Research & reports

Ghosts of Christmas past

llucas — 2011-01-10T16:43:16Z

The LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) has become the most deadly militia in Democratic Republic of Congo, with Christmas time over the past two years marked by appalling massacres. Since 2008, more than 400,000 people have fled their homes after the LRA rampaged across remote villages in Sudan, Central African Republic and DR Congo. Attacks came in retaliation to an ill-planned military offensive against the militia by regional armies.

This paper was produced by organizations working in the affected countries or advocacy groups with a long-standing commitment to resolving the LRA threat: Broederlijk Delen, Cafod, Christian Aid, Conciliation Resources, Cordaid, Danish Refugee Council, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Intersos, Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam, Pax Christi Flanders, Peace Direct, Refugees International, Resolve, Society For Threatened Peoples, Tearfund, Trocaire, War Child UK, World vision.

Horn of Africa Risk Transfer for Adaptation (HARITA) quarterly report: July - September 2010

aperera — 2011-07-25T18:55:23Z

The climate change rural-resiliency project launched in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia by Oxfam America and its local and international partners has entered year two of its pilot. Known as HARITA—Horn of Africa Risk Transfer for Adaptation—the project aims to address the needs of smallholder farmers facing climate change shocks by offering a robust risk management package that integrates disaster risk reduction, affordable risk transfer, and prudent risk-taking.

In its second year, HARITA is being offered in five villages spread across the region, as part of an effort to gather a significant pool of data on climatic variation in Tigray in preparation for a region-wide scale-up. The project—which offers insurance-for-work for activities intended to reduce farmers’ vulnerability to droughts—operates in conjunction with the Ethiopian government’s existing social safety net program to make insurance more affordable for the rural smallholders it serves. This report highlights the results of the second year of its pilot as of September 2010.

Now More Than Ever: Climate talks work for those who need them most

jlee — 2011-06-08T14:46:35Z

People who hoped to see a fair, ambitious and binding global deal in Copenhagen a year ago left there sorely disappointed. Some are questioning the viability of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to deliver. Others have seized their chance to manufacture doubt over the scientific basis for action.

But now is not the time to walk away from the UN process. Cancun will not see governments
cross the finishing line but they can make vital steps to bring that line back into sight. For
millions of poor people around the world – those hit first and worst by a crisis they did least
to cause – a fair and safe deal to tackle climate change is needed now more than ever.

No will, no way

oxfam america — 2011-01-03T16:21:50Z

This paper is a follow-up case study to Oxfam America's 2009 report on US security assistance and the protection of civilians. In that report, Oxfam America examined the importance of SSR and the evolution of US policy and doctrine and then surveyed US practice. DRC is an important and useful case study of US implementation of SSR because the US government has committed to improving the security of the Congolese and to helping promote development and democracy in DRC, and SSR is crucial to solving the problems in the country.

The US has provided tens of millions of dollars in support of armed forces and police reform in the DRC, yet the impact of the US efforts has not been measured and thus is not actually known. Moreover, notwithstanding these and other donor efforts, it is clear that true reform in the DRC security sector has yet to occur: “No progress at all,” according to one senior MONUC official. True reform, including the training of all security forces in civilian protection and human rights principles and the implementation of that training in field operations, plus effective application of military justice and measures to remove known human rights abusers from the army and the implementation of a judicial system based on the rule of law, is crucial to improving the humanitarian situation in DRC and moving DRC to a position of stability, economic development, and robust democracy.

Nowhere to Turn

mhart — 2010-11-18T15:31:49Z

A joint briefing paper by 29 aid organizations working in Afghanistan for the NATO Heads of Government Summit, Lisbon, November 19-20, 2010.

Security for the vast majority of Afghans is rapidly deteriorating. It is likely that increased violence in 2011 will lead to more civilian casualties, continue to fuel displacement, cut off access to basic services, and reduce the ability of aid agencies to reach those who need assistance most.

As world leaders meet in at the NATO summit Lisbon, we strongly urge them, along with all parties to the conflict, to minimize the harm to civilians and reduce threats and disruptions to basic services and development and humanitarian activities across Afghanistan.

A fresh look at the green economy

bgrossmancohen — 2011-06-08T14:47:27Z

Approximately two million Americans are employed in sectors such as water management, agriculture, and disaster preparedness and response that contribute to building resilience to the impacts of climate change. Through investments in climate change resilience, we can proactively reduce the impact of natural disasters and drive economic growth. By spurring the development and deployment of new technologies and strategies such as efficient irrigation systems and early flood and storm warning systems we can save lives in the poor communities most vulnerable to climate change—and create jobs in the process.

Case Study: Bolivian Government Consultation with the Guaraní Indigenous Peoples of Charagua Norte and Isoso

cengstrom — 2011-12-16T20:50:04Z

This year the Bolivian Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Energy (MHE) coordinated a highly successful consultation process around a proposed hydrocarbon exploration project in the indigenous territory of Charagua Norte and Isoso, located in the Santa Cruz region. Ultimately, the process resulted in a signed agreement between the Bolivian government and the Guaraní Peoples Assembly of Charagua Norte and Isoso (APG for the Spanish acronym) documenting community consent prior to the initiation of exploration activities by the Argentine company Pluspetrol. The consultation process reached a positive outcome thanks largely to the willingness of the MHE to respect the use of traditional Guarani institutions and systems.

From the ground up

nhailu — 2011-01-03T16:51:00Z

This paper examines instances in which successful community-based DRR approaches have been scaled outside their originating community and identifies four bridging strategies. Through examples, anecdotes, and mini case studies, the author illustrates these strategies in the hopes of stimulating thought and discussion on new practices and policies to bring community-led DRR to a global scale.

Impact of climate change on response providers and socially vulnerable communities in the US

nhailu — 2011-01-03T17:44:34Z

Disaster mitigation discourse rarely refers to the vulnerability of communities affected by disasters. The planning assumptions driving domestic emergency management are derived from an assessment and understanding of risk (i.e., the likelihood that a particular type of natural disaster may occur and the expected severity of its effects should it occur).

For natural disasters, this assessment of risk is based on detailed modeling and analysis of historical data on the frequency and severity of all manner of disasters. In this report, we examine how homeland security policy could be revised to accommodate climate change impacts on socially vulnerable populations in the Mississippi Delta region and the Gulf Coast, building on the 2009 Oxfam America report, "Exposed: Social vulnerability and climate change in the US Southeast."

Now we know

csoares — 2010-10-21T15:05:58Z

A collaboration between local citizens’ committees and officials in Peru shows how communities can create lasting change by holding governments accountable.

Community-based human rights impact assessments: Practical lessons

aperera — 2011-01-03T16:09:30Z

In March 2010, Rights & Democracy, Oxfam America, and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) sponsored a global learning event that brought together 13 civil society organizations engaged or interested in community-based human rights impact assessments (HRIAs) of private investments.

For four days, participants exchanged their experiences using "Getting It Right," a dynamic tool developed by Canada-based Rights & Democracy. Designed especially for communities and their support organizations, the tool enables teams to conduct HRIAs of private investment projects, such as infrastructure projects, agro-industry, dams, extractive industries, and other initiatives.

This report summarizes key lessons learned and recommendations from participants, based on their pilot experiences in Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, the Philippines, and the United States.

The Making of a Seoul Development Connection

jlee — 2010-10-19T17:39:15Z

The G20 must adopt a Seoul ‘development consensus’ that confronts the challenges of the 21st century: reducing inequality and tackling global poverty through sustainable, equitable growth that gives poor women and men, and their governments, the tools they need to overcome poverty.

Righting two wrongs

bgrossmancohen — 2011-06-08T14:48:42Z

Climate change is already negatively affecting the lives and livelihoods of poor men and women. Yet it is estimated that less than a tenth of climate funds to date have been spent on helping people in vulnerable countries adapt to the impacts of climate change. The poor are losing out twice: they are hardest hit by climate change they didn’t cause, and they are being neglected by funds that should be helping them. Climate finance can and must be made to work from the bottom up, particularly for women smallholder farmers.

Starting with the formal establishment of a new Global Climate Fund, decisions on climate finance governance need to set a new direction for a post-2012 era. This paper presents a vision for a new Fund and broader finance system that is effective in meeting the scale of developing country financing needs, and is widely considered – by governments and civil societies – to be legitimate in its decision-making.

Planting Now

mhart — 2011-06-08T14:49:46Z

Even before the devastating January 2010 earthquake, Haiti was one of the poorest and most food-insecure countries on earth. A majority of Haitians live in rural areas and depend on agricultural livelihoods, but neither the government nor the international community has paid sufficient attention to agriculture, leaving the countryside increasingly marginalized.

Agriculture must have a central place in post-earthquake reconstruction, with an emphasis on improving small-scale farmers’ access to resources, so as to boost their incomes and productivity, particularly with regard to staple food crops. The Haitian government has devised a comprehensive agricultural reconstruction plan. Donors need to quickly provide adequate resources to implement the plan, and should ensure greater coherence between their development assistance and trade policies. Increased attention to agriculture is vital to helping the Haitian people achieve their short- and long-term reconstruction goals.

Halving Hunger: Still Possible?

Ben Grossman-Cohen — 2011-06-08T14:50:30Z

Ten years after world leaders committed to halve world hunger by 2015, little progress has been made to reduce the number of people who go to sleep hungry, but if developing countries take the lead with the right policies and investments, halving hunger is still possible.

While time is running out, the global crises push the Millennium Development Goals desperately off course. The only chance of avoiding failure is a rescue plan for all MDGs that includes the necessary measures, both political and financial. Halving hunger is still possible if developing countries take the lead with the right policies and investments, donor countries increase dramatically their aid to agriculture, food security and social protection under nationally and regionally-driven plans, and the global issues affecting food security are collectively addressed.