Negotiating natural resources for peace: ownership, control and wealth-sharing, by Nicholas Haysom, Sean Kane
3 November 2009

Natural-resources can be a major cause of internal strife if mismanaged or shared unfairly. This is especially the case in divided societies where the uneven geographic distribution of natural resources corresponds to ethnic or religious divides.

In an increasing number of countries, natural-resources have become a focus of efforts to end civil wars and establish new national compacts. In this context, the challenge is to balance the tensions that arise between strong local feelings of ownership over "their resources" against the overall importance of natural resources to national development.

In "Negotiating Natural Resources for Peace: Ownership, Control and Wealth-Sharing" Nicholas Haysom and Sean Kane argue that this trend makes it important to broaden knowledge and understanding of governing arrangements for natural-resources, a subject which has not traditionally received extensive treatment in constitutions and peace agreements. According to Mr. Haysom:

"Natural-resource bargaining may not be the most glamorous or sexy subject, but if the parties get it wrong it can be fatal to a social compact, constitution or peace treaty."

Dithering over Darfur, by Hugo Slim
1 October 2004
A preliminary review of the international response to the crisis in Darfur. Has it been one of bystanding and denial, as it was in the case of Rwanda, or has there been decisive action this time? Has the international community been idle? If it has been busy has it also been effective? First published in the journal International Affairs.

The challenge of building sustainable peace in the DRC, by Tatiana Carayannis
3 July 2009
Over the last ten years, the Democratic Republic of Congo has witnessed an extraordinary number of attempts by both regional and international actors to solve what is considered Africa's largest conflict. As we are about to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement which ended the second Congo war, the author reviews the key lessons to be drawn from past efforts and looks at missed opportunities for a durable peace in the DRC.

Mediating election-related conflicts, by Chris Fomunyoh
14 July 2009

Beyond major conflicts in Africa over the territorial integrity of states such as Sudan and Somalia, many recent conflicts on the continent are ignited by grievances over bad governance and exclusionary political practices. In many cases, flawed or failed elections have either precipitated political disputes or aggravated simmering tensions into an outburst of conflict.

The Prisoner of Peace - An Interview with Kofi A. Annan, by Kofi Annan and Martin Griffiths
30 March 2009
An interview wirh H.E. Mr. Kofi A. Annan on his mediation of Kenya's post election crisis. This interview is part of the HD Centre's ongoing efforts to capture best practices in mediation and reflect on the experiences of senior mediators.

Why should mediators consider the economic dimensions of conflicts?, by Mike Davis
23 July 2009
In this paper, the author looks at the reasons why mediators should be giving more attention to the economic dimensions of conflicts, in particular when natural resources are at stake, and some of the ways in which they might achieve this.

Negotiating Justice: Guidance for mediators, by Priscilla Hayner
25 February 2009

This paper intends to provide guidance on the parameters and policy options for justice in the context of peace negotiations, including basic facts of law, guidance on amnesties and international criminal justice, and lessons for incorporating approaches to accountability that are not limited to prosecutions. It is based in part on lessons emerging from recent mediation experiences in a range of country contexts, with a particular focus on Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burundi, and Aceh, Indonesia.

Peace without justice? The Helsinki peace process in Aceh, by Edward Aspinall
15 May 2008

The peace process in Aceh has been lauded as a great success, both internationally and within Indonesia. And so it is. Coming in the wake of the cataclysmic Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004, the mediators and the conflict parties pulled off what many observers had previously considered to be a virtual impossibility: a sustained end to armed hostilities. Within this justifiably celebrated success, however, there is one area that has attracted relatively little attention and where progress has been far less substantial: the human rights and justice agenda. 

This report seeks to explain the contextual factors and underlying political dynamics which gave rise to the outcome described above, as well as the details of negotiations and implementation which contributed to it. It also asks what more could have been done.

Annual Report 2008, by HD Centre
23 June 2009
The Annual Report presents a summary of activities undertaken by the HD Centre in 2008.

Proscription of terrorist groups in the United Kingdom, by Kristina Thorne
15 May 2006
This background paper aims to increase understanding of the proscription mechanism in use in the United Kingdom.