“Alert 2004: report on conflicts, human rights and peace-building” is a study carried out annually by the Alert Unit at the
School of Peace Culture at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, providing an overview of the world situation at the end of the year on the basis of an analysis of various indicators. 36 indicators have been used in the preparation of this report, divided into 9 large groups: armed conflicts, situations of tension and high risk disputes, peace processes, post-war rehabilitation (international involvement), humanitarian crises, militarisation and disarmament, human rights and International Humanitarian Law, development, and conduct in relation to the international community. A description and analysis of what has happened in the world throughout this year, based on these indicators, helps to provide a greater knowledge of the advances, reverses and dynamics of various kinds that affect the whole of humanity. The majority of these indicators, once cross-referenced, can also help us to understand the influence of some factors on others. Comparing this data with the information gathered during the previous year means that the report can act as a preventive warning of certain general tendencies or a particular situation in individual countries, something that may be useful, among other things, for the rethinking of foreign policy, development cooperation and arms transfers, as well as for the development of policies aimed at preventing armed conflicts and facilitating the consolidation of peace processes and post-war rehabilitation throughout the world.
Alert 2004! (pdf)
