News@ISS

ISS Today: The First Step Towards a Deal in Zimbabwe

2008-07-24T10:06:00.000+02:00

ISS Today: 24 July 2008

The protagonists in the Zimbabwe political crisis finally met this week and signed a framework that outlines the key issues that will drive the negotiation process towards a possible political settlement.

Zimbabwe president under pressure to share power

2008-07-24T08:10:00.000+02:00

The State

... "When you start to hit these kinds of figures, you know the wheels have come off in a big way," said Richard Cornwell, researcher at the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies in South Africa.

Zimbabwe mediator Mbeki enjoys rare moment in the sun

2008-07-23T14:34:00.000+02:00

IC Publications

... "It is a chance for Mbeki to rescue something from the crash-and-burn image of his presidency as it comes towards the end," said Richard Cornwell, senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies.

ISS Today: Crime On the Increase As Liberia Prepares To Celebrate its 161st Anniversary

2008-07-23T08:01:00.000+02:00

ISS Today: 23 July 2008

On 26 July 2008 Liberians from all walks of life will be celebrating their country’s 161st anniversary. After many decades ofdomination by an Americo-Liberian elite, followed by civil strife and instability, peace has finally returned to Liberia.

Expert: SA still needs Scorpions methods

2008-07-22T13:27:00.000+02:00

IOL

... Her report on what effect the disbandment of the Scorpions would have on organised crime was published by the Institute for Security Studies in the latest South African Crime Quarterly.

Sudan committee to challenge ICC application

2008-07-22T13:20:00.000+02:00

BuaNews

... Speaking at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) on Monday, Sudan's Ambassador to South Africa Kuol Alor said: 'President al-Bashir has setup a committee to challenge the allegations made against him by the prosecutor of the ICC, in order to deal with the situation diplomatically, politically, peacefully and lawfully.

ISS Today: The Danger of African Liberation Movements

2008-07-22T08:20:00.000+02:00

ISS Today: 22 July 2008

Africa has had to endure two different waves of liberation movements. The first wave was established to free Africans from the political, economic and military domination of European colonial powers and post-colonial settler states.

The Times - Editor’s choice

2008-07-21T09:08:00.000+02:00

The Times

"Just about everywhere else in the world, ministries of justice and their governments push for plea bargains to be used to prosecute mobsters and individuals linked to organised crime, but here we have a case where the prosecutors are attacked by their government for doing so." — Peter Gastrow, of the Institute of Security Studies, makes out a case for plea bargaining.

Cop killings are demoralising

2008-07-21T09:02:00.000+02:00

IOL

... Dr Johan Burger, chief researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, said the psychological impact of a policeman being killed on duty was so severe that colleagues often stayed away from work for weeks or simply refused to go out onto the streets again.

ISS Today: Assessing South Africa’s Commitment to Prevent and Combat Terrorism

2008-07-21T08:04:00.000+02:00

ISS Today: 21 July 2008

Last month, from 2 to 9 June 2008, a delegation of 15 anti-terrorism experts, representing international and regional organizations,visited South Africa. Ambassador Mike Smith, the executive director of the United Nations Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED), headed the delegation.

ISS Today: In Zambia The Succession Battle Has Already Begun

2008-07-18T13:54:00.000+02:00

ISS Today: 19 July 2008

Amid conflicting reports regarding the status of Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa’s health, the question has arisen about the political implications of the incumbent possibly being determined unfit to continue his term in office.

New unit must learn from Scorpions

2008-07-18T09:02:00.000+02:00

IOL

... Steynberg, who has been a line prosecutor in the Directorate of Special Operations in KwaZulu-Natal since 2002, was speaking at an Institute for Security Studies seminar. The seminar looked at the future of policing in South Africa, after the Scorpions, among other things.

ISS Today: In Search of Mandela’s People

2008-07-18T07:26:00.000+02:00

ISS Today: 18 July 2008

Madiba shines brilliantly at ninety. One sees it in the gush of smiles that follow mention of his name almost anywhere on the African continent.

NPA to study Zim torture docket

2008-07-17T08:19:00.000+02:00

IOL

... Icap head Anton du Plessis said Tuesday's discussion was the first of a series aimed at establishing a civil society network to provide legal resources.

Sex workers need access to the law

2008-07-16T10:20:00.000+02:00

Mail & Guardian

By Chandré Gould, ISS

If government departments are to fulfil their commitment to counter the practice of human trafficking, an accurate assessment of the numbers of victims is essential.

ISS Today: Seven Reasons To Impose An Arms Embargo On Zimbabwe

2008-07-16T09:36:00.000+02:00

ISS Today: 16 July 2008

Last week the UN Security Council decided not to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe, including an arms embargo. In the build-up to this decision, the United States (US), with the support of France and the United Kingdom (all three permanent members of the Security Council) actively lobbied for the imposition of a full suite of sanctions.

Police seek 'sex favours'

2008-07-15T10:03:00.000+02:00

News24

... These shocking findings are revealed in a book, Selling Sex in Cape Town. The publication was distributed this month by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and the Sexworkers Education & Advocacy Taskforce (Sweat).

ISS Today: The Controversial Use of Leg Irons on the So-Called Enemies of African States

2008-07-15T09:58:00.000+02:00

ISS Today: 15 July 2008

Leg irons are widely referred to as shackles, foot cuffs or fetters and is a mechanism of physical restraint used on the feet or ankles to allow walking but prevent running and kicking.

ISS Today: Cops Versus Cops In Johannesburg: What Happens To The Law?

2008-07-14T13:06:00.000+02:00

ISS Today: 14 July 2008

The shootout that ensued between protesting officers of the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) and the South African Police Service (SAPS) late last month that led to the protest spilling over onto the Johannesburg M2 highway, has raised much concern about governance and law in the country.

ISS Today: Should We Continue to Count On The G8 Summits? / Faut-il continuer de croire aux sommets du G-8?

2008-07-14T10:08:00.001+02:00

ISS Today: 13 July 2008

The rich and poor are forever holding summits. Another summit of the most industrialized nations was held in Japan last week – in luxury far removed from the miseries and the rising prices of primary foodstuffs in almost every African country.

Les sommets des riches et des pauvres se suivent, mais ne se ressemblent pas. Un autre sommet des pays les plus industrialisés vient de s’achever au Japon dans le luxe loin des misères et de la flambée des prix des denrées de première nécessité dans presque tous les états Africains.

ATM bombings up 3000%

2008-07-14T08:47:00.000+02:00

News24

... A huge problem existed in the control of explosives, said Johan Burger of the criminal justice programme at the Institute for Security Studies.

ICC Moves to Arrest Sudanese President, But Will it Help? / findingDulcinea

2008-07-14T08:41:00.000+02:00

findingDulcinea

... "One cannot overestimate the implications of such a move on the situation in Darfur," said Issaka Souare, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa.

ISS Today:The G8 Commitments On The Environment Must Address Illegal Logging As An Environmental Crime

2008-07-09T10:17:00.000+02:00

ISS Today: 9 July 2008

Amongst the important international development issues on the agenda at the ongoing G8 summit in Japan, which requires firm commitments from G8-countries in 2008,is the threat of illegal logging. This was first put on the international agenda by the G8 in 1998 when the G8 Foreign Ministers launched the Action Pogramme on Forests which featured illegal logging as one of the five issues of particular importance to be addressed.

Lack of staff, resources hamper ICD's work

2008-07-08T10:26:00.000+02:00

IOL

... Johan Burger of the Institute for Security Studies and Cyril Adonis of the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation studied the ICD's effectiveness by looking at 573 dockets opened across the country since 1997.

ISS Today: The Politics of Post-Conflict Elections in Côte d’Ivoire

2008-07-08T10:11:00.000+02:00

ISS Today: 8 July 2008

An often-heralded rationale for post-conflict elections is grounded in the argument that by demilitarising politics these elections will end conflict and usher in democracy. However, as post-conflict elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Republic of Congo and Liberia seems to suggest, these elections are nothing but a reflection of the military asymmetric of a conflict.