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Begin New Search Publishing Institution Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University Publication Year within 25 Years

1. Preparing for a Looming Water Crisis: Lessons Learned from COVID-19 in the Middle East and North Africa Countries

Author:
Jamal Saghir and Yasmina El Amine
Publication Date:
05-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
The challenge of water security is growing globally. Achieving and sustaining water security, in both developed and developing countries, is likely to increase in complexity and priority as climate change intensifies, but also as the demands of economic growth increase. For most MENA countries that were already facing water security and major social, health and economic challenges before COVID-19, this additional pressure is particularly excruciating. Like COVID-19 and climate change, water scarcity in MENA is a global problem that requires collective action. There is no more urgent time to address the MENA’s water crisis than now, when people are constantly being reminded to use water to combat the spread of the virus. The Arab world appears to have averted significant health impacts from COVID-19, possibly shielding to a certain extent its health sector, however other sectors are at risk of collapsing, as the region is on the brink of an even more devastating water crisis. Drawing on countries’ responses to the outbreak and on unique traits and issues typical to the region, this policy paper discusses COVID –19 and the MENA and explores lessons learnt from the pandemic, in light of the upcoming water crisis in the MENA. It examines the issues of inequality and regional cooperation. It argues that fostering innovation for resilience is crucial in the absence of strong institutional response or capacity of governments, while also tackling critical ways to address and prepare for increasing water scarcity in the region. Finally, the paper provides policy recommendations that represent fundamental requirements for sustainable water development in the MENA countries.
Topic:
Development, Water, Crisis Management, Sustainability, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Middle East and North Africa

2. Key Issues in the Myanmar November 2020 Elections

Author:
Erik Martinez Kuhonta, Franque Grimard, and Kai Scott
Publication Date:
11-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
On 8 November 2020, Myanmar will hold its second election since the country’s gradual liberalization began. Despite presenting itself as a force for liberal democracy five years ago, the National League for Democracy (NLD) has demonstrated its unwillingness to commit itself to the protection of civil freedoms and the expansion of federal governance. It has fallen short of campaign promises by failing to enact meaningful constitutional change, improve economic performance, and address the protracted peace process. Notably, the government has created a climate that represses dissidents and undermines ethnic pluralism. Yet, the NLD’s support base remains strong, in part as a result of Aung San Suu Kyi’s continued ability to appeal to a Bamar-majority voter base by opposing the military cronyism of past and rooting herself in ethno-nationalist values, as witnessed in her decision to respond to charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice at the Hague. As a result, the NLD’s continued dominance over the Union Solidarity Development Party (USDP) is expected to continue. In the ethnic states, the situation is different—here, the ethnic political parties are expected to make gains on the NLD, as their recent merging place them well to take advantage of anti-NLD sentiment that has grown within ethnic minorities over the years because of the NLD’s perceived Bamar-centric governance. In addition, a lack of trust in the Union Elections Commission and complications due to covid-19 are significant sources of risk in the running of the 2020 election.
Topic:
Development, Government, Human Rights, Elections, and Domestic politics
Political Geography:
Asia, Southeast Asia, and Myanmar

3. Increasing Aid and Development Financing Volumes for the Advancement of Education in Lower-Middle-Income Countries

Author:
Christian Novak
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
To advance education in lowermiddle-income countries, official donors and multilateral development banks must increase their financial support to address the financial gap. Specific recommendations: • Expand the use of innovative development financing solutions. • Expand the use of innovative aid solutions. • Multilateral development banks to increase financing volumes and to strengthen efforts to maximize financial additionality and private capital mobilization. • Review the classification of LICs and LMICs. • Increase domestic budget allocation. Implementing the recommendations require coordinated efforts of all stakeholders. In addition, it is paramount that lower-middleincome countries design and fully implement effective long-term education programs and systems. Benchmarking and feedback must be constant, prompting sustained improvement and the adoption of international best practices.
Topic:
Development, Education, United Nations, Foreign Aid, Finance, and Sustainable Development Goals
Political Geography:
Global Focus

4. Updating the DFIs’ Operating Models and Methods Towards Helping to Achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Author:
Franque Grimard and Christian Novak
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
Development financial institutions, especially their private sector windows, must play a more effective role in contributing to achieve the 2030 Agenda. In order to achieve such higher needed effectiveness, DFIs must update their operating models and methods, and the most recently launched DFIs, like FinDev Canada, must widely adopt a modernized approach towards development financing. In this regard, we recommend that DFIs: • Increase mobilization volumes of private capital. • Widen the offering of financial products and structures with high financial additionality. • Maximize their investment potential. We believe that the implementation of the specific recommendations presented in this Policy Brief would significantly contribute to the necessary actions to achieve the 2030 Agenda. However, accomplishing the SDGs is not only dependent on the adaptation of DFIs, but also on complementary effective actions from countries, the international financial system and the private sector, in addition to collaboration among all stakeholders.
Topic:
Development, United Nations, Finance, and Sustainable Development Goals
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5. The Return of Internally Displaced Persons: Patterns, Possibilities and Gaps in Knowledge

Author:
Megan Bradley
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
• An estimated 41.3 million people are internally displaced worldwide, constituting 60% of those displaced by conflict. Though low for both groups, rates of return are higher among IDPs than refugees, with an estimated 16% returning to their areas of origin in 2016. Return of IDPs largely occurs outside of official programs or with minimal support. The lack of available data makes it unclear whether return functions as a durable solution for IDPs. • In national laws and policies, return is often presented as the “preferred” approach to resolving displacement, although IDPs have the right to choose alternate durable solutions such as local integration. Important normative developments help clarify when return represents a durable solution for IDPs. Debates are ongoing on what respect for the right of return requires in cases of internal displacement. • More attention is needed to returns in the context of ongoing conflict, the relationship between refugee repatriation and internal displacement, and the risk that returning refugees may become IDPs. Greater international support should be devoted to return movements, taking into account returnees’ own strategies and perspectives.
Topic:
Migration, Refugees, and Internal Displacement
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6. The Return of Internally Displaced Persons: Patterns, Possibilities and Gaps in Knowledge

Author:
Megan Bradley
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
• An estimated 41.3 million people are internally displaced worldwide, constituting 60% of those displaced by conflict. Though low for both groups, rates of return are higher among IDPs than refugees, with an estimated 16% returning to their areas of origin in 2016. Return of IDPs largely occurs outside of official programs or with minimal support. The lack of available data makes it unclear whether return functions as a durable solution for IDPs. • In national laws and policies, return is often presented as the “preferred” approach to resolving displacement, although IDPs have the right to choose alternate durable solutions such as local integration. Important normative developments help clarify when return represents a durable solution for IDPs. Debates are ongoing on what respect for the right of return requires in cases of internal displacement. • More attention is needed to returns in the context of ongoing conflict, the relationship between refugee repatriation and internal displacement, and the risk that returning refugees may become IDPs. Greater international support should be devoted to return movements, taking into account returnees’ own strategies and perspectives.
Topic:
Migration, Refugees, and Internal Displacement
Political Geography:
Global Focus

7. Peru’s JUNTOS Cash Conditional Transfer Program: Geographic Targeting(2005-2017)

Author:
Miguel Angel Carpio, Farhan Majid, Sonia Laszlo, Alan Sanchez, and Zeljko Janzic
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) have become an important anti-poverty policy globally in recent decades by aiming to alleviate poverty through financial incentives tied directly to human capital investments (namely primary and secondary schooling and maternal and child health). In Peru, the CCT program JUNTOS targeting poor families was established in 2005. By 2017, it has covered 693 thousand families in 1,305 of Peru’s 1,943 districts. 1 Official sources estimate that 72% of all potential household beneficiaries were already covered by the program by 2015.2 In order to select its beneficiaries, JUNTOS implemented a two-stage procedure. The first stage involves geographic targeting by selecting districts in need. The second stage then selects households in the targeted districts. In both cases the program follows an eligibility rule. Like most large-scale anti-poverty programs, JUNTOS was rolled out in several phases. However, despite considerable work evaluating JUNTOS, to our knowledge the various phases and changes observed in the eligibility rule over these phases have not yet been described in detail in one single public document. Furthermore, in discussions with researchers who have evaluated JUNTOS, some discrepancies have been noted between de jure criteria for selection and de facto receipt of benefits. With this in mind, this report has two objectives: (i) to document the information available about the eligibility rule at the district level (also known as the geographic rule); and (ii) to use the information available to replicate the eligibility rule using information that is publicly available. One key challenge we faced in elaborating this report is that the information that is publicly available about the JUNTOS eligibility rule is not specific enough in some important respects, including the sources of information used, the definition of the variables, and the specific ways in which the rule was updated over time.
Topic:
Treaties and Agreements, Finance, Economy, and Development Aid
Political Geography:
South America and Peru

8. Water: A Key Driver for Sustainable Growth

Author:
Jamal Saghir
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
Why is water important in the MNA region? • It matters for people. MNA countries cover 10 percent of the world’s area and home to 6% of the world’s population but receive less than 2% of the world’s renewable water supply. With rapid population growth since the mid 1970s, this has caused dramatic contraction in per capita renewable water resources. The MNA region is now the world’s driest region in the World. • It matters for the economy. Over 60 percent of the population of MNA lives in area of high-water stress compared to some 35% for the rest of the World. Water stress in MNA will be severe in the next 20 years as freshwater per resources per capita is estimated to keep on declining steadily unless fundamental shift occurs. The MNA region has the greatest expected economic losses from climate-related water scarcity, estimated at 6–14 percent of GDP by 2050. The MNA region will have to learn to do more with less – no matter what. • It matters for the environment. wastewater, 82% of which is not being recycled in the region, compared to just 30% in highincome countries. This presents a major threat to human and environmental health but also a massive opportunity to better satisfy water demand. Wastewater is the only natural resource that increases, as cities and populations grow. • It matters for equality. Equality between men and women; between urban and rural and between nations. MNA countries need to comprehend water as a political, economic and security issue in the region that plays a profound role in the future of the region and its growth and development, and take more concerted actions now.
Topic:
Agriculture, Energy Policy, Natural Resources, Water, Economic growth, and Sustainability
Political Geography:
Middle East, North Africa, and Global Focus

9. Recognizing Natural Disasters as a Concern for Transitional Justice

Author:
Megan Bradley
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
Grave and systematic human rights violations in disaster situations should be recognized as a concern for the field of transitional justice. Transitional justice mechanisms such as truth commissions, memorials, restitution and compensation programs and trials may, in some cases, make significant contributions to redressing abuses in disaster situations. Victims' perspectives and priorities should guide discussions on the relevance and application of particular transitional justice mechanisms.
Topic:
Human Rights, Natural Disasters, and Transitional Justice
Political Geography:
Global Focus

10. Fleeing Violence in Central America: Time to Implement Canada’s Resettlement Policies

Author:
Rachel Kiddell-Monroe and Celine de Richoufftz
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
Canada should take proactive and concrete actions to protect Northern Central American refugees fleeing violence including: Implementing its policy to offer resettlement to Central American refugees caught in legal limbo in Mexico. Ensuring it welcomes asylum seekers who are at risk under the US immigration system. Supporting Northern Central American states in their efforts to build fairer and more efficient immigration systems. Advocating for safe passages, legal pathways and for an end to the criminalization of clandestine immigration.
Topic:
Immigration, Border Control, Refugees, Violence, and Asylum
Political Geography:
Central America, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador