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1061. External Review of the Inter–Agency Standing Committee on Humanitarian Affairs

Author:
Abby Stoddard and Bruce Jones
Publication Date:
12-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
In interpretation of the mandate provided by General Assembly Resolution 46/182 and subsequent, related resolutions, the Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC) has set for itself the following core objectives: To allocate responsibilities among agencies in humanitarian programmes; To identify areas where gaps in mandates or lack of operational capacity exist; To resolve disputes or disagreement about and between humanitarian agencies on system-wide humanitarian issues. To advocate common humanitarian principles to parties outside the IASC; To develop and agree on system-wide humanitarian policies; and To develop and agree on a common ethical framework for all humanitarian activities.
Topic:
International Cooperation and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

1062. Good Intentions Will Not Pave The Road to Peace

Publication Date:
09-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
The Afghan people have been promised a lot in the last two years. New rules for a new world would be written in their country. Regime change would deliver Afghans, finally, from oppression and violence, while a Marshall Plan would give them a chance to rebuild their lives.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Asia

1063. Private Donations for International Development

Author:
John Micklewright and Anna Wright
Publication Date:
12-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Charitable donations by private individuals and firms can help fund the Millennium Development Goals. What are the prospects for increasing donations for international development, whether from small-scale donors, the super-rich (as in the recent gifts by Bill Gates and Ted Turner), or the corporate sector? The paper starts by reviewing how large are the sums currently given in OECD countries (including gifts of time) and the problems development has in competing with domestic causes. It then looks at possibilities for the future, including tax deductions, the new 'global funds', corporate social responsibility and 'cause-related marketing', the use of the Internet, and long-term donor education.
Topic:
Development, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, and Third World

1064. A Global Lottery and a Global Premium Bond

Author:
Tony Addison and Abdur R. Chowdhury
Publication Date:
12-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
The world lottery market now amounts to at least US$126 billion in sales. World market sales for all gaming products (public, charitable and commercial) total some US$1 trillion, of which Internet gambling accounts for US$32 billion. This paper assesses the prospects for harnessing this large and growing market for the purposes of development finance by means of a global lottery and a global premium bond (with the successful UK scheme providing a model for the latter). Each has different strengths: the global lottery can add to the supply of grant finance for development, while the global premium bond could be an attractive savings instrument for ethical investors. The paper concludes that global versions of both a lottery and a premium bond are viable and complementary in mobilizing more development finance.
Topic:
Development, Economics, International Cooperation, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United Kingdom

1065. The International Finance Facility: The UK HM Treasury-DFID Proposal to Increase External Finance to Developing Countries

Author:
George Mavrotas
Publication Date:
12-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
The paper discusses the International Finance Facility (IFF), a joint HM Treasury-DFID proposal to increase development aid substantially for the Millennium Development Goals to be achieved by 2015. The main conclusion of the paper is that the proposed IFF is a promising, forward-looking and creative proposal for it implies a substantial increase in fresh, predictable and stable aid as well as a robust financial structure. However, there are a number of concerns about potential shortcomings of the proposal, namely its underlying assumptions about continuous commitment on behalf of the donor community towards the implementation of the IFF during the life of the Facility and most importantly its heavy reliance on political coordination among donor countries participating in the proposed scheme. Potential absorptive capacity constraints in IFF aid-recipient countries may be also relevant. Achieving its huge political task as well as alleviating the crucial constraints regarding its successful implementation seem to be the main challenges this innovative proposal needs to deal with in the near future.
Topic:
Development, International Cooperation, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

1066. Work In Progress: Introducing the UNU Inter-Linkages Initiative: Focusing on the Implementation of Sustainable Development

Author:
Jerry Velasque and Uli Piest
Publication Date:
05-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Embedded in the United Nations University's Environment and Sustainable Development Programme (ESD), the Inter-linkages Initiative is an innovative approach to managing sustainable development. Based on the recognition that environmental management is strongly related to human behaviour at all levels of natural and human interaction, it promotes greater connectivity between ecosystems and societal performance. On a practical level, the inter-linkages initiative is based on the assumption that improving the implementation of existing environmental mechanisms does not necessarily require new instruments but, rather, a greater level of coherence among the tools already available. In this regard, Interlinkages represents a time- and cost-effective approach to strengthening the existing systems of managing sustainable development.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, International Cooperation, and United Nations

1067. Cyber Attacks: Protecting America's Security Against Digital Threats

Author:
Michael Vatis
Publication Date:
06-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
The events of September 11, 2001, underscored the vulnerability to foreign attack of the territory of the United States itself, in a way not seen since Pearl Harbor. Since that day, the federal government, the media, and the public have been intensely focused on taking measures to protect us from similar attacks — or from even more devastating attacks involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD), such as nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological weapons.
Topic:
International Cooperation and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
United States and America

1068. Should the United States "Weaponize" Space?

Author:
Edward Hudgins and Charles V. Peña
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Control of space is at the crux of the debate about the future of U.S. military space policy. The question is not about militarizing space. Clearly, we have been using and will continue to use space for military purposes. But, whereas we are currently using space assets to support terrestrial (ground, sea, and air) military operations, what Sen. Robert C. Smith (R-N.H.), the Space Commission (which was chaired by current Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld), and others have proposed is that the United States move toward “weaponizing” space for space control.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, International Cooperation, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
United States

1069. Unsavory Bedfellows: Washington's International Partners in the War on Drugs

Author:
Ted Galen Carpenter
Publication Date:
08-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The United States has made common cause with an assortment of dubious regimes around the world to wage the war on drugs. Perhaps the most shocking example was Washington's decision in May 2001 to financially reward Afghanistan's infamous Taliban government for its edict ordering a halt to the cultivation of opium poppies.
Topic:
International Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States, South America, Latin America, Central America, and Caribbean

1070. Enhancing U.S. Leadership at the United Nations

Author:
Lee Feinstein, David Dreier, Lee Hamilton, and Adrian Karatnycky
Publication Date:
10-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
Enhanced American leadership at the United Nations is beneficial for U.S. interests and can help strengthen the UN and the international system. For many years, however, the United States has not been nearly as effective at the UN as it can or should be.
Topic:
Government, International Cooperation, and United Nations
Political Geography:
United States and America