Community based rehabilitation

Have not got to this yet, but it looks interesting: "Community based rehabilitation: a strategy for peace-building by William Boyce, Michael Koros and Jennifer Hodgson". The blurb on it reads: "Certain features of peace-building distinguish it from peacekeeping, and make it an appropriate strategy in dealing with vertical conflict and low intensity conflict. However, some theorists suggest that attempts, through peace-building, to impose liberal values upon non-democratic cultures are misguided and lack an ethical basis. We have been investigating the peace-building properties of community based approaches to disability in a number of countries. This paper describes the practice and impact of peace-building through Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) strategies in the context of armed conflict". Get the article from BMC International Health and Human Rights.

Consultation on Northern Ireland Truth Process

That said, in Northern Ireland it now looks like a consultation process is going to start as to how to deal with the past, and the Minister is off to South Africa. A see BBC article on the subject begins: "A visit by the Northern Ireland secretary to South Africa will coincide with the beginning of a consultation process on how best to deal with the province's violent past. Paul Murphy is to meet senior figures in Capetown and Pretoria to hear their views on the country's Truth and Reconciliation process. Victims Minister Angela Smith is also expected to be fully involved in the process which begins at the end of May. The steps to be taken over the next few weeks will be the first in a very long process. Mr Murphy is expected to tell parliament how the government intends to handle the consultation process shortly before he travels to South Africa. That statement is expected in the final week of this month".

So its all going to get interesting now...although I suspect it will drag on for some time.

Back from Onati: Justice in Transition - Northern Ireland

After a very busy two weeks I finally get to posting something. I am just back from a conference entitled Justice in Transition: Northern Ireland and Beyond held in Onati and hosted by the International Institute for the Sociology of Law. It was a very timely event as the discussion on how to deal with the past in Northern Ireland is really starting to take off again. I presented some of the analysis I wrote in the Fordham International Law Journal (26,4), see my publications. But also spoke to the ideas of how discourses and process are shaping current processes of how to deal with the past. I also made the point that the South African process has become more 'symbolic' in Northern Ireland, than a serious attempt to draw detailed lessons.

South Africa to host 2010 Soccer World Cup

Thought I'd post this photo by Shayne Robinson (Sapa) taken from the Mail and Guardian Online (hope no one minds), to capture the celebrations in South Africa now that it has been decided that the 2010 Soccer World Cup will be held there. Great news!

Human Rights Institute papers

Human Rights Institute and the University of Connecticut has put up on the net a range of papers online and are hoping to develop this. A number of downloadable papers on human rights themes as diverse as land rights, cultural rights and multiculturalism, and truth recovery in South Africa and Northern Ireland are available. You can also send them others if you want.

Mahatma Gandhi Research and Media Service

Don't know if any of you have seen this, the Mahatma Gandhi Research and Media Service. This e-archive is an extensive online resource on Mohandas Karamchand (aka Mahatma) Gandhi in terms of quality and quantity. It provides over 1400 photographs, 17 hours audio online, 8800 books, a day-to-day chronology, Gandhi's life on video (60 min.), over 200 writings online, 44 min. of Gandhi's voice, and over 20 hours film footage. One for you Ghandi lovers out there...

Snapshot of South African Attitudes

The Washington Post with the Kaiser Foundation undertook a survey on South African attitudes recently. There is a short video on the web with some results, but also a link on that page to the summary document. Very interesting, and it is hopeful to note that most feel positive about the future...

Torture at Abu Ghraib

The stories have been all over the news for days now, so I am sure most have you have read about it extensively. However, I would recommend the various pieces by Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker of late. Key question how far up does the responsibility go? Well worth the read.

The Gray Zone by Seymour Hersh.

Chain of Command by Seymour Hersh

Inter-group Forgiveness in Settings of Ethnic Conflict

Inter-group Forgiveness in Settings of Ethnic Conflict: Empirical Research, Peace and Conflict is pleased to announce a future special issue on the theme of inter-group forgiveness in settings of ethnic conflict. Professor Micheal D. Roe of Seattle Pacific University and the University of Ulster is serving as Guest Editor. Manuscripts must present empirical research. Both qualitative and quantitative methodologies are welcome. Studies from a variety of national or cultural settings are encouraged. Inquiries should be directed to Micheal Roe. Phone: (206) 281-2252; email: mroe@spu.edu. Submission deadline: 1 October 2003.

Gito Baloi

Seems like some times things can travel slowly across the planet, or otherwise I was just not paying attention. Only this morning I was browsing through the Mail and Guardian and came across this sad story. Apparently, Gito Baloi, celebrated jazz bassist and one-time member of the group Tananas, was shot and killed on the streets of Johannesburg in the early hours of April 4. I know his music well and saw him many times at the Bass Line Jazz Club that used to be up the road from my house in Johannesburg. How sad.