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31. The Accountability of National Security Forces to Civilians

Publication Date:
07-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Security and development are deeply interlinked. Conflict-affected states require progress on both to achieve sustainable peace and broader human security. Over the past fifteen years, security sector reform (SSR) has received increasing prominence, as one element in building that peace and security, as well as democratic governance, in post-conflict transitions. SSR includes the reform of security forces (military, police, and intelligence), and civilian institutions to better uphold human rights and justice, and to ensure effective civilian oversight by parliaments and legislative bodies, and by communities themselves.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Security, Civil Society, Development, and National Security

32. Climate Change Risks and Supply Chain Responsibility: How should companies respond when extreme weather affects small-scale producers in their supply chain?

Author:
Jodie Thorpe and Shelly Fennell
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
What role can companies play in strengthening the capacity of small-scale producers in developing countries to adapt to climate change, and in doing so, make their global value chains more resilient? While some leading companies have made progress in taking greater responsibility for what happens throughout their supply chains, there has been little discussion about the threat that climate change poses to the livelihoods of small-scale producers. Through interviews with three companies: Starbucks, Marks Spencer, and The Body Shop, the paper examines how smallholders involved in coffee production in Colombia, sesame in Nicaragua, and cotton in Pakistan have been affected by climate change and what it means for the companies' businesses . From this research, Oxfam identifies key actions for companies to begin to address the challenges to small-scale producers, and raises questions for further discussion.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Economics, Environment, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
Political Geography:
Pakistan and Colombia

33. The Climate 'Fiscal Cliff': An evaluation of Fast Start Finance and lessons for the future

Publication Date:
11-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
After a year of extreme weather, developing countries face a climate 'fiscal cliff' at the end of 2012, as Fast Start Finance expires and the Green Climate Fund remains empty. New Oxfam analysis of Fast Start Finance reveals that much of it has been a false start. Governments have not delivered on commitments made in Copenhagen to ensure that the funding was new, additional, and balanced across adaptation and mitigation projects. Developed nations must scale up climate finance from 2013, consider innovative proposals to raise public climate finance, and make pledges to the Green Climate Fund which otherwise will remain an empty shell for the third year in a row.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Economics, Environment, Third World, and Financial Crisis

34. Salt, Sugar, and Malaria Pills: How the Affordable Medicine Facility–malaria endangers public health

Author:
Mohga M Kamal-Yanni
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Recent progress in controlling malaria is a major development success. Thanks to external aid and domestic financing the proportion of children in sub - Saharan Africa sleeping under a bed net has increased from 2 per cent to 39 per cent in the last 10 years. This has brought down the number of malaria deaths dramatically in many countries, such as Namibia, Swaziland, Ethiopia, Senegal and Zambia, where deaths have been cut by between 25 and 50 per cent.
Topic:
Development, Health, and Infectious Diseases
Political Geography:
Africa, Ethiopia, Senegal, Zambia, Swaziland, and Namibia

35. Planting Now (2nd Edition): Revitalizing agriculture for reconstruction and development in Haiti

Author:
Tonny Joseph
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010 exacerbated the country's grinding poverty and serious development problems, while at the same time worsening Haitian living conditions. The tremor killed over 250,000 people and injured 300, 000. It crippled the economy, causing losses estimated at almost 120 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Nevertheless, economic growth is expected to rise between 7 and 9 percent in 2012, largely owing to reconstruction efforts. The population in internally displaced persons camps has decreased from 1.5 million to around 390,000 (according to the June 2012 report of the International Organization for Migration), and the country's hurricane preparedness capacity has increased.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Gender Issues, Government, Food, and Fragile/Failed State
Political Geography:
Caribbean and Haiti

36. 'Our Land, Our Lives': Time out on the global land rush

Author:
Kate Geary
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Today, stories of communities driven from their lands, often at the barrel of a gun, left destitute and unable to feed their families, have become all too familiar . As the scale and pace of large - scale land acquisitions increases globally, evidence is mounting that the land rush is out of control and that the price being paid by affected communities is unacceptably high. A huge amount of land has been sold off or leased out globally in the past decade: an area eight times the size of the UK. In poor countries , foreign investors bought up an area of land the size of London every six days between 2000 and 2010. Commercial interest in land could accelerate once again as recent food price spikes motivate rich countries to secure their own food supplies and make land a more secure and attractive option for investors and speculators. The 2008 boom in food prices is widely recognized as having triggered a surge in investor interest in land : from mid - 2008 – 2009 reported agricultural land deals by foreign investors in developing countries rocketed by around 200 per cent .
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Poverty, Natural Resources, Territorial Disputes, and Food
Political Geography:
Africa and United Kingdom

37. Busan in a Nutshell: What next for the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation?

Author:
Farida Bena
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation, established in Busan, South Korea in 2011, set the international standard on the principles of effective aid and good development to which all development actors should subscribe. These principles include: country leadership and ownership of development strategies; a focus on results that matter to the poor in developing countries; inclusive partnerships among development actors based on mutual trust; and transparency and accountability to one another.
Topic:
Development, Poverty, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
Israel and South Korea

38. A Safe and Just Space for Humanity: Can we live within the doughnut?

Author:
Kate Raworth
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Humanity's challenge in the 21st century is to eradicate poverty and achieve prosperity for all within the means of the planet's limited natural resources. In the run-up to Rio+20, this discussion paper presents a visual framework – shaped like a doughnut – which brings planetary boundaries together with social boundaries, creating a safe and just space between the two, in which humanity can thrive. Moving into this space demands far greater equity – within and between countries – in the use of natural resources, and far greater efficiency in transforming those resources to meet human needs.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Environment, Poverty, and Natural Resources

39. A Dangerous Delay: The cost of late response to early warnings in the 2011 drought in the Horn of Africa

Author:
Debbie Hillier and Benedict Dempsey
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The 2011 crisis in the Horn of Africa has been the most severe emergency of its kind this century. More than 13 million people are still affected, with hundreds of thousands placed at risk of starvation. One estimate suggests that 50,000–100,000 people have died. This crisis unfolded despite having been predicted. Although brought on by drought, it was human factors which turned the crisis into a deadly emergency.
Topic:
Development, Non-Governmental Organization, United Nations, and Famine
Political Geography:
Africa

40. The Private Sector and Humanitarian Relief

Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Oxfam believes that the increasing involvement of the private sector in humanitarian relief can add to overall humanitarian capacity . The private sector brings skills and competencies, and is likely to also bring new practices and perspectives to the humanitarian aid community. Any private sector involvement in humanitarian relief must conform with the humanitarian principles embodied in the Red Cross/Crescent and NGO Code of Conduct, including impartial aid based on assessed need, accountability to beneficiaries as well as donors, reduction of future vulnerability as well as immediate relief, and coordination. Oxfam recommends that humanitarian agencies pursue long-term partnerships with private sector entities, so that the private sector's engagement in humanitarian work is strategic, and not just reactive. Partnerships can be bilateral or through consortia, via a variety of modalities. Oxfam has adopted processes for its own engagement with the private sector that it recommends to other humanitarian NGOs. These include screening potential private sector partners to address ethical concerns, potential conflicts with Oxfam's mission and humanitarian principles, and conflicts of interest for the company. Pilot projects can test the working relationship and suitability/appropriateness of contributions before projects are scaled up. These principles apply to private sector humanitarian engagement, including response to natural disasters, conflicts, and complex emergencies, as well as in post-disaster recovery and reconstruction.
Topic:
Development, Human Rights, Human Welfare, Humanitarian Aid, Markets, and Foreign Aid