The current international debate surrounding cluster munitions and the discussion of a ban or tightened restrictions on their use has focused attention on the humanitarian impact of these weapons. In addition to killing and injuring civilians and damaging infrastructure at the time of use, they invariably leave behind unexploded submunitions which continue to pose a threat to human life, restrict access to natural resources and impede post-war recovery and development processes for many years after their use. Over three decades after cluster munitions were

This study examines the advantages, limitations and implications of involving foreign military assets personnel, equipment and expertise-in the relief operations that follow major natural disasters. It presents the findings of a research project carried out by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) with the support of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Foreign military assets have made large contributions to several recent natural disaster relief operations, yet

In the midst of the war in Iraq, the battle against 'Al-Qaeda' in Afghanistan and the on-going Israeli-Palestinian crisis, the Al-Babtain Foundation for Dialogue Between Civilizations held a two-day seminar in Kuwait City, March 30-31 entitled the 'Role of the Media in Dialogue Between Arabs and the West'. This seminar provided a forum for open discussion on a broad range of topics relating to cross-cultural dialogue.

What was the result? In short, the seminar provided an opportunity, within an Arab context, for western intellectuals,

This report is the result of research in seven aid recipient countries, conducted by southern and northern civil society organisations, coordinated by the European Network on Debt and Development. This report focuses on progress against two principles of the Paris Declaration - ownership and accountability. These principles are the bedrock of aid reform but the area where least attention has been paid. While both donors and recipients have responsibilities to make aid more effective, this report concentrates on the responsibilities of donors

Published in March 2008, Global Humanitarian Assistance 2007/2008 is the fifth in a series of reports produced by Development Initiatives as part of the wider Global Humanitarian Assistance (GHA) programme.

Chapter 1 attempts to quantify and analyse long-term trends in humanitarian assistance. How much official humanitarian assistance is there? How does it compare with aid expenditure as a whole? How generous are donors in terms of expenditure per citizen or as a share of gross national income (GNI)? What about other sources of humanitarian

Main achievements include:
- AIMB, CRD, ESB, and PDSB all produced coordinated gender action plans for 2008 including all sub-sections of the branch/division.
- The Civil-Military Coordination Section has developed a detailed gender action plan for the UN Civil-Military Coordination Training.
- The CERF, EPS, IRIN, and the Humanitarian Coordination System Strengthening Project joined the gender action planning process, developing action plans for 2008
- CRD conducted a major revision of its gender action plan in mid-2007 and has organised several briefings

Containing the world drug problem: Drug control is working, said the World Drug Report 2007, UNODC's flagship publication. Global supply, trafficking and consumption of cocaine, heroin, cannabis and amphetamines have stabilized. Worldwide efforts to contain the world drug problem have effectively reversed a quarter-century-long rise in drug abuse and headed off a global pandemic. Afghanistan, however, bucked the trend with soaring opium production.

Seeds of insecurity: In 2007 Afghanistan's opium poppy cultivation reached record levels. There have been some successes:

Talking about sanitation is not "nice". It's a matter of life and death. Poor hygiene leads directly to diseases such as cholera and diarrhea - which in turn kill five million people a year, mostly children.

Better sanitation facilities could reduce diarrhea-related morbidity by more than one third, while improved hygiene, such as proper hand-washing, can halve the rate of diarrheal disease and respiratory tract infections in the first place.

According to a key United Nations report, more children die today because of unclean water and poor sanitation than

CIVIL-MILITARY GUIDELINES & REFERENCE FOR COMPLEX EMERGENCIES' is the first collection of core humanitarian instruments developed by the United Nations (UN) and the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) on civil-military relationship in complex emergencies. Its goal is to help promote respect for international law, standards and principles in these situations.

Engaging military support for humanitarian operations is not a new endeavour. In today's security environment, however, the military are ever more involved in the 'direct' provision of aid, while