Podcasts about eastern democratic republic

In this Bible study we examine how our words have the power to heal or hurt.Please also consider supporting this podcast and the charities helping the vulnerable people of the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Thank you. Jesus loves you!!|||||♡Panzi Hospital (#GenderBasedViolence)https://panzifoundation.org/donate/♡Focus Congo (Water/Food)https://www.focuscongo.com/en/spende/♡Give Directly (Cash support)https://www.givedirectly.org/drc/♡International Rescue Committee (aid) @irchttps://www.rescue.org/country/democratic-republic-congoJoin #Lovewalk online & on #socialmedia. Plus get FREE #biblestudy, downloads & #inspiration♡LoveWalk: https://lovewalk.substack.com♡Pinterest.com/lovewalkfellowship♡Tiktok.com/lovewalkfellowship♡Youtube.com/lovewalkfellowship♡X.com/oneluvlive (Twitter)♡podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lela-winston♡https://hubhopper.com/podcast/lovewalk-podcast/459649

This Bible study helps us deconstruct our cultural normative about relationships and makes them over to fit the will of God.Also, please as we celebrate God's love, please consider supporting the following charities helping the besieged people of the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.Thank you!LoveWalkLoveWalkReligious ConfrontationCurrent time: 0:00 / Total time: -35:30-35:30Religious ConfrontationIn this Bible study we look at the hot button issue of confronting other believers over doctrine. What does the Bible say about religiois confrontaion?LoveWalkFeb 17, 2025We will look at the controversial confrontation between Paul and Peter over doctrine and other conflicts over an unscrambled gospel.Please support the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Eastern Lake Kivu Region.♡Panzi Hospital (#GenderBasedViolence)https://panzifoundation.org/donate/♡Focus Congo (Water/Food)https://www.focuscongo.com/en/spende/♡Give Directly (Cash support)https://www.givedirectly.org/drc/♡International Rescue Committee (aid) @irchttps://www.rescue.org/country/democratic-republic-congoYou can also downoad FREE Christian resources at lovewalk.gumroad.com and listen to other podcasts at:♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡Join #Lovewalk online & on #socialmedia. Plus get FREE #biblestudy, downloads & #inspiration♡LoveWalk: https://lovewalk.substack.com♡Pinterest.com/lovewalkfellowship♡Tiktok.com/lovewalkfellowship♡Youtube.com/lovewalkfellowship♡X.com/oneluvlive (Twitter)♡podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lela-winston

M23 Expands In Congo, Takeover Bukavu, Seizes Kavumu Airporthttps://osazuwaakonedo.news/m23-expands-in-congo-takeover-bukavu-seizes-kavumu-airport/15/02/2025/#Issues #Bukavu #DRC #DRCongo #Goma #Kavumu #Kinshasa #Kivu #Tshisekede ©February 15th, 2025 ®February 15, 2025 3:28 pm M23 rebels have announced the takeover of South Kivu city of Bukavu in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC and now in control of another major airport in the Kivu region, the Kavumu Airport after the secessionist armed fighters sacked Congolese soldiers and foreign mercenaries on Friday. #OsazuwaAkonedo

The families of fourteen South African soldiers who lost their lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are set to receive the remains of their loved ones today. The South African government has vowed that the 14 SANDF members who died in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo will be given decent send-off. The soldiers were fatally caught in the crossfire two weeks ago during clashes between the DRC army and M23 rebels. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to South African National Defence Force's spokesperson Rear Admiral Prince Tshabalala

It's now two weeks since the rebel M23 group took over Goma in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo – so what has the experience been like for the city's inhabitants? For today's Africa Daily, Alan Kasujja speaks to two people who live in Goma: one woman who has stayed and says finding food is almost impossible, and an activist who has fled the city after receiving threats of abduction and death from the M23.

As the year wraps up, we're looking back at ten of the episodes that defined 2024. This originally aired on February 27. None of the dates, titles, or other references have been changed. Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is rich in resources, from gold and diamonds to coltan, used to power mobile phones. It’s also the site of recent heavy fighting between government forces and the rebel group, M23, and whoever emerges on top will have control of the region’s wealth. But trapped in the middle are Congolese civilians. As the fighting intensifies, where will they go? In this episode: Catherine Soi (@cate_soi), Al Jazeera Correspondent Episode credits: This episode was produced by Fahrinisa Campana, Sarí el-Khalili, and Chloe K. Li, with Spencer Cline, Phillip Lanos, Hisham Abu Salah, Mohannad al-Melhem, and our host Malika Bilal. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Joe Plourde mixed this update. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik and Adam Abou-Gad is our engagement producer. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio. Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube

Join Eastern Zone Director David Munkley, an expert in leading and managing humanitarian crises at World Vision International, as he shares valuable insights and strategies for navigating and leading during challenging times. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the best in the field! David is currently in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo-Rwanda area has had to lead through different crises involving natural disasters and conflicts. David shares what it's like to raise a family as a humanitarian leader, particularly in a conflict zone! Keywords: humanitarian, humanitarian crisis, humanitarian work, world vision international

In the wake of the Genocide in palestine, the world has also woken up to the ongoing conflict in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Since 1996, over six million people have been killed in Eastern DRC. In this episode, Christian Rumu, a Senior Campaigner at Amnesty International, speaks so elaborately about the conflict in DRC, the historical background, actors, the humanitarian cost and what individual activists can do to campaign for the liberation of DRC.

Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is rich in resources, from gold and diamonds to coltan, used to power mobile phones. It's also the site of recent heavy fighting between government forces and the rebel group, M23, and whoever emerges on top will have control of the region's wealth. But trapped in the middle are Congolese civilians. As the fighting intensifies, where will they go? In this episode:  Catherine Soi (@cate_soi), Al Jazeera Correspondent Episode credits: This episode was produced by Fahrinisa Campana and Sarí el-Khalili with our host, Malika Bilal. Chloe K. Li and Sarí el-Khalili fact-checked this episode. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik and Adam Abou-Gad is our engagement producer. Alexandra Locke is The Take's executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio. Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube

Once again, the decades long conflict in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and its myriad of players in in the news once again. This time because of the UN Group of Experts Report that was leaked to media at the start of last week. The Report details the arming and financing of the FDLR by the DRC Government, M23 activity and makes allegations about Rwanda's involvement in the conflict. These allegations were rubbished by the Rwandan government in a statement that was released on Thursday. The M23 is just the latest manifestation of what is the historic tension between the Congolese state and the Kinyarwanda speaking people of North and South Kivu. What is this tension about? When did it start and will it ever end? How did Rwanda get roped into Congolese internal affairs?To answer these questions, I am joined by Vincent Karega, Ambassador-Designate of Rwanda to Belgium. Once Rwanda's ambassador to South Africa, his last diplomatic posting was to the DRC in 2019. His posting was cut short after a mere three years as relations between the two countries soured. Amb Karega stint in DRC's capital wasn't his first taste of Congo. In fact, he was born in 1963 in Walikale in North Kivu and left Zaire (as DRC was then know) for the first time as a 27-year-old as a naturalized Zairean citizen. If you want to share your thoughts on the topics I discuss use the hashtag #LongFormRw on Twitter and follow us on Twitter and Instagram on our handle @TheLongFormRwBe a part of the conversation.

It's Monday, May 15th, A.D. 2023. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus.  (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus Muslims in Congo killed three Last Thursday, the Allied Democratic Forces, an Islamic rebel group, ambushed a key crossing point for people and goods in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing three people and burning cars and motorcycles, reports International Christian Concern. At Kambo, the Semuliki River crossing channel, the Muslim jihadists emerged from the shores and overpowered the security officers guarding the access point as travelers, vehicles, and motorbikes were disembarking the barge.  Those killed in the terror attack were two sailors manning the barge and a soldier controlling access to the Semuliki River crossing channel, a key crossing point for people and goods between Kasindi and Butembo, in the Eastern region of Congo. Colossians 3:25 says, “For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.” The Worldview would add if not in this lifetime, the wicked will be held accountable in eternity. Texas mall shooter may have targeted “gun-free” zone Mauricio Garcia, the 33-year-old gunman who killed eight people on May 6th at Allen Premium Outlets mall, may have targeted the suburban Dallas shopping center because it was a gun-free zone according to the published rules of the mall.   Thankfully, an unnamed police officer who had already responded to an unrelated call, heard the shooting in progress, and shot Garcia dead within four minutes of the beginning of the rampage.  No doubt the body count would have been much higher in light of the fact that the mentally ill man had brought eight guns to the scene, according to The Associated Press. The assailant wore tactical gear and fired an AR-15-style weapon. According to the Crime Prevention Research Center, 94% of the mass shootings since 1950 have targeted “gun-free” zones.  And, when analyzing the mass shootings since 1998, 84% of them have taken place in “gun-free” zones. Killers often openly talk about their desire to attack where no one is there with a gun to stop them. Justin Bourque, who shot to death three people in Canada, ridiculed gun-free zones on his Facebook page. James Holmes, the Batman movie theater killer in Colorado who killed 12 people and wounded 58 others, revealed in his diary that he targeted the theater because it had posted signs banning permitted concealed handguns. Payton Gendron, the Buffalo, New York shooter who killed 10 people in a supermarket last December, said, “Attacking in a weapons-restricted area may decrease the chance of civilian backlash. Schools, courts, or areas where Concealed Carry Weapons are outlawed or prohibited may be good areas of attack. Areas with strict gun laws are also great places of attack.” Former Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat, introduced the Gun-Free School Zones Act to the U.S. Senate in 1990, and it was signed into law by then-President George H.W. Bush, a Republican. The law was clearly proposed with the intent to prevent mass shootings at schools. But, as the statistics reveal, it did not result in the desired outcome. Texas mall security guard a hero Garcia, the Texas gunman on May 6th, researched when the mall was busiest — Saturday afternoons — and posted photos on social media in mid-April of a store near where he ultimately began shooting people.  Among those killed were two elementary school-age sisters, a couple and their 3-year-old son, and a 20-year-old Allied security guard named Christian LaCour, who evacuated one individual to safety, and was shot while courageously remaining to help others, reports FaithWire.com. More pastors promoting adoption, but fewer members are adopting Church leaders are increasingly promoting adoption and foster care for their members even as fewer members are involved in the processes, according to a new LifeWay Research report that surmises the drop may be attributed to the pandemic, reports Christian Headlines. The poll of churchgoers, released Thursday, found that church leaders are more likely than they were in 2017 to raise funds for and encourage their congregation to adopt. At the same time, churchgoers are less likely than in 2017 to say they know of a member who has adopted or provided foster care. The survey found that pastors were more likely in 2022 than they were in 2017 to raise funds for families who are adopting (18 percent in 2022; 8 percent in 2017), encourage families to provide foster care (17 percent to 12 percent), and encourage families to consider adoption (16 percent to 14 percent). Church members, though, are less likely to adopt than they were in 2017. The poll found that churchgoers say they were less likely in 2022 than in 2017 to say a member of their church provided foster care (25 percent in 2017 to 16 percent in 2022), adopted a new child from the United States (17 percent to 13 percent) and adopted a new child from another country (15 percent to 11 percent). If the Lord is prompting you to adopt a child or a teen from foster care, contact Lifeline Children's Services. Call (205) 967-0811. That's (205) 967-0811. James 1:27 says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” Elisabeth Elliot honored in a Museum of the Bible display And finally, the story of Elisabeth Elliot, a Christian missionary who devoted two years of her life to ministering to a tribe in Ecuador that killed her husband, is featured in a new exhibit at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., reports The Christian Post. While traveling through the Ecuadorian jungle to connect with the people of the Auca/Waodani tribe, Elliot's husband, Jim, and four other missionaries were speared to death on January 8, 1956.  Elizabeth Elliot returned to the Ecuadorian rainforest two years after her husband's death to live with the very tribe that had killed her husband. Her decision to forgive them helped the tribe begin a new path. In Matthew 5:43-45, Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in Heaven.” The tribesmen had been afraid and uncertain about the group of outsiders, but later came to feel remorse for their actions. The tribesmen embraced Christianity quickly once it was explained to them. The exhibit, which explores the Christian missionary's life and career spanning six decades before her death in 2015, is located on the Impact of the Bible floor in an area designated as "Personal Stories." This section of the Museum of the Bible highlights individuals who have used God's Word to impact their communities and the broader world. The Museum of the Bible exhibit about Elliot's work opened on March 30, and it will run through Jan. 28, 2024.   Watch the movie End of the Spear. Close And that's The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Monday, May 15th in the year of our Lord 2023. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

Violence flares up in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. President Lula of Brazil is in Shanghai as he begins his third state visit to China. The China-Laos Railway starts cross-border passenger services.

This week James Karuhanga, The New Times editor, joins to discuss whether or not additional East African forces will be able to help pacify the restive Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. On Friday, February 9, Defence chiefs from the East African Community (EAC) partner states directed the immediate deployment of troops from countries yet to join the regional force in Goma, capital of North province in eastern DR Congo.The regional military chiefs met in Nairobi, Kenya, in the presence of the EAC Secretariat following the bloc's Heads of State's directive on February 4 to have forces on the ground based on a timeline agreed on by the security chiefs.Presently 900 Kenyan troops have already been deployed on the ground. If you want to share your thoughts on the topics I discuss use the hashtag #LongFormRw on Twitter and follow us on Twitter and Instagram on our handle @TheLongFormRwBe a part of the conversation.

It's Wednesday, January 18th, A.D. 2023. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Jonathan Clark Muslims bombed Congo church service, killing 17 and injuring 39 A bomb went off on Sunday during a church service at an Evangelical church in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa. Forces allied with the Islamic State took responsibility for the attack which killed at least 17 people and wounded 39 more. Churches in the central African nation face extreme pressure from Islamic groups. Militants are known to raid villages, destroy church buildings, and kill hundreds of Christians. Last week, Voice of the Martyrs added the Congo to its list of most dangerous countries for Christians in its 2023 Global Prayer Guide. China's bleak economic future because of previous one-child policy China's population officially dropped for the first time since 1961, according to new figures released yesterday. Compared to 2021, the number of people in the country dropped by 850,000 last year, and over a million fewer babies were born. China's death rate was up to 7.37 deaths per 1,000 people, the highest it's been since the Cultural Revolution in 1974. The effects of China's former one-child policy and 400 million aborted babies are expected to continue such population decline. The fast-aging population also indicates a bleak economic outlook for China. Proverbs 1:31 says of those who reject the fear of God, “they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices.” British teacher's union targets Christian math teacher The U.K.'s Teaching Regulation Agency is seeking to remove a Christian math teacher from his profession. In 2017, the Cherwell School in Oxford dismissed Joshua Sutcliffe for allegedly “misgendering” a student. In other words, the teacher referred to the student by their biological sex. The school took further offense at Sutcliffe's opposition to faux homosexual marriage. The Evangelical teacher was also running a voluntary Bible club attended by over one hundred students which Cherwell shut down. Sutcliffe told Christian Concern the school publicly shamed him for his actions. SUTCLIFFE: “I've been sat in detention now for six days. And it's like solitude. It's like I'm being publicly shamed.  I'm seeing my students that I see every day. I'm thinking, ‘Well, what am I supposed to do? I've been asked to sit here. I listened to the instructions of the head. What am I supposed to do?' I'm just sat in the office.” 11 Reps. and 2 Senators in U.S. Congress are homosexual or bisexual A new study by the Pew Research Center found the 118th U.S. Congress has a record number of members who openly identify with sexually perverted lifestyles. Two senators and 11 House representatives now say they are “lesbian, gay, or bisexual” up from only one Congress member nearly forty years ago. Eleven of the openly homosexual members are Democrat; two are Independent, and one is Republican. 64th city declares itself Sanctuary City foe the Unborn Last Thursday, the City Council of Little River-Academy in Texas unanimously approved a Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance. It's the 64th city in the nation to do so. The ordinance bans abortions and abortion drugs within city limits. The measure also prohibits killing unborn babies that are residents of the city regardless of where the abortion would take place. Texas abortions have dropped by 99% Meanwhile, abortions in the Lone Star State have dropped by 99% since the overturning of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022. New Texas health data show the state had 2,596 abortions in June, 68 in July, and only three in August. Inflation eased up slightly The U.S. government reports inflation eased up slightly last month. December's Consumer Price Index decreased to 6.5% compared with a year before. It marks the sixth straight month of inflation decline. The falling cost of gasoline made up the largest decline in the price index. U.S. cancer deaths down 33% A new study from the American Cancer Society found that cancer deaths in the U.S. are down 33% over the last 30 years. The study estimated this has meant 3.8 million fewer deaths. Cancer mortality rates peaked in the 1990s. Since then, the rates have been coming down with better cancer detection and treatment. McManus interview of Eric Metaxas on Letter to the American Church On today's edition of Generations Radio, I guest host for Kevin Swanson to interview Eric Metaxas, the author of a new book entitled Letter to the American Church. Listen to his comparison between the German church in the Nazi era and the American church today. METAXAS: “The parallels are astonishing! And it's why I had to write this book because I said, ‘Knowing what I know, having written the book on Bonhoeffer, being familiar with what happened in Germany in the 30s, I see such clear parallels with the American church today.' I said, ‘I've absolutely got to write this book. “First of all, you have a Christian nation that is secure in its cultural Christianity, that cannot even begin to imagine the evil that lies ahead, and is therefore absolutely slow in seeing what is happening, and where the silence of the church is leading. In other words, the German church could see bad things, but they thought, ‘You know what? It's not our role to speak up. We're not supposed to be political, Romans 13.' “They had all exactly the same excuses that American Christian leaders have today in being quiet and saying that ‘that's not our lane.'  What followed, because of their silence, is one of the most unimaginable horrors in history!” Take a listen to the whole interview at Generations.org/radio. 40 Indiana prisoners came to Christ and got baptized And finally, a sheriff's department in Indiana celebrated the baptisms of over 40 incarcerated men and women at the end of last year. A post from the Decatur County Sheriff's Department said, “Chaplain Dave Burnett . . . baptized nearly 40 men and women after a personal, public profession of Jesus Christ in their lives. Over the past four years, nearly 300 men and women have given their lives to Jesus Christ while incarcerated at the Decatur County Detention Center. All glory to GOD!” Jesus said in Luke 15:17, “I tell you, there will be more joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” Close And that's The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Wednesday, January 18th in the year of our Lord 2023. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

Ceasefire deal reached to end hostilities in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo +++ How to Congolese react to the deal? +++ Mali's junta unfazed by German troop pullout +++ Exclusive Interview with Angola's Isabel dos Santos +++ World Cup

In November 2021, a rebel group known as M23 carried out a series of surprising attacks in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. By the spring and summer of 2022, M23 had captured even more territory in this region.  These attacks caught many by surprise because the M23 was believed to be largely defunct But nearly 10 years later, the group is now engaged in battles with the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo for control of strategic locations in eastern DRC. My guest today Kwezi Mngqibisa is a Research Associate at the Center for African Diplomacy and Leadership at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. We kick off discussing the background of the M23 rebel group, before having a broader discussion about its apparent re-formation and why a persistent failure to address the legitimate grievances of people in the eastern DRC are fueling conflict in the region.   

Violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo continues to cost lives and drive people from their homes. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has recorded more than 1-thousand-200 deaths and 1-thousand-100 rapes this year in North Kivu and Ituri. The UNHCR says millions of people are in need of humanitarian assistance. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to UNHCR representative, Liz Kpam Ahua, and first asked her to give some background into the matter... 

You've probably heard of the Echuya Batwa.... They're pygmies living in South Western Uganda, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. They're the shortest people in East Africa who possessed some of the best land in Uganda only to be displaced by the government. It's a bitter sweet story with a happy ending! Listen to the podcast to enjoy a little bit of Batwa culture and also get to know how you could help them! Enjoy! - Ruth (mbabaziruth77@gmail.com) --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/humura-ruth/message

For our September Narrative Medicine Rounds, we welcome Eve Ensler, the Tony Award winning playwright, activist, and author of the Obie Award winning theatrical phenomenon The Vagina Monologues, published in over 48 languages, performed in over 140 countries and recently heralded by The New York Times as one of the most important plays of the past 25 years, among numerous other honors. Ensler will speak about her new book The Apology, a powerful memoir where she revisits her childhood in an imagined letter from her abusive father. In a recent review, The Guardian's Arifa Akbar called The Apology a "profound, imaginative and devastating book." Moderating the event will be Suzanne B. Goldberg, Columbia University Executive Vice President for University Life and Director, Center for Gender & Sexuality Law & Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic. In addition, a representative from the Sexual Violence Response & Rape Crisis/Anti-Violence Support Center, Columbia Health, will be at the talk to answer questions and provide information. Ensler is the founder of V-Day, the 20-year-old global activist movement, which has raised over 100 million dollars to end violence to and against all women and girls (cisgender, transgender and gender non-conforming). She is also the founder of One Billion Rising, the largest global mass action to end gender-based violence in over 200 countries. She is a co-founder of the City of Joy, a revolutionary center for women survivors of violence in Bukavu, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), along with Christine Schuler Deschryver and Dr. Denis Mukwege, and appeared – along with Ms. Deschryver and Dr. Mukwege – in the award-winning documentary film City of Joy released globally as a Netflix Original in 190 countries. Her writings regularly appear in The Guardian and TIME Magazine. She was named one of Newsweek’s “150 Women Who Changed the World” and The Guardian’s “100 Most Influential Women.” Ensler is the 2018 recipient of the Lucille Lortel Lifetime Achievement Award and the Lily Award. A survivor of violence, this author and activist has dedicated her life to ending violence against women and girls.

City of Joy follows the first class of students at a remarkable leadership center in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a region often referred to as “the worst place in the world to be a woman.” These women have been through unspeakable violence spurred on by a 20 year war driven by colonialism and greed. In the film, they band together with the three founders of this center: Dr. Denis Mukwege (2016 Nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize), radical playwright and activist Eve Ensler (“The Vagina Monolgoues”) and human rights activist, Christine Schuler-Deschryver, to find a way to create meaning in their lives even when all that was meaningful to them has long been stripped away. In this ultimately uplifting film, we witness the tremendous resilience as these women transform their devastation into powerful forms of leadership for their beloved country. Director, writer and editor Madeleine Gavin stops by to talk about this beautifully told story of unspeakable cruelty, remarkable resilience and unconditional love in a desperately poor country in a region of the world renown for violence. For news and updates go to: netflix.com/City of Joy

The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) and OEF Research, a program of the One Earth Future Foundation (OEF) co-hosted a presentation and panel discussion on the role of local business communities in repairing fragile states. Fragile States continue to garner international attention, and the need to overcome this problem cannot be ignored. They put pressure on the global community by creating devastating poverty and restricted access to basic services for citizens. Fragile States also produce terrorism, piracy, human trafficking, and other dark network activity that puts the well-being of the global community in danger at much higher rates than secure states. One key way to address these problems is through the influence and conduct of the business community. This event began with a presentation on the new report Firm Behavior in Fragile States: The Cases of Somaliland, South Sudan, and Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and the panelists discussed how the lessons learned from the report can be used in other regions and countries.

The unfolding crisis in Syria has left more than eight million people displaced from their homes. Cut off from vital services, desperately in need of water, food and health care, today an entire generation of Syrians are teetering on the brink. How does the international community respond to such a crisis? Luciano Calestini, currently coordinating UNICEF’s humanitarian response in Lebanon where more than 800,000 refugees are struggling to survive, provided a unique insight into the heart of one of the largest humanitarian crises the modern world has known. Luciano Calestini was born in Sydney, Australia to a New Zealand mother and an Italian father. He spent his childhood equally between those three countries, completing his education in Australia before accepting a short-term mission to southern Sudan in the late 1990s to join the famine response. Luciano has also lived and worked in East Timor (in the aftermath of the 1999 referendum), in Kosovo (following the 1999 war), in western Afghanistan (after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization intervention), in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and in Baghdad, Iraq. He recently completed a second three-year mission in Kosovo, during which time he was also deployed to support the cholera response in Haiti and the emergency response during the Libyan conflict. Luciano is currently charged with coordinating UNICEF’s response to the Syrian crisis in Lebanon, and has been based in Beirut since January.

This is the second in our two-part series on the UN's new offensive mandate in the Democratic Republic of Congo in which SOAS’s Dr Phil Clark talks to Paul Brister from Pod Academy about some of the causes of the conflict in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and some of the challenges facing the United Nation’s (UN) new Intervention Brigade that has recently deployed there. [You can find the first podcast in the series here] This podcast looks at the implications of the UN in DRC and its new proactive and aggressive approach – for the DRC, the wider region and for peacekeeping and the UN itself. It also contains a postscript outlining some of the developments that have taken place since Paul spoke to Dr Clark. First Paul Brister gives some background on peacekeeping... Paul Brister:  UN peacekeeping missions are normally authorised by UN Resolutions passed under Chapter 6 of the UN Charter, and are guided by three basic principles: consent of the parties; impartiality; and non-use of force except in self-defence and defence of the mandate. A UN peacekeeping force is thus deployed in a context where there is a peace to be kept. It often involves monitoring and enforcing a cease-fire agreed between two or more former combatants, who view the UN force as being neutral and impartial. Of course events on the ground can change rapidly: cease-fires may be broken, consent can become withdrawn, peace keeping forces may be tempted to stray into peace enforcement. And in the past the UN Security Council has been to slow to react. The classic case is Rwanda in 1994. During the 100 days of mass-genocide, the commanders of the UN forces on the ground [United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR)] repeatedly made ardent requests for authorisation to use their Belgian troops to intervene. These demands were consistently rebuffed and their mandate was never beefed up. Instead the troops were forced to stand idly by and helplessly watch the butchering. The UN troops had found themselves with a weak peacekeeping mandate in a situation that urgently required peace enforcement and were thus useless. Peace-enforcement operations are authorised under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter and have far more robust mandates, sanctioning armed intervention to impose a solution. They tend to take place in a context of conflict rather than peace – a situation that is preferred by one or more of the belligerents. Therefore, unlike with peacekeepers, peace-enforcers are not welcomed by at least one of the belligerents and are not regarded as neutral. The insertion of a peace-enforcement force can convince belligerents that compliance with an imposed peace is less painful to battling this force. Sometimes though, the conflicts have proved too deep-rooted and intransigent, and little more than a pause between rounds has ensued. In other cases the cycle of violence has been broken, providing the conditions necessary for a political process that paves the way to a lasting peace. Usually the aim of peace-enforcement has been to bring belligerents to the negotiating table. The goal has not been military victory but facilitating a settlement. And peace-enforcement operations have generally been outsourced or sub-contracted to other organisations. Although, for example, the UN Protection Force in Bosnia (UNPROFOR) was authorised to use enforcement action, coercive action was in reality left to NATO, which had been sanctioned to undertake enforcement measures alongside the UN peacekeeping force. This culminated in the replacement of UNPROFOR by the more ‘muscular’ NATO-led force, IFOR. Although the NATO-led operation rested notionally in the hands of the Security Council, in real terms NATO leaders, not the UN, called the shots.  Historically, it has generally been the case that the more aggressive the UN mandate for military action has been, the less control the UN has had over of it. This has been due to an understandable unwillingness o...