RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Andrew Solomon, October 23, 2009, Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement
Decades of armed conflict, natural disasters and climate change, have given rise to sizable populations of internally displaced persons (IDPs) throughout Africa. On October 23, African heads of state and government signed a legally binding convention on internal displacement, which as Andrew Solomon notes, demonstrates their commitment to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of IDPs, to facilitate durable solutions and to ensure that millions of people are no longer excluded from society as a whole. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Roberta Cohen and Francis M. Deng, June 08, 2009, International Security, Armaments and Disarmament in 2008, SIPRI Yearbook 2009
Massive displacement of people within and across borders has become a defining feature of the post-cold war world. It is also a major feature of human insecurity in which genocide, terrorism, egregious human rights violations and appalling human degradation wreak havoc on civilians. Though there has been a critical shift in thinking at the international level with regards to forced displacement, Cohen and Deng argue that concepts of sovereignty as responsibility and the responsibility to protect remain far ahead of international willingness and capacity to enforce them. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Jacqueline Geis and Alex Mundt, April 20, 2009, World Congress of Humanitarian Studies
Since 2002, the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor has issued four criminal indictments, carefully navigating turbulent national and international political waters. In each case, the timing of the indictments has elicited much controversy, particularly regarding their potential impact on peace agreements or ongoing negotiations. According to Jacqueline Geis and Alex Mundt, at issue is a fundamental debate over whether peace and justice can be pursued simultaneously. Read More
PAST EVENT
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
12:30 PM to 01:30 PM
Washington, DC
Brookings expert Elizabeth Ferris and Senior Politico Editor Fred Barbash took questions about humanitarian issues in Iraq and Darfur as well as the ICC's arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omara Hassan al-Bashir in this week’s edition of the Scouting Report. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Hady Amr and Elizabeth Ferris, February 16, 2009, Human Development Task Force, U.S.-Islamic World Forum
Throughout the Muslim world, millions of people have been forced to flee their homes and communities for many reasons, including both conflicts and natural disasters. This massive displacement of people affects both national development plans and individual human development, affecting relationships between countries, UN Security Council discussions, and peace processes. In short, as Hady Amr and Elizabeth Ferris argue, understanding—and resolving—displacement is central to development, peace, and security. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Alex Mundt and Elizabeth Ferris, October 28, 2008, Enhancing Protection of Civilians in Protracted Conflicts, ARC/Austcare Symposium
Though there are important similarities in the impact of prolonged displacement on the lives of IDPs and refugees, there are also significant differences in their situations -- particularly when it comes to solutions. While return is often the desired solution for both IDPs and political actors, Alex Mundt and Elizabeth Ferris argue that local integration and return should not be seen as mutually exclusive alternatives, as they can encourage IDPs to build new lives elsewhere without having to give up the possibility of an eventual return. Read More
PAST EVENT
Friday, September 26, 2008
10:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Washington, DC
On September 26, the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement will host a discussion of the effect of the possible indictment on peace and justice, and potential impact on humanitarian and peacekeeping operations in Darfur and on the ICC itself. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Elizabeth Ferris, September 26, 2008, Searching for Peace and Justice in Sudan: The Role of the International Criminal Court
At first glance, the reaction of humanitarian actors on the ground in Darfur to potential indictments of the Sudanese president Omar Bashir seems pretty obvious. Darfur's 2.5 million internally displaced people, the 4.2 million in need of food assistnace and the 17,000 or so humanitarian workers would make easy targets for an angry Sudanese government. But like everything in Darfur, Elizabeth Ferris explains, the situation is more complicated than it seems at first glance. Read More
PAST EVENT
Friday, June 27, 2008
2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Washington, DC
On June 27, the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement hosted a discussion with representatives from the Sudanese government; Lynn Fredriksson, Africa advocacy director for Amnesty International USA; and Pamela Fierst, a member of the Sudan policy group at the State Department, to examine Sudan’s 2005 peace agreement and to explore the ways in which it has been successfully implemented and the areas in which challenges still exist. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Elizabeth Ferris, May 07, 2008, National Conference of the Ethiopian Community Development Council
Darfur has been on the international agenda for the past four years despite the advocacy campaigns, the growing public awareness, the large and expensive relief operations, and (eventual) Security Council action. Despite these efforts, as Elizabeth Ferris points out, the war is far from over. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Roberta Cohen and Stephanie Hanson, February 06, 2008, Council on Foreign Relations
Despite the UN resolution creating an international peacekeeping force for Darfur with 26,000 troops, the force has been unable to fully deploy into the region. Brookings expert Roberta Cohen discusses the difficulties surrounding the deployment with Stephanie Hanson of the Council on Foreign Relations. Read More
PAST EVENT
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Washington, DC
Gonzalo Vargas-Llosa, a senior policy adviser from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, participated in a discussion on the current realities in Darfur. He was joined by experts Colin Thomas-Jensen, a policy adviser with the ENOUGH Project, and Paul Miller, Africa adviser with Catholic Relief Services. Elizabeth Ferris, senior fellow and co-director of the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, moderated the discussion. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Roberta Cohen, December 01, 2007, Forced Migration Review
Debates within the human rights and humanitarian communities have centered on the numbers who have died in Darfur, the use of the term genocide, the efficacy of military versus political solutions and the extent to which human rights advocacy can undermine humanitarian programs on the ground. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Roberta Cohen, August 09, 2007, The Brookings Institution
Commentary by Roberta Cohen (8/9/07) Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Erica S. Downs, June 01, 2007, China Security
Policy-makers and experts in America and Europe are increasingly concerned about the growing role of China’s oil companies in Africa. Erica Downs contends that Chinese oil companies are not trying to “lock up” Africa’s oil to meet China’s own needs for energy. Read More