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20591. Haiti After the Earthquake

Author:
Robert M. Perito
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
On January 12, 2010, Haiti suffered a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that destroyed much of the capital city of Port-au-Prince and caused the death of perhaps as many as 200,000 Haitians. The quake—the greatest natural disaster in the country's history—occurred at a point when Haiti appeared to be on the path to stability and progress. U.S. military forces will provide security during the emergency response phase, but aid to United Nations peacekeepers and the Haitian National Police is required to ensure that criminal gangs will not take over once the Americans withdraw. Reconstruction must target unemployment and poverty. Removing rubble and rebuilding essential structures will provide jobs, but it will be important to improve conditions and provide employment in rural areas so people will not return to the overcrowded and slum-ridden cities. The massive inflow of financial aid must not exacerbate Haiti's reliance on foreign nongovernmental organizations to provide essential services. Foreign aid should help Haiti's government expand its ability to manage resources and programs by providing training and budget support. In providing for Haiti's recovery, the international community must look ahead to the long term consequences of its action and work to place Haiti back on the path to sustainable development.
Topic:
Disaster Relief, Humanitarian Aid, Foreign Aid, and Food
Political Geography:
United States

20592. Abkhazia: Deepening Dependence

Publication Date:
02-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
The historically coveted region of Abkhazia has become even more dependent on Moscow since Russia's controversial recognition a year and a half ago. Russia is financing half the region's budget, and against vigorous Georgian protests, it is spending $465 million to refurbish existing and build new military installations in the picturesque Black Sea coastal area. Virtually the entire population holds Russian citizenship, and almost all trade is with the northern neighbour. It will take constructive, creative thinking on the part of Georgian, Russian, Abkhazian and international actors alike to restore even a modicum of confidence between the parties to the conflict. Given Abkhazia's unrealistic insistence that Georgia recognise it as independent and the equally unrealistic prospect that Sukhumi will acknowledge Georgia's sovereignty, the two parties should focus on creating economic and humanitarian links without status preconditions in order to benefit both, build stability and give momentum to a long reconciliation process.
Topic:
Economics and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
Russia and Asia

20593. The Threat from Jammat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh

Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), a terrorist organisation, remains active and dangerous despite the decimation of its ranks over the last five years. Its links to the Pakistan group Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) remain a particularly serious concern. Since its coordinated bombing attack across the country on 17 August 2005, police have arrested hundreds of JMB members; they have also executed every member of its original leadership, including its founder, Shaikh Abdur Rahman. Its last successful attack was in January 2006. The state has succeeded in tackling the Islamist extremist threat to the extent that organisations such as JMB are struggling to survive. But the arrest of 95 JMB operatives since October 2008 and discoveries of huge caches of explosives demonstrate that JMB was able to regroup, recruit and raise funds. No one should take its demise for granted: the possibility of another attack remains, and the government should move quickly to create a planned policeled counter-terrorism force. It should also step up counterterrorism cooperation, particularly with neighbouring India.
Topic:
Terrorism, Armed Struggle, and Counterinsurgency
Political Geography:
Bangladesh and South Asia

20594. Iraq's Uncertain Future: Elections and Beyond

Publication Date:
02-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
As a rule, Iraq's post-Saddam elections have tended to magnify pre-existing negative trends. The parliamentary polls to be held on 7 March are no exception. The focus on electoral politics is good, no doubt, but the run-up has highlighted deep-seated problems that threaten the fragile recovery: recurring election-related violence; ethnic tensions over Kirkuk; the re-emergence of sectarianism; and blatant political manipulation of state institutions. The most egregious development was the decision to disqualify over 500 candidates, a dangerous, arbitrary step lacking due process, yet endorsed by the Shiite ruling parties. Under normal circumstances, that alone might have sufficed to discredit the elections. But these are not normal circumstances, and for the sake of Iraq's stability, the elections must go on. At a minimum, however, the international community should ramp up its electoral monitoring and define clear red lines that need to be respected if the results are to be considered legitimate. And it should press the next government to seriously tackle the issue – long-neglected yet never more critical – of national reconciliation.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Democratization, and Governance
Political Geography:
Iraq, Middle East, and Arabia

20595. The WASH Factor: Oxfam's experiences with humanitarian coordination for water, sanitation, and health

Author:
Aimee Ansari and Bethan Montague-Brown
Publication Date:
02-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) cluster is widely acknowledged to be among the best functioning within the humanitarian coordination system established in 2005. It is commonly believed that it is easier for the WASH cluster to function well because the standards are agreed, water and sanitation are fairly straightforward interventions, and outcomes are tangible and measurable. While these factors have helped the WASH cluster, they alone have not led to the relative success of the cluster.

20596. Reaching Tipping Point? Climate change and poverty in Tajikistan

Publication Date:
02-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The people of Tajikistan, a small, mountainous country in Central Asia, are experiencing the impacts of climate change. More frequent droughts and heightened extreme weather conditions are hitting poor communities, eroding their resilience. The country's glaciers are melting, bringing the danger, in the future, of greater water shortages and even disputes in the wider region. Last summer's unusually good rains and consequent harvest brought some relief to rural communities across Tajikistan but the long-term trends are clear – and ominous.
Topic:
Climate Change and Environment
Political Geography:
Central Asia and Tajikistan

20597. The impact of the global financial crisis on women in Southeast Asia

Author:
Yada Praparpun
Publication Date:
02-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
This report analyses the impact of the current global economic crisis on women in five Southeast Asian countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. This research aims to provide up-to-date information and recommendations to policy makers in both the public and private sectors on how the economic crisis is affecting women workers in the aforementioned countries. The results of the research will be shared with civil society organizations, government agencies, regional and global institutions, academic institutions, trade unions, donor agencies, NGOs, and the media.
Topic:
Economics, Gender Issues, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Southeast Asia

20598. The Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on the Pacific Region

Author:
Simon Feeny
Publication Date:
02-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
At a macroeconomic level, the Global Economic Crisis (GEC) has had less impact on many Pacific countries than on most other developing countries across the world. However, this does not imply that Pacific country economies are performing well. Economic growth rates for most countries in the Pacific region are expected to be low for 2009 and 2010 and the majority of economies are likely to contract on a per capita basis in these years.
Topic:
Climate Change, Economics, Poverty, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Australia/Pacific

20599. Gender Perspectives on the Global Economic Crisis

Author:
Richard King and Caroline Sweetman
Publication Date:
02-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The global economic crisis was sparked in the financial engine-houses of the world's economy in 2008. This is a story many of us in the developed world are now painfully familiar with. Less familiar, perhaps, are the ramifications for those among us who live in developing and transition countries. As global financial fire fighting has concentrated on dousing the blazes in the developed world, many commentators argue that the initial flames have been put out and that green shoots of recovery are beginning to emerge across the charred financial landscape. However, unprecedented global integration means that the world's economies now have few remaining firebreaks. Though they took longer to ignite, many developing countries are still caught up in the inferno. With an extra 50 million women, men and children expected to have been pushed into extreme poverty by the end of 2009 as a direct result of the crisis, and with this number expected to rise to 89 million by the end of 2010, the developing world is being badly burned.
Topic:
Gender Issues and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Latin America

20600. The dangers of militarized aid in Afghanistan

Author:
Ashley Jackson
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Every half hour, an average of one Afghan woman dies from pregnancy-related complications, another dies of tuberculosis and 14 children die, largely from preventable causes. Eight years after the fall of the Taliban, the humanitarian and development needs in Afghanistan remain acute.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, War, Armed Struggle, and Insurgency
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Asia, and Taliban