What's Happening in Conflict Resolution" is a weekly round up of the all the ADR news, jobs, events and more. Check it out each week and view past versions [HERE].

HOSTAGE US LAUNCH

We are pleased to announce the launch of Hostage US, the first support and resource centre for American hostages and their families. Hostage UK is a co-founding partner along with the James W Foley Legacy Foundation. Hostage US also receives funding from the Ford Foundation. 

Read more [HERE]. 

I owe my life to those who paid my ransom. But should Ottawa pay ransoms? No

Amanda Lindhout, National Post 

There is an audio file stored on my mom’s computer, labelled “The Bad Call.” It’s a recording of a two-minute call between her and me on Sept. 9, 2009. I had, at that point, been a hostage in Somalia for over a year. My captors — a radicalized criminal group — were pointing guns at my head. I had shackles around my legs and had endured almost daily abuse. It was not uncommon for them to beat me or otherwise push me to the brink of desperation and then immediately dial my mother’s cellphone number.

Why? Because they wanted a ransom.

With the brutal murder of Canadian hostage John Ridsdel in the Philippines this week by terrorist group Abu Sayyaf, the ransom debate is again playing out. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau affirmed the Canadian government’s long-standing ban on paying ransoms for hostages: “Paying ransom for Canadians would endanger the lives of every single one of the millions of Canadians who live, work and travel around the globe every single year,” he said.

...The Harper (Canadian) government told my family from the start that it couldn’t, and wouldn’t, negotiate a ransom deal with my captors. But it did say many times that it had a great track record of bringing hostages home safely, without payment.

Read her full article at the National Post [HERE]. 

New Research: Women Who Don’t Negotiate Might Have a Good Reason

By : Christine Exley, Muriel Niederle, Lise Vesterlund

You’ve just received a salary offer. Being a woman, you know that women on average earn less than men, and that women’s reluctance to negotiate could contribute to this differential. So – should you negotiate?

On the one hand, you’ve repeatedly been told that you should negotiate a salary offer, and you know this advice is not specific to you. Recent polls confirm that 70% of respondents believe women should negotiate their salaries more often and 69% are more likely to encourage women than men to negotiate.

But in reviewing the literature, you find that there are cases where caution may be warranted.

Read more at HBR [HERE].

The Texas Conflict Coach® Blog Talk Radio program announces our series focused on Fights, Disagreements and Misunderstandings.

May 3rd:  Managing Conflict in Your Blended Family

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May 10th:  Conflict & Productivity:  How to Improve Your Time Management without Alienating the People in Your Life

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ADR LUNCHTIME SERIES PRESENTATION: Crisis Negotiation- Apply the Skills Used By Law Enforcement In Your Conflict Resolution Practice

Why Hawaii Wants to Become a Center for International Mediation and...

Jobs In Conflict Resolution

Job: Chief of Service, Ombudsman, United Nations OFFICE OF THE OMBU...

Ombuds at Barnard College

Director, Center for Cooperative Resolution at National Institutes ...

Ombuds at University of Oregon