During NATO's Lisbon Summit in 2010, the NATO member states announced that the responsibility for ensuring Afghanistan's security would be transferred to the Afghan forces as of 2011 and that the objective was to withdraw the bulk of ISAF troops from the country by the end of 2014. At their Chicago Summit on 20-21 May 2012, the Allies confirmed the end 2014 deadline for the termination of NATO's combat mission in Afghanistan. From that time on the Afghan authorities will therefore take full responsibility for their country's security. However, numerous questions remain unanswered: will the Afghan National Security Forces be ready to take full charge of the mission by the end of 2014? What will be Afghanistan's political governance in the medium and long term? How will the situation evolve for Afghan women? What lessons will the UN, NATO and the EU learn from their ongoing actions in Afghanistan? Is there a role for them in tomorrow's Afghanistan?

For more information, please see the press release attached below.

The Alliance is approaching ten years of challenging military operations in 
Afghanistan and has recently been weathering internal, divisive debates over its central strategic mission. The 2009 NATO Summit in Strasbourg-Kehl tasked the Secretary General with preparing a new Strategic Concept for the 
Alliance, deliverable at the November 2010 Lisbon Summit. To support the development of this document, an international Group of Experts chaired by former 
US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was established (and set out its recommendations in May) and an eight month process of conferences and consultations was also set in motion. 

How will the much-anticipated new Strategic Concept respond to an increasingly globalised world with emerging new challenges, manage internal divisions in an enlarged organization of 28 member states and cope with external threats? Will it set out a convincing and coherent vision, representative of its members? The conflict in 
Afghanistan, missile defences and NATO-Russian relations are likely to feature strongly at the Lisbon Summit. This civil society-led Shadow Summit will examine present trends and the attitudes and assumptions underlying the conceptual, organizational and operational debates on the future of NATO. It will explore ways in which civil society groups and parliamentarians can work together more effectively to advance the positive objectives within NATO’s new strategy and ensure that it is implemented in line with shared democratic and humanitarian values.

MultiPart was a research project that aimed at investigating whether, how, and under what conditions multi-stakeholder partnerships can positively impact on human security and facilitate non-violence and long-term peace, while providing a productive framework for relations between local actors and external actors, including third party mediators and international organisations.

The work shop marked the third and last phase of the MultiPart research project. It served to present and discuss the findings of the three case studies and to give practical steps forward for the EU.

The New European Parliament:

What Priorities for Foreign Affairs, Security and Defence?

(Europe- United States, Europe- Russia and Europe-Iran relations)

The aim of this conference is to discuss with MEPs the views of the Council, Commission, government representatives and experts aspects of current affairs, as an occasion to re-examine the international scene for security and defence. 

The morning panel will be centred on the priorities for the EU in foreign policy, security and defence and in particular on the analysis of the Euro-Atlantic relations and the most challenging problems. This will be followed by more in depth analyses and discussions in the afternoon, with two workshops on: 

  “Russia and the Eastern Partnership” and “Iran and Central Asia”

Please note that participation in the confernce is by invitation only. For more information, please contact Filippo Mauri, Programme Associate at 

.

The second roundtable will focus on: 
Justice Reform and Gender 
Penal Reform and Gender 
Border Management and Gender 

Please note that participation in the roundtable is by invitation only. For more information, please contact Vibeke Thomsen, Project Coordinator, at vibeke.thomsen@isis-europe.org or +32 2 230 7446

The first roundtable will focus on: 
Police Reform and Gender
Defence Reform and Gender 
Private Military and Security Compagnies and Gender. 
 

 The Roundtables on Gender and SSR are supported by the European Commission under the Peacebuilding Partnership.

Please note that participation in the roundtables is by invitation only. For more information, please contact Vibeke Thomsen, Project Coordinator at vibeke.thomsen@isis-europe.org

This briefing summarises the Shadow NATO Summit: Options for NATO - Pressing the Re-Set Button on the Strategic Concept, which took place on 31 March and 1 April 2009. The conference was co-organised by BASIC, the Bertelsmann Stiftung, ISIS Europe and NATO Watch, with the support of the Marmot Charitable Trust and an evening reception with Jamie Shea hosted by the NATO Public Diplomacy Division.

To read the full report by Gerald Loftus, Avuncular American and former American diplomat, on the Shadow NATO Summit which took place on 31 March - 1 April 2009, please click here 

Senior NATO officials and civil society policy experts on comprehensive security will meet at the Shadow NATO Summit to identify, discuss and share ideas concerning the future of the Alliance.  It will examine present trends in transatlantic security, nuclear weapon proliferation and the attitudes and assumptions underlying current NATO policy.  It is anticipated that the Heads of State at the 60th anniversary Strasbourg/Kehl Summit to be held a few days later will launch a review of NATO’s Strategic Concept to be negotiated within the Alliance over 2009 and 2010.  We are initiating a parallel civil society process to ensure the review includes NATO-wide public attention and engagement.

This conference was organised by Abolition 2000 Europe in co-operation with ISIS Europe, Mayors for Peace,Olof Palme International Center and PNND EP.
 

summary:

The general aim of this conference was to explore the possibilities and opportunities for the EU to become increasingly involved in promoting non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament. 

This conference was very timely in the run-up to the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which hold its first session between the 30th April and the 11th May 2007. 

The recent nuclear test by North-Korea as well as the nuclear weapons modernisation programs of the nuclear-weapon states are deeply disturbing events. Today nine countries have nuclear weapons compared to six just 10 years ago. On October 16th 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, declared a new approach was necessary as another 20 or 30 nations have the capacity to develop nuclear weapons in a very short time span. ElBaradei underscored: It is difficult to maintain the logic that for some countries reliance would be made on nuclear weapons or even trying to develop new nuclear weapons while telling everybody else that is not good for you.

In response to this mounting peril the Mayors for Peace, other global associations, and private citizens are now working together to promote the 2020 Vision Campaign. The purpose of this campaign is to eliminate all nuclear weapons by the year 2020 through a binding agreement outlawing all nuclear weapons.

The conference was consisting of five different panels: 

1- The growing role of the EU on non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament.

2- The international context and current state of play of the NPT.

3- The role of the EU in the implementation of the NPT: lessons learned from the past disarmament.

4- Preserving the cohere of the NPT: Nonproliferation, disarmament and double standards.

5- Compliance with NPT Article VI: The way ahead for the EU to pursue nuclear disarmament at the 2007 NPT PrepCom and create a Nuclear Weapon Free Zone(s) in Europe.

http://www.sassu.org.uk/NewPublications/Annual%20Conference%20of%20the%20SASSU%20Page1.htm

Panel Speakers:
 

• Major Uberto INCISA DI CAMERANA (Strategic Planning Branch, Civilian-
  Military Cell, EU Military Staff)
   
• General Sauro BAISTROCCHI (Military Assistant to the Chairman of the EU
  Military Committee)
   
• Michael DOCZY (First Secretary, Politico-Military Group, Permanent
  Representation of Austria to the EU)
   
• Lars-Erik LUNDIN (Head of Unit, Security Policy, Crisis Platform and Policy
  Co-ordination in CFSP, DG RELEX, European Commission)
   
• Jamie SHEA (Director of Policy Planning in the Private Office of the Secretary
  General, NATO Headquarters in Brussels).

  Representing the organizations sponsoring the Report:
   

• Colonel Salvatore COLOTTI (Chief of the Department of Science, Technology,
  Economy and Industrial Policy, CeMiSS)
   
• Stephen PULLINGER (Executive Director, ISIS Europe)

  Principle authors of the Report:
   

• Gerrard QUILLE (Security and Defence Policy, Policy Department, Directorate
  General for External Studies, European Parliament - Brussels)
   
• Giovanni GASPARINI, (Senior Fellow, Istituto Affari Internazionali - Rome /
  Consultant, CeMiSS - Rome)
   
• Roberto MENOTTI (Research Fellow, International Programmes, Aspen
  Institute Italia - Rome / Consultant, CeMiSS - Rome)
   
• Nicoletta PIROZZI (Project Officer, Responding to Conflict Programme,
  International Security Information Service, Europe - Brussels).
• 
  Summary: 
  Colonel Colotti and Stephen Pullinger briefly introduced the nature and the scope of the
  joint research project, which was conducted by the two institutes in the course of 2005
  and led to the publication of the report.
  The research project contained a three-pronged analysis, looking at: the general evolution
  of the security strategies and defence requirements of European countries; the growing
  responsibilities of the EU as such, which is further stimulating a profound rethinking of
  planning and procurement, as well as an open public debate on common goals and
  instruments; and the specific function of the EU CivMil Cell as an organism at the
  forefront of various interrelated changes, both national and multilateral.

The conference consists of three sessions: an opening session on the accountability of ESDP in the future of Europe, followed by sessions on accountability in the implementation of EU crisis management operations and EU armaments policy.
 

Panel Speakers:
Session One: The accountability of ESDP in the future of Europe 

Chaired by Prof. Patricia Chilton, Co-ordinator of the "ESDP Democracy" project, Univ. of East Anglia.

Guest Speakers: 
Elmar Brok, MEP, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee

Dr. Wim F. van Eekelen, Member of the Netherlands Senate

Fraser Cameron, Director of Studies, European Policy Centre

• Chaired by Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, MEP 

  Guest Speakers: 
  Brigadier General Lagedec, Head of Policy and Plans, EU Military Staff 

  Dr. Renata Dwan, Special Adviser, EUPM, General Secretariat, Council of the EU 

  Dr. Hans Born, Geneva Centre for the Control of the Armed Forces 

• Session Three: EU Armaments policy

  Chaired by Karl von Wogau, MEP.

  Guest Speakers: 
  Lars-Erik Lundin, Head of Unit, Security Policy, European Commission

  Dr. Gerrard Quille, International Security Information Service, Europe

  Per Fischer, Danish representative to Council Working Group COARM

  Eleftheria Yannakou, Presidency representative to Council Working Group COARM

  Roy Isbister, Saferworld 

The conference was organised by the European Peacebuilding Liaison Office (EPLO). EPLO was set up in 2001 by a network of European NGOs active in peacebuilding and conflict prevention, in which ISIS Europe is an active member.
 

Summary : 

The Convention on the future of Europe is critical for the role of the European Union in the promotion of a more peaceful world. This roundtable sought to gain feedback on EPLO's contribution to the debate. EPLO's paper, which is entitled "Building Conflict Prevention into the Future of Europe", makes recommendations on how to mainstream conflict prevention in the EU Treaty. It is based on the vision of an EU that is inclusive, democratically accountable, and promoting a more peaceful world. 

The conference was consisting of 4 different panels: 

Session 1: Conflict prevention as an objective of EU policy

Session 2: Building an integrated approach to crisis management

Session 3: Strengthening the democratic accountability of EU foreign and defence policies

Session 4: Conclusions and recommendations for the Convention

The conference was organised by a task-force of the members of the European Peacebuilding Liaison Office (EPLO) and was co-hosted by the Development Committee of the European Parliament.

ISIS Europe acting as the conference coordinator is very grateful to Saferworld, World Vision, ECCG, GRIP and all EPLO members for their active participation and valuable support provided to the organizers.

Summary: 

The Belgian Presidency aims to continue the work on EU conflict prevention undertaken during the Swedish Presidency by focusing on how the EU can effectively address conflicts in Africa. 

This conference sought to identify some of the challenges facing the Belgian Presidency and suggest concrete steps that the EU could take to ensure coherence in its development co-operation, trade, and common foreign and security policies.

The conference specifically aimed to explore how the conflict prevention potential of the new EU-ACP "Cotonou" Agreement could be realised by developing its provisions for political dialogue and the modalities for engaging civil society in conflict prevention and peacebuilding. 

The conference was consisting of three sessions: 

Session 1: Bridging the gap between CFSP and development co-operation to prevent conflicts in Africa

Session 2: Regional workshops (Horn of Africa, The Great Lakes, West Africa)

Session 3: Challenges for the Belgian Presidency

he conference was organised by the International Security Information Service, Europe (ISIS Europe) in cooperation with the Conflict Prevention Network and the European Peacebuilding Liaison Office1 and the Heinrich Boell Foundation.

Summary: 

The EU has the potential to play a crucial role in preventing violent conflict. It has the world's biggest single market, the largest aid budget, an unparalleled web of historic and cultural ties, and representation at the top tables of diplomacy and economic planning. Used carefully, these economic and political levers could be targeted more effectively to help address the root causes of the tensions that can so often lead to violent conflict. 

The conference was consisting of 5 panels: 

Session 1: Developing the Eu's Capacity to Prevent Violent Conflict

Session 2: Developing EU structures to Prevent and Manage Crises

Session 3: Addressing Root-Causes of Violent Conflict

Session 4: Improving the Cohesion Between Military and NOn-Military Aspects of Crisis Management

Session 5: Post-Conflict Reconstruction: Making the Transition from Violence to Non-Violence