The crucial event in the reporting period was undoubtedly Armenia’s war with Azerbaijan. On September 27, 2020 Azerbaijan started its war on Nagorno-Karabakh, a long-disputed region called Artsakh in Armenia, which lasted for 44 days. It ended on November 10, 2020, when Russia facilitated a cease-fire, apparently just after the Azerbaijani forces had captured most of the territories occupied by Armenia in the previous war in the early 1990s, plus a major chunk of Nagorno-Karabakh proper.

During the reporting period, the consolidation of authoritarian rule in Azerbaijan continued. Snap parliamentary elections in February 2020 did not meet international standards for free and fair competition. However, some notorious high-ranking state officials were fired, and corrupt local level administrators detained on corruption charges. These developments, in addition to the appointment of some young professionals to ministerial posts, raised hopes for a possible opening of the country to real reforms and changes.

The Gnassingbé clan has ruled the country since 1967. Throughout the survey period, demands for political change initiated by institutional and electoral reforms were a major issue of contention between the government and the challengers of the Gnassingbé regime. An alliance of opposition parties and civil society groups organized peaceful demonstrations in opposition to the regime. These demonstrations were often violently suppressed. Civil society organizations and representatives of the Christian church supported the opposition’s demands.

The research only represents a country’s cybersecurity policy to a limited extent and is not an in-depth or complete analysis or assessment of current policy. In order to adapt the exercises to specific countries, it is important to understand the broader strokes of cybersecurity policies of other countries. Our team, therefore, researches publicly available information on cybersecurity policies of countries to adapt the exercises to country-specific needs. The research is shared with participants as background material in preparation for the exercise.

Armenia is a country that is very much characterized by agriculture – but Armenian rural life is marked by a deep crisis, as this current study shows.

The governing Georgian Dream party (GD) continues to control all branches of the state. Although the UNM-led opposition put pressure on the GD government, it won a third term in allegedly fraudulent parliamentary elections on October 31, 2020. The opposition refused to take up their seats in the new parliament, which led to a political deadlock. The crisis peaked when Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia resigned in February 2021 over his personal refusal to arrest UNM opposition leader Nikanor Melia.

The agricultural sector in Armenia contributes around 20 percent to gross domestic product and provides employment to around 40 percent of the country’s labour force. The backbone of agriculture in the country is represented by smallholders and family farms. According to 2014 census data, 317 346 family farms contribute over 97 percent of the total agricultural output and comprise 99 86 percent of all active agricultural holdings.

Mapping out and assessing the economic performance of SEZs across the subregion, the publication highlights the threats they face from digital technologies, rising competition for foreign investment and international trade standoffs. Against the backdrop of COVID-19, it details a range of practical steps designed to increase trade, create jobs, and build economic resilience across the three countries.

This one-pager provides details on the LAND-at-scale project in Burkina Faso. This project is implemented by Nitidae, Observatoire National du Foncier Burkina Faso (ONF-BF), Oxfam Burkina Faso, and financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs via the Netherlands Enterprise & Development Agency. 

The government of Ghana through the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources of Ghana has been assisting customary land authorities to strengthen customary land administration through the establishment customary land secretariats. The rationale for the support for customary land administration was to develop more effective and accountable systems of land administration at local level based on a collaborative approach and building on existing customary institutions.

context and backgroundDespite the robustness of various land instruments and legal and institutional regulations on various sectors, Tanzania’s land distribution-related policy implementation and practice is facing numerous challenges. Tanzania is not only experiencing poor land conditions, but also poor land management and ineffective policy implementation. Areas of concern includes public policy actions on land conflicts; settlements and housing problems; and conflicting demand for land for mining, large scale agriculture, conservation, tourism, ranching and pastoral nomadism.

 Ethiopia follows a federal state administrative structure. Regional states are organized on ethnic basis. The country has over 85 ethnic groups and languages, but only majority ethnic groups, with few exceptions, have their own standalone regional states.The Constitution of the country categorizes land as a public property and gives land administration responsibilities to regional states. Although the Constitution confirms land access right to all citizens, regional states’ constitutions and land laws put restrictions to prioritize residents.