With its growing demand in post-conflict situations, DDR programmes have been highlighted and implemented in many war-tone societies by international organizations such as the World Bank and the UN. The European Union (EU), as one of the biggest players in the field, has unique roles in implementing the DDR programmes.

The report finds roles of EU in implementation processes of DDR, and it also raises some implementation considerations and challenges of the programme.

In today's changing security environment, the military are increasingly involved in the direct delivery of relief aid, while some humanitarian organisations have at times found themselves having no other choice but to rely on the military to ensure the safety and security of their staff and operations, and to enable access to populations in need. Whether or not this is a temporary phenomenon or a longer trend that is here to stay, the situation begs for a re-examination of civil-military relations in humanitarian crises.

One such attempt was undertaken in 2003-2004

In this document, the NGO Mercy Corps shares their comments on the "Preliminary Guidance Note on Implementation of the Cluster Leadership Approach" with the Interagency Standing Committee (IASC).

They posit that some improvements have been made, but in general, performance has been inconsistent. They hope that their comments will provide positive and constructive suggestions on how the cluster approach may be strengthened in the future. The commentary draws upon their experience with clusters in Uganda, Pakistan, Lebanon, Liberia, and Indonesia (Jogyakarta).

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have set us on a common course to push back poverty, inequality, hunger and illness. The world has pledged to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. Entering the International Decade for Action, Water for Life, 2005-2015, this report looks at the challenge of meeting the MDG target for drinking water and sanitation. Achieving the MDG drinking water and sanitation target poses two major challenges: a rapid pace of urbanization, which requires

It is estimated that unsafe water and a lack of basic sanitation and hygiene every year claim the lives of more than 1.5 million children under ? ve years old from diarrhoea. This tragic statistic underscores the need for the world to meet its Millennium Development Goal (MDG) commitment on water and sanitation: MDG 7, which aims to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

This report card, the ?fth in a UNICEF series that monitors progress for children towards the MDGs, measures the world's

This briefing paper highlights the risks associated with financing projects in conflict-prone areas, and proposes better lending practice in conflict-prone states - defined as 'conflict sensitive' project finance.

This briefing paper is based on a longer study published by International Alert in January 2006, authored by Jessica Banfield and Corene Crossin. It forms part of a broad programme of research and field activities aimed at promoting

While humanitarian action and international disaster response have long traditions in terms of the actions of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent and a number of Christian charitable organizations (and of course, the coping mechanisms of societies and communities), humanitarianism in its present form really dates from the end of World War II. The construction of the notion of an international community of humanitarian actors (UN agencies, Red Cross/Crescent, and NGOs) grew alongside the development of the United Nations system, the Bretton Woods institutions, and the retreating

The threat to human rights posed by non-state actors is of increasing concern. The author addresses the international obligations of belligerents, national liberation movements and insurgent entities, looks at the growing demands that such armed groups respect human rights norms and considers some of the options for holding private military companies accountable with regard to human rights abuses. The argument developed throughout this article is that all sorts of non-state actors are increasingly expected to comply with principles of international human rights law.

Since the Universal Declaration on Human Rights was adopted in 1948, numerous human rights standards have been created at the initiative of states, non-governmental organisations, victims, and other actors. These standards have transformed international law.

Human Rights Standards: Learning from Experience examines the history of human rights standard-setting and the options available to those who advocate for new standards in the future. It considers where new standards are needed, the forms they should take, where they can be negotiated, and what actors should be involved.