The country has suffered de facto secessions, appalling destruction and humanitarian disasters - but still both the war and the Somali people march on. Can the international community help find a way out of conflict in Somalia, or is it blundering into yet another category mistake?

De manière générale, les initiatives actuellement mises en oeuvre par la communauté internationale pour lutter contre les viols en République démocratique du Congo ne sont pas adaptées à la manière dont la masculinité et la féminité sont réalisées par rapport aux violences sexuelles au sortir du conflit armé. Cet élément est susceptible d'entraver leur efficacité.

Sexual violence in the DRC is gendered. Not only is this violence gendered in how it is performed, but also in how it can be fought against. Prevailing over gender related violence means dismantling the ongoing tensions between men and women related to prescribed gender norms, roles, and identities. In providing this analysis, this brief aims to inform donors, as well as (international) non-governmental organizations (I-NGOs) how an intensified focus on the gender-dimensions of violence will improve programmatic effectiveness in the fight against sexual violence in the DRC context.

LYBIA: THE REALITY HAS TAKEN OVER EUROPE'S REALPOLITIEK

The wind of the jasmine revolution that started in Tunisia brought down an iron curtain in the Arab world. Blowing on midan al-Tahrir in Cairo, new protests in Bahrain, Algeria, Morocco, Yemen and Jordan are going on.

The recent vote on whether Southern Sudan will remain part of a united Sudan or found its own state has left me confused. Having had the opportunity to witness this event firsthand, the euphoria and outcries of relief that dominate preliminary reflections on the process make me feel somewhat uncomfortable. In an attempt to do justice to my personal experiences and perceptions, I would like to present two narratives, both of which match my direct and indirect observations.

As Sudan has entered the final and most critical year of its post-war transition period, the other countries comprising the Horn and central Africa are on the alert. Southern Sudan's self-determination referendum, scheduled for January 2011, could result in partition of the country and may possibly prompt the resurgence of violent North-South conflict. In any case, the emergence of an independent South would have profound regional implications.