Monitoring Policy Making at the United Nations |
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What Was New What's New
Week of April 14 - 18, 2008
Iraq Security Council Empire? Social and Economic Policy NGOs Nations and States UN Reform
Iraq
Iraq's Ruined Library Soldiers On (April 9, 2008)
Often called the cradle of civilization, Iraq was also a major center of early scholarship and home to the world's first library. US troops failed to protect the Iraq National Library and Archives (INLA) from looting in 2003. Although this led to the loss of "as many as 60 percent of the Ottoman and Royal Hashemite era documents, the bulk of Ba'ath era documents and 25 percent of the book collections," the budgets for rebuilding the INLA have been pitifully small. (The Nation)Warlord: The Rise of Muqtada al-Sadr (April 11, 2008)
According to Patrick Cockburn, Muqtada al-Sadr has gone from a "small-time cleric from the outskirts of Baghdad to the most influential figure in the power struggle shaping post-war Iraq." This Independent article details the rise of Muqtada al-Sadr, his ability to mobilize millions of Shia and Sunni citizens in Iraq and the US policy decisions which ultimately led to the cleric's overwhelming popularity in his defiance of the US-led occupation.Five Years On, Fallujah in Tatters (April 14, 2008)
US policy produces tensions in Fallujah by "causing power struggles between tribal chiefs and US-funded Awakening groups." Fallujah continues to suffer after US military attacks in November 2004, as curfews and the lack of medical facilities plague the city. Many citizens of Fallujah see the lack of reconstruction in the area as punishment for their opposition to occupation. (Inter Press Service)Iran - The New Motivation for US War in Iraq (April 14, 2008)
According to this Agence France Presse article, the Bush administration's justifications for the US occupation of Iraq now feature the supposed risk Iran poses to Iraq's security. President Bush, General David Petraeus and US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker have all stressed the threat of Iran-funded extremism as a rationale for maintaining US troop levels in Iraq. Ambassador Crocker even deemed "Iranian activities in Iraq as a 'proxy war' with the Americans."Commander Faces More Doubt in Congressional Hearing (April 9, 2008)
General David Petraeus, the leading US commander in Iraq and Ryan Crocker, the US Ambassador to Iraq, testified before the House Armed Services Committee and two Senate committees that "a major departure from our current engagement [in Iraq] would bring failure." Despite an admission that the US "has not turned any corners or seen any lights at the end of the tunnel," both men maintained that troop withdrawals should halt. (International Herald Tribune)Security Council
Updated Peacekeeping Tables and Charts for March
GPF's updated tables and charts show peacekeeping data including; countries' troop contributions, size of individual missions and the top ten troop contributors to UN peacekeeping operations.Countries' Troop and Other Personnel Contributions to Peacekeeping Operations - According to Size of Contributions: 2008
Countries' Troop and Other Personnel Contributions to Peacekeeping Operations - Listing Countries Alphabetically: 2008
Top Ten Contributors: 2005-2007
Size of Individual Peacekeeping Operations: 2008 Total Size of UN Peacekeeping Operations (Monthly Figures): 1993 - 2008
Hizbullah's Guns Are a Symptom, Not a Cause, of What Ails Lebanon (April 17, 2008)
The Daily Star - Lebanon urges members of the UN Security Council to address the underlying issues causing the protracted conflict in Lebanon, between Israel and Hizbollah. The author notes that the Security Council unduly emphasizes the rearming of Hizbollah as the key element undermining peace in the country. However, Israel continues to occupy Lebanese territory taken during the 2006 war, violates the country's air space and fails to cooperate with UN peacekeepers in removing unexploded ordinance in Lebanon.Security Council Resolution 1809 on Regional Peacekeeping Operations (April 16, 2008)
The Security Council adopted Resolution 1809 at a high-level debate regarding the relationship between the United Nations and the African Union (AU). Noting the increased interaction between the AU and UN Security Council in peacekeeping, the resolution recommends that the AU continues to build its peacekeeping capacity, develops an early warning system in Africa to prevent conflict and establishes "a response capacity such as an African Standby Force."Report of the Secretary General on Côte d'Ivoire (April 15, 2008)
Ban Ki-moon reports on the progress that UN peacekeepers (UNOIC) and the government of Cote d'Ivoire have made in securing long-term peace in the country. However, Ban notes that the security environment remains fragile, with militias in the West of the country yet to disarm. Ban suggests that UNOIC retains its current troop level of 8,034 until after the July 2008 elections, and urges the government and opposition groups to abide by the election results.Sudan: The Census Saga Continues (April 15, 2008)
The Sudanese government attempts to manipulate a national census and maintain control of the country's rich oil reserves, says Inter Press Service. The census is part of a UN backed Comprehensive Peace Agreement leading to the equitable sharing of oil resources between the North and South, based on population distribution. The author notes that by preventing the return of refugees to the South, the government believes it may control a larger percentage of oil revenues.Security Council Report - Update: Uganda/ LRA (April 11, 2008)
The Ugandan government may ask the Security Council to defer International Criminal Court (ICC) proceedings against Lord's Resistance Army soldiers, according to Security Council Report. The article notes that by deferring the case, the Security Council hopes to induce the LRA to sign a long awaited peace-deal with the Ugandan government. The LRA claims that the ICC arrest warrants dissuade the group from negotiating. However, the author notes that by suspending the case, the Security Council will undermine the judicial independence of the ICC.Empire?
China and the World (April 2008)
This analysis examines how China struggles to project international power in response to internal ideological change. Under Mao, China's rulers did not formulate a foreign policy on the principle that "national interest is a bourgeois concept." Now, "the world's largest trading nation" has a clear strategy of military and economic expansion. The author argues that China's rulers are cautious about this new position and believe that expansionism may lead to insecurity unless China cultivates an image of benevolence abroad. (National Public Radio)This "Bombshell" Took a Year Falling (April 2, 2008)
This article argues that the mainstream press showed "overwhelming bias against Hamas" as it disregarded evidence that the US supplied Fatah with arms in June 2007, to help ignite a "Palestinian civil war." Mainstream news sources ignored the US-Fatah arms deal until nine months after the event, when Vanity Fair published the story as a scandal. Some critics claim Vanity Fair timed its belated report to fuel the distrust between Fatah and Hamas. (Inter Press Service)Myth of the New Cold War (April 2008)
This Prospect essay argues that for two centuries, Anglo-US policymakers cultivated a caricature of Russia as "America's dark double" so they could mobilize popular ideological support for US foreign projects. Political thinkers, from nineteenth-century slave abolitionists to modern presidents, have argued that Russia requires a Western model of social "freedoms." Some politicians still stoke this myth with tales of the undemocratic and militaristic practices of Russia's ruling elite. The author points out that, whilst President Vladimir Putin's government has a record of human rights abuse and a penchant for military adventure, it has not precipitated a "new Cold War."Social and Economic Policy
Rising Food Prices, What Should Be Done? (April 2008)
Joachim von Braun, director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute, calls for policy action in three areas to address the massive rise in food prices. Firstly, he proposes the implementation of social safety nets to help the poor who can no longer afford essential foodstuffs. Secondly, he calls for increased investment in agriculture. Finally, stating that export restrictions and import subsidies only add to global trade distortions that harm poor countries, he calls for other trade policy reforms, such as the removal of trade barriers by rich countries.The New Green Revolution in Africa: Trojan Horse for GMOs? (May 2007)
The African Centre for Biosafety criticizes The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), led by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. AGRA's projects aim to alleviate poverty and hunger by creating a market-based agricultural sector in Africa, enabling agrochemical and genetically modified (GM) seed companies to enter the market. The Centre fears such agribusiness will undercut traditional agriculture, create dependency on expensive inputs like GM seeds, and weaken African biodiversity. This "Green Revolution" could worsen, rather than address, the structural problems that undermine African farmers.A New Philanthro-Capitalist Alliance in Africa? (March 31, 2008)
This article analyzes the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), an initiative by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. AGRA aims to end poverty and hunger by restructuring Africa's food systems. But, this reform may ultimately serve the interests of agribusinesses like Monsanto, by creating a new market for genetically modified seeds and agrochemicals. AGRA's philanthro-capitalism overrides local agricultural techniques by focusing on global market-based "solutions." This diverts attention from the role that global markets systemically play in creating hunger and poverty in the first place. (Pambazuka)Philanthrocapitalism: After the Goldrush (March 20, 2008)
The author of this article is skeptical of profit-oriented philanthropy and its tendency to ignore "power, politics and social relations" - the very drivers of social transformation - and focus on free market mechanisms instead. The author fears that the hype surrounding philanthrocapitalism precludes rational debate on the issue. Without discussion or accountability, philanthrocapitalists like Bill Gates will continue to squander huge amounts of money on the symptoms of global inequality and poverty, rather than systematically addressing the causes. (openDemocracy)Our Global Warming Rage Lets Global Hunger Grow (April 14, 2008)
This article accuses world leaders of being "asleep at the wheel." While policymakers subsidized biofuels in an effort to counter global warming, enormous food price increases and a consequential food crisis swept in under their "radar screens." Millions of people cannot afford essential foodstuffs, especially in countries such as Eritrea and Sierra Leone, where 85 to 88 percent of income, goes to food. (Truthout)NGOs
ANSO Quarterly Data Report (Q.1 - 2008) (April 2008)
NGOs in Afghanistan have experienced more frequent and fatal attacks by Armed Opposition Groups (AOGs) than in previous years. Abduction and murder by AOG-contracted criminals remains the primary threat to NGO workers, with 12 people kidnapped in the first quarter of 2008. This report argues that attacks have increased because armed groups have lost respect for NGO political neutrality. As the conflict has escalated, Coalition Forces have increased their reach and made insurgents distrustful of any foreign presence in Afghanistan. (Afghanistan NGO Safety Office)Learning in Partnerships (May 2004)
This BOND paper explores how NGOs in industrialized countries share resources and expertise with NGOs in less developed countries to achieve common development goals. The author warns that Northern NGOs can limit how much their Southern partners learn from this relationship if they impose corporate management principles of repetitive audits and reporting procedures. NGOs at the grassroots become less culturally diverse when they adopt corporate practices, and this removes them from the reality of the development problems they seek to tackle.Aid Effectiveness: The Myth of NGO Superiority (April 2008)
This Development & Cooperation study examines why some NGOs from rich countries distribute aid to the world's poorest no more effectively than official state agencies. The Swiss and Swedish NGOs under scrutiny in this paper replicated government policy, rather than channeling aid to areas overlooked by governmental development agencies. The paper concludes that NGOs would provide better-targeted aid if they undertook independent initiatives amongst the lowest income groups which governments fail to reach.Nations and States
The Latin American State: "Failed" or Evolving? (May 2007)
In this essay, Laura Tedesco, Associate Fellow at FRIDE, criticizes the notion of "failed states" because it all too often refers to countries that the US considers a threat to its national security. The author argues that state formation is a complex historical process. For example, Latin American countries have been evolving from authoritarianism to democracy, since the 1990's. Although a few privileged social groups hold most of the power in Latin America, this does not mean state failure.UN Reform
Revitalization of the Work of the General Assembly (April 2008)
This Center for UN Reform Education article reviews the discussion on General Assembly reform, a debate that has been going on for nearly 17 years. The article notes that many member states want to strengthen the body, insisting that the GA evaluate how well member states implement GA resolutions. Some propose the GA president for this task but others fear that this will give him too much power. Countries also discuss the relation between the GA and the Security Council. Several countries, mainly from the South, argue that these two bodies should have equal authority.
