Global

International Alert recently hosted a roundtable on Climate Change, Conflict and Effective Responses bringing together people from a range of think-tanks, NGOs and government departments to start a discussion on the complexities of responding to climate change in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.

From Dan Smith’s blog, which can be found at www.dansmithsblog.com.

While thousands of negotiators, activists, diplomats, scientists, politicians and journalists meet in Copenhagen for the climate summit – formally said, the 15th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – the question has been raised whether we should want them to succeed or fail. Which, of course, begs the next question: what is success at Copenhagen?

Thousands of negotiators, activists and lobbyists have descended on Copenhagen for two weeks to discuss a global deal on climate change. The high profile issues are about reducing carbon emissions and how much money the developed countries, who have the main responsibility for global warming, will put on the negotiating table to help people in poorer countries cope with the consequences. But these are not the only important issues.

This practice note offers options for economic development planners and practitioners for promoting accountable and conflict-sensitive governance of natural resource wealth. The presence of significant natural resource endowments has been documented as contributing to the outbreak of conflict as different parties compete for control over resource-rich territory, fuelling conflict through revenues generated by extractive resources, and undermining peace processes as powerful individuals or groups refuse to give up what they regard as their fair share of the spoils.

Practice note

This practice note explains what economic development planners and practitioners can do to support the socioeconomic reintegration of former combatants. It will assist you in your efforts to mobilise economic actors to play a constructive role in reintegration processes.

Practice note 4

This practice note presents the possible impacts of political peace processes on post-conflict economic recovery and implications for economic development planning during these transition periods. Peace processes are a development concern because they often set out future political and economic orders that frame post-conflict economic recovery and long-term economic development. Development agencies can be strategic actors for peace processes, especially as these near their conclusion and the parties craft new economic futures.

Practice note 5

Read our 2009 Impact Report

Listing the peacebuilding NGO’s strategic achievements in the last 12 months, the report is also candid about the challenges the organisation faces, in light of global economic turbulence and the attendant risks to regions prone to violence in many of the 20 plus countries in which they work.

Mid July to mid August 2010

As part of our partnership with radio station Passion for the Planet this month you can listen to exclusive interviews with International Alert’s Secretary General Dan Smith and Director of Programmes Phil Vernon on Passion for the Planet radio.

International Alert and the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) will be hosting a panel debate on the future of overseas development aid, Moving Beyond the Millennium Development Goals on September 8th at the RCS in London.

This event comes two weeks before the UN General Assembly will review progress against the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and coincides with the launch of a new International Alert report which questions the usefulness of the MDGs.

International Alert, together with Amnesty International UK, CARE International UK, Oxfam GB, WOMANKIND Worldwide, Women for Women International UK, and other members of the Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS) network, is launching the No Women No Peace. competition, a competition for creative people.

Heads of State will meet in New York on 20th - 22nd September this year to review progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were agreed by UN Member States ten years ago to inspire increased investment and effort to improve people’s lives in developing countries. These include important measures such as infant and maternal mortality, school attendance, household incomes and hunger, amongst others.

We are pleased to launch two new practice notes in the Peacebuilding Essentials for Economic Development Practitioners series. This forms part of International Alert’s project Strengthening the Economic Dimensions of Peacebuilding.

Socio-Economic Reintegration of Ex-Combatants explains what economic development planners and practitioners can do to support the socio-economic reintegration of former combatants.

Commenting on the outcome of the UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals, International Alert’s Director of Programmes Phil Vernon says: “As we expected, the summit has ended with commitments of more funding, and a big push to get as far as possible in meeting the MDGs by 2015. But there is also widespread recognition that they will not be met, and that the international community still needs to face up to the challenge of how best to help people and institutions in fragile contexts to make sustainable progress.

Private sector development in conflict-affected environments: key resources for practitioners

Alert’s Canan Gunduz and Joost Van Der Zwan co-authored this new Donor Committee on Enterprise Development guide on Private Sector Development (PSD) in conflict-affected environments.

International Alert’s submission to the International Development Committee Inquiry The 2010 Millennium Development Goals Review Summit: Looking ahead to after the MDG deadline of 2015

In this submission, we focus on looking ahead to after the MDG deadline of 2015, and: