Sierra Leone supplies security contractors to Iraq

A report that a British PSC is employing ex-combatants from Sierra Leone in Iraq on a salary of $250 a month plus free training, room and board - just under ten times what they would earn at home but a fraction of the salary a Western security worker can command in Iraq, which can be in the region of $100k.

Typologies of conflict and categories of civilians

Two recent publications caught our eye:

• The International Review of the Red Cross publishes an issue focussing on the legal classification of armed conflict, increasingly vital in the growing number complex contexts in which the Movement works which do not fit the classic definitions of war between state actors
• HPG's new report 'Realising Protection' looks at the meaning and implications of three categories of protected status for non-combatants – ‘civilian’, ‘refugee’ and ‘internally displaced’ – and the frameworks of international law and custom and 'shifting political priorities and engagement by governments and regional and international actors' which surround them. Ultimately, they argue, 'it is the observance or otherwise of basic protection rules and norms by national and international duty-bearers that has the greatest impact on people’s safety, security and wellbeing'.

HPG policy brief: a clash of principles in Pakistan?

A new policy brief of the Humanitarian Practice Group (HPG) discusses the response of the humanitarian community in Pakistan and assesses the dilemma between sticking to a principled approach and supporting the government's efforts to rebuild stability in the country. The fight against the Taliban invokes more military and political responses of the government, often overriding the humanitarian principles.

Aid agencies are faced with the dilemma of engaging with and supporting government efforts to promote stability or maintaining a principled approach. Their added value in promoting stability is not clear and their influence over these processes is likely to be mixed. A principled approach will be limiting in terms of influencing domestic policy and gaining access. Resolving or managing these dilemmas will require strategic decision-making based on context analysis and strong leadership.
Irrespective of the approach adopted, advocacy has a significant role to play in ensuring adherence to International Humanitarian Law in the conduct of hostilities, that there is sufficient humanitarian funding and that efforts to promote stability ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable are met, and that political and security considerations do not override the humanitarian imperative.

UK: MoD Strategic Defence Review outlined

On July 07, the Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth announced that a process for undertaking a Strategic Defence Review in the next parliament has been set out.

The purpose is to examine, among others, the lessons learned from recent operations; the changing character of conflict; the requirements on and aspirations of the British Armed Forces.

For some reflections on this announcement, see Charlie Edwards on the Global Dashboard.

ALNAP: Where to Now? Agency Expulsions in Sudan: Consequences and Next Steps

On 4 March, the government of Sudan expelled 13 international NGOs and revoked the licences of three national NGOs. In all, 7,610 aid workers have been directly affected in Northern Sudan (including Darfur), where these agencies accounted for 40% of aid workers, delivering more than half the total amount of aid. NGO services – access to water, health and medical services, food rations – have been jeopardised. Assistance to Darfur 's 2.7 million-plus displaced people has been severely compromised, and a number of health-related crisis are already emerging. In the Three Areas, the repercussions of these expulsions could undermine the gains made in realising the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). In Eastern Sudan , the expulsion of these agencies has deprived the region of critical food, livelihoods and medical assistance.

This joint ALNAP-HPG paper focuses on the recent expulsion of NGOs from Sudan. The paper provides a snapshot of what expelled aid agencies were doing at the time of their departure; where they were based and the type of assistance they were providing. It outlines the immediate implications of the expulsions including issues around contingency plans, remote working capacities and the challenge of scaling up operations to make up for the shortfall in services. The paper then suggests ways forward for the UN system, donors and international NGOs.

You can download the paper from the ALNAP website.

Convention on Cluster Munitions signed in Oslo

More than 100 governments, with some notable exceptions, will sign an international convention today banning the production of cluster bombs whose unexploded canisters have killed and maimed thousands of innocent civilians and are dangerously scattered over more than 20 countries.

The convention is enthusiastically welcomed today by the Red Cross, and on the Guardian's website by David Miliband, the foreign secretary, and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, his German counterpart. The weapons had "rendered huge tracts of land unusable, cutting farmers off from their crops and visiting further suffering on families forced to risk their lives simply to pursue their livelihoods", said Matthias Schmale, international director of the British Red Cross.

The Guardian, 3rd December 2008

Civil society played a key role in bringing about this strong convention, as did the International Committee of the Red Cross/Red Crescent. Its president, Dr Jakob Kellenberger, captured the spirit of what we were trying to achieve when he quoted from the authors of the 1868 St Petersburg Declaration that our task was shaped by the need to "fix the technical limits at which the necessities of war ought to yield to the requirements of humanity." Civil society's involvement in the process helped to ensure that when redefining these limits humanitarian concerns were given due weight.

David Miliband in the Guardian, 2nd December 2008

Almost exactly ten years ago, the world celebrated a comprehensive ban on anti-personnel landmines, an immense achievement which has saved countless lives and spared the suffering of thousands around the globe.

Then, as now, the Red Cross and the British Government were at the forefront of the debate. The Red Cross first called for a Cluster Munitions treaty in 2000 following the conflict in Kosovo. More recently it was largely due to the United Kingdom that a conference in Dublin in May was able to reach agreement on the final wording of the treaty being signed today.

Matthias Schmale, British Red Cross press statement

We are committing ourselves to preventing further civilian deaths and injuries from cluster munitions, and to helping those whose lives have been blighted by them.... we are showing our commitment to international humanitarian law, and celebrating the tremendous positive energy which comes about through working together with civil society.

...

Our global community must continually keep challenging itself about the way it behaves. Political leaders must show they are prepared to listen and respond to the voices of victims, of civil society, and of ordinary people. The Cluster Munition Convention, the "Oslo Convention", shows both the importance and the power of advocacy to make the world a safer, better place.

It's only the beginning because we must continue working together internationally, and so must our military forces, to prevent conflicts and deal with their legacy. And when military force is required, it must be used responsibly.

David Miliband, short speech on signing the Convention.

ICRC: The Convention on Cluster Munitions - Time to Act

WILPF: Women and Cluster Munitions

From the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom:

Victim assistance is frequently referred to as the cornerstone of a future instrument on cluster munitions. In order to adequately address the inhumane suffering caused by the use of these weapons, care for their innocent victims must be the focus of an international treaty. There is a general understanding among states participating in the Oslo Process that ‘victim’ is a multifaceted term, much larger than the individual, encompassing the victim’s family and larger community.

Implicit in the consideration of the term ‘victim’ is also the consideration of gender and age. Men, women, girls, and boys are affected differently by the threat posed by the presence of cluster munitions in their communities. Gender influences the role an individual plays in their community; in their social and economic activities and their likelihood of becoming a cluster munitions victim or their ability to access medical attention or risk education and awareness.

The report can be downloaded from Reliefweb.

ICRC: International humanitarian law and the challenges of contemporary armed conflicts

A report from the ICRC aims to generate reflection and debate on a number of current challenges in the field of international humanitarian law (IHL) identified by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and to outline prospective ICRC action aimed at clarifying and developing IHL.

The report follows up on a number of specific issues raised in a previous report on the same topic presented to the 28th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in 2003 and gives an overview of new or emerging issues deserving discussion. While the report was primarily written to serve as a background document for the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, the ICRC hopes that its contents will be of interest to a wider readership as well.

The report can be downloaded from Reliefweb.

Disarmament diplomacy: The Road From Oslo: Emerging International Efforts on Cluster Munitions

On February 23, 2007, 46 countries made an historic declaration at a conference in the snow-covered hills above Oslo in Norway. The Oslo Declaration contained commitments to complete an international treaty by the end of 2008 to "prohibit the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians" and to "establish a framework for cooperation and assistance that ensures adequate provision of care and rehabilitation to survivors and their communities, clearance of contaminated areas, risk education and destruction of stockpiles of prohibited cluster munitions."

Only one year earlier, such collective resolve on cluster bombs was very hard to envisage...

What changed? What does the Oslo Declaration mean, and what comes next? Does the Oslo Conference mark the beginning of another "Ottawa process" - as some are proclaiming and others fear - which a decade ago achieved a treaty banning anti-personnel mines? First, however, what humanitarian problems do cluster munitions cause, and what are the big political issues in dealing with them?

Read more at the Acronym.org website.