Search

Begin New Search Topic Treaties and Agreements

361. The Final Countdown: A historic opportunity to deliver an arms trade treaty that saves lives

Author:
Deepayan BasuRay
Publication Date:
07-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
In July 2012, governments have a historic opportunity to create a strong Arms Trade Treaty that saves lives and livelihoods and builds a more secure future for all the world's citizens. Strong treaties gain new members and set international standards; weak treaties rarely get stronger. Governments must not compromise during the final countdown for the sake of securing universal agreement. The Treaty must cover all conventional arms, ammunition, parts and components, and all types of arms transfers. It must include strong criteria that prevent arms being transferred where there is a substantial risk that they will be used in violation of international human rights or humanitarian law, or will undermine development. The Arms Trade Treaty must have strong measures for transparency and accountability, and an effective implementation and enforcement mechanism. These must also assist countries to effectively implement and monitor the Treaty.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Development, Human Rights, and Treaties and Agreements

362. Putting Women's Rights into the Arms Trade Treaty

Author:
Chitra Nagarajan and Caroline Green
Publication Date:
07-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
According to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination of Women, “Wars, armed conflicts and the occupation of territories often lead to increased prostitution, trafficking in women and sexual assault of women, which require specific protective and punitive measures”.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Gender Issues, Human Rights, and Treaties and Agreements

363. The Future of the European Convention on Human Rights after the Brighton Conference

Author:
Antonio Bultrini
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
It is widely recognized that the European Convention on Human Rights has led to the most advanced human rights protection system to date - and represents an important benchmark for several other international bodies. The individual right of application to the European Court, which unlike other human rights treaties is compulsory for State parties, is a unique feature and pillar of the system. However, the European Court is presently overwhelmed by an abnormal caseload: about 150,000 applications are currently pending in Strasbourg. Recent reforms have increased the Court’s efficiency. Yet the British Government has just tried to promote a new reform of the system. This attempt was not entirely disinterested and has led to an unprecedented mobilization by international civil society. The British move has nonetheless triggered a debate on the real challenges facing the European system.
Topic:
Human Rights, Human Welfare, International Law, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

364. Beyond Treaties: Immediate Steps to Reduce Nuclear Dangers

Author:
James M. Acton
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
The U.S. political parties are divided on nuclear weapons policy. Meanwhile, the United States and Russia have reached an arms control impasse and no new agreement is on the horizon. Confidence-building measures could help reduce nuclear risks between the United States and Russia, advancing the goals of both countries and both U.S. presidential candidates.
Topic:
Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
Russia and United States

365. The SO2 Allowance Trading System: The Ironic History of a Grand Policy Experiment

Author:
Robert N. Stavins and Richard Schmalensee
Publication Date:
08-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
Two decades have passed since the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 launched a grand experiment in market-based environmental policy: the SO2 cap-and-trade system. That system performed well but created four striking ironies. First, by creating this system to reduce SO2 emissions to curb acid rain, the government did the right thing for the wrong reason. Second, a substantial source of this system's cost-effectiveness was an unanticipated consequence of earlier railroad deregulation. Third, it is ironic that cap-and-trade has come to be demonized by conservative politicians in recent years, since this market-based, cost-effective policy innovation was initially championed and implemented by Republican administrations. Fourth, court decisions and subsequent regulatory responses have led to the collapse of the SO2 market, demonstrating that what the government gives, the government can take away.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Government, Markets, Treaties and Agreements, and Law

366. International Paretianism: A Defense

Author:
Eric A. Posner and David Weisbach
Publication Date:
07-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
A treaty satisfies what we call International Paretianism if it advances the interests of all states that join it, so that no state is made worse off. The principle might seem obvious, but it rules out nearly all the major proposals for a climate treaty, including proposals advanced by academics and by government officials. We defend International Paretianism, and for that reason urge commentators in the debate over climate justice to abandon efforts to right past wrongs, redistribute wealth, and achieve other abstract ideals through a climate treaty.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, International Cooperation, and Treaties and Agreements

367. Post-Durban Climate Policy Architecture Based on Linkage of Cap-and-Trade Systems

Author:
Robert N. Stavins
Publication Date:
07-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
The outcome of the December 2011 United Nations climate negotiations in Durban, South Africa, provides an important new opportunity to move toward an international climate policy architecture that is capable of delivering broad international participation and significant global CO2 emissions reductions at reasonable cost. We evaluate one important component of potential climate policy architecture for the post-Durban era: links among independent tradable permit systems for greenhouse gases. Because linkage reduces the cost of achieving given targets, there is tremendous pressure to link existing and planned cap-and-trade systems, and in fact, a number of links already or will soon exist. We draw on recent political and economic experience with linkage to evaluate potential roles that linkage may play in post-Durban international climate policy, both in a near-term, de facto architecture of indirect links between regional, national, and sub-national cap-and-trade systems, and in longer-term, more comprehensive bottom-up architecture of direct links. Although linkage will certainly help to reduce long-term abatement costs, it may also serve as an effective mechanism for building institutional and political structure to support a future climate agreement.
Topic:
Climate Change, Economics, Environment, International Cooperation, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
South Africa and Durban

368. The Nature and Role of Regional Agreements in International Environmental Politics: Mapping Agreements, Outlining Future Research

Author:
Miriam Prys, Jörg Balsiger, and Niko Steinhoff
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Global agreements to mitigate climate change, conserve biodiversity or combat desertification typically take center stage in scholarly discussions about international environmental politics. Even though the United Nations Environment Programme reported ten years ago that regional agreements make up two‐thirds of all international treaties, regional cooperation has by comparison either received scant attention or been conceptually and empirically lumped together with global treaties. This lack of knowledge about the historical and current scope of regional governance is a serious obstacle to understanding the architecture of global environmental governance and to overcoming current bottlenecks in international environmental cooperation. In response, we report on the outcome of an analysis that complements the most comprehensive database on international environmental agreements (iea.uoregon.edu) with variables for analysis at the regional level. We introduce a multidimensional typology of regional agreements based on contiguous/noncontiguous agreement membership, contiguous/noncontiguous spatial ambit, and whether membership and ambit are adjoining and/or coextensive. We discuss the theoretical and empirical relevance of the different types of agreements and the nature and prevalence of special cases. Given the previous lack of research in this area, our primary purpose is to present a systematic account of regional environmental governance, leaving causal analysis to our own and others' future research. We identify a number of knowledge gaps and analytical directions in the conclusion.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, International Cooperation, Treaties and Agreements, and United Nations

369. Verifying a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty: Technical and Organizational Considerations

Author:
Shannon N. Kile and Robert E. Kelley
Publication Date:
08-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Abstract:
In recent years there has been renewed momentum behind international efforts to open negotiations on a verifiable fissile material cut-off treaty (FMCT). Should these efforts finally bear fruit, a key question that will have to be addressed in the negotiations is what organization should be given the responsibility for verifying compliance with the proposed fissile material production ban. One widely mentioned choice for this role is the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in light of its long experience in implementing nuclear safeguards agreements mandated by the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (Non- Proliferation Treaty, NPT). Many of the tools and procedures developed by the IAEA for safeguards purposes could be directly applied to verifying a future FMCT.
Topic:
Energy Policy, International Cooperation, Treaties and Agreements, Governance, and Nuclear Power

370. Assessing EU Leadership on Climate Change. The Limits of Diffusion in EU Relations with China and India

Author:
Diarmuid Torney
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Kolleg-Forschergruppe (KFG)
Abstract:
The EU has for a long time claimed the title of “leader” in the international politics of climate change. However, existing research has generally failed to specify whether the EU's purported leadership has induced the “followership” of other states. This working paper seeks to shed light on this somewhat neglected topic by examining the attempted diffusion of climate change norms, policies, and institutions by the EU to China and India. The paper makes two principal arguments. First, the development of Chinese and Indian climate change policy should be understood as primarily domestic developments. Nonetheless, there was limited evidence of diffusion from the EU, but there was significant variation between the Chinese and Indian responses to the EU's diffusion attempts. The Chinese response was one increasing accommodation; the Indian response was a more straightforward case of resistance. Second, domestic factors help to explain the variation in the Chinese and Indian responses to EU attempts at diffusion and, related, the observed pattern of diffusion from the EU to China and India. Particularly important is the degree to which new external ideas and concepts resonate with pre-existing domestic ideas and concepts. The paper thus paints a picture of limited EU leadership, but also suggests that the EU attempts to secure “followership” could be enhanced by paying greater attention to the domestic politics and preferences of third countries.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
China and India