Coping with Insecurity: Labour Relations, (Im)mobility and Conflict-sensitive Employment in Afghanistan

Forced migration studies and research related to the "new wars" paradigm have drawn attention to the modes of operation of war economies and the coercive labour relations involved. Field research findings by the author and an Afghan team in 2015-2017 on employment by local construction companies revealed that remnants of the war economy have persisted in Afghanistan's fragile and violence-affected settings and continue to shape labour relations. To avoid acts of sabotage and fulfil construction contracts, relationships with local powerholders - politicians holding offices in government or Taliban leaders - are crucial for mobile Afghan companies operating on construction sites for limited periods. The research findings indicate that these relationships provide a field of interaction and negotiations about conflict-sensitive employment between company managers and local elders representing community interests - and through them, local powerholders. The involvement of elders affects the labour relations between company managers and local workers, both mobile and immobile

Crime Trends: 1990-2016

This report examines crime trends at the national and city level during the last quarter century. It covers the years 1990 through 2016, as crime rates peaked in 1991. It analyzes data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and from police departments from the nation's 30 largest cities. Data for 2016 are estimated, as full year data was not available at the time of publication.This report concludes that although there are some troubling increases in crimes in specific cities, there is no evidence of a national crime wave

Crime In 2016: A Preliminary Analysis

Earlier this year, the Brennan Center analyzed crime data from the 30 largest cities in 2015, finding that crime overall remained the same as in 2014. It also found that murder increased by 14 percent, with just three cities — Baltimore, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. — responsible for half that increase. All told, 2015's murder rate was still near historic lows. The authors concluded that reports of a national crime wave were premature and unfounded, and that "the average person in a large urban area is safer walking on the street today than he or she would have been at almost any time in the past 30 years."This report updates those findings. It collects midyear data from police departments to project overall crime, violent crime, and murder for all of 2016

What shall become of the European Union?

Pytanie to zadawano sobie już po II wojnie światowej, zwracając uwagę, iż coraz ściślejsza integracja będzie stanowić wyzwanie dla państw narodowych, globalizacja wspólnej polityki bezpieczeństwa i zagranicznej - dla ich polityki i polityków, a wzrost integracji i ekspansji Unii stanie się problemem na płaszczyźnie strukturalnej, administracyjnej oraz decyzyjnej dla władz konstytucjonalnych krajów Europy. Omawiając horyzonty rozwoju Unii, Rolf Grawert skupia się następnie na podstawach Unii: jej strukturze, zagadnieniach konstytucyjnych - będących podstawą demokracji i sprawie zarządzania. Osobny obszerny rozdział autor poświęca kwestii sprawowania władzy (corporate governance ~ termin ten zostaje wyjaśniony jako „sprawowanie władzy korporacyjnej w sensie ogólnym pojęcia”) i jej ocenie. Tutaj też pojawia się koncepcja ustanowienia Prezydentury Europejskiej wraz z opisami potencjalnego zakresu władzy Prezydenta Europy płynącej z poszczególnych propozycji i modeli, związanych również z opisanymi w ostatnim rozdziale trendami unitaryzacyjnymi oraz federalistycznymi obecnymi w Europie. Pracę podsumowuje konkluzja, iż dziś -pomimo nawet wszelkich technicznych i politycznych problemów - głównym celem, ku któremu winna zmierzać Unia powinno być utrzymanie pokoju w Europie poprzez stabilizację demokracji

Challenges of Regional Peace after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), concluded between the Government of Sudan and the leadership of the Sudan People\u27s Liberation Army (SPLA) in January 2005, ended a 22 years lasting civil war. The core of the CPA document is the agreement on power and wealth sharing, tackling the main causes of the conflict: unfair distribution of power and marginalization of the majority of the population. The conclusion of the CPA is not only the merit of the two warring parties but also an outcome of the commitment of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the special envoy of the Kenyan government, General Lazaro Sumbeiywo, and the IGAD Partners\u27 Forum which includes the governments of the USA, Norway, Netherlands, Canada, Italy and the United Nations (UN). This success has been overshadowed by the war in Darfur in western Sudan which has been raging since 2003. Moreover, two years after signing the CPA, a speech of the South Sudanese President Salva Kiir on the occasion of the anniversary of the CPA brought some fundamental shortcomings in the implementation to public light. Has the peace process in Sudan come to a standstill? Is the war in Darfur related to the peace in South Sudan? How does the mixture of war and peace in Sudan affect the sub-region of the Greater Horn? What are the challenges for the institutions that had been involved in creating the CPA

Towards conflict-sensitive employment in large-scale infrastructure projects in fragile and conflict-affected settings: recommendations for donor agencies

In fragile and conflict-affected settings (FCAS), largescale infrastructure projects often connect areas under various forms of rule. Donor agencies and development banks should demand from contractors conducting feasibility studies to include conflictsensitive employment (CSE) strategies for those parts of the infrastructure project that are affected by violent conflict. In addition to available international procurement guidelines, donor agencies and development banks should require bidders to outline a CSE strategy. They should demand from bidders a convincing calculation of the costs of CSE, especially in comparison to the costs of anticipated security measures for the duration of the project, its maintenance and protection for a specified period (at least five years) after completion. The CSE framework (Grawert et al., 2017) should be attached to the tender as a guideline. As changes in control over areas and settings of armed conflict are common in FCAS, conditions for company operations in large-scale infrastructure building will change, too. While bidders' contingency plans should include such potential changes, donor agencies or development banks should allow for budget adjustments if these changes exceed the anticipated volume of the project. Local companies often are familiar with local power relations and able to assess project risks in local areas realistically. Donor agencies and development banks should require from bidders an initial outline of units that will have to be constructed by local companies, and bidders should detail the envisaged CSE strategies. Donor-funded skills upgrading measures could enable local companies to carry out part of the operations required for the large-scale infrastructure project. Such projects will thus become development corridors that enhance mobility and communication as well as professional qualification of the local inhabitants

Between reconciliation, resignation and revenge: (re-)integration of refugees, internally displaced people and ex-combatants in Sierra Leone in a long-term perspective

Sierra Leone is known for the successful reintegration of a high number of returning refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs), many of whom had stayed in protracted displacement situations during the eleven years of a most cruel internal war. The war was intertwined with the civil war in Liberia and ended with a peace agreement in 2002. The extremely high number of returnees in relation to the total population caused particular hardship for the ‘leastdeveloped’ country. Yet, Sierra Leone managed the task of reintegration of returnees from war, returning refugees from the West African region and IDPs without major disruptions and renewed outbreaks of violence. Neither a severe armed conflict nor new waves of forced displacement have re-occurred during the past 17 years. However, the acts of violence in the context of the 2018 national election - and during the three previous post-war elections - justify the question whether the recurrent violence is related to shortcomings in the overall process of reintegration. This Working Paper, therefore, takes a retrospective look into the reintegration process at large. From the perspective of the communities that received returnees, not only returning refugees and IDPs but also former fighters who came back and reintegrated into civilian life. Furthermore, the perspective of people that did not reintegrate in Sierra Leone should not be overlooked in an assessment of the success of reintegration. Therefore, this Working Paper also incorporates the perspective of Sierra Leoneans that have stayed in Liberia and never returned. It hence addresses the following guiding questions: How did the reintegration of displaced people, refugees and former fighters in Sierra Leone take place, and how did the various groups returning after war manage to live together in the long run? What prevented people from reintegrating? The author and her team's research in 2018 benefitted from the fact that returnees, communities and the ‘non-returnees’ in Liberia were able to reflect on reintegration in hindsight. Reparation and reconciliation turned out to be crucial to make reintegration feasible. Therefore, the Working Paper argues that reconciliation among returning people and the communities where they settle is a crucial dimension that has to be closely linked to the concept of reintegration. The study shows that the reintegration process replicated the deep regional divide and the marginalisation of the youth that had caused the armed conflict and shaped the course of the war. The paper concludes that refugees, IDPs and ex-combatants reintegrated into a disintegrated society - an environment producing grievances that fuel election-related violence. The insights from Sierra Leone should inform interventions of the international community in war-torn countries elsewhere and lead to a comprehensive reintegration process that incorporates refugees, IDPs as well as former fighters and is linked to reconciliation, reparations and development programmes

Balancing Human Dignity, Life and Security. On Dogmatic Structures of Fundamental Rights in Times of Terrorism

From introdiction: "Since 9/11 the rule of law – or better, in the German and French continental version, Rechtsstaat/l’état de droit – has changed. 9/11 has become the metaphor for the globalization of terrorism as well as for threat to personal and national security. After 9/11 we lost our virginity of lawfulness, trying to counter the powers of evil. In the early times of the new millennium, the reaction of the Government of the United States of America was prompt: The USA Patriot Act, Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism, enacted in 2001 , increased and aggravated a lot of laws to make them fit against terrorist activities, but restricting fundamental rights and freedoms at the same time."(...

Between aid dependence, neighbourhood solidarity and the EU-Jordan Compact: livelihood analysis of Syrian refugees in Greater Amman

Jordan, with a population of about ten million, hosts 1.3 million Syrians of whom 670,000 are UNHCR-registered refugees, as well as nearly 85,000 registered refugees from other countries and is thus one of the countries with the highest proportion of refugees in the world. Most of them (83 per cent) are staying outside camps and many have rented flats mainly in the Jordanian capital Amman and its surroundings. The particular conditions for refugees from Syria staying in a receiving area among people with a history of protracted displacement are in the focus of this Working Paper. How do refugees from Syria secure their livelihood in the neighbourhoods of Palestinians who share the experience of a volatile legal status and limited economic rights? Does the EU-Jordan Compact improve Syrians' livelihoods? These questions are addressed by an analytical livelihood approach that includes social relationships as a significant conducive or constraining factor for refugees' agency (ability to act) in making use of local livelihood options. The findings generated in field research between November 2016 and July 2017 reveal dynamics within the Palestinian receiving community that have shifted from empathy and solidarity to more ambiguous interaction up to the exploitation and seclusion of refugees. The Paper shows how self-organised assistance groups of Jordanians with Palestinian origin take care of refugees from Syria in dire need for help, no matter what legal status they have. They support some refugees in regaining their agency and thus contribute to securing their livelihood. The central argument of this Paper is that the agenda of international aid and development agencies of enhancing resilience and promoting self-reliance of refugees does not strengthen refugees’ agency. Instead of considering the refugees' own priorities and intentions about their livelihood, it pre-designs basic needs to different refugee groups and attempts to integrate them into a presumed market economy that in fact is distorted for political purposes (mainly shielding Jordanians from foreign competitors). This is most pronounced in the EU-Jordan Compact, established to provide Syrians with preferential access to (low-skilled) employment in return for alleviated access of Jordanian companies to the European market. The study discloses how the Compact contradicts the idea of resilience of the refugees. In the conclusion, the Paper questions the collusion of the international community with the Jordanian government in using the presence of the refugees for external interests - promoting liberal market expansion through the EU - Jordan Compact in return for continuous aid

The EU-Jordan Compact: a model for burden-sharing in refugee crises?

The EU has committed itself to relaxing its trade regime towards Jordan as an incentive to promote the employment of Syrian refugees staying in the country. However, the current limitation to garment, plastic and metal industries in designated special economic zones does not match the skills Syrians have. Therefore, the EU-Jordan Compact should be opened up to further sectors, such as agro-industries. The government of Jordan has waived work permit fees for Syrian refugees since April 2016 and has now stretched the grace period until the end of 2019. To make the planning for employees and job seekers reliable, the ILO and UNHCR should ensure that the waiver remains in place until Syrians can return home. Transparency about the future cost of work permits and early information before fees for work permits for Syrians are re-introduced are also necessary. Work permits for Syrians are an entry point for refugees in formal labour relations. However, social security and labour rights are still not guaranteed for the majority of Syrian work permit holders. Agencies that support the implementation of the EU-Jordan Compact should insist on employers’ compliance with labour rights and ILO standards of decent work for work permit holders and assist in implementing them. Establishing a business can alleviate tensions in the Jordanian labour market. The government of Jordan should relax the administrative barriers for Jordanian-Syrian joint ventures and abrogate restrictions for Syrians in access to finance. Small-scale home-based businesses for refugees should also be permitted. To avoid failures in reaching the targets of the EU-Jordan Compact, Syrian refugees and Jordanian employers need to be included in revising the Compact. UNHCR could support the establishment of a representative refugee council, which should have an advisory role during the negotiations about the contents of the Compact in the mid-term review scheduled for 2020