UMAM Documentation and Research – he who lies once lies again
UMAM Documentation and Research, a member of the Global Coalition for Conflict Transformation., responds to recent statements by the Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Abdul Karim... Read More
Syrians abroad – the challenges faced by Jordan and its refugees
Huge numbers of people have fled the Syrian conflict, which is now entering its fifth year, with many arriving in Jordan. Although the Jordanian government is... Read More
The Syrian catastrophe and the world’s deafening silence
The bloodletting and massive destruction that has swept the nation is not a mere tragic event; the magnitude of the destruction and loss of lives... Read More
Entering a fracture zone
The refugees in the park in Belgrade seem to be part of a fracture zone that is becoming increasingly easy to trace; across Greece, Macedonia... Read More
The great wandering
Mass migration continues to define Europe as a system of human fluid dynamics.
Civic fantasy
The United States is trying to build the South Vietnamese Army in Iraq (and Syria).
Yugoslavia, Syria and Iraq – lessons learnable?
The demise of Yugoslavia has several important lessons for other divided contexts. First, if you want to maintain the stability of internally divided states, it... Read More
The fractured response of humanitarian aid in Syria
Humanitarian response to the Syrian crisis remains a high priority of national governments and intergovernmental organisations. But the multiplying regional conflicts are hampering all efforts... Read More
The refugee crisis
Europe has tried to hide from this basic fact, that nothing but a sea separates them from the millions seeking a better life. In the immediate... Read More
Women and the Arab Spring – a dream turned nightmare
Change must start from within each individual. As quoted in the Quran, “Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change... Read More
The shortcut to deradicalization is the long road
Given the continuing widespread death and destruction sweeping the Middle East, however, the Arab states have little choice but to develop a long-term comprehensive strategy... Read More
The active defense of the cultural heritage of humanity
Today we face the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage, such as the large Buddha statues in Afghanistan, manuscripts in Timbuktuica and religious and cultural artifacts... Read More
What to do about civil war?
As difficult on a human level as it may be to stand back and not intervene, the best approach to the conflicts in the Mideast... Read More
Israel’s exploration of the Golan Heights – is it just about oil?
Israel’s decision to begin drilling on the Golan Heights will not only help quench its thirst for oil and water, whilst establishing greater control over the... Read More
Living with the Islamic State
Even if the Islamic State’s current modus operandi revolts us, the political logic to its existence remains firm. The West and the regional powers alike... Read More
War crimes in Syria – a missed opportunity for international justice
The war crimes in Syria in the absence of any response from the International Criminal Court (ICC) cry out for a mechanism that prevents international... Read More
In praise of buffer states
The United States and its NATO allies have long neglected an historical and geo-strategic truism: we need buffer states to avoid direct confrontation between regional... Read More
25 years after landmark treaty, children’s rights still violated with impunity in conflict
On the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) called on... Read More
ISIS – becoming armed, dangerous and a participant in mass violence
Leaving aside financial support from more fundamentalist elements within the various Gulf states, three factors have assisted the fast-paced recruitment of such a large army;... Read More
What if the Islamic State wins?
If Islamic State cannot be defeated militarily, and if “degrading” it remains a distant and uncertain outcome, then everyone may have to accept that the... Read More
Confronting ISIS – military intervention or peaceful alternatives?
In the absence of a viable solution the crimes committed by ISIS, it is arguable that intervention is the only available route. However, the first step to... Read More
Iraq, Syria and the MidEast – what is to be done?
The essential fact of the sectarian conflicts (internal and external) that have characterized the MidEast for decades has been the artificial boundaries left behind by... Read More
Syria – missed opportunities and future perils
One cannot deny that action in Syria is long-overdue. The question that remains – which is currently being debated by Western power-brokers – is what form such action should... Read More
Islamic State in Iraq-Syria – the standards of world law
The UN Human Rights Council Special Session on Iraq was a major advance for world law as for the first time, a non-state actor is... Read More
When fighting terror produces ever more radicals and sectarianism
At a time when Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria is on the cusp of being accepted as just another effort in the general “war on terror,”... Read More