March 2008 - Global Perspectives
Transcription
March 2008 - Global Perspectives
GLOBAL GOVERNANCE ZWISCHEN UTOPIE & REALITÄT www.ipsnews.net INHALT | CONTENTS EDITORIAL 4 DIE WELT BESSER VERSTEHEN 5 OPINION | ANSICHT Small-Scale Tourism Yields Large-Scale Benefits By Gülden Türköz Cosslett 'Investment in Transport Infrastructure Most Important' Zoltàn Dujisn interviews Albanian Minister Sokol Olldashi As Civil Wars End, Child Soldiers Decline Radhika Coomaraswamy talks to Nergui Manalsuren WINDOW ON EUROPE First Aid, Second Option By Frans Bieckmann Independence Will Not Improve Kosovo´s Economy By Vesna Peric Zimonjic Challenged State Faces an Uncertain Future By Zoltàn Dujisn Bulgariens Bürger gegen Pipeline By Claudia Ciobanu Letter from Brussels By David Cronin 8 9 10 As Civil Wars End, Child Soldiers Decline Interview with UN Under-S Secretary-G General Radhika Coomaraswamy The number of child soldiers, who are forcibly pressed into military service in conflicts worldwide, has declined: from about 300,000 in 1997 to an estimated 250,000 now, says UN Under-Secretary-General Radhika Coomaraswamy. The primary reason for the decline, she points out, is the end of civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone, which depended on child soldiers as frontline fighters. Page 10-11 The Role of the South in Global Resource Governance 12 14 15 16 17 "Global governance has become one of the most favourite concepts in international politics as a way of ensuring the establishment of best practices in the way the world is run. Critics describe global governance as an international socioeconomic arrangement championed by Western countries to control developing countries. In other words, the concept lacks clarity," says former Ghanian minister Joyce R. Ayree. Pages 24-25 Dem Gemeinwohl internationale Geltung verschaffen COVER STORY | TITELTHEMA Global Governance: New Players, New Rules By James M. Boughton and Colin I. Bradford, Jr. The Global System Needs A Makeover By Carin Smaller The Role of the South in Global Resource Governance By Joyce R. Aryee DEVELOPMENT DEADLINE MDG-Bewertungsskala irreführend Von Abra Pollock How the Millennium Development Goals are Unfair to Africa by William Easterly Dem Gemeinwohl internationale Geltung verschaffen Von Inge Kaul KONFLIKTGEBIETE | CONFLICT AREAS Gaza Border in Political Limbo By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani UN Inaction Threatens "Mass Killings" in Africa and Asia By Thalif Deen Children Look At The Brighter Picture By Mona Alani IMPRESSUM GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES | MARCH 2008 18 22 24 26 "Wir leben in einer zunehmend offenen und von Krisen gerüttelten Welt. Wie wäre es möglich, zu grösserer Stabilität zurückzufinden und nachhaltige globale Entwicklung zu fördern? Erwünschte Politikresultate in diesen Problembereichen - etwa die Stabilisierung des globalen Klimas - lassen sich nicht allein durch nationale Massnahmen erreichen, egal wie mächtig ein Land sein mag,” schreibt Entwicklungsexpertin Inge Kaul. Seite 28-30 Deutsche Redaktion 27 28 31 32 34 35 Karina Böckmann Heike Nasdala Grit Moskau-P Porsch Bildredaktion, Layout & Graphik: Birgit Weisenburger Titelbild-P Photos: www.pixelio.de | UN www.ipsnew.net www.ipseuropa.org www.ipsnews.de 3 EDITORIAL Dear Reader, We have been inspired by the Development and Peace Foundation (SEF) to make Global Governance the theme of the cover story this time. The Foundation, set up at the initiative of Nobel laureate Willy Brandt 22 years ago, is helping to drive forward the German and international debate about policy responses to globalisation. With this in view, it launched in September 2006 a conference series titled 'Global Resource Management - A Challenge for Peace, Development and Environmental Policies', which analysed the conflict potential associated with the relative scarcity of many mineral resources. The concluding conference last October focussed on the opportunities and prospects of global governance in the field of mineral resources, including energy raw materials. The key issues in this context were: to what extent is a global system of resource management, or 'global resource governance', required to make sustainable, peaceful and equitable development possible? How much potential do new rules, institutions and regimes offer as a solution to the problems facing international resource policy? The conference documents are available at www.sef-bonn.org. This edition of Global Perspectives offers excerpts from a stimulating paper titled 'The Role of the South in Global Resource Governance' presented by Joyce R. Aryee, a former Ghanaian Minister and now CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Mines in Accra (pages 2425), at the SEF conference last May. Another paper excerpted from IMF's quarterly magazine, Finance & Development, explains at length why the 20th century model of global governance needs makeover (pages 18-21). A slightly abridged version of an article from the Trade Insight also takes up cudgels in favour of revamping the global system (pages 22-23). There are many more thought-provoking reports. Read the contribution titled 'Dem Gemeinwohl internationale Geltung verschaffen' (pages 28-30) in which Inge Kaul, an eminent development expert, pleads for universal enforcement of the concept and values of common welfare. In the Development Deadline section read William Easterly's analysis of how and why the Millennium Development Goals are unfair to Africa. The opinion column on pages 10-11 presents an interview with UN Under-Secretary-General Radhika Coomaraswamy on decline in the number of child soldiers in the aftermath of the end of civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone, which depended on them as frontline fighters. We also offer you a window on Europe (pages 12-17) presenting a panoramic view of a critical assessment by an indpendent panel of the Netherlands development policy and of the EU heading for a new secirity deal with Israel. Enjoy reading! We will be happy to have your feedback. Ramesh Jaura Chief Editor We focus on global affairs that include issues related to development cooperation but go farther. We offer the perspectives of the global South - the South in both the developed and developing countries. We give voice to the voiceless. We are open to all arguments and examine these carefully. We offer in-depth perspectives based on facts. Support us in our mission: [email protected] Subscribe. Advertise. Donate. 4 KOMMUNIKATION GLOBAL | MÄRZ 2008 DIE WELT BESSER VERSTEHEN Millenniumskampagne eröffnet Regionalbüro in Rom Rom - Die Kampagne zur Durchsetzung der UNMillenniumsziele (MDGs) hat in Rom ihr drittes Regionalbüro eröffnet. Ziel ist es, mit Hilfe einer möglichst breiten europäischen Öffentlichkeit die Regierungen der Region in die Pflicht zu nehmen, ihre im Jahr 2000 auf dem Millenniumsgipfel in New York gegebenen Versprechen zur Armutsbekämpfung einzuhalten. Wie Marina Ponti, die stellvertretende Leiterin der globalen Kampagne und neue Direktorin des Regionalbüros in Rom, gegenüber IPS betonte, seien die MDGs nach wie vor erreichbar. Allerdings müsse Europa der Armutsbekämpfung mehr Ressourcen zur Verfügung stellen und die Effizienz ihrer Hilfe steigern. "Dazu werden die Regierungen jedoch nur bereit sein, wenn sie den Druck der europäischen Bürger zu spüren bekommen. Diese werden wir mobilisieren." Die MDGs sind acht konkrete und überprüfbare Ziele, die Vertreter der Vereinten Nationen, der Weltbank, der Organisation für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (OECD) und mehrere Nichtregierungsorganisationen aus der UN-Millenniumserklärung hergeleitet und fixiert haben. Von 189 Staaten anerkannt, beinhalten die Ziele die Halbierung von Hunger und Armut bis 2015, Grundschulbildung für alle Kinder, die Gleichberechtigung der Geschlechter und Stärkung der Rolle der Frau, die Senkung der Kindersterblichkeit, die Verbesserung der Gesundheitsversorgung von Müttern, den Kampf gegen HIV/Aids, Malaria und andere schwere Krankheiten, die Sicherung der ökologischen Nachhaltigkeit und den Aufbau einer globalen Entwicklungspartnerschaft. Nach dem Aufbau von Regionalbüros in Afrika (Nairobi) und Asien (Bangkok) ist die Millenniumskampagne nun auch in Europa mit einer offizielle Plattform präsent. Die Wahl des südeuropäischen Landes als neuen Standort begründete Ponti, eine ehemalige Sozialaktivistin der in Uruguay angesiedelten NGO 'Social Watch', mit der Mitgliedschaft in der Gruppe der sieben größten Industrienationen (G-7) und der dort "überaus aktiven Zivilgesellschaft" und Friedensbewegung. "Hier nehmen die Menschen Armutsbekämpfung, Umweltschutz und den Aufbau eines gerechteren internationalen Handelssystems wirklich ernst." Die Expertin bedauerte die derzeitige politische Instabilität des Landes. "Wir hoffen, dass die Millenniumsziele im bevorstehenden Wahlkampf einen bedeutenden Platz einnehmen und die nächste Regierung auf dem aufbaut, was ihre Vorgängerin an tatkräftiger Entwicklungskooperation erreicht hat." Inselstaaten fordern Strafen für Klimasünder New York - Die vom Klimawandel besonders bedrohten kleinen Inselstaaten haben den UN-Sicherheitsrat aufgefordert, hart gegen Klimasünder vorzugehen. Auf einem Treffen der Vollversammlung verlangten sie bindende Obergrenzen für Treibhausgasemissionen und Sanktionen für Staaten, die diese überschreiten. "Der Sicherheitsrat ist verpflichtet, eine Verschärfung der Situation zu verhindern", sagte im Namen der Kleinstaaten Stuart Beck, der Vertreter Palaus bei den UN. Schon jetzt seien viele Menschen in der pazifischen Region gezwungen, ihre Heimat zu verlassen, weil der steigende Meeresspiegel ihnen die Lebensgrundlage entziehe. "Wir mögen noch nicht alle Antworten haben, sehr wohl aber haben wir die Gewissheit, dass der exzessive Treibhausgasausstoß der Grund für die Bedrohung unserer Existenz und ein Risiko für die internationale Sicherheit ist", so Beck weiter. Große Staaten könnten sich durch Deiche schützen und die Bevölkerung in höher gelegene Regionen umsiedeln, die kleinen Inselstaaten aber nicht. "Wir sind zum Abwarten gezwungen und müssen zusehen, wie unsere Kultur nach und nach verschwindet." Ähnlich hatte sich schon im letzten Jahr der papuanische UN-Botschafter Robert Aisi geäußert. Auch er sieht den Sicherheitsrat in der Pflicht. Aisi erkennt im Klimawandel für die Inselstaaten eine Gefahr, die nicht kleiner ist als gewalttätiger Auseinandersetzungen für größere Staaten. Wie er betonte, stehen die pazifischen Inselstaaten vor einer Vertreibungswelle, die genau so brisant ist wie die von Konflikten ausgelösten Flüchtlingsströme. Deutliche Worte kamen jetzt auch vom Präsidenten der UN-VollversammGLOBAL PERSPECTIVES | MARCH 2008 Srgjan Kerim | Photo: UN lung, Srgjan Kerim. Er hatte über 100 Delegierte zu dem von ihm organisierten Treffen am 11. und 12. Februar eingeladen und verspricht sich von der Tagung neue Impulse für die Klimadiskussion nach dem Weltklimagipfel vom letzten Dezember in Bali. Dort hatte sich die internationale Gemeinschaft auf einen zweijährigen Verhandlungsprozess über die Nachfolge des 2012 auslaufenden Kiotoprotokolls zur Klimarahmenkonvention geeinigt. "Viele Staaten können nicht warten, bis die Klimabemühungen Wirkung zeigen", warte Kerim. "Wir brauchen sowohl konkrete Ziele als auch sofort anzuwendende Maßnahmen, die den besonders anfälligen Staaten bei der Anpassung helfen." Als besonders wichtig hob der Gastgeber die Suche nach Möglichkeiten zur Verbindung des Kampfes gegen den Klimawandel mit Entwicklungszielen hervor. 5 DIE WELT BESSER VERSTEHEN Hotspot der Biodiversität Indiens in Gefahr Bangalore - In Indien droht einem der artenreichsten Gebiete der Welt neue Gefahr. Die Westghats, eine Bergkette mit einer Ausdehnung von fast 160.000 Quadratkilometer im Westen des Subkontinents, geraten zusehends unter Druck, obwohl sie zu einem guten Teil unter Naturschutz stehen. Die Westghats verlaufen auf einer Länge von etwa 1.600 Kilometer durch die sechs westindischen Staaten Gujarat, Goa, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka und Wetghats bei Kerala | Photo: www.greavesindia.com Tamil Nadu und werden in ihrer ökologischen Bedeutung mit dem Amazonas verglichen. 5.000 Blühpflanzen, 139 Säugetier-, 508 Vogel und 179 Amphibienarten leben in den Feuchtwäldern. Mindestens 325 der Arten gelten als bedroht. Weitgehend unberührt ist die Natur im Nationalparkgürtel Nagarahole-Bandipur-Mudumalai der indischen Unionsstaaten Karnataka, Tamil Nadu und Nordkerala. Dort lebt mit 1.500 Exemplaren die größte indische Elefantenpopulation. 2006 organisierte die Nichtregierungsorganisation (NGO) 'Prakruthi', die sich für eine umweltverträgliche Nutzung der Wälder und der nicht an Holz gebundenen Produkte, die sie hergeben, einsetzt, eine Expertenmission. Sie machte sich auf den Weg durch die Westghats und traf allerorten auf gedankenlose Entwicklungsprojekte. In Maharashtra sind Siedlungen, aber auch Stahl- und Kraftwerke bis in die Westghats vorgedrungen, in Goa der Bergbau, die landwirtschaftliche Monokultur und der Tourismus. In Karnataka bedrohen Staudämme, Energieprojekte und linke Rebellengruppen die Wälder. In Tamil Nadu und Kerala sind Plantagen, die Urbanisierung und die Umweltverschmutzung auf dem Vormarsch. "Ganz offenbar liegt der Geist des Westghats-Entwicklungsprogramms auf Eis", bedauert Prakruthi-Gründer Pandurang Hegde. Der Aktivist kämpft seit den 80er Jahren für die Rettung der Westghats und konnte die indische Regierung damals zu einem Einschlagverbot für Schutzgebiete drängen. Mit traditionellem Wissen Feuchtgebiete retten Johannesburg - In Südafrika läuft ein Pilotprojekt, das die Möglichkeiten traditioneller Methoden zur nachhaltigen Bewirtschaftung von Feuchtgebieten untersucht. Eine Rückbesinnung auf das alternative Wissen der Gemeinden, so die These der beteiligten Wissenschaftler, könnte den Druck auf das fragile Ökosystem verringern. Das 'Mbongolwane Community Wetland Project' in der Provinz KwaZulu Natal im Osten des Kapstaats ist ein Gemeinschaftsvorhaben der staatlichen Wasser- und Forstbehörde, der lokalen Umweltorganisation 'Working on Wetlands' und der privatwirtschaftlichen Initiative 'Mondi Wetlands Project'. Es befähigt die lokale Bevölkerung dazu, ein Zehntel des Feuchtgebietes nachhaltig zu nutzen. "Die Gemeinschaften halten sich dabei an bestimmte Regeln", erläutert der Projektbeauftragte Donovan Kotze von der Universität von KwaZulu Natal. "So werden die in dem Habitat beheimateten Pflanzen nur zu bestimmen Zeiten gepflückt, um ihnen Zeit zu geben, sich zu regenerieren." Riedgräser, die die Anrainer zu Hängematten verknüpfen, werden deshalb ausschließlich im Zeitraum Dezember bis Juni geerntet. Außerdem ist es üblich, Schilf, aus dem die örtlichen Gemeinschaften ihre Dächer fertigen, frühestens ab Mai zu schneiden. Dieser zeitlich kontrollierte Zugriff auf die Pflanzen dient dazu, potenzielle Schäden möglichst gering zu halten. Um die Menschen bei Laune zu halten, erzählen die Dorfältesten Geschichten aus alten Zeiten, die sich um 6 den Schutz der Feuchtgebiete drehen. Abschreckend wirkt zudem der überlieferte Glaube, Männer, die ins Wasser urinieren, verwandelten sich in Frauen und umgekehrt. Unvorstellbar war ferner die Vorstellung, Krokodile zu jagen oder zu essen. Sie gelten als Wächter der Vorfahren, die der Überlieferung zufolge zornig werden, wenn die in Feuchtgebieten endemischen Fischarten über Gebühr abgefischt werden. Die Feuchtgebiete, die sechs Prozent der Erdoberfläche bedecken, sind ökologisch besonders wertvoll. Sie dienen Wasservögeln als Rast- und Winterplätze, als Wasserfilter und Überschwemmungsschutz und spielen als CO2-Senken im Kampf gegen die klimaschädlichen Treibhausgase eine weitere wichtige Rolle. Feuchtgebiete sind auch hochproduktive Ökosysteme. Viele der dort wachsenden Pflanzen sind für den menschlichen Verzehr geeignet. Die stärkehaltige Knollen der Taro-Pflanze (Colocasia esculenta) zum Beispiel, die seit mehr als 2.000 Jahren kultiviert wird, lassen sich wie Kartoffeln kochen. Die mineralund vitaminreichen Blätter und Stiele des Gewächses werden als Gemüse gegessen. Aus Riedgräsern, Flechten und Schilf lassen sich Körbe und Matten herstellen. Kotze bedauert, dass in einigen Gemeinschaften die von einer Generation zur nächsten vermittelten Webkenntnisse verloren gegangen sind. Eine Wiederentdeckung der traditionellen Aktivitäten könnte seiner Meinung nach die Menschen dazu ermutigen, die Feuchtgebiete zu schützen. KOMMUNIKATION GLOBAL | MÄRZ 2008 DIE WELT BESSER VERSTEHEN US-Waffen für Mexikos Drogenmafia Mexiko-Stadt - Täglich gelangen rund 2.000 Waffen und Tausende Stück Munition illegal nach Mexiko. Wichtigste Abnehmer der zu 90 Prozent aus den USA stammenden Waffen sind die immer mächtiger werdenden Drogenbarone. Sie verfügen mittlerweile über Arsenale, die einer modern ausgestatteten Armee würdig wären. Unter den Schmuggelwaffen sind Panzerabwehrakten vom Typ M72 und AT4, MGLGranatwerfer, RPG-7-Raketenwerfer und HerstalMaschinengewehre. Erst am 7. Februar fanden Soldaten im nordmexikanischen Bundesstaat Tamaulipas nahe der Grenze zu den USA ein Waffenversteck mit 89 Sturmgewehren und über 80.000 Schuss Munition. Vier Tage später konnten im westlichen Bundesstaat Sinaloa und dem benachbarten Nuevo León 44 weitere hoch moderne Waffen sichergestellt werden. Am 13. Februar flog in Mexiko-Stadt ein Lager mit zehn Splittergranaten und einer Anti-Air-Waffe auf. Bereits im Januar waren in der mexikanischen Hauptstadt Waffenhändler mit 20 Sturmgewehren und zwölf Granatwerfern im Gepäck dingfest gemacht worden. Der Verteidigungsausschuss des mexikanischen Abgeordnetenhauses geht davon aus, dass in den Amtsjahren von Staatspräsident Vicente Fox von 2000 bis 2006 4,3 Millionen Waffen illegal ins Land kamen. Konfisziert werden konnten nicht mehr als 29.360 der Geschosse. Auch 2007, nach Übernahme der Regierungsgeschäfte durch Felipe Calderón, wurden gerade einmal 4.205 Sturmgewehre, 4.433 kleinere Waffen und 518 Granaten aus dem Verkehr gezogen. Für die Sicherheitsexpertin Georgina Sánchez von der staatlichen autonomen Metropolitan-Universität in Mexiko-Stadt ist die Verbreitung der illegalen Waffen in Mexiko ein Problem, dessen Ausmaß von den Behörden kaschiert und von der Öffentlichkeit nicht wahrgenommen wird. Auch der US-Senatsausschuss für auswärtige Angelegenheiten räumt ein, dass der Waffenschmuggel nach Mexiko trotz aller Bemühungen von US-amerikanischer Seite in den letzten Monaten massiv angezogen hat und sich die Drogenkartelle längst einen Rüstungswettlauf liefern. Bereits im Januar hatte der US-amerikanische Justizminister und Generalstaatsanwalt Michael Mukasey bei einem Besuch in Mexiko bestätigt, dass die meisten Waffen im Besitz der mexikanischen Drogenmafia aus den USA stammen. Chile strebt OECD-Mitgliedschaft an Santiago de Chile - Chile bemüht sich seit 2004 um eine Mitgliedschaft in der Organisation für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung. Die Regierung gibt sich optimistisch, denn die Wirtschaft in dem Andenstaat boomt. Doch beim Umweltschutz sieht die OECD Nachbesserungsbedarf. Es gebe keine großen Hindernisse für den Beitritt Chiles zur OECD, erklärte der chilenische Finanzminister Andrés Velasco Ende Januar nach einem Besuch am Sitz der Organisation in Paris. Er rechne mit einem Zeitraum von etwa zwei Jahren, bis dass Chile den Status eines ständigen Mitglieds erhalte. Seit 1997 hat das südamerikanische Land bei der OECD einen Beobachterstatus. Bereits vor vier Jahren unter der Regierung von Präsident Ricardo Lagos beantragte Chile die Vollmitgliedschaft in der 1961 gegründeten internationalen Organisation. Diese zählt derzeit 30 Mitgliedsstaaten, darunter alle Industrienationen. Aus diesem Grund gilt die Organisation in Chile denn auch als "Club der Reichen". Die wirtschaftlichen Prognosen des Andenstaates sind dabei durchaus positiv. Chile hat die Rezession überwunden, in die das Land nach der Asienkrise 1997 eingetreten war. Das Bruttoinlandsprodukt wuchs in den letzten Jahren kontinuierlich und liegt inzwischen bei 6,1 Prozent. Unter Präsidentin Michelle Bachelet verabschiedete das Parlament im Jahr 2006 den größten Haushalt, den das Land je zur Verfügung hatte: 22 Milliarden US-Dollar. Vor allem die weltweit hohen Kupferpreise und die Abwertung des Dollar trugen zu einer Erholung der Wirtschaft GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES | MARCH 2008 Santiago de Chilé | Photo: www.pixelio.de bei. Doch damit nicht genug. Ermutigende Berichte der OECD aus den Jahren 2003 und 2005 bescheinigen Chile ein hohes Maß an wirtschaftlicher Solvenz, Transparenz und ein wirksames Vorgehen gegen die Korruption. Doch je mehr sich der Markt öffnet, umso mehr wächst bei Kritikern die Skepsis. "Die Öffnung der chilenischen Wirtschaft kann auch eine größere Verletzlichkeit hervorrufen. In den Augen der OECD ist das vielleicht ein Vorteil, aber wir werden noch sehen, was wir davon haben", meint Hugo Fazia vom Zentrum für Nationale Studien für Alternative Entwicklung (CENDA), einer Nichtregierungsorganisation mit Sitz in Santiago de Chile. 7 OPINION | ANSICHT Small-Scale Tourism Yields Large-Scale Benefits By Gülden Türköz Cosslett I Gulden Turkoz-C Cosslett is the UNDP Resident Representative in Albania. n a world of pre-packaged products we have become accustomed to authenticity being sacrificed for convenience. Even recreation and tourism are increasingly being processed and packaged, to the detriment of what makes individual experiences (or even countries) unique and fun. Albania is a beautiful and fascinating country. It has a wide range of historic, cultural, and natural attractions that are of great interest to international tourists. The country is safe, and its people are welcoming. Most important, the country is still authentic: it remains largely unspoiled. Innovative national leaders and forward-looking planners from around the world have proven that tourism that features authentic culture, nature, and experiences creates more opportunities in local communities than any other type of tourism. At the village or town level, nature and culture-oriented tourism permits small-scale businesses to be successful tourism operators based on their own knowledge and experience, and with relatively low capital investment. Tourist spending is local, and tends to stay in the community, spread across a number of individuals in the community, and circulating in the local economy. Strong growth potential in tourism Castle in Shkodër, Albania Photo: Klaus Friedl 8 A study carried out in Costa Rica found that the positive economic impact of nature and culture tourism on a small community can be 5 to 10 times greater per dollar of tourist spending than for an all-inclusive mass tourism destination. Nature and culture tourism requires less public infrastructure and lower levels of private investment, per visitor. And the price is determined by how good Albania is at providing these unique experiences to guests, whereas in mass sun & sand tourism, the price is set by how cheaply other high-volume destinations can sell their competing tourism products. Last year, the World Economic Forum launched its first ever Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2007. This study is a detailed examination of the underlying factors that are likely to determine Albania's ability to compete successfully in international markets. The country ranked 90 out of 124 countries from around the globe, ranking ahead of many countries with long-established and successful tourism sectors. The ranking indicates that Albania has strong growth potential in tourism, and that its potential can be realised through concrete action by policy makers and the collective efforts of the private, civil, and governmental sector. However, it also points to very troubling weakness that could limit severely Albania's competitiveness if not addressed in a coherent manner across many sectors and ministerial portfolios. Reflecting long-established trends in the tourism industry, the top- ranking countries were noted for not only their beautiful attractions but also for their stringent environmental regulations which protect that beauty. This emphasis strongly validates the Albanian government's decision to focus on nature and culture tourism across the country. Albania ranked 43rd in the world in its Natural, Cultural and Human Resources. However, it ranked very low on environmental protection. Perhaps the most positive result from this study shows that Albania is already very strong in areas that are difficult and require a long time to change, while most of its weaknesses are in areas that can be improved quickly with political will and concrete action. The study confirms that Albania is a welcoming country. Travel restrictions are non-existent (tied for 1st), and the country ranked 4th in ''tourism openness'', a measure of citizen, government, and private sector openness to foreign visitors. The country ranked very high in human resource issues - 35th in the world. A number of weaknesses are pointed out in the study, in particular property rights (116th), and infrastructure (particularly airport, roads, and Internet, all greater than 110th). These are well-known problems, understood to be long-term, which the country is addressing through increased efforts. These will improve over time with continued national efforts. The country could improve its competitiveness (and its rankings) by addressing a number of issues that appear to be within direct control of policy-makers. Investment climate: rules regarding foreign ownership (113th) and direct investment (110th) are seen as obstacles. While the government is engaged in significant recent efforts, tourism investment has a number of complexities that require special attention. Natural resource management: The country's weak system for solid waste management, control of deforestation and land use, coupled with its limited designation of protected areas (87th), and unstable (113th) and non-stringent (124th) regulatory system make this area the country's ''Achilles Heel'' for tourism and other critical economic sectors. Overall Albania has ranked well in tourism competitiveness and has also made important strides in peace, stability, safety, infrastructure, and entrepreneurship. With a concerted effort by policy makers to make nature and culture the focus of its tourism investment and marketing, the country could create extraordinary development opportunities for its people, and be a recognised ''star'' in international tourism for a very long time. IPS | GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES KOMMUNIKATION GLOBAL | MÄRZ 2008 OPINION | ANSICHT 'Investment in Transport Infrastructure Most Important' Zoltàn Dujisn interviews Albanian Minister for Public Works Sokol Olldashi R oads, railways, ports and airports are being upgraded in a country where in spite of the challenges posed by poverty, investment in infrastructure has been dramatically increased. Albania's minister for transport explained to IPS correspondent Zoltán Dujisin why the country's ambitious bid to link itself with Europe's trade and tourism routes is so important to a previously isolated nation. Some excerpts: IPS: How important is transport infrastructure investment for Albania? Sokol Olldashi: It is the most important investment in the country. During the communist period our infrastructure was very poor, especially in the road and railway sector, and now we are trying to catch up. Comparing to 2004 we are investing six times more in road infrastructure. In 2004 we spent 65 million euro and in 2008 we will invest 470 million. IPS: Isn't this is a huge strain for the budget? How do you find funds for this? Sokol Olldashi: We've had a very good fiscal performance in the last few years, incomes are increasing, we took important measures against corruption, and this has helped the state budget. We are privatising and we have a six percent GDP growth, and all this while lowering taxes. We have lowered the tax on labour; we are applying a 10 percent flat tax which is very attractive for investors. We also receive loans from several banks. IPS: Which sectors are benefiting from these large investments? Sokol Olldashi: We have increased investments in all sectors of infrastructure: ports, aviation, railways. We are building the basic network of roads in the country starting from the north-south axis, which will soon be completed and connect Greece to Montenegro through Albania. The road to Macedonia is already built, and the biggest project will connect us to the border with Kosovo. The highway is under construction right now and represents the greatest infrastructure project, because the terrain is very difficult, going through various mountains, and there will be 12 kilometres of tunnel and 25 bridges. IPS: The section connecting to Kosovo has been highly controversial, your predecessor was accused of approving the project before the cost was known, and critics say the tender was not open, and costs could increase again. Sokol Olldashi: It was a fully transparent project. Everything was done in consultation with different foreign institutions, international bodies evaluated the offers, and five big companies from abroad were part of the tender, with none of them having even a single remark against the process. GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES | MARCH 2008 IPS: Are you also developing smaller roads that will lead to so far inaccessible beaches deemed so important to making the most of the country's tourism potential? Sokol Olldashi: We are building several of them, connecting the north-south axis to the sea, such as the one connecting Vlora to Saranda along the coast, and which has only touristic purposes. IPS: What do you expect to gain from all these improvements in infrastructure? Sokol Olldashi: It will serve many purposes; industry growth, to facilitate the movement of people and goods, boost tourism, and bring development to the most remote parts of the country. In April we will start a very important project for tourism and agriculture, which will consist of building 4,000km of rural roads; this will be a huge step forward in solving the problems of rural areas. IPS: Will this stop the massive movement of the population from rural to urban centres? Sokol Olldashi: It will slow it down but not stop it. When in the early 1990s communism collapsed we had 73 percent of the population living in rural areas, now this number is down to 50. The tendency will be to come closer to the European average. IPS: Albanian roads are considered very unsafe and constitute a big public health issue. Sokol Olldashi: This is a very complex problem. It's not enough to just take measures to make roads safer. If we look at statistics and compare ourselves to other countries in the region, our numbers are quite average. In my view our weakest point is the procedures for licensing new drivers. We have to improve the control and quality of driving schools. Almost 80 percent of road accidents occur during the day, in good weather conditions and on our best roads, so it's mostly a problem of speeding. IPS: Driving is still quite a novelty for most Albanians. Sokol Olldashi: This can have an influence. We must consider that motorisation among Albanians is still low for European standards, but traffic will increase permanently in future years together with the rate of motorisation. We have 10 vehicles per 100 inhabitants, and I believe the European average to be at around 60 per 100 inhabitants. IPS: But this increased rate of motorisation is catching some cities off guard and causing traffic congestion and environmental problems. Sokol Olldashi: We are also helping the local governments invest in city infrastructure. For example, in Tirana we are cooperating with the city authorities to financially assist them in important infrastructural projects, such as the building of a ring road. IPS | GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES Sokol Olldashi 9 OPINION | ANSICHT As Civil Wars End, Child Soldiers Decline UN Under-Secretary-General Radhika Coomaraswamy talks to Nergui Manalsuren Photo: Jonas Ekströmer, WCC T he number of child soldiers, who are forcibly pressed into military service in conflicts worldwide, has declined: from about 300,000 in 1997 to an estimated 250,000 now, says UN Under-SecretaryGeneral Radhika Coomaraswamy. The primary reason for the decline, she points out, is the end of civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone, which depended heavily on child soldiers as frontline fighters. "The United Nations came in, and demobilised children, put them into rehabilitation programmes," said Coomaraswamy, the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, in an interview with IPS correspondent Nergui Manalsuren. Coomaraswamy also said that religious organisations have played a very important role in the rehabilitation and education of the more than 50,000 children who have been demobilised from military service. Excerpts from the interview: IPS: Human Rights Watch says the UN Security Council (SC) should impose sanctions against government and rebel forces that persist in using child soldiers. However, in the Security Council's open debate China a veto wielding permanent member - along with Libya, Indonesia, and Vietnam are opposing sanctions. Under these circumstances, are sanctions feasible at all? Radhika Coomaraswamy: The SC's resolution 1612, speaks about imposing targeted measures against persistent violators… China and all these countries agreed on it at that point. I feel that if these violators continue to persist, and do not respond at all in the coming years, that possibility of sanctions is there. But we will have to convince the countries to impose sanctions. We must remember that these are the member states and sanctions are the most extreme measures that the UN can take. Therefore, they feel that the countries were only reviewed once, and there should be more opportunities to get into action plans, and those kinds of measures should be tried first before we move to sanctions. 10 IPS: In a recent report, Secretary-General Ban Kimoon said he is concerned about the increasing use of children in suicide attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan. Is there anything the UN can do to prevent or eliminate this practice? Radhika Coomaraswamy: I think this is a very difficult area because it requires the UN have access to the non-state actors, and be able to persuade them that they shouldn't engage in this. This is very difficult. Firstly, it is difficult to meet these non- state actors, who are seen as terrorist groups. Secondly, they themselves have a very negative view of the UN due to particular history. So this is very difficult point. I don't think that naming and shaming would work because they don't accept the UN as a shaming mechanism. They come from another worldview. So, I think we have to keep working at the grass-roots level. We have to try to get communities to put pressure on them and to stop them. So at the moment, we have to work through local communities. IPS: How far has the UN succeeded in rehabilitating and re-integrating child soldiers? Are there any specific programmes for this? And does the UN have enough funding? Radhika Coomaraswamy: Well, this is a big issue because re-integration programs are things that are under-funded. Basically UNICEF [The UN Children's Fund] and other organizations who deal with these programmes have realized that just demobilizing a child, and sending him home, or keeping him in an orphanage if there are no parents is not an answer. Actually, you have to take them home, and you have to develop the community to receive them. This is a more complex process. In the funding world - there is emergency assistance and development assistance -the two are in different categories. But in the case of child soldiers, demobilisation is an emergency issue, but reintegration must be seen as a development KOMMUNIKATION GLOBAL | MÄRZ 2008 OPINION | ANSICHT issue. So often there is money to demobilise but the development agencies do not get involved fast enough for reintegrating child soldiers successfully. On issues like this we should think more holistically and what is best for the child. IPS: Can we say that it is poorly funded? Radhika Coomaraswamy: Yes, it's poorly funded. The long time re-integration is poorly funded, but actual demobilization is all right. IPS: The Tokyo based Global Network of Religions for Children will be focusing on children under siege, including child soldiers, at an international conference in Hiroshima in May highlighting the role of education, ethics and religion in the rehabilitation of children. What are your thoughts on this? Would interfaith dialogue help? Radhika Coomaraswamy: Well, religious organizations play a very important role because whatever said and done in the end UNICEF funds local groups to do the rehabilitation. UNICEF itself doesn't do the rehabilitation. So, the local groups involved in these programmes - many of them are religious - some of them are very dedicated workers. So, religious NGOs are very important, but I think that it is also true that the education is important. We are trying to make safety zones so that even in the war zones children can continue to study and play. So, I think that all faiths are against child soldiers. The issue is not one of dialogues so much, but that the faith organizations that work with child - soldiers and who have done a good job, should be supported. IPS: What, in your view, are the root causes of child soldiering? How many of the children offer themselves voluntarily, and how many are forced into military conscription? Radhika Coomaraswamy: This is a very interesting question. Of course in certain wars they were hit on their heads and abducted. They were forcibly taken away - like most of them in Sierra Leone and Liberia. It was recruitment through abduction. But in many parts of the world children voluntarily joined these groups. There has been some research done. One reason appears to be of course that some of them are orphans in poverty and these groups are the place where they can find a home and a meal. Secondly, many join because of ethnic wars, and their families and communities feel that it is noble to fight for a cause even if you are child - sometimes due to political ideology such as in Colombia. Sometimes because these men with guns are role models for the children - they also want to have guns and sunglasses, and some kind of masculinity model. There are all sorts of reasons why children may join so-called 'voluntarily'. But as we know those are not truly voluntary choices - they are not provided any other options sometimes - it's more what the war reality produces. IPS | GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES | MARCH 2008 Facts About Child Soldiers Although there are no exact figures, hundreds of thousands of children under the age of 18 serve in government forces or armed rebel groups. Some are as young as eight years old. Since 2001, the participation of child soldiers has been reported in 21 on-going or recent armed conflicts in almost every region of the world. Children are uniquely vulnerable to military recruitment because of their emotional and physical immaturity. They are easily manipulated and can be drawn into violence that they are too young to resist or understand. Technological advances in weaponry and the proliferation of small arms have contributed to the increased use of child soldiers. Lightweight automatic weapons are simple to operate, often easily accessible, and can be used by children as easily as adults. Children are most likely to become child soldiers if they are poor, separated from their families, displaced from their homes, living in a combat zone or have limited access to education. Many children join armed groups because of economic or social pressure, or because children believe that the group will offer food or security. Others are forcibly recruited, "press-ganged" or abducted by armed groups. Both girls and boys are used as child soldiers. In some countries, like Nepal, Sri Lanka and Uganda, a third or more of the child soldiers were reported to be girls. In some conflicts, girls may be raped, or given to military commanders as "wives." Once recruited, child soldiers may serve as porters or cooks, guards, messengers or spies. Many are pressed into combat, where they may be forced to the front lines or sent into minefields ahead of older troops. Some children have been used for suicide missions. Children are sometimes forced to commit atrocities against their own family or neighbors. Such practices help ensure that the child is "stigmatized" and unable to return to his or her home community. In some countries, former child soldiers have access to rehabilitation programs to help them locate their families, get back into school, receive vocational training, and re-enter civilian life. However, many children have no access to such programs. They may have no way to support themselves and are at risk of re-recruitment. In 2000, the United Nations adopted an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. The protocol prohibits the forced recruitment of children under the age of 18 or their use in hostilities. To date, it has been ratified by more than 110 countries. The ILO Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labor prohibits the forced or compulsory recruitment of children under the age of 18 for use in armed conflict. It has been ratified by over 150 countries. Source: Human Rights Watch Radhika Coomaraswamy was appointed UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict in 2006. Ms. Coomaraswamy, is an internationally known human rights advocate and has done outstanding work as the UN Special Rapporteur on ‘Violence against Women’ (1994-2003). 11 First Aid, Second Option By Frans Bieckmann I s Africa sick? Some Africans may suffer from diseases, but to refer an entire continent to the sickbay makes no sense. There are problems, to be sure. Corruption, a bad business climate and the disadvantages of being landlocked can all be easily diagnosed. As can some harmful conditions imposed from the outside, such as market access restrictions, or at the other extreme, too much liberalization. But just as with the infamous 'Dutch disease', no diagnosis can ever fully capture the complexity of an organism such as human society. The Netherlands continued to function quite comfortably during the years it suffered from this serious illness. Too many doctors around the patient how things are going. That is what the Policy and Operations Evaluation Department (IOB) of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs has done. It conducted an ambitious evaluation of eight years of Dutch development cooperation with Africa, which accounted for 5.8 billion euro, or about half of the entire bilateral aid budget. The special report* gives an overview of the evaluation. Here we point to just some of the remarkable conclusions. In particular, there is the implicit conclusion that the provision of general budget support (GBS) and the focus on specific sectors in African countries have achieved, at best, mixed results. The decisions to introduce budget support and the sectoral approach were perhaps not so strange. As some respondents point out, many other progressive donors Development studies, like medical science, have evolved in recent decades. Development practice, which started with sticking plasters and other simple forms of first aid, now knows more or less how to perform more complex operations such as fixing a broken leg, and even to examine the internal workings of the nervous system. However, changing circumstances generate new diseases, and knowledge about the complex workings of state and society is still far from mature - or is ignored. Often too many doctors gather around the patient, each forcing their own prescriptions and, at times, medicines from their own drug companies. When lives are at stake, it is essential to scrutinize continually *The Broker was granted exclusive access to the draft report. The full texts of their responses, and of the summary, can be found on the website: www.thebrokeronline.eu. The Broker invites all readers to contribute to the debate. 12 The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia, Dimitrij Rupel (left) and the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Bernard Rudolf Bot | Photo: NATO International KOMMUNIKATION GLOBAL | MÄRZ 2008 Photo: www.pixelio.de WINDOW ON EUROPE WINDOW ON EUROPE Between 1998 and 2006, 90 percent of the 1100 million euro spent on debt relief was in fact used to cancel export credit debts - rather than for poverty reduction. chose this same path. The sectoral approach facilitates the very necessary donor coordination and cuts down on bureaucracy. The IOB and many of the respondents praise Dutch development cooperation for taking the lead in this. One unintended consequence of the sectoral approach is that agriculture was quietly dropped from the Dutch development policy. Not only the rural poor, but also civil society appear to have become victims of the increasing focus on only one or two sectors in a country. The IOB report correctly asks whether sector support fits with 'good governance', the dominant theme of Western development thinking over the past decade. If civil society is excluded, good governance is reduced to a very narrow conception of building the capacity of state apparatus. The IOB report praises the Dutch coherence policy, and the government's efforts to integrate defence and development policies. Moreover, the IOB concludes that it is partly thanks to Dutch aid that many more Africans now have access to health care and to education. Recent calls for more independent assessments imply that the IOB evaluations are not critical enough. This evaluation of the Dutch Africa policy does not support this view. In the report, the IOB with one foot inside and the other outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - shows that it is not at all afraid to criticize past and present policy choices. Questions can be asked, however, about the premise of the evaluation, and whether IOB has been able to see beyond the current development paradigm. defence' (3D) are to be taken seriously, then such an evaluation approach seems the only appropriate one. The IOB report gives one astonishing example of the lack of coherence (although not phrased as such) in Dutch foreign policy. Between 1998 and 2006, 90 percent of the 1100 million euro spent on debt relief was in fact used to cancel export credit debts, rather than for poverty reduction. And, via a complicated process, 5-10 percent of this amount ends up in the coffers of the Dutch Ministry of Finance, providing a windfall of 500 million euro in 2008. The picture that emerges is of a doctor who treats the patient's broken arm one year, a bad back the next, and later maybe a head injury. Never the whole body. Nor the environment in which the patient became ill. It is even less likely that the doctor entertains the possibility that he himself might have been the cause of the patient's recurring physical problems. One last question: who should assess the treatment itself? Here the IOB evaluation offers some help: in most cases the Dutch government paid 'little more than lip service' to ownership, and development cooperation is still mainly 'donor driven'. Maybe next time the 'patients' themselves should be allowed to judge their doctor's treatment? THE BROKER | GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES Lack of coherence Some financial conclusions 1998-2006 In fact, what has been investigated is whether policy intentions were put into practice and have yielded the desired results, measured as short-term outputs. Such an approach in the best case will affirm chosen policies. If the results are not optimal - which is inevitable given the complex mingling of national and international political, economic and societal processes - one can only point out policies that should not be chosen again. And, accordingly, move on to the next policy hype, or partial solution, together with the herd of other (progressive) donors. A different kind of evaluation is needed, one that includes a much more integrated analysis of national and regional dynamics - (geo)political, economic, societal, environmental, etc. - in the South, coupled with an analysis of which external factors (development policies are only one of them) may have influenced matters either positively or negatively. Analytical tools for this have yet to be developed. If the Dutch government's efforts to achieve 'policy coherence for development' and an 'integrated policy of development, diplomacy and Two-thirds of the total €5.8 billion bilateral aid for sub-Saharan Africa was spent in the 15 partner countries, a quarter went to non-partner countries, while the remainder was spent regionally. Annual fluctuations in aid allocations are substantial. Partner country Ghana received €38 million in 2003, €92 million in 2004 and €20 million in 2005. Non-partner country Cameroon received €4.5 million in 2000, €50.5 million in 2001 and €3 million in 2002. These fluctuations raise questions about the allocation system and put the predictability of Dutch aid in an unfavourable light. Debt cancellation was the largest spending category of Dutch aid in Africa. As a result, non-partner country DR Congo received the third largest amount of Dutch aid over the period 1998-2006 (€435 million), after partner countries Tanzania and Ghana. Non-partner Nigeria came fifth with €369 million. GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES | MARCH 2008 Frans Bieckmann is Editor in Chief of the bimonthly magazine The Broker - funded by the Netherlands Foundation for the Advancement of Tropical Research (NWO / WOTRO Science for Global Development) and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Contact to Frans Bieckmann: [email protected] 13 WINDOW ON EUROPE Independence Will Not Improve Kosovo’s Economy By Vesna Peric Zimonjic in Belgrade T he proclamation of independence in Kosovo has brought widespread celebrations among its ethnic Albanians, but also a realisation that economic difficulties remain - and could worsen. Kosovo, the long disputed southern province of Serbia, declared independence Feb 17. The bulk of its population of two million is ethnic Albanian. The economy of Kosovo has been idle for decades now. The reason goes beyond any negligence by the United Nations administration (UNMIK) that has run the province since 1999, or, as Belgrade often says, the indolence of local people. The roots of economic hardships go back to the times of former Yugoslavia. Billions of dollars were invested in Kosovo, of services jobs. Thousands went abroad, looking for a better life. The World Bank says the average annual salary in Kosovo is only about 1,800 dollars, and the per capita gross domestic product less than 1,000 dollars. It says that 37 percent of the population lives in poverty, on less than two dollars a day. Children, elderly people, families without male breadwinners, the disabled, the unemployed, and non-Serb ethnic minorities like the Roma are the most vulnerable. A particular problem is the lack of electricity produced by outdated and poorly maintained coal-run plants. "In order to improve production or even agriculture, Kosovo needs a good supply of electricity," Kosovo celebrates its independence | Photo: www.theage.au but economic activity collapsed when former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic abolished the autonomy of Kosovo in 1989 and introduced direct rule from Belgrade. Survival through farming Thousands of ethnic Albanians in the mining, energy or transportation systems were laid off. They could not be replaced by local Serbs, who lacked the skills for these jobs. In any case the 250.000 Serbs in Kosovo then were too few for the job. Fifteen billion tonnes of deposits of coal, and millions of tonnes of deposits of zinc, lead and bauxite remain under the ground. Ordinary people turned to survival through farming, small trade or all kinds 14 economist Ibrahim Rexhepi wrote in the daily Zeri. "Apart from the millions of dollars coming from people living abroad, we badly need foreign investment." Foreign investment has been low, due to the unstable situation, and lack of proper regulation. The Kosovo government is currently examining bids for a 4 billion dollar contract to build a new coal-fired power plant. But that is expected to be fully operational only by 2012, Rexhepi said. The international media widely speculated that Serbia would cut supply of electricity to Kosovo as a reprisal measure for the proclamation of independence, but this did not happen. Serbia is obliged by international agreements to supply electricity to Kosovo within the regionally combined grid that includes Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro. Any shutdown of the Kosovo supply would disrupt or even shut down supply elsewhere. Nor has Serbia imposed any trade embargo. "Serbia cannot impose an embargo against a part of its territory," trade minister Predrag Bubalo told Serbian media, following the official line that it would not recognise an independent Kosovo. "Apart from that, the embargo would have a heavy impact on Serbs living in the province." Billions of dollars "stolen" Economists say this explanation is just a façade. "Exports to Kosovo make 5.7 percent of Serbia's export in total," Goran Nikolic from the Serbian Chamber of Commerce told Belgrade B92 TV. "That is an important item, as the exports to Kosovo have reached 535 million dollars in 2007. The goods are mostly food, medicines and construction material." Rodoljub Draskovic, head of the largest Serbian food company SwisslionTakovo says his goal is to remain in the Kosovo market. "Our exports were worth more than 22 million dollars last year, Kosovo customers are used to our products," Draskovic told IPS. "This should not be changed." The Serbian government meanwhile talks of the billions of dollars "stolen" from Serbia by Kosovo. Screaming headlines speak of 'robbery worth 200 billion dollars' or 'theft of billions'. "The fact is that there is no real record or real calculation of what Serbia does 'possess' in Kosovo, as the whole of former Yugoslavia invested in it," analyst Misa Brkic told IPS. "Such talk only serves the purpose of provoking animosities, frustration and anger among Serbs." The Serbian government has not reacted to a statement from the Kosovo government at the time of declaration of independence that the plans proposed by Finish negotiator Marti Ahtisaari will form the guidelines for Kosovo. Under this plan, all the formerly stateowned property in Kosovo will remain with Kosovo, in line with the succession agreements on property after the disintegration of former Yugoslavia (Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovenia). Serbia has rejected the Ahtisaari plan. IPS | GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES KOMMUNIKATION GLOBAL | MÄRZ 2008 WINDOW ON EUROPE Challenged State Faces an Uncertain Future By Zoltán Dujisin in Pristina A s the euphoria over the proclamation of independence slowly dissipates, Kosovars will have to focus on the enormous political and economic challenges corruption, poverty and an angry Serbia will pose to statehood. On Feb. 17 Kosovo, the long autonomous and much disputed southern region of Serbia, made a unilateral declaration of independence that was quickly recognised by Western powers but deemed illegitimate in Serbia, Russia and China. Full sovereignty will only come after a period of supervised independence by international orgnisations. "Kosovo has all the conditions to become a failed state," a high-ranking official at one of the major international organisations in Kosovo told IPS on condition of anonymity. "But any formation of a new state is a risky venture and requires international support." Over 90 percent of Kosovo's population of two million is composed of ethnic Albanians whose individual and collective human rights were violated under the tenure of late Serbian and Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic (1989-2000), culminating in a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) military intervention in 1999. Human rights violated Presently about 5 percent of the population is Serbian. Depending on the source, 70,000 to 200,000 Serbs are believed to have left Kosovo due to reprisals by the majority population following NATO's intervention. During Milosevic's era Albanians developed a series of parallel institutions to ensure their educational and other social needs, often resorting to corrupt practices and creating an atmosphere of acceptance of corruption. After 1999 the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) took over administrative functions and began rebuilding the region's institutions from scratch, following Western models. The international presence in Kosovo brought a duality of institutions which has damaged accountability and the system of checks and balances, making the country's institutions more prone to corruption. Moreover, "international and domestic organisations claimed successes for themselves while nobody took responsibility for failures," the official said, though noting that independence could make responsibilities clearer. Even international institutions have GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES | MARCH 2008 not been immune to corruption, and the government's failed anti-corruption policies have left powerful foreign perpetrators mostly unscratched. As with many other areas begging for action, anti-corruption laws are in place, but their implementation leaves much to be desired. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether there is, or will be, political will to fight corruption. "There are connections between Kosovo's political class and the Albanian mafia, especially with regards to women trafficking," the official said. Lulzim Peci, director of the Kosovar Institute for Policy Research and Development, says Kosovo's status as a European hub for drugs and human trafficking is not a phenomenon rooted in the country but rather a result of its previously unclear international status. "There was no visa regime, but now we will be able to control our borders," the analyst told IPS. Kosovo's police has been cited as an example of a corrupt-free and successfully established institution, but the country's weak judiciary has been unable to curb corruption elsewhere, and could be jeopardising the success of other institution-building processes. Surveys show that 57 percent of the public perceives the judiciary as very or somewhat corrupt, though other countries in the region do not differ dramatically in this sense. Government officials still have reasons to be optimistic. "Independence did not happen out of the blue, little has been left to fortune," Adri Nurellari, advisor to Prime Minister of Kosovo Hashim Thaci told IPS. Nurellari admits that "privatisation has been highly corrupt," but believes that "with the resolution of Kosovo's status people will start following rules, and foreign investment will grow." Foreign capital inflows have so far been discouraged by endemic corruption, energy shortages, a shady privatisation process and property disputes. This has affected an impoverished population. Kosovo currently lacks sustainable economic development. Its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is estimated at around 1000-1200 euro. GDP annual growth has been low or even negative in recent years. Unemployment hits all ethnic communities in what has historically been the poorest region of former Yugoslavia. Different estimates put it at 40 to 60 percent, and many survive on remittances from relatives abroad. As important has been international assistance, but donors are criticised for focusing excessively on media and democratisation while neglecting education and farming in a country where most are employed in the agricultural sector, and 60 percent of the population lives in rural areas. The amount donated to Kosovo until 2005 stood at 5 billion euro, but numbers have declined on a yearly basis, and by now Kosovo's budget relies mostly on domestic revenue. However, close to 70 percent of the countrys budget in 2006 was collected in import duties at the borders, and if Belgrade acts on its recently voiced threats of placing an embargo on Kosovo, Pristina's public administration could be dealt a heavy blow. Kosovo rich in minerals and fertile land "If they go for an embargo, they will de facto recognise secession, and besides, this would also damage Serbia economically," Nurellari told IPS. However, the government official admits that Belgrade has proven in the past it is willing to "sacrifice economically for Kosovo." But Kosovo also boasts some comparative advantages. It is rich in minerals and fertile land; it could exploit energy resources, and there is a young workforce with experience abroad. Keen to keep its influence in the province, Belgrade, which already commands parallel education, mail, judicial and police structures in Serbian-inhabited parts, will nevertheless continue to encourage its ethnic kin to ignore the new state's institutions. While some international officials present in Kosovo go as far as predicting a new military conflict, the official who spoke to IPS says a likely scenario is the emergence of another frozen conflict in Europe. "I believe there could be an institutional, and eventually territorial secession, but it won't be recognised." Pristina also faces obstacles in getting full international recognition. Strong opposition by key global players will harm its chances of gaining a seat in the United Nations and other international organisations. Still, Nurellari decided to play the issue down. "It will become indifferent if the UN recognises us or not because all countries with which there are political, social and economic exchanges will recognise Kosovo, except Serbia," he told IPS. IPS | GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES 15 Bulgariens Bürger gegen Pipeline Von Claudia Ciobanu | Deutsche Bearbeitung: Oliver Scheel I m bulgarischen Burgas wächst der Widerstand gegen Pipelinepläne zur Versorgung der griechischen Hafenstadt Alexandroupolis mit Erdöl aus dem Kaspischen Meer. Bürger und Behörden sind gleichermaßen alarmiert: Sie fürchten um ihre Haupteinnahmequelle, den Tourismus. Burgas liegt an der Küste des Schwarzen Meeres und ist wegen seiner schönen Strände und den niedrigen Preisen ein beliebtes Touristenziel. Viele der 220.000 Einheimischen teilen die Sorge, dass die Pipeline Verschmutzungen und eine negative Presse mit sich bringen und die Besucher von der Stadt fernhalten wird. Der Hafen von Burgas ist der größte Bulgariens. Die Pläne der Regierung sehen vor, das Öl aus dem Kaspischen Meer mit Tankern nach Burgas und von dort aus via einer Überlandleitung nach Alexandroupolis zu transportieren. Dort wird das Öl wieder in Tanker gepumpt und nach Europa und Nordamerika gebracht. Durch das Vorhaben soll der ohnehin schon stark befahrene Bosporus entlastet werden. 16 Der bulgarischen Regierung würde die Pipeline, die spätestens 2012 betriebsbereit sein soll, etwa 35 Millionen US-Dollar pro Jahr einbringen. Darüber hinaus sind mit dem Projekt 1.000 neue Jobs verbunden. Für Kalin Rogatschew, Vizeminister für regionale Entwicklung, steht außer Frage, dass die Pipeline die wirtschaftliche Situation der lokalen Bevölkerung deutlich verbessern wird. Nachhaltigkeit zweitrangig Doch Petko Kowatschew von der Umweltorganisation 'Grüne Politik Bulgarien' spricht den Behörden mangelndes Gespür für die tatsächliche Gefahren ab und moniert, das Projekt sei ohne vorherige Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfung beschlossen worden. Der Hinweis von Behörden und dem russischen Unternehmen 'Transneft', das zu 51 Prozent an dem Projekt beteiligt ist, dass eine Entscheidung über die VerladeTechnologie noch nicht getroffen sei, vermag die Umweltbewegung des osteuropäischen Land nicht zu beruhigen. Sie befürchten, dass man sich letztlich für die billigste Variante entscheiden werde. Vertreter der ‚Bürgerinitiative zur Rettung der Bucht von Burgas und des Schwarzen Meeres' gehen davon aus, dass der Verladeterminal etwa sieben Kilometer vor der Küste auf offener See gebaut werden wird und nicht im Hafen an einem eigens gebauten Pier, was aus umweltschutztechnischen Gründen sicherer wäre. Den Naturschützern zufolge werden bei einer Kapazität von 35 bis 50 Millionen Tonnen Öl pro Jahr etwa 200 bis 300 Tonnen ins Meer auslaufen. Da das Schwarze Meer nur eine schwache Strömung und einen geringen Wasseraustausch hat, wird es ihrer Meinung nach sehr lange dauern, bis sich die Ölflekken zerstreuen. Urlaub mit Tankerblick Befürchtet werden negative Auswirkungen auf den Fremdenverkehr. Allein schon der Anblick der riesigen Tanker fünf Kilometer vor der Küste könnte die Besucher abschrecken. "Wenn nur fünf Prozent weniger Touristen als 2007 kommen, liegen die Verluste für die Region um das Dreifache höher als die Einnahmen aus dem Pipelinevorhaben", rechnen die Leitungsgegner vor. Sie weisen ferner darauf hin, dass die versprochenen Jobs zeitlich befristet sind und nach dem Ende der Bauphase wegfallen. Schon zweimal sind die Bürger von Burgas gegen das am 11. Januar schriftlich besiegelte Projekt auf die Straße gegangen. Zudem bestätigt eine Umfrage, dass in Burgas mehr als 96 Prozent der Einwohner gegen die Pipeline sind. Angesichts einer Beteiligung von 27 Prozent immerhin 50.000 Stimmen. Für den Staatspräsidenten Georgi Parwanow hätten weniger Menschen in Burgas gestimmt, so der Bürgermeister der Hafenstadt, Dimitar Nikolow von der oppositionellen Partei 'Bürger für eine europäische Entwicklung Bulgariens' (GERB). Nicht nur Burgas, auch der benachbarte Touristenort Sozopol wehrt sich gegen die Pipelinepläne. Widerstand kommt zudem aus der griechischen Region Ewros, in der Alexandroupolis liegt. IPS | KOMMUNIKATION GLOBAL KOMMUNIKATION GLOBAL | MÄRZ 2008 Badebucht von Burgas | Photo: www.pixelio.de WINDOW ON EUROPE Jerusalem | Photo: www.pixelio.de WINDOW ON EUROPE Letter from Brussels: Heading for a New Security Deal with Israel By David Cronin T he European Union is considering new steps to deepen its cooperation on scientific research with Israel, despite admitting that previous funds earmarked for that purpose have gone to firms operating illegally in the Palestinian territories. Between now and 2013, the Israeli government is to contribute 440 million euros per year so that it can participate in the EU's so-called framework programme for research. An unpublished document prepared by EU diplomats reveals that because much of the joint research will relate to security issues, Israel has requested a formal assurance that any information it gives to Brussels will be treated confidentially. The document, seen by IPS, says that the Israeli authorities have indicated that there is a need for an agreement with the EU because the "exchange of classified material may be necessary." Dated Feb. 15, the paper suggests that EU governments should open negotiations with Israel in order to conclude a "security of information" accord. Request for confidentiality Israel's request for confidentiality follows an admission by the EU that some firms based in the occupied Palestinian territories had received money under an earlier research programme funded by European taxpayers. In a 2006 memo, the EU's executive, the European Commission, blamed "administrative errors" for how firms based in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza had benefited from such funding. The Commission promised at that time that it would be "very vigilant" in monitoring the future use of the EU's research budget, which totals 50 billion euros over the next seven years. Sandrine Grenier from the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network said that any support GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES | MARCH 2008 for companies in the Palestinian territories "violates the EU's own obligations." The EU's relations with Israel are based on an 'association agreement' that entered into force in 2000. It commits both sides to uphold human rights and democratic principles. Yet despite the mass killings of Palestinian civilians by Israeli forces in recent years, the EU has not imposed sanctions against Israel. B'Tselem, the Israeli human rights organisation, has calculated that of the 810 Palestinians killed by the occupying forces in Gaza in 2006 and 2007, just 360 belonged to an armed organisation. Eoin Murray, the Middle East programme officer with the Irish anti-poverty organisation Trócaire, said that the human rights clause in the association agreement "has to have teeth". "Until it has teeth, it is meaningless; it doesn't have any impact at all," he added. "The EU might have to stop cooperating with Israel on certain issues because it is not complying with its legal obligations." Ton Van Lierop, the Commission's spokesman for enterprise and industry, acknowledged that the joint research with Israel will have a so-called anti-terrorist dimension. But he insisted that it will be focused on "civil security" such as measures to improve ambulance and fire brigade services. "It is not aimed at the military," he said. "We always have an ethical review of our programmes. Human rights are always at the forefront and are always important for the European Commission." Security has been identified as one of the priorities of the EU's framework programme for research. Projects already approved for funding relate to such matters as boosting efforts to detect explosives at airports and protecting drinking water from possible attacks from biological and chemical weapons. Israel was the first non-EU country to be accepted for joint activities under the programme. The importance of defence to the Israeli economy has increased considerably in recent years. Exports of defence equipment from Israel grew from 1.6 billion dollars in 1992 to 3.4 billion in 2006, making Israel the fourth largest arms dealer on the planet. High level of expertise Some analysts have indicated that drawing a distinction between civil and military security in Israel is fraught with risks. Israel, for example, has a high level of expertise in technology that can be used for both civil and military purposes. In her 2007 book 'The Shock Doctrine', Naomi Klein points out that Israel's "technology sector, much of it linked to security, now makes up 60 percent of all exports." Angela Godfrey-Goldstein, a human rights activist with the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions in Jerusalem, said: "I often ask myself 'what is the glue binding relations between the EU and Israel, Britain and Israel and America and Israel?' One of the things must be the joint work on what is called anti-terrorism." She argued, though, that actions taken by Israel with the official objective of fighting terrorism are counter-productive. Israel has cited security reasons for its economic blockade of Gaza, under which power supplies and basic provisions have been denied to Gaza's 1.5 million inhabitants. "The talk of fighting against terror has to be taken with a large pinch of salt," she said. "It is very disturbing that the Israeli government is starving people in Gaza, that is has created ghettoes in Gaza, and that has created other ghettoes in the West Bank. It is not doing anything to build trust. It has not ceased building settlements and it has not dismantled illegal outposts." IPS | GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES 17 TITELTHEMA | COVER STORY Global Governance: New Players - New Rules Why the 20th Century Model Needs a Makeover By James M. Boughton and Colin I. Bradford, Jr. W This article is excerpted from Finance & Development, a quaterly magazine of the IMF (December 2007, Volume 44, Number 4) 18 hat is global governance? The ideal of global governance is a process of cooperative leadership that brings together national governments, multilateral public agencies, and civil society to achieve commonly accepted goals. It provides strategic direction and then marshals collective energies to address global challenges. To be effective, it must be inclusive, dynamic, and able to span national and sectoral boundaries and interests. It should operate through soft rather than hard power. It should be more democratic than authoritarian, more openly political than bureaucratic, and more integrated than specialized. Neither the concept nor the difficulty of global governance is new. After the First World War ended, the leaders of the victorious allies gathered in Paris in 1919 for six months of talks aimed at redrawing many of the world's national borders and establishing a permanent forum - the League of Nations - to deal with future issues and problems. More than 30 countries sent delegations to the Paris peace conference, but the four great powers of the winning side - France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States - dominated and controlled the proceedings. A quarter of a century later, as the Second World War drew to a close, allied delegations gathered again to set up new institutions to replace the failed League and to prevent the economic disasters that had characterized much of the interwar period. From those storied discussions, most of which were held in and overwhelmingly influenced by the United States - at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire; at the Dumbarton Oaks mansion in Washington, D.C.; and in San Francisco, California - emerged the multilateral agencies that would mold economic and political relations for the next six decades: the United Nations, with its Security Council and its specialized agencies; the Bretton Woods institutions - the World Bank and the IMF; and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). This model of global governance, in which the few countries that sat at the apex of the world economic pyramid invited others to participate without ceding much control, became the prevailing paradigm for the postwar era. The system is out of date ... This dominance model of global governance was a reasonable and practical model for much of the 20th century. When the century began, London was the center of international trade and finance. At mid-century, the center had drifted westward across the Atlantic, but the Euro-American core had become even stronger. By the end, however, it was the periphery that was gaining strength. New regional and even global powers had risen to challenge the old, but the governance system failed to keep up with these changes. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council hold a veto over actions such as the impoKOMMUNIKATION GLOBAL | MÄRZ 2008 TITELTHEMA | COVER STORY Changes in the distribution of votes and influence have lagged far behind the evolution of the world economy. sition of multilateral sanctions on states that violate UN resolutions and the sending of multilateral forces to maintain peace in volatile regions. The membership of that body has not changed in six decades. Control has broadened a bit more in other agencies, but far from enough. In the IMF, for example, in 1946 the United States and the United Kingdom together held a hair under 50 percent of the voting power on the Executive Board. Today it takes at least eight Directors representing 35 or more countries to constitute a majority. The United States alone has a veto over major financial decisions, but any coalition of three or more members with a total vote of 15 percent can do the same. Nonetheless, changes in the distribution of votes and influence have lagged far behind the evolution of the world economy, with the consequence that the oversight of the international financial system has become less and less accepted as politically legitimate. ... fragmented and specialized A second issue is that the international system by which national governments come together to oversee global issues is fragmented and specialized, without an effective, broad overview. Like its predecessor, the GATT, the World Trade Organization deals with trade. The World Health Organization (WHO) oversees health issues. The UN Security Council responds to situations that threaten world peace. The World Bank and regional development banks provide official financing to developing countries. The IMF oversees the functioning of the international financial system. Notwithstanding the extensive consultation and cooperation that take place regularly among these and other agencies, each one acts independently within its own sphere.In sum, what we have today is a multiplicity of independent actors, both public and private, each pursuing its own objectives and priorities, with its own clientele and constituency, with its own technical language and organizational culture, with its own mandate and specialized focus. These attributes may have been appropriate for a time when international relations focused on several important issues but just a small number of important countries. The lasting effect, however, is that we have inherited a system that is fragmented and that relies heavily, perhaps too heavily, on market forces, competition, and ad hoc public reactions to try to channel energies and allocate resources. GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES | MARCH 2008 In this setting, agencies become more inward looking, focusing more on how to evaluate and try to improve their own performance than on how to work together with partners to achieve common objectives. The weaker the governance structures and processes are within specific sectors, the less external orientation and awareness there is, and the less coherent the activities among different actors. Each agency becomes less effective, and the system as a whole suffers. The problems and the challenges of the 21st century - absorbing demographic change, reducing poverty, expanding the provision of safe and clean energy without aggravating climate change, alleviating health risks, and many others require far more coordination than is possible within such a system. Each of these challenges, even if addressed locally or nationally, has the potential to affect the lives of people everywhere. Specialized technical expertise by itself is unlikely to be fully effective if it is not guided by a global and holistic vision. The problems will worsen The vacuum represented by the lack of a comprehensive system of oversight has been filled in part by a succession of ad hoc groups of states purporting to act as a steering committee for the world economy. That effort began with the formation of the Group of Ten (G-10) main industrial countries in 1962. A subgroup formed in the 1970s as the G-5, which broadened to the G-7 in the 1980s and to the G-8 in the 1990s. To try to counter the powerful influence of these groups of industrial countries, developing countries formed the G-77 in 1964 and then a subgroup, the G-24, in 1971. In 1999, the G-7 invited a number of emerging market developing countries to join them in a new G-20 grouping. Effective advocates Most of these groups still meet regularly and issue pronouncements on how national governments and the various multilateral institutions should act to deal with a variety of issues, such as the financial turbulence of 2007. In addition, nongovernmental organizations have proliferated to represent the interests of civil society, business, labor, and religions on issues such as environmental protection, property rights, workers' rights, poverty reduction, financial stability, and the promotion of democracy and transparency in 19 TITELTHEMA | COVER STORY the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the World Health Assembly play important roles within the organizations they guide, but each one represents interests that are specific to those institutional mandates. Above those committees, none of the regular summit groupings is sufficiently representative to provide legitimate global leadership. Much attention has been focused recently on reforming international institutions to make them both more effective and more politically legitimate. If those reforms are to lead to real improvements in performance, a means must be found to integrate the sectoral focus of these institutions into a comprehensive framework for dealing with common global challenges. That consideration suggests a need for a new governance mechanism at the apex of the global system. Designing such a mechanism will not be easy, nor will it be without controversy. At this time, only the broad outlines can be plainly sketched. What can be done? 1. Authorities and leadership Strengthening the governance of global interactions requires action on three fronts: rationalizing the relationships among sovereign states, updating the existing multilateral institutions, and creating an effective oversight body. It is no longer possible to argue that the current oversight of international relations is adequate for the 21st century. Ministerial bodies such as the Development Committee, the International Monetary and Financial Committee, the Council of The first and most important front is to reform the process by which national political leaders come together at the summit or ministerial level to discuss common concerns. Responsibility for shaping the global system rests much more with national governments than with the international institutions as separate entities. Those institutions are membership organizations that are guided and directed by national authorities, by ministers of finance, energy, health, and develop- Photo: Dieter Haugk - www.pixelio.de government. Many of these organizations, both governmental and civil, are effective advocates for the interests that they represent, but none can be said to represent the interests of the world as a whole. These shortcomings in global governance, if not addressed, will only worsen in the years to come and could undermine the progress that globalization has brought. As the historian Harold James (2001) has shown, history is replete with episodes in which international commerce and finance have flourished and generated bursts of economic growth and development, only to be reversed because of popular backlash. Those who believe in the benefits of globalization will be more likely to prevail if they engage in a real dialogue and a partnership with those who fear that their own interests will be swamped by the rising tide. To see how these weaknesses are likely to worsen, consider the ongoing effects of population growth, rising energy demands, and global health risks. 20 KOMMUNIKATION GLOBAL | MÄRZ 2008 Photo: Matthias Koranzkj - www.pixelio.de TITELTHEMA | COVER STORY Much attention has been focused recently on reforming international institutions to make them both more effective and more politically legitimate. ment, among others. Until the interactions among those authorities reflect the interconnections among the problems of finance, poverty, health, energy, and security; and until they reflect the reality of the broadened and globalized world of the new century, no effort to reform the institutions can possibly make enough difference. Furthermore, it is unlikely that reforming the international institutions and global governance generally will be fully successful without expanding the membership of summits and energizing their mandate. Leadership at the highest level of public responsibility that is uniquely invested in heads of state is necessary to provide the strategic guidance required for national and international institutions to be effective in managing the multisectoral nature of global threats. Because the only truly powerful group - the G-8 summit - is composed exclusively of rich, industrial countries, mostly from the North Atlantic, there is a "democratic deficit" in the current summit grouping and, as a consequence, a void at the apex of the international system. To bring the international institutions together in a new configuration to address the pressing issues of our times coherently, it is essential to expand the summits to include countries from other major regions and cultures as equal members. 2. System Update The second front is to update the system of multilateral institutions. Some, like the IMF, are seen as efficient but lacking in political legitimacy; others, such as the UN, are seen as just the opposite. Over the past two years, the IMF has set out a specific reform agenda that - if it is fully and boldly implemented - could respond to the questions that have been raised about its political legitimacy. The principal governance-related elements of this agenda are to shift influence more toward the dynamic and fast-growing regions and away from previously dominant countries whose role in the world economy has waned relative to the emerging market economies, and to adopt more open and transparent procedures for selecting its own management. In addition, the IMF has revised its conditionality guidelines with the aim of becoming less directive and intrusive and more cooperative in its dealings with the member countries that depend on it most heavily. Similarly, in 2004 the GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES | MARCH 2008 UN initiated an effort to strengthen what Florini and Pascual (2007) have called "a fundamentally unsound institutional base." Those reforms included an expansion of the Security Council, substantial internal management reform, and a wide range of specific proposals aimed at making the UN system more coherent. As with IMF reform, the chief remaining challenge is to generate the broad political support that is required to bring these initiatives to life. 3. Generating a new mandate The third front is to generate a new mandate for relating the panoply of international institutions to global challenges. Generating this new mandate should be a priority task for a new global steering committee of heads of state. The MDGs provide an example of a comprehensive, multisectoral approach to fighting global poverty, integrating as they do goals for gender equality, universal education, health, and environmental sustainability. The forthcoming Financing for Development Summit to be held in Doha, Qatar, in 2008, could provide world leaders with an opportunity to intensify the global effort to achieve the MDGs and provide a framework for coordinated action among the major institutions, agencies, and actors. A reformed, expanded summit grouping, with help from the institutions themselves, could monitor, evaluate, and guide the implementation actions agenda for the MDGs going forward. The fragmented international system of today is composed of multiple institutions, agencies, and actors with specialized mandates. What is required is a transition to a global system of reformed institutions and new governance mechanisms that can harness diverse energies and resources in a cohesive way to respond effectively to urgent global challenges in the age of massive economic and social transformation that lies ahead. The recent election of new leaders in the United Kingdom, France, and Japan; the prospect of elections in some other G-8 countries; and the selection of new heads of the Bretton Woods institutions and other agencies together establish an opportunity to move the governance reform agenda forward to create a global system congruent with the problems that must be addressed. FINANCE & DEVELOPMENT | GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES James Boughton is IMF Historian and Assistant Director of the Policy Development and Review Department. Colin Bradford is Nonresident Senior Fellow for Global Economy and Development at the Brookings Institution. 21 TITELTHEMA | COVER STORY The Global System Needs a M a k e o v e r By Carin Smaller T his year marks the 60th anniversary of the international trading system, the creation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Sixty years ago was also the year governments under the United Nations (UN) signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Both agreements were negotiated in the aftermath of World War II. The GATT set out to create a fair and stable international trading system to prevent the trade wars and economic rivalry that had contributed to the Great Depression and the outbreak of World War II. It was limited to a set of rules to reduce tariffs on the trade in manufactured goods. Agricultural goods were exempted through a series of waivers. Governments were allowed to use tariffs to protect domestic production, but only if they did not export the surpluses. UN, WTO in crisis This article is excerpted from Trade Insight (Vol.4, No.1, 2008), a publication of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. 22 Sixty years on, both the UN and the World Trade Organization (WTO) are perhaps in greater crisis than at any other time in their history. The UN is struggling for political relevance in the face of hostility on the part of its most powerful member, the United States (US). This hostility is coupled with indifference from most of the rest. The UN is also suffering from a widely shared sense of malaise and dissatisfaction brought on by the collapse of too many issues into simplistic NorthSouth struggles rather than pragmatic negotiations on how to accommodate diversity while striving for a higher common denominator for multilateral relations. For its part, the WTO's Doha Agenda is at a standstill. The talks are blocked by the agricultural politics of the US, the European Union (EU) and, to some extent, Japan; by the push to further open markets in the bigger developing countries; and by the failure of the multilateral trading system to provide anything of substance to the poorest developing countries. In Geneva, trade negotiators continue to work tirelessly towards a conclusion of the Doha Agenda, but a deal seems further away than ever. Negotiators are slowly chipping away at minute technical details (sometimes successfully and at other times not) and ignoring the political reality that the Doha Agenda is deeply unpopular all over the world and that there is simply no appetite for a deal right now. New vision for 2008 Citizens in Europe and America, many of whom have been big supporters of a free trade agenda, are asking more questions about the impact of trade policies on working conditions, and the damage to the environment. Citizens in the developing world have borne the brunt of the WTO's model of trade for several decades now. Some parts of the developing world have recorded impressive growth rates in the past decade, in particular China, India and Brazil, and witnessed a significant reduction in the incidence of poverty. But others have lost out. They are opposed to the model of growth being promoted under the WTO and other bilateral and regional trade agreements. Growth is being unevenly distributed, increasing inequalities between the rich and the poor, and taking an enormous toll on the environment. Farmers and small and medium entrepreneurs are hurt by competition from giant multinationals. Workers are forced to accept miserable KOMMUNIKATION GLOBAL | MÄRZ 2008 TITELTHEMA | COVER STORY Sixty years of multilateralism have been characterized by a deep disconnect between trade and investment regimes. conditions. However, trade negotiators in Geneva continue to produce texts for new trade rules that do not support a model of development that most people are asking for. Another set of texts on agricultural and manufactured goods are expected to be out early in 2008. They will contain more of the same. Trade ministers could be invited to Geneva towards the end of March or beginning of April, but almost no one believes that an agreement will be reached. Meanwhile, governments are increasingly turning to bilateral and regional trade agreements to pursue their economic interests. And the public has turned its attention away from the WTO and to other pressing global challenges: climate change, the massive increase in demand for raw commodities and other natural resources, including biofuels, and high food and energy prices, which raise concerns about global food and energy shortages, and economic recession. These new global challenges make it more urgent than ever to build a strong system of international governance to help solve problems jointly. That includes a strong multilateral trading system that produces a set of rules and regulations to help governments implement the right mix of policies to build strong economies, which create decent employment, an equitable distri- bution of wealth, and in a manner that ensures the sustainable use of natural resources and the environment. The current trading system, and the model of trade it promotes, needs to change in order to address some of the negative impacts on employment, human rights and the environment. Furthermore, today's global challenges present another set of concerns, which the trading system cannot afford to ignore. Existing efforts to address some of these problems are being discussed and coordinated under the UN system. The World Bank, the IMF and the WTO must start cooperating with the UN processes in a more meaningful way - and also vice versa, for the ministries responsible for GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES | MARCH 2008 the UN processes cannot afford to ignore what is happening in trade. The two systems cannot continue to operate in isolation of each other. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), for example, is the international treaty under which governments agreed to coordinate efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to reverse or mitigate the effects of climate change, which has implications for trade. As governments work towards a new climate change agreement, the links with trade should be identified and appropriately addressed. Work has already started Trade ministers met on the sidelines of the Bali Climate Change Conference in December 2007. The US and the EU went to the meeting with a proposal for the liberalization of environmental goods and services, arguing that increased trade in climate-friendly technologies could help combat climate change. The proposal is self-serving. It focuses on expanding markets for environmental goods and services predominantly produced in the US and the EU. It avoids any discussion of a broader debate about trade and the environment, and the possible negative effects of the existing model of trade on climate change. Trade ministers should start with an assessment of the impacts of trade on climate change and then find pragmatic solutions and, if need be, change the multilateral trading system, to ensure that trade does not undermine efforts to tackle climate change. WTO Members, on their part, need to work more consistently with the UN to ensure that human rights are not undermined in trade agreements. Trade ministries and WTO missions should look more closely at the work being done by UNEP, FAO and UN Human Rights Bodies on trade and use this information to guide future policy thinking under the WTO. Environment ministries need to work with trade ministries to identify linkages between trade and the environment and to devise trade policies that use the environment in a responsible manner. Employment ministries need to communicate more clearly to trade ministries about the types of trade measures that are likely to boost, and those that could threaten, employment. It is time to create a global system that acts together. Multilateral institutions should be capable of taking complicated decisions that involve other institutions in their work, and that are cognizant of other multilateral obligations. Sixty years on, the global system needs a makeover. Why not give the Doha Agenda a makeover at the same time? TRADE INSIGHT | GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES Carin Smaller is associated with Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), Geneva Ofice, Switzerland. 23 The Role of the South in Global Resource Governance By Joyce R. Aryee This article is excerpted from her presentation at the Development and Peace Foundation's expert workshop on Global Resource Management for Sustainable Development in Berlin in May 2007. G lobal governance has become one of the most favourite concepts - if not the most favourite - in international politics as a way of ensuring the establishment of best practices in the way the world is run. But politicians, political scientists and theorists disagree on what it actually is. In other words, the concept lacks clarity in definition. Critics describe global governance as an international socio-economic arrangement championed by Western countries to control developing countries. But proponents of the concept think otherwise. They argue that global governance initiatives are empirical-analytical problem-solving arrangements based on cooperation among various actors. Power without responsibility Scholars in post-colonial studies agree that the term neo-colonialism originated with Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first post-independence president. Nkrumah noted that the attainment of independence and national sovereignty by African countries were purely token and in no substantial way altered the relationship between the colonial powers and the colonised state: Faced with the militant peoples of the excolonial territories imperialism simply switches tactics. Without a qualm it dispenses with its flags, and even with certain of its more hated expatriate oficials. This means, so it claims, that it is 'giving' independence to its former subjects, to be followed by 'aid' for their development. Under cover of such phrases, however, it devises innumerable ways to accomplish objectives formerly achieved by naked colonialism. It is this sum total of these modern attempts to perpetuate colonialism while at the same time talking about 'freedom', which has come to be known as neo-colonialism. Nkrumah described neo-colonialism as the worst form of imperialism, which appears in subtle and varied forms - in economic, political, religious, ideological and cultural spheres. For those who practice it, it means power without responsibility and for 24 those who suffer from it, it means exploitation without redress. Africa is a continent that abounds in massive resources - it has everything necessary to become a modern, industrial and powerful continent. Africa's potential is shown to be greater every day with new discoveries of mineral wealth as well as oil and gas. Very few countries in Africa are lacking in resources which could go to making a better life and in those cases it is possible for two or more states to come together for their mutual benefit. Notwithstanding this, the people of Africa wallow in extreme poverty. It is estimated that more than 314 million Africans, nearly twice as many as in 1981, live on less than $1 a day. 34 of the world's 48 poorest countries, and 24 of the 32 countries ranked lowest on the UNDP's Human Development Index are in Africa - no wonder Africa is perceived as resource cursed. Poor people in a rich continent In order to understand the present economic conditions in Africa, one needs to know why Africa has realized so little from its resources and also why so much of its present wealth goes to Western countries, otherwise known as the North. Old fashioned colonialism has by no means been completely abolished in Africa. In place of colonialism as the main instrument of imperialism, Africa has today neo-colonialism expressed in various Western concepts, including resource exploitation, trading and governance initiatives, to ensure that African countries are still controlled by their former colonial masters. Authors in Western countries rarely do any objective assessment of why Africans have not benefited from the exploitation of their resources. The reasons that one often finds in books and other forms of literature are that Africans do not benefit from their resources because of corrupt leaders and that revenues from natural resources are used to finance insurgents or some warlord-like activity. This is as if to say that things were much better-run in the colonialism days. These authors write about Africa's corrupt leaders and conflicts and its killings without telling reaKOMMUNIKATION GLOBAL | MÄRZ 2008 Senegali woman walking along rice fields | Photo: UNESCO TITELTHEMA | COVER STORY TITELTHEMA | COVER STORY ders the people pulling the strings. It is no secret that countries and corporations in the West manipulate Africans and their leadership to get or keep control over Africa's resources. Some Western companies have been known to be tied to civil wars in resource-rich African countries. These companies, allegedly, help finance a group of fighters who will then occupy the mineralproducing regions of their country and sell the minerals cheaply. In cases where Western countries do not directly finance rebels, they secretly buy the minerals that fund the conflict. The North enjoys a monopoly on Africa's natural resources. It would, therefore, not be unusual for their corporations to be funding parties engaged in a civil war in resource rich countries. In fact, financing a war is a small price to pay to stay in control. The movie "Blood Diamonds" tells a story of some western influence in the civil wars of Africa. The West ignores important elements of resource governance Market in Tansania | Photo: Claus Bünnagel - www.pixelio.de One of the common means by which the North exploits Africa is through global trade initiatives. The principles of a free market theory propagated by the World Trade Organization (WTO) are nothing but plots for more western exploitation of Africa's resources to enable the North to sustain its economic growth and remain wealthy. Whereas Africa practices a free market economy, in its true sense, the West imposes unfair trading restrictions. Ghana and other cocoa producing countries, for instance, can only export raw cocoa to Europe. They cannot sell cocoa as chocolate because of high tariff barriers. Consequently, Ghana continues to sink into poverty. It is deceptive for anyone to state that Africa's relation with the North is one based on partnership when the latter actually own the means of production. When multinational companies own the land and the mines of Africa, this is the most direct way of draining the continent. Foreign investments ensure that the natural resources and the labour of Africa produce economic value which is lost to the continent. How natural resources should be accessed, how contracts are to be negotiated, and how economic benefits from mineral resources are to be managed and used for sustainable development are elements of resource governance which the West ignores completely. But these are crucial to the poverty alleviation struggle in Africa. In many African countries, governments issue mineral concessions without consulting traditional leaders who are custodians of lands on which these minerals are found. The social structures of Africa are deeply entrenched in foreign hegemony and exploitative notions of development that African states have no other recourse but to be part of that system. From the time when Europeans set foot on the soil of Africa to the present time, Africans have gone through a cultural and psychological crisis which has led many to accept the Western version of things. This means that the African himself doubts his capabilities to manage his own affairs. With such doubts, the African has given his consent to Western structured intergovernmental organisations to experiment various concepts and theories in Africa. The form of foreign investments in Africa has become more subtle and dangerous. Beside the fact that the continent literally hands over the factors of production to foreigners, Africa is made to believe that it lacks skilled personnel to make an industrial economy function. Western corporations as well as African governments therefore turn to recruit foreign experts at unbelievable costs - from consultants to managers and to non-governmental organisations (NGOs). SEF | GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES Joyce R. Aryee is former Ghanaian Minister and now CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Mines in Accra. Unlike the West, Africa practises a free market economy in its true sense. GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES | MARCH 2008 25 DEVELOPMENT DEADLINE MDG-Bewertungsskala irreführend Von Abra Pollock in Washington | Deutsche Bearbeitung: Karina Böckmann D die Verbesserung der Gesundheitsversorgung von Müttern, die Bekämpfung schwerer Krankheiten wie HIV/Aids und Malaria, die Sicherung der ökologischen Nachhaltigkeit und den Aufbau einer globalen Entwicklungspartnerschaft zwischen den Ländern des Nordens und Südens. ie Maßstäbe zur Bewertung der Erfolge bei der Umsetzung der Millenniumsentwicklungsziele (MDGs) werden den Leistungen Afrikas im Kampf gegen die Armut nicht gerecht, sondern verstärken das stereotype Bild eines sterbenden Kontinents. Dies ist das Ergebnis einer neuen Untersuchung, die auf einem jüngsten Seminar einer unabhängigen US-amerikanischen Denkfabrik - der 'Brookings Institution' - in Washington vorgestellt wurde. "Wir haben diese unsägliche MDG-Bewertungsmaschine, die gute Nachrichten über Afrika in schlechte umwandelt", so der Autor der Studie, der Wirtschaftswissenschaftler William Easterly. "Afrika hat schon ohne die internationalen Organisationen und Aktivisten, die die afrikanischen Fortschritte klein reden, genügend Probleme." Easterly weist darauf Bei der Präsentation der Studie am 6. Februar in Washington monierte Easterly, dass sich die jährlichen UN-Berichte über Fortschritte bei der Umsetzung der Ziele einzelnen Regionen und Ländern widmeten. Im Fall von Afrika südlich der Sahara habe dies zu der verzerrenden Schlussfolgerung geführt, dass die Region ihr Etappenziel für die Hälfte der Wegstrecke nicht hin, dass die Vereinten Nationen die MDGs ursprünglich als Bezugspunkte zur Überprüfung globaler Fortschritte bei der Armutsbekämpfung aufgestellt hat. Sich nun auf Regionen oder einzelne Staaten zu konzentrieren, lasse deren durchaus erzielten Erfolge in einem trüben Licht erscheinen. "Eine Beurteilung der Fortschritte auf dem Weg zu den MDGs kann nur auf globaler Ebene geschehen", so auch der UN-Mitarbeiter Jan Vandemoortele, der 2001 an der Formulierung die MDGs mitgewirkt hatte, seien auf globale Trends und nicht auf der Grundlage historischer Entwicklungen für eine besondere Region oder ein spezifisches Land abgestimmt worden, schrieb der Experte in einem Beitrag für das UN-Weltinstitut für entwicklungsökonomische Forschung (UNU-WIDER) im vergangenen Jahr. Im Jahr 2000 hat sich die internationale Gemeinschaft insgesamt acht Oberziele gesetzt. Diese MDGs sehen bis 2015 die Halbierung von Armut und Hunger vor, Grundschulbildung für alle, die Gleichstellung der Geschlechter und Stärkung der Rolle der Frau, die Senkung der Kindersterblichkeit, erreicht habe, monierte er. Doch diese Schlussfolgerung berücksichtigt offenbar nicht, dass die Entwicklungsländer im Kampf gegen die Armut von unterschiedlichen Voraussetzungen ausgehen. Denn Easterly zufolge stehen die ärmsten Länder der Welt, von denen sich die meisten in Afrika befinden, vor deutlich größere Herausforderungen als andere besser gestellte Staaten. Um ein Beispiel zu geben, zieht der neue Bericht das vierte MDG heran, das eine Reduzierung der globalen Kindersterblichkeit bis 2015 um zwei Drittel unter den Wert von 1990 anstrebt. Ein Land mit einer Kindersterblichkeit von 150 Todesfällen pro 1.000 Lebendgeburten sei gegenüber anderen Ländern mit einer Kindersterblichkeit von 24 zu 1.000 deutlich benachteiligt. Im ersten Fall müsse ein Rückgang der Kindersterblichkeit von 100 pro 1.000 und im zweiten Fall um 16 pro 1.000 Lebendgeburten angestrebt werden. Auch die Bekämpfung der extremen Armut - das übergreifende erste MDG - gestaltet sich für arme Länder weitaus schwieriger als für besser gestellte Länder. Zwei Staaten, die ein gleiches Ghana - The Grand Durbar | Photo: UNESCO Ungleiche Voraussetzungen 26 KOMMUNIKATION GLOBAL | MÄRZ 2008 DEVELOPMENT DEADLINE Anstatt die afrikanischen Erfolge angemessen zu würdigen, ist vom Scheitern des schwarzen Kontinents die Rede. Bruttoinlandsprodukt (BIP) über einen gleich langen Zeitraum erwirtschaften, können je nach Ausgangslage in Sachen Armutsbekämpfung völlig unterschiedlich abschneiden. Unterschätzter Kontinent Der Bericht weist ferner darauf hin, dass Afrika 2006 ein stolzes Wirtschaftswachstum von 5,4 Prozent vorzuweisen hatte. Würde sich dieser Trend in den nächsten zehn Jahren fortsetzen, hätte dies zur Folge, dass sich der schwarze Kontinent zu den weltweit ersten fünf Ländern mit den höchsten Wachstumsraten in den Zehnjahresintervallen von 1965 bis 2005 aufschwingen könnte. Dennoch moniert ein Bericht des 'Africa Progress Panel' unter Leitung des ehemaligen UN-Generalsekretärs Kofi Annan, dass die afrikanischen Staaten weit hinter die Zielwachstumsmarke von sieben Prozent zurückgefallen sind. Eine fortgesetzte Wachstumsrate von sieben Prozent würde dem Easterly-Report zufolge die afrikanischen Staaten zu den Top-Zehn des Zehnjahres-BIPs seit 1965 aufsteigen lassen. Anstatt die afrikanischen Erfolge angemessen zu würdigen, sei von einem Scheitern des schwarzen Kontinents die Rede. Um diese Art negativer Publicity zu verhindern, sei es wichtig, neue Maßstäbe für die afrikanischen Länder zu entwickeln, meint Michael Clemens, Wissenschaftler des Thinktank 'Centre for Global Development' in Washington. Was das zweite UN-Entwicklungsziel angeht - Grundschulunterricht für alle bis 2015 - stünden die afrikanischen Länder besser da, wenn bei der Bewertung weniger absolute Zahlen, sondern der prozentuale Anstieg der Einschulungen ins Gewicht fielen, so Easterly. In einem solchen Fall würde sich zeigen, dass sich Afrika in dieser Frage in großen Schritten nach vorne bewege. Diese verborgenen Erfolgsindikatoren ließen sich viel stärker hervorkehren, wenn sich Regionen oder Länder eigene Entwicklungsziele stekken würden, betonte Vandemoortele. Es gebe keinen Grund, die Nase über Staaten wie Kambodscha oder Vietnam zu rümpfen, die mit ihren CDGs (Kambodscha) und VDGs (Vietnam) eigene und weniger ehrgeizige Ziele verfolgten. Wichtig ist nach Ansicht von Easterly vor allem, die positiven Leistungen afrikanischer Staaten zu betonen, anstatt die Regierungen, Hilfsorganisationen und Investoren mit einem Bewertungsschema zu demotivieren, das die Defizite herausstellt. "Wenn man sich schon in einem tiefen Loch befindet", so der Experte, "sollte man mit dem Graben aufhören." IPS | KOMMUNIKATION GLOBAL 'How the Millennium Development Goals are Unfair to Africa' An Extract from Conclusion of William Easterly's 28-page paper T he strong conclusion that Africa is missing the MDGs depends on arbitrary and arcane choices as to how you set up the MDGs. Although not necessarily intentionally, they were actually set up in a way that made it more unlikely that Africa will attain them than other regions. In sum for each of the seven MDGs: 1. It was less likely that Africa compared to other regions would achieve a 50 reduction in poverty over 25 years because it had the lowest per capita income, which is associated with the smallest percentage reduction in poverty for the same rate of growth. In addition, the goal was backdated to begin in 1990, penalizing Africa for its worse 1990s growth for a campaign that was announced in 2000. 2. It was less likely that Africa would attain the Level target of universal primary enrollment because it started with the lowest initial primary enrollment and completion. 3. Gender equality in schooling is numerically equivalent to universal enrollment, so other regions that were closer to attaining goal #2 got to count the attainment of goal #2 twice (at least for the primary component of goal #3). GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES | MARCH 2008 4. A two-thirds reduction in child mortality is less likely when you start at very high mortality, as Africa did. 5. Africa was said to be failing the goal of reducing maternal mortality by two-thirds, but there was no data on maternal mortality trends. 6. Africa was said to be failing to reduce AIDS, malaria, and TB prevalence, but there was no data on trends in these prevalence rates. 7. Africa was relatively falling behind on reducing the percent WITHOUT access to clean water, but it would have been relatively catching up if it had been measured the conventional way of percent WITH access to clean water. The choice of WITH and WITHOUT is arbitrary. Hence, the implied picture of general failure in Africa - that it is failing to meet ALL seven MDGs - is not fair to Africa. It generates a more negative picture than is justifi ed (not that this paper argues the other extreme that Africa is doing very well in all of these areas). The negative picture matters because it is demoralizing to African leaders and activists, and because it might have real consequences for things like private foreign investment to reinforce the stereotype that "Africa always fails". GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES 27 DEVELOPMENT DEADLINE Dem Gemeinwohl internationale Geltung verschaffen: Von Inge Kaul * Auszüge aus dem Diskussionsbeitrag anläßlich des Symposiums ‘Das Gemeinwohl in einer Globalisierten Welt’ der Konrad Adenauer Stiftung am 15. Februar 2008 in Berlin. Schäfer in Ägypten Photo: UNESCO 28 W ir leben in einer zunehmend offenen, interdependenten und von Krisen gerüttelten Welt. Wie wäre es möglich zu grösserer Stabilität zurückzufinden und nachhaltige globale Entwicklung - in Industrie- und Entwicklungsländern - zu fördern? Meine Antwort auf diese Frage ist, dass sich die Bedingungen für Politikgestaltung mit zunehmender Globalisierung grundlegend verändert haben - eine Tatsache, die oft noch nicht völlig erkannt wird und damit auch nocht nicht gemeistert werden kann. Neu und anders an der heutigen politischen Situation ist unter anderem die zunehmende Bedeutung von globalen öffentlichen Gütern - von Dingen und Sachverhalten wie etwa Klimawandel, HIV-AIDS, Vogelgrippe, internationaler Terrorismus, oder auch Finanzkrisen und Regelwerke für internationalen Handel und Transport. Erwünschte Politikresultate in diesen Problembereichen - etwa die Stabilisierung des globalen Klimas - lassen sich nicht allein durch nationale Massnahmen erreichen, egal wie mächtig ein Land sein mag. Effektive internationale Kooperation muss heute integraler Bestandteil nationaler Politik sein. Und effektive internationale Kooperation verlangt wiederum danach, dem Gemeinwohl internationale Geltung zu verschaffen - globale Politik fair zu gestalten. Um dieses Argument zu erläutern, ist es zunächst einmal wichtig, kurz zu klären: (1) was globale öffentliche Güter sind und wie sie mit Globalisierung zusammenhängen; (2) warum Fairness bei der Bereitstellung dieser Güter eine zentrale Rolle spielt; (3) wie Fairness und effektive Kooperation zusammenhängenö und schliesslich (4) welche Konsequenzen sich aus den vorherigen Punkten für die Politik ergeben könnten. 1. Globale öffentliche Güter - und wie sie mit Globalisierung zusammenhängen Das menschliche Wohlergehen weltweit hängt von zwei Arten von Gütern ab: privaten Gütern (wie etwa Brot und Kleidung) und öffentlichen Gütern (e.g. Recht und Ordnung, Frieden und Sicherheit, öffentliche Gesundheit, oder ein wohl funktionierendes Rechtssystem). Die Bereitstellung der privaten Güter kann zumeist dem Markt überlassen werden. Im Fall der öffentlichen Güter ist in vielen Fällen ein gewisses Mass an staatlicher Intervention notwendig, damit diese Güter in ausreichender Menge zur Verfügung stehen. Öffentliche Güter sind mithin einer der Hauptgegenstände und Hauptrechtfertigungen für die Existenz und die Aktivitäten des Staates. Während der letzten Jahrzehnte hat die öffentliche Politik in vielen, wenn nicht in den meisten Staaten der Welt auf ökonomische Liberalisierung und zunehmende Offenheit nationaler Grenzen hingewirkt. Dies ist erreicht worden durch eine weitgehende internationale Harmonisierung von nationalen öffentlichen Gütern wie etwa der nationalen Handels und Investitionsregime, der Steuersysteme und Normen, die ein gutes Geschäftsklima schaffen oder angeben, was eine gute Arbeits- und Sozialpolitik auszeichnet. Anders formuliert, ökonomische Offenheit und grenzüberschreitende marktintegration basiert auf der Harminisierung - oder auch VerGlobalisierung - nationaler öffentlicher Güter. Fortschreitende Marktintegration führte zu einem Anstieg grenzüberschreitender ökonomischer Aktivitäten - Handel, Tourismus, Kommunikation. Allerdings brachten diese Aktivitäten oft nicht nur KOMMUNIKATION GLOBAL | MÄRZ 2008 DEVELOPMENT DEADLINE Zur Bereitstellung globaler öffentlicher Güter die erwünschten Dinge mit sich sondern auch Unerwartetes - neue Kultureinflüsse und Informationen, aber auch Krankheiten, Drogen, und Kriminalität. Diese unerwarteten Effekte - Externalitäten, wie Ökonomen sagen - führten zu einer weiteren Ver-Globalisierung von öffentliche Gütern. Öffentliche Gesundheitsverhältnisse, Finanzstabilität, Recht und Ordnung und anderes hängen nun nicht mehr nur davon ab, was Politiker und Regierungen national unternehmen sondern auch davon, was in anderen Ländern an Politik und Entwicklung erzielt wird - del, Verlust von Biodiversität; Wasserknappheit; und die wachsende Kluft zwischen Arm und Reich. Natürlich gibt es auch viele Dinge, deren Bereitstellung durchaus zufriedenstellend verläuft. Beispiele sind die Vereinheitlichung technischer Normen und Standards wie etwa der im Bereich der Zivilluftfahrt und des Postwesens oder auch Produktnormen. Die globalen öffentlichen Güter, die in angemessenem Masse zur Verfügung stehen, sind zumeist die, die aufgrund ihrer Natur eine recht gleichmässige Verteilung von Kosten und Nutzen erzeugen und auch oder auch nicht. Mithin zeigt sich, dass wirtschaftliche Globalisierung auf globalen öffentlichen Gütern basiert; und dass sie in ihrer Folge zu weiterer Verglobalisierung von öffentlichen Gütern führt. Aber es gibt auch öffentliche Güter, die von Natur aus global sind. Dazu gehören etwa die Atmosphäre oder auch die Ozonschicht. Nur, im Gegensatz zu vielen anderen öffentlichen Gütern sind diese Gemeinschaftsgüter nicht unbegrenzt benutz- und belastbar. Daraus ergibt sich die viel diskutierte "tragedy of the commons". für alle einen klaren Nutzengewinn erzeugen. Es sind Güter, die nicht viele Politikinterventionen Korrekturmassnahmen - gebrauchen. Die sich im Krisenzustand - im Zustand der Unterproduktion befindlichen globalen öffentlichen Güter sind im Gegensatz dazu oft die, die nicht von allen Betroffenen in gleicher Weise als prioritär und nutzbringend angesehen werden. Diese Güter beinhalten Verteilungsprobleme, die es zu lösen gilt. Das Beispiel, das gegenwärtig als erstes in diesem Zusammenhang in den Sinn kommt, ist Klimawandel und die Frage, wie in diesem Fall die Kosten der notwendigen Korrektur- und Anpassungsmassnahmen gerecht verteilt werden könnten, so dass sie von allen akzeptiert werden und alle motiviert sind, notwendige Reformen auch wirklich zu unternehmen. Investionen in globale öffentliche Güter müssen genauso wie Investionen anderer Art (etwa die in Privatgüter) Sinn machen - ökonomisch, politisch oder anderweitig. Und um diese Bedingung zu erfüllen, müssen sie einen klaren und gerechten Gewinn für alle erbringen. 2. Die angemessene Bereitstellung globaler öffentlicher Güter In der Tat befinden sich heute viele globale öffentliche Güter in einem Krisenzustand.Sie unterminieren unser Wohlergehen statt es zu verbessern. Man denke nur an die diversen globalen Kranheitem, die sich in der Welt verbreiten; die gegenwärtige Finanzkrise, die Gefahren einer globalen Rezession heraufbeschört; den "Krieg gegen Terror"; KlimawanGLOBAL PERSPECTIVES | MARCH 2008 Markt in Kairo Photo: UNESCO 29 DEVELOPMENT DEADLINE Farm in Senegal Photo: UNESCO Inge Kaul ist Adjunct Professor an der Hertie School of Governance in Berlin und frühere Direktorin des Büros für Entwicklungsstudien des Entwicklungsprogramms der Vereinten Nationen in New York. Kommentare und Anmerkungen zu diesem Beitrag können gerichtet werden an [email protected]. 30 3. Globale Fairness als Grundlage effektiver internationaler Kooperation Globale öffentliche Güter sind nicht nur öffentlich in dem Sinne, dass sie oft uns alle - die gesamte Menschheit oder aber doch zumindest weite Teile der Weltbevölkerung - betreffen, sondern auch in dem Sinne, dass sie oft nicht in angemessenem Masse durch nationale Politikmassnahmen allein bereitgestellt werden können. Sie verlangen nach internationaler Kooperation - konzertierter nationaler Politik und gemeinsamer Politik auf internationaler Ebene. Ihre Produktion ist zumeist ein komplexer Prozess, der viele - private und staatliche Akteure sowie mehrere Ebenen und Sektoren umspannt. Es ist aber gerade diese Komplexität, vornehmlich die Tatsache, dass oft alle Länder einen Beitrag gewisse Politikresultate - erbringen müssen, die Gerechtigkeit und Beachtung des globalen Gemeinwohls so wichtig machen. Gerechtigkeit in der Kosten- und Nutzenverteilung ist ein ganz wichtiger Bestandteil von "policy ownership" und der Bereitschaft, freiwillig zu kooperieren, ohne die ja internationale Zusammenarbeit zwischen souveränen Staaten nicht auskommt. Wenn es an Gerechtigekit und damit an dezidierter Kooperation mangelt, besteht das Risiko, dass notwendige Politikmassnahmen nicht oder nur unzureichend stattfinden, Probleme ungelöst bleiben und sich verschärfen mit dem Resultat, dass es letztlich allen schlechter geht und Krisen sich weiterhin vervielfältigen. Mithin ist es im aufgeklärten Eigeninteresse aller zu bedenken, dass ein gemeinsames Ziel der meisten Akteure ist, anzuerkennen, das Verhandlungspartner auch ein Interesse an verbessertem Wohlergehen haben - oder wenn sie mitbezahlen, dann doch in fairer Weise belastet werden möchten. "Power politics" und andere Formen der Machtausübung und des "arm twisting" sind zumeist ineffektiv, wenn es um die Bereitstellung von globalen öffentlichen Gütern geht. Es bringt sehr wenig, militärische Waffen gegen SARS (Vogelgrippe), Verletzung von Menschenrechten, oder Finanzkrisen einzusetzen. Es führt auch nicht zu bnachhaltigen Veränderungen, wenn Sozial- und Umweltstandards als Konditionen in bilaterale Handelsabkommen mit armen Ländern eingefügt werden. In diesen und ähnlichen Fällen hilft eigentlich nur konstruktive Unterstützung zu offerieren für systematische Investionen in die Beförderung zum Beispiel von Erziehung, Gesundheit und Wachstum. 4. Mögliche Konsequenzen für die Politik und warum mehr Demokratie auf internationaler Ebene wünschenswert ist Aus den vorhergehenden Überlegungen lassen sich einige Schlussfolgerung für die Politik, auch für die deutsche Politik ableiten. Zunächst wäre es vielleicht wichtig zu diskutieren, dass es heute ganz klar einen neuen Strang der internationalen, operativen Kooperation gibt, nämlich die Bereitstellung von globalen öffentlichen Gütern. Fairness hat einen Preis. Diese Tatsache führt dazu, dass faire Lösungen, wenn sie kurzfristig betrachtet werden, oft teurer zu sein scheinen als "power politics" Lösungen. Mittel- und langfristig sind sie jedoch billiger - effektiver, nachhaltiger, und deshalb auch effizienter. Denn unfaire Kooperation lässt, wie erwähnt, Probleme oft fortbestehen. Wie jedoch Berechnungen gezeigt haben, ist Nichts-tun, d.h. Probleme aussitzen, oft um Vieles teurer (manchmal 400 mal so teuer) wie entschiedene Problemkorrektur. Es wäre mithin ebenfalls interessant und Kooperations-befördernd, Studien über die Effizienz gerechterer internationaler Kooperation für konkrete Verhandlungsfälle erstellen zu lassen und so die Motivation für die Beachtung des Wohls aller zu stärken. Aber es wäre auch wichtig, sich daran zu erinnern, dass der Verkäufer von Ware im Markt auch nicht alleine die Preise bestimmt. Preise im wirtschaftlichen Markt ergeben sich aus dem Zusammenspiel von Angebot und Nachfrage. Warum sollte politiches Ver-Handeln anders funktionieren? Deshalb wäre wohl eine weitere Politikreform notwendig, nämlich die Förderung von mehr Demokratie auf internationaler Ebene, so dass es mehr politischen Wettbewerb geben kann, mehr Interessenausgleich, mehr quid pro quo, und letztlich, mehr Fairness, mehr effektive Kooperation--und weniger globale Krisen. Fortschritt in dieser Hinsicht könnte zum Beispiel erzielt werden durch eine Revision des Quotensystems des Weltwährungsfonds und der Weltbank oder der Erweiterung der G-8. KOMMUNIKATION GLOBAL KOMMUNIKATION GLOBAL | MÄRZ 2008 KONFLIKTGEBIETE | CONFLICT AREAS Gaza Border In Political Limbo By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani in Cairo O ne month after throngs of Palestinians flooded into Egypt's Sinai Peninsula from the Gaza Strip, the flashpoint Rafah border crossing remains tightly shut. But according to some opposition figures, the breach - viewed by many as a victory for Palestinian resistance faction Hamas - signalled the need for new border protocols consistent with shifting political realities. "The recent crisis will inevitably lead to calls for a new EgyptPalestinian security agreement regulating the border crossing at Rafah," Abdel-Halim Kandil, political analyst and former editor-in-chief of opposition weekly al-Karama told IPS. On Jan. 23, an estimated half million Palestinians flocked into northern Sinai after the 14-kilometre wall separating Egypt from the Gaza Strip was destroyed in a series of explosions. Suffering under an almost two-year Israeli embargo of the territory, most of those crossing into Egypt seized the opportunity to buy essential foodstuffs and medicines. "Let them come in and buy food" All other means in or out of the Gaza Strip, governed by Hamas since June, have been hermetically sealed by Israel following the latter's "disengagement" from the territory in 2005. Citing Egypt's humanitarian concern for the besieged strip's roughly 1.5 million inhabitants, Cairo initially tolerated the influx. "Let them come in and buy food, as long as they aren't carrying weapons," President Hosni Mubarak said on the first day of the breach. Nevertheless, the border was resealed on Feb. 3, after the bulk of itinerant Palestinians - most having stocked up on vital necessities unavailable in Gaza - had returned to their homes. As the Rafah crossing was officially closed in coordination with Hamas-affiliated police officers, limited clashes erupted at the border between some Palestinians and Egyptian security forces. The breach contravened a 2005 U.S.-brokered security arrangement between Tel Aviv and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA) regulating the administration of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing. The agreement, to which Cairo is not a signatory, mandates the presence of European observers at Rafah to monitor all movement in and out of the territory, and allows for constant surveillance of the crossing by Israel. The mandated EU observers, however, have been absent from Rafah since June, having departed only days before Hamas took over governance of the Gaza Strip. Citing security concerns, they have not returned since, completely paralysing all cross-border traffic. Prior to the recent breach, Cairo - over the protestations of Hamas - had for the most part kept the Rafah crossing sealed in deference to the Israel-PA border understanding. Local critics of the arrangement, however, say the deal relegates Egypt to the role of doorkeeper and makes Cairo complicit in Israel's siege of the territory. According to Kandil, the GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES | MARCH 2008 recent dramatic - if temporary - border breach could signal a chance for Egypt to "regain a measure of sovereignty" over its border with the Gaza Strip. "Egypt could benefit by coming to a new, more realistic border agreement with the Palestinians," Kandil said. "It might also be a chance for Egypt to increase the size of its sorely limited forces on the border." Under the current terms of the Egypt-Israel Camp David peace agreement, the Egyptian security presence on the border with the Gaza Strip is limited to a maximum of 750 border police. Since the re-closure, Cairo has held separate talks with representatives of both Hamas and the PA, but has so far failed to reach a definitive border arrangement with either party. PA officials insist on maintaining the 2005 agreement, and refuse to countenance a supervisory role for Hamas at the border. Hamas officials, meanwhile, have consistently denounced the agreement, and steadfastly reject an Israeli role in the administration of the crossing at Rafah. Although the crossing remains tightly sealed, some local commentators say the recent border crisis yielded substantial political gains for Hamas. Along with physically breaking the Israel-imposed siege, they say, the incident has also compelled Cairo to hold talks with the resistance group. "Cairo hasn't officially recognised Hamas authority in Gaza until now, preferring instead to support the U.S.-backed PA in the West Bank," Gamal Zahran, political science professor at Suez Canal University and independent leftist MP, told IPS. "But after the border breach, Egypt realised that it must deal with Hamas - unofficially at least - to secure the border." No agreement was reached On Feb. 23, Hamas representatives met with Egyptian security officials in the town of al-Arish, some 40 kilometres west of Rafah. While no definitive agreement was reached on new border protocols, Hamas officials announced shortly afterwards that Cairo had promised the release of scores of Palestinians recently detained in northern Sinai. Other local observers, however, downplayed the notion that the political position of Hamas had been bolstered by recent events. "Hamas didn't reap any gains from the border crisis," Emad Gad, analyst at the semi-official al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, and expert on Israeli affairs, told IPS. "Hamas merely forced a fait accompli on Egypt by unilaterally forcing open the crossing, but the border was quickly re-sealed." As for recent dialogue between Cairo and Hamas, he added: "Egypt, as a supporter of the Palestinian cause, is obligated to talk with Hamas about the border situation - the government won't stand idly by while Gaza starves." IPS | GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES 31 KONFLIKTGEBIETE | CONFLICT AREAS UN Inaction Threatens "Mass Killings" in Africa and Asia By Thalif Deen in New York Iraq, July 2006 | Photo: www.alternativenews.org 32 T he international failure to respond aggressively to the killings in Sudan, and more recently in Kenya, is threatening the spread of genocide and ethnic cleansing in other parts of Africa, a London-based human rights organisation warns. Mark Lattimer, executive director of Minority Rights Group International (MRG), predicts that "mass killings" will continue in 2008 - if the international community refuses to take decisive action. He says that over half of the 20 countries in the world where people are most under threat of genocide are in Africa, including Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Chad and the Central African Republic. Chad, one of the new trouble spots in Africa, has risen 14 places up the rankings table since 2007. Widening inter-communal violence in the eastern part of the country has seen civilian communities targeted in the fighting between black toroboro militias and Arab fighters - a cruel replic of the ethnic conflict now familiar across the border in the Darfur region of neighbouring Sudan, according to MRG. In Asia, MRG singles out three countries Burma (Myanmar), Afghanistan and Pakistan - as potentially dangerous, while Iraq is described as the "most dangerous" in the Middle East. In its 2008 global ranking of "Peoples Under Threat", MRG says that "alarmingly, states widely described to be stable, such as Kenya, have been catapulted up the table - disputed elections in December 2007 exposing the tribal fault-lines in Kenyan society where competing political interests overlapped with ethnic differences." In the rioting and "ethnic cleansing" that followed a contentious election, more than 1,000 Kenyans were killed. But neither the United Nations nor the European Union (EU), both of which expressed concern over the killings, took any concrete action. Pakistan and Iran, both bordering Afghanistan, have risen significantly in the rankings this year. "The fallout from military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq continues to spread to neighbouring states," says Lattimer, "and is now engulfing whole new communities in the threat of violent conflict." Disastrous in preventing war crimes The threat of mass killings comes at a time when the United Nations is seeking to implement the principles of "Responsibility to Protect" (R2P), adopted by the 192-member UN General Assembly at the 2005 World Summit in New York. The R2P concept originated in a 2001 report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty. William Pace, executive director of the New York-based Institute for Global Policy, told IPS that after the "historic and very surprising endorsement" of R2P by the heads of all states, and the backing of R2P in two Security Council resolutions in 2006, R2P lost momentum in 2007 due to a variety of reasons. This, he points out, was mostly connected to "the always difficult transition from one (UN) secretary-general to a new one"-- from Kofi Annan who ended his term in December 2006 and Ban Ki-moon who took over in January 2007. However, with the appointment by Secretary-General Ban of Francis Deng from Sudan as the new special advisor/representative for the prevention of genocide, and Ed Luck from the United States as special advisor to advance the implementation of R2P inside the UN institutions, "We expect important progress in 2008". Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are also taking important steps forward, said Pace, who is also the Convenor of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC). He pointed out that KOMMUNIKATION GLOBAL | MÄRZ 2008 KONFLIKTGEBIETE | CONFLICT AREAS In the rioting and "ethnic cleansing" that followed a contentious election, more than 1.000 Kenyans were killed. But neither the United Nations nor the European Union took any concrete action. the recent launching of the new Global Centre for R2P, with Andy Knight from Barbados as its new leader, is the first of several major NGO initiatives to support R2P, "in what is hoped will become a vital new tool for peace in our new century." "The first decade, so far, has been as disastrous and unsuccessful in preventing war crimes, ethnic cleansing, genocide and crimes against humanity," said Pace. However, civil society from all regions are committed to making old peace tools, like the United Nations, and new tools like the International Criminal Court (ICC), and R2P work, so millions of lives will be saved, he added. The new global institute, dedicated to improving international responses to genocide and mass atrocities, was inaugurated on Feb. 14. It is housed at the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies at the Graduate Centre of the City University of New York. Described as an independent research and advocacy organisation, it says it "will make this doctrine (R2P) a reality." In a statement issued during its inaugural, the Centre said: "The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is a call to action on behalf of populations at risk, and seeks to eradicate a legacy of inaction that has led to the loss of millions of lives during the Holocaust and in Cambodia, Rwanda, Srebrenica, and Darfur." Armed or forceful intervention Since Feb. 8, according to Human Rights Watch, Sudanese government troops and Janjaweed militias have attacked and bombed villages in West Darfur, killing hundreds of civilians and displacing tens of thousands more, with little response so far from the UN Security Council. Asked if the UN appointments of Luck and Deng would advance the cause of R2P, Lattimer of Minority Rights Group International told IPS: "The UN special representative on the prevention of genocide and now the new special advisor on R2P are the first UN mechanisms with a specific mandate on genocide prevention and have a great potential to focus early UN action to prevent killing". Their ability to make a difference will of course depend on the availability of accurate early warning information on groups under threat, he said. Perhaps the first practical example of the United Nations acting to implement R2P is in the current situation in Kenya, he argued. Although much of the debate around R2P has focused on armed humanitarian intervention, the greatest chance for the United Nations in general, and these two posts in particular, to make a difference is in preventive diplomacy at an early stage to GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES | MARCH 2008 stop mass killing before it starts. Asked about "unilateral" UN interventions to prevent genocide,, Lattimer said: "The United Nations is a multilateral organisation composed of member states, so it can't intervene 'unilaterally'." But if the question is about armed or forceful intervention, then there have been a number of such interventions, he pointed out. They are authorised under Chapter VII of the UN Charter and need to be mandated by the Security Council acting "to maintain or restore international peace and security" - not quite the same as preventing genocide or mass killings, but the Council has explicitly agreed that deliberate targeting of civilian populations in armed conflict may constitute a threat to international peace or security. Lattimer also said that past Chapter VII interventions include Kuwait, Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Rwanda and East Timor. In Rwanda and Bosnia, he said, the UN missions were unable to stop genocide. By contrast the mission in East Timor was widely seen as successful, bringing to an end a widespread pattern of gross human rights violations by the Indonesian army and by militias. Some current UN peacekeeping missions, which have Chapter VII enforcement powers, play a vital role in preventing ethnic killings, including those in Cote d'Ivoire and in the Democratic Republic of Congo, although their record of success is mixed, he declared. IPS | GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES Refugee Camp in Chad | Photo: www.tearfund.org 33 KONFLIKTGEBIETE | CONFLICT AREAS Children Look At The Brighter Picture By Mona Alami in Beirut O n the outskirts of Beirut, narrow alleyways cut through the Chatila Palestinian refugee camp. A maze of electricity cables connect one concrete block and another. Sewage pours continuously through a small grey construction, filling the street with nauseating stench. Not a pretty sight, unless you have a camera, and skill. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and that familiar idea motivated the Lebanese NGO Zakira to bring the art of photography to the children here. It's another way of looking at a world of enormous piles of rubbish, where gunmen and fratricidal wars are common, and where a permanent state of lawlessness reigns. A group of Lebanese photojournalists now gives these children the opportunity to forget their surroundings through the world of photography. Zakira's founder Ramzi Haidar, an AFP photographer, looked at violence while on assignment in Iraq through the eyes of Iraqi children who had no creative outlet to express their curiosity, emotions or frustrations. His experience in the war-torn country inspired him to make a difference in his native Lebanon. "On Haidar's return to Lebanon, he decided to bring the art of photography to Lebanon's most marginalised community - the children in Palestinian refugee camps," says Rima Abou Chakra from Zakira. Basic photography skills Photos: UNHCR 34 Through 'Lahza' (glimpse), its first project, the NGO seeks to identify young Palestinians with talent, and help them develop their skill. "Around 500 children from all Palestinian refugee camps across Lebanon have acquired basic photography skills through this programme," says Abou Chakra. "Most of these kids, who live in unimaginably harsh conditions, have been asked to portray life in the camps as they see it." The NGO provides children from ages seven to 12 with disposable cameras and basic guidance. "We learned to use the camera, focus and pick our subject. It was very exciting," says Hiba, 10, from the Chatila camp. "Photographers Oussama Ayoub and Bilal Jawish came to the Dbayeh camp (situated north of Beirut in a mainly Christian area) and trained the children," says Mayssa Basho, a volunteer at the Committee for Development and Support (CDS), a non-profit organisation at the Dbayeh camp. Thirty-five children were selected in the Dbayeh camp to join the programme. They were first asked to draw paintings, to determine their likes and dislikes, and what appealed to them before they were given a camera. "The pictures were unusual for a Palestinian camp, they depicted scenes inspired by nature, the Lebanese army and the Lebanese flag," said Basho. "This is partly because kids from the Dbayeh camp identify with the Lebanese, and are very well integrated, unlike in other camps." Robert, a bright 12-year-old in Dbayeh is hugely enthusiastic. "I took pictures of the camp's Christmas tree and our community in church. I chose to show the artistic and beautiful side of people and objects," he says with astounding maturity. But his pictures do not show just the bright side. "My favourite picture is one of a broken sewage pipe," he adds. Differences in living conditions The pictures taken in the various camps around Lebanon have highlighted differences in living conditions from one camp to another. "For instance, photographs taken by children in urban camps, such as Chatila or Ain el Helweh, differed to a great extent from ones taken in Dbayeh or Rashidiyeh, which are both rural camps," says Abou Chakra. "While children in the Dbayeh camp portrayed scenes of nature, others from Ain El Helweh either portrayed militia men in the street, or family members, who were photographed indoors. The simple explanation is that many Ain El Helweh children are not allowed to roam freely around the camp for fear of shootouts." Hiba, from Chatila, focused on the grim aspect of life. "Most of my work shows the mountains of garbage spread around the camp. It is a very ugly sight that everyone should see," she says, her eyes void of any expression. On the other hand, her nine-year-old friend Rowan enthuses: "I loved taking pictures of my family, especially my grandfather who is my favourite person!" The young girl also took pictures of a carpenter at work. "I wanted to show how hard he works at carving the wood." The NGO will hold exhibitions of the children's work around Lebanon and the Arab world, and in Europe and North America. It also plans to publish a book featuring 120 of the best photographs. "Our long-term goals include strengthening photography skills of the most talented children through extensive training, and proceeds from the book will hopefully be used to fund a children's photography school," says Abou Chakra. Despite the differences between the children in the different camps, they all share an affinity for their homeland. "All the kids showed great attachment to their origin and history," says Abou Chakra. "We asked them how they would portray Palestine, a country they had never known. One simply answered: 'from pictures, naturally'." IPS | GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES KOMMUNIKATION GLOBAL | MÄRZ 2008 GLOBAL COOPERATION COUNCIL (Nord-Süd-Forum) e.V. - GCC Forum - advocates dialogue for international understanding and interaction for change in the interest of a genuine worldwide cooperation. It was founded under the name "Nord-Süd-Forum" on February 25, 1983.The newly emerging world calls for a departure from the entrenched patterns of thinking. Instead of clinging on to enforcing military security, for example, there is need to help usher in global human security. Precisely this is what GCC Forum endeavours. While serving as a platform for dialogue, it facilitates - within the framework of HumAN Development Services - HANDS - an exchange of practical experiences. Thereby we are supported by several institutions and organisations as well as committed individuals, on whom we could always rely since the inception of the North-South-Forum, the precursor of the GCC Forum. 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