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21. COVID-19 and Trust in International Cooperation

Author:
Karina Gerlach and Robert Kang
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
2020 is the 75th anniversary year of the United Nations (UN), and it has already shaped up to be a year of unprecedented international shocks and potential for transformation, from COVID-19’s impact to the current mobilization for racial justice in many areas of the world. What does this mean for global trust in international cooperation and multilateral institutions? This briefing by Karina Gerlach and Robert Kang examines recent global polling data, finding a growing demand for international cooperation but diminished trust in international institutions to play a role in the response to COVID-19. It also looks at shifts in member state leadership and perceptions of United States-China rivalry, arguing that middle power alliances and regional networks offer a path forward for international cooperation even in difficult circumstances.
Topic:
International Cooperation, Race, United Nations, Reform, Multilateralism, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
China, Global Focus, and United States of America

22. Operationalizing the Prevention Agenda: Three Recommendations for the Peacebuilding Architecture Review

Author:
Paige Arthur and Céline Monnier
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
Over the past 18 months, CIC has facilitated a series of discussions on the United Nations secretary-general’s agenda on preventing violent conflict. This options paper consolidates key recommendations for operationalizing the prevention agenda in light of the 2020 peacebuilding architecture review. In the paper, Paige Arthur and Céline Monnier present recommendations based on the consultations CIC has held across the UN system, as well as with national actors, to support the operationalization of the 2016 sustaining peace resolutions—with a specific focus on upstream prevention that is nationally led and sovereignty supporting. The paper examines options to increase national demand for prevention approaches, opportunities to build and consolidate the UN system’s expertise on prevention, and options to increase cross-pillar approaches, which are critical to the success of prevention initiatives.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, United Nations, and Peace
Political Geography:
Global Focus

23. Justice for All and the Economic Crisis

Author:
David Steven and Maaike de Langen
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered what may be the worst global recession since the Second World War—and the impact of this second-order crisis will be widespread, including in the justice sector. Access to justice has been affected by the public health response to the coronavirus, but it will also be challenged by the economic downturn. The first in this series—Justice for All and the Public Health Emergency set out recommendations for how justice systems and actors can respond to the health impacts of the pandemic. This second briefing now turns to the question of how the economic downturn will affect access to justice—and how justice systems and partners can play a role in the recovery. The briefing examines how the economic effects of COVID-19 impact common justice problems, and how justice systems can anticipate and innovate in response. It provides recommendations for how justice systems and actors can react nimbly to the pandemic’s effects, and look ahead for opportunities to build back better, reshaping justice systems so they can support more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient economies.
Topic:
United Nations, Global Recession, Rule of Law, Crisis Management, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Global Focus

24. Conflict-Related Sexual Assault— Historic Barriers to International Recognition

Author:
Nicole Mattea
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Abstract:
Conflict-Related Sexual Assault— Historic Barriers to International Recognition JUNE 26, 2020 By: Nicole Mattea, Women, Peace, and Security Intern, Chicago Council on Global Affairs In April of 2019, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2493 within the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda. This resolution recognizes sexual violence occurring on a continuum of violence against women and girls, recognizes national responsibility on addressing sexual violence, and recognizes the need for survivor-based and survivor-centered approaches to preventative and provisionary responses. Despite this resolution and several others adopted within the last several years, it was only a little over a decade ago in 2008 that the United Nations (UN) first recognized the role of sexual violence as a war tactic and began implementing strategies to address and respond to such violence on a global scale. This delay and lack of international attention is due to a series of long-held beliefs about rape, sexual violence, and consent, as well an acceptance of conflict-related sexual violence as inevitable to conflict. To explain the recent emergence of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) into international discourse and preventative strategies, I will define CRSV, explain the history of CRSV in international law and international human rights, and examine the belief systems surrounding CRSV that, until recent years, restricted prosecution and peacekeeping efforts.
Topic:
United Nations, Women, Conflict, Sexual Violence, and International Humanitarian Law (IHL)
Political Geography:
Global Focus

25. Taking stock of the UN at 75: Highs and lows in the shadow of great-power competition

Author:
Katja Creutz
Publication Date:
10-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
The UN has achieved its aims with variable results. Thus far, the world has been spared another devastating world war, but the UN is now expected to address varied existential threats. Without real commitment to multilateralism on the part of major powers, the organization faces a grim future.
Topic:
International Cooperation, United Nations, and Multilateralism
Political Geography:
Global Focus

26. Increasing Aid and Development Financing Volumes for the Advancement of Education in Lower-Middle-Income Countries

Author:
Christian Novak
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
To advance education in lowermiddle-income countries, official donors and multilateral development banks must increase their financial support to address the financial gap. Specific recommendations: • Expand the use of innovative development financing solutions. • Expand the use of innovative aid solutions. • Multilateral development banks to increase financing volumes and to strengthen efforts to maximize financial additionality and private capital mobilization. • Review the classification of LICs and LMICs. • Increase domestic budget allocation. Implementing the recommendations require coordinated efforts of all stakeholders. In addition, it is paramount that lower-middleincome countries design and fully implement effective long-term education programs and systems. Benchmarking and feedback must be constant, prompting sustained improvement and the adoption of international best practices.
Topic:
Development, Education, United Nations, Foreign Aid, Finance, and Sustainable Development Goals
Political Geography:
Global Focus

27. Reflections of The World during the Covid-19 Pandemic On the Lives of Immigrants

Author:
İlhan Zeynep Karakılıç
Publication Date:
12-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
As the Covid-19 epidemic intensified globally, countries began to implement quarantine measures one after the other starting from mid-March. According to the United Nations, 60 thousand decisions were made concerning travel and mobility restrictions in 220 countries. These decisions cause many difficulties that aggravated conditions under the pandemic for immigrants who earned their living by means of temporary mobility. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) made a statement at the end of March when these measures were just implemented, announcing that the Covid-19 global pandemic would be the biggest economic and social shock of the twenty-first century since the September 11 attacks and the 2008 Financial Crisis.
Topic:
Development, Migration, United Nations, Immigrants, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Global Focus

28. TWENTY YEARS AFTER UNSCR 1325: ANY PROGRESS ENDING WARTIME SEXUAL VIOLENCE?

Author:
Robert Nagel, Dara Kay Cohen, and Ragnhild Nordås
Publication Date:
10-2020
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Political Violence @ A Glance
Abstract:
Tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of the groundbreaking UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women Peace and Security (WPS). Where are we on the road to ending conflict-related sexual violence? There is good news and bad news. When the UN Security Council passed resolution 1325 on Women Peace and Security it was a momentous event. Women’s rights and violence against women had never before been on the agenda of the Security Council. Resolution 1325 emphasized the need for increased participation of women in national, regional, and international institutions, and for women’s inclusion in peace negotiations. Perhaps even more importantly, it acknowledged the agency of women in matters of war and peace, in contrast to the predominant idea of women as merely passive victims. A central component of 1325 was to explicitly call on all parties to armed conflict to take special measures to protect women and girls from violence, particularly sexual and gender-based violence.
Topic:
Gender Issues, United Nations, Women, Gender Based Violence, Sexual Violence, and UN Security Council
Political Geography:
Global Focus

29. The Consequences of COVID-19: Reduced Chances of Achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development?

Author:
International Institute for Strategic Studies
Publication Date:
09-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Institute for Strategic Studies
Abstract:
In the second in a series of papers analysing the ways COVID-19 is affecting stability across the world, this paper explores how the pandemic has affected the implementation of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and undermined progress towards global economic, social and political stability. The COVID-19 pandemic is a major setback on the path towards achieving the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 ASD), making the challenge even greater for international organisations, governments and all relevant stakeholders. Moreover, when the health crisis hit, progress towards development goals was already patchy. The impacts of the pandemic and the consequences of the lack of progress in certain areas are mutually reinforcing, and require a combination of immediate responses to the damage done by COVID-19 and broader, longer-term efforts aimed at increasing resilience to future crises of similar proportions.
Topic:
United Nations, Sustainable Development Goals, Public Health, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Global Focus

30. A reflection on the Responsibility to Protect in 2020

Author:
Karen Smith
Publication Date:
08-2020
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Abstract:
Fifteen years since the adoption of the principle of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), I would like to reflect on what it is, at its core. R2P is essentially about preventing and protecting people from the most heinous atrocity crimes – genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. This essence is sometimes undermined by debates in which criticisms about implementation deficits are used to discredit the entire principle. The disconnect between the UN World Summit in 2005, when UN member states unanimously committed to protect populations from atrocity crimes, and the disparity in its implementation is highly problematic, as it leaves open the door for atrocity crimes to continue to be committed, while effective national, regional and international action is displaced by what are essentially political arguments about lack of conceptual consensus. The grim reality of today’s ongoing crises is a stark reminder of the need to redouble efforts to effectively implement the responsibility to protect.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Law, United Nations, and Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
Political Geography:
Global Focus