Building Peace, Seeking Justice: A Population-Based Survey on Attitudes About Accountability and Social Reconstruction in the Central African Republic

Analyzes citizens' exposure to violence since 2002 and views on justice, accountability, and conflict resolution. Makes recommendations related to government, armed groups, civil society, the international community, and International Criminal Court

Transitioning to Peace: A Population-Based Survey on Attitudes About Social Reconstruction and Justice in Northern Uganda

Compares with previous survey findings on views of peace and social reconstruction, including resettlement and services, post-war disputes and unity, and elections; and government and justice, including measures for victims. Offers recommendations

Living With Fear: A Population-Based Survey on Attitudes About Peace, Justice and Social Reconstruction in Eastern Congo

Analyzes survey findings on views on the Congo wars, exposure to violence, origins of the wars, trials for war crimes, and priorities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Compares survey data with those in Kishasa and Kisangani. Makes recommendations

Subjective measures of household resilience to climate variability and change: insights from a nationally representative survey of Tanzania

Promoting household resilience to climate extremes has emerged as a key development priority. Yet tracking and evaluating resilience at this level remains a critical challenge. Most quantitative approaches rely on objective indicators and assessment frameworks, but these are not fully satisfactory. Much of the difficulty arises from a combination of conceptual ambiguities, challenges in selecting appropriate indicators, and in measuring the many intangible aspects that contribute to household resilience. More recently, subjective measures of resilience have been advocated in helping to overcome some of the limitations of traditional objective characterizations. However, few large-scale studies of quantitative subjective approaches to resilience measurement have been conducted. In this study, we address this gap by exploring perceived levels of household resilience to climate extremes in Tanzania and the utility of standardized subjective methods for its assessment. A nationally representative cross-sectional survey involving 1294 individuals was carried out by mobile phone in June 2015 among randomly selected adult respondents aged 18 and above. Factors that are most associated with resilience-related capacities are having had advance knowledge of a previous flood, and to a lesser extent, believing flooding to be a serious community problem. Somewhat surprisingly, though a small number of weak relationships are apparent, most socio-demographic variables do not exhibit statistically significant differences with regards to perceived resilience-related capacities. These findings may challenge traditional assumptions about what factors characterize household resilience, offering a motivation for studying both subjective and objective perspectives, and understanding better their relationship to one another. If further validated, subjective measures may offer potential as both a complement and alternative to traditional objective methods of resilience measurement, each with their own merits and limitations

So We Will Never Forget: A Population-Based Survey on Attitudes About Social Reconstruction and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

Analyzes survey findings on Cambodians' views on the crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, and the outlook for justice and reparations. Makes recommendations to the courts, NGOs, and the government

When the War Ends: A Population-Based Survey on Attitudes About Peace, Justice and Social Reconstruction in Northern Uganda

Analyzes survey findings on northern Ugandans' displacement and resettlement as well as views on peace, justice, and social reconstruction during peace talks between the Ugandan government and the Lord Resistance Army. Includes recommendations

Evaluating Transitional Justice: The Role of Multi-Level Mixed Methods Datasets and the Colombia Reparation Program for War Victims

This paper examines the role of mixed and multi-level methods datasets used to inform evaluations of transitional justice mechanisms. The Colombia reparation program for victims of war is used to illustrate how a convergent design involving multiple datasets can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of a complex transitional justice mechanism. This was achieved through a unique combination of (1) macro-level analysis enabled by a global dataset of transitional justice mechanisms, in this case the reparations data gathered by the Transitional Justice Research Collaborative, (2) meso-level data gathered at the organizational level on the Unidad para las Victimas (Victims Unit), the organization in charge of implementing the reparations program and overseeing the domestic database of victims registered in the reparations program, and (3) micro-level population- based perception datasets on the Colombian reparations program collected in the Peacebuilding Data database. The methods used to define measures, access existing data, and assemble new datasets are discussed, as are some of the challenges faced by the inter-disciplinary team. The results illustrate how the use of global, domestic, and micro- level datasets together yields high quality data, with multiple perspectives permitting the use of innovative evaluation methods and the development of important findings and recommendations for transitional justice mechanisms

Drought and food security – Improving decision-support via new technologies and innovative collaboration

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Returning home: forced conscription, reintegration, and mental health status of former abductees of the Lord's Resistance Army in northern Uganda

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Since the late 1980s, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a spiritualist rebel group in northern Uganda, has killed and mutilated thousands of civilians and abducted an estimated 52,000 to 75,000 people to serve as soldiers, porters, and sex slaves for its commanders. This study examines the types of violence to which former abductees have been exposed and the extent to which these acts have affected their psychological well-being.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This is a cross-sectional study of 2,875 individuals selected through a multi-stage stratified cluster sampling design conducted in 8 districts of northern Uganda. Multivariate logistic regressions were performed with symptoms for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression as the main outcome measures.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>One-third of the respondents (33%) self-reported having experienced abduction (49% among the Acholi, the largest tribal group in northern Uganda). Over half (56%) of all the respondents and over two-thirds of those who experienced abduction met the criteria for symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Multivariate analysis shows that several factors increased the risk of former LRA abductees developing symptoms of PTSD. These factors included gender (females were more susceptible than males), being a member of the Acholi ethnic group, participating in or witnessing a cumulative number of traumatic events, and encountering difficulties re-integrating into communities after abduction. Factors associated with increased risk of meeting criteria for symptoms of depression included older age of males at the time of abduction, lower score on social relationship scale, high incidence of general traumatic event exposure, high incidence of forced acts of violence, and problems reintegrating into communities after abduction.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Abduction and forced conscription of civilians has affected the psychological well-being of a significant number of northern Ugandans. The sources of psychological trauma are multiple, ranging from witnessing to being forced to commit violent acts, and compounded by prolonged exposure to violence, often for months or years. Community-based mental health care services and reintegration programs are needed to facilitate the reintegration of former abductees back into their communities.</p