Progress and Peril on International Peace Day
WASHINGTON, Sep 21 (OneWorld) - On this year's International Day of Peace the majority of news streams in from Africa, and although it is not all bad, it is not purely uplifting either. Despite the promise of a soon-to-come hybrid UN-African Union peacekeeping force, Darfur remains a problematic region as millions of Sudanese are essentially trapped in camps for internally displaced people due to the ongoing fighting. On a brighter note, the Cote d'Ivoire government is taking important steps to reconcile ethnic strife and to subdue a 5-year-long, low-level conflict by addressing a key source of animosity and "granting undocumented Ivorians ID papers and the rights that go with them." While Cote d'Ivoire is making advances toward sustainable peace, Nepal experienced what some fear may prove to be a setback to its peace process this week as former Maoist rebels quit the interim government, demanding "the monarchy be abolished by the time of the elections, scheduled for November." The Israeli-Palestinian conflict also took a dubious turn Wednesday as Israeli leaders voted to reduce supplies of fuel and electricity to the Gaza strip in retaliation for continued rocket fire on Israeli border towns. A human rights watchdog agreed with Israel's right to protect its citizens, but called the collective punishment of Gazans a ''violation of the laws of war.'' Meanwhile, President Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo recently displayed his renewed desire to bring peace and stability to the region by calling on all militia and fighters to integrate into the national army. The Global Peace Index, launched earlier this year, tracks international progress on peace and conflict resolution by ranking 121 countries on their "absence of violence." To discover and learn more about groups working to bring peace to troubled regions around world, and to stay up to date on the latest peace initiatives worldwide, bookmark OneWorld's Latest Coverage on Peace and Conflict. ....................................................................................
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