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On June 20, 2013, the Heinrich Böll Foundation Israel, the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research, the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies and the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Strategic Dialogue held the conference 20 Years since the Oslo Accords - Success and/or Failure?. In advance of a comprehensive publication of contributions, we are pleased to present this analysis by Dr. Ephraim Lavie on the early foundation of obstacles in the Oslo negotiation process.

Dr. Ziad Majed is a Lebanese professor and political writer. The Syrian journalist Ahmad Silal talked with him about the international and Arab positions in relation to the Syrian revolution and the challenges that face it.

In wars, rape has been used as a tool to go beyond the physical and military defeat of the enemy, to subdue a society politically and morally. The present article, written by psycho-therapist Dr. Jamal Khalil Sobh, sheds light on the repeated war crime of rapes of women, including the recent tragic incidents in Syria.

As in Russia severe restrictions are being placed on civil society organisations which enables them to operate freely. Therefore nearly 30 civil organizations have signed a joint statement in the forefront of the G20 summit in Russia - stating there views of a functioning democratic process in civil societies.

The NSA scandal is not just a problem for the American democracy. Other American, European, Asian, and African people have also a right to know the whereabouts of their private data. 

Expansion of the Russian coal industry will increase greenhouse gas emissions, leading to a faster climate change. One reason behind this expansion is the growing demand for Russian coal from Europe’s energy giants, such as E.On and RWE. This is revealed in a new report on the Russian coal industry released today in Bonn, Germany.

Those who advocate for the rights of sexual minorities in all three countries are confronted with staunchly conservative stereotypes and deep-seated resentment towards all those who challenge or could be seen to break up the traditional social and family structures. The weakly developed understanding of democratic values and minority rights is not just inherited from the Soviet Union.

A relationship with, not against, nature should be one of the core principles of ‘green growth’, argues Ralf Fücks. As Europe debates its economic direction, Fücks outlines the ’12 theses’ that should form the basis of a sustainable future for the continent.

2012 was a special year in terms of publicity of LGBTI community and LGBTI movement in all three South Caucasian countries. Several important steps have been made towards raising acute issues about sexual identity, differences/diversity and social constructs in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.

In May 2012, when the Euro Vision Song Contest took place in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital presented itself as open and liberal. But there is also a second reality: The Azerbaijani society is deeply conservative. In many families it is still a shame when sons or daughters come out as homosexual. Some of them are faced with violence from their own families.