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391. Turning up the heat: climate change and poverty in Uganda

Publication Date:
07-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
People in Uganda, whose contribution to global warming has been minuscule, are feeling the impacts of climate change first and worst. On the one hand there is more erratic rainfall in the March to June rainy season, bringing drought and reductions in crop yields and plant varieties; on the other hand, the rainfall, especially in the later rains towards the end of the year, is reported as coming in downpours that are more intense and destructive, bringing floods, landslides, and soil erosion. Climate scientists say that, in the future, one of the most likely effects of climate change will be more rain, especially during the second rains from October to December.
Topic:
Climate Change and Environment
Political Geography:
Uganda and Africa

392. Square pegs in round holes: How the Farm Bill squanders chances for a pro-development trade deal

Publication Date:
07-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
When trade ministers from 35 countries gather in Geneva at the World Trade Organization [WTO] for what is being billed yet again as a last-ditch attempt to forge a Doha trade deal, they will be forced to meet an unwelcome guest: the 2008 US Farm Bill. With a host of newly bolstered subsidies that will hurt farmers in developing countries, as well as higher farm payment rates, squeezing the new Farm Bill into the 'boxes' defined under existing WTO obligations will be a remarkable trick. That speaks poorly about the willingness of the US to accept new disciplines on agricultural subsidies, and demonstrates that the US Congress is unwilling - thus far - to take the necessary steps for a new trade agreement that would prioritize development.
Topic:
Agriculture, International Organization, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and World Trade Organization
Political Geography:
Geneva and United States

393. Failing Women, Withholding Protection: 15 lost years in making the female condom accessible

Publication Date:
08-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Policy makers lament women's vulnerablity to HIV infection, yet for 15 years they have failed to utilise a technology which can help women to protect and empower themselves. The female condom is the only female-initiated method which provides protection from HIV infection; it also prevents unwanted pregnancy. Studies have shown it is acceptable to users, increases the proportion of protected sex acts, and is cost-effective when provided in addition to male condoms. Yet most women cannot access female condoms. New female-initiated technologies such as microbicides will not be available for many years. Female condoms exist now; the push for universal access to them should begin now.
Topic:
Gender Issues and Health

394. Survival of the fittest: Pastoralism and climate change in East Africa

Publication Date:
08-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Climate change is having a destructive impact on many groups around the world. Pastoralists in East Africa have been adapting to climate variability for millennia and their adaptability ought to enable them to cope with this growing challenge. This paper explains the policies required to enable sustainable and productive pastoralist communities to cope with the impact of climate change and generate sustainable livelihoods.
Topic:
Agriculture, Climate Change, and Poverty
Political Geography:
Africa and East Africa

395. From Emergency to Recovery: Rescuing northern Uganda's transition

Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Despite the absence of a final peace settlement, a dramatic improvement in security in war-ravaged northern Uganda is allowing displaced civilians to return home and has transformed the humanitarian operating environment. A transition is now under way from a relief effort led by international agencies to government-driven recovery. But that shift is generating new challenges for northern Ugandans and institutional confusion among the actors working to help them rebuild their lives. After decades of conflict and marginalisation, it is critical that the government of Uganda and its international partners bring a peace dividend to the North through an inclusive and co-ordinated recovery process.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, and Disaster Relief
Political Geography:
Uganda and Africa

396. Mission incomplete: why civilians remain at risk in eastern Chad

Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The international community took an important step in deploying the UN and EUFOR mission to volatile and insecure eastern Chad. However, one year on, this mission is not capable of adequately protecting civilians and requires urgent reform. EUFOR has made many civilians feel safer, but as a military force is ill suited to an environment of lawlessness and banditry. A year on the policing elements of the mission are yet to be deployed. Finally, without a comprehensive political solution to the internal crisis in Chad, there will be no hope of long-term security for the civilians who are currently at risk.
Topic:
Security and United Nations
Political Geography:
Africa and Chad

397. Out of Site: Building better responses to displacement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by helping host families

Author:
Katherine Haver
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Despite new peace agreements, continued conflict among and between armed militias and government forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the last year has seen thousands of new internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the east of the country, many of whom have poured into camps seeking shelter and safety. This is a new development in DRC. Unlike Darfur and Uganda, IDPs in DRC have usually stayed with host families, returning intermittently to their homes, rather than fleeing to refugee-like camps. Around 70 per cent of DRC's IDPs are still living with host families, but the unprecedented upsurge in the number of those heading towards camps raises difficult questions. Have humanitarian organisations done enough to help IDPs in host families, and the host families themselves? If they have not, have they in fact encouraged the drive to the camps? Most importantly, how can IDPs with host families (as well as those in camps) be adequately assisted?
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Humanitarian Aid, and Migration
Political Geography:
Uganda, Africa, Darfur, and Democratic Republic of the Congo

398. Kosovo's Fragile Transition - Europe Report N°196

Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Kosovo has taken first state-building steps, but the international community has not met its commitments to provide adequate support. A rule-of-law mission (EULEX), the EU's biggest ever European security and defence policy (ESDP) operation, was agreed in February 2008 but has only started to deploy. The International Civilian Office (ICO), projected to supervise independence, is a shell. The UN still functions in part as an interim administration, negotiating arrangements for Kosovo Serbs with Belgrade. The Ahtisaari plan, on the basis of which 47 states have recognised Kosovo, has been undermined by the international organisations meant to help implement it. The EU and U.S. are struggling to come to terms with Russia's attempts to portray its support for breakaway regions in Georgia as a mirror image of what they did in Kosovo. Most urgent now is for the EU to make EULEX fully operational before year's end and use its leverage with a Belgrade government that wants membership to begin to make pragmatic accommodations to Kosovo's new status.
Topic:
Development, Sovereignty, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Europe, Kosovo, Balkans, and Georgia

399. For a Safer Tomorrow: Protecting civilians in a multipolar world

Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
One night in March 2007, soldiers arrived in the village of Buramba in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). By the time they left at least 15 people were dead. 'At 5.30 in the morning', one survivor said, 'I saw the soldiers coming to our house...They kicked down the door, and killed eight people inside. Only my four grandchildren survived. [They] continued firing in the village. I fled into the bush. I returned three days later to see the bodies of my children and my mother. The bodies were in latrines; I could see the feet of my mother sticking out.'
Topic:
Political Violence, Human Rights, Post Colonialism, Terrorism, and War
Political Geography:
Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo

400. The forecast for tomorrow: the UK's climate for change

Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The forecast for tomorrow is a snapshot of a country deeply torn by good and bad climate policies and actions among business, public and government - with each group inextricably bound by the actions of the others. Whether the UK succeeds in achieving its emissions reduction targets and in becoming a leader in international climate negotiations depends on whether good or bad policies prevail. At stake are the lives and livelihoods of millions of poor people around the world, who will suffer first and worst from climate change despite being the least responsible for it.
Topic:
Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Globalization, and International Affairs
Political Geography:
United Kingdom