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A total of 28 armed conflicts, were reported during the first quarter of the year, the same number than at the end of 2007. |
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The vast majority of armed conflicts can be found in Asia (12) and Africa (10), with the remainder in the Middle East (4), Europe (2) and America (1). |
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The most serious armed conflicts currently being fought continued to be in Afghanistan, Chad, Colombia, Iraq, DR Congo (Kivus), Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan (Darfur). |
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More than half of all armed conflicts in 2007 were connected with demands for increased self-government or the struggle for greater recognition. |
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During the first quarter of the year, 72 contexts were classified as being in a state of tension, two more than at the end of 2007, the majority in Africa and Asia (26 and 24 respectively). |
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Tension between Israel and Hezbollah reached a critical point with the assassination of the head of operations of the Lebanese organization, which declared open war on Israel for his alleged involvement in the incident. |
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The tension increased dramatically in Zimbabwe during the general elections in March by the persistent allegations of fraud against the party of President Robert Mugabe and harassment of the opposition. |
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In Burundi, the AU expressed concern at the upsurge in clashes that pose a violation of the ceasefire agreement existing since 2006. |
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The Kosovo parliament declared independence of the territory, which led to massive protest demonstrations in Serbia, which turned violent. |
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With regard to peace processes, the mediation by Kofi Annan helped resolve the political crisis in Kenya. |
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The deployment of the joint mission of UN-AU peace in Darfur began, but with lack of troops. The process was complicated by the proliferation of actors and facilitators. |
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The EU gave the green light for the operation peacekeepers on the border between Central African Republic, Chad and Sudan, countries that have signed a new peace accord in Senegal. |
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Relating to postwar rehabilitation, the election campaign in Nepal was marked by acts of violence and clashes between the political contenders, resulting in several deaths. |
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ISAF noted an improvement in the capabilities of the new Afghan army to intervene in the operations against the Taliban militia. |
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The UN Security Council decided to approve for another year the deployment of UNMIT in Timor-Leste in order to support the country to the challenges facing the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in the political leadership. |
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As for humanitarian crisis, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions expressed concern that a new law could to restore the death penalty in Guatemala in a disguised form. |
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The renewed fighting between Somalia and the Sudan created new thousands of displaced and hampered the work of humanitarian aid. |
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NGOs considered the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip the worst occurred in Palestine in the past 40 years. |
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In relation to disarmament, the UN Security Council extended the arms embargo against the militias in DR Congo until the end of March. |
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Sales of conventional weapons decreased by 8% in 2007, according to the Swedish research center SIPRI, although it is soon to affirm that there is change in the tendency. |
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The School for a Culture of Peace published a comparative analyais of the DDR programmes in operation during 2007, which involve a total of 1.1 million combatants in 19 countries with a total cost of around 1,600 million US dollars. |
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As for human rights, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions expressed concern that a new law could to restore the death penalty in Guatemala in a disguised form. |
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The European Court of Human Rights reasserted the absolute and unconditional prohibition of deporting people to countries where they may be at risk of torture. |
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The prosecutor of the ICC reiterated that there can be no impunity for those guilty of war crimes in Africa, even if there is an ongoing peace process. |
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The UN Secretary General launched a multi-year campaign to end violence against women and ensure the commitment of governments in this area. |
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Just nine countries have produced a national plan of action for the implementation of UN Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. |
