USAID’s Post

This week, the Asia-Europe Institute, University of Malaya--in partnership with the Knowledge for Democracy Myanmar (K4DM)--is hosting a panel to discuss the ongoing #Myanmar crisis and civil war since the February 2021 military coup. The United Nations estimates that there are 3.3 million displaced individuals from #Myanmar with #Malaysia's hosting a significant number of them. The ASEAN Secretariat’s engagement with Myanmar (#Burma) through its Five-Point Consensus calling for cessation of hostilities, dialogue with internal stakeholders through its Special Envoy and humanitarian assistance through an ASEAN channel has seen little progress. The panelists will discuss what #Malaysia, as incoming Chair of #ASEAN in 2025, could and should bring to bear on this persistent political crisis in the heart of the #IndoPacific region. Click here to register today https://bit.ly/aeimmforum and attend in person or online this timely hybrid public forum this Thursday 19 September 2024, 2:30-4:30 pm (Malaysia time), at the Asia-Europe Institute, University of Malaya's Auditorium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. For more information about the Knowledge for Democracy Myanmar (K4DM), see https://lnkd.in/e_qK6pqZ, a joint initiative by International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada

Before Eight Months ago I wrote about the #Horn of Africa and its players. I mentioned about the changes in the Horn of #Africa. Many questions in relation to the MoU between #Ethiopia and #Somaliland have been raised by many The #MoU between #FDRE and #Hargeisa has been crucial and is /will be dependent on the following major events: 1. FDRE's interest and options to maintain its #political and #economic leverages 2. Somaliland's internal -domestic (#Clan) politics within the coming six months including election, power sharing and governance 3.Regional diplomatic dynamics including the covert actions of neighboring states like #Djibouti and #Eritrea will impact the MoU. 4. International Diplomatic platforms like the #UNSC So the MoU is dependent on current relational #developments 1. The #November's election in #Hargeisa and clan competition 2. The Agreement and partnerships made with implementation procedures 3. #Regional diplomatic dynamics including #Djibouti's, #Somalia's and #Kenya's diplomatic support and opposition to the MoU 4. #Internal instability in #Ethiopia and #Somalia's inter-clan competitions 5. The #Geo-political rivalries of the #Middle East in the Region: #Egypt, #Qatar, #Saudi Arabia and largely #UAE. The competition depends on Trans-boundary relations like GERD and Ports So what's Next? 1The #military trainings in the region will intensify towards new stage. #Eritrea has been accused for training #Militaries from #Somalia. And others will counter same actions in similar manner 2. Turkey's role will depend on its National Interest and efforts in countering other regional powers of the Middle East 3. The #Westerner's especially #USA's and November Election will have great impact. UK's new government and its leadership will impact the pace of the regional Political dynamics 4. Increased #Political Stability will determine the prospects 5. New Military alliances between the countries in the region will impact the dynamics Overall, the next stage of HoA will be challenged by political, economic and especially military partnership and alliance of the nations in the region and beyond. Solution? 1.New frameworks to de-escalate the tensions and activities of non-state actors in the region 2. #Effective internal #dispute resolution and 3consultation 3. #Cost and benefit Math

https://lnkd.in/gcQDUefz Qatar has a progressive educational policy toward girls, and women.Yet, they are ineffectual in influencing the Taliban in Afghanistan. Canada has yet again offered vast amounts of money, to a rich Arab country that is hosting a War Cabinet of Hamas, Hezbollah, Taliban, Al Queda and others. What benefit to Canadians? I support actual Trade Agreements as opposed to questionable Aid packages and support to war ravaged countries. Security in the Middle East is an ongoing nightmare for all democratic countries. Strategic Defence Alliances are what Canada needs, not unlimited Aid packages. Al Jazeera Arabic in Doha, continues to be a propaganda tool for all Jihadi. #dnd, #statedepartment #liberals, #globalaffairs #conservatives #ndp #caf #csis

Today is #DemocracyDay! In #BosniaHerzegovia 🇧🇦, UNDP u Bosni i Hercegovini with support from 🇸🇪 & 🇨🇭promotes inclusive governance through innovative digital tools like eCitizen and Public Consultation 2.0 to allow citizens to engage with local governments and influence decision-making. UNDP in Europe and Central Asia Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sida Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Permanent Mission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations

Barakat and Giustozzi are bringing back the "rapprochement " to the Taliban in this great report. The question here is that there is a very thin line between the right of every country to live their choices and history (regardless of how terrible it might seem) and the idea of creating global standards by not liaising with certain types of governments (regardless of the consequences for their people) While certain leaders try to answer to the public voices, those voices might be only a few and those leaders have been elected by only a part of the society (that's is democracy). What is evident in International relations is that the wars in Gaza and Ukraine are bringing the idea of interventionist foreign politics, global weapon trade, and humanitarianism to the table more than ever before in the last 20 years. Thanks Sippi Azarbaijani-Moghaddam for sharing.

Recently, the Somalia have become part of #UNSC. And the Next time in the Horn of Africa relations will be competitive and cooperation 1. Somalia's membership in the #United Nations Security Council is expected to have a significant impact on Ethiopia and the larger Horn of Africa region. 2. #Somalia's UNSC membership and its development offers numerous collaborative opportunities while introducing a range of diplomatic complexities and competition. 3. The political and security landscape of the region is likely to evolve due to Somalia's influence in international decision-making circles. 4. For Ethiopia, having a neighboring country on the Security Council could lead to closer diplomatic engagement and increased cooperation on mutual issues, including terrorism, border disputes, water resource navigation and political instability. 5. Ethiopia will need to carefully navigate potential contentions and differing national interests that may arise. Especially, managing the regional politics which has attracted the extra- regional powers competition in the Horn of Africa. 6. Somalia's presence in the Security Council could catalyze more robust peace-building and conflict resolution strategies for the broader Horn of Africa. 7. Somalia's unique perspective, shaped by its internal strife, could provide valuable insights into addressing the region's complex challenges. 8.The membership might attract more international attention and resources to the Horn of Africa, leading to increased support for development initiatives, humanitarian aid efforts, and peacekeeping missions. Such support has the potential to enhance regional stability and drive economic prosperity. Somalia's involvement in the United Nations Security Council is anticipated to bring notable changes for Ethiopia and the greater Horn of Africa, presenting a mix of collaborative opportunities and intricate diplomatic challenges that will shape the future of regional politics and security dynamics. On the other hand the UNSC membership of Somalia may not have such effective role to the Region as well as to the continent because UNSC's non-permanent membership is only effective on non- procedural decisions. Therefore it will not be impactful. Wondering the third view of being a membership in UNSC can benefit the continent if #IGAD and AU utilized Somalia's' membership to convey Africa's' continental benefit and development. #Somalia could be a voice of Africa if it aspires for African continental Agendas likewise AfCTFA, AGA and Agenda 2063. As Nelson #Mandela said, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” ,The next period will have two options.

Diplomatic efforts to reach a pause in fighting in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages did not result in an agreement before the start of Ramadan, as had been hoped, but negotiations are continuing. In the meantime, concerns over a further flare-up during the holy month and the pressing humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip have led Israel and several Arab countries to increase their coordination, facilitating the entry of aid. My analysis for the Middle East Institute's weekly briefing; https://lnkd.in/dNsKa7v2

Must youth wait until 2063 to have the Africa they want and deserve? Youth need a better Africa now! They need opportunities now! During his diplomatic mission in Rwanda, I had a side chat with Hon. @JMakamba, Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation. Among other things, I shared my concerns about Tanzania youth participation in bilateral diplomatic missions, considering Tanzania’s involvement in multiple regional engagements (UN, AU, SADC, EAC, Commonwealth, etc.).  How can we ensure meaningful participation of youth representation, guide them, and recognize them in their national representation? We agreed on the following: - To convene a meeting where our Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation  will meet all youth representatives in the regional platform. - To develop a mechanism to monitor and recognize all young people participating in any regional engagement. - To establish a guidance and monitoring platform where regional youth representatives can be guided on their national stance on various matters in the region.

Continuing our publication and the last block of the results of the survey conducted by UCMC with Ukraine's 50 most prominent security, IR, energy, & economics experts on their perceptions of ally assistance during 2022-2024... Today we publish the fourth and final ranking of partner countries and international leadership’s assistance to Ukraine in 2022-2024: Humanitarian support and assistance for displaced persons Background... Four distinct categories of assistance were discerned based on the areas of focus: ✔Military-technical and other security assistance ✔Political and diplomatic support ✔Financial and economic assistance ✔Humanitarian support and assistance for displaced persons Based on the results of the expert survey, the TOP-10 partner countries were separately identified in each category and ranked

In our latest analysis, Nicole Mazurova and I discuss what the future of peace operations in #Africa will look like as the United Nations and African Union continue to deepen their partnership. We argue that the December passage of UN Security Council Resolution 2719 allowing the AU to access UN financing has the potential to revitalize peace operations in Africa. We examine criteria, lessons learned and contexts in which the resolution might be applied. Criteria under which a peace operation ought to de deployed under the auspices of 2719 include: ✅️ Host government consent ✅️ Opportunity further political processes ✅️ Regional consensus ✅️ Popular support Key lessons we feel ought to be applied to all future missions: ▶️ Partnership between the AU and UN is not an "equal" one, and requires a clear division of labor and responsibilities ▶️ AU/UN should maximize their respective comparative advantages ▶️ Logistical support (which will likely be mostly provided by the UN) needs to suit mission mandate and requirements (which is to be proposed by the AU in consultation with other stakeholders) ▶️ One TCC should lead an operation with simultaneous command over logistical support We then consider how policymakers ought to apply these criteria and lessons in various contexts, including Somalia, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and coastal West Africa, esp. Benin (see infrographic). We conclude that the new generation of peace operations are likely to be smaller than the previous era, and to be successful, need to double down on the political and non-military aspects of their missions. https://lnkd.in/e_QX6CqV