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Overview of Humanitarian Crisis in Indonesia 2002 - 2007

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:

To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit http://unocha.org/.

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Annual Report 2006/2007

The article is devoted primarily to the question of how the international community can succeed in developing effective mechanisms for breaking the vicious circle of conflicts. To put it briefly: how can a violent conflict be transformed sustainably so as to avoid preprogramming the next violent clashes during the period following the initial conflict?
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Vulnerability in Humanitarian Crisis - VOICE Newsletter, Issue 5

This edition of VOICE OUT LOUD is focused on the question of vulnerability in humanitarian crisis. Member organisations of VOICE share their views and experiences concerning the vulnerabilities of internally displaced people, and women living in crisis settings. The specificities of mental health problematic in crisis situations, vulnerabilities caused by disabilities, and those of indigenous peoples are also discussed. This edition also offers an inside to the impact of EU crisis management policies on EU humanitarian aid, and the state - of - play of the planned
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Civil-Military Cooperation in Multinational and Interagency Operations: Discussion Paper on Operational Terminologies and Assessment for Multinational Experiment 5 [MNE5]

This paper discusses obstacles to civil-military cooperation in the context of multinational and interagency operations, with a special focus on assessment functions and processes. As such, the paper seeks to contribute to the ongoing process of developing a framework for assessment of operations within the context of MNE5. The rationale behind this study is to strengthen the basis for and the effectiveness of Effects-Based Assessment (EBA) of performances, effects, and end-states in multinational and interagency operations. The first section starts by
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Bio-fuels and Food Aid: The Impact on Southern Africa

The United States is pushing ahead with ambitious plans to have 35 billion gallons of fuel from renewable sources in the next ten years. At present, the majority of bio-fuel is ethanol, which is produced from corn. Concern has also been expressed about the diversion of corn to ethanol production and the possible impact that this will have on US exports as well as the amount available for food aid to developing countries. Currently, the US is the largest contributor of food aid in the world and provides most of its donations in-kind - the World
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Additional Protocols I and II to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 - Factsheet

Report
ICRC
International humanitarian law is a set of rules which, in time of war, protects those who are not, or no longer, taking an active part in hostilities, and limits the choice of means and methods of warfare. It applies both in situations of international and non-international armed conflict. The main instruments of international humanitarian law are the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 for the protection of war victims. These treaties, which are universally accepted, protect the wounded, the sick, the shipwrecked, prisoners of war and civilians.
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Beyond-Aid Policies and Impacts: Why a Developing Country Perspective is Important

This Opinion Paper made by ODI addresses DFID's 2007 Annual Report. ODI Opinion Papers are signed pieces by ODI researchers on current development and humanitarian topics.

DFID's 2007 Annual Report was published on 15 May. As in previous years, the report outlines what DFID has done over the past year to tackle global poverty. But this time, in response to a demand from parliament, a whole chapter is devoted to 'Working with others on policies beyond aid'. This chapter along with sections of other chapters on fragile states, conflict, the environment and climate change
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Amnesty International Report 2007

Report
Amnesty
This report documents human rights issues of concern to Amnesty International during 2006. A key message is that powerful governments and armed groups are deliberately fomenting fear to erode human rights and to create an increasingly polarized and dangerous world.
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Virtual On-Site Operations Coordination Centre User Guide

The Virtual On-Site Operations Coordination Centre (VO) is a web-based information management tool developed by the Field Coordination Support Section (FCSS) of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Geneva. The VO is an integral partner of the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS). The GDACS provides near real-time alerts of natural disasters around the world to facilitate response coordination, including media monitoring, map catalogues and the VO.

The VO is designed as an on-line information
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:

To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit http://unocha.org/.

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Too Quiet on the Western Front - Why Failing to find Political Solutions to Overstretch in UN Peacekeeping could Scupper the Realisation of the Responsibility to Protect

Report
One World Trust
Over the past 15 years global bodies have increasingly been called upon to intervene in situations of armed conflict: mediating, enforcing and keeping the peace, and stabilizing and rebuilding countries after periods of war. Arguably it is the recourse to multilateral involvement that has led to a significant drop in overall civilian deaths in war situations. However, the increasing number of missions undertaken by the UN in response to armed conflict translates into a continuous and significant increase in demand on the UN as a whole.

This demand is particularly felt in
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ICRC Annual Report 2006

Report
ICRC
With a network of some 12,000 staff in 80 countries, the ICRC worked in a wide variety of conflict zones in 2006. These operations ranged from rapid response in the case of sudden or worsening crises, such as those in Lebanon, Sri Lanka and Somalia, to ongoing aid in chronic emergencies such as those in Chad, the Central African Republic and Colombia. Over the year, ICRC expenditure reached its highest level in half a century - with over 40 per cent going for Africa.

The ICRC assisted a total of 3.5 million displaced people in 19 countries - an increase of some 300,000 over the

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UNICEF Annual Report 2006

UNICEF has evolved over the past six decades from an organization responding to emergencies to a beacon for children in emergency and non-emergency situations alike. Today, UNICEF works to protect children's rights, while focusing squarely on results.

As thus report details , UNICEF - through integrated programmes, strong partnerships and determined leadership - is more accountable, more data-driven and more results-oriented than ever before.

During this reporting period, we convened a meeting of all UNICEF representatives in sub-Saharan Africa to evaluate

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Maximum or Minimum? Policy Options for Democratisation Initiatives in UN Peace Operations

UN peace operations have become more complex since the end of the 1990s. In most operations the UN has been mandated to organise elections and support state-building. Only in very few cases, however, has democratisation been an officially articulated task in Security Council mandates - despite the stress often placed on democratisation in high-level policy documents. This indicates ambiguity within the UN system as to whether the rhetoric on democratisation expressed in key UN reports is in fact meant to be translated into the guiding principles in UN peace operations.
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Remittances during Crises: Implications for Humanitarian Response

Understanding the significance of remittances in pre-crisis livelihoods, and how they are affected by disasters, should be an important part of needs assessments, but is often still neglected. This report examines the potential role of humanitarian actors in supporting the re-establishment of remittance flows following disasters, for example by investing more in family tracing, and assisting in restoring communications systems. It argues that this could be an important contribution to processes of survival and recovery.

Chapter 2 examines basic conceptual
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Health Action in Crises - Annual Report 2006

The following pages describe WHO's emergency activities throughout 2006. They range from major relief operations in Lebanon to humanitarian programmes in underreported complex emergencies. WHO has 60 emergency field staff stationed in 42 countries, ready and able to respond whenever and wherever crises occur. This expansion in WHO's emergency capacity was possible largely thanks to generous funding from donors - DFID, ECHO, Sida, and others - of the Three Year Programme to Enhance WHO's Performance in Crises (TYP).

As 2007 gets underway, the role of Health
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Operational Guidance on Designating Sector/Cluster Leads in Major New Emergencies

Prepared by the IASC Task Team on the Cluster Approach, this guidance note offers a Q & A on sector/cluster leads in major new emergencies.
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Amnesty International Informe 2007

Report
Amnesty
El informe documenta las cuestiones de derechos humanos que fueron motivo de preocupación para Amnistía Internacional durante el año 2006.

A la hora de abordar cuestiones de abusos contra los derechos humanos, la organización se basa en información sobre los retos y oportunidades de cambio que existen en un determinado país o región. Los objetivos estratégicos que Amnistía Internacional establece para un país o región son los que determinan su actividad y, por consiguiente, la organización trabaja sobre situaciones concretas en países concretos.
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OHCHR Annual Report 2006 - Implementation of Activities and Use of Funds

This Annual Report offers an overview of a truly momentous year for human rights. The highlight was the historic inauguration, in June, of the Human Rights Council, the new intergovernmental body created to replace the Commission on Human Rights. Since its inception, the Council has been engaged in institution-building while tackling some of the human rights crises that erupted or intensified over the second part of 2006. It also moved swiftly to adopt the draft Convention on Enforced Disappearances and the draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,
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Guide to cash-for-work programming

Report
Mercy Corps
Cash-for-work is a short-term intervention used by humanitarian assistance organizations to provide temporary employment in public projects - such as repairing roads, clearing debris or re-building infrastructure - to the most vulnerable segments of a population. The methodology is relatively new, but its use has become increasingly common in food insecure, disaster-affected or post-conflict environments.

In this document, Mercy Corps examines the process of cash-for-work (CfW) implementation and provides a general