead to ad-hoc practical agreements which keep broader inter-communal relations positive.
Additional results of local conflict management occur when actors who do not have political, social or economic stake in continuing violence come together and build a "constituency for peace." In some cases, this can undermine the perpetrators of violence, leading to the development of momentum toward peace.
Local mediation typically incorporates consensus-building based on open discussions to exchange information and clarify issues. Conflicting parties are more likely to accept guidance from these mediators than from other sources because an elder’s decision does not entail any loss of face and is backed by social pressure. The end result is, ideally, a sense of unity, shared involvement and responsibility, and dialogue among groups otherwise in conflict.
Local mechanisms intervene to resolve community disputes before they escalate to large-scale violence or to prevent a resumption of violence after a period of calm. Generally one or both parties to a dispute request intervention by an elder, the elder council, or other community member. Occasionally, elders unite and take the initiative in forming a local council to represent the community’s interests.
Community members involved in the conflict participate in the dispute resolution process. These community members can include traditional authorities, elders, chiefs, women’s organizations, local institutions and professional associations.
The elders function as a court with broad and flexible powers to interpret evidence, impose judgments, and manage the process of reconciliation. The mediator leads and channels discussion of the problem. Parties typically do not address each other, eliminating direct confrontation. Interruptions are not allowed while parties state their case. Statements are followed by open deliberation which may integrate listening to and cross-examining witnesses, the free expression of grievances, caucusing with both groups, reliance on circumstantial evidence, visiting dispute scenes, seeking opinions and views of neighbors, reviewing past cases, holding private consultations, and considering solutions.
The elders or other traditional mediators use their judgment and position of moral ascendancy to find an accepted solution. Decisions may be based on consensus within the elders’ or chiefs’ council and may be rendered on the spot. Resolution may involve forgiveness and mutual formal release of the problem, and, if necessary, the arrangement of restitution.
Also International agencies can promote local dispute resolution mechanisms to ensure that local actors participate in conflict management by partnering with existing local institutions.
External players such as humanitarian organizations, UN officials, peacekeepers and official delegations can empower local mediation groups in acknowledging their relevance, meeting with them when visiting an area and securing their input into planning, building on traditional structures for peace and conflict resolution, and using those structures in dealing with ongoing conflicts, developing a strategy for identifying conflict resolvers and peacemakers within each cultural group in the operating area, validating and empowering existing conflict resolvers, and creating opportunities for their interaction with other communities
It should be remembered that a local peace process is generally low-cost. Local efforts may be financed through community sources, or may require external, including international, support especially in the initial stage of rejuvenating such mechanisms.
There are several challenges facing community action in conflict resolution as here below presented;
First of all, the process may be time-consuming and encourage broad discussion of aspects that may seem unrelated to the central problem, as the mediator tries to situate the conflict in the disputants’ frame of reference and decide on an appropriate style and format of intervention.
Some traditional conflict mitigation efforts may be weakened by age or gender bias for example, in cases with no women elders, some women may believe that male elders are biased against women and that this will be reflected in their decisions. Indigenous, traditional authorities generally are not progressive elements of social change.
Local conflict management’s potential effectiveness is diminished where traditional authority has eroded and armed authority has increased, since these trends run counter to traditional values and ways of social organization, including those of handling conflict.
Indigenous mediation has a dynamic of its own and does not always respond positively to external prompting. Indigenous mediation requires delicate and knowledgeable management, and external actors must bring an intimate understanding of local conditions.
The process of strengthening international and regional institutions has neglected internal solutions. Conflict is inherent in society; so are mechanisms for dealing with it. The decline of traditional authority and its role in conflict mediation has contributed to the development of large-scale conflict (as in Liberia, Somalia and Sudan). In other cases, parties to broader conflicts have subverted traditional mediation mechanisms or included them in the conflict for example in Rwanda and, to a lesser extent, Burundi.
Finally High-profile peace fora financed and organized by external parties may interfere with more than assist in producing plausible settlements, especially if conducted without coordinating with local non-military leaders. At the national or international level, such efforts may require external support, such as logistical assistance, and probably should be accompanied by other actions to prevent the immediate outbreak of violence
CONCLUSION
Key authority structures of conflicting parties must be included in the process, including traditional, military, administrative, and religious leaders and those with moral authority in the community must be central to the process, educated exiles also have a role to play. while the external support should be minimal and fill gaps, taking care not to replace indigenous leadership. Hence the external assistance must take care to supplement rather than overwhelm existing local grassroots initiatives and the external actors planning to support local mediation mechanisms must bring local experience, perhaps even anthropological knowledge of the area.

REFERENCES
Adams,M. & Bradbury,M(1995): Conflict and Development: Background Paper for UNICEF/NGO Workshop. New York, NY: United Nations.
Agrawal, A., (1995): Dismantling the Divide between Indigenous and Scientific Knowledge. Development and Change.
Avruch,K(1991): Conflict Resolution: Cross-Cultural Perspectives. New York, NY: Greenwood Press.
Barzilai, Gad. (2003): Communities and Law: Politics and Cultures of Legal Identities. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press
Berkes, F. (1989): Co-management and the James Bay Agreement. In Cooperative Management of Local Fisheries: New Directions for Improved Management and Community Development, ed. by E. Pinkerton.
Cox, F,J.(1970): Strategies of Community Organization: A Book of Readings. Itasca, IL: F. E.
Warren, D & Brokensha,D:(1995): The Cultural Dimensions of Development. Intermediate Technology Publications, London.










QUESTION 2
With specific references to northern Uganda, Discuss the practices and legal challenges of peace agreement between LRA, the government of Uganda and suggest some possible solution.
INTRODUCTION
The Lord's Resistance Army is a militant group with a syncretic Christian and traditional African religious ideology. Until it was flushed out of Uganda, the group was operating in northern Uganda, But now it has moved to South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Central Africa Republic.
The LRA was formed in 1987 and until about 2007 it was engaged in an armed rebellion against the Ugandan government. It is led by Joseph Kony, who proclaims himself the "spokesperson" of God and a spirit medium, primarily of the Holy Spirit, which the group believes can represent itself in many manifestations.
Practices and legal challenges of peace agreement between LRA, the government of Uganda;
Lasting peace for northern Uganda, which has been plagued by conflict and displacement for twenty-one years, remains a challenge. With the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) indictments issued against top leaders of the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) remains a thorny question, with the potential to derail the peace effort. Hence this poses a challenge to peace agreements between LRA and the government of Uganda.
It is a challenge in that the Rebel leaders do state that they cannot sign an agreement unless the ICC indictments are dropped. Lifting the indictments, however, poses serious concerns about the integrity of international justice. To break the deadlock, all parties should carefully consider practical approaches to provisions of the Rome Statute (the treaty constituting the ICC) that would enable suspension of the indictments.
In late December 2003, President Museveni referred the situation in northern Uganda to the newly created International Criminal Court. In July 2004, the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) officially opened an investigation, and in October 2005, the ICC issued indictments for five top LRA leaders, including Joseph Kony.
Real progress on ending the humanitarian crisis and pursuing a coherent long-term strategy for reconstruction in the north cannot take place without guarantees of peace and security. Establishing peace, however, requires difficult decisions about how to reconcile humanitarian imperatives and the unquestionable need for stability in the region with the outstanding ICC indictments.
As stated in the Rome Statute, the goal of the ICC is to prevent atrocities like war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide by ending impunity. In the statute’s Preamble, the states parties affirm that such crimes “must not go unpunished and that their effective prosecution must be ensured.” States also pledge in the Preamble to “reaffirm the Principles and Purposes of the Charter of the United Nations.” The UN Charter commits states to take collective measures to maintain peace and security through peaceful means when possible. This obligation is rooted in a fundamental principle to avoid the instability, atrocities, and protracted humanitarian crises war often produces.
Ideally, these international commitments to prosecute and punish serious crimes and peacefully end or prevent conflict should work hand in hand. To some extent, this scenario has occurred in northern Uganda.
In addition due to pressure from the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS), the LRA’s decision to negotiate in Juba was partially attributed to the international indictments, which initially raised rebel fears that an international force would attempt to arrest the LRA leaders and that finding safe haven would become more difficult. During the negotiations, LRA attacks in northern Uganda essentially stopped.
The involvement of the ICC strengthened discussions of justice and accountability in Uganda and within the context of the negotiations. In fact, one of the five agenda items of the talks, Agenda Item Three, specifically addresses reconciliation and accountability. The agreement on Agenda Item Three provides for formal judicial processes within Uganda to adjudicate allegations of serious human rights violations arising from the conflict. As stated in the annexure to the agreement, a special division of the High Court of Uganda would try such cases.
The agreement also provides for “a regime of alternative penalties and sanctions,” which would reflect the gravity of the crimes and promote reconciliation within communities. The parties have discussed domestic justice mechanisms because under the complementarity provisions of the Rome Statute, a state may lawfully reclaim a case begun by the ICC and try it domestically if the state is genuinely willing and able to carry out prosecution and conform to international standards of prosecution and punishment. This also meant practices and legal challenges of peace agreement between LRA, the government of Uganda simply because of suspicion of unfair trial in case the local courts were to try the rebel commanders.
The twin goals of peace and justice begin to diverge, however, when we assume that imprisonment is the only form of punishment acceptable under the Rome Statute and under international standards more generally. Therefore it was unlikely that Kony and the other ICC inductees would agree to be subjected to a judicial process which would ultimately lead to their incarceration. Consequently, imprisonment was probably not among the “alternative penalties and sanctions” envisioned in the Agenda Item Three Agreement on Reconciliation and Accountability signed by the LRA. This indeed posed a challenge to the prospects for peace in northern Uganda.
Further more, while the Rome Statute upholds the obligation to end impunity and punish perpetrators who commit terrible atrocities, the treaty also leaves room in certain provisions to deal with hard cases where a range of factors must be weighed. While these provisions could conceivably preclude international or domestic prosecution and incarceration, their careful use is nonetheless consistent with international law. The flexibility they allow also serves to uphold respect for the international justice system over the long run. Moreover, implementation of these provisions need not involve a zero-sum trade-off of justice for peace. In each instance, justice should certainly be maximized within the limitations raised by the case at hand. This kind of arrangement directly or indirectly affected the practices and legal peace agreement between LRA and the government of Uganda hence proved to be a challenge to peace agreements.
Further still according to Rome Statute, it is critical to build the ICC’s enforcement capacity. The Statute envisions an international justice system where perpetrators of major international crimes are arrested, tried, and punished with commensurate prison terms. But the enforcement challenges presented by the Uganda case suggest that expectations of what the ICC can achieve in its early stages may be too high. Insisting on unrealistic outcomes causes the victims to pay unacceptably for the challenges the international justice system currently faces. Instead, the international community should explore ways to strengthen the ICC’s enforcement capacity in ways that minimize the risks to stability and to drawing out protracted humanitarian crises. Moving forward, a more tangible international commitment to improved enforcement would counter any concerns about the integrity of international justice raised by the Uganda case.
This briefing provides a background of the conflict and ongoing attempts at peace, reflects the diverse views expressed during the consultations about justice priorities, and offers recommendations on how to move forward with a comprehensive justice plan.
Another point in place as to the practices and legal challenges of peace agreement between LRA, the government of Uganda was the Comprehensive Amnesty designed by the Uganda government whose one of its key components of justice is the Amnesty Act, which the Ugandan government enacted in 2000 as a response to popular demand to end the stalemated conflict. The amnesty granted is exceptionally broad, stating that from 1986 onward "any Ugandan who has himself of herself engaged in war or armed rebellion against the government by either participating in combat, engaging in any other criminal activity connected with the conflict, or aiding or abetting insurgents shall not be prosecuted or subjected to any form of punishment" as long as they agree to renounce their affiliation with rebel groups. This indeed also posed a challenge to the practices and legal peace agreement between LRA, the government of Uganda.

Possible solutions to practices and legal challenges of peace agreement between LRA and the government of Uganda are here below presented;
First and foremost, alternative justice mechanisms are necessary to solve the challenges highlighted above as these shall promote reconciliation and shall include traditional justice processes, alternative sentences, reparations, and any other formal institutions or mechanisms.
Secondly, the parties in the conflict need to acknowledge the need for an overarching justice framework that will provide for the exercise of formal criminal jurisdiction, and for the adoption and recognition of complementary alternative justice mechanisms hence they need to promote appropriate reconciliation mechanisms to address issues arising from within or outside Uganda with respect to the conflict.
Further more the removal of the LRA/LRM from the list of Terrorist Organizations under the Anti-Terrorism Act of Uganda upon the LRA/LRM abandoning rebellion, ceasing fire, and submitting its members to the process of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration can be a solution as well.
Finally, alternative penalties and sanctions are necessary to solve the challenges. Such alternatives need to reflect the gravity of the crimes or violations, promote reconciliation between individuals and within communities, promote the rehabilitation of offenders, take into account an individual's admissions or other cooperation with proceedings and require perpetrators to make reparations to victims.
CONCLUSION
Conclusively, Uganda has institutions and mechanisms, customs and usages as provided for and recognized under national laws, capable of addressing the crimes and human rights violations committed during the LRA conflict. Therefore such mechanisms can solve the legal and peace challenges mentioned in this presentation as this will ensure modifications required within the national legal system to ensure a more effective and integrated justice to deal with the rebels of LRA domestically.
REFERENCES
Briggs, Jimmie (2005): Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go to War. Basic Books.

Green, Matthew (2008): The Wizard of the Nile: The Hunt for Africa's Most Wanted. Portobello Books.

Singer, P, W. (2006): Children at War. University of California Press.

Vlassenroot, K. (2010): The Lord's Resistance Army: Myth and Reality. Zed Books Ltd..

BBC News (23 January 2008): Uganda's LRA confirm Otti death. Retrieved 20 Noember 2011.

Kavanagh, M J. (2010): "Obama Administration Asks for Funds to Boost Uganda's Fight Against Rebels". Bloomberg. Retrieved 19/11/2011.

"Obama Sending 100 Armed Advisers to Africa to Help Fight Renegade Group". New York Times. 2011-10-14. Retrieved 15/11/2011

http://northernuganda.usvpp.gov/peacerec2.html/17/11/2011
http://jicj.oxfordjournals.org/content/6/4/801.abstract/17/11/2011
http://resolver.scholarsportal.info/resolve/19/11/2011











QUESTION 3
Explain the objectives of African union and discuss why AU is unable to enforce and promote legal and practical peace.

INTRODUCTION
The African Union (abbreviated AU) is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organization of African Unity (OAU). The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states. The AU's secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The African Union is made up of both political and administrative bodies. The highest decision-making organ is the Assembly of the African Union, made up of all the heads of state or government of member states of the AU. Currently the Assembly is chaired by Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, leader of Equatorial Guinea, elected at the tenth ordinary meeting of the Assembly in January 2011. The AU also has a representative body, the Pan African Parliament, which consists of 265 members elected by the national parliaments of the AU member states.
Other political institutions of the AU include;
• The Executive Council, made up of foreign ministers, which prepares decisions for the Assembly;
• The Permanent Representatives Committee, made up of the ambassadors to Addis Ababa of AU member states; and
• The Economic, Social, and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), a civil society consultative body.
.

The following are objectives of the African Union (AU);
 Achieve greater unity and solidarity between the African counties and the peoples of Africa
 Defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its Member States
 Accelerate the political and socio-economic integration of the continent;
 Promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to the continent
 Encourage international cooperation, taking due account of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
 Promote peace, security, and stability on the continent
 Promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance
 Promote and protect human and peoples' rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and other relevant human rights instruments
 Establish the necessary conditions which enable the continent to play its rightful role in the global economy and in international negotiations
 Promote sustainable development at the economic, social and cultural levels as well as the integration of African economies
 Promote cooperation in all fields of human activity to raise the living standards of African peoples
 Coordinate and harmonize policies between existing and future Regional Economic Communities for the gradual attainment of the objectives of the Union
 Advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields, in particular in science and technology
 Work with relevant international partners in the eradication of preventable diseases and the promotion of good health on the continent
The African Union aims range from promoting the advancement of science and technology to raising the living standards of Africa’s citizens.
African Union is unable to enforce and promote legal and practical peace due to various factors as here under presented;
First and foremost, the success of the African Union depends primarily on the ability to learn from the failures of the Organization of African States (OAU), one of which was the inability of the Organization to foster peace within its own membership.
The Organization of African States, which was created in 1963, was not able, although outlined within its own charter to stop wars between its member states, nor was it able to prevent genocidal violence such as in Rwanda in 1994. This historical factor in still present in Africa and makes AU unable to effectively enforce legal and practical peace.
Secondly, according to the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS), the defining feature of intervention is that it is conducted without the consent of the target state. A request for assistance by a recognized government therefore falls outside of this definition. The right of intervention by international or regional organizations in the internal affairs of member states therefore contradicts the traditional concept of state sovereignty on which the UN and the present AU charters are based.
Thirdly, the African Union Constitutive Act Article 4(j) provides that for the “right of Member States to request intervention from the Union in order to restore peace and security.” This goes far beyond the ‘just cause’ threshold defined by the ICISS.

Further more, on the face of it, the act provides much leeway in this regard, for example, Article 4(m) provides for “respect for democratic principles, human rights, the rule of law and good governance”. Article 4(o) provides for “respect for the sanctity of human life, condemnation and rejection of impunity and political assassination, acts of terrorism and subversive activities”. Article 4(p) provides for the “condemnation and rejection of unconstitutional changes of government”.
Also basing on the above sweeping provisions, and others that create the lack of clarity in the act that has now led to the development of a Protocol relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution to be submitted to African heads of state in Durban for their approval. The Protocol provides for the establishment of a completely revamped Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution “which shall be a collective security and early-warning arrangement to facilitate timely and efficient response to conflict and crisis situations in Africa”.8 This will replace the existing structure authorized through the 1993 Cairo Declaration on the establishment of the AU Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution.

Other considerations in the development of the Protocol are, of course, the intense sense of competition evident in Addis Ababa from the overlap on peace and security issues with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD A second contention is the extent to which the peer review mechanism, the sole remaining preserve of the unit responsible for the Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Co-operation (CSSDCA) within the AU, is now duplicated by the proposed NEPAD peer review mechanism hence such confusion does help African Union to effectively enforce and promote legal and practical peace.

The concept of state sovereignty, on which the international system and the AU are founded, presumes that each state has the power, authority and competence to govern its territory. For many African states, however, sovereignty is a legal fiction that is not matched by governance and administrative capacity. Some analysts go so far as to argue that such states violate the prerequisite for UN membership contained in Article 4(1) of the UN Charter, that members must be “able and willing to carry out the obligations”5 of the organization. This indeed makes it difficult for African Union to effectively enforce and promote legal and practical peace.
On the other hand, the AU itself derives its authority from state actors, and is built on the presumption of their sovereignty and legitimacy. The challenge for the AU is to become accountable to the people of Africa. It can only do so if it is composed of elected leaders that adhere to human rights and respect the tenants of accountable and good governance where governance in the interests of all and not only a few. Admittedly the OAU had little choice in the matter since intergovernmental organizations are ultimately beholden to their member states. But the AU could be different.
Transparency and popular participation must be built into the procedures of the AU at all levels, including the proposed Peace and Security Council (the successor to the Central Organ of the OAU) if the Union is to develop the political will and responsiveness necessary to uphold the commitments of the AU act. But much more is needed. African leaders must reflect, through their actions and treatment of one another, the values that lie at the core of stability, democracy and peace. Such a demonstration demands a fundamental break from the past practice of unquestioning solidarity among leaders. It demands an acceptance of the responsibility to protect.

CONCLUSION
The modern trend, also reflected in Article 4(o) of the AU act, is that it is necessary to combat cultures of impunity in order to promote long-term reconciliation, peace and democracy. Collective security can also help African Union to effectively enforce and promote legal and practical peace since the security of one is the concern of all, and agrees to join in a collective response to threats to, and breaches of, the peace. This encompasses the totality of states within the region addresses a wide range of possible threats.

REFERENCES
Asante, S.K(2001): Towards an African Economic Community’, Africa Institute of South Africa, Pretoria.
Genge, M(2000): African Union and a Pan – African Parliament: Working Papers’, Africa Institute of South Africa, Pretoria.
Mazrui, A.A and Patel, H.H(1973): Africa in World Affairs: The Next Thirty Years’, The Third Press, New York.
Meny, Y, and Quermonne, J(1996): Adjusting to Europe : The impact of the European Union on national institutions and policies’, Routledge, London.
Robson, P,(1983): Integration, Development and Equity: Economic Integration in West Africa’, George Allen & Unwin’, London.
Rumford, C,(2002): The European Union: A Political Sociology’, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford.













QUESTION 4
Discuss the fact that the atrocities being committed in northern Uganda are major threat to international security.

INTRODUCTION
International security consists of the measures taken by nations and international organizations, such as the United Nations, to ensure mutual survival and safety. These measures include military action and diplomatic agreements such as treaties and conventions. International and national security are invariably linked. International security is national security or state security in the global arena.

Atrocities refer to appalling or atrocious acts, situations, or objects, especially an act of unusual or illegal cruelty inflicted by an armed force on civilians or prisoners which are extremely wicked or cruel, typically ones involving physical violence or injury.
Northern Uganda had suffered from civil unrest since the early 1980s. Hundreds of people were killed in the rebellion against the Ugandan government, and an estimated 400-thousand people were left homeless.
As the question proposes, indeed the atrocities being committed in northern Uganda are major threat to international security as presented here below;
First of all it has attracted the attention of international security players for example USA was forced to intervene as evidenced by the statement made by the President OBAMA on the signing of the Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009. This law was introduced into the US Senate and House of Representatives in May 2009, and has since become the most widely supported Africa-specific legislation in recent Congressional history. The law was cosponsored by a bipartisan group of 65 Senators and 201 Representatives, representing 49 states and 90% of US citizens. Tens of thousands of Americans mobilized in support of the legislation, participating in hundreds of meetings with Congressional offices across the country.
Secondly the Human Rights Watch has also noted that LRA has committed various atrocities against the people of northern Uganda in particular and the international community in general. Anneke Van Woudenberg, Senior Researcher at Human Rights Watch maintains that for years civilians in central Africa have also suffered immensely from LRA violence.
Because of the above situation, human rights watch support apprehension of the indicted LRA commanders as part of a comprehensive strategy to permanently stop LRA atrocities. Human rights watch further recommends that President Obama should move swiftly to take advantage of this historic opportunity to help bring closure to one of the worst human rights crises likely to be caused by LRA.
Thirdly, it has also attracted the International intervention which include International criminal court issuing warrant of arrest to the top commanders of LRA who are accused of crimes against humanity. ICC notes that LRA violence has plagued central Africa for more than two decades. In northern Uganda, thousands of civilians were killed and nearly two million displaced by the conflict between the rebels and the Ugandan government.
In July 2005, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the senior leaders of the LRA for crimes they committed in northern Uganda, but the suspects remain at large. Though the rebel group ended attacks in northern Uganda in 2006, it then moved its bases to the northern Democratic Republic of Congo and has since committed acts of violence against civilians in Congo, Sudan, and the Central African Republic. Kony and his top commanders sustain their ranks by abducting civilians, including children, to use as soldiers and sexual slaves.
So far, the International Criminal Court has opened investigations into seven situations: the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Uganda; the Central African Republic, Darfur, Sudan; the Republic of Kenya; the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire. Of these seven, three were referred to the Court by the states parties (Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic), two were referred by the United Nations Security Council (Darfur and Libya) and two were begun proprio motu by the Prosecutor (Kenya and Côte d'Ivoire).
The Court publicly indicted 26 people, proceedings against 23 of whom are ongoing. The ICC has issued arrest warrants for 17 individuals and summonses to nine others. Five individuals are in custody and are being tried while eight individuals remain at large as fugitives (although one is reported to have died). Additionally, two individuals have been arrested by national authorities, but have not yet been transferred to the Court. Proceedings against three individuals have finished following the death of two and the dismissal of charges against the other.
As of end September 2010, the Office of the Prosecutor had received 8,874 communications about alleged crimes. After initial review, 4,002 of these communications were dismissed as “manifestly outside the jurisdiction of the Court”
In December 2008, following the collapse of a negotiations process, Sudan, Uganda and Congo began a joint military offensive, “Operation Lightening Thunder,” against the rebel group, with backing from the United States. In the subsequent 17 months the LRA had dispersed into multiple smaller groups and had brutally murdered at least 1,500 civilians and abducted at least 1,600 people, many of them children. LRA violence has often targeted churches, school and markets, and includes the massacre of over 300 Congolese civilians in an attack in the same year.
Further more, the northern Uganda atrocities by LRA have spread through out the Central Africa where they continued to kill and abduct people both indigenous and foreigners. At one time LRA commanders threatened to undermine the referendum in southern Sudan. Hence the LRA atrocities are a clear threat to international peace and security.
With the movement of the LRA into CAR, the Uganda Civil War had effectively escalated into a regional conflict that involved 4 countries that is the DRC, the CAR, Sudan, and Uganda. The LRA, the last remaining anti-government organization from the Uganda Civil War, continued to remain a threat to the region in 2010 by attacking remote locations and they continued to evade capture of the Ugandan military. The goals of the LRA had become increasingly unclear and they did not appear to pose a threat to the governments of any of the countries they operated in, preferring to prey on civilians, killing, raping, and mutilating the people of central Africa; stealing and brutalizing their children; and displacing hundreds of thousands of people in the process. The United States government stated in 2010, that the Lord's Resistance Army had no agenda and no purpose other than its own survival.
Conclusion
The ICC, by investigating and prosecuting those responsible of committing mass atrocities, is supposed to act as a method for deterring and preventing future atrocity crimes from being committed. The effectiveness of this deterrence and prevention depends on the certainty and severity of the consequences of committing those crimes. However, should justice or peace be more important in terms of ending a conflict, such as those in Somalia, Uganda and Sudan? Should justice be sacrificed for peace and an end to conflict and ultimately, the greater good? Or should justice prevail and perpetrators be prosecuted even at the expense of atrocity crimes being perpetrated? The ICC is still in its infant stage to some extent and whether the prosecution of Al-Bashir and other perpetrators will cause other would-be perpetrators to think twice before committing gross human rights abuses remains to be seen.










REFERENCES

Evans, G. 2008. The Responsibility to Protect: Ending Mass Atrocity Crimes Once and For All. Brookings Institution Press: Washington, D.C.

Kegley, C.W. and Wittkopf, E.R. (2006): World Politics: Trends and Transformation Thomson Wadsworth: Belmont, USA.

Associated Press, 30 May 2007. Human Rights Watch: Ugandan rebels must face justice, even if not before international court. Accessed 24/11/211.

http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/cah/ij/w_context/w_context.aspx . Accessed: 14/11/2011.
http://www.iccnow.org/documents/CICCFS_Crime_of_Aggression_Factsheet_FINAL_eng_1May07.pdf. (Coalition for the International Criminal Court. 2007). The ICC and the Crime of Aggression. Available from: Accessed: 20/11/2011.

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5966&l=1 . Accessed: 06/01/2010.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7500437.stm . Accessed: 07/01/2010.

Gender and Conflict

Question 1
Structure Inequalities and Institutional injustice may be some of the causes of Conflict on the African continent. Discuss other causes you have studied.
Introduction
Structure inequality is defined as a condition that arises out of attributing an unequal status to a category of people in relation to one or more other categories, a relationship that is perpetuated and reinforced by a confluence of unequal relations in roles, functions, decisions rights, and opportunities.
Institutional injustice refers to injury, wrong, grievance, acts or conditions that cause people to suffer hardship or loss undeservedly. An injustice is a violation of a person's rights, the term can also refer to unfair treatment of another or others. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" (Martin Luther King, Jr. 1968).
Conflicts refer to disputes, disagreements, quarrels, struggles, fights, and wars between individuals, groups and countries. All over the world, there is no complete agreement as to how wealth, among other issues like power and status among individuals and groups should be shared and how to use it to effect the necessary changes and reforms. Since we all have diverse interests both as groups, nations and individuals, our aims are bound to differ with one another. Conflict s occurs when the deprived group, nation or individuals attempt to increase their share of power and wealth or to modify the dominant values, norms, beliefs or ideology. Gesiye A (2003).
Conflicts arise where the parties come to have incompatible interests, values or goals. ‘Attitudes’ refer to the tendency for the parties to see conflict from their own point of view, to identify with one side, and to diminish the concerns of others and lastly, ‘behaviours’ includes gestures and communications, which can convey either a hostile or a conciliatory intent. Galtung (1996).
There have been over nine (9) million refugees and internally displaced people from conflicts in Africa. Hundreds and thousands of people have been slaughtered from a number of conflicts and civil wars.
The causes of conflicts in Africa are numerous, interconnected and interrelated, ranging from individual or group violations, to structural inequality and injustice. Factors like political corruption, lack of respect for rule of law, human rights violations and so forth do contribute to conflicts on the African continent. Some causes of conflicts in Africa are local while others are the result transformations in the international structure since the end of the cold war. Continuing economic decline and material insecurity are accompanied in many countries in Africa by increase in political instability and conflicts.
Both poverty and conflict are related. Poverty can cause conflict while conflict can lead to poverty based on the state of insecurity and bad governance Draman R (2003). Many communities in Africa most especially the conflict torn areas are suffering from hunger and starvation. Africa as a continent is seen as a poor continent (Rawls 1999)
Conflicts in Africa, as everywhere, are caused by human action, and can be ended by human action. Most of these conflicts has been characterized by extreme brutality for example in Rwanda alone, in 100 days, about a million people were massacred, a scale of killings that is unprecedented in world history. More than 30 wars have been fought in Africa since 1970, and most of these have been internal rather than inter-state wars (Anup Shah 2009). From the above one can infer that most of the Conflicts in Africa are based on internal wrangling, Example of this can be seen from the Ogoni land in Nigeria.
Hunger/famine has been another fundamental cause of conflicts in Africa which mainly caused by successive failed rains.
A famine/hunger is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has experienced a period of famine throughout history. Many countries continue to have extreme cases of famine which in fact cause conflicts in the long run.
A wave of protests has erupted in Africa. A combination of the global financial crisis, rising costs of living, high unemployment especially of educated youth, frustration from decades of living under authoritarian and corrupt regimes, various document leaks revealing more details about how governments around the world are dealing and viewing each other, have all combined in different ways in various countries, leading to a wave of rising anger.
However, despite successive failed rains, the crisis has been criticized as avoidable and man-made. This is because the situation had been predicted many months before by an international early warning system. Both the international community and governments in the region have been accused of doing very little in the lead up to this crisis. In addition, high food prices have forced food out of the reach of many people, while local conflicts exacerbate the situation.
Further electoral frauds have also caused conflicts in some African states. For example following elections in Cote d’Ivoire in October 2010, both President Laurent Gbagbo and opposition candidate, Alassane Ouattara, claimed victory. International observers agreed that the Ouattara had won, but Gbagbo refused to accept this. Negotiations failed and while the world’s attention was elsewhere, the situation became volatile and violent outbursts turned into the country’s second civil war. Forces supporting Ouattara have swept through the country and Gbagbo’s position looks precarious while he remains defiant. This has caused Gbagbo to face international criminal court (ICC) to answer questions against humanity.
More still the conflict in the DR Congo (formerly known as Zaire) has involved seven nations. There have been a number of complex reasons, including conflicts over basic resources such as water, access and control over rich minerals and other resources and various political agendas. This has been fueled and supported by various national and international corporations and other regimes which have an interest in the outcome of the conflict.
Further still, for Niger Delta in Nigeria there have been conflicts by environmentalists, human rights activists and fair trade advocates. The trial and hanging of environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other members of the Ogoni ethnic minority made world-wide attention. So too did the non-violent protests of the Ogoni people. The activities of large oil corporations such as Mobil, Chevron, Shell, Elf, Agip and so on have raised many concerns and criticisms hence ending up in violent conflicts.
Sierra Leone has seen serious and grotesque human rights violations since 1991 when the civil war erupted. According to Human Rights Watch, over 50,000 people have been killed to date, with over one million people having been displaced. There have been numerous factors contributing to problems such as the diamond connection, the gross abuses committed by both rebel and government forces, and the problems of the current peace treaty. This situation has resulted into a serious conflict there.
It should also be noted that 30 years of war and conflict as Eritrea attempted to gain independence, finally resulted in an April 1993 internationally monitored referendum, where 98.5% of the registered voters voted. 99.8% of the votes were for independence, although the borders were not defined clearly. While the two nations seemed to get on fairly well, relations deteriorated into war/conflict a couple of years after Eritrea introduced its own currency in 1997.
Finally, the conflict and subsequent Rwanda genocide has typically been explained as conflict resulting from ancient tribal hatreds, omitting many of the deeper and also modern causes, such as international economic policies, power politics and corruption of the elite and the like which are also common contributing causes of conflict in Africa in particular and elsewhere in the world today (Angaye, 2003).
CONCLUSION
Conflicts in Africa, as everywhere, are caused by human action, and can be solved by human action. Most of these conflicts have been characterized by extreme brutality. The conflicts in Africa could be minimized if there is an element of political will to fight political corruption, respect for rule of law and fight rights violations which are all common reasons for the causes of Africa’s conflicts.
African leaders should be held responsible for lack of progressive stewardships, accountability and bad governance. Democracy should be encouraged all over the continent so that everybody can participate in the government and the country resources properly distributed among all the stakeholders to avoid conflicts.
REFERENCES
Africa World Press Guide: Compiled and Edited by World Views: Conflicts in Africa: Causes and Prospects for Resolutions Retrieved on 11/11/ 2011.
Angaye, G (2003): Causes and Cures of Conflicts in Nigeria, Macmillan Press.
Boulden J (2003): Dealing with Conflicts in Africa: The United Nations and regional Organisation. Palgrave Macmillan Press.
Burton J (1990): Conflict: resolution and Prevention. The Macmillan Press.
Clayborne, C, (1968): The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Hawkins V (2008): Stealth Conflicts: How the World’s Worst Violence Is Ignored. Ashgate Press.
Jeong, H. (1999): Research on Conflict Resolution. Ashgate Publishing Company, England.
Nye J (2000): Understanding International Conflict: An Introduction to Theory and History. (3rd Edition) Longman Publisher.
Rawls, J. (1999): A Theory of Justice, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press.








QUESTION 2
Basing on militarization and gender identities, women face several vulnerabilities, prejudices and reassertions of palmarchy. Discuss
INTRODUCTION
Militarization refers to the process by which a society organizes itself for military conflict and violence. It is related to militarism, which is an ideology that reflects the level of militarization of a state. The process of militarization involves many interrelated aspects that encompass all levels of society.
Gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to change after that.
Prejudice refers to making a judgment or assumption about someone or something before having enough knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or "judging a book by its cover". The word prejudice is most often used to refer to preconceived judgments toward people or a person because of race, social class, ethnicity, age, disability, obesity, religion, sexual orientation, or other personal characteristics. It also means beliefs without knowledge of the facts and may include "any unreasonable attitude that is unusually resistant to rational influence.
In a militarized society, violence is considered an acceptable way of solving problems in the international sphere and this affects the interpersonal sphere as well. Women are overwhelmingly affected by this violence. One of the basic values of militarism is domination or "power over the other," and through the glorification of the ideal of masculinity, and the belittlement of femininity, women quite obviously become the "other."
It often does not matter if the women are "our" women or "enemy" women, they are still "other" and thus subordinate. Men are socialized to believe that they have an inherent right to control and use women, particularly "their" women (wives and daughters). It is true that in most countries, most forms of violence against women are illegal, but the absence of enforcement of these laws, or the light sentences given to the perpetrators, perpetuates this idea of violence with impunity.
In some cases, the link between militarization and violence against women is explicit. The use of pornography in the military demonstrates the link between misogyny and military preparedness. The showing of pornographic videos to British troops heading to the Falklands and American soldiers before bombing raids during the Gulf War are only two examples.
In many countries there is a high rate of domestic violence in military families. A US Inspector General's report on domestic violence concluded that military service is probably more conducive to violence at home than any other occupation because of the military's authoritarianism, its use of physical force in training and the stress created by frequent moves and separations. Military training encourages men to be aggressive and violent, and then asks them to keep these tendencies in check until they are "needed." It is no surprise that this violence spills over into domestic violence and rape.
Violence against women grows out of the stereotypes/prejudices of masculinity and femininity discussed above and in turn, violence, and the threat of it, enforces these strict gender roles. Often female victims of violence are blamed for an assault, because they had not "behaved appropriately." Being too assertive, too sexually active, or simply in a place not fit for "nice" women can all be given as reasons why a woman "deserved" to be assaulted. This leads women to curtail their activities in order to attempt to ensure their safety.
The use of violence to control rigid perceptions of gender is also evident in "gay-bashing"--assaults on gays and lesbians. Homosexuals are a threat to the tidy categories of gender which serve patriarchal society, and attempts are made to silence them through violence.
Rape is a specific form of violence which is closely linked to masculine attitudes about women. It is not an aggressive expression of sexuality, but a sexual expression of aggression, and as such it is another symptom of a social order which accepts and rewards violence. It is a violent means of perpetuating women's subservient position in society, and it is excused by a militaristic culture which expects men to get what they want through intimidation and violence.
Further more, a more direct way in which the military affects women in "peacetime" is the presence of permanent military bases. Women in southeast Asia have held foreign military bases responsible for creating or exacerbating the conditions which promote prostitution. The influx of (in some cases) several thousand men with large amounts of money to exchange for sex, combined with the presence of local men willing to make money exploiting women and the poverty of local communities has contributed to a large sex industry.
More still, the military needs to marginalize women in order to reassert its masculine identity, and one of the ways to accomplish this is to assert that all women are only useful to serve men's sexual needs. Cynthia Enloe argues that the military's preoccupation has been with satisfying men's perceived sexual needs without losing military efficiency and "readiness." This has often involved a tacit policy of running brothels to ensure a steady supply of women and to attempt to control the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. The military of different countries have different policies regarding prostitution and these depend on the imagined racial or cultural gap between the local population and the military, the level of local hostility, and the level of economic hardship and social displacement in the local community.
In addition, A very contested area of debate about women and militarization is the role of women in the military. While feminists seeking equality with men are opposed to any occupational field being closed to them on the basis of their sex, the goal of having more women in the military is not without its problems. Greater participation in the military as an appropriate means achieving women's liberation must be questioned. To see it as such reinforces its centrality and to integrate women into the military only increases the militarization of society. The military itself uses the argument of promoting women's equality in its recruitment information however, an institution built on masculine ideals such as aggression can hardly be expected to play a sincere part in women's emancipation.
Despite the military's promises of equality and challenging non-traditional careers, women who join are concentrated in clerical and other service jobs which reflect the job ghettos of civilian women. Although women in the military are challenging gender roles by becoming soldiers, they are still judged by them. Military women are labelled either lesbians or prostitutes and are sexually harassed and slandered by their male colleagues. Although most militaries routinely purge homosexuals and lesbians from their ranks, women are much more likely to be targeted and discharged for this reason. This widespread sexual harassment (which affects women in armed forces all over the world) bolsters male egos which have been threatened by female competition and invasion of their previously male-only domain.
The exclusion of women from combat (which must constantly be redefined in an era of nuclear and high tech combat) is essential to preserving the masculine identity of the military and to justifying the continued male dominant position in the social order.
The situation of women who take up arms in situations of armed liberation struggles is often perceived to be different from that of women in the "peace time" military. However, the same ambivalence about women's participation exists in liberation armies. The men need the women, but they do not want to lose their masculine dominance. During the struggle, women's participation in actual combat positions is manipulated by the leadership to exhibit the justness of the cause being fought and the commitment of the population, as well as to exhort men to join a fight for which "even" women are willing to take up arms.
Finally, along with the violence of bombs and bullets, it is not surprising that personal violence against women increases substantially during war. The focus of war is the destruction of the "other," the ideologically, ethnically or sexually different. In armed conflict, it is not only "enemy" women who are targets of violence, often in the form of rape.
CONCLUSION
War and militarization may be "men's business," but women are undeniably affected by it, whether as prostitutes outside a military base, victims of a bombing attack, or mothers whose welfare cheques are getting smaller because of budget cuts. Traditional discussions of militarism and war deny women's specific experiences and reinforce existing power dynamics. A gender analysis of militarism shows that women are greatly affected by militarization and have every right to make opposition to it. Furthermore, as a gender analysis examines the very strong links between militarization and patriarchy it enables women to name their specific oppression and to make the connections between interrelated institutional forms of oppression.
Addressing the links between militarization and patriarchy is important for women peace activists and feminists to achieve their aims. Historically, women have been asked again and again to put off their own demands while "more pressing" problems in society are addressed. By making the condition of women a key part of the explanation of and opposition to militarism, women's oppression remains a central peace issue. For feminists, it is unwise to ignore an institution as large and influential as the military, when working against patriarchy. Women peace activists and feminists have common goals, and should educate people to see the links between institutional and personal violence and oppression. As long as the institutions of patriarchy and militarism are dominant in our societies, there will be no peace or justice.


References
Berit, A.(1983): "A Materialist View of Men's and Women's Attitudes Towards War,"Women's Studies International Forum, Vol 5 , No 3.
Bond, B.(1986): War and Society in Europe, 1870-1970. McGill-Queen's University Press.
Enloe, C.(1998): "Beyond 'Rambo': Women and the Varieties of Militarized Masculinity," in Women and the Military System, ed. Eva Isaksson, London: Harvester.
Gibson, J(1994): William Warrior Dreams: Paramilitary Culture in Post-Vietnam America Hill & Wang.
MacGregor, (1989): Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940-1965 U.S. Govt. Print Office.
Ute, F(2004): A Nation in Barracks: Modern Germany, Military Conscription and Civil Society.











QUESTION 3
Women have joined liberation movements. In Nicaragua, women hold positions of commanders and even full battalions, demonstrating greater gender, social justice and equality. Discuss the achievements of women that you know.
INTRODUCTION
World wide, women have fought for their rights, worked hard to be treated equally and made great strides in fields like science, politics, sports, literature and art. These are just a few of the remarkable accomplishments that historians not to mention people across the world celebrate.
The feminist movement also known as the Women's Movement, Women's Liberation refers to a series of campaigns for reforms on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, women's suffrage, sexual harassment and sexual violence. The movement's priorities vary among nations and communities and range from opposition to female genital mutilation in one country or to the glass ceiling in another.
The movement began in the western world in the late 18th century and has gone through three waves:
The first wave was oriented around the station of middle or upper-class white women, and involved suffrage and political equality.
Second-wave feminism attempted to further combat social and cultural inequalities.
Third-wave feminism (1980-1990) which includes renewed campaigning for women’s greater influence in politics.
On Election Days women have exercised their right to vote in many nations save for few countries remaining in the Arab world. This took women activists and reformers many years to win that right, and the campaign was not easy. For example disagreements over this strategy threatened to cripple the movement of women many times but it was on August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was finally ratified, enfranchising all American women and declaring for the first time that they, like men, deserve all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
Further more women have achieved formal legal equality as men. Formal equality assumes that equality is achieved if the law treats all persons alike. However, when individuals or groups are not identically situated (for example a black woman versus a white man), the formal equality model tends to perpetuate discrimination and inequality, because it cannot address real inequality in circumstances.
In fact, by treating different individuals as equals despite unequal access to power and resources, formal equality creates an illusion of equality while allowing real economic, legal, political and social disparities to grow.
Additionally, married women have achieved the battle of being capable of holding property and of contracting as female soles. Here women have are given powers of acquiring, holding, and disposing by will or otherwise, of any real or personal property as her separate property, in the same manner as if she were a female sole, without the intervention of any trustee.
Women have also achieved in the field of military careers whereby they are now permitted to serve as full members of the armed forces.
It should be remembered that during World War I many women had enlisted as volunteers in the military services and they usually served in clerical roles. When the war ended, they were released from their duties. The same was true during World War II, when an even greater number of women volunteers served in the armed forces. For example these days women serve as permanent, regular members of not only the army but also the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force.
The current trends show that women have achieved liberation as far as women's bodies and sexuality are concerned. In some nations, safe, legal, and free abortion is available on demand for any woman who has reached the age of majority consenting age (in some countries it is sixteen years and others like Uganda it is eighteen years). Contraceptives are widely available, even to young girls, along with effective sex education which is more progressive and honest than that in most other nations.
However, the liberation of female sexuality, allowing young girls as well as boys to experiment sexually without social censure, has resulted in a high rate of pregnancy among girls under the consenting age.
During September 1994 Cairo conference, the United Nation's International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) fundamentally shifted its strategy to reduce world population. Studies indicated that increasing women's education, improving their access to health care and creating opportunities for them in the economic sphere lowered the birth rate. As a result, the ICPD shifted away from establishing target population rates for individual countries and committed itself to raise the health and socio-economic status of women. This indeed has been an achievement as a result of women’s effort to negotiate strategically for their well being.
Further still, women have achieved the battle against gender inequality as most world bodies have since defined gender equality in terms of human rights, especially women's rights, and economic development. For example UNICEF defines gender equality as "levelling the playing field for girls and women by ensuring that all children have equal opportunity to develop their talents."
The United Nations Population Fund has declared that women have a right to equality. "Gender equity" is one of the goals of the United Nations Millennium Project, to end world poverty by 2015. The project claims, "Every single Goal is directly related to women's rights, and societies where women are not afforded equal rights as men can never achieve development in a sustainable manner." Thus, promoting gender equality is seen as an encouragement to greater economic prosperity. For example, nations of the Arab world that deny equality of opportunity to women were warned in a 2008 United Nations-sponsored report that this disempowerment is a critical factor crippling these nations' return to the first rank of global leaders in commerce, learning and culture.
In some Muslim nations like Tunisia, some women's rights activists have already secured two significant achievements that is gender parity in the October 2011 elections for the Constituent Assembly, and the withdrawal of key reservations by the previous government to the international Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Important concerns remain, but these are hopeful signs of positive things to come.
The gender parity electoral law, which requires equal numbers of male and female candidates, was a breakthrough for women's political representation in Tunisia.
In Egypt's January 25th uprising, which led to the downfall of Hosni Mubarak, did not succeed through the efforts of men alone. In fact, women were as instrumental as men in mobilizing people to join the protests to demand an end to Mubarak's rule. For 18 days, women stayed in Cairo's Tahrir Square, vowing to remain there until their demands for justice and democracy were met.
However, after Mubarak was finally ousted, women seemed no longer welcome to participate in the deliberations to map out the country's future, or to continue to press their demands for equality.
CONCLUSION
The world in the past has been ruled by force, and man has dominated over woman by reason of his more forceful and aggressive qualities both of body and mind. But the balance is already shifting; force is losing its dominance, and mental alertness, intuition, and the spiritual qualities of love and service, in which woman is strong, are gaining ascendancy. Hence the new age will be an age less masculine and more permeated with the feminine ideals an age in which the masculine and feminine elements of civilization will be more evenly balanced.
Men have an inescapable duty to promote the equality of women. The presumption of superiority by men thwarts the ambition of women and inhibits the creation of an environment in which equality may reign. The destructive effects of inequality prevent men from maturing and developing the qualities necessary to meet the challenges of the new millennium.
REFERENCES
Freeman, J. (1975): The politics of women's liberation. David McKay N.Y.
Morgan, R. (1979): An Anthology of Writings From the Women's Liberation Movement (N.Y. Random House, 1st ed.
Hooks, B (2000): Feminist theory: from margin to center. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Rochelle, G.(1987): American Women Since 1945. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.
Culture of Cuba - history, people, clothing, women, beliefs, food, customs, family, social http://www.everyculture.com/Cr-Ga/Cuba.html#ixzz1dMWRijPF/19/11/2011



















QUESTION 4
Rape is a weapon of aggression by men against women. Discuss the effects of rape.
The definition of rape varies both in different parts of the world and at different times in history. Rape is defined in many jurisdictions as sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, of one person by another person without the consent of the victim. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The term is most often defined in criminal law. A person who commits an act of rape is known as a rapist.
Sexual violence is one of the most horrific weapons of war, an instrument of terror used against women.
There are various effects and aftermath of rape which include both physical trauma and psychological trauma. However, physical force is not necessarily used in rape, and physical injuries are not always a consequence. Deaths associated with rape are known to occur, though the prevalence of fatalities varies considerably across the world. For rape victims the more common consequences of sexual violence are those related to reproductive health, mental health, and social wellbeing.
The physical and psychological effects of rape perpetrated as a weapon of war are compounded by myriad accompanying traumas. Women subjected to sexual violence in war usually are also suffering the traumas of the death (often violent) of family and friends, exile and dislocation, and the loss of everything familiar to them, from homes and possessions to traditions and routines.
Rape survivors bear numerous physical and psychological scars. Rape is a violent act, and victims may incur broken bones, concussions, and wounds. Women who resist the act may bear signs of self-defense, such as hair torn from the back of their heads and bruising of the arms and chest.
Rape victims also suffer from bruising or tearing of the genitalia, tearing of the perineum and damage to the bladder and rectum. If the perpetrators use foreign objects to penetrate a woman, or if the rape is extremely violent, the woman may experience traumatic fistula. This leads to chronic incontinence of urine and feces, which causes chronic health problems and possibly ostracism from the community.
Rape victims are at risk of contracting HIV/AIDs and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and developing pelvic inflammatory disease, which carries a risk of long-term infertility. A woman who contracts an STI while pregnant is at high risk of miscarriage, spontaneous abortion and death.
Many women who become pregnant as a consequence of rape may attempt to induce abortion of the fetus, often at great risk to their own health. Women who conceive as a result of rape may not seek pre- or ante-natal care, and children they deliver are often neglected, abused, stigmatized, ostracized or even killed.
There are both immediate and long-term psychological consequences of rape in war for a woman, her family and the community. In the immediate aftermath, a victim may suffer from shock, denial, fear and a sense of loss of control over her own life. A woman may manifest the psychological distress in physical symptoms including headaches, chest and pelvic pain. In the longer-term, a woman might suffer from depression, suicidal ideation and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In addition to affecting her relationships with her husband and children, these conditions may render a woman unable to fulfill familial duties including taking care of the household and children or working.
Rape in war frequently entails more than one traumatic occurrence. In many conflicts, women have been captured and held captive for weeks, months or even years as sex slaves, and raped repeatedly. The psychological burdens for these women, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and suicidal ideation and attempts are extreme. The husbands and partners of women raped in war may experience profound shame feeling that the act has brought dishonor to them and the family. He may divorce the woman or begin to act verbally or physically abusive.
Widespread rape has profound consequences at the community level as well, as the violation ruptures social cohesion and entire communities feel vulnerable and traumatized collectively by the sexual violence.
Furthermore pregnancy may result from rape. The rate varies between settings and depends particularly on the extent to which non-barrier contraceptives are being used. A study of adolescents in Ethiopia found that among those who reported being raped, 17% became pregnant after the rape, a figure which is similar to the 15–18% reported by rape crisis centres in Mexico.
A longitudinal study in the United States of over 4000 women followed for 3 years found that the national rape related pregnancy rate was 5.0% per rape among victims aged 12–45 years, producing over 32 000 pregnancies nationally among women from rape each year.
Additionally as an effect of rape, experience of coerced sex at an early age reduces a woman’s ability to see her sexuality as something over which she has control. As a result, it is less likely that an adolescent girl who has been forced into sex will use condoms or other forms of contraception, decreasing the likelihood of her not becoming pregnant.
A study of factors associated with teenage pregnancy in Cape Town, South Africa, found that forced sexual initiation was the third most strongly related factor, after frequency of intercourse and use of modern contraceptives. Forced sex can also result in unintended pregnancy among adult women. In India, a study of married men revealed that men who admitted forcing sex on their wives were 2.6 times more likely to have caused an unintended pregnancy than those who did not admit to such behavior.
More still violent or forced sex can increase the risk of transmitting HIV/AIDS. In forced vaginal penetration, abrasions and cuts commonly occur, thus facilitating the entry of the virus through the vaginal mucosa. Adolescent girls are particularly susceptible to HIV infection through forced sex, and even through unforced sex, because their vaginal mucous membranes have not yet acquired cellular density sufficient to provide an effective barrier that develops in the later teenage years.
It should also be noted that being a victim of sexual violence and being susceptible to HIV share a number of risk behaviors. Forced sex in childhood or adolescence, for instance, increases the likelihood of engaging in unprotected sex, having multiple partners, participating in sex work, and substance abuse.
Self-blame is among the most common of both short- and long-term effects and functions as an avoidance coping skill that inhibits the healing process and can often be remedied by a cognitive therapy technique known as cognitive restructuring (Kopper, 1996).
Childhood and adulthood victims of rape are more likely to attempt or commit suicide. The association remains, even after controlling for sex, age, education, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and the presence of psychiatric disorders. The experience of being raped can lead to suicidal behavior as early as adolescence as these victims feel embarrassed to talk about what had happened to them. A study of adolescents in Brazil found prior sexual abuse to be a leading factor predicting several health risk behaviours, including suicidal thoughts and attempts.
Finally, rape is especially stigmatizing in cultures with strong customs and taboos regarding sex and sexuality. For example, a rape victim (especially one who was previously a virgin) may be viewed by society as being "damaged." Victims in these cultures may suffer isolation, be disowned by friends and family, be prohibited from marrying, be divorced if already married, or even killed. This phenomenon is known as secondary victimization.
CONCLUSION
Much as rape is a negative act in society, it has been found out that some individuals may endorse rape myths and at the same time recognize the negative effects of rape. A number of gender role stereotypes can play a role in rationalization of rape. In the case of male-on-female rape, these include the idea that power is reserved to men whereas women are meant for sex and objectified, that women want forced sex and to be pushed around and that male sexual impulses and behaviors are uncontrollable and must be satisfied. In the case of female-on-male rape, the victim may either be perceived as weak or, in cultures where men acquire status by sexual conquest, as fortunate.
References
Boyer, D. (1992): "Sexual abuse as a factor in adolescent pregnancy". Family Planning Perspectives
Campbell, JC. (1995): "Health effects of experiences of sexual violence for women with abusive partners". Health Care for Women International
Jagger, C (1998): "A comparative study of women with chronic pelvic pain, chronic nonpelvic pain and those with no history of pain attending general practitioners". British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Mulugeta, E (1998): "Prevalence and outcomes of sexual violence among high school students". Ethiopian Medical Journal
Roosa, M, 2009): "The relationship of childhood sexual abuse to teenage pregnancy". Journal of Marriage and the Family
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape/12/11/2011
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia/rape/17/11/2011






QUESTION 5
Discuss the relationship between Conflicts, Poverty and Gender in the conflict of Sub Saharan Africa.

INTRODUCTION

Africa continues to be the region with the greatest number of conflicts. These internal conflicts pose a serious threat to economic development, especially for the poor African community members hence poverty becomes the order of the day (Galtung, 2009).
Conflict is generally defined as an interaction between interdependent people who perceive incompatible goals and who expect interference from the other party if they attempt to achieve their goal. According Galtung (1996) conflict could be viewed as a triangle with structure, attitudes, and behaviour as its vertices. By structure, it means the conflict situation, the parties, and the conflict of interest among them. Conflict arises where the parties come to have incompatible interests, values or goals.
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity. Sexologist John Money introduced the terminological distinction between biological sex and gender as a role in 1955.
Poverty is a denial of choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity. It means lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. It means not having enough to feed and clothe a family, not having a school or clinic to go to, not having the land on which to grow one’s food or a job to earn one’s living, not having access to credit. It means insecurity, powerlessness and exclusion of individuals, households and communities. It means susceptibility to violence, and it often implies living in marginal or fragile environments, without access to clean water or sanitation (Adebajo, 2002).
This assignment explores the relationship between Conflicts, Poverty and Gender in the conflict of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) as here below presented;
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) stands out from other developing regions by the sheer number of conflicts and the massive impact on lives and livelihoods. In SSA, as the distinction between criminal and political violence becomes ever more blurred, has armed conflict become the major determinant of poverty.
A report from the Institute of Development Studies argues that war and poverty are in a dynamic and mutually reinforcing relationship. The conventional portrayal of conflict as a deviation from 'normal' life fails to comprehend situations where conflict splutters/re-ignites and is rarely settled by 'peace' agreements. Policy interventions will not promote sustainable peace unless built on subtler analysis of war economies and failing states.
No less than 28 SSA states have been at war since 1980. Increasingly, conflicts are regionally connected. It is a moot point whether in the Great Lakes, East and Central Africa there is a series of interlocking 'national' conflicts or a single zone of conflict in which national armies and non-state armed groups cross frontiers at will as seen here below; .
In Liberia Charles Taylor thrived from war entrepreneurs whose thinking was globally based but acted locally, using violence to exploit marketable natural resources without necessarily controlling the state. The resultant of this is country wide poverty.
It should also be noted that the spread of light weapons and the diversion of resource revenues to fund conflicts are things conflict mongers have cherished for long. This kind of lavish spending has sunk certain nations in poverty.
It has been found out most of these poverty causing acts are mainly done by men there a more nuanced gender understanding is required to understand the role of women in instigating or participating in conflict to address the situation.
Furthermore history has it that conflicts exacerbate inequalities in gender relations that existed in the pre-conflict period. Therefore the relationship between the variables of conflicts, gender and poverty do have an impact. For example armed conflict has a direct impact on gender relations. Analyzing the distinct ways that both women and men are affected by conflict assist us to define solutions to the effects of this which include poverty in society.
In conflict situations, interventions to address poverty must account for the diverse realities of women and men, who may simultaneously play the roles of activists and parents, soldiers and victims. Recognizing and addressing this diversity is vital to establishing more sustainable, gender-equal societies in the aftermath of conflict which is essential to address poverty in such communities.
It should be known that women experience significant disadvantage in the course of armed conflict, but it does not necessarily follow that men are always the perpetrators and therefore the winners, and women the losers. The situation where women are in such a disadvantaged position, leads to poverty since they are mainly the producers of wealth especially in developing nations where agriculture is the base for development.

The inequality that women experience during and after armed conflict in all societies derives from dominant understandings of gender roles. ‘Gender’ refers to the perceptions of appropriate behaviour, appearance and attitude for women and men that arise from social and cultural expectations. In the context of armed conflict, the perception persists of women as wives, mothers and nurturers, whereas men are cast as aggressors and soldiers. Although women and men do often assume these traditional parts, there is a tendency in the mainstream literature to exaggerate the extent to which they play stereotypical gender roles in armed conflict. The reality is that women are also active as soldiers and aggressors, while men may be both victims as well as combatants. Such a thing encourages the condition of poverty persistence in such a setting.

Further more the relationship between gender, conflict and poverty may be seen in terms of how power dynamics between women and men are affected by the distinct types of disadvantage that armed conflict imposes. Existing analyses of conflict and post-conflict resolution are weak in various ways as some ignore women while others take a gender-blind approach or define the role of women in stereotypical ways. Still others look at women without considering gender relations. This in turn encourages poverty to thrive in conflict situations.

Also where the term ‘gender’ appears, its usage often implies that women (and girls) are predominantly ‘victims’ who experience ‘special’ circumstances and have ’special’ needs, while men are depicted as the ‘perpetrators’. But the term ‘gender’ should not be used in such a limited fashion. Rather, it should allow us to understand that women and men function in a variety of roles, stereotypical or otherwise and to examine how changes in these roles affect gender relations in conflict situation hence exacerbates the poverty cycle in society.


In order for social upheaval to lead to more equitable relationships between men and women, it is advisable to first perform a gender analysis. This allows us to identify the nature of existing power relations between men and women in a particular society and to understand how conflict and its aftermath affect these relations. It also highlights the fact that marginalized groups who do not readily conform to female and male stereotypes, such as male pacifists or women in the military, experience conflict in diverse ways.
The destabilization of gender relations that frequently accompanies conflict and its aftermath also opens up potential opportunities. Following the upheaval of a conflict, is a clean slate to start again and ask some fundamental questions about what kind of society people want and how gender relations will function within it. In other words it is a time when social upheaval might open a door to the changes people hope for (Cockburn and Zarkov 2002). The reality is however, that sometimes these changes are not forthcoming. Otherwise once this is not given due attention, then poverty will obviously surface.

Conclusion
Although there are lots of Conflicts in Africa for quite sometime now, the Continent is gradually getting out of the madness called “Conflicts”, Africans themselves through the African Union (AU) which is doing much to check all these Conflicts situations and mediate where possible. Alternative approaches to prevent conflicts should always be sought by African leaders before they engage in senseless conflicts which affect social structures hence exacerbates the poverty levels in the continent. Both men and women have a task of addressing the conflict issues raised in this presentation and solve the rampant poverty affecting African States. The International community also has a role to play for Africa and also check the activities of the multinationals.
References
Adams, M. (1995): 'Conflict and Development: Organisational Adaptation in Conflict situations', Oxfam Discussion Paper No 4, Oxford: Oxfam

Adebajo, A.(2002): Building peace in West Africa: Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea-Bissau, Boulder, USA: Lynne Rienner Publishers.

Anderlini, S. N., (2001): Women, Peace and Security: A Policy Audit. From the Beijing Platform for Action to UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and Beyond, London: International Alert.

Anderson, M. (1999), Do No Harm: How Aid Can Support Peace - or War, Boulder: Lynne
Rienner.

Benjamin, JA., (2001): Conflict, Post-conflict, and HIV/AIDS – the Gender Connections: Women, War and HIV/AIDS: West Africa and the Great Lakes, Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, Presented at the World Bank, International Women’s Day, March

Galtung, J.(1996): Peace by Peaceful means: Peace and Conflict Development and Civilization, London, United Kingdom: SAGE Publications.

Wilkinson, S. (2004): “Which Group Identities Lead to Most Violence? Evidence from India”, Paper prepared for the Yale Conference on Order, Conflict and Violence, Yale University, April 30th – May 1st.

Zartman, W. (1995): Collapsed States: The Disintegration and Restoration of Legitimate Authority, Boulder.

http://www.globalissues.org/print/issue/83/18/11/2011

http://www.globalissues.org/issue/83/conflicts-in-africa/20/11/2011

GLOBAL POLITICS AND CONFLICT

QUESTION 1
Explain the purposes and principles of the United Nations and discuss the problems the organization may face in promoting its purposes and principles
INTRODUCTION
The United Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, when the UN Charter had been ratified by a majority of the original 51 Member States. The day is now celebrated each year around the world as United Nations Day.
The purpose of the United Nations is to bring all nations of the world together to work for peace and development, based on the principles of justice, human dignity and the well-being of all people. It affords the opportunity for countries to balance global interdependence and national interests when addressing international problems.
There are currently 192 Members of the United Nations. They meet in the General Assembly, which is the closest thing to a world parliament. Each country, large or small, rich or poor, has a single vote.
UN exists under the following purposes;
 To maintain international peace and security, and to that end take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace.
 To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace
 To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and
 To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.
The UN and its Members, in pursuit of the Purposes stated above, acts in accordance with the following Principles;
 The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.
 All Members, in order to ensure to all of them the rights and benefits resulting from membership, shall fulfill in good faith the obligations assumed by them in accordance with the present Charter.
 All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.
 All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.
 All Members shall give the United Nations every assistance in any action it takes in accordance with the present Charter, and shall refrain from giving assistance to any state against which the United Nations is taking preventive or enforcement action.
 The Organization shall ensure that states which are not Members of the United Nations act in accordance with these Principles so far as may be necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security.
 Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter; but this principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement measures under Chapter Vll.
Many events have presented the United Nations with a clear and unequivocal challenge to the principles and purposes contained in its charter as here below discussed;
First and foremost the UN faces the challenge of funding certain activities. With its new, higher profile, however, the UN has had to make difficult choices. Limited funds and the UN's own limited capacity to plan and implement peace-keeping operations require that priorities be established. The Secretary General has been encouraged by some member states to increase his efforts not only to resolve conflicts but to head them off. It has been recognized, however, that fundamental to the success of any UN peace-keeping operations is the full cooperation of the parties. It has further been acknowledged that regional organizations could play a constructive peace-keeping role and might be better situated, on a case-by-case basis, to intercede and mediate the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

Secondly, although the UN system has created a legal framework for action on human rights, efforts to implement the established standards have been uneven. Some observers have suggested that UN forums have been characterized by "selective morality" as criticism has been focused primarily on the state of human rights for example in Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, South Africa, and the Israeli-occupied territories simply because such criticism was acceptable to a majority of UN members, while criticism of other nations' abuses was not. This obviously poses a challenge to UN principles and purposes.
Another challenge UN faces is the wide range of issues that the United Nations is now called upon to face outside the traditional security arena for instance issues of the current climate change and HIV/AIDS. These challenges being cross-cutting issues, UN cannot ignore them but handle them as well meaning that UN is becoming over stretched in its operations posing a challenge.
Furthermore, is has been observed that world wide, that human rights and democracy are now generally accepted as world norms although one wonders how far, in many member countries, the practice still falls short of the rhetoric. Hence this is a challenge to UN principles and purposes.
UN faces the challenge to harness the potential of information and communication technology to promote the development goals of the Millennium Declaration, namely the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, achievement of universal primary education (UPE), promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women, reduction of child mortality, improvement of maternal health, to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability and development of global partnerships for development for the attainment of a more peaceful, just and prosperous world.

Another challenge UN faces is the achievement of sustainable development and agreed development goals, as contained in the Johannesburg Declaration and Plan of Implementation and the Monterrey Consensus, and other outcomes of relevant United nations summits. This is simply because most people would like to live in a sustainable community, but they cannot afford to do so because current business models encourage activities that do not take into account future problems since sustainable development creates long-term economic stability, but does not create short-term profits. This remains a big challenge to the achievement of UN principles and purposes.
The idea of equal political rights in member countries which encompass both the "sovereign equality" of all Member States, in Article 2 of the Charter, and "respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms", in Article 1, remain a challenge
The prohibition of the use of armed force, "save in the common interest" remains a challenge for example the legality of the invasion and occupation of Iraq has been widely debated since the United States, United Kingdom, and a coalition of other countries launched the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The then United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in September 2004 that according to the UN Charter point of view, that war was illegal and yet the political leaders of the US and UK have argued that the war was legal.
More still there is a challenge of industrialized countries remaining reluctant to see the United Nations act on the second principle of the promotion of "equal economic opportunities". As the governments of some certain countries are equally loath to see it actively promote "respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all".
Finally, the most complex of the challenges to UN is the building of an international system based on a genuine democracy as any idea of a crusade comes in the name of democracy, which is in itself undemocratic, as is any principle that seeks to impose itself universally. Thus, paradoxically, the missionary enthusiasm for democracy ends up affecting the nature of democracy itself.
CONCLUSION
Change and globalization are constantly reshaping reality. UN now promises to encourage a new sense of commonality and even new morals and a new political ethic on the international community. The international legal order has therefore acquired an enormous significance, since it is the only means of restricting arbitrariness and subjectivity. It is also the most effective mechanism for the protection of human rights and human freedom among member states.



REFERENCES



Lindblom, Anna-Karin, Non-governmental organizations in international law, Cambridge University Press, New York.

Rosato, S. (2003): "The Flawed Logic of Democratic Peace Theory". American Political Science Review 97: 585–602

Rummel, R, J. (1983): "Libertarianism and international violence". Journal of Conflict Resolution

Souva, M.(2004): "Institutional Similarity and Interstate Conflict". International Interactions

Spiro, D, E. (1994): "Give Democratic Peace a Chance? The Insignificance of the Liberal Peace". International Security (International Security,


Terminski, B. (2010). "The Evolution of the Concept of Perpetual Peace in the History of Political-Legal Thought". Perspectivas Internacionales

http://www.un.org 10/11.2011


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_peace_theory/11/11/2011



















QUESTION 2
Using relevant examples, give reasons why it is increasingly difficult to root out terrorist networks and their activities across the world.

INTRODUCTION

According to American Heritage Dictionary, terrorism refers to the unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia defines terrorism as systematic use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective. It has been used throughout history by political organizations of both the left and the right, by nationalist and ethnic groups, and by revolutionaries. Although usually thought of as a means of destabilizing or overthrowing existing political institutions, terror also has been employed by governments against their own people to suppress dissent examples include the reigns of certain Roman emperors, the French Revolution, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union under Stalin, and Argentina during the "dirty war" of the 1970s.

Reasons why it is increasingly difficult to root out terrorist networks and their activities across the world are various but here below are some of them;
Not surprisingly, as the meaning of terrorism and usage of the word have changed over time to accommodate the political vernacular and discourse of each successive era, terrorism has proved increasingly elusive in the face of attempts to construct one consistent definition.
At one time, the terrorists themselves were far more cooperative in this endeavour than they are today. The early practitioners did not mince their words or hide behind the semantic camouflage for example calling themselves `freedom fighters' or `urban guerrillas'. The nineteenth-century anarchists, for example, unabashedly proclaimed themselves to be terrorists and frankly proclaimed their tactics to be terrorism.
The above situation makes it difficult to fight terrorism because various nations define it differently hence it is not easy to put common measures to fight the vice.
A war on terrorism is difficult to fight due to its nature. Terrorism by definition is the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes. It may also be seen as a state of fear and submission produced by terrorization. The fact that terrorism has such a psychological impact means it affects everyone differently. It is a subjective response to an event. Anything that is subjective will be difficult to overcome for a large group of people, because people's responses will be different.
Another reason that a war on terrorism is difficult to fight is that the individuals perpetrating the acts are diverse and spread out across the globe. It is difficult for the government(s) to pin down the core of the group to cut off power. This is because there are so many different cores.
Terrorism is not isolated, nor easy to locate. Sure, we have the "hot spots" where some of them universally operate, however, that is just the tip of the iceberg. A truly hardcore terrorist-bound organization is very secretive. It is indeed an organization, whose operations are no different from the official intelligence organizations such as CIA, FBI etc
Furthermore, the war on terrorism is so hard to fight because it takes a lot of people to track the doings of a group just as strong and organized as our best military forces, yet, it takes also a separate group to understand their sub-cultural disdain since they are secretive and self-protective.
The war on terror is hard to fight because instead of having one big enemy that we can name and find, we have many little ones. Additionally, our enemies are harbored in countries in the Middle East with which we have few positive relations. They also attack in small groups or alone and are not afraid to die (fundamentalism at play).
The war on terrorism is so challenging because of its unconventional nature it takes. Unlike a traditional war that takes place on a definite battlefield, with clearly defined armies, and where the enemy is visible, the war on terror is difficult as it is elusive in nature.
The "enemy" can strike at any time, with any means, and through any venue. Traditionalism goes out the window in such a setting. Even the weapons are non- traditional. Bombs can be used, but cell phones could also be used as detonating devices. Guns might be used, but more likely devices like razors or chemicals would be employed. The terrorist has a distinct advantage in that they only have to be right once, while the opponent has to be right all the time in order to prevent disaster, loss of life, and public panic.
Another reason why the war on terrorism is so difficult to fight is because many of the terrorist cells are hidden. In addition to being hidden they are spread all over the world. In fact, there are many terrorists right in the United States at this very moment as the United States has very porous borders like any other developing nations. This means that it is fairly easy for people to travel in and out of the country. Of course it has been harder since the attacks on 9/11 but it still is possible.
More still it is difficult to fight terrorism because there are groups of terrorists called "sleeper cells" which means that they are dormant or on standby. One of the purposes of these kinds of groups is to simply blend in and remain undetected until they are told to carry out the terrorist attack. These people are also difficult to find hence making war on terror difficult to fight..
In some instances terrorism is rooted in religion. This can cause people to act in ways that are very illogical or counter-intuitive for example willingness to blow themselves up. Looking back at history, religious clashes have often been the most difficult to resolve and end because people feel so strongly about their religious beliefs. Because terrorists are under the belief that they are doing God's will, they will go to extremes beyond what is usually seen to accomplish their mission.

Another reason is the difference in cultures. While many of the local population is not actively involved in terrorist activities, they are much less likely to aid those fighting terrorism because those fighting terrorism are still seen as outsiders, where the terrorists come from the same religion, country or tribe.

Because terrorism is a non-conventional war, almost guerrilla like tactics. These types of fights whether it be the US fighting the British during the revolutionary war, or fighting in the jungles of Vietnam, are always more difficult. It is not a traditional battle for example the US civil war, WWII and so on where the two face-off, one side wins and the loser agrees to give up their fight, and the two sides move forward looking towards the future.

Terrorism operates against the basic rules of engagement. Most notably it operates against civilians, and sometimes from within civilian population. It strikes at random, which makes it harder to defend against. Its impact is not only the physical damage it causes but mostly the effect on day-to-day life. This also makes it difficult to fight.

Defending against terror using conventional means contribute to its psychological effect as the conventional war-like methods are ineffective against terrorism. In an overly-"politically-correct" society, simple risk-assessment statistics-based deductions becomes "racial profiling", which makes life even harder.
Another challenging primary difficulty of fighting terrorism is the issue of civil liberties and individual privacy that such measures often entail, both for citizens of, and for those detained by states attempting to combat terror. At times, measures designed to tighten security have been seen as abuses of power or even violations of human rights. Examples of these problems can include prolonged, incommunicado detention without judicial review, risk of subjecting suspects to torture during the transfer, return and extradition of people between or within countries and the adoption of security measures that restrain the rights or freedoms of citizens and breach principles of non-discrimination.
Finally, because some governments do kidnap suspected terrorists and keep them indefinitely without charge in torture camps, this causes their sympathisers/accomplices to occupy foreign sovereign nations and continue to undermine their operations. This could be the reason as to terrorism has increased sevenfold since 2001. I would think these things would encourage and breed more terrorists and new followers.

CONCLUSION
Viewing terrorism as the extreme edge of mainstream trends helps us understand, and thus seek solutions, to it. When we view terrorists as evil or beyond explanation, we are inaccurate and unhelpful. We cannot 'solve' an evil. We can only live fearfully in its shadow. Even if it is uncomfortable to think of people who do terrible things to innocent people as part of our same world, I believe it is important to try. It has been found out that people who have chosen terrorism in the last century have been influenced by the same broad trends that we all have.
































REFERENCES
Alibek, K. (1999). Biohazard. New York: Random House.
Carter, A.; Deutch, J.; and Zelikow, P. (1998). "Combating Catastrophic Terrorism." Foreign Affairs (Nov/Dec):80–94.
Cohen, H. W.; Gould, R. M.; and Sidel, V. W. "Bioterrorism Initiatives: Public Health in Reverse?" American Journal of Public Health 89:1629–1631.
Hudson, R, A. (1999): The Sociology and Psychology of Terrorism: who becomes a terrorist and why?, Federal Research Division, Library of Congress

Hanratty, D, M & Meditz, S,W. (1988): "Post-National Front Political Developments". Colombia: A Country Study. Library of Congress.
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Pape, R, A. (2005). Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism. Random House. pp. 237–250

Tucker, J. B. (1997): "National Health and Medical Services Response to Incidents of Chemical and Biological Terrorism." Journal of the American Medical Association 278:389–395.














QUESTION 3
“The independence of most states in the developing world is mythical other than a reality”. Using relevant examples, respond to the statement.

Introduction:
A developing country is a nation with a low level of material well-being. Since no single definition of the term developing country is recognized internationally, the levels of development may vary widely within the so-called developing countries. Some developing countries have high average standards of living than others.
Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations, defined a developed country as follows. "A developed country is one that allows all its citizens to enjoy a free and healthy life in a safe environment.
The independence of most states in the developing world is mythical other than a reality as discussed here below;
The term developing country implies inferiority of a 'developing country' or 'undeveloped country' compared to a 'developed country', which many countries dislike. It assumes a desire to ‘develop’ along the traditional 'Western' model of economic development which a few countries, such as Cuba and Bhutan, have chosen not to follow.
The term 'developing' implies mobility and does not acknowledge that development may be in decline or static in some countries, particularly in southern African states worst affected by HIV/AIDS. In such cases, the term developing country may be considered a euphemism. The term implies homogeneity between such countries, which vary widely. The term also implies homogeneity within such countries when wealth (and health) of the most and least affluent groups varies widely.
Similarly, the term 'developed country' incorrectly implies a lack of continuing economic development/growth in more-developed countries.
In general development entails a modern infrastructure (both physical and institutional), and a move away from low value added sectors such as agriculture and natural resource extraction. Developed countries, in comparison, usually have economic systems based on continuous, self-sustaining economic growth in the tertiary sector of the economy and quaternary sector of the economy and high material standards of living.
However, there are notable exceptions, as some countries considered developed have a significant component of primary industries in their national economies for instance Norway, Canada, Australia. The USA and Western Europe have a very important agricultural sector, and are major players in international agricultural markets. Also, natural resource extraction can be a very profitable industry (high value added), for example oil extraction.
The independence of developing nations being mythical is best explained using Dependency theory where a body of social science theories predicated on the notion that resources flow from a "periphery" of poor and underdeveloped states to a "core" of wealthy states, enriching the latter at the expense of the former. It is a central contention of dependency theory that poor states are impoverished and rich ones enriched by the way poor states are integrated into the "world system."
It should be noted that developing nations are thought by developed nations to be primitive and weaker members in a world market economy hence not independent. Here the dependency theorists argued, in opposition to free market economists and modernization theorists, that underdeveloped countries needed to reduce their connectedness with the world market so that they can pursue a path more in keeping with their own needs, less dictated by external pressures.
Independence of developing nations remains mythical in that poor nations provide natural resources, cheap labor, a destination for obsolete technology, and markets for developed nations, without which the latter could not have the standard of living they enjoy. This further explains the allegation.
Further more wealthy nations actively perpetuate a state of dependence by various means. This influence may be multifaceted, involving economics, media control, politics, banking and finance, education, culture, sport, and all aspects of human resource development including recruitment and training of workers.
Also is common knowledge that wealthy nations actively counter attempts by dependent nations to resist their influences by means of economic sanctions and/or the use of military force against the developing nations. This as well worsens the situation of dependency of developing nations on the developed world.
More still developing nations are not fully independent in that poverty of the countries in the periphery is caused by the fact that the periphery is not integrated into the world system, or not fully integrated I the free market economies.
Further sill there is a financial and technological penetration by the developed capitalist centers of the countries of the periphery and semi-periphery which acerbates the situation of developing nations to remain dependent on the developed nations. This situation produces an unbalanced economic structure both within the peripheral societies and between them and the centers.
Another reason as to why independence of developing nations remains a myth is because developed countries have always forced developing countries to do their bidding, whether by brute force or diplomatic persuasion. The more advanced country might force the inferior country to preserve its natural environment. By doing so the developed world is more than likely to destroy to cause more harm than good because of mere suspicion by the inferior.
Beside the above point, there are always hidden intentions, whether political or economic behind this kind of arrangement. Therefore the developing country should have its own say in what it does with what it has. For example, would the US have stopped its Industrial Revolution simply because it was polluting its atmosphere? Would we now give up some of our luxuries because we release Chlorofluorocarbons? No, we would not, although some like to believe they would.
Developing nations remain un-independent in that resources are not used to their full socio-economic potential. These nations remain exporting unprocessed goods to developed nations which results in local or regional development being slower in most cases than it should be. Furthermore, it results from the complex interplay of internal and external factors that allow less developed countries only a lop-sided development progression. This characterizes developing nations by a wide disparity between their rich and poor populations, and an unhealthy balance of trade. This in turn keeps dependent on the developed world.
By and large the economic and social development of many developing countries has not been even. They have an unequal trade balance which results from their dependence upon primary products (usually only a handful) for their export receipts. These commodities are often;
(a) In limited demand in the industrialized countries (for example: tea, coffee, sugar, cocoa, bananas)
(b) Vulnerable to replacement by synthetic substitutes (jute, cotton and others)
(c) Are experiencing shrinking demand with the evolution of new technologies that require smaller quantities of raw materials (as is the case with many metals).
Prices cannot be raised as this simply hastens the use of replacement synthetics or alloys, nor can production be expanded as this rapidly depresses prices. Consequently, the primary commodities upon which most of the developing countries depend are subject to considerable short-term price fluctuation, rendering the foreign exchange receipts of the developing nations unstable and vulnerable. Development thus remains elusive. This situation keeps the developing nations in a state of dependency on the developed world.
CONCLUSION
The underdevelopment of the third world is marked by a number of common traits; distorted and highly dependent economies devoted to producing primary products for the developed world and to provide markets for their finished goods; traditional, rural social structures; high population growth; and widespread poverty. Nevertheless, the third world is sharply differentiated, for it includes countries on various levels of economic development. And despite the poverty of the countryside and the urban shantytowns, the ruling elites of most third world countries are wealthy.
References
Bag, A. K(1982): The Political Economy of Underdevelopment, Cambridge University Press.

Cardoso & Faletto, 1979, cited in Tausch, Sustainable Development and Turkey's Accession, about 1/6 of way through
Frank, A. G. (2005): “The Development of Underdevelopment” Critical Concepts in the Social Sciences.

G O'Donnell, El Estado Burocrático Autoritario: Triunfos, Derrotas y Crisis, Buenos Aires, Universidad de Belgrano, written 1982, published 1996, cited in Vernengo, Technology, Finance and Dependency.

Matias Vernengo, "Technology, Finance and Dependency: Latin American Radical Political Economy in Retospect", Working Paper No: 2004-06, University of Utah Dept. of Economics, 2004, p 5; retrieved July 2009.























QUESTION 4
Explain the significance of a sustained appeal by the United Nations to governments in developing countries for the promotion and protection of human rights.

INTRODUCTION
Human rights are commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being. Human rights are thus conceived as universal (applicable everywhere) and egalitarian (the same for everyone). These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national and international law.
Fifty years ago, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a bulwark against oppression and discrimination. In the wake of a devastating world war, which had witnessed some of the most barbarous crimes in human history, the Universal Declaration marked the first time that the rights and freedoms of individuals were set forth in such detail. It also represented the first international recognition that human rights and fundamental freedoms are applicable to every person, everywhere. In this sense, the Universal Declaration was a landmark achievement in world history. Today, it continues to affect people's lives and inspire human rights activism and legislation all over the world.
The Universal Declaration is remarkable in two fundamental aspects. In 1948, the then 58 Member States of the United Nations represented a range of ideologies, political systems and religious and cultural backgrounds, as well as different stages of economic development. The authors of the Declaration, themselves from different regions of the world, sought to ensure that the draft text would reflect these different cultural traditions and incorporate common values inherent in the world's principal legal systems and religious and philosophical traditions. Most important, the Universal Declaration was to be a common statement of mutual aspirations -- a shared vision of a more equitable and just world.
The success of their endeavour is demonstrated by the virtually universal acceptance of the Declaration. Today, the Universal Declaration, translated into nearly 250 national and local languages, is the best known and most cited human rights document in the world. The foundation of international human rights law, the Universal Declaration serves as a model for numerous international treaties and declarations and is incorporated in the constitutions and laws of many countries.
The doctrine of human rights in international practice, within international law, global and regional institutions, in the policies of states and the activities of non-governmental organizations has been a cornerstone of public policy around the world.
The quest to place human rights at the centre of the activities of the United Nations system has been a consistent focus of the Secretary-General’s UN reform agenda, since its launch in 1997.
In 2002, the UN Secretary-General then, identified the significance of the promotion and protection of human rights by building of strong human rights institutions at the country level as a principal objective of the United Nations. In particular, he proposed that the UN system at the national level (UN country teams) enhance collaboration to respond to the needs and requests of Member States in establishing and strengthening national human rights promotion and protection systems.

Today, there is widespread recognition that the 50-year investment in development and human rights promotion requires new impetus to secure broader realization of economic and social rights. Extreme poverty and exclusion from economic, political and cultural life continue to be the fate of millions in developing countries. Currently, there are 48 countries where more than one fifth of the population live in "absolute poverty", with little prospect of dramatic change in the short term. Breaking the cycle of poverty thus continues to be a formidable task for the international community. For this reason, the United Nations has increasingly emphasized the right to development, which can provide the basis for a strategy for a more comprehensive human rights programme.

In developing countries, the United Nations is thus enhancing its human rights programme by integrating a human rights focus into the entire range of the Organization's activities and this has consolidated into a single Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. This merger has given the new High Commissioner a solid institutional basis from which to lead, as the focal point of all system wide integration of human rights activities, the Organization's mission in the domain of human rights

These days in member states which include developing countries, virtually every United Nations body and specialized agency, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, is making efforts to incorporate the promotion or protection of human rights into its programmes and activities, including a gender perspective and an emphasis on the right to development.

In a bid to protect and promote human rights in developing countries, the United Nations believes that creating a pervasive culture of human rights requires a dynamic network of partnerships worldwide. The High Commissioner for Human Rights implements her broad mandate in partnership with a variety of actors, including the programmes and agencies within the United Nations system, Governments, regional organizations, academic communities, committed individuals and the NGO community. New types of partnerships are being developed with civil society.


UN endeavours to promote and protect human rights in developing nations has been encouraged since it is believed to be essential as this promotes equality and non-discrimination among all individuals in the enjoyment of their human rights, with a special focus on the disadvantaged and marginalized members of society.
Further more UN is encouraging participation and inclusion of every person and all sectors of civil society in developing countries in the enjoyment of civil, cultural, economic, political and social development in which human rights and fundamental freedoms can be realized.
Through UN’s efforts to realize accountability and the rule of law in developing countries, it has acted by supporting the capacity of States and other duty bearers to develop laws, regulations, policies and budgets that comply with agreed standards and goals and clearly stipulate the reciprocal responsibilities of a State and its citizens, as well as avenues for redress.
More still UN emphasizes promotion and protection of human rights in developing countries in that people should enjoy security from violence, and political freedom and participation. Indeed, these are core elements of human well being reflected in the Millennium Declaration. Democratic governance needs to be underpinned by a political regime that guarantees civil and political liberties as human rights, and that ensures participation of people and accountability of decision makers.

Considering the promotion and protection of human rights is a matter of priority for the international community in the auspices of UN where there is a unique opportunity to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the international human rights system and of the machinery for the protection of human rights, in order to enhance and thus promote a fuller observance of those rights, in a just and balanced manner.
It should be known that UN recognizes and affirms that all human rights derive from the dignity and worth inherent in the human person, and that the human person is the central subject of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and consequently should be the principal beneficiary and should participate actively in the realization of these rights and freedoms. This is also the major reason as to why UN emphasizes protection and promotion of human rights in developing countries.
Another reason for UN to encourage promotion and protection human rights in developing countries is that all people have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status, and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
Finally UN encourages the promotion and protection of human rights in developing countries in that any reflection of good governance is the degree to which it delivers on the promise of human rights that is civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. The concept of good governance has been clarified by the work of the Commission on Human Rights. Its resolution 2000/64 expressly linked good governance to an enabling environment conducive to the enjoyment of human rights and "prompting growth and sustainable human development."

CONCLUSION
Building partnerships for human rights, preventing human rights violations and responding to emergencies, promoting human rights, together with democracy and development, as the guiding principles for lasting peace and coordinating the system-wide strengthening of the United Nations human rights program are reasons as to why UN encourages the promotion and protection of human rights in developing countries. This is a bedrock requirement for the realization of the Charter’s vision of a just and peaceful world.




REFERENCES
Beitz, R. (2009): The idea of human rights. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Donnelly, J. (2003): Universal human rights in theory and practice (2nd ed.). Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Freeman, M. (2002): Human rights: an interdisciplinary approach. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Littman, G. (2003): "Human Rights and Human Wrongs". National Review (New York)

Shaw, Malcom (2008): International Law (6th ed. ed.). Leiden: Cambridge University Press.

www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/Compilation2.1en.pdf/20/11/2011

www.unhchr.ch/huridocda/huridoca.nsf/22/11/2011

www.ausaid.gov.au/keyaid/humanrights/22/11/2011


























QUESTION 5
Define democracy? Discuss the essence of democratic governance for African countries in fostering global partnership and development.
INTRODUCTION
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal (and more or less direct) participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law. It can also encompass social, economic and cultural conditions that enable the free and equal practice of political self-determination.
The term comes from the word Greek: δημοκρατία – (dēmokratía) "rule of the people",which was coined from δῆμος (dêmos) "people" and κράτος (Kratos) "power", in the middle of the 5th-4th century BC to denote the political systems then existing in some Greek city-states, notably Athens following a popular uprising in 508 BC.
According to some theories of democracy, popular sovereignty is the founding principle of such a system.However, the democratic principle has also been expressed as "the freedom to call something into being which did not exist before, which was not given… and which therefore, strictly speaking, could not be known." This type of freedom, which is connected to human "natality," or the capacity to begin anew, sees democracy as "not only a political system… [but] an ideal, an aspiration, really, intimately connected to and dependent upon a picture of what it is to be human—of what it is a human should be to be fully human." (Ake, C. (2001).
While there is no universally accepted definition of 'democracy', equality and freedom have both been identified as important characteristics of democracy since ancient times. These principles are reflected in all citizens being equal before the law and having equal access to legislative processes. For example, in a representative democracy, every vote has equal weight, no unreasonable restrictions can apply to anyone seeking to become a representative, and the freedom of its citizens is secured by legitimized rights and liberties which are generally protected by a constitution.
Democratic Governance can be understood as the capacity of a society to define and establish policies and resolve their conflicts peacefully within the existing legal order. This is a necessary condition for the rule of law along with the separation of powers and a legal system that ensures the enjoyment of individual freedoms and rights -civil, social, political and cultural. This requires institutions based on the principles of equity, freedom, participation in decision making, accountability, and promoting the inclusion of the most vulnerable sectors of society (Larry, J(2006).
Democratic governance for African countries in fostering global partnership and development has been an ongoing phenomenon as here below presented;
First and foremost UNDP works on different thematic areas like Local Governance, Decentralization and Institutional Reform and Justice and Security Reform. This promotes knowledge management and the participation with inclusion especially of women, youth, persons with disabilities, Afro descendent people and indigenous groups, as well as the strengthening of government institutions to ensure better conditions for human development for African countries and even countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Secondly, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) is yet another initiative by Africa’s Heads of State and Governments intended to reverse, for good, the beggarly and highly embarrassing image of the continent through a ‘sustained engagement’ with the developed world. Among its many objectives, NEPAD seeks to halt the growing and deepening poverty of Africans by working towards altering the basis of the relationship between the rich North and the poor South. The initiative seeks a new global partnership based on shared responsibility and mutual interest through the instrumentality of political democracy and economic development on the continent.
It is also concerned to institute people-centered development via market-oriented economies capable of holding their own ground in the global village.
Furthermore, NEPAD is in search of building blocks to lay the foundation for a new politico-economic order, one able to permanently reverse the old cliché that ‘Africa is rich but Africans are poor’. The politico-economic blueprint of action is also meant to strengthen the capacity of the state with a view to making it an effective engineer, formulator and implementer of people-friendly programs and policies.
Finally, where various Lome EU-ACP agreements have virtually condemned Africa to the unenviable role of producing no more than primary commodities for Western industrial consumption, NEPAD proposes a frontal attack on the negative fall-outs of the continent’s integration into the global system as an extremely weak partner and a peripheral player (Robert,2007).

What the authors of NEPAD are saying, in brief, is that whilst it is imperative for Africa to clean up its act and begin to take its rightful place in the comity of continents, it cannot-and should not be expected to do it alone. Yet, little or nothing in the document suggests that the Western paradigm of development that has done everything except develop the continent is being challenged or contested.

My principal argument here, at once implicit and explicit, is that since Africa’s history of unequal relations with the developed world in the last three centuries or so is such that it has largely become a non-autonomous actor without the capacity to decide its own fate and future, NEPAD by being essentially a historical does not constitute an adequate response to the continent’s underdevelopment. It needs to be replaced by a more African-centered economic action plan that takes the continents history into account. That is to say a history that is two sided.
First, one needs to consider Africa’s relations with the West in terms of the slave trade, colonialism and neo-colonialism. In the latter’s contemporary rendition as “globalization,” the continent encounters the diffusion of Western capitalism and cultural values and a network of socio-economic and political institutions and relations that have made Africa’s political economy the most vulnerable to both positive and negative external influences. The second side of that history is the bad politics and venal leadership in much of the continent that were either ignored or supported by the West during the Cold War period—depending on their strategic or nuisance value but which have become costly in both political and economic terms after the formal end of the Cold War. As Zack-Williams, have argued, “Africa’s crisis is not natural or inevitable but a product of human history; a history forged in the complex interaction between locals and foreigners, states and societies, and domestic and imperial pressures.”
A major lacuna in NEPAD, I argue, is its inability or unwillingness, or both, to boldly account for Africa’s underdevelopment as a function of both the epochal consequences of colonialism/structural imperialism and bad politics of many of the continent’s political leaders. It may be true that “democracy in the form of multiparty elections was generally seen by African rulers as the price to pay for continued financial assistance rather than as the political modality that will make development more likely.”
However, it is also true that structural adjustment programs (SAPs) had greatly undermined the capacity of African states economically and strengthened their hands politically to deal with political discontent. To make sense of this methodological impasse, Alex de Waal’s notion of NEPAD as a ‘big idea’ that buys into “the promise of bold international action to resolve Africa’s crisis” is useful. Taken along with his argument that one of NEPAD’s strengths is that there is nothing essentially new about it, that what Africa needs is not so much new development models as “a proper application of lessons already learned,” we get the moral that the success of this African initiative seems to be hinged on a correct reading of Africa’s history as well as on adequate responses to that history.
CONCLUSION
History has it that the endevours to foster democracy in developing nations Africa inclusive do allow unscrupulous public officials to exploit opportunities for putting self above public interest, contrary to the spirit of democratic governance. Some advocates of globalization do point out that there are several benefits of globalization and its positive contribution to democracy, economic growth and development worldwide. The Critics however, do disagree and point to the impoverishment and devastation caused by globalization particularly in poor countries. It is clear that due to the various tensions between globalization, development and democracy, the benefits of globalization do not only remain elusive to many African countries, but globalization may indeed undermine human rights, impede development and be a threat to democracy in those countries. Moreover in the face of the unique challenges faced by African countries, while the Western world continues to be winners in the race for the benefits of globalization, most African counties continue to be relegated to the position of losers.
REFERENCES

Ake, C. (2001): Democracy and Development in Africa (Ibadan, et.al: Spectrum Books for African Center for Democratic Governance)

Colm, A. (2002): “Nepad should be driven by the people” Mail and Guardian.

Amuwo, ‘K. (1998): “Critical Perspectives on Structure, Nature and Role of the Public Bureaucracy in Nigeria” Quarterly Journal of Administration.

Larry, J(2006): Electoral systems and democracy. Johns Hopkins University.

Robert, W. (2007): Origins of democracy in ancient Greece. University of California Press.

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/democracy/16/11/2011

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy/16/11/2011