In October 2009, deep in the jungle in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, I visited a small village where 40 brave UN Peacekeepers from India were ‘protecting’ the villagers from the armed groups who were killing and looting across the region, and from their National Army who were, then, probably as guilty as the groups.…
It is Thursday 22 May, first day of the Whitsun Recess. I am travelling to Kigali: first stop of the delegation from the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Great Lakes Region of Africa. We will study and report upon the current peace process, the stabilisation efforts of the UN and others including the UK,…
On December 17 2010, a young Tunisian man set himself on fire. This desperate act helped to spark a political revolution in the Arab world. Images of people revolting against notoriously oppressive regimes captivated onlookers worldwide. More than a year later, the world is indeed a different place – long-term dictators have been unseated, governments…
November 28, 2011 was historic in the DRC; the first ever democratic national election organized by the Congolese themselves. Indeed it was only the second time since independence in 1960 that a multi-party electoral vote would be set to determine the presidential seat. However, this relatively undeveloped voting system left the electoral process wide open…
Both Houses of Parliament are among the busiest legislative chambers in the world. 2008 has been a busy one for the House of Lords, though no more than usual. Some of it activities have attracted media attention – as over the defeat of the proposal for detention without charge for 42 days – but they are very much…
