September - 2015

First global Counter Terrorism Prosecutors Network launched

Pretoria, South Africa – In a first for prosecutors worldwide, the Counter Terrorism Prosecutors Network (CTPN) was launched on 14 September. Terrorism is a global problem that requires a globalised response, including through cooperation between states and their criminal justice agencies. ‘CTPN will help combat terrorism by providing avenues for collaboration between states in the prosecution of terrorism cases,’ said André Vandoren, CTPN board member and Deputy Prosecutor G

Nigeria’s Buhari faces toughest of tests in the Niger Delta

Nigeria appears to finally be making some inroads against Boko Haram, the Islamist militant group that has plagued it for years. But as one threat looks like it might be starting to recede, another may re-emerge: the conflict in the Niger Delta. That conflict is often forgotten in the shadow of Boko Haram’s headline-grabbing suicide bombings and kidnappings, but it now stands as a potent threat to Nigerian domestic security. In 2009, before Boko Haram was a household name, N

Three Things You Need to Know about China’s and the United States’ Announcement on Ivory Trade

Last week Chinese President Xi Jinping travelled to Washington to meet with President Barack Obama. As with all meetings of two heads of State, only each country’s top priorities were on the agenda–issues like cyber security, climate change, and the continued instability in Afganistan–so conservationists around the world took note when wildlife trafficking (and, specifically, the elephant ivory trade) made the list. In fact, ivory trade was included in a joint statement from

How the US is expanding its fight against extremism in Africa

From the perspective of a US national security specialist, we live in a dark and gloomy world. Numerous worldwide threats exist across almost every part of the planet including China, Iran, North Korea and Russia. This typically puts Africa at the bottom of the pecking order. But America is taking more notice of the African continent due to the expansion of extremist organisations operating in Africa like al-Qaeda, al-Shabbab, Ansar al-Sharia, al-Murabitun, Boko Haram, Islami

This American man and his family are caught on a forgotten front line of the global refugee crisis

Abdul is an American citizen on the front line of the biggest worldwide refugee crises of modern times. He’s not an aid worker, a soldier or a politician, however. He, his wife and his nine children are fleeing war, and are stranded in Djibouti City off the coast of the Gulf of Aden. According to a UN refugee agency report issued earlier this summer, some 60 million people are refugees right now — more than at any other time since records were first kept. While news media has

Rhino Day: Beautiful calf born [Pics]

Rhinos Without Borders is celebrating the birth of a rhino calf following the relocation of its mother to Botswana. The organisation, which is in a partnership with the Great Plains Conservation and andBeyond, is seeking to translocate certain rhinos from high-risk areas to protect them from poachers. Botswana has been chosen as the safe haven for the rhinos due to its anti-poaching record. "One of the aims of the Rhinos Without Borders project is to create a new breeding pop

LETTER TO THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY: It is time to formally recognize conflict ivory

The 70th meeting of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) opened on September 15 amid an ongoing humanitarian crisis of refugees and migrants escaping various conflicts. The world’s heads of state are expected to discuss not only their fate but also what exacerbates the violence they flee. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), during the past 15 years “at least 18 violent conflicts have been fuelled by the exploitation of natural resources, wheth

The Islamic State West Africa continues to utilize women as suicide bombers

Boko Haram, which now calls itself the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWA), continues to utilize women as suicide bombers in northeastern Nigeria and in neighboring Cameroon. The jihadist group killed three people today in a suicide attack in the town of Mora in northern Cameroon. According to Reuters, a police officer and two civilians were killed after two female suicide bombers detonated themselves in a car close to the town’s stadium. Early reports have indicated

Tech for tuskers: protecting Africa's elephants with Google

As elephant poaching in Africa by organised crime gangs using high-tech equipment rises, those working to stop their extinction in the wild have turned to technology too. In the remote wilds of northern Kenya's Samburu reserve, the latest technology from US internet giant Google creates three-dimensional maps using data from satellite tracking elephant collars, providing security for the animals in the short term, and helping protect their habitat in the long term. "It is a

Voices from the Savannah: Poignant images show fragile existence of Africa's wildlife which coul

These poignant pictures of Africa's biggest beasts in the wild show how fragile their lives are in the face of poachers, human encroachment and trophy hunters. In the haunting selection captured by British photographer Gary Roberts, he highlights the dangers faced by the anti-poaching patrol as they try desperately to protect elephants, zebras, lions and cheetahs from the money-hungry poachers. The photographer's extensive work in Tanzania and Kenya brought him into contact w

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