Global Policy Forum

Somalia

GPF published a report examining Security Council action on Somalia, with a focus on illegal fishing and piracy

Food & Hunger

The NGO Working Group on Food & Hunger organized a briefing with Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Olivier de Schutter

Haiti

As the Security Council prepared to travel to Haiti, GPF raised concerns about the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSTAH

Security Council

The NGO Working Group on the Security Council met with Pakistan, one of the Council's newly elected members

Food & Hunger

The NGO Working Group on Food & Hunger at the United Nations, was founded by GPF in 2008 to promote food security policy. The WG had a very active year in 2011 and it ended the year with two more important members: Action Against Hunger and WhyHunger. GPF now has eleven partners in this process.

The Working Group's policy luncheon on November 16, 2011 featured UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Olivier de Schutter. De Schutter gave an update on the Right to Food since the start of his second term as Special Rapporteur and spoke about the urgent need to curb commodity speculation, end subsidies and change trade rules that privilege exporting countries. The discussion also looked at land grabbing, the negative impacts of biofuels and the need to recognize and support small-scale farmers. The event - a follow-up to a previous conversation in 2010 - drew more than 70 participants.

In January 2012, the Working Group continued its forum series with a policy luncheon featuring Doreen Stabinsky, Professor of Global Environmental Politics at the College of the Atlantic. As the Rio + 20 Conference approaches, this timely discussion focused on the link between climate change and agriculture. Stabinsky warned that "business as usual is not an option" and urged policy makers to reform the current agro-industrial food system towards sustainable production and consumption. She warned that the accelerating pace of climate change threatens global food security. Over 75 persons attended, including delegates from missions, UN staff and members of the NGO community. An audio recording of the event will soon be available on our website.

Peace and Security

In the last three months, GPF organized twelve meetings of the NGO Working Group on the Security Council, including luncheons with the Ambassadors of Pakistan, South Africa and India. There were also meetings with Ambassadors of the UK, Portugal, Switzerland, Germany, Colombia, France, and the EU, as well as Under-Secretary General for Political Affair B. Lynn Pascoe.

The situation in Somalia was often discussed during these meetings. GPF published a paper in January on "Fishermen, Pirates and Naval Squadrons: The Security Council and the Battle over Somalia's Coastal Seas." The study raises the issue of double-standards at the Security Council, which has been keen to authorize the use of force against "pirates" but has done nothing to stop illegal fishing and toxic dumping by foreign vessels off the Somali coast. Many Security Council members are reluctant to examine the issues of fishing and dumping while they are ready to authorize a large and costly naval fleet for counter piracy patrols.

Other topics of discussion included potential Security Council action on Syria, the situation in South Sudan, Israel/Palestine and Haiti. As the Council has prepared for a trip to Haiti in mid-February, GPF has questioned the legitimacy of the UN peacekeeping mission in the country. MINUSTAH, deployed in Haiti since 2004, has an increasingly tarnished record. Wastes from Nepalese peacekeepers are believed to be the source of a cholera epidemic that has infected half a million Haitians and killed more than 7,000 since October 2010. Several cases of sexual abuses by peacekeepers have also come to light. Haitians have taken to the streets to call for an end to the peacekeeping mission and human rights organizations are demanding accountability. In September 2011, Britain's Deputy permanent Representative Philip Parham told the Security Council that "there are worrying reports that many ordinary Haitians increasingly see MINUSTAH as an occupying force." GPF is planning a joint-event with the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti in April to examine these issues.

Working Group on UN-NGO Relations

The Working Group on UN-NGO Relations continues to combine advocacy for NGO access at the UN with broader analysis of NGOs and their role in global governance. The Working Group met again with the Chief of the NGO Branch of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Andrei Ambramov and with Hanifa Mezoui of the Office of the President of the General Assembly.

Perpetual Crisis: A Timeline of 40 Years of Economic Instability

Today's global economic crisis has been preceded by a long history of perpetual and systemic instability. GPF's Anahi Wiedenbrüg and Alexander Post created a timeline that shows a forty year record of disequilibria, meltdowns, panics and other forms of crises, beginning in 1970. The picture it provides is of crises as a norm - far from the "equilibrium model" ordinarily taught in economics classes. By means of an on-line presentation form, the timeline captures the collapse of major firms, extreme currency speculation, real estate and financial bubbles, Ponzi schemes, and stock market meltdowns, sometimes harming hundreds of millions of people. As markets have become more global and as regulations have been abolished, the system has become more prone to devastating crisis on a worldwide scale.

Financing for Development

On December 6th, in the context of the 5th High Panel Debate on Financing for Development, GPF and UBUNTU Forum of Barcelona organized an event on "The Role of Innovative Financing for Development." The event focused on how to better align the twofold goals of effective economic governance and raising funds to finance development. It featured Manuel Manonelles (UBUNTU Forum), Peter Bakvis (International Trade Union Confederation), Julien Meimon (Leading Group on Innovative Financing for Development), Gail Hurley (United Nations Development Program) and Rodrigo Robredo (Spanish Foreign Ministry). Financial Transaction Taxes, in particular the Currency Transaction Tax (CTT) and the Air Transport Levy, were presented as innovative methods which raise revenues for development while taxing those individuals and economic sectors that have the financial capacities to pay. At the same time, FTTs and CTTs can improve economic governance reduce and speculation.

Interviews

GPF Associate Catherine DeFontaine interviewed Mel Duncan and Rolf Carriere of the Nonviolent Peaceforce about the history of the organization, its activities, and the concept of unarmed civilian peacekeepers. In the interview, Duncan and Carrier reflect on today's use of force as a "default answer" to resolve situations of conflicts. They argue for the use of nonviolent means to overcome conflicts and work on reversing this widespread belief among governments and international organizations that conflicts can only be stopped by force and threat.

Catherine also interviewed Cora Weiss, President of the Hague Appeal for Peace, about the historical importance of Resolution 1325, the implementation of a "culture of peace" and the future of the peace movement.

GPF has created a new website section on Sustainable Energy. This section will focus on the policies and action of international agencies and organizations for the promotion of sustainable energy systems. It is moderated by Michael Tanzer, a longtime friend of GPF whose consulting firm has advised governments of third world countries in the oil, energy and natural resource areas since the 1970s.

In December, GPF organized a Holiday Party to celebrate the end of 2011. Many NGO representatives, UN staff and friends of GPF were in attendance at the festive event.

In January two new Associates joined the GPF Team: George Gao (USA) and Luke Finn (UK. We were happy that Sarika Mathur (US), Alex Post (Netherlands), Aheli Purkayastha (US) and Anahi Wiedenbrug (Argentina) continued with GPF for another team.