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142. Peace Operations: the Civilian Dimension Accounting for UNDP and the UN Specialized Agencies
- Author:
- Susan Woodward
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center on International Cooperation
- Abstract:
- Complex, multidimensional peacekeeping is a creature of the 1990s. The civilian tasks are those set out in Agenda for Peace (1992), and its 1995 Supplement, while the lessons of the 1990s for UN operations were only codified in the Brahimi Report of August 2000 and its proposed reforms. The explicit contribution to peacekeeping missions of UNDP and the Specialized Agencies, with the important exception of those with an established humanitarian mandate such as UNHCR and WFP, is thus little more than a decade old. Capacity-building reforms within UNDP and the agencies for this conflict-related and post-conflict role date to 2001-2002 at best. Accommodation by the UN system for peacekeeping operations of their now integral role has not begun.
- Topic:
- Development, International Organization, Peace Studies, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- United States
143. Through the Fog of Peace Building: Evaluating the Reconstruction of Afghanistan
- Author:
- Barnett Rubin, Abby Stoddard, and Humayan Hamidzada
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center on International Cooperation
- Abstract:
- A year and a half after the defeat of the Taliban, anger is rising in Afghanistan at the slow pace of reconstruction. Success in reconstruction means meeting goals, not fulfilling pledges or being generous. The overriding goal is enabling Afghans to build a country that contributes to, rather than threatens, their own and global security. As the government of Afghanistan becomes better organized and articulates both this goal and what is needed to reach it more clearly, it has become evident that donors underestimated the amount of assistance required. Initial pledges fell short even of underestimates of the needs and were far less than in other comparable cases. Initial disbursements, which in past cases have always exceeded subsequent ones, came relatively quickly and nearly met pledges, as donors have highlighted (see figure 1). But most of these disbursements went for emergency humanitarian needs, not reconstruction. Implementation of those reconstruction projects that have been funded has been exceedingly slow, leaving little to show on the ground. As of May 2003, donors reported that in 17 months they had completed reconstruction projects with a total expenditure of only $191 million, out of $2.1 billion pledged to reconstruction for the first twelve months. Furthermore, according to Afghan government figures, only 16 percent of the total disbursements (including for humanitarian purposes) had passed through channels controlled by the struggling Afghan government and had thus failed to build that government's capacity or legitimacy. The pervasive insecurity outside of Kabul prevented implementation of major projects and sapped the public's confidence in the new authorities. Failure to strengthen the government and provide security will doom the reconstruction effort even if contributions increase. The government has articulated an ambitious policy framework for reconstruction and asked for both reconstruction and security assistance. Success is possible, and at a modest cost. Failure by the US and other major states to respond will doom Afghanistan, the region, and the world to a repetition of anarchy that gave birth to the Taliban and refuge to al-Qaida.
- Topic:
- Development, International Cooperation, and Peace Studies
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, Asia, and Taliban
144. The Politics of Center-Periphery Relations in Afghanistan
- Author:
- Barnett Rubin and Helena Malikyar
- Publication Date:
- 03-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center on International Cooperation
- Abstract:
- The relationship of the central government of Afghanistan to the other units of government is in many ways a proxy for the relationship of state to society. It would not be so if the state were more institutionalized and in control of the territory and population of the country. But the current situation, where the direct administrative control of the government is largely limited to the capital city and environs, and in which the government relies on international support (“foreign” support to its opponents) to exercise that control, has precedents in other eras of Afghan history.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Development, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Asia
145. Humanitarian NGOs: Challenges and Trends
- Author:
- Abby Stoddard
- Publication Date:
- 07-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center on International Cooperation
- Abstract:
- Non-governmental humanitarian organisations have evolved into a crucial pillar of the international humanitarian architecture. This Briefing Paper reviews the issues and trends affecting the humanitarian non-governmental sector in the wake of the sea-change in the geopolitical agenda after 11 September. Events since threaten to change the landscape of non-governmental humanitarian action in important ways, and are likely to widen the rift between US and European NGOs. Old questions, to do with relations with governments or armed forces or the shape and proper place of advocacy, have become sharper, while new challenges, such as the consolidation of the aid oligopoly, have emerged. While humanitarian agencies have to a surprising extent carried on 'business as usual', they are steeling themselves for uncertain times ahead.
- Topic:
- International Cooperation and Non-Governmental Organization
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
146. 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
147. 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
148. Center-periphery Relations in the Afghan State: Current Practices, Future Prospects
- Author:
- Barnett Rubin and Helena Malikyar
- Publication Date:
- 12-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center on International Cooperation
- Abstract:
- After decades of violence during which Afghanistan's weak institutions broke down even further, the Bonn agreement of December 5, 2001, provided elements of a road map for rebuilding governance and security in the common interest of the people of Afghanistan and the rest of the international community. The agreement provided a timetable for key political benchmarks to be met by the interim and transitional Afghan governments, such as the convening of the Emergency Loya Jirga, the appointment of the constitutional commission, the adoption of the constitution by another Loya Jirga, and general elections by June 2004.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Development, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Asia
149. The Cost of Multilateral Action
- Author:
- Shepard Forman, Maurizio Iacopetta, Charles Grayboy, and Yoram Wurmser
- Publication Date:
- 06-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center on International Cooperation
- Abstract:
- This explanatory note accompanies five tables developed and prepared over the past two years by graduate assistants at the Center on International Cooperation (CIC), New York University. Together, the tables describe CIC's preliminary efforts to aggregate the costs of international public goods and services provided through intergovernmental organizations. It does not account for bilateral funding nor for expenditures from non-governmental and other private actors. While the data is partial and subject to methodological deficiencies, it does provide a framework for estimating annual expenditures associated with the provision of goods and services through intergovernmental organizations as well as an indication of their distribution across sectors and regions. Reporting our findings at this early stage of the work is intended to encourage commentary on both the methodology employed and the findings to date, as well as to stimulate further research on the costs and financing of the international public sector.
- Topic:
- Government, International Cooperation, and Non-Governmental Organization
- Political Geography:
- United States and New York
150. Regional Burden-Sharing for Humanitarian Action
- Author:
- David O'Brien
- Publication Date:
- 04-1999
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center on International Cooperation
- Abstract:
- The emergence of an international humanitarian system, the codification of international humanitarian law and the corresponding creation of supportive organizations, is arguably one of the most welcomed forms of multilateralism in the 20th century. At the close of this century, billions of dollars are raised annually by the UN system to alleviate the suffering caused by natural disasters and war but this financial support is declining and increasingly unable to meet humanitarian needs. This declining resource base, along with a search to diversify sources of funding and the recognition that some emergencies receive adequate attention while others do not, raises question for the need for new burden-sharing arrangements.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Development, Ethnic Conflict, International Cooperation, International Organization, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Africa