Peace Efforts and Current Conflicts 2014
This graph shows peace efforts and conflicts in 2014. All countries where, since 1990, so-called disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) efforts have taken place are shaded in blue. Countries in which peace negotiations took place in 2014 are marked with a green myrtle branch as a symbol of peace. Countries that were involved in conflicts in 2014 are marked with a red star.
Facts
The graph shows that in 2014, 25 countries were involved in conflicts; 27 countries participated in peace negotiations. Of the 25 countries involved in conflicts, 13 campaigned for an end to the fighting, such as Pakistan, India, Mali or Colombia. Other countries that were not involved in conflicts actively participated in peace negotiations, amongst them Serbia, Georgia, Armenia or Azerbaijan. The third category of countries was involved in conflicts in 2014 but not in peace negotiations. The most striking examples are the United States and Russia.
Since the 1990s, more than 60 disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programmes for former combatants have been ongoing. These programmes can be interpreted as active efforts to obtain sustainable peace, as they disarm state and/or non-state violent actors and integrate them into the civilian work routine and everyday life. The graph shows that the implementation of DDR programmes does not necessarily result in peace. The Philippines, Sudan and Mozambique are some of the countries involved in conflicts in 2014 in which DDR programmes have taken place.
Terms, notes on methodology or reading aids
The disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) of former combatants into society is one of the standard tasks of peace missions. The military component of a mission is responsible for the disarmament and the demobilization. Civilian personnel in cooperation with local institutions and development cooperation actors are then responsible for reintegration activities. Some of these activities may last a few years. DDR is the precondition for sustainable security after the end of an armed conflict.
Data sources:
BICC (Bonn International Center for Conversion) BICC is an independent, non-profit organization that deals with a wide range of global topics in the field of peace and conflict research in response to the problems posed by organized violence. It works on the constructive transformation of conflicts, disarmament and poverty. BICC has been accompanying the DDR programme in South Sudan since 2009. Building on its expertise, BICC is aiding other African countries in establishing their DDR programmes. The disarmament of former combatants is the first step towards reintegration measures that can take many years. This is why BICC supports various African countries in the development of solutions for the safe stockpiling and marking of small and light weapons (SALW).
Escola de cultura de pau Since 1999, the Escola de cultura de pau has been working on the culture of peace, human rights, conflict analyses and peace processes, peacebuilding, disarmament and the prevention of armed conflicts.
UCDP (Uppsala Conflict Data Program) und PRIO (Peace Research Institute Oslo) UCDP and PRIO publish the Armed Conflict Dataset and the Battle-Related Deaths Dataset on an annual basis. These were combined to localize wars and conflicts. The definition of war this dataset is based on only considers wars or conflicts with the participation of at least one state and in which more than 25 persons have died as a result of armed fighting. Wars were grouped according to extra-state / extra-systemic violent conflicts (state against a non-state actor outside of existing borders), interstate wars (between two states), intra-state (state against a non-state actor within existing borders) and internationalized intra-state conflicts (state with the help of other states against a non-state actor within existing borders).
UCDP (Uppsala Conflict Data Program)- Armed Conflict Dataset
PRIO (Peace Research Institute Oslo)- Armed Conflict Dataset
[PRIO (Peace Research Institute Oslo)- Battle-Related Deaths Dataset] (http://www.prio.no/CSCW/Datasets/Armed-Conflict/Battle-Deaths/)
UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) UNDP collects reports on finished projects for information management, planning, evaluation, results- and knowledge management. This includes DDR activities that were supported by UNDP. On its website, these reports can be searched systematically
