“The village is almost destroyed, as it was under heavy shelling since the start, and a Russian flag is now flying in the square. Mobile connection and electricity are almost non-existent. Abandoned houses and administrative buildings that have escaped destruction are now being looted.” – Woman from Tryokhizbenka, Donbas Over the past week, Center for…
By Beatrice Godefroy and Suleiman Mamutov The lives of millions of civilians in Ukraine hang in the balance. The renewed threat of a war between Russia and Ukraine doesn’t bode well for millions of Ukrainians living along the contact line as heavy shelling has increased in recent days. Residential buildings, including a kindergarten and a…
On February 17, 2022, CIVIC Europe Director Beatrice Godefroy moderated a side event on international humanitarian law (IHL) as part of Africa-Europe Week and the 6th European Union – African Union summit. Bringing policy makers and actors from civil society, the European Union, the African Union, and Member States, this side event addressed how the…
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…
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…
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…
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…
November 10, 2020 By Beatrice Godefroy and Liza Baran Imagine that you live in one of the isolated villages located near the contact line in Eastern Ukraine. What would your life look like? Statistics show a 61% probability you would be a woman, 41% likelihood you would be over 60 years old, and 13% chance…
Great power conflict has become a main focus of foreign policy over the past few years. Such a shift has been energized in Europe by the necessity to adapt to the resurgence of tensions at its borders, including in the Baltic states, Crimea, and Ukraine. Coupled with increased lethality of military weapons, emerging technologies such…