Community based rehabilitation: a strategy for peace-building

BACKGROUND: 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. DISCUSSION: 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. The ethical basis for peace-building through practical community initiatives is explored. A number of benefits and challenges to using CBR strategies for peace-building purposes are identified. SUMMARY: During post-conflict reconstruction, disability is a powerful emotive lever that can be used to mobilize cooperation between factions. We suggest that civil society, in contrast to state-level intervention, has a valuable role in reducing the risks of conflict through community initiatives

Entre seguridad humana y estatal: ¿ofrece la Unión Europea una respuesta coherente a los desafíos de seguridad en Centroamérica, Colombia y Venezuela?

Centroamérica, Colombia y Venezuela enfrentan importantes desafíos de seguridad. Pese al discurso de seguridad humana en su política hacia América Latina, la Unión Europea (UE) ha tenido aproximaciones diferentes a los tres conflictos: desde el nexo seguridad-desarrollo en Centroamérica y un compromiso de cooperación combinado con la “securitización” del conflicto en Colombia, hasta una política de sanciones y diplomacia en Venezuela. Metodología: mediante una perspectiva comparada y un marco analítico común de análisis de contenido cualitativo, el artículo plantea la pregunta: ¿qué concepto de seguridad, estatal o humana, está detrás de las políticas de la UE hacia estos países y con qué grado de coherencia se implementa? Conclusiones: se demuestra que la UE hace un manejo poco coherente del nexo seguridad-desarrollo hacia los países seleccionados debido a inconsistencias internas y externas, en este caso sobre todo de cara a EE. UU. como principal donante de la región y “socio” transatlántico. Originalidad: el artículo deconstruye la imagen de la UE como socio de desarrollo comprometido con la seguridad humana. Aunque la política de la UE sigue estando más enfocada en afrontar las causas como la desigualdad y la pobreza que las consecuencias de la inseguridad, la política del nexo seguridad-desarrollo refleja una cierta securitización del desarrollo a la hora de cooperar con países en conflicto y Estados frágiles considerados potenciales “amenazas” a la seguridad, como Colombia o Venezuela

Refugee movement and development - Afghan refugees in Iran

The increasing discussion of the relationship between migration and development attention is focused almost entirely on voluntary migration. Little attention is given to the development of consequences and potential of forced migration. Yet, forced migration, especially refugees, makes up a significant proportion of international moves, most of it being south-south in nature. While the raison d’etre of forced migration is fleeing persecution and seeking refuge from it, the migration can have important economic outcomes. This paper addresses this issue by examining the educational and occupational outcomes of Afghan refugees in Iran. There is significant upward mobility among the refugees, especially between the first and second generations. It is argued that this represents potential for facilitating development.Graeme Hugo, Mohammad Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi and Rasoul Sadegh

Immigrants and refugees

We define immigrant and refugee and discuss the complexities of these categories. We describe the ways in which children migrate or become refugees, current global numbers and proportions, places of origin and destination, and contemporary, historical trends in migration and seeking refuge. There is a dearth of research on infants and young children specifically, so we draw upon data and studies of older children and adolescents. It is evident that refugee children, specifically, face many risks to their developmental outcomes, including the effects of trauma, dangerous migration journeys, exploitation and abuse. These can be ameliorated by appropriate psychosocial interventions in secure and stable settlement environments, although more research is needed on appropriate treatments. Moreover, refugee children show considerable resilience. Diverse developmental trajectories are also apparent for immigrant children but there is less evidence of the psychopathologies that accompany traumatic experiences than for refugee children