April 2012: Accountability for Crimes against Children in Armed Conflict - The Lubanga Verdict and Beyond

1 April 2012 - International and national mechanisms have a bleak track record for holding to account perpetrators of grave crimes against children in armed conflict. This month the International Criminal Court (ICC) made concrete progress in the fight against impunity for these crimes with its verdict finding Thomas Lubanga, founder of the Union des Patriotes Congolais (UPC), guilty of conscripting and enlisting children as soldiers in the Ituri district of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during 2002 and 2003.

In response to this landmark ruling, CDI composed a commentary entitled, Accountability for Crimes against Children in Armed Conflict: The Lubanga Verdict and Beyond. This narrative has been posted by the Open Society Justice Initiative to their Lubanga trial site and blog, which has consistently followed the Court's proceeding and outcomes related to the case.

December 2011: Somali Constitutional Committee of Experts (CoE) Session

3 December 2011 - CDI jointly with NDI and the UN convened a four day induction course for the newly appointed Somali constitutional committee of experts (CoE), who are tasked with the role of supporting the Independent Federal  Constitutional Commission with drafting the Somali Constitution. The workshop was opened by the Minister of Constitutional affairs and attended by representatives of the President’s office and donors.  By the end of discussions members of the CoE had agreed upon a draft road map on how best they can deliver on the challenges presented.

In conjunction with the CoE, Ministry, UN and NDI, Conflict Dynamics will assist in supporting this work plan so as to increase the chances of bringing to an end Somalia’s drawn out period of transition.

November 2011: Humanitarian Access in Situations of Armed Conflict Field Manual Launch

27 November 2011 - The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), supported by Conflict Dynamics International,presented two important publications arising from a project on humanitarian access in situations of armed conflict.

The purpose of the project is to contribute to the improvement of the response to protection of civilians in situations of armed conflict through the development, dissemination and uptake of resources that will assist in securing and sustaining humanitarian access. A ConSUltation Group (FDFA, OCHA, ICRC) is providing advice to the project.

The two resources - which have beendeveloped for humanitarian actors, national authorities, and international organizations - are:

1. A Handbook on the normative framework pertaining to humanitarian access Download publication
2. A practical Field Manual on humanitarian access Download publication

These resources clarify and make accessible the normative framework and provide practical information and guidance concerning humanitarian access.