Crisis Prevention

Introduction to the panel discussion "The future of arms control - Cooperative arms limitations and reductions in times of global change" by Ralf Fücks, president of the Heinrich Böll Foundation.

In July 2011, ISAF officially handed over seven areas to Afghan National Security Forces, beginning a process to gradually transition all security responsibility from international to Afghan leadership. Drawing on The Liaison Office’s experience in the region Loya Paktia, this paper examines the shortcomings of a transition strategy that focuses on security, while ignoring important social and political factors that could undermine the strategy. 

This paper outlines the tasks and character of an international mission aimed at supporting Israel and Palestine in the implementation of a peace agreement. It is the result of intensive consultation among a group of high-level experts - amongst them security experts from Israel, Palestine, Europe and Canada. The consultation process was organized by the Heinrich Böll Foundation.

The Pashtuns are the ethnic majority in the border area of Afghanistan and Pakistan, but the Pakistani government is not caring about their issues. In the war on terror they often feel like cannon fodder.

Smuggled diamonds are still financing violent conflicts in Africa. In 2003 the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme was created to prevent the trade of these blood diamonds. But recent reports of violence, human rights abuses and smuggling are fuelling doubts about the credibility and effectiveness of the certification scheme.

The Afghan region Loya Paktia is very much embedded in tribal traditions, which have in the past provided security in the area. Due to lost windows of opportunity, security has deteriorated to a large extend since 2005. This policy paper discusses the problematic relations between the main actors, why reconciliation initiatives to date have failed in the Southeast, and puts forward some practical suggestions to ensure a more effective strategy.

Afghanistan’s south eastern province of Khost is well connected with important centers of trade on the other side of the border in Pakistan. At the same time, these advantages are also being used by insurgents and make Khost a primary spot for infiltration. TLO, a partner organization of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, takes a closer look at Khost province and analyzes the effects of the erosion of tribal unity there over the last decades. 

Muhammad Idrees Kamal, the Executive Director of Citizen Rights and Sustainable Development Peshawar, about his organization, its issues, and how the advocacy organization did charity collection and relief operations after the flood in Pakistan.