Afghanistan
Through 33 years of war or hostile occupation, Afghanistan’s infrastructure, both physical and social, has been profoundly altered. The current conflict has been classified as low-level insurgency, however, many problems in Afghanistan stem from an:
- Absence of human security;
- Absence of sustainable agriculture, forestry or extraction industry;
- Absence of a strong central government; and an
- Absence of profitable and viable livelihoods.
Complex and multi-sourced conflict requires a strategic and multi-disciplined solution. This paper discusses the Government of Canada’s integrated approach to Afghanistan.
Afghanistan Backgrounder (659 KB)
Haiti
Haiti is a country with unrealized potential that is constrained by endemic conflict, economic challenges and governance problems that have plagued it for decades. The international community has made repeated attempts to resolve the chronic turmoil of this poverty-stricken nation.
This report seeks to provide insight into Haiti’s past history that has contributed to its present bleak reality, with the hope that the lessons learned from past peace operations in Haiti may be used to improve upon Canada’s future intervention efforts in Haiti and other failed and fragile states.
Haiti Backgrounder (353 KB)
Sudan
The current unrest in Sudan occurs against a backdrop of poverty, rebellion, and civilian deaths that have overwhelmed Africa’s largest country for decades. As Africa’s sixth most populous country, Sudan is fragmented by religious, ethnic, and socio-economic divisions. Currently, the country is being torn apart by three separate yet concurrent conflicts.
This paper examines each of the conflicts in Sudan and their interconnections. The purpose is to provide a broad overview of Sudan, its history and its ongoing challenges. It is also meant to promote the understanding that the country is currently faced with three interconnected conflicts, and the peace processes that are currently underway for each of them need to be considerate of Sudan in its entirety.
Sudan Backgrounder (664 KB)
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Emerging Trends
Today, more than 100,000 individuals from more than 100 countries are deployed in peace operations in more than 30 countries around the world. Within that, while the UN has mounted 61 field missions since 1945, fully 18 of them are under way today involving over 92,000 personnel. This constitutes a 95% increase just since August 2004. If and when the missions in Lebanon, Timor Leste and Darfur complete their deployments, the total will rise to 140,000. At issue is where the world is going to find all the soldiers, police, and civilian staff needed, and how it is going to prepare them for their work together.
The PPC’s environmental scan explores a broad range of trends at the international and national level. It seeks to highlight those trends likely to have the greatest impact upon the direction and operations of those working in peace operations.
Emerging Trends (994 KB)