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11. A Stocktaking of the UN-IFI Relationship on Prevention and Peacebuilding, 2018 to 2020

Author:
Paige Arthur
Publication Date:
10-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
In 2018, the United Nations (UN) and the World Bank published a groundbreaking report driven by the conviction that the international community’s attention must urgently be rebalanced from crisis response to prevention. Pathways for Peace offered a joint framework for conflict prevention, and as it has gathered momentum, other international financial institutions (IFIs)—such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF)— have re-examined their approach to fragile and conflict-affected countries. Now, with the UN and the IFIs mobilizing in response to the COVID-19, the progress made in recent years will be tested. There is a risk that these opportunities will be overshadowed by the colossal need generated by the pandemic—but the scale and urgency of the crisis is also creating new opportunities for UN-IFI collaboration. This briefing provides an external perspective on the evolution of the UN-IFI relationship over the past three years. The first part of the stocktaking will focus on the UN-World Bank relationship, followed by a brief overview of partnership with the IMF. It is written for a broad audience—across the UN system, the World Bank and other IFIs, UN member states, civil society, and beyond—and aims to build consensus on next steps needed to accelerate implementation of a preventive approach.
Topic:
United Nations, Fragile States, Multilateralism, and Crisis Management
Political Geography:
Global Focus

12. I Need You, I Don’t Need You: South Africa and Inga III

Author:
CIC Congo Research Group
Publication Date:
03-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
A new report from CIC’s Congo Research Group and Phuzumoya Consulting, I Need You, I Don’t Need You: South Africa and Inga III, places South Africa’s backing of Inga III in the context of its foreign policy. The report argues that South Africa’s current Inga policy is contradictory, oscillating between the desire to project an image of being a pan-Africanist power promoting the continent’s economic development, and the reality that committing to the project makes little financial or energy policy sense. A power purchasing agreement from South Africa is critical for the dam’s construction—but buying electricity from Inga III will be risky for South Africa, especially since it may end up being expensive than other sources. The resulting uncertainty about whether South Africa will ever really be an anchor client for Inga III thus puts into question the bankability—and indeed the feasibility—of the whole project.
Topic:
Energy Policy and Infrastructure
Political Geography:
Africa, South Africa, and Congo

13. Food for Thought – Talking Points on Food Prices

Author:
Nendirmwa Noel and Sarah Cliffe
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
This short memo summarizes issues linking the COVID-19 pandemic and food prices. There is a real risk of a food price crisis emerging as a result of the pandemic, for the following reasons: Food systems are facing a complex set of demand and supply shocks during the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes increased demand due to hoarding versus decreased demand due to containment measures; lower prices for food system inputs, such as petroleum, versus decreased supply due to disruption of production, transport and trade. There seems to be a risk that rice, and possibly wheat, see a price surge which disconnects them from the downward trend in other basic commodities. There is also undoubtedly a risk that specific countries and large urban settlements see sharp increases in prices of scarce commodities, as protests in Afghanistan and in Nigeria have already shown this week. The crisis is coming just as farmers in many parts of the world are about to begin planting, and action is therefore needed now.
Topic:
Governance, Food Security, Multilateralism, Crisis Management, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Global Focus

14. The UN’s Pandemic Response: The Beginnings of a Real Global Plan?

Author:
Leah Zamore, Karina Gerlach, and Ben Oppenheim
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
Describing the coronavirus pandemic as a “global health crisis unlike any in the 75-year history of the United Nations” the UN has in recent days called for the launch of a large-scale, coordinated, and comprehensive multilateral response to combat the virus and its attendant economic and social consequences. It has published a set of action plans that aim to avert the potentially catastrophic impact of the virus, especially on the world’s most vulnerable and impoverished communities.
Topic:
United Nations, Governance, Multilateralism, Humanitarian Crisis, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Global Focus

15. Justice for All and the Public Health Emergency

Author:
David Steven and Maaike de Langen
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global emergency. It is not only a health crisis but also a human rights crisis. Justice actors face daunting responsibilities as they design, implement, and enforce new measures to prevent the spread of infection. Measures that heighten the risk of human rights abuses can undermine trust, at a time when the justice system most needs to maintain the public’s confidence. For better or for worse, justice systems and justice workers are on the frontline of this pandemic. This Pathfinders briefing, drafted by lead authors David Steven, Maaike de Langen, Sam Muller, and Mark Weston with the input of more than 50 justice experts from around the globe, discusses the most pressing priorities that the public health emergency poses for justice leaders and proposes seven areas for urgent action as the tide of infections continues to rise. It is the first in the Justice in a Pandemic series.
Topic:
Human Rights, Governance, Rule of Law, Crisis Management, Peace, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Global Focus

16. Population Movements, COVID-19, and Conflict Risk

Author:
Sarah Cliffe, Leah Zamore, and Nendirmwa Noel
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
As the coronavirus pandemic spreads across the globe, people are also moving in response to the threat of the virus and the actions states have taken to stem its transmission. This memo examines population movements in pandemics and offers relevant policy recommendations. In this policy memo, Sarah Cliffe, Leah Zamore, and Nendirmwa Noel detail the history of population movements during pandemics, provide an overview of the internal and cross-border movements now taking place around the world, and give examples of the restrictions and other measures governments are implementing to to respond. They also supply a number of concrete policy recommendations goverments can take now to improve their management of internal and cross-border movement in the face of COVID-19.
Topic:
Governance, Conflict, Borders, Humanitarian Crisis, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Global Focus

17. COVID-19 and Community Responses

Author:
Scott Guggenheim
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
This policy briefing examines how governments, multilateral organizations, and international financial institutions can leverage existing and new community-based responses to deal more effectively with the health, social, and economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Governments around the world are stretched to their limits trying to cope with not just the health risks of the COVID-19 virus, but also the economic fallout as people lose their jobs and entire sections of the economy close down. In this policy briefing, Pathfinders adviser Scott Guggenheim argues that governments must harness an underutilized but highly effective tool—traditional community solidarity and volunteerism.
Topic:
Governance, Food Security, Humanitarian Crisis, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Global Focus

18. COVID-19 and the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings

Author:
Sarah Cliffe
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank conducted their first virtual Spring Meetings amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This briefing summarizes the discussions, which focused on the economic impact of the pandemic, and provides key takeaways on topics such as debt relief, financing for COVID-19 response, multilateral partnerships, and efforts to support global supply chains. In this readout of the 2020 Spring Meetings, CIC director Sarah Cliffe details the historic—but ring-fenced—debt moratorium and accelerated financing deal that were reached, as well as efforts to inject more global financing through an exceptional issue of IMF Special Drawing Rights. The briefing also covers partnerships between the United Nations and the international financial institutions, including a call for collaboration on global supply chains for medical equipment, agricultural inputs, and other goods and services.
Topic:
Governance, Finance, Multilateralism, Crisis Management, Humanitarian Crisis, IMF, COVID-19, and Supply
Political Geography:
Global Focus

19. How Much Lockdown is Enough?

Author:
Sarah Cliffe, Paul von Chamier, and Nendirmwa Noel
Publication Date:
05-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
Lockdown measures have been an integral tool in the fight against COVID-19. But they come at a high cost, given their impacts on economies, employment and incomes, education, food systems, mental health and even the potential for civil unrest. This policy briefing by Sarah Cliffe, Paul von Chamier, and Nendirmwa Noel examines how countries are balancing the need for lockdown with policy measures to alleviate their effects and plans for reopening. It provides comparative data on the stringency of lockdowns, showing that while there has been a convergence towards more stringent measures over time, there is also wide variation among countries—even among those in the same region, or income group. A brief case study of Sierra Leone and snapshot examples of policy from ten other countries illustrates the range of answers to the question of how much lockdown is enough.
Topic:
Employment, Economy, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Africa, Sierra Leone, and Global Focus

20. Last Refuge or Last Hour? COVID-19 and the Humanitarian Crisis in Idlib

Author:
Leah Zamore and Tayseer Alkarim
Publication Date:
05-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
The humanitarian crisis in northern Syria is on the verge of becoming a COVID-19 catastrophe. A decade of conflict has left the healthcare system in ruins—and millions of displaced people in Idlib province were already suffering due to a lack of shelter and sanitation. Now, with the coronavirus pandemic posed to spread to an area with just 600 doctors and fewer than 50 adult ventilators for four million people, the situation is dire. Why is Idlib the last refuge for internally displaced Syrians, and what can donors, international humanitarian actors, and local organizations do to ensure that they are not left behind as the world grapples with COVID-19? This policy briefing by Tayseer Alkarim, Hanny Megally, and Leah Zamore delves into roots of the humanitarian crisis in Idlib, details the current capacity of the exhausted healthcare system amid the ongoing conflict, and examines what these constraints mean for mounting a response to the spread of the coronavirus. The briefing explains how donors and international humanitarian organizations can take action now to support local institutions, increase testing and treatment capacity, improve availability of PPE and public information, and press for an immediate ceasefire. The plight of Idlib is one of the most complex humanitarian dilemmas of our time, influenced by prolonged conflict, a looming COVID-19 outbreak, and the ongoing failure of the international community to take effective action. A further failure to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Idlib will cost lives—and risk global health security further by allowing the virus to spread in one of the places that is least-equipped to contain it.
Topic:
Health, Conflict, Humanitarian Crisis, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Middle East, Syria, and Idlib