December 14, 2008

Moreno-Ocampo and the future of the ICC

The International Criminal Court started its work in 2002 with great fanfare and expectations. The hopes of its many supporters around the world (but concentrated particularly in rich western countries)...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 01:06 AM | Fulltext link (2 comments)

August 08, 2008

Progress in untying the ICC-Northern Uganda knot?

Are Uganda's talented people about to unlock the riddle of "peace versus justice" that has confounded so many other peoples around the world in recent times? As long-time JWN readers...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 11:13 PM | Fulltext link (1 comments)

January 31, 2008

Kenya: Life, death, and unknowing when things fall apart

If you want to know what actually happens in communities that get caught up in a paroxysm of inter-group violence, and what it feels like to live in such a...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 10:26 AM | Fulltext link (1 comments)

January 03, 2008

Kenya: violence, nonviolence, moral authority

I've been watching the news of this week's violence in Kenya with huge concern. Many of the news reports speak of horrors similar to those experienced in eruptions of mass...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 01:29 PM | Fulltext link (10 comments)

August 08, 2007

Mia Farrow: "virtual hostage"

Irony alert Those familiar with Farzaneh Milani's path-breaking literary analysis will recognize the phrase "hostage narrative," a term she has been devloping over many years to apply to that best-selling...
Posted by Scott Harrop at 02:20 PM | Fulltext link (21 comments)

July 15, 2007

U. Iweala on whitefolk who want to 'save' Africa

Uzodinma Iweala, a young novelist from Washington DC and Nigeria, has a great opinion piece in today's WaPo that should be must-reading for all young whitefolk who get the urge...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 03:54 PM | Fulltext link (21 comments)

July 09, 2007

Three on Africa

In a fit of hyper-productivity I just put three posts on Transitional Justice issues in sub-Saharan Africa up onto the Transitional Justice Forum blog. They are on Uganda, Sudan (including...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 03:39 PM | Fulltext link (0 comments)

September 06, 2006

Uganda peacemaking news

I have noted with great interest that, in his hosting and mediation of the peace talks for northern Uganda, the vice-president of Souther Sudan, Dr. Riek Machar, has been assisted...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 11:19 PM | Fulltext link (0 comments)

August 27, 2006

Why I like writing about Uganda

.. and Mozambique, and South Africa, and Rwanda, and ... (By the way, I've just put up a long new post about Uganda over at the Transitional Justice Forum blog....
Posted by Helena Cobban at 04:18 PM | Fulltext link (0 comments)

August 24, 2006

Ceasefire for Uganda? If so, Hallelujah!

I just heard from a friend in Europe that the Ugandan government and the LRA have agreed to a ceasefire in their long-running armed conflict in northern Uganda. Thus far,...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 09:41 PM | Fulltext link (4 comments)

August 23, 2006

Second Uganda column in CSM

Here's the second of my two columns in the CSM this month on the competition between the claims of peace and justice in northern Uganda. The money quote there-- from...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 10:08 PM | Fulltext link (0 comments)

August 18, 2006

CSM column on peace versus justice in Uganda

The CSM yesterday published the first of two columns I'm writing for them about the competition between the claims of "peace" and of "justice" in northern Uganda. It includes some...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 02:02 PM | Fulltext link (1 comments)

July 28, 2006

Notes from Uganda-- Gulu

Written Thursday, July 27. I've been in Gulu for around 28 hours now-- and I've learned so much in this time that my head almost aches! I had one...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 04:46 AM | Fulltext link (2 comments)

July 25, 2006

Notes from Uganda, part 2

Posted by Helena Cobban at 06:01 AM | Fulltext link (1 comments)

July 22, 2006

Notes from Uganda, Part 1

Posted by Helena Cobban at 09:46 AM | Fulltext link (8 comments)

January 01, 2006

Kenya: prison inmates showing compassion

Thhe BBC reported yesterday that in kenya, tens of thousands of prison inmates were planning to skip a meal today to raise money for compatriots affected by droughts. This story...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 09:54 PM | Fulltext link (1 comments)

November 06, 2005

Incarceration in Africa

The New York Times had an excellent, fairly long piece of reporting today on the situation in many (or most?) of the prisons in Africa. (Also here.) Michael Wines, who...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 08:56 PM | Fulltext link (1 comments)

July 20, 2005

Caroline Elkins' Mau Mau book, contd.

Editorial note: I put this post up last night. It elicited some interesting & helpful comments. This morning I wanted to correct a couple of typos in it & put...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 09:26 AM | Fulltext link (0 comments)

March 07, 2004

April 2004: two big African decennials

For millions of people in southern and central Africa, April 1994 was a very momentous month; and the ten-year anniversary of it is coming up. In Rwanda, at the beginning...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 09:58 PM | Fulltext link (5 comments)

August 25, 2003

News from all over Africa (and elsewhere)

There's a new blog, "Mostly AFRICA" which has been up just over a week and looks like incredible, one-stop shopping for the obsessed-with-Africa brigade. The author, who doesn't post a...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 09:27 PM | Fulltext link (2 comments)

April 17, 2003

DAR ES-SALAAM:

DAR ES-SALAAM: When my travel agent, Alaina, told me that various flight schedules had been changed and I could not any longer fly from Arusha, Tanzania to Maputo, Mozambique in...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 02:30 PM | Fulltext link (1 comments)

April 14, 2003

VISITING WITH THE MASAI

VISITING WITH THE MASAI: Since I'm here in Arusha alone, I was looking for a good day-hike I could sign up with for yesterday, Sunday. Luckily, in the Tanzania Tourism...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 02:11 PM | Fulltext link (2 comments)

April 08, 2003

FROM NAIROBI AIRPORT

FROM NAIROBI AIRPORT: I've now been traveling for 40-plus hours, so far seen four airports and a few areas of West London (I guess that was on Monday). Interesting that...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 09:10 AM | Fulltext link (1 comments)

April 04, 2003

MENTAL MIGRATION TO AFRICA: I

MENTAL MIGRATION TO AFRICA: I am definitely on my way, switching gear between my obsession with the unfolding Iraq situation, and my upcoming five-week research trip to Africa. Wednesday, I...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 09:50 PM | Fulltext link (2 comments)

February 14, 2003

FROM NEW YORK, Valentine's Day

I've had a busy couple of days of work here, talking to some really interesting folks about my 'Violence and its Legacies' project, and starting to make plans for the...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 10:16 AM | Fulltext link (0 comments)