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| Picture credit: Internal-displacement.org |
Internally displaced persons (IDPs) with neither shelter nor money to pay the rent are making the turbulent situation worse in Yemen. Aid workers say that dozens of families are selling food aid in the capital, Sanaa, to pay their rent. UNHCR and other local NGOs such as Islah Charitable Society have already deployed a shelter assessment team in Sanaa, but the UNHCR representative, Marie Marullaz, calls for more funding in the region.
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| Picture credit: wanderlustore.com |
The global recession has drastically affected southern African countries. Unfavorable climate conditions have added to the rising food security problem. This article, based on information gathered from FAO, UNICEF and WFP and other sources, gives a quick review about the food production and circulation in the region.
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| Picture credit: holidayphotosite.com |
Ban Ki-Moon has visited Cyprus to support its plans for reunification after a 35-year ethnic divide. The Turkish and Greek factions of Cyprus have agreed to create a "bi-communal, bi-zonal federation with political equality," as stated in the relevant Security Council resolutions. Ban stated that reunification would be inspirational to other warring nations across the globe.
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| Picture credit: BBC |
Japan is an important player in brokering a nuclear-fuel swap deal with Iran. Japan has become increasingly important in Western negotiations with Iran because it is a non-permanent member of the Security Council, has an avowed interest in disarmament, the head of the International Atomic Energy Association is currently Japanese, and Japan and Iran have many mutual interests. Further, following the controversial arms sale from US to Taiwan, and the consequent souring of US-China relations, it is useful for Obama to have an Asian counterweight to China's power.
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| Picture credit: Reuters |
A high-ranking Israeli commander from "Operation Cast Lead" has verified that he did not regard the military principle of means and intentions when calling in drones and helicopter attacks. Means and intentions refers to the military rule of not targeting an individual unless they are armed and explicitly intend to use that weapon. Other Israeli commanders have tried to defend the actions as pre-emptive.
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| Picture Credit: sustainablog.com |
A UN - hosted Biodiversity Conference has revealed that a mere 17% of Europe's ecosystems are in decent shape. In contrast, the regions with the greatest amount of biodiversity are the less developed countries and areas where land is controlled by indigenous people. Speakers at this conference argued that since the North's current economic system does not value nature or biodiversity, the system is to blame for loss of biodiversity. Many fear that, since biodiversity is not a major priority for governments of rich countries, the North will now 'gobble up' the natural wealth of the South, without a second thought.
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| Picture credit: UN |
2010 is an important year for the Peacebuilding Commission - it marks half a decade since its inception, and it is also a year of extra scrutiny in the form of reviews by the General Assembly and Security Council. The Commission got off to a rocky start. Its initial engagements with Sierra Leone and Burundi were "fraught with challenges and confusion." While critics regard the body's functioning and achievements thus far as outcomes by accident - rather than design - many remain optimistic.
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| Picture credit: wcupa.edu |
GPF's updated tables and charts show UN members contributions and debts to the UN regular and peacekeeping budgets. As of November 30, 2009, the total debt of all member states to the UN regular budget was $823 million. The United States owed 94 percent of the total debt - $771 million. In the peacekeeping operations area, UN members owed $2,063 million, with the US owing $523 million.
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| Picture credit: americanvoiceinstitute |
Blurring of the civil-military line results in rising threat to aid agencies in Afghanistan. UN discussions on the creation of a Civil-Military Fusion Centre - an Afghan war "information and knowledge sharing" platform - further complicates the already ambiguous distinction between aid and combat. The use of the term "civil-military fusion" has upset many in the NGO community, since it implies a connection between humanitarianism and the military. With impartiality at stake, and given the Taliban's growing contention that humanitarian workers represent "an arm of the war effort against them," NGOs are increasingly under the risk of attack.
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Picture Credit: wordpress.com
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The 2011 federal budget projections suggest that US deficits will not return to sustainable levels within the next 10 years, raising the question of whether the world's biggest spender can remain at the helm of global power, with China lending much of the money. It is possible that the US, like Japan in the past decade, will see a reduction in international influence as debt grows faster than income.
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Picture Credit: dryicons.com
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Mike Davis sharply criticizes the logic behind mainstream positions on climate change - particularly the position of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Climate change will produce dramatically unequal impacts across regions and social classes. So Davis proposes adaptation strategies based on humanity's increasingly urban setting.
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| Picture credit: Telegraph |
A runway is being constructed alongside the contro- versial Chiadzwa diamond mines in Zimbabwe. Some say that the airstrip will be used for the direct exchange of diamonds for weapons; China is believed to be the main trade partner. This worrying discovery comes at a turbulent time in Zimbabwe, as the government coalition is on the verge of collapse.
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| Picture credit: ABC News |
In early January, the UN Afghan- istan envoy held peace talks with the Taliban. Taliban regional commanders and the leadership council met with Kai Eide in Dubai to find a peaceful resolution to the long-standing conflict. The meeting follows an understanding that mid-level Taliban commanders are tired of fighting, and the next generation of fighters "could be willing to compromise on some issues."
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| Picture credit: Reuters |
Australia questions whether a non-permanent seat on the Security Council in 2013-14 is really worth the effort, expense and moral compromise. The Arab League informed Australia that it would block Canberra's attempts to gain a non-permanent seat because of its pro-Israel stance. Further, Australia is unsure about the purpose of the UN at all: ex-ambassador to the UN, John Dauth, called it "defunct" and "rotten."
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| Picture credit: presidentsaleh.gov |
The leader of Yemen, President Ali Abdullah Saleh, is rapidly losing political capital and control. Saleh previously ruled through money, force and propaganda; however, the country is now on the verge of bankruptcy, its security forces are spread thinly across many fronts and people no longer believe the party line.
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| Picture credit: Brad Corban |
Israel has failed to provide a credible and sufficiently thorough report on its Gaza military assault last January. Amnesty International states that the report does not meet international standards of "independence, impartiality, transparency, promptness and effectiveness." Notable areas omitted include: attacks on UN buildings, civilian casualties, unwarranted damage to medical infrastructure and the use of white-phosphorous.
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Picture credit:telegraph.co.uk
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The recent earthquake revealed several interesting facts about Haiti, one of them being that the nation has the highest number of local NGOs per capita in the world. The heavy presence of humanitarian and anti-poverty NGOs in the small country - which is also one of the poorest and worst developed in the Western hemisphere - begs a few questions: doe the presence of NGOs hinder Haitian efforts in pursuing development and self-sustainability? If there are more local NGOs in Haiti than any other, then why has it never managed to pull itself out of the quandary of chronic poverty and underdevelopment? As the Haitian government struggles to recover and respond to the recent calamity, increased involvement of foreign players triggers troubling concerns regarding its sovereignty.
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| Picture credit: Newshopper.sulekha.com |
Chile's new rightwing president, Sebastián Piñera, worries NGOs and trade unionists as he is keen on increasing economic growth through neoliberal policies. Activists fear that economic policies will take precedence over social policies in education, health, labor and environment areas. Protestors complain about how neoliberalism has fostered individualism and divided the country's united trade union movement. Social organizations are also concerned about a parliamentary bill that may stifle dissenting voices.
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| Picture credit: UN |
Drawing on the international response to the global financial crisis, as well as the derailment of recent climate negotiations, this article considers the central democratic dysfunction within the UN system as "one of the main reasons for the tragedy." The author proposes the addition of a parliamentary body to the UN General Assembly. Jo Leinen, Chair of the European Parliament's Environmental Committee, claims that "a Parliamentary Assembly at UN level with parliamentary working methods linked with open discussion and majority votes could be helpful for the global decision-making process."
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| Picture Credit: americanprogress.org |
As the world rebounds from the economic crisis, unemployment rates are higher in the richest countries. But statistics may conceal more than they reveal. While lower unemployment rates may prevail in poor countries, the ILO suggests that there is an alarming number of working poor and those in vulnerable employment. This IPS editorial points to a massive "decent work" deficit world wide as the most serious issue in the long run.
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| Picture Credit: Telegraph |
The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has unanimously reversed the decision of the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber not to include the crime of genocide in the arrest warrant against President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan. This means that the Pre-Trial chamber must re-examine whether the arrest warrant, which includes charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes, should be extended to cover the crime of genocide. This decision has renewed the possibility of a genocide charge against al-Bashir. Daniel Howden discusses the possible effects of this decision for President al-Bashir and Sudan.
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