Global Policy Forum

GPF Newsletter
December 15-19, 2008

Security Council Empire? Social and Economic Policy NGOs UN Reform International Justice

You can also access GPF's newsletters online at: www.globalpolicy.org/visitctr/wwnind.htm

GPF Publications

A New Era of World Hunger? - The Global Food Crisis Analyzed (July 2008)

Picture Credit: Greenpeace

This paper discusses the main causes of the steep run-up in global food prices and the resulting spread of hunger to nearly a billion people worldwide. Authors James A. Paul and Katarina Wahlberg conclude that biofuels and the agro-industrial approach to food production are the main culprits of the food crisis.
The paper looks at a wide range of factors endangering nutrition for all, including population growth, unsustainable consumption, international trade policy and climate change. The authors argue for effective and generous short-term aid as well as longer-term transformation of the agricultural system to make it more justly distributive, resilient, and sustainable for the future. (Global Policy Forum/Friedrich Ebert Foundation)

The MDG Project in Crisis "Midpoint Review and Prospects for the Future" (September 2008)

Picture Credit:
Jochen Hippler, Ulf Terlinden,
Jeanette Schade

Jens Martens and Tobias Debiel point out that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are much less ambitious than previous international development goals.
Even so, the UN, World Bank and NGOs agree that most countries will not achieve most of the MDGs on time. The authors further argue that the MDGs fail to deal with the structural root causes of poverty, such as unequal distribution of wealth, land and political power, as well as unfair global trade rules.(Institue for Developmet and Peace)

Causes and Strategies on World Hunger: Green Revolution versus Sustainable Agriculture (May 2008)

Picture Credit:
World Economy &
Development in Brief

Global Policy Forum's Katarina Wahlberg criticizes the World Bank's proposal to create a Green Revolution in Africa. By focusing on boosting agricultural production through scientific development of more productive crops, the Bank disregards the fact that the Earth's biological systems cannot be exploited forever.
The supporters of the new Green Revolution also fail to address the major causes of the global food crisis, including biofuel production and unsustainable global consumption of meat. The author calls for a shift from industrial agriculture of export crops to sustainable agriculture for local consumption. (World Economy & Development in Brief)

The "Surge" of Iraqi Prisoners (May 7, 2008)

Picture Credit:
Agence France Presse/Filei

Amid all the talk about the US military "surge" in Iraq, little has been said about the accompanying "surge" of Iraqi prisoners, whose numbers rose to nearly 51,000 at the end of 2007. Global Policy Forum's Ciara Gilmartin states that "US forces hold nearly all detainees indefinitely without charge, an arrest warrant or the opportunity to defend themselves."
Human rights monitors, including the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), are denied access to detention centers in Iraq by US officials. This lack of oversight not only increases the likelihood of detainee abuse, but also violates international human rights law. (Foreign Policy in Focus)

War and Occupation in Iraq (June 2007)

Picture Credit: Spec. Charles Gill,
US Department of Defense

Since the March 2003 invasion, the US-UK occupation of Iraq has utterly failed to bring peace, prosperity and democracy, as originally advertised.
This major report assesses conditions in the country and especially the responsibility of the US-led Coalition for violations of international law. In twelve detailed chapters, brimming with information, the authors provide a unique and compelling analysis of the conflict, concluding with recommendations for action. Among the topics covered are: destruction of cultural heritage, killing of civilians, attacks on cities and long-term military bases. The report has been written and produced by Global Policy Forum and co-sponsored by thirty NGOs.

GPF Internships

GPF offers unpaid internships to students and young professionals from all over the world to work in our offices in New York and Bonn. We encourage qualified undergraduates to apply, as well as graduate students and those between degrees. We welcome students who have studied the United Nations and international organizations, but we consider specialized academic training less important than dedication to GPF's goals, intelligence and enthusiasm for learning.
GPF is looking for applicants who are students of Political Science, International Relations, International Law, Political Economy or International Public Policy Studies. We especially encourage applications from those with broad international travel and work experience and those with a progressive, egalitarian and global outlook.
For more information about the internship, application procedures, deadlines and qualifications, please visit our internship page

Support GPF!

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You can help us continue this work by giving a donation today! To remain a strong independent voice, we do not accept any corporate or government funding. Therefore GPF depends largely on contributions from individual members.
More About Global Policy Forum

Iraq

Picture Credit: AlterNet

UK Troops "To Leave Iraq by May" (December 17, 2008)
UK Prime Minster Gordon Brown announces that the UK will end its combat mission in Iraq by May 2009. However some UK troops will remain in the Iraq after the May 2009 deadline. A total of 178 British troops were killed and hundreds more injured since the UK entered the war in 2003. (Al Jazeera)
Official History Spotlights Iraq Rebuilding Blunders (December 14, 2008)
A federal report says the American-led US$100 billion reconstruction of Iraq was a failure due to the Pentagon's hostility to rebuilding a foreign country and its inability to understand Iraqi society. The report claims the US reconstruction effort did not do much more than restore much of what the US occupation destroyed. (New York Times)
Iraq May Need US Troops for Decade: Iraqi Official (December 11, 2008)
The spokesman for the al-Maliki government, Ali al-Dabbagh, says Iraq will need a US troop presence in the country for up to 10 years despite the Status of Forces agreement (SOFA) calling for the full withdrawal of US forces by 2011. This announcement suggests the al-Maliki government privately holds the ambition to keep US forces in Iraq beyond the 2011 deadline and this questions the entire legitimacy of the SOFA. (Reuters)

Security Council

Picture Credit:
United Nations Photo

Security Council Reform - An Overview of Member States' Positions (December 8, 2008)
This chart by the Center for UN Reform Education outlines the positions of various UN member states on issues relating to Council reform, including regional seats, veto reform, and preferences for timing of intergovernmental negotiations.
Lord's Resistance Army Uses Truce to Rearm and Spread Fear In Uganda (December 16, 2008)
After attempting for 20-years to overthrow the Ugandan government, Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is gaining strength. Although Kony has promised to sign a peace agreement with the government, he only uses the ceasefire to recruit soldiers for his 670-men strong rebel group and to rearm it. Local charities contribute to the power of the group by giving the LRA food to prevent the plundering of villages. (Times)
Israel's 'Crime Against Humanity' (December 15, 2008)
Richard Falk, the UN special rapporteur for human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, said that Israel is committing crimes against humanity by collectively punishing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Israel started to close the Gaza borders in 2007, resulting in severe health and mental conditions of its inhabitants. Falk argues that Israel wants to break the will of the Palestinians to resist the Israeli occupation by closing Gaza's borders for food, medicine and fuel. (Common Dreams)
Laos Reaps Deadly Harvest (December 10, 2008)
During the "secret war" between 1964 and 1973 the US attacked Laos, leaving 80 million unexploded cluster bombs in the country. Every day, the weapons kill poor citizens who try to make a living by collecting metal parts and selling them. Laos has only cleaned up 400,000 cluster munitions and is unlikely to meet the goals of the cluster bomb treaty, which demands that member states remove all cluster bomb remnants before 2010. (Mail & Guardian)
Congo's Civil War - From Warlord to Statesman (November 2, 2008)
The UN accuses Rwanda of supporting rebel leader Laurent Nkunda, who fights against governmental troops to expand parts of Congo under his control. However, Congolese president Joseph Kabila also involuntarily contributes to Nkunda's power by failing to govern the country properly. Because the government is corrupt, the justice system is dysfunctional and there is no education or transport system. As a result many Congolese citizens have stopped supporting Kabila and instead back Nkunda. (Der Spiegel)

Empire?

Historic World Map 1716
Picture Credit:
World Maps Online

At Meeting in Brazil, Washington Is Scorned (December 16, 2008)
Heads of States from Latin American and Caribbean countries met for a three day conference discussing political and economic issues affecting the Western hemisphere. Brazil along with other Latin American governments blamed powerful countries for causing the global economic crisis and furthermore called for the abolition of the US embargo on Cuba. The US was excluded from the conference. Commenting on this omission, Riordan Roett from John Hopkins University said, that the United States "is no longer, and will not be ever again, the major interlocutor for the countries in the region." (New York Times)
Barack Obama, and America's Place in the World (December 15, 2008)
Author Helena Cobban observes that a global transition could effect the US position as the dominant power in the world. As a result of the economic crisis, in which the US relies on support from non- western powers like China, the US is bound to have less economic and political leverage. Furthermore, Cobban emphasizes that unilateralism does not serve the purpose of peace and security and that the US will have to work with other countries if it wants to exert its influence on global political and economic questions. (CS Monitor)
French Foreign Minister Voices Doubts on Human Rights Push (December 10, 2008)
French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner stated in an interview that "there is permanent contradiction between human rights and the foreign policy of a state, even in France." Kouchner, known for being a strong advocate of human rights and humanitarian intervention, initiated the appointment of a secretary of state for human rights. In this interview he acknowledges that this decision was a mistake, contending that the foreign policy of a country cannot be led by the "utopian" notion of human rights.(New York Times)
UN Special Advisor with a Focus on R2P Edward Luck's Statement on Conflict Resolution and Prevention in Africa (December 1, 2008)
In this statement, UN Special Advisor Edward Luck claims that the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) does not mimic humanitarian intervention as it is "not confined to military intervention." Luck believes that smaller, militarily weak nations should see R2P as a "moral imperative" rather than a "threat to sovereignty." Nations of the global South question R2P and fear that in the name of "morality" and "humanitarianism" Western countries will ignore their independence. (R2PCS)
The World Turned Upside Down : Understanding the Beijing Consensus (November 2008)
This Le Monde diplomatique article looks at changes in the world order leading to a global universalism. The author stresses that by incorporating the Middle East and Africa into its "war on terror," the US has created international resistance to its hegemony. The marginalization of international institutions like the IMF and the World Bank, in which the US has its strongholds, has been proof of this development. Furthermore countries of the global South are aligning themselves with new partners such as BRIC and the China- Africa Summit, which foreshadows a counterbalancing of US power.

Social and Economic Policy

Picture Credit:
Government Technology

Capitalist Fools (January 2009)
Professor Joseph Stiglitz identifies critical mistakes, made during the Reagan, Clinton and Bush II administrations, which led to the financial crisis. Under chair Alan Greenspan, the Federal Reserve neglected its role as a regulator and helped inflate both the high-tech and the housing bubble. The US Congress allowed commercial banks to invest in high-risk projects, the government's economic policy led to excessive borrowing and lending, and politicians failed to address the underlying weakness in the US economy, even when the crisis hit. Most of the mistakes made boil down to one fundamental flaw: the belief that "markets are self-adjusting." (Vanity Fair)
Nearly a Billion People Worldwide Are Starving, UN Agency Warns (December 10, 2008)
The UN food agency reports that higher food prices pushed another 40 million people into hunger this year. Further, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization states that even though food prices peaked during the fall 2008, 14 percent of the world's population goes hungry in 2008 due to structural problems such as lack of access to land, fertilizer and water. (Guardian)
Food and the Financial Crisis: Implication for Agriculture and the Poor (December 2008)
This report outlines the consequences of rising food prices and financial instability on the food security of the world's poorest. Investment in pro-poor agricultural growth, expanded social protection, and measures to reduce market volatility are priority actions to "bailout" the world's food-insecure population. (International Food Policy Research Institute)

NGOs

Picture Credit: Vancouver Sun

Foundations Stand by Aid Commitments - So Far (December 2, 2008)
In spite of the current global economic crisis, foundations are committed to maintaining stable aid funding levels and will have to dig deeper into their pockets. Many foundations have handled the crisis by diversifying their investments, but if the crisis turns into a long term downturn, they will have to make cuts and will not be able to develop new programs. (Integrated Regional Information Networks)
Online Philanthropy Markets - from 'Feel-Good' Giving to Effective Social Investing? (January 2008)
"Online philanthropy markets" is a recent internet development which allows individuals to easily engage with and invest money in organizations and small entrepreneurs all over the world. This paper by the Aspen Institute argues that individual donors should not think of themselves as providers of short term relief, but act as "investors for social change". It therefore recommends creating common reporting frameworks and independent data sets online that allow "investors" to compare the performance of the different NGOs.

UN Reform

Picture Credit: United Nations

Network Governance in International Organizations: The Case of Global Codes of Conduct (May 2008)
This paper argues that the UN Global Compact marginalizes civil society, lacks transparency and gives transnational corporations a privileged relationship with the UN. Further, the Global Compact cannot hold TNCs responsible for their actions and has no power to ensure any implementation of the agreements that the TNCs have signed. The author argues that the inefficiency of the Global Compact results from it being launched by corporate lobbyists to "pre-empt" other UN initiatives to regulate practices of TNCs. (The Fourth Transatlantic Dialogue, Workshop 1)

International Justice

Picture Credit:
Justice 4 Consumers

Report on Detainee Abuse Blames Bush Top Officials (December 12, 2008)
A report from the Senate Armed Services Committee accuses former US defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, of authorizing aggressive investigative techniques against detainees in Guantanamo Bay and US prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan. Rumsfeld authorized the use of forced nudity, painful stress positions, sleep deprivation and the use of extreme temperatures during the interrogation of suspects, some of which amount to torture. (Washington Post)
Guatemala and Belize Agree to Take Border Dispute to The Hague (December 8, 2008)
Guatemala and Belize agreed on December 8, 2008 to take a century long territorial dispute to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Honduras maintains territorial claims on Belize, in spite of the country's official independence in 1981, and the countries cannot agree on their mutual borders. Earlier attempts to solve the dispute diplomatically through the Organization of American States have failed. (Mercopress)
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