In the absence of a mutually-acceptable political outcome for northern Kosovo, the UN must be prepared to stay in the field and return, if necessary, its own international police force to stand with KFOR as the responsible peacekeepers.

With Sudan and South Sudan on the verge of all-out war, many local peacebuilding organizations are utilising the potential of women to act as peacemakers between communities in an attempt to thwart further violence.

The Orthodox monasteries and the municipalities of Peć and Dečani have to start creating the basis for healthy community relations in order to ensure that the former become centres of inter-cultural dialogue, rather than a focus for conflict.

Prosecuting war crimes is only one of the prerequisites for transitional justice; the lack of other effective mechanisms at the national and regional level explains, in part, the shortcomings of transitional justice in the former Yugoslavia.

With contemporary wars in Eastern Africa largely driven by economic motives and agendas which thrive under poor governance, countries need to believe in – and practice – good and democratic governance in order to ensure peace and stability.

Kosovo faces two fundamental challenges – its still unsettled status and the economy – that will continue to inhibit its progress towards becoming a self-sustaining, economically prosperous, and socially stable country.

Over a decade on from the Good Friday Agreement, Belfast is yet to tackle the interfaces and contested spaces of the north of the city, or indeed to look to remove the walls that have for so long shaped the daily lives of the people living there; real peace does not need to be sustained or “secured” by walls.

Al Jazeera Balkans is an island of media professionalism in the region; building bridges between peoples, fostering a spirit of tolerance and reconciliation, and challenging the ‘Us’ and ‘Others’ narrative of many public broadcasters.

Pristina’s illegal actions against Trepca North have brought its ability to operate and pay its thousands of workers and dependents to a grinding halt; a move that is unlikely to improve an already dangerously tense situation.

Almost three years on from the inaugural regional ministerial conference in Sarajevo in 2009, TransConflict participated in the Second United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) Conference for South East Europe in Belgrade, Serbia, on 11th April 2012.