This discussion paper attempts to answer to the following question: when does it make sense to give people cash or vouchers in emergencies, rather than in-kind assistance? To this purpose, it looks at the following issues:

- The impact of recent cash and voucher projects;
- How decisions about whether cash is appropriate in particular contexts are made;
- What the barriers to the adoption of cash-based approaches are.

Based on the growing body of experience with cash- and voucher-based responses, the paper is the first product of an ongoing research project.

This paper is the output of the World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) 2005. It highlights its objectives, defines the priorities for action from 2005 to 2015, as defined during the conference, and focuses on their future implementation and follow up. The following actions are discussed:

1. Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation

2. Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning

3. Use knowledge, innovation and education

These guidelines highlight a range of gender considerations that should be taken into account in four of the five main areas, or "pillars", of mine action:

- Mine clearance
- Mine risk education
- Victim assistance
- Advocacy.

While the fifth pillar, stockpile destruction, might offer opportunities to advance the goal of gender balance, no relevant gender considerations have yet emerged for inclusion in the guidelines.

This document is intended to help UN mine action policy makers and field personnel incorporate gender perspectives

This project aims to examine the potential impact that gender issues have on small arms and light weapons (SALW) proliferation generally and specifically in relation to the 2001 UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (PoA).

This paper is the first output of the project and is intended to give the reader a general background to the interrelationship between the PoA and gender before going on to provide recommendations on how the PoA can be better implemented by taking into

WFP's existing definition of emergencies dates from 1970 and was last reviewed in 1986. This paper reviews the WFP definition as well as definitions of emergencies used by other humanitarian agencies and donors. It concludes that the definition continues to set the appropriate general framework for WFP's emergency work, with some modifications to reflect changes and trends in the global humanitarian environment.

The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices provide a key framework that the United States and others around the world use in assessing the state of human freedom and in marshalling efforts to advance it. The conscientious compiling of these reports equips the U.S. to more effectively stand against oppression and for human dignity and liberty. These volumes, available in the languages of most of the world's peoples, foster discussion, promote advocacy, permit the measurement of progress, and show where improvements are needed.

This 28th edition of U.S. Country Reports

Cuando se piensa en los desastres ocasionados por las amenazas naturales, lo primero que viene a la mente son sus consecuencias humanas. Las pérdidas físicas y emocionales que causan nos han impulsado a aspirar a un mundo más seguro, por lo que un desastre sigue siendo principalmente un asunto de índole social y sanitaria.

En 1994, la Conferencia Mundial sobre la Reducción de los Desastres Naturales, celebrada en Yokohama (Japón), propició un enfoque más previsor que hace hincapié en la conexión económica entre los desastres y el desarrollo sostenible. En la última Conferencia