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Security Sector Reform Resource Centre
Boko Haram’s April 14 kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls from the northeastern town of Chibok has been one of the most provocative developments of its almost five-year insurgency against the Nigerian government. It has catalyzed a global protest campaign, and aided the Nigerian government in garnering both regional and international assistance in its ongoing fight against the Islamist extremist sect. But it has also placed unprecedented pressure on the government to act with a decisiveness and rapidity which has been sorely lacking in its response to the insurgency. –Ryan Cummings (republished with permission from the International Peace Institute)
News
Kerry holds surprise Libya talks in Paris
As concern grows amongst the international community about the future of Libya, John Kerry took an unexpected trip Paris last week to hold surprise talks with his Libyan counterpart. –Al Arabiya
Sierra Leone peacekeepers bound for Somalia quarantined over Ebola
Approximately 800 Sierra Leonean peacekeepers bound for Somalia were placed into quarantine last week as the repercussions of the Ebola virus continued to have implications well beyond the healthcare sector. –Reuters
Pakistani, Indian armies establish contact through hotline
Senior officials from the militaries of Pakistan and India made contact last week through a hotline, part of the latest effort to reduce tension along the “Line of Control (LoC)” in the disputed Kashmir region. –Mateen Haider, Dawn
South Sudan: UN envoy, Government agree on steps on tackle widespread sexual violence
The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, says that sexual violence is a widespread and deeply entrenched characteristic of the current conflict in South Sudan. According to Bangura all parties to the conflict are implicated in use, or acts, of sexual violence. –UN News Centre
Security Council holds urgent meeting on recent developments in Yemen
The current political transition in Yemen was the subject of a recent “urgent” meeting of the UN Security Council, where officials described the situation on the ground as deeply concerning. –Yemen News Agency
US, Russia Vow Intel-Sharing on Islamic State
Following a three hour meeting in Paris, senior officials from the US and Russia announced the two countries were going to be accelerating their intelligence sharing about the Islamic State. –Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Venezuela Needs International Help to Tackle Crime
As the level of crime continues to grow in Venezuela, it is becoming clear that the government is incapable of stemming the problem and needs the active support of the international community. –Juan Nagel, Foreign Policy
Turkey to Bring Comprehensive Reforms in Domestic Security Laws
Turkey intends to comprehensively reform its domestic security laws in a sign that its approach to protests in the country may be changing. According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the reforms are designed to equip the country to deal with “massive acts” of domestic violence. –Daily Sabah
South Korea: Army mulls reform of rank structure
As part of its efforts to reduce tension and incidents of violence within its enlisted ranks, the South Korean Army has announced it is considering reform of its decades-old system of hierarchy. –Global Post
DR Congo: UN report spotlights human rights violations amid wider calls for security reform
Top UN officials are calling on the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to step up its security sector reform efforts and punish human rights violators. –UN News Centre
South Korea, China, Japan to hold first three-way talks on cybersecurity
According to China’s foreign ministry, the country will be holding its first-ever three-way talks on cybersecurity with South Korean and Japan. –Yonhap News Agency
Ukraine leaders calls for new domestic military doctrine
Ukraine’s president has stated that the country needs a new military doctrine in order to adapt to the new world order. Last week President Petro Poroshenko also appointed a new Defence Minister. –ITAR-TASS
Canadian promise to build Haitian police academy in limbo
Despite an announcement this week from the UN that reforming Haiti’s police forces is “paramount” to improving the stability of the country, the government of Canada’s promise to construct an $18 million national police academy remains unfulfilled, six years after is was offered. –Lee Berthiaume, Ottawa Citizen
Fragile talks with PKK are in peril due to escalating violence
An already precarious peace process between the government of Turkey and Kurdish PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) rebels has become even more tenuous following government airstrikes on PKK hideouts last week. –Today’s Zaman
DRC Launches Inquiry into North Kivu “Terrorist” Attack
According to sources in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the government has launched an investigation into a recent attack in an eastern province of the country that left 26 people dead. –Voice of America
Analysis
Why Nigeria’s election year may see a spike in pirate attacks
According to some analysts and intelligence experts who study West Africa, the coming election year may result in a spate of pirate attacks. Historically some politicians in Nigeria have worked in league with pirates and covered up their crimes, in return for a cut of the ransom money, which they use for election spending. –Rick Noack, The Washington Post
Publications
Confronting crime networks in Dakar
This policy brief presents a number of options for confronting crime in Senegal. Organized crime, ranging from drug trafficking to cybercrime, has become widespread and intractable in Senegal, especially in the country’s capital Dakar. –Ismaïla Diallo and Mamoudou Ndiaye, Institute for Security Studies
Improving United Nations Capacity for Rapid Deployment
Frequent UN peacekeeping interventions in the past have faltered as a result of the slow place of deployment. This paper argues that attempts to build a rapid deployment capacity for UN missions have been frustrated by a climate of fiscal austerity, and a preference for incremental, fragmented reforms. –Peter Langille, International Peace Institute
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