The UK’s Ranger Regiment: An opportunity

By Abigail Watson, Beatrice Godefroy, Rocco Blume, Camilla Molyneux, Jamie Gaskarth, Lucia Withers, and Murray Jones With the UK’s Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy signalling an increased  focus on building the capacity of foreign security forces, through the generation of a new Ranger Regiment, the UK has an opportunity to take stock of…

Ukraine must do more to protect civilians living close to the conflict contact line

By Beatrice Godefroy and Suleiman Mamutov On July 22, 2020, representatives from Ukraine, Russia, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) agreed to implement an enhanced ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. In the months that followed, ceasefire violations significantly decreased and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reported zero conflict-related civilian casualties resulting from…

Civil Society Experts, Analysts, and MEPs in Europe and Africa Raise Concerns with the EU Adoption of the European Peace Facility (EPF)

On March 22, EU leaders adopted the European Peace Facility (EPF), a new fund that will allow the EU to train militaries around the world and equip them with lethal weapons. This is despite experts – including civil society – raising their concerns that the fund could worsen conflicts and contribute to human rights abuses…

Power Politics Obstructs Protection of Civilians in — and after — the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

By Beatrice Godefroy and Julien Théron Even as people in Ukraine’s Donbas region continue to suffer amid the seven-year-long conflict between government forces and Russian-backed separatists, populations elsewhere in Eastern Europe find themselves also at the center of lingering tensions between conflicting regional powers. The “flash” hostilities that broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan in…