Security, governance & migration
The use of the private sector to provide security is spreading like an oil slick across the world. Especially in the so-called ‘risk’ countries that are relatively numerous in Africa and the Caribbean, but which are also present in the Pacific, such as Papua New Guinea. What is more, in certain cases the dividing line between their ‘defensive’ and ‘offensive’ role is becoming increasingly blurred. An...
Africa represents the ideal field for testing the procedures of the European Security and Defence Policy. That is the view of Niagalé Bagayoko-Penone, an expert on Security and Development at Sussex University’s Institute for Development Studies (IDS) in the United Kingdom.
It all began with Operation Artemis, the first EU intervention outside its immediate neighbourhood. It was conducted from 12 June to 1 September 2003 in Bunia...
Faced with the increased incidence of wars in certain ACP Group regions, often reducing their development efforts to zero, conflict prevention was recognized as a priority in the cooperation agreements signed in Cotonou in 2000 between the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and their principal partner, the European Union. These provisions assumed particular importance with the entry into force of the European External Action Service on 1...
The new Haitian president, Michel Martelly, elected on 20 March, was sworn into office on Saturday 14 May. The very courteous handover of power between the former president, René Préval, and the new one is seen as quite a positive sign, as was the presence of a large contingent of members of the National Assembly, in which Martelly can only rely on the support of three representatives and with which he will have to negotiate. The...
At his inauguration as president of Ivory Coast on Saturday 21st May in Yamassoukro, the political capital of the country, Alassane Ouattara placed emphasis on Ivorians gathering together, while awaiting reconciliation between political enemies. The official proclamation of the results took place on 5th May, six months after the elections. The intervening period was marked by oppression from both the army and the supporters of the former...
The Assises on Decentralized Cooperation organized by the Committee of the Regions (COR) and hosted in Brussels on the 29th and 30th of March 2011 by the COR and the European Commission led to some practical conclusions likely to influence the development policy of the EU, which is now being reworked with a view to decentralizing the way it is run.
There was also a variety of parallel events, in particular a debate under the aegis of PLATFORMA...
The presence of the African Union Commission at the G8 Summit in Deauville (26-27 May 2011) underlined the importance of reinforced partnership between the G8 and Africa. Africa is on the move and becomes a new pole of a worldwide growth, in spite of remaining difficulties, notably in the least developed and vulnerable countries. Both sides promised to work jointly during this crucial period of change, to continue promoting shared values, like...
Migration, European Union support to South Sudan and trade issues topped the agenda of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers held on May 31st in Brussels.
Chairing the meeting, Hungary’s Foreign Minister, Jănos Martonyi, whose country was, at the time, in the EU’s rotating presidency chair, said that migration is currently a very sensitive issue in the EU. Migration problems will only be resolved, he said, if the EU strengthens its...
The Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) is a non-profit organisation that helps Nigerians in the Diaspora harness their skills and resources to support the country’s development.
Established in 2000, NIDO is an initiative of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, with departments in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa. NIDO branches organise networking activities between Nigerian Diaspora communities and partners and help build...
Opposition critics of the new president, Goodluck Jonathan, have yet to single out a line of attack. They are more critical of the closed nature of the actual system of governance which, they say, is open to police violence and corruption, than of the President himself. However, they also cast doubt over the new President’s ability to combat such scourges.
General Muhammadu Buhari, placed 2nd in the presidential elections of April 2011...
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