In Liberia, security is everybody’s business
26 april, 2019
According to the FBA’s definition, security sector reform (SSR) is a concept that frames technical reforms within a political process. I think back two weeks to when I was in Liberia, reciting the for me now very familiar but abstract above sentence. The participants in the room, 16 program officers from the Liberian National Security […]
Achieving gender equality in UN peacekeeping – a lot like building new doors
18 april, 2019
When you visualise a door, what do you see? To me, the image of a closed door has similarities to gender equality and UN peacekeeping. Let me explain. UN Secretary-General António Guterres aims to achieve gender equality throughout the UN system by 2028. He is actively prioritising to change the inverse relationship across the UN […]
Peace and life – or nabad iyo nolol in Somali
10 april, 2019
Acute vertigo kicked in as I stepped off the helicopter and my feet touched solid ground for the first time after six days at sea, and I realized that my job as Political Adviser to the EU Capacity Building Mission in Somalia (EUCAP Somalia) was beyond that of a normal desk job. The helicopter had […]
Elections aside, more focus on the rule of law needed in Ukraine
5 april, 2019
During the presidential elections in Ukraine on March 31, 2 690 violations of the electoral law were reported to the police. The Central Electoral Commission received over 130 complaints. But the appeals, complaints and their effectiveness haven’t necessarily made the headlines in the view of the actual election results. The type of complaints, however, coupled […]