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20771. Improving the Governance of the Food Aid Convention: Which Way Forward?

Author:
Jennifer Clapp and C. Stuart Clark
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
Informal talks began in mid-2010 on renegotiating the FAC with a view to adopting a new agreement by June 2011. The FAC is an international agreement that sets out the rules and minimum commitments for member countries which donate international food aid to feed hungry people in developing countries. The existing Convention is dated and requires revision on a number of fronts (Clay 2010; Hoddinott, Cohen and Barrett 2008; Barrett and Maxwell 2006), particularly in the current context of high food insecurity and volatile world food markets (FAO 2009a; FAO 2010). The effectiveness of the FAC as a mechanism to provide appropriate and predictable minimum levels of food aid to those in need has been diminishing to the point of virtual invisibility in the midst of the recent food price crisis — a clear illustration of its fading legitimacy.
Topic:
Security, Humanitarian Aid, Poverty, and Food

20772. The Environment and Corporate Governance in Zimbabwe

Author:
Hany Besada and arolina Werner
Publication Date:
07-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
Formerly one of Africa's most promising economies, Zimbabwe has begun a process of economic reconstruction after decades of political turmoil and economic mismanagement. The advent of a national unity government in February 2009 launched a new but still tentative era of political stability. The government has a daunting political and economic agenda. Top priorities include restoring the rule of law, demonstrating fiscal responsibility, and putting in place macroeconomic and structural reforms to win the confidence of domestic and international investors.
Topic:
Economics and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
Africa and Zimbabwe

20773. Human rights challenges in EU civilian crisis management

Author:
Wanda Troszczynska-van Genderen
Publication Date:
08-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:
Over the years, human rights have become an area of programmatic focus in the crisis management operations conducted by the EU. Nevertheless, the geopolitical reality after the launch of the so-called 'war on terror' witnessed the emergence of new practical impediments to human rights implementation in civilian crisis response operations. The militarisation of the humanitarian space and blurred boundaries between military and civilian tasks resulted in the increased vulnerability of civilians working in ground operations. Simultaneously, the scale of human rights violations, coupled with security threats to civilians due to both attacks by insurgents and interventions carried out by international military personnel, created operational challenges going well beyond what previous Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) civilian crisis management operations had to deal with.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Human Rights, and War
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Europe

20774. Hybrid Tribunals and the Rule of Law: Notes from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Cambodia

Author:
Johanna Herman and Olga Martin
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre on Human Rights in Conflict
Abstract:
Following the establishment of the international ad hoc tribunals, the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda (ICTY and ICTR respectively), a new model of justice administration emerged at the end of the 1990s through the development of hybrid or internationalised courts. Hybrid tribunals are conceived as a mixture of international and domestic law and staff, as a way to provide the necessary resources and guarantees for justice closer to those whose work matters to most. They have different compositions and legal frameworks depending on the context of the country. The first ones were established in Kosovo, Timor Leste and Sierra Leone These first hybrid mechanisms were seen as a new experiment for international justice.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Human Rights, and International Law
Political Geography:
Bosnia, Kosovo, and Balkans

20775. Reaching for Justice: The participation of victims at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

Author:
Johanna Herman
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre on Human Rights in Conflict
Abstract:
The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) is the first international or internationalised tribunal to include the participation of victims as Civil Parties during the trial. There was a steep learning curve regarding management of victims' involvement in the first trial. There was initially insufficient funding allocated to support victims' participation, with late establishment and understaffing of victim support at the ECCC. Cambodian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have proved instrumental in ensuring the submission of Civil Party applications, legal representation and other forms of support for Civil Parties throughout the process and played a pivotal role in outreach activities. Donors should consider financing NGO and civil society activities that support victim participation, in order to maximise the impact of the significant expenditures they are often allocating to the ECCC. The challenges and successes of the first trial provide lessons not only for future ECCC cases but also for other courts concerning the participation of victims such as the International Criminal Court.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Human Rights, and International Law
Political Geography:
Cambodia and Southeast Asia

20776. The United Nations Security Council and Civil War: First Insights from a New Dataset

Author:
James Cockayne, Christoph Mikulaschek, and Chris Perry
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
This report is the first publication produced by IPI's research project on Understanding Compliance with UN Security Council Resolutions. It provides fresh insights from the new IPI Security Council Compliance Database. The report examines trends in how the Security Council has engaged with civil wars since 1989, variations in where and when it chose to engage, and the gradual evolution of the Council's civil-war response strategies. Future analysis by this project will seek to provide answers to two questions: To what extent do civil-war parties comply with demands issued by the Security Council? And what factor or combination of factors best explains the variance in the level of compliance—e.g., conflict settings, conflict management strategies, or political dynamics within the Security Council?
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Civil War, United Nations, and Peacekeeping

20777. Editorial

Publication Date:
08-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
After our last issue “Strategies for Solving Global Crises – The Financial Crisis and Beyond” in March we are delighted to present this issue to our esteemed readers.

20778. New Protectionism – How Binding are International Economic Legal Obligations During a Global Economic Crisis?

Author:
Stephan Hobe and Jörn Griebel
Publication Date:
08-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
The global financial crisis has not only instigated states to enact a wide range of protectionist measures, by which they seek to protect their economic interests, but it also forms the background against which possible justifications regarding protectionist measures have to be discussed and measured. The present article examines recent examples of protectionist measures and discusses, to what extent such measures may be justified by rules stemming from the WTO legal regime or international investment law in general. The authors focus on the concept of “economic necessity”, which is enshrined in Art. 25 of the ILC Articles on State Responsibility and which has taken on even greater importance due to the Argentina investement law cases. They furthermore explore, whether this concept has been recognized by the WTO legal regime and/or bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and what criteria would have to be met so that a state could successfully rely on necessity to justify its actions in times of an economic crisis.
Political Geography:
Argentina

20779. Reservations and the Effective Protection of Human Rights

Author:
Johanna Fournier
Publication Date:
08-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
Already since the first United Nations (UN) human rights treaties have been signed in 1966, it has been contested whether signatory states should be allowed to make reservations to different articles of the treaties. Many argue that reservation undermine the treaties and are not compatible with the universal application of human rights. One might hence ask whether reservations are compatible with human rights at all. Without disagreeing with these demurs, this essay will reverse the question: Is an effective protection of human rights possible without reservations? To answer this question, this essay will outline the current legal and practical framework on making reservations to UN human rights treaties in Part A. and will present a possible modification to this framework. In Part B. it will then demonstrate how reservations can be used to actually advance the effective protection of human rights. By being used as a starting point for the dialogue between the treaty bodies and the signatory state, reservations do not undermine human rights treaties, but support their purpose: the effective protection of human rights.
Topic:
United Nations

20780. The Future of Peacekeeping in Africa and the Normative Role of the African Union

Author:
Charles Riziki Majinge
Publication Date:
08-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
While it has been the responsibility of the United Nations to conduct peacekeeping operations on the continent, the trend is gradually changing. African Union and its regional organizations (RECs) are increasingly assuming responsibility of securing peace and stability on the continent. Many reasons militate in favour of this trend. Chiefly the unwillingness of the United Nations Security Council and of the developed countries to intervene timely and adequately to avert humanitarian catastrophes as happened in Rwanda, Southern Sudan and Angola. Furthermore, the desire of Africa to take steps to address its own problems without heavily relying on assistance from the international community whose availability is neither assured nor sufficient. This contribution argues that Africa can no longer expect the international community to shoulder the burden of peacekeeping in some of the most intractable conflicts on the continent without taking steps to participate actively in the process itself. While Africa has expressed its desire to address its own problems through the vision of “African solutions for African Problems”, African leaders must show greater willingness to fund and strengthen institutions they establish to carry out this vision. Lastly, the paper contends that the international community, especially the developed states, should take genuine and adequate measures to assist Africa realize its vision. A strong African Union capable of securing peace and stability on the continent is in the best interests not only of Africa but also of the international community as a whole.
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, Rwanda, and Angola