ORG News & Updates

News item: Friday, 20 January 2012

From Davos to Dystopia

Writing for Foreign Policy in Focus, ORG's Ben Zala argues that a new report from the World Economic Forum that tries to make sense of the wave of protest and unrest sweeping the world may signal a new approach to global security in Western capitals. Read more »

News item: Thursday, 22 December 2011

Your Support Makes a Difference

  The ORG team would like to thank all our readers and our supporters this Christmas and New Year!   Your support and contributions are vital in maintaining ORG's ability to understand the causes of insecurity, to promote new approaches to global security and to push for changes in international policy. At a time of continuing global insecurity, as well as financial insecurity, gifts from individuals become ever more important. With your help, over the coming year, ORG will be able to develop its work - advancing new visions of Sustainable Security, addressing alternatives to conflict in the Middle East, and developing its work to make sure Every Casualty of armed violence is recorded. If you would like to help ensure that ORG's unique contribution to alternative security thinking continues, please consider making a one-off donation, becoming a supporter or sustainer, or remembering ORG in your will.   Your help is important in making the world a safer place. Read more »

News item: Tuesday, 20 December 2011

New Programme Website Launch: Everycasualty.org

Following the public launch of the 'Charter for the Recognition of Every Casualty of Armed Violence', the Every Casualty team has redeveloped www.everycasualty.org into a more dynamic, purposeful and accessible public platform. The new site highlights the Charter and its signatories, and how others can join them. It also gives prominence to the International Practitioner Network (IPN) of casualty recorders. Other new features include... Read more »

News item: Monday, 19 December 2011

Insecurity and Complexity: Navigating the New Security Challenges

Opening a two-day conference on global and regional security in Quito, Ecuador, ORG’s Ben Zala argued that one of the most important lessons of the last decade is that "reacting to the symptoms of global insecurity - once they are deeply manifested, and few options other than military force and containment remain - is a fundamentally flawed strategy for global security".    Read more »

News item: Monday, 28 November 2011

Video Interview with Participants from our 'Recording Every Casualty Conference'

Following the Every Casualty programme’s ‘Recording Every Casualty’ conference this September, filmmaker Daniel Ridicki and ORG’s Managing Director Chris Langdon interviewed six of the conference participants. The organisations represented by the participants were diverse, and are based in Colombia, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bosnia, and India.     Read more »

News item: Monday, 24 October 2011

The Palestinian Strategy Group Releases a New Strategic Document

The Palestinian Strategy Group (PSG) has launched its new report 'Towards New Strategies for Palestinian National Liberation'. The report discusses the options for achieving Palestinian strategic objectives in the light of the breakdown of bilateral negotiations. With the aim of formulating a strategy capable of achieving Palestinian national goals, this report describes the current political realities, sets out certain scenarios related to possible interim solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and outlines the strategic paths and means that can make the achievement of those goals possible. Read more »

News item: Saturday, 15 October 2011

First Conference of the International Practitioner Network Hosted by our Every Casualty Programme

In London, on 13 and 14 September, the Every Casualty programme convened a very successful conference, which gathered representatives of the casualty recording organisations that are members of the ORG-facilitated International Practitioner Network (IPN). This was the first and inaugural conference for this network, bringing together organisations from areas and conflicts as diverse as the Balkans, Guatemala, Pakistan and Somalia. The aim of the conference was to facilitate dialogue and to encourage cooperation and mutual support between the organisations. The event gave rise to a number of planned joint projects and future collaborations. Read more »

News item: Friday, 30 September 2011

Climate Change and the Security Policy Community: Forging a New Consensus in the UK

It is now widely accepted that climate change is a security challenge to be managed in the twenty-first century. But how can defence and security policy-makers and analysts contribute to this area in an effective way? To address this question, our Sustainable Security programme hosted a roundtable on 13 September that aimed to break down the "silos" that prevent creative thinking by bringing policy-makers, including members of the MoD, DfID, FCO and the Stabilisation Unit, together with experts on the environment, and independent peace and security specialists. Read more »

News item: Friday, 23 September 2011

The Wider Lessons from the Response to 9/11: Analysis Published in Leading Journal

The anniversary of the 9/11 attacks provides an opportune moment to reflect on the effectiveness of the attempt to control global terrorism via the 'war on terror'. In an article published in the RUSI Journal, Ben Zala and Paul Rogers of ORG's Sustainable Security programme, analyse the events of the last decade and discuss the lessons for responding to two of the most important global security challenges in the years ahead – the interlocked trends of deepening socio-economic divisions and a rapidly warming global climate.   Read more »

News item: Friday, 23 September 2011

Public Launch and Videos: Charter for the Recognition of Every Casualty of Armed Violence

Oxford Research Group's (ORG) Every Casualty programme launched the Charter for the Recognition of Every Casualty of Armed Violence on 15 September 2011 at the British Academy in London. The launch event was chaired by British Academy President, Sir Adam Roberts. Over 80 representatives from media organisations, states and civil society organisations attended.  The Charter is open to organisational endorsement and will be used in the Every Casualty programme's future campaign whose aim is to implement casualty recording in situations of armed violence. If your organisation wishes to support the Charter, please contact Jacob Beswick at everycasualty@oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk. Read more »

News item: Thursday, 28 July 2011

Beyond ‘Controlling’ Global Refugee Flows: A Sustainable Security Approach

Writing for the World Policy Blog, Ben Zala analyses the recent announcement of Australia and Malaysia’s agreement to “swap” asylum seekers. He argues that until legitimate attempts are made to address the factors driving refugee flows - such as on-going military conflicts, economic insecurity, and increasing environmental and resource constraints - the problem will only continue to get worse.  Read more »

News item: Monday, 25 July 2011

UN Security Council and the Security Consequences of a Warmer World

Last week, Germany sponsored a special session at the UN Security Council on climate change and international peace and security. ORG’s Ben Zala analyses the significance of the event, in a briefing for World Politics Review. He discusses the disconnect between the emerging consensus on the security implications of climate change and progress in the diplomatic negotiations aimed at reducing global carbon emissions.  Read more »

News item: Monday, 25 July 2011

UK vs. Germany: Delivering a Secure and Prosperous Future in a Fast-Changing World

Intervention or development assistance? ORG's Global Security Consultant, Paul Rogers, spoke at the recent British German Forum on 'Delivering a Secure and Prosperous Future in a Fast-Changing World' at the Foreign Office Conference Centre at Wilton Park. Paul discussed Britain's and Germany's different approaches to sustainable future security and argued that both intervention- and development-driven approaches were likely to miss the point in that the twin problems of marginalisation and environmental constraints required transformative action within the world's advanced economies. Key changes needed include... Read more »

News item: Thursday, 21 July 2011

A Sustainable Approach to Nuclear Zero: Breaking the Conventional-Nuclear Link

The momentum towards abolishing nuclear weapons has been building over recent years with the level of debate being at its highest since the end of the Cold War. This has rightly re-focused attention on the urgent need to build strategies for limiting and abolishing nuclear arsenals. Insufficient attention, though, is being given to the role of certain non-nuclear or ‘conventional’ weapons. ORG’s Ben Zala recently spoke on this issue at a conference on 'Nuclear Rivalries: Prospects for Cooperation and Trust-Building’.   Read more »

News item: Wednesday, 13 July 2011

Early Impressions: Research on Casualty Recording Practice Worldwide

The importance of international law to many casualty recorders is one of the themes discussed in this presentation about our research project into documenting and analysing casualty recording practice. This presentation was first made to our funder and other partners in Switzerland and gives some early impressions from our current research. Read more »

News item: Thursday, 30 June 2011

Media Coverage Roundup: 'Group Warns Drone Users Violating Laws of War'

The findings of our case study on drones and the legal obligation to record casualties, led by Professor Susan Breau, were widely quoted this week in the international media. They have a special relevance with the forthcoming draw-down of US troops in Afghanistan, announced by President Obama on the morning of our publication. The logical consequence of fewer troops on the ground is the greater use of drones. This is a selection of the coverage. Read more »

News item: Thursday, 30 June 2011

A New Approach to Iran?

"The quality of communication is now shaped by misconceptions, stereotypes, and demonisation. The worst fears and preconceptions shape the narrative between the two states. Currently, there is no political motivation to discuss a new international approach toward Iran. With all eyes are on the Arab world, now could be just the right moment to approach Iran anew," says Gabrielle Rifkind. Read more »

News item: Thursday, 30 June 2011

USIP Highlight Every Casualty on their Website

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP), Co-Funder to our project 'Documenting Existing Casualty Recording Practice Worldwide', highlighted our work on their website this month. USIP's "mission is to improve knowledge of the nature of conflict in ways that have direct practical applications for efforts to mitigate, resolve and redress violence". Read more »

News item: Thursday, 23 June 2011

'Conflict Parties 'Legally Obligated' to Record Civilian Casualties': Susan Breau Interviewed on ABC South Australia

ORG's legal consultant Susan Breau was interviewed by ABC South Australia last week about our legal team’s finding that an obligation exists in international law to record all the casualties of conflict, civilian and combatant. The responsibilities include searching for and identifying civilian casualties, and notifying the family, as there is a “right of the family to know the fate of its relative, and that’s an international human right”. Read more »

News item: Wednesday, 22 June 2011

Press Release: Drones Don't Allow Hit and Run - If You Use Drones You Must Confirm and Report Who They Killed, Says Legal Team

International lawyers have identified an existing but previously unacknowledged requirement in law for those who use or authorise the use of drone strikes to record and announce who has been killed and injured in each attack. Read more »