Crisis Prevention and Recovery

Diaries from Countries in Crisis

Hope in the midst of destruction in Nahr el Bared
In May 2007, whilst most of Lebanon was still struggling to recover from the destruction caused by the 2006 July war, violent clashes erupted between the Lebanese Army and militants from the Fath El Islam, a Salafist group, in the Nahr el Bared Palestinian refugee camp in the north of the country. The conflict seriously affected the population in the camp and in neighboring communities. Read more...

Making peace across borders a reality
Ecuador´s northern border has been historically marginalized, and this has resulted in high levels of poverty and limited social services and infrastructure. In recent years, this vulnerable zone has also suffered from the destabilizing consequences of the crisis across the Colombian border. Read more...

Prevention of electoral violence: Experiences in Ghana, Kenya and Sierra Leone
Over the last few years, the United Nations (UN) has assisted many countries in managing complex political transitions, in particular in the context of elections. In Ghana, the United Nations worked with the government, the electoral commission, the media and civil society to ensure that the 2008 elections were peaceful. Read more...

Lessons from Bangladesh
Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to disasters such as cyclones and floods, with at least a fifth of the country submerged by heavy rains each year. Read more...

No Peace without Development
Kyrgyzstan is a multiethnic country with little or no open violent conflict. However, weak governance, lack of dialogue and trust between the population and the authorities, unequal power relations, and the marginalization of some groups, including youth and women, feeds discontent. Read more...

Snapshots of Somalia
From images of hunger to Black Hawk Down, my preconceptions of Somalia stemmed from my childhood. It was a great opportunity to challenge these ideas when I visited Somalia in July. Read more...

One month in Myanmar
In Bogale, one of the five most cyclone-damaged townships in the delta region, people bathed and washed clothes in the muddy river. As part of UNDP's immediate crisis response team, I travelled to the delta part of the country. Read more...

Laying the Groundwork for Peace in Eastern DRC Recently, I spent three months in North Kivu in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) helping support the newly established local government body, the Provincial Peacebuilding Unit. Read more... or listen to Valeria Izzi, Programme Specialist, Conflict Prevention, discuss her experience (streaming audio or download mp3)