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A joint declaration from the European Commission and the African Union Commission following their fourth College-to-College meeting on 1 October 2008 in Brussels. The document outlines agreements to implement the Africa-EU Strategic Partnership across eight thematic areas, including security, governance, economic integration, health, energy, climate change, migration, and science and technology.

The report examines the role of arms control, specifically the monitoring of light weapons, as a tool for conflict prevention. It argues that traditional arms control often follows conflict resolution, whereas an early warning approach would identify 'excessive and destabilising' accumulations of weapons before violence erupts. The author proposes a five-element early warning process—information gathering, sharing, analysis, risk identification, and strategic response—and suggests specific monitoring targets such as smuggling networks and state-owned stocks. Using Southern Africa as a primary example, the text highlights the spread of weapons from conflict zones like Angola and Mozambique into neighboring states and advocates for regional cooperation, such as that seen between South Africa and Mozambique in destroying arms caches. The document concludes by recommending that countries improve transparency in arms exports and harmonize regional legislation to curb the flow of light weapons.

The provided text is an introductory fragment and acronym list for a research project initiated in 2001 by Gun Free South Africa (GFSA) and the Centre for Conflict Resolution (CCR). The project aimed to examine the trade, use, and control of small arms and light weapons (SALW) across nine southern African nations to develop strategies for limiting their misuse. Specifically, the research sought to determine the size and nature of legal state-held and civilian-owned arms, the sources of illegal weapons—including losses or thefts from legal stockpiles—and the factors driving civilian demand for legal firearms.

The document is a country fact sheet for Zambia, providing basic data on its location, population, political system, and economic indicators. It lists Zambia's natural resources, including minerals and hydropower, and outlines its constitutional and legal framework based on common law.

The document analyzes the evolution of Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) programs in Africa, noting a shift from vague mandates in the late 1990s to highly specific programs by 2004. It emphasizes that DDR must be a voluntary process integrated into a broader national recovery framework, rather than a standalone social driver for peace. Key challenges identified include the 'quantitative' focus on counting soldiers versus the 'qualitative' need to reverse military indoctrination, the risk of DDR becoming a profit-making venture for ex-combatants, and the difficulty of accurate combatant identification. The report recommends a human-rights-based approach to DDR, better cross-border coordination to prevent combatants from moving between conflicts, and the use of strategic communication, particularly radio, to manage public expectations and support reconciliation.

The document provides a structural breakdown of the I Defence and Security Committee (ISDSC), illustrating a hierarchy that descends from a Ministerial Committee to various technical sub-sub-committees. It specifies functional areas such as operations, intelligence, and logistics, and assigns leadership or oversight of specific sub-committees to different member states, including Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The report examines the challenges of defence integration in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), arguing that the process is primarily a short-term political measure to end hostilities rather than a purely military reform. It highlights a history of governance deficits, where military professionalism was replaced by clientelism and ethnic representativity, leading to state collapse. The document advocates for a comprehensive approach to security sector reform (SSR) that integrates defence, public service, and business sector reforms to prevent the recurrence of a destructive 'war economy'. It also details a workshop conducted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and Labor Optimus to encourage the DRC's engagement with the SADC Organ for Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation (OPDSC).

The document examines the evolution of environmental security, critiquing 'statist' models that view environmental scarcity primarily as a threat to the state. It proposes a 'human security' framework, specifically applying a Sustainable Livelihoods approach to understand how land access and tenure systems in Africa influence poverty and conflict. The author highlights that in southern Africa, colonial legacies of land dispossession and current 'opportunistic land grabbing' by elites exacerbate insecurity. The paper concludes that sustainable security requires moving beyond technical fixes to address the underlying power imbalances, governance failures, and social injustices that drive environmental and human insecurity.

The document details the career of Salim Ahmed Salim, a Tanzanian diplomat who played a central role in the decolonisation of Africa and the fight against apartheid. It examines his strategic work within the UN Special Committee on Decolonization, his efforts to secure material support for liberation movements, and his tenure as Secretary-General of the OAU (1989–2001). The text highlights his contributions to the institutional transformation of the OAU into the African Union, his advocacy for 'non-indifference' in the face of genocide and war crimes, and his work in conflict resolution in regions such as Darfur and the Great Lakes.

The research paper analyzes the development of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF), arguing that the state was initially born without war-making capacity due to a preference for peace and fear of military coups. The BDF was eventually created in 1977 as a reactive response to regional instability and incursions by the Rhodesian government. The authors assess the BDF's professionalism, its challenges regarding the recruitment of women and the impact of HIV/AIDS, and the effectiveness of executive and parliamentary oversight. It concludes that while the BDF is professional and well-integrated into regional peacekeeping, it faces future challenges related to shrinking national resources and the need for a formal national security strategy.

The document provides a historical analysis of the military forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, beginning with the Force Publique under King Léopold II and continuing through the Zairian Armed Forces (FAZ) under President Mobutu. It details the systemic politicisation, tribalisation, and de-professionalisation of the army during the Mobutu era, which led to a breakdown in civil-military relations. The text further examines the conflicts involving the AFDL and the 'First African World War,' culminating in the Inter-Congolese Dialogue and the subsequent efforts to integrate government and rebel forces into a restructured, apolitical national army under the 2003 constitution.

The report analyzes UN discourse on small arms and light weapons (SALW) from 2001 to 2003, concluding that gender perspectives remain marginalized. The authors find that when gender is mentioned, women are almost exclusively characterized as passive victims, while the specific impacts on men and the active roles of women as peace-builders are largely ignored. While NGOs and international organizations demonstrate a more nuanced understanding of gender, member state delegations often lack expertise or prioritize other issues. The document recommends bridging the gap between gender experts and policymakers through targeted education and coordinated advocacy to ensure that the 2006 Review Conference on SALW reflects the diverse experiences of both men and women.

The document argues that while HIV/AIDS creates significant humanitarian challenges for children in Southern Africa, the predicted link between orphaning and widespread social instability is speculative. It highlights the resilience of traditional extended family and community safety nets, while noting that poverty is a more primary driver of vulnerability than orphanhood alone. The authors advocate for a shift from needs-based to rights-based interventions that strengthen family-based care and provide psychosocial support to prevent long-term trauma.

The fact sheet describes Biocultural Community Protocols (BCPs) as endogenous, inclusive tools used by indigenous and local communities to define their rights and responsibilities under customary, state, and international law. It details how BCPs facilitate proactive responses to threats like illegal mining and infrastructure projects, and how they support the protection of traditional knowledge and biodiversity. The document provides several case studies from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and promotes a toolkit and website for community facilitators to develop and implement these protocols.

The document outlines the role of community protocols as interfaces between customary laws and national ABS frameworks, drawing on case studies from Kenya, South Africa, Namibia, Benin, Madagascar, and Cameroon to highlight best practices in community empowerment and legal recognition.

The report examines the interaction between ICCAs and international and national laws, finding that while international instruments and some national policies show progress, systemic gaps and discriminatory implementation continue to threaten these areas. It highlights the critical need for the recognition of customary land rights, self-determination, and integrated socio-ecological legislation to support community-led conservation.

The briefing examines the systemic threats facing TICCAs, highlighting a widespread lack of legal recognition for customary land rights and traditional governance. While noting positive developments in international jurisprudence and specific national programs—such as Australia's Indigenous Protected Areas and Namibia's Communal Conservancies—it argues that state legislation often remains discriminatory, fragmented, and exclusionary. The document provides comprehensive recommendations for legal reform, the adoption of human rights standards, and the implementation of non-legal support mechanisms to ensure the resilience of indigenous-led conservation.

The document details a judicial review application by Green Connection and Natural Justice to set aside the environmental authorization (EA) granted to TotalEnergies EP South Africa Block 567 (Pty) Ltd for offshore oil drilling between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas. It lists six grounds for review, including failures to assess socio-economic impacts on small-scale fishers, climate change impacts from gas combustion, and transboundary risks to Namibia. Additionally, it notes that TotalEnergies announced its withdrawal from Block 567 in July 2024 and is now seeking to have Shell joined as a party to the legal proceedings, a request opposed by the applicants.

Natural Justice is an African organisation dedicated to social and environmental justice, employing a "Litigation Plus" approach that combines legal empowerment, research, policy influence, and strategic litigation. In 2024, the organisation supported over 30 strategic lawsuits across Africa, including successful challenges against Shell's seismic testing in South Africa and the annulment of an Environmental Impact Assessment for Sosian Energy Ltd in Kenya. The organisation also focuses on securing land tenure, protecting indigenous biocultural heritage in Namibia and Madagascar, and defending environmental defenders, notably supporting 180 activists through an emergency fund, including those protesting the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in Uganda. Additionally, Natural Justice engages in global policy advocacy at UN biodiversity and climate summits to promote human rights-based approaches to conservation and energy transitions.

The Access and Benefit-sharing (ABS) Toolkit by Natural Justice is a guide for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in Southern Africa to manage the use of their biological resources and Traditional Knowledge. It explains the ABS process, where users (industry or researchers) obtain consent from providers (communities) to use resources in exchange for monetary or non-monetary benefits. The document emphasizes the use of Biocultural Community Protocols (BCPs) to establish community rules and rights, and details the legal frameworks governing these processes, including the international Nagoya Protocol and South Africa's National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA). It also addresses the role of intellectual property rights, the importance of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), and the necessity of sustainable resource stewardship to prevent biopiracy and biodiversity loss.