Briefings
Arms Trade Highlights: November – December 2017
Data interpretation: a cautionary tale As much as strong datasets are a prerequisite for strong interpretations, the framework used to interpret data is equally important. Which contextual factors are considered or not, which definitions applied or thresholds used will strongly impact the message that will emerge, especially out of complex, geo-political settings. An in-depth knowledge and conside
Arms Trade Highlights: August – October 2017
Arms Trade Treaty UN’s Arms Trade Treaty ‘too weak to make a difference’ | 11 September 2017 | DW Diplomats from over 100 countries met in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday to discuss why the United Nations’ landmark Arms Trade Treaty (ATT),which came into force three years ago, has so far failed to stop the flow of weapons to the world’s war zones. Celebrated as a paradigm shift in the regulation of
Arms Trade Highlights: March – May 2017
IPIS Publications Fatal Freight: Ships, Guns and Human Rights Abuses TransArms and IPIS undertook a thorough research of the responsibilities of states and companies involved in the transfer of military equipment by sea under customary international law. The maritime transport is by far the main modality for the transfers of military equipment and commodities. The report considers cases of irrespo
Arms Trade Highlights: January – February 2017
On 17 January 2017, a four-year investigation by the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into 30 years of bribery and corruption on a global scale (Angola, UK, United States, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Thailand…) by Rolls-Royce PLC came to an end. The investigation will continue into the conduct of individuals. The SFO entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with Rolls-Royce following appro
2 – 15 February 2017
Due to funding constraints on the Weekly Briefing, IPIS has suspended the publication of our weekly news digest indefinitely. We are currently exploring options to secure structural funding for this service. Our surveys indicate that the Briefing has proved itself a valuable resource for a wide spectrum of researchers, policy makers, journalists and other practitioners closely following developmen
19 January – 1 February 2017
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, fears continue to grow about the alleged reappearance of ex-M23 rebels in the eastern part of the country. The DRC again witnessed a lot of armed group activity over the past weeks. […]
5 – 18 January 2017
Congolese authorities are concerned about rumours that hundreds of ex-M23 elements came from Uganda to resettle in east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Meanwhile, negotiations continued between the Alliance of the Presidential Majority and the Rassemblement about what the Congolese government should look like. […]
Arms Trade Highlights: November – December 2016
In our last Arms Trade Bulletin, we reported on a Canadian-owned company (Streit Group) that had allegedly sold armoured vehicles from its UAE factory to Sudan in contravention of UN and Canadian embargoes . It was reported that the same company had also sold vehicles to South Sudan, although Streit claimed that those vehicles were not military, and the end user of the vehicles was not present on
22 December 2016 – 4 January 2017
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, government, opposition and civil society parties resumed negotiations under mediation of the Catholic Church (CENCO) to assuage the country’s political crisis. Over the past few weeks, dozens of people were killed and several hundreds arrested during protests. […]
15 – 21 December 2016
On Monday, December 19, President Joseph Kabila’s second term ended in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Earlier mediation efforts by the Catholic Church (CENCO) between ruling and opposition parties did not yield any results, meaning Kabila remains in power. […]
8 – 14 December 2016
On Thursday, December 8, the Catholic Church (CENCO) initiated a new attempt at mediating a national dialogue between presidential majority and opposition in the Democratic Republic of Congo. On Tuesday, December 13, about a dozen youth activists were arrested during the negotiations in Kinshasa, according to Human Rights Watch. […]
1 – 7 December 2016
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the alliance behind current President, Joseph Kabila, left the mediation efforts by the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) between the alliance and the opposition coalition “Rassemblement”. […]
24 – 30 November 2016
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, political tensions persist. The term of current President Joseph Kabila will come to an end on December 19. With the elections being postponed, Kabila will stay in power beyond his term. […]
17 – 23 November 2016
On Thursday, November 17, Samy Badibanga was appointed as the new Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The opposition platform “Rassemblement” called for nationwide demonstrations on Saturday, asking President Joseph Kabila to respect the end of his term. […]
10 – 16 November 2016
In line with last month’s conclusion of the national dialogue between President Kabila’s government and a small segment of the opposition in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the country’s Prime Minister, Augustin Matata Ponyo, announced his resignation on Monday, November 14. The majority of opposition parties, organised within the Rassemblement umbrella, do not acknowledge and boycotted the afor
Arms Trade Highlights: September – October 2016
In Brazil two former executives of arms company Forjas Taurus are accused of diverting 8,000 small arms in 2013 to Yemen. The prosecutor claimed that the defendants committed fraud by disguising the final destination of the weapons, and also tried to hide the identity of the arms broker. The arms broker Fares Mohammed Hassan Mana’a had been put on a UN sanctions list in 2010 for violating the UN a
3 – 9 November 2016
On Saturday, November 5, the riot police broke up a demonstration by opposition (“Rassemblement”) supporters in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, by firing tear gas. Along with the United Nations, a coalition of civil society organisations called for lifting the ban on manifesting in the capital, which has been in place since September this year. […]
27 October – 2 November 2016
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, political tensions persist in the wake of the national dialogue’s resolution regarding the organisation of presidential elections. Last Wednesday, October 26, the Great Lakes region’s heads of state expressed their endorsement of the deal between Congolese government and participating opposition to postpone elections until April 2018. […]
13 – 26 October 2016
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the national dialogue between the Congolese government and participating opposition has resulted in an accord on Tuesday, October 18. The parties agreed that elections would be postponed until April 2018 and that the post of Prime Minister would be accorded to an opposition representative. […]
6 – 12 October 2016
This week, The UN expressed its concerns over the fragile political situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, fearing it could lead to large-scale violence. Some good news was also announced, when the government stated that the number of cases of sexual violence in the country dropped by over 50 per cent over the past two years. […]
RECHERCHER BRIEFINGS
