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492. Crises in a New World Order: Challenging the humanitarian project
- Publication Date:
- 02-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Tens of millions of people suffer in today's humanitarian crises. In East Africa alone, over 13 million have faced a devastating food crisis. But millions of people also help their neighbours, families and communities. For example, in Pakistan, neighbours, communities and local NGOs were once again first with relief when floods struck in 2011, just as they had been in 2010, when aid agencies struggled to reach the 14 million in need of assistance.
- Topic:
- Humanitarian Aid, Non-Governmental Organization, United Nations, Natural Disasters, and Reconstruction
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, South Asia, and East Africa
493. The Iraq We Left Behind
- Author:
- Ned Parker
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Foreign Affairs
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- Nine years after U.S. troops toppled Saddam Hussein and just a few months after the last U.S. soldier left Iraq, the country has become something close to a failed state. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki presides over a system rife with corruption and brutality, in which political leaders use security forces and militias to repress enemies and intimidate the general population. The law exists as a weapon to be wielded against rivals and to hide the misdeeds of allies. The dream of an Iraq governed by elected leaders answerable to the people is rapidly fading away.
- Topic:
- Government and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, and Washington
494. 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
495. Innovative Financing in Early Recovery: The Liberia Health Sector Pool Fund
- Author:
- Amanda Glassman, Jacob Hughes, and Walter Gwenigale
- Publication Date:
- 02-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- In post-conflict Liberia, the National Health Plan set out a process for transitioning from emergency to sustainability under government leadership. The Liberia Health Sector Pool Fund, which consists of DfID, Irish Aid, UNICEF, and UNHCR, was established to fund this plan and mitigate this transition by increasing institutional capacity, reducing the transaction costs associated with managing multiple donor projects, and fostering the leadership of the Liberian Health Ministry by allocating funds to national priorities. In this paper, we discuss the design of the health pool fund mechanism, assess its functioning, compare the pooled fund to other aid mechanisms used in Liberia, and look into the enabling conditions, opportunities, and challenges of the pool fund.
- Topic:
- Development, Health, United Nations, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Liberia
496. Escaping the Vicious Cycle of Poverty: Towards Universal Access to Energy
- Author:
- Glada Lahn, Arno Behrens, Jorge Núñez Ferrer, Eike Dreblow, Mathilde Carraro, and Sebastian Veit
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- Despite the continuous efforts of developing countries and the international community to reduce energy poverty, some 2.7 billion people around the world still rely on traditional biomass for cooking and heating and 1.3 billion people do not have access to electricity. Over 80% of the energy poor live in rural areas and roughly two thirds in sub-Saharan Africa and India. While fossil fuels will inevitably play a major role in expanding on-grid energy supply, this study shows that renewable energy sources – and especially small decentralised solutions – have huge potential for providing reliable, sustainable and affordable energy services for the poor, particularly in rural areas of developing countries. Many challenges remain, including financing, capacity-building, technology transfer and governance reforms. A careful assessment of the environmental impacts of renewable energy technologies, particularly those on water, is an important prerequisite for donor finance. With the right design, energy access projects can also bring a host of developmental co-benefits. It should be possible for international initiatives including the UN's Year of Sustainable Energy for All and the EU's partnership with Africa to build on the rich experience and lessons learned from pilot projects over the last two decades in order to optimise donor effectiveness in this area.
- Topic:
- Energy Policy, Poverty, Science and Technology, United Nations, and Natural Resources
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Europe, and India
497. Security Council Working Methods and UN Peace Operations: The Case of Chad and the Central African Republic, 2006-2010
- Author:
- Richard Gowan and Alexandra Novosseloff
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center on International Cooperation
- Abstract:
- This paper, the second in a series on Security Council working methods and the performance of peace operations, addresses the Council's engagement in Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR) from early 2006 to the end of 2010. While the Council explored options for deploying some sort of UN peacekeeping presence to these countries from mid-2006 onwards, these discussions were secondary to much higher-profile debates about the possibility of a large-scale force in Darfur. After Chad had stated its initial opposition to a UN military deployment, France initiated proposals for the deployments of an EU military mission linked to a UN police presence to Chad and CAR in mid-2007.
- Topic:
- Security, International Cooperation, United Nations, and Peacekeeping
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Europe, and France
498. Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon
- Author:
- Ban Ki-moon
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Columbia University World Leaders Forum
- Abstract:
- This World Leaders Forum program, titled From Youth Explosion to Global Transformation: Unleashing the Power of Young People, will feature an address by Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations. The discussion will be followed by a question and answer session with the audience.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Development, Globalization, United Nations, and Youth Culture
499. Globalization and Development : Current Trends
- Author:
- Shantanu Chakrabarti (ed) and Kingshuk Chatterjee (ed)
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Course Pack
- Institution:
- Institute of Foreign Policy Studies, University of Calcutta
- Abstract:
- This volume of essays comes out of a seminar organized by the Institute of Foreign Policy Studies, Calcutta University as a part of its UNAI program. The United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI), officially launched with a two-day conference in New York City, 18–19 November 2010, is a UN global initiative that seeks to align institutions of higher learning with the United Nations in actively supporting ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, literacy, sustainability and conflict resolution. The Academic Impact also asks each participating college or university to actively demonstrate support of at least one of those principles each year. Academic Impact is a program of the Outreach Division of the Department of Public Information. It is open to all institutions of higher education granting degrees or their equivalent, as well as bodies whose substantive responsibilities relate to the conduct of research. It's essential frame of reference is: To bring into association with the United Nations, and with each other, institutions of higher learning throughout the world; To provide a mechanism for such institutions to commit themselves to the fundamental precepts driving the United Nations mandate, in particular the realization of the universally determined Millennium Development Goals; To serve as a viable point of contact for ideas and proposals relevant to the United Nations mandate; To promote the direct engagement of institutions of higher education in programs, projects and initiatives relevant to this mandate.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Education, Human Rights, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- New York and Calcutta
500. Aid Effectiveness in Fragile States: Lessons from the First Generation of Transition Compacts
- Author:
- Christina Bennett
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- Amid growing recognition that international efforts to support fragile and conflict-affected states are falling short of expectations, donors and partner governments continue to seek new approaches. Attention has recently focused on the notion of “compacts”—instruments that allow national and international partners to agree on the most urgent priorities requiring a collective effort in support of postconflict peacebuilding in a particular country, and identify how, and from which sources and instruments, implementation will be financed.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Humanitarian Aid, Peace Studies, United Nations, and Foreign Aid