Dear Deeply Readers,
Welcome to the archives of Peacebuilding Deeply. While we paused regular publication of the site on September 1, 2018, we are happy to serve as an ongoing public resource on global peace and security. We hope you’ll enjoy the reporting and analysis that was produced by our dedicated community of editors and contributors.
We continue to produce events and special projects while we explore where the on-site journalism goes next. If you’d like to reach us with feedback or ideas for collaboration you can do so at [email protected].
Chris Horwood
Mixed migration flows represent a small proportion of human mobility but have seriously disrupted migration and refugee policy as well as politics worldwide. We need a sober, forward-looking discussion of the issues, argues Mixed Migration Centre analyst Chris Horwood.
Jessica Thea
Izza Leghtas
As Turkey takes sole responsibility from UNHCR for processing the asylum claims of Afghans and other non-Syrians, it must register them and allow them to access their basic rights, say Refugees International’s Izza Leghtas and Jessica Thea.
Traumatized Afghan child soldiers who were forced to fight in Syria struggle to find protection in Europe’s asylum lottery.
The thousands of women who volunteer in low-income countries’ healthcare systems deserve proper training, appropriate remuneration and the chance to be heard in decision-making, argue Maisam Najafizada and Jill Allison of Memorial University, Newfoundland.
Jamille Bigio
Nigeria’s working women deserve better legal protection – just as across the world laws making it harder for women to work than men are holding back economic progress. Yet companies will profit from promoting legal reforms to boost women’s participation in the economy.
Jeff Crisp Associate Fellow, International Law Programme, Chatam House
The U.N. refugee agency lacks the funding, political clout and independence to protect refugees in the way that it is supposed to, says former UNHCR official and refugee policy expert Jeff Crisp.
Dr. Lina Kreidie Tobis Fellow at the Ethics and Morality Center, University of California
Jesse Marks Fulbright Fellow and Scoville Peace Fellow based in Amman, Jordan
The regime wants the legitimacy that would come from internationally backed returns. Researchers Jesse Marks and Lina Kreidie warn the U.N. to heed lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Dr. Lina Kreidie Tobis Fellow at the Ethics and Morality Center, University of California
Jesse Marks Fulbright Fellow and Scoville Peace Fellow based in Amman, Jordan
The regime wants the legitimacy that would come from internationally backed returns. Researchers Jesse Marks and Lina Kreidie warn the U.N. to heed lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Rabia Nusrat Regional Projects Manager for Afghanistan-Pakistan, International Alert
Medium-sized enterprises have the potential to contribute to peace and security in Afghanistan, but they need support from Kabul and the international community if they hope to address some of the drivers of conflict, writes Rabia Nusrat of International Alert.
Shuja Nawaz Distinguished Fellow with the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center
As polls open in Pakistan, there are concerns that the election will create room for unrest between rival political forces in the divided country, writes Pakistan expert Shuja Nawaz.
Human rights activist Gulalai Ismail’s counter-extremism initiative has reached over 10,000 young people in Pakistan and Afghanistan. They key to her success, she says, is a context-specific program led by local peacebuilders.
Jean D’Cunha Senior Adviser
Despite being one of the fastest-growing regions on the planet, South Asia has declining employment rates, largely affecting women. To help reverse the trend, governments must work to get more women into parliament, says Jean D’Cunha of U.N. Women.
Aruna Kashyap Senior Counsel for the Women’s Rights Division, Human Rights Watch
Sexual harassment is a common complaint in garment factories, where women make up most of the workforce. Instead of distancing themselves from labor abuse, global brands should work together to end the problem, says Human Rights Watch senior counsel Aruna Kashyap
Michael Dempsey National Intelligence Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
Policymakers should take note of the latest U.N. global displacement figures for reasons both moral and arising from shared interests, says former U.S. acting director of national intelligence Michael Dempsey. He recommends three policy actions in response.
Australia must protect witnesses and remain transparent while it investigates members of its elite special forces for allegedly committing crimes against civilians in Afghanistan, writes Human Rights Watch senior researcher Patricia Gossman.
Sana Mustafa Founder of Sana Mustafa Consulting
We don’t accept all-male panels on women’s issues, so why do we still discuss refugee policy without refugees, asks entrepreneur Sana Mustafa. Beyond tokenistic inclusion of refugee stories, she argues that meaningful participation requires major institutional shifts.
Francesca Fionda Investigative Journalist and Data Reporter, The Discourse
Alia Dharssi Researcher and Journalist
Refugees in Canada talked to journalism company The Discourse about how to improve media coverage of refugee issues. They share the top takeaways for refugees preparing to speak to the media and for journalists seeking to provide better coverage of displacement.
As part of our series, “When Refugees Lead,” we speak with Fatemeh Khavari, the 18-year-old Afghan founder and spokesperson of Young in Sweden (Ung I Sverige), which campaigns against the deportation of unaccompanied refugee minors.
As doors close to Afghan refugees around the globe, 1 million Afghan children face an uncertain future in Iran. Some have rights and public sympathy, others face deportation and discrimination, reports Fariba Nawa in this photo essay with an Iranian photographer.
Yossi Melman
A look at the intentions and capabilities of Israel and Iran suggest that the two states are looking to avoid a conflict, rather than spark one, writes Israeli security and intelligence commentator Yossi Melman.
Samer Abboud Associate Professor of international Studies, Arcadeia University
The deployment of an Arab force in Syria, at a time when most regional states have started to reduce their involvement, would risk direct confrontation between intervening powers, writes Syria researcher and professor Samer Abboud.
Felix Bender Doctoral Candidate, Central European University in Budapest
Despite the concern over Hungary’s slide into authoritarianism the E.U. is silent over human rights violations against refugees. Budapest-based researcher Felix Bender explains why.
Ibrahim al-Marashi Associate Professor of Middle East History, California State University San Marcos
Last year Trump attacked Syria at a time when he was facing a domestic crisis. The U.S. president is in a similar situation now, writes Associate Professor of Middle East History Ibrahim al-Marashi.
Peter Ford Global Affairs Correspondent, The Christian Science Monitor
Not long ago the humanitarian concept of ‘Responsibility to Protect’ had currency. But this is no longer the case in Syria, where a new harsh reality is playing out in eastern Ghouta, writes journalist Peter Ford.
Ayesha Ahmad Lecturer, Medical Ethics and Law at St George's University of London
Many international donors want to invest in Afghan women’s economic potential. But the country needs to transform its entire gender infrastructure to really change women’s lives, writes Ayesha Ahmad.
As the route to Australia has shut, Indonesia is making a reluctant and contradictory switch from being a transit country. But refugees there often face a struggle to survive.
After decades of conflict, Afghanistan is home to around 2.5 million widows, with an average age of 35. Struggling to support themselves and unaware of their rights, these young women also suffer under cultural customs that leave them isolated and impoverished.
Samer Abboud Associate Professor of international Studies, Arcadeia University
Washington’s recently outlined policy for Syria is unlikely to be able to change the battlefield, protect its allies, or alter the policies of regional states, says Syria researcher and professor Samer Abboud.
The head of the U.N. refugee agency, Filippo Grandi, speaks to Refugees Deeply about funding, politics and making sure refugees aren’t returned against their will.
Jeff Crisp Formerly Head of Policy Development and Evaluation, UNHCR
As Rohingya refugees poured out of Myanmar into Bangladesh last fall, the two countries were already negotiating mass returns. This wouldn’t be the first premature repatriation of Rohingya, but today it reflects a trend of unsafe returns, says refugee expert Jeff Crisp.
We take a look at the major issues for refugees in the year ahead, while policy experts from around the globe explain what they’re watching out for in the next 12 months.
Nutrition features prominently in the Sustainable Development Goals, but Dr. Jessica Fanzo, one of the experts behind the 2017 Global Nutrition Report, says more work needs to be done to integrate efforts to address malnutrition into other sectors.
Despite growing bloodshed in Afghanistan, fewer Afghans are recognized as refugees in Europe and many are sent home to a country still at war and struggling to integrate massive numbers of returnees, Ruchi Kumar reports for IRIN News.
From the mass exodus of refugees out of Myanmar and South Sudan to escalating returns of Afghans and threats to send back Syrians, refugees faced a crisis of resources and institutions in 2017. We look back at some of the major developments this year.
Sarah Hodin Project Coordinator, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Women and Health Initiative and Maternal Health Task Force
Kayla McGowan Project Coordinator, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Women and Health Initiative and Maternal Health Task Force
Mary Nell Wegner Executive Director, Maternal Health Task Force at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Vandana Tripathi Deputy Director, Fistula Care Plus Project at EngenderHealth
Four maternal health experts come together to examine how fistula, while known to be treatable by surgery, is also caused by unsafe surgical techniques, and what the global health community can do about it.
From the #metoo movement to abortion rights in Latin America, marriage rulings in India and humanitarian crises in East Africa and the Middle East, it’s been a blockbuster year for women and girls worldwide.
An increasing number of unaccompanied migrant children and teenagers are stuck on the Greek island of Lesbos due to a shortage of shelter spaces in Greece. They’re growing angry and frustrated while facing a lengthy wait to be transferred to the mainland.
Most refugees live in countries with scant mental health resources, despite a growing body of research on how displacement impacts mental health. In this edition of our ‘Experts to Watch’ series, we look at some of the leading thinkers and practitioners in this field.
Europe’s closing borders and the death toll in the Mediterranean are forcing asylum seekers to look further afield. An investigation into the migration routes out of Latin America into the U.S. and Canada finds Africans, Afghans and Iraqis enduring great risks.
Evan Easton-Calabria Researcher at the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford
Yamini Mookherjee Research Associate at the Foundation for Rural Recovery and Development, New Delhi
The global focus on building refugees’ self-reliance often fails to understand how refugees define the concept, say researchers Evan Easton-Calabria and Yamini Mookherjee. They explain why some refugees see self-reliance as more complicated than individual and economic.
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