The ISS and staff wish all our readers a prosperous 2013.  The ISS Weekly outreach has expanded greatly over the last few years and we would like to thank our loyal readers for their support.  Please contact us should you wish to see any changes or additions made to our the ISS Weekly by email on [email protected]. This issue includes all updates from December 2012 as well as January 2013.

Please note, the ISS Cape Town Office has closed with substantive work relocating to Pretoria. 

 African Union Peace and Security Website Update 

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Will any of the current South African opposition parties rule South Africa one day? 

Hamadziripi Tamukamoyo, Researcher and Gareth Newham, Head, Governance, Crime and Justice Division, ISS Pretoria Office

It remains to be seen if the multitude of crises afflicting the ANC will realign the country`s political landscape in the near future. While change will eventually happen, it may not result in current opposition parties gaining power.

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New Negotiations Brokered by Sant’Egidio: Hope for Peace in Casamance?

Paulin Maurice Toupane, Intern, Conflict Prevention and Risk Analysis Division, ISS Pretoria

The resolution of the crisis in the Casamance area of Senegal has taken a new turn with the resumption of negotiations between the government and rebels. The main concern is whether this initiative will succeed in bringing lasting peace.

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Time for Angola to Ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention

Noel Stott, Senior Research Fellow, Arms Control and Disarmament Programme, Transnational Threats and International Crime Division, ISS Pretoria

Angola, Somalia, Egypt and now South Sudan are among only eight countries that are not party to the Chemical Weapons Convention. With the 3rd Five-Year Review Conference of the Convention scheduled for April 2013, this needs to change.

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To what extent has the South African Police Service become militarised?

Johan Burger, Senior Researcher, Crime and Justice Division, ISS Pretoria

Efforts to militarise the SAPS in 2010 never progressed much further than changing the rank system. Real reforms that result in professional policing will require more fundamental improvements in the future.

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ISS Paper 242: The effectiveness of financial disclosure regulations as an anti-corruption tool in local government

This paper examines the financial disclosure regulatory framework at local government level in South Africa. Drawing on empirical data, it provides a detailed critique of this framework`s practical implementation. Specifically, it looks at the scope and content of disclosure requirements, compliance by elected officials, institutional support and capacity for disclosure, public access to information, and monitoring and oversight mechanisms.

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Commonwealth Law Bulletin ISS Contribution

The paper argues that prosecutors have a vital role to play in promoting appropriate criminal justice responses to terrorism. Yet with no international court with jurisdiction over terrorist crimes, prosecutors carry the primary responsibility to work with their local law enforcement agencies to bring terrorist suspects to justice before national courts, while ensuring that no misuses or abuses of authority have occurred. To deliver on this man- date, prosecutors must remain vigilant and ensure that the counter-terrorism actions of police, corrections and other law enforcement authorities are lawful and respectful of human rights. 

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Peace and Security Council Report No 42

This month our researchers in Addis Ababa and Pretoria have produced a country analysis on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), two PSC Retrospective articles, one on Somalia and the other about the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (ANWFZ) Treaty of Pelindaba. There is also an open page article on North Africa`s Regional Economic Communities and Sub-Regional Economic Communities.

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Peace and Security Council Report No 41

This month our researchers in Addis Ababa and Pretoria have produced country analyses on Libya and Zimbabwe, a security analysis on the Lord`s Resistance Army and an open page article on Central Africa`s Regional Economic Community and Sub-Regional Economic Communities. 

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ISS Seminar Report: Somalia - Achieving Peace and Sustaining Progress after the Transition

With the aim of finding ways of sustaining the achievements made and peace in the Horn of Africa country, this seminar discussed the imperatives of sustaining progress and achieving peace in post-transition Somalia and ways if dealing with the threat of Alshabaab.

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ISS Seminar Report: The fall of Goma - what is next for the DRC?

The seminar aimed at unpacking the dynamics of the conflict in the eastern DRC: What does the fall of Goma mean for the DRC and the region? Are we likely to see a repeat of history? What are the options available to the actors involved?

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ISS and HSF Seminar Report: Towards COP18 - Developing a national architecture that is equipped for global climate finances

The aim of the seminar, which was convened during COP18, was to discuss how South Africa is preparing itself for global climate finance. The seminar was also aimed at reflecting on the status of international negotiations to get a better sense of where the country should be in terms of national ‘climate finance readiness’.

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ISS Seminar, Report: The `State of the State` in South Africa

The seminar was aimed at creating a platform for an analysis of unfolding developments in South Africa`s political economy. It was also aimed at bringing together leading South African opinion makers to share their perspectives on some of these issues and consider suggestions as to what to expect in the future.

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