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	Making Peace happen by Peace Direct   40 per cent of conflicts will restart within 10 years of a peace treaty being signed. 90 per cent of the people who die in those conflicts are not armed forces, but civilians, many of them children. That’s 500 thousand people a year, one person every minute. We need to stop these conflicts from restarting, to stop people from dying. Peace Direct funds local peacebuilders to build lasting peace.   Sixty per cent of children who die before their fifth birthday are in conflict-affected areas. But, conflict doesn’t just kill through violence, it costs lives through poverty and disease and threatens regional stability.   Education – during Mozambique’s civil war, nearly 50% of primary schools closed or destroyed. Health – in Bosnia-Herzegovina child immunisation rates fell from 95% before the outbreak of war to under 35% at the height of the conflict. Economy– in part of South Sudan, 40% of the population lost all their cattle in the 20 year conflict. Refugees – some 25m people worldwide are living as refugees because of conflict. Employment – 60% male unemployment across Bosnia, Serbia & Kosova. Infrastructure – de-population of towns and villages, lack of water, failed transport systems . It all impacts on agriculture, food production and local economies.   It makes financial sense to act before a conflict leads to a full blown humanitarian crisis and that means listening to local people who can see the beginnings of a full scale conflict.   There are many victims of war, including the millions of people who are refugees because of conflict. We think it’s time to start funding those who are trying to stop the conflict.   Peace agreements might make headlines but they don’t always last. More than half of conflicts restart within ten years of a peace agreement being signed. The international community, including the UN, charities and governments have resources and money but they’re still “outsiders”. Practical experience and research show that the most effective peacebuilding processes involve insiders and outsiders, sharing knowledge, experience and resources. So as well as funding local peacebuilders, part of our work involves lobbying external organisations to include local people in their plans.   Quite simply, we want local peacebuilding to be central to all strategies for managing conflict. We believe that those “outsiders” with power and resources would like to develop better partnerships with local peacebuilders, but don’t always know how to. So our starting point is to make local peacebuilding visible, and show what can be done.   In communities across the world local people are restoring that most basic of human needs, security, to people’s lives and helping their communities to move forward. And often right at the heart of these efforts are women. Join us in celebrating their achievements this International Women’s Day. Visit the related web page
	Ratify Child Soldiers Treaty by Human Rights Watch / UN News   Today, child soldiers are fighting in at least 14 countries around the world. Boys and girls alike are forced into combat, exploited for their labor, and subjected to violence and mistreatment.   Ten years ago, the United Nations adopted a treaty banning the use of children under age 18 in hostilities or their forced recruitment into armed forces or groups.   Today, two-thirds of the world’s countries have ratified this treaty, known as the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. However, 61 countries have not ratified the treaty and made clear their absolute commitment to ending the use of child soldiers.   Help us achieve universal ratification of the child soldiers treaty by writing the ambassadors for key countries. Ask that their governments help end the use of child soldiers and act quickly to ratify the treaty.   Feb 2010   UN hails release of all child soldiers by Maoists. (UN News)   The final batch of the nearly 3,000 child soldiers who served in the Maoist army during Nepal"s decade-long civil war have been discharged and re-entered civilian life today, in a move hailed by United Nations officials as a milestone in the country"s peace process.   The 268 individuals released today during a ceremony in Rolpa included those who had joined the Maoist army as minors, and as late recruits, and had remained in temporary camps for three years after the signing of the peace deal that ended the conflict.   "The release of these young people today is not only symbolic for the country but a milestone for these young men and women who spent their formative years inside a military structure losing out on critical skills vital for adulthood," said Gillian Mellsop, Country Representative for the UN Children"s Fund (UNICEF).   "All those concerned must now act swiftly to ensure that they reintegrate successfully," she added.   A total of 2,394 disqualified Maoist army personnel have been discharged in seven cantonments across Nepal since the process began on 7 January 2010. The discharge is a key component of an action plan signed in December 2009 by the UN, the Government of Nepal and the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M).   Altogether 2,973 individuals were disqualified from the Maoist army as minors in a UN verification process that ended in December 2007. Another group of 1,035 were disqualified because they were recruited after the ceasefire in May 2006 that ended the armed conflict. Roughly one-third of those disqualified are female, according to a news release issued by the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN).   Before being discharged, the young people are be briefed by the UN on options for their new lives and will be given civilian clothing and identity cards. They will also undergo a rehabilitation process, by the Government with UN support, to gain new skills by attending school or learning a trade.   "The conclusion of the discharge process is a positive step in Nepal"s peace process at a time when building confidence and trust amongst the parties is all-important," said Karin Landgren, the Secretary-General"s Representative in Nepal and head of UNMIN.   "The period of your life dedicated to armed struggle is now in the past. You have a role in helping make Nepal a country that is just, equitable, democratic and peaceful," she told the young people at the ceremony. Visit the related web page
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