Feinstein International Center

Status Report, December 2007

Overview .................................................................................................................................... 3

Research Led by Antonio Donini ............................................................................................ 4

1. Humanitarian Agenda 2015: Principles, Power and Perceptions ..................................................... 4
Future research led by Antonio Donini .................................................................................................. 5

Research Led by Andrew Wilder ............................................................................................. 6

2. Police Reform in Afghanistan ............................................................................................................ 6
Future research led by Andrew Wilder .................................................................................................. 7

Research Led by Andrew Catley ............................................................................................. 8

3. Livestock and Pastoralism Research in Africa .................................................................................. 8
4. Enhancing Livelihoods-based Livestock Interventions for Pastoralists............................................. 8
Future research led by Andrew Catley .................................................................................................. 9

Research Led by John Burns .................................................................................................. 9

5. Assessing the Impact of Humanitarian Programs ............................................................................. 9

Research Led by Dan Maxwell............................................................................................... 10

6. Food Security and Targeting in Complex Emergencies.................................................................. 10
7. The Quality and Integrity of Humanitarian Action............................................................................ 11
Future research led by Dan Maxwell ................................................................................................... 11

Research Led by Helen Young .............................................................................................. 12

8. Malnutrition and Mortality: Towards Improved Practice in the Use of Benchmarks........................ 12
9. Livelihoods, Migration, and Remittance Flows to Conflict-Affected Regions: Darfur, Sudan ......... 12
10. Follow-up: “Livelihoods Under Siege,” Darfur 2005. Research into Livelihood and Conflict in
Darfur ................................................................................................................................................... 12
Future research led by Helen Young................................................................................................... 14
 Research Led by Elizabeth Stites.......................................................................................... 14
11. Livelihoods and Human Security in Karamoja............................................................................... 14
12. Conflict and Livelihoods in North-Eastern Uganda ....................................................................... 15
13. Livelihoods Technical Guidance and Institutional Change............................................................ 15
Future research led by Elizabeth Stites............................................................................................... 15

Research Led by Dyan Mazurana.......................................................................................... 16

14. Independent Documentary Film—The Other Side of the Country ................................................ 16
15. Monitoring and Reporting on Grave Rights Violations Committed against Children during
Situations of Armed Conflict (Security Council Resolution 1612) ....................................................... 16
16. Aiding United Nations’ Efforts to Stop Violence and Discrimination against Girls ........................ 16
17. Reparations and Remedy for Children that Have Suffered Grave Rights Violations during
Situations of Armed Conflict ................................................................................................................ 17
Future research led by Dyan Mazurana .............................................................................................. 17

Research Led by Khristopher Carlson ................................................................................. 18

18. The Survey of War-Affected Youth (SWAY).................................................................................. 18
19. Forced Marriage in Armed Conflict: Codifying an International Crime.......................................... 18
Future research led by Khris Carlson.................................................................................................. 19

Research Led by Darlington Akabwai................................................................................... 19

20. A New Approach Needed to Tackle Gun Violence in Karamoja, Uganda .................................... 19
Future research led by Darlington Akabwai ........................................................................................ 20

Research Led by Karen Jacobsen ........................................................................................ 21

21. Urban IDPs Survey ........................................................................................................................ 21
22. Refugee Camps Multimedia Database.......................................................................................... 21
Future research led by Karen Jacobsen ............................................................................................. 21

Research led by Lacey Gale .................................................................................................. 22

23. Child Protection in Sierra Leone and Guinea ................................................................................ 22
24. Understanding Refugee Camp Life ............................................................................................... 22
25. Livelihoods, Migration, and Remittance Flows to Conflict-Affected Regions: Portland, Maine..... 22
Future research led by Lacey Gale ..................................................................................................... 23

Research Led by Kim Wilson................................................................................................. 23

26. Financial Resilience—A New Research Line ................................................................................ 23
27. Microfinance Conference in 2007.................................................................................................. 24
Future research led by Kim Wilson...................................................................................................... 24

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 2

 Overview
This report presents an update of the various research projects currently underway in the Center. It is
organized by lead researcher, presenting together all those projects that one researcher leads a team on
before describing the plans that research team has for the next year. Any one researcher may be
simultaneously leading on a project and a team member of other projects.

The research program of the Center evolves from within, rather than being externally-driven. It evolves
as present research uncovers new and additional areas where research is needed. It evolves as the
interests of individual researchers change over time and it evolves as we see new linkages and patterns
emerging across our research portfolio and new opportunities to use research to positively affect the
lives of those living at the margins of our society.

It is thus becoming clear to us that we have a major thrust of research evolving around governance, the
rule of law, and societies in extremis. This may evolve to become an organizing theme for some of our
work in 2008/9. Likewise the linkages between environment/climate change and political violence are
more frequently surfacing in our work and may become a theme for future research.

In 2008 we will be putting together our strategic planning document for the three-year period 2009-11
and anticipate having to evolve the way we describe and group our research and change processes to
better capture the work the Center does.

The report does not include an update on our teaching activities as these are tied to the university
teaching year. It is thus more appropriate to report on in our end-of-academic-year report.

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 3

 Research Led by Antonio Donini
1. Humanitarian Agenda 2015: Principles, Power and Perceptions
Researchers: Antonio Donini, Andrew Wilder
During the second half of 2007 work has continued on this major, two-year research program
coordinated by Antonio Donini. It examines local perceptions of the work of humanitarian agencies in
conflict and crisis contexts. The research focuses on four key issues: the universality (or not) of the
humanitarian enterprise; the impact of terrorism and counter-terrorism on humanitarian action; the
relationship between humanitarian action and political agendas; and the security of humanitarian
personnel. Eleven out of a total of 12 country case studies have now been finalized. Studies on Sri Lanka
and the Democratic Republic of Congo were undertaken by FIC consultants and are available on our
website. 1 Of particular note is the case study on perceptions of the Pakistan earthquake response
recently completed by Andrew Wilder. In addition to the four issues examined in all the HA2015 case
studies—universality, the impact of the war on terror, coherence and security—the case study included
a thorough analysis of the perceptions of the role of the Pakistan Army in leading the relief effort. Field
work for the twelfth case study (Nepal) has been completed by Donini and drafting of the case study is
underway.

The twelve HA2015 case studies constitute a corpus of evidence-based research that brings into stark
relief the evolving challenges faced by communities living in extremis in contexts marked by the
politicization and, often, the instrumentalization of humanitarian action. The overall findings of the
HA2015 are currently being condensed so that they can be made available in more actionable form to
decision-makers in the UN, NGO and donor institutions. A synthesis report is due to be published in
early 2008 as well as a number of shorter policy papers. These will be utilized in a wide-ranging
dissemination effort around the findings of HA2015 that will continue through 2008. To-date, over 40
briefings have already been conducted, often involving the FIC Director, on the generic and/or country-
specific findings of the research. These have been in donor capitals, UN agencies, NGO, and academic
settings. The briefings have been generally well-received. They confirm the topicality of the issues
identified and have often resulted in further requests for consultations or policy dialogues on the future
of humanitarian action. For example, the case study on Iraq, issued in the spring of 2007, 2 continues to
generate considerable interest both in the capitals of coalition countries where a number of briefing
sessions have been held and in the field, including requests from UN agencies to discuss how some of
the recommendations of the case study could be operationalized in a volatile and fraught security
context. Moreover, the HA2015 findings have also been used as a basis for feedback sessions with some
of the communities that provided the original information as well as with the aid community at the
country level.

1 http://fic.tufts.edu/downloads/HA2015SriLankaCountryStudy.pdf and
http://fic.tufts.edu/downloads/HA2015DemocraticRepublicoftheCongoweb.pdf
2 http://fic.tufts.edu/downloads/HA2015IraqCountryStudy.pdf

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 4

 The HA2015 research has also resulted in an additional and innovative research output on the
perceptions of US National Guard personnel returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. While not initially
planned as part of HA2015, this study, conducted by Larry Minear who until his retirement in 2006 co-
directed the HA2015 research, analyzes the disconnects between expectations and realities in the
frontline of the “global war on terror” as well as the considerable personal and collective toll exacted by
this encounter. Relying largely on the soldiers’ own words, the study provides a composite narrative of
the experience of National Guard troops—from enlistment and training through deployment and combat
to re-entry. The study—The U.S. Citizen-Soldier and the Global War on Terror—is published by the FIC
and is also available on our website. 3

Future research led by Antonio Donini

Follow-up to HA2015
The twelve HA2015 case studies contain a wealth of information—most of it evidence-based and
resulting from fieldwork conducted with a common methodology—that has yet to be properly ‘mined’.
While we will continue to respond to requests from donors and agencies for briefings and policy
development actions, as well as for further case studies in Asia, we have yet to systematically order the
material in a way that would make it more accessible to a wider public.

Donini plans to start work on a book on humanitarian action and the changing nature of vulnerability in
the age of terror and globalization. The book will explore how the nature of vulnerability of people in
crisis or conflict is changing in the context of current global economic, political, and military processes.
Based on the extensive evidence-based HA2015 research, it would also investigate the pressures on
those who attempt to provide succor in the world’s disparate crises, man-made or exacerbated by
human action, and whether the current humanitarian enterprise is equipped to address the new and
complex challenges that it is likely to face. Using the HA2015 case studies as its raw material, the book
will conduct a more ambitious exploration of what we have learned through our research in terms of
global humanitarian issues and the evolution of the enterprise.

Crisis and social transformation in Nepal

Building on the fieldwork for the Nepal case study, Donini is planning two new research endeavors in
Nepal. The first, which is likely to result in an article for an academic journal, will explore the
relationship between donor and UN aid policies and the emergence of the factors that gave rise to the
Maoist insurgency. It will attempt to answer the questions: why was the international aid enterprise
unable to tackle the issues of caste, ethnicity, discrimination and structural violence in the years
preceding the conflict? How did the enterprise react when these issues emerged at the core of the Maoist
agenda?

The second initiative, which will be conducted in cooperation with Nepali researchers, will look at
conflict and social transformation at the community level. The Maoist insurgency was built around an
agenda, which attacked the feudal nature of Nepali society. Whether this agenda was instrumental—a
tool for toppling the monarchy and feudalism—or the harbinger of a profound social revolution is still an
unanswered question. It is not too early, however, to analyze social change resulting from the conflict as

3 http://fic.tufts.edu/downloads/NG_Study_for_internet.pdf

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 5

 well as from other factors such as education, the role of grassroots aid agencies and migration that may
have influenced social transformation. The Maoists introduced, often forcibly, measures aimed at
addressing centuries-old deeply rooted forms of discrimination in Nepali rural society. Feudal structures
and the caste system were abolished, parallel ‘people’s’ structures of governance were introduced, and
affirmation of ethnic identity was encouraged. Perhaps more profoundly, women’s empowerment was
promoted both through the abolition of odious social practices, encouragement of women’s enrolment in
the ranks of the People’s Liberation Army (in which some 30% of combatants were women) and in the
Maoist governance structures. The Maoists’ empowerment rhetoric was in many ways similar to the
discourse of aid agencies and, in particular, of rights-based programs favored by development and
human rights NGOs.

Now that the conflict is over, at least formally, what remains of these various agendas? Have the feudal
structures and social norms re-established themselves despite the abolition of the monarchy? What is
happening to returning female combatants? Are they being shunned or are they asserting themselves?
What kinds of tensions are emerging at the village or community level? These are some of the issues that
will be explored through focus groups and interviews at the community level. Fieldwork for this project
will be conducted by the FIC in March 2008 by a team comprising Donini and local researchers.

Research Led by Andrew Wilder

2. Police Reform in Afghanistan
In July 2007, the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) in Kabul published a monograph
by FIC Research Director Andrew Wilder entitled, Cops or Robbers? The Struggle to Reform the Afghan
National Police. 4 The monograph provides the most comprehensive review to date of police reform efforts
in Afghanistan from 2002-2007, and highlights key issues that must be addressed if future reforms are
to have more impact than the hitherto disappointing results. The report has generated considerable
interest as its publication coincided with the launching of the European Union Police Mission in
Afghanistan (EUPOL), as well as a dramatic increase in US funding for the police sector ($2.5 billion in
2007). The major increase in US and European support for police reform reflects a belated recognition of
the importance of developing an effective police and judiciary that can address the security and rule of
law concerns of Afghans, rather than simply focusing on developing a military force—the Afghan
National Army—capable of conducting counter-insurgency operations.

The strong interest in police reform in Afghanistan has resulted in many opportunities for the report’s
author to brief policymakers in Afghanistan, Europe, the USA, and Canada on the key recommendations
of the report. During the first half of 2007 opportunities included presentations on police reform at
conferences and workshops in Madrid, Wilton Park (UK), Berlin, and Washington D.C. More recent
opportunities included:

• Leading presentation at a USIP-organized event in October in Washington, DC entitled “Law and

(dis)Order: The Challenges of Reforming the Afghan National Police.

4 http://www.areu.org.af/index.php?option=com_docman&Itemid=&task=doc_download&gid=523

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 6

 • Presentation in November at a Princeton University-organized conference on “State, Security,
and Economy in Afghanistan,” which was attended by many EU and NATO officials.
• Keynote speaker at an AREU-organized seminar in Kabul in November on “Police Reform in
Afghanistan: Challenges and Opportunities.” The event was attended by 130 officials from the
Ministry of Interior, the Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan (CSTC-A),
EUPOL, the UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA), and bilateral and multilateral
donor agencies.
• Opening remarks for the “Governance and Rule of Law” session at a University of Ottawa-
organized conference on “Peacebuilding in Afghanistan.”

The police reform publication is also being used as an orientation and briefing document for police
training missions in Afghanistan, including by the advisors and trainers of the recently deployed EUPOL
mission.

Future research led by Andrew Wilder

Understanding the relationship between humanitarian and reconstruction assistance and

security
During the second half of 2007 work began on developing a new FIC research initiative to better
understand the relationship between aid and security. The main objective of this study is be to examine
the widely-held assumption that reconstruction assistance helps ‘win hearts and minds’ in counter-
insurgency operations, which in turn promotes security by undermining support for insurgents. This
assumption is having a major policy impact on how development assistance is apportioned and spent in
countries like Afghanistan and Iraq, but also in many other conflict-affected countries. The impact
includes increasingly high percentages of assistance being based on security considerations, rather than
on levels of poverty and need. Increasingly high proportions of aid are being channeled through the
military rather than traditional development agencies or the government. Given how widespread the
assumption is, and given its major impact on aid and counter-insurgency policies, there is currently
little empirical evidence that supports the assumption of a causal link between reconstruction
assistance, ‘winning hearts and minds,’ and improved security.

While still in its initial stages, the proposed research is generating considerable interest. In May, Wilder
was invited to give a presentation on the relationship between reconstruction assistance, ‘winning hearts
and minds’, and security in Afghanistan at the inaugural session of the South Asia Roundtable Series at
the Council on Foreign Relations. He has also provided briefings on the proposed research to senior
officials at the State Department, NATO headquarters, the UN, and bilateral and multilateral donors
based in Kabul. Initial funding for the study has been committed by the United Kingdom Department for
International Development (DFID)—via AREU—and by the Swedish International Development Co-
operation Agency (Sida). If sufficient funds are available, the field research for this 15-month study will
be conducted in 2008 and 2009 in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Horn of Africa.

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 7

 Research Led by Andrew Catley
3. Livestock and Pastoralism Research in Africa
Researchers: Dr. Andy Catley, Berhanu Admassu, and Yacob Aklilu

Capacity-building with the UN

In response to the emerging humanitarian crisis in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, the Center
approached the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) to see if
and how a common livelihoods-based analytical and programming approach can be applied in the area,
involving all key actors. This initiative draws heavily on the Center’s work in Darfur, and is set to lead to
a series of UNOCHA-convened livelihoods analysis workshops in early 2008.

Engaging African institutions

As part of the FIC’s technical support to the African Union, we are assisting the Department for Rural
Economy and Agriculture to develop an Africa-wide expert consultation on commodity-based livestock
trade. The consultation is due to take place in January 2008 and recommendations will be presented to
the AU Ministers of Animal Resources Meeting in Chad in May 2008. This process should result in the
better application of international livestock trading standards and an enabling of pastoralist
communities to better trade up into international markets.

In Ethiopia, the Ministry of Federal Affairs (MoFA) has the mandate to coordinate and oversee policy
development in ‘emerging regions’—the more under-developed pastoralist regions of the country. In
December 2007 we ran a training workshop for senior MoFA staff to introduce them to participatory
policy research with pastoralist communities. One outcome was a proposal from MoFA for us to assist
them to apply participatory research as they develop a new national policy on conflict management.

NGO strategies for pastoral development

Despite many years of implementing projects in pastoralist areas, many international NGOs lack specific
strategies for strengthening pastoralism and pastoral livelihoods. We presented the keynote paper at a
Save the Children US East Africa meeting to develop their regional strategy for pastoralism, with
emphasis on livelihoods-based analysis, impact assessment, cross-border programming, and cross-
sectoral learning for service delivery.

4. Enhancing Livelihoods-based Livestock Interventions for Pastoralists

Researchers: Dr. Andy Catley, Berhanu Admassu, and Yacob Aklilu
Under the USAID-funded Pastoralist Livelihoods Initiative, we continued our work with the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development in Ethiopia to develop a national guideline for emergency livestock
interventions in pastoralist areas, and two papers related to this work were accepted for publication by
Disasters. These describe the livelihoods impact and cost-benefit of commercial de-stocking in southern
Ethiopia, and the limited impact of emergency livestock vaccination programs as currently designed and
implemented in Ethiopia. Both papers describe impact assessment methods and findings which are
relevant to emergency livestock interventions in all developing regions. In Ethiopia both FAO and
government partners have revised their vaccination strategies. Under the same program, we started

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 8

 production of a series of policy briefs aimed at humanitarian programmers and livestock professionals
involved in livelihoods-based programming in pastoralist areas.

Future research led by Andrew Catley

Human health services in the Somali region of Ethiopia

The Center team in Addis Ababa has long experience of developing and institutionalizing community-
based animal health delivery systems in pastoralist areas of Africa. With a view to transferring lessons to
primary human health systems, we worked with Save the Children USA to evaluate their community-
based human health interventions in the Somali region of Ethiopia. The evaluation focused on
assessment of basic maternal and child health indicators, and the institutional and policy issues
affecting the work of community health workers and traditional birth attendants.

Camel marketing and pastoral livelihoods in Ethiopia

Although Ethiopia and other countries in the Horn of Africa are faced with repeated high-profile bans on
the export of livestock to lucrative markets in the Gulf States, a dynamic and largely informal export
trade of camels has continued, linking pastoralists to markets in Sudan, Egypt, and beyond. This
research aims to map out and value the camel trade.

Pastoralist livelihoods and livestock disease

In December 2007 the University of Oxford invited us to join a global consortium of agencies to
determine the impact of foot-and-mouth disease on human livelihoods in developing regions, and test
novel, alternative control strategies. A proposal was developed with the University of Oxford, in which
the FIC will lead field research in Borana pastoralist areas of southern Ethiopia. The proposal was
submitted to the Wellcome Trust in the UK. If funded, the program would begin in April 2008.

Research Led by John Burns

5. Assessing the Impact of Humanitarian Programs
Researcher: John Burns
This project is an applied research initiative focusing on the development and application of a
participatory assessment toolkit to measure the impact of seven humanitarian famine relief projects in
sub-Saharan Africa funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. All seven projects have taken an
integrated livelihoods approach to alleviating the immediate needs of the affected communities, and to
addressing the longer-term vulnerability which leads to famine and food insecurity. The FIC has been
supporting each of the implementing partner organizations in assessing and capturing impact for each
of their respective projects. It is envisaged that the overall findings of this research will be used not only
to develop practical tools for measuring impact, but also will generate better understanding of impact
and the methodological constraints to assessing impact within the humanitarian sector.

As part of this process and over the past six months FIC has completed four impact evaluations of
projects in Niger and Zimbabwe in partnership with Africare, CARE, and the Lutheran World Federation
(LWR). The first of these reports, an Impact Assessment of the Gokwe Integrated Recovery Action Project

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 9

 Zimbabwe, has been published on the Center’s website. 5 Over the next six months FIC will complete the
work under this project which involves publishing three more impact assessment reports and a report
on the lessons learned during the research. FIC will also use the material from this research to develop a
web-based impact assessment toolkit which will be made available without charge to humanitarian
organizations involved in livelihoods programming.

One of the objectives of the research has been to promote learning, impact assessment, and
accountability within the humanitarian sector. To some extent the capacity building component of this
project has already made progress towards achieving this objective. The transfer of impact assessment
skills to the partner organizations has resulted in some institutional change. Examples include Africare
Zimbabwe who applied the same impact assessment tools developed under this initiative to some of their
other projects, and who plan to incorporate and mainstream these tools into their monitoring and
evaluation system. They have also presented the findings and methodology of the FIC-supported
assessment to FAO and other stakeholders involved in humanitarian programming in Zimbabwe. Using
the same tools and approach developed in partnership with FIC, CARE has advocated for and succeeded
in getting an impact assessment component included in a £ 50 million multi-agency recovery program
funded by DFID in Zimbabwe. Catholic Relief Service (CRS) and LWR presented their experience of using
the impact assessment approach under this project to the American Evaluation Association in November
2007. The publication of the first impact assessment report has generated considerable interest,
including from FAO’s emergency division in Rome, which has approached the FIC with a request to
assist them in drafting assessment guidelines for their emergency programming.

By generating interest and transferring assessment skills, the FIC hopes to stimulate discussion and
promote the application of impact measurement within the humanitarian sector. Ultimately it is hoped
that this will result in improved programming and accountability to the recipients of humanitarian
assistance. One of the key lessons emerging from the research is the existence of a number of
institutional constraints and organizational disincentives to learning and impact measurement.
Unfortunately this research has only captured these constraints in an ad-hoc and anecdotal manner. In
the future the FIC hopes to take this research a step further with an in-depth analysis of organizational
learning, the objective being to systematically identify and document existing obstacles and disincentives
to learning. Ultimately the FIC believes that this process and the anticipated results will provide a
powerful tool for institutional change.

Research Led by Dan Maxwell

6. Food Security and Targeting in Complex Emergencies
Researcher: Dr. Dan Maxwell
Fieldwork has begun on a study of participatory or community-based targeting of humanitarian
assistance in complex emergencies, characterized by militarized conflict. While the humanitarian
community has ample experience with community-based targeting in slow-onset emergencies under
non-conflict conditions, there has been scant prior research in complex emergencies, and little program

5 http://fic.tufts.edu/downloads/JohnZimbabwe_10_2_07.pdf

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 10

 guidance for agencies. Case studies will be conducted in Colombia, Somalia, Sudan (South and Darfur)
and Afghanistan, security permitting. Fieldwork will proceed through the first half of 2008, with outputs
due by the end of 2008.

Work on institutional change has focused on two areas. The first is agency practice and policy. A state-
of-the-art review of emergency food security interventions is complete and will be submitted for
publication by the Humanitarian Practice Network as a Good Practice Review. The second is on food aid
reform. With the US Farm Bill now working its way through Congress, there have been multiple requests
growing out of the research for our book Food Aid After Fifty Years (written with Chris Barrett), 6 for
background information, to address meetings, speak to journalists, and advise agencies on policy.

7. The Quality and Integrity of Humanitarian Action

Researchers: Dr. Dan Maxwell, Dr. Peter Walker, Cheyanne Church
Fieldwork for the corruption in humanitarian assistance project has almost been completed (last case
study is due for completion in January 2008. An analytical meeting is planned for March 2008, with
subsequent final reports and feedback to partners, Transparency International and donors planned for
later in 2008. Final outputs should be completed before the end of the year.

Future research led by Dan Maxwell

Livelihoods change over time

Conflict and disasters, and the ensuing humanitarian response, significantly influence the livelihoods,
institutions, and power relations of affected communities not only during the immediate crisis, but also
well after. But much of current knowledge of livelihoods and the institutions that shape them comes
from one-off assessments or studies. This study will address the gaps in current knowledge about the
ways in which livelihoods adapt over time in response to crisis. Multiple methods—household surveys,
qualitative analysis of institutional change, and participatory impact assessments of humanitarian
interventions—will build on a baseline to enable households and communities to be tracked in conflict-
affected or chronically vulnerable areas for an anticipated three-five year time period.

The objectives of the study include understanding factors driving livelihood changes at both the
household and institutional level; developing improved methodologies for measuring livelihood change
over time in crisis situations; improving livelihoods programming in humanitarian emergencies and
institutional change processes; and improving the exchange of information between academia,
humanitarian organizations, and communities.

6 http://aem.cornell.edu/faculty_sites/cbb2/Books/foodaid.htm

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 11

 Research Led by Helen Young
8. Malnutrition and Mortality: Towards Improved Practice in the Use of
Benchmarks
Researchers: Dr. Helen Young, Kate Sadler
The FIC followed up work on the interpretation and use of nutritional thresholds by discussing and
planning an international meeting to be hosted by the Standing Committee on Nutrition (SCN) Task
Force on Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation.

In 2008 we hope to increase our focus on understanding, preventing, and treating acute malnutrition
among marginalized and crisis-affected populations. This work will examine the impact of livestock
disease on livelihoods and nutritional status among pastoralist communities in Ethiopia, including the
contribution of milk to nutrient intakes and nutritional status, seasonal nutritional vulnerability, and
any implications for interventions that aim to strengthen livelihoods and improve nutritional status. We
are also discussing plans to look at new approaches that will improve the effectiveness of interventions
that treat moderate acute malnutrition and that aim to prevent growth faltering among young children—
critical to reduce the risk of acute malnutrition, disease, and other problems throughout life.

9. Livelihoods, Migration, and Remittance Flows to Conflict-Affected

Regions: Darfur, Sudan
Researchers: Dr. Helen Young, Dr. Karen Jacobsen, and Abdal Monim Osman
Young and Osman traveled to El Fasher, North Darfur en route to Kutum for the last in a series of three
household surveys and qualitative investigations in November 2007. Unfortunately this work was
cancelled as a result of restrictions imposed in Darfur by the local authorities on international agencies
and their projects. Young was refused permission to proceed to Kutum. This is an example of the
bureaucratic impediments that hinder the work of all international organizations in Darfur, and cannot
be regarded as animosity towards the FIC who generally enjoy an excellent reputation and are welcomed
by national and international organizations alike.

Karen Jacobsen worked with our research assistants to analyze the survey data from our second survey
in Darfur (Kapkabiya) and prepared the questionnaire and data analysis input for our third survey
which was to have taken place in Kutum in November, but was postponed due to security problems. The
results of this analysis will be published in 2008.

10. Follow-up: “Livelihoods Under Siege,” Darfur 2005. Research into

Livelihood and Conflict in Darfur
Researchers: Dr. Helen Young and Abdal Monim Osman

New MoU with DFID and UNRCO

In June/July the FIC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with DFID and the UN Residents
Coordinators Office (UNRCO) to provide support for their enhanced coordination of livelihood activities
for war-affected communities in Darfur.

Series of four Darfur workshops on strategic approaches to livelihoods support

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 12

 In July Young and Osman brought together a team of livelihoods national and international experts to
implement a series of four state level workshops on “Sharpening the strategic focus of humanitarian
livelihoods programs in Darfur”. They designed and facilitated a process of participatory analysis of the
impact of conflict on livelihoods in Darfur, undertook a program review and developed action plans to
advance a more strategic approach. The outputs of these workshops have fed directly into the UN
Sudan country workplan for 2008. Five hundred copies of the workshop report were printed and
distributed in Sudan.

Exploratory study on the impact of markets on trade

In response to the workshop recommendations, a follow-up exploratory study on the impact of conflict
on markets and trade in Darfur was successfully undertaken by a Tufts/FIC team in November 2007.
The report will be available in January 2008, and will serve to inform the design of the market
monitoring system, and also the livelihoods programs that either influence or are influenced by the
market and war economy.

Region-wide consultation on the Darfur Research Consortium

In October, 2007 a report on the Darfur region-wide consultation on the Darfur Research Consortium by
national consultant Afaf Rahim was finalized. The report reviewed national and local capacities to
undertake research and to develop a strategy and proposal for the development of an independent
Darfur Research Consortium, and identify preliminary research priorities. Three hundred copies have
been printed and distributed in Sudan. This work was managed by a working group of five Sudanese
academics and NGO directors. The next step in taking this initiative forward is a national workshop to
discuss the report findings, and to agree on a proposal.

Briefing paper and follow-up on pastoralism in Darfur

In August 2007, Young and Osman wrote a briefing paper for DIFD and the UK’s Foreign and
Commonwealth Office, on “Strategies for economic recovery and peace In Darfur: Why a wider
livelihoods approach is imperative and the Abbala (camel-herding) Arabs are a priority”. This paper
highlighted the marginalization of particular pastoralist groups, and has now lead to a further follow-up
study on pastoralist perspectives, planned for March/April 2008 (which is included as part of the Sudan
UN work plan).

Bringing a livelihoods approach to the peace process

In September 2007, Young presented a paper on “Challenges Facing the Darfur Peace Process: The
Livelihoods Gap” at the Christian Aid/ Overseas Development Institute convened event entitled “Darfur,
Another Chance for Peace?”. In this paper Young argued for a stronger focus within the peace process
on livelihood issues, and the urgent need to include the professional voice from Darfur at the peace
talks. Since then Young has been invited to lead one day of a seven-day Wealth Sharing Workshop for
the parties to the Darfur peace process organized by the UN on behalf of the UN and African Union
Special Envoys on Darfur. The UN has agreed to have a select group of five Sudanese professionals
work as part of a co-facilitation team invited by Young to take foreword this dialogue around wealth-
sharing and the peace process. This dialogue is planned for early 2008 either in Egypt or South Africa.

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 13

 Future research led by Helen Young
With good relationships and trust in place with a range of international and national organizations, plus
a solid foundation of completed research activities, Tufts/FIC is well placed to take forward many of the
studies and research needs identified by the UNRCO and others in Sudan. To make the most of this
opportunity the FIC plans to prioritize a capacity development approach as part of its research
partnerships in Darfur.

The first half of 2008 will see a raft of publications emerging from this project including:

• Final report of the Darfur Remittances Project

• Report on the impact of five years of conflict on markets and trade in Darfur
• Report on pastoralist perspectives: the impact of conflict on camel-herding Arab groups
• A new conceptual understanding of livelihoods, forced migration, and remittances
• Livelihoods and ethnicity: competing claims and conflict in Darfur
• The political economy of livelihoods in conflict situations: new approaches to integrating conflict,
livelihoods and protection in Darfur
• Gender-based violence and firewood: the links with livelihoods

Research Led by Elizabeth Stites

11. Livelihoods and Human Security in Karamoja
Researcher: Elizabeth Stites
The Center team presented preliminary findings to audiences in Washington, New York, Kampala, and
Karamoja in October and November 2007. We sent the draft version of the report to a select audience
and received written comments and feedback from approximately 20 people representing major UN
agencies, international NGOs, community-based organizations in the region, and experts in the field.
The final report—which took into account these contributions as well as the feedback from the
presentations in Uganda—is to be released and disseminated in December 2007.

Extensive outreach and briefings have helped to increase attention to issues in Karamoja and the need
for a comprehensive international and national response to these problems. This strategy appears to be
effective, as we are now contacted weekly by numerous agencies and individuals seeking to understand
more about the region and to develop their own programmatic, policy and/or advocacy strategies. These
agencies have included Ugandan NGOs, members of the international media, international NGOs, and
UN agencies. Over 250 people attended briefings in late October and early November in Washington DC,
New York, Kampala, and Karamoja. There was extensive donor representation at briefings in Kampala.

For the upcoming project on conflict and livelihoods (see below) in north-eastern Uganda, Stites has
sought to lay the groundwork for eventual institutional change by building stakeholder and donor
interest in the project. To date this has largely been through an emphasis on the importance of
understanding youth involvement in violent livelihood strategies as well as the need to build stability in
northeastern Uganda in order to secure peace in northern Uganda and South Sudan.

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 14

 12. Conflict and Livelihoods in North-Eastern Uganda
The proposal for this project is complete and the final budget is under preparation. We have a
commitment for partial funding to begin fieldwork in 2008 and we are continuing to look for additional
donors. Discussions in Uganda and elsewhere demonstrate a high degree of interest in this project,
particularly in the examination of the involvement of male youth in violent livelihood strategies.

13. Livelihoods Technical Guidance and Institutional Change

Stites was asked to join the Livelihoods Advisory Committee of the Women’s Commission for Refugee
Women and Children and has started work in an advisory capacity on the Commission’s Livelihoods
Field Manual.

Stites has also been working with WFP Uganda to review relevant food security and livelihoods reports
that focus on the pastoral region of northeastern Uganda. In October 2007, FAO released an edited
volume on Afghanistan that includes a chapter by Stites on rural woman and human security in
Afghanistan in 2002-2003.

Future research led by Elizabeth Stites

Work in 2008 in northeastern Uganda will link on-going projects on the intersection of livelihoods and
human security with the emerging project on the engagement of youth in violent livelihood strategies.
The latter project will seek to understand the economic and social pressures that contribute to violence
in the region, as well as the effects of the deterioration of pastoral livelihoods due to climate change,
conflict, and constraints on mobility. This project will examine these issues from the perspective of male
youth and will also seek to understand the effects upon the wider communities, in particular on women
and children.

During 2008, Stites will also continue work with organizations and agencies seeking to expand their
work into Karamoja. This will involve commenting on program documents, policy papers and advocacy
strategies, as well as reviewing publications and reports for relevant stakeholders.

Publications expected in 2008 arising from the past several years of work in Uganda include:

• Book manuscript on livelihoods and human security in Karamoja

• Article on the transformations of livelihood strategies and conflict in Moroto District, Karamoja
• Edited volume examining the links between community responses to livelihood and protective
strategies in northeastern Uganda, northern Uganda, and South Sudan.

Stites will also be engaged in a project on Livelihoods Change over Time led by Maxwell and Jennifer
Coates from the School of Nutrition, and will begin planning for a longitudinal case study in Zimbabwe.
Stites is also working with Karen Jacobsen and Kim Wilson on possible case studies in Uganda as part
of a project on financial resilience.

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 15

 Research Led by Dyan Mazurana
14. Independent Documentary Film—The Other Side of the Country
Filmmaker Catherine Hébert with assistance from Khristopher Carlson, Dyan Mazurana, and Elizabeth
Stites

The film is now being shown internationally at film festivals. In addition to being selected for a number
of the most prestigious international film festivals, the film was nominated for Best Feature
Documentary at the Edinburgh Film Festival (August 2007), and won the People’s Choice Award at the
International Documentary Film Festival in Montreal (November 2007).

Stites and Hébert presented the film in London in September, followed by an animated question and
answer session. The film has been shown in several international locations and continues to garner
accolades for its telling of the story of northern Uganda from the perspective of those who have
experienced the war. We are seeking US venues in the first half of 2008, aiming to influence
policymakers in Washington and international actors in New York.

15. Monitoring and Reporting on Grave Rights Violations Committed against

Children during Situations of Armed Conflict (Security Council Resolution
1612)
Researcher: Dr. Dyan Mazurana
Mazurana was selected as one of two external international experts to serve on the UN independent
review of how Security Council resolution 1612 (on Children Affected by Armed Conflict) is being
implemented in nine designated countries. She also served as an author on the report to the Secretary-
General on SCR 1612.

Field-based work by Mazurana, Carlson, Stites, and Darlington Akabwai helped to inform the Report of
the Secretary-General on Armed Conflict in Uganda (UN Doc. S/2007/206), particularly in reference to
recruitment of children by the Ugandan People’s Defence Force (UPDF) and its associated militias, and
violations and crimes against children in Karamoja, and sexual violence and exploitation of girls by the
UPDF in the war-affected northern region.

16. Aiding United Nations’ Efforts to Stop Violence and Discrimination

against Girls
Researchers: Dr. Dyan Mazurana and Khristopher Carlson
Mazurana and Carlson served as experts for and wrote the section of the UN Secretary-General’s report,
Addressing Violence and Discrimination against Girls during Armed Conflict, as well as writing for the
United Nations Expert Group report on issues affecting girls’ human rights in situations of armed
conflict. With these reports the FIC was able to highlight a number of our key research focuses,
including grave human rights violations against children during armed conflict and forced marriages.

The UN Secretary-General’s report and the subsequent deliberations mark the first time the General
Assembly has ever held sessions specifically dedicated to ending discrimination and violence against

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 16

 girls. The fact that the FIC was able to shape the report helps set a framework for the General Assembly
to identify and address key issues affecting violence and discrimination against girls.

In November 2007 the Secretary-General announced the creation of a new post—Special Rapporteur on
Violence Against Children—one of the key recommendations of the report. A number of UN agencies are
now using the two reports as a framework for identifying key issues for their own work on ending
violence and discrimination against girls, including UNICEF, UNFPA, and the UN Division for the
Advancement of Women.

17. Reparations and Remedy for Children that Have Suffered Grave Rights
Violations during Situations of Armed Conflict
Researchers: Dr. Dyan Mazurana and Khristopher Carlson
Mazurana and Carlson were successful in helping the Government of Uganda, the delegation of the
Lord’s Resistance Army, and the mediation team at the Juba peace talks recognize the need for specific
language and structures regarding children’s and women’s consultations, children and reparations,
women and reparations, and key witness protection provisions. As a result, these were incorporated
within the Principles for Accountability, the document that lays out the framework for accountability for
grave violations and crimes committed during the 22 year-long war.

Future research led by Dyan Mazurana

Mazurana will continue to serve as an international advisor on SCR1612 and write on children,
reparations, and remedy. She has been asked to contribute to UNICEF’s annual report on this topic.
Mazurana will continue to be engaged in advising, upon request, members of the Juba peace process on
issues relevant to the research we have conducted.

Accountability and reparations for grave crimes and human rights violations: Formal and
traditional accountability and justice mechanisms, Uganda
Over the past 2.5 years of the research, our teams have documented, analyzed, and reported on a series
of grave crimes and human rights violations committed by all sides of the conflict in northern Uganda
against women and girls, in particular, and to a lesser extent against men and boys. It now appears
likely that the parties to the protracted conflict in northern Uganda will sign a peace agreement some
time in 2008. The most difficult issues to come out of this process will be regarding accountability and
justice for the grave crimes and rights violations suffered by civilians, in particular young women and
girls, at the hands of the LRA and, to a lesser extent, by the UPDF, militias, and the Sudan People’s
Liberation Army (SPLA).

Within the next several months, the key actors and interested parties are likely to reach important
decisions and agreements regarding the various avenues for accountability and justice. This contested
process will likely include a revision of the Ugandan Amnesty Act, the setting up of a truth telling or
fact-finding body, and mechanisms for prosecution, reparations, and traditional justice mechanisms.
Regardless of the forum, it is almost certain that the processes will be nearly, if not exclusively, framed
within Ugandan national law and current criminal and penal codes, as well as customary law and
practice for the traditional justice mechanisms. We anticipate the parties will strategically seek to avoid
any application of international criminal law or war-tribunal jurisprudence.

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 17

 Mazurana’s new phase of research will focus on four broad justice and accountability mechanisms likely
to exist in post-war Uganda, with a particular focus on crimes of a sexual nature and gender-based
crimes (both sexual and non-sexual in nature):

• Truth-telling or fact-finding bodies that will investigate both harms committed during the
conflict and the overall causes and consequences of the conflict
• Court proceedings and prosecution for serious crimes and grave rights violations committed
during the conflict
• Reparations for victims of serious crimes and grave rights violations, including restitution,
compensation, rehabilitation, as well as other key measures and initiatives within transitional
justice that could have reparative effects, namely rehabilitation, satisfaction. and guarantee of
non-recurrence
• Traditional justice mechanisms at the community level regarding serious crimes and grave
rights violations committed during the conflict.

Research Led by Khristopher Carlson

18. The Survey of War-Affected Youth (SWAY)
Researchers: Khristopher Carlson, Dyan Mazurana, Chris Blattman, and Jeannie Annan
The survey will issue its final report of the SWAY Phase II research project in January 2008. SWAY-II
has completed the largest collection of war-experience data on any female youth population in Uganda
with in-depth information in areas of health, education, livelihoods, psycho-social needs, gender and
sexual based violence, and reintegration. With over 620 female youth between 14-35 surveyed from
northern Uganda, the project is informing programming efforts and influencing how local and
international agencies and organizations in northern Uganda target youth populations affected by the
conflict. Funded by UNICEF, SWAY-II has been influential in shifting attention away from programming
based on assumptions of vulnerability to emphasizing the need for evidence-based programming where
vulnerabilities and needs are understood though empirical data and research. Research briefings and
preliminary reports have been read and are currently under discussion among delegations of the LRA,
the Ugandan government and the mediation team participating in the current peace dialogues.
Additionally, the World Bank and Northern Uganda Social Action Fund are using SWAY-II findings to
inform efforts at strengthening economic support programs.

19. Forced Marriage in Armed Conflict: Codifying an International Crime

Researchers: Khristopher Carlson and Dyan Mazurana
FIC’s work on the issue of forced marriage within situations of armed conflict has led to the inclusion of
the crime in the United Nations’ Secretary General’s report on Ending All Forms of Discrimination and
Violence Against Girls (March 2007) This is the first time that a UN document has explicitly detailed the
components of the crime of forced marriage during situations of armed conflict. We see this as a very
important milestone as there is now a baseline document from which the crime can be understood. This
increases the possibility for future accountability measures to be created and enforced against those
who bear responsibility and perpetrate the crime of forced marriage within situations of armed conflict.

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 18

 Future research led by Khris Carlson

SWAY II continuation
We will continue to work with SWAY data and produce articles on war-affected female populations in
Northern Uganda. We hope to produce an article on transitional justice mechanisms and children in
Northern Uganda for a UNICEF expert series. In addition we will continue to develop networks within the
African Commission on Human and People’s Rights and explore possible linkages with human rights
organizations working with pastoralist and other indigenous populations in East Africa.

Informal justice mechanisms in northern Uganda

Informal justice mechanisms within northern Uganda are central to addressing northern matters of
accountability and reconciliation after 22 years of armed conflict. In spite of efforts to bring international
standards to bear on the ongoing process of ending the conflict and holding accountable those
responsible for grave human rights crimes, traditional methods of peace and reconciliation are moving
ahead. However, advocacy for these traditional methods has been largely placed on Acholi traditional
mechanisms with little attention paid to those of other war-affected peoples such as the Lango and Teso
who like their Acholi neighbors have suffered widespread displacement, abduction, and murder at the
hands of LRA fighters and, additionally, abuses—including rape and beatings—perpetrated by
government forces. Many within these communities, including clan elders, religious leaders, civil society
officers and ordinary citizens, feel that in order to bring a comprehensive peace to the north, it is
essential that they play an equal part to the ongoing peace process and that their own traditional
methods of accountability and reconciliation be recognized as a part of this process.

Over the next several months, the peace process in northern Uganda will produce important agreements
which will determine the future course of accountability and reconciliation in the region. This process
will likely include some form of a truth telling or fact-finding body and mechanisms for prosecution,
reparations, and traditional justice mechanisms.

This research will investigate the degree to which Lango and Teso leaders are able to have input into the
process and the extent to which their concerns and grievances are addressed within the larger peace
and reconciliation framework. This work will look closely at gender- and sexual-based crimes committed
by the LRA and Ugandan government against women and girls from the Lango and Teso regions. This
research will also look at reparations systems and how they do or do not address violations of the rights
of Lango and Teso communities.

Research Led by Darlington Akabwai

20. A New Approach Needed to Tackle Gun Violence in Karamoja, Uganda
The Karamojong live astride the borders of Uganda, Sudan, Kenya, and Ethiopia. The estimated 1.4
million members of the pastoral and agro-pastoral ethnic groups who constitute what is known as the
Karamoja Cluster mostly share a common language and culture. They have long been politically and
economically marginalised and exploited. Successive colonial and post-independence regimes have failed
to understand the root causes of cattle raiding and arms trafficking in the region or to seek any non-

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 19

 violent responses to endemic violence and anarchy. Sporadic attempts at forcible disarmament have
failed abysmally and only served to fuel local antagonisms. Failure to address the ways in which modern
weaponry enters the region has meant that as soon as conflict and armed violence subsides in one area
it has flared up in others. Serious insecurity including cattle raiding, banditry, and road ambushes,
exacerbated by pervasive use of illegal weapons and collapse of elaborate social constraints which used
to limit bloodshed, present a significant law and order problem in Karamoja.

This study is the fruit of extensive research by authors who themselves belong to the ethnic groups they
study. Primarily focusing on the sub-groups of the Karamoja region of northeastern Uganda, they also
interviewed local people and state and civil society actors in neighboring Kenya and Southern Sudan.
Their study is part of FIC’s work to address the wider regional perspective and ensure a holistic and
cross-border approach to conflict prevention, disarmament, demobilisation of armed combatants,
transitional justice and promotion of sustainable livelihoods. The current policy of key international
donor governments, the World Bank, the United Nations, and the African Union of addressing the
conflicts in Northern Uganda, Eastern Uganda, and Southern Sudan in relative isolation may ultimately
guarantee that armed conflict continues in the region. The Ugandan government’s search for a military
solution to lawlessness in Karamoja is only contributing to greater insecurity and further human rights
violations. The problem, argues the author is not so much the gun as the lack of governance. This paper
offers important insights into how the people of the region assess the reasons for the violence.
Policymakers must stop proposing solutions based on ignorance of the ecology, production systems,
culture, and livelihoods of the Karamajong.

Future research led by Darlington Akabwai

Seers as war-makers, peace-makers, and leaders in Uganda and southern Sudan

The greater Karamoja Cluster encompasses regions within northeastern Uganda, South Sudan,
northwestern Kenya and southwest Ethiopia. These regions are inhabited by nomadic and semi-nomadic
pastoral peoples who practice transhumance in fragile and unpredictable ecological zones. These
populations are minorities within their respective countries, and are often at odds with or under attack
by the governments in the regions where they live and move with their animals. Human development
indicators rank these groups among the least developed and most vulnerable groups within each of their
respective countries.

Men and women with specific roles and responsibilities—called ‘seers’ by English speakers—reside
within the pastoral populations of the Karamoja Cluster. Local populations believe that these seers have
a unique relationship with the future: they are believed to see into the future and to intervene in the
course of future events. Seers play a critical role within their communities and are central players in
security, war making, peacemaking, and determining the migration patterns of their populations. Their
actions have a significant impact on the security of people within their communities and in the broader
region. The FIC believes seers may be an important group to work with in building greater peace and
stability and is concerned at their ongoing sidelining by governments and NGOs. The research with seers
will take place among communities the team has already been working with in South Sudan and
northeastern Uganda.

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 20

 Research Led by Karen Jacobsen
21. Urban IDPs Survey
Researcher: Dr. Karen Jacobsen
The Second half of 2007 saw the finalization of our report from the first survey carried out by the
Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
Funded by the NRC, this report, details the survey findings, and includes advocacy recommendations to
UNHCR and other UN agencies, as well as NGOs working with IDPs in urban areas. The full report and
policy recommendations will be presented at the IASFM conference in Cairo in January 2008, at regional
workshops and in Geneva to the headquarters of aid agencies.

The next IDP survey takes place in Santa Marta, Colombia. Preliminary field tests were conducted by
Jacobsen and her research assistant in October. The Colombian survey will also work with the
Colombian government as it conducts a national survey of IDPs (Colombia now has one of the largest
IDP populations in the world).

Jacobsen has been asked to work with UNHCR to conduct a survey of IDPs in Tbilisi, Georgia, next year,
and has started preparations.

22. Refugee Camps Multimedia Database

Researchers: Dr. Karen Jacobsen, Dr. Peter Walker
Jacobsen worked with Tufts’ Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Center to start development of a
web-based data base on refugee and IDP camps throughout the world. Still in the formulation stage,
interest has been expressed from European Union Joint Research Centre in collaborating on its
development. The eventual product will be a highly accessible, interactive portal onto the life of refugees
and other people forced to live in camp conditions. It will allow people to easily interrogate the statistical
database, to pull up the academic and aid agency material on those camps, to see photos and video
footage of camps and the way they have developed, and to read testimonials from refugees and aid
workers living and working in them.

Jacobsen continues to work on her book on refugee camps, and expects completion in June 2008.

Future research led by Karen Jacobsen

In 2008 we will conduct two surveys on urban IDPs with IDMC and UNHCR, one in Colombia (end
January) and one in Georgia (mid-2008). Analysis of data will take two months. We will also get the
Refugee database off the ground with a pilot sample, working with Tufts IT and GIS expertise. Work on a
book on refugee camps will continue.

The Remittance study, Phase 2 to be conducted in Cairo with the American University in Cairo will
provide a qualitative study of Darfurian refugees in Cairo and their remittance-sending behavior.

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 21

 Research led by Lacey Gale
23. Child Protection in Sierra Leone and Guinea
Researcher: Dr. Lacey Gale
Gale conducted field research in Sierra Leone concerning child protection, child trafficking, and human
rights in June, 2007. Gale presented her research findings at the African Studies Association’s annual
meeting in New York City (October 2007) and has circulated a report based on this preliminary
assessment to the Government of Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender, and Children’s
Affairs, UNICEF Sierra Leone, and local and international NGOs in Sierra Leone. Several local and
international NGOs have already expressed interest in the report, which includes a proposal for future
research. Gale is in contact with the Ministry and NGOs in order to solicit support for future research.
Findings from the June assessment suggest that since the civil war ended in Sierra Leone, child
fostering—whether informal or facilitated by humanitarian agencies and governments—has become the
preferred solution for orphaned, abandoned, and vulnerable children. There is a need for standards of
care that allow for the monitoring of children’s well-being in fostering situations, especially in a situation
where the population is recovering from a brutal civil war and suffers from poverty, malnutrition, and
limited access to decent medical care. Gale presented a proposal for creating national child fostering
standards in Sierra Leone as an invited participant at the Wenner-Gren sponsored conference entitled
“Childhood and Migration” to take place in early January 2008 in New York City. She will also be
presenting her research findings at the 11th International Association for the Study of Forced Migration
(IASFM) conference in Cairo later in January. Gale intends to publish this conference paper in a peer-
reviewed journal, either International Migration or Cultural Anthropology.

24. Understanding Refugee Camp Life

Researcher: Dr. Lacey Gale
Gale’s work on refugee camps has continued with several publications, including an article under
review: “The Invisible Refugee Camp: Post-Conflict ‘Stayers’ and Local Integration Efforts in Guinea” for
the Journal of Refugee Studies and a chapter entitled: “Sembakounya Camp” under review for Transitory
Places under Surveillance: Ethnographies of the Social Life of Refugee Camps edited by Laura Hammond
and Karen Norman (Cornell University Press). She is also preparing an article for publication on the
UNHCR website and has been asked to contribute to an edited volume stemming from Emory
University’s March 2007 conference, “Intervening in Africa: Interrogating International Operations in
West Africa.”

25. Livelihoods, Migration, and Remittance Flows to Conflict-Affected

Regions: Portland, Maine
Researcher: Dr. Lacey Gale
The fieldwork for this pilot research project with resettled Darfurian refugees in Portland, Maine was
concluded in November, 2007 with a final focus group and project briefing with community members.
The results of this research illuminate the migration patterns of Darfurian refugees and their remittance
sending practices and patterns. Gale is currently drafting a FIC briefing paper based on the research
findings and will be collaborating on a joint article with Dr. Laura Hammond comparing remittance-
sending behaviors among the Sudanese and Somali diasporas in Maine.

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 22

 Future research led by Lacey Gale
In the next year Gale will be focusing on two projects: Child Fostering Standards in Sierra Leone and the
Ethnic Community Self-Help Initiative.

A short-term assessment in Sierra Leone in 2007 revealed the need for standards of care that allow for
the monitoring of children’s well-being in fostering situations, especially in circumstances in which the
population is recovering from a brutal civil war and suffers from poverty, malnutrition, and limited
access to decent medical care. Several local and international NGOs have expressed interest in Gale's
proposal for future research.

The Ethnic Community Self-Help Initiative is a three-year research project in collaboration with the
State of Maine Office of Multi-Cultural Affairs (MOMA) and the Maine Association of Non-Profits (MANP).
The Office of Refugee Resettlement-funded project is designed to empower resettled refugee communities
in the USA by strengthening the capacity of community-based organizations—also known as refugee
mutual aid associations (MAAs)—to identify and respond to the needs of their communities. This will
take place through MAA participation in the “Learning Institute”, a series of three, three-day intensive
trainings designed to meet their needs. Gale's role in this project is to:

• Assess the current range of knowledge and skills among MAAs in Maine
• Create an application and interview process that will assist in identifying the two Learning
Institute groupings
• Identify gaps in organizational and individual capacity through interviews
• Research MAAs across the USA to establish best practices and potential mentors
• Prepare and use evaluation and debriefing forms during the Learning Institutes
• Create recommendations for improving the Institutes based upon the evaluations
• Support MAAs to organize the final conference
• Write a final report describing the objectives and accomplishments of the project
• Prepare academic articles concerning leadership in refugee communities.

Research Led by Kim Wilson

26. Financial Resilience—A New Research Line
Researcher: Kim Wilson
With Karen Jacobsen, Wilson has drafted a concept note called “Financial Resilience” or FiRe which
explores the link between increased connectivity, commercial networks, and household net worth in
marginalized economies. The over-arching research question is: how do such household economies
mitigate and cope with financial crisis and how do IT and financial services impact those strategies and
household net worth. Catholic Relief Services retained FIC to help them assess financial resilience in
southern Haiti among isolated rural, populations, subject to frequent hurricanes and political violence.
Wilson is additionally co-authoring a working paper with Dr. Gaye Burpee (Sr. Agronomist at CRS) called
‘Filling the Blue Box’ on how microfinance suppliers can affect the financial resilience of local self-help
groups.

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 23

 27. Microfinance Conference in 2007
Researcher: Kim Wilson
With financial sponsorship from the FIC and Tufts University’s Center for Emerging Market Enterprises,
Wilson coordinated and co-chaired a conference called Microfinance Dialogue—The Next Decade, a
series of three back-to-back roundtable discussions on pressing issues in microfinance. The day
featured Carlos Danel, CEO of Compartamos. Each session added to understanding of the high profits
being obtained from poor clients in unregulated markets. The unusual format of the day (no Powerpoints
or presentations) was roundly praised by the audience. Peter Walker and Wilson moderated a session on
microfinance and subsidy with a range of dialoguers with diverging viewpoints. Sally Dungan of
Omidyar-Tufts Microfinance Fund featured prominently in the first session on Capital Markets as did
Jim Bunch, Director, Investments, Omidyar Network in the third session which examined the industry’s
future.

Future research led by Kim Wilson

Financial resilience
CRS is now reviewing a joint proposal to submit to USAID as a way to move forward the financial
resilience agenda in Haiti’s Les Cayes region. CRS has indicated that in the absence of USAID funding,
CRS may fund continued research. Of particular interest to both CRS and the FIC is the role of
operators of borlette (small lotteries) in the south. Initial research indicates they perform bank-like
functions. The FIC has located a tri-lingual student interest in conducting research. Beyond Haiti, we
hope to fund and conduct research in the northeast of India and in East Africa exploring financial
resilience.

Microfinance dialogues
While no specific dialogue is planned for 2008 both the FIC and Tufts’ Center for Emerging Market
Enterprises (CEME) agree that serious Dialogues with leaders in microfinance simultaneously help
advance student thinking and underline areas for policy and institutional change. A new Dialogue, we
believe, should focus on tapping the frontier economies, still out of reach of traditional MFIs and banks.

Feinstein International Center z DECEMBER 2007 24