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NTS Bulletin

NTS Bulletin June 2010 (Issue 2)
Issues:
Note: Please click on the respective titles or headers for the full report.

Disclaimer: All links and news reports are correct at the time of publication.

MAIN HIGHLIGHT

Fighting Corruption: A Test Case for Indonesia ... and Southeast Asia

Recent anti-corruption efforts by Indonesia have once again brought attention to the longstanding issue of corruption. Indonesia established the Corruption Eradication Commission or the Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) in 2002. KPK started operating in late 2003. By mid-2009, it has investigated, prosecuted and achieved 100 per cent conviction rate in 86 cases of bribery and graft related to government procurements and budgets. KPK’s actions however have drawn fierce opposition from critics, primarily the members of parliament, the police and attorney general’s office who have argued that its powers, including the rights to block accounts, issue travel bans and order suspension from office are too draconian and intrusive.

The Global Financial Integrity (GFI) in its analysis of illicit financial flows (or capital flight) shows that between 2002 and 2006, developing countries lost an estimated USD 858.6 billion – 1.06 trillion in illicit financial outflows. Measured against the flow of Official Development Assistance in 2006, GFI estimates that poor countries, in aggregate, are losing around USD 10 dollars for every one US dollar they receive in aid. Corruption is considered problematic in most Southeast Asian countries wherein graft and bribery are widespread, and many organisations have suggested a broad framework of governance reform for addressing the issue of corruption.


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MIGRATION

News & Commentaries

Selected Publications

In this article the authors examine the national citizenship policies of 11 ‘historically restrictive’ countries within the European Union to examine trends of continuity and change in terms of immigration policies. Of these 11 countries, six have liberalised their citizenship policies, while the remaining five have not. To explain this, the authors theorise that the relative strength of far-right parties catalyse anti-immigrant opposition in the five countries that have not liberalised their citizenship policies, while the election of leftist governments in the remainder resulted in liberalisation.

To fill the epistemological gap in international migration and development theory in Asia, the authors outline some of the ways in which knowledge on migration and development is created. They collate the lenses through which much of the work is currently generated and the research imagination resulting from existing approaches.

This new monthly publication collects news and information on immigration, refugees and ethnic minorities, with updates on migration law and policies, news on irregular migration, asylum, racism and discrimination in the EU and across countries in Europe. It is published by the Migration Policy Group, a think tank based in Belgium.

This publication collects resources and links from the International Maritime Organization, the United Nations and other sources to provide a resource for those conducting research on policies concerning the treatment of stowaways, illegal migrants, or persons rescued at sea.

Events & Announcements

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INTERNAL AND CROSS-BORDER CONFLICT

News & Commentaries

Latest Publications

In this 29-page report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Philip Alston, the United Nations special representative on extrajudicial executions, called on the United States to exercise greater restraint in its use of drones in places like Pakistan and Yemen, outside the war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq.

This article explains how civilian and military policymakers have incorrectly assumed that international development aid is inherently beneficial to local populations, necessarily fosters stability, and invariably leads to a grateful populace that will shun insurgents, thereby advancing US strategic goals. The article posits that using international aid to combat radical Islamic insurgencies is more complex than aid advocates assume and outlines a different conception of what constitutes development. Finally, it explains how small-scale, micro-development based on corporate social responsibility practices rather than traditional foreign aid will have the greatest and most enduring impact against Islamic insurgencies.

According to the new issue of the International Crisis Group’s monthly bulletin, four actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and none improved in May 2010. Israeli commandos killed at least nine people when they raided a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza on 31 May, throwing into question the recently launched proximity talks between the Palestinians and Israel. May also saw renewed violence in the streets of Bangkok where clashes between anti-government “red shirt” protesters and government troops resulted in the death of scores of people. Soldiers removed the “red shirt” from the capital on 19 May and the government has since lifted a curfew imposed on Bangkok and 28 other provinces. But a state of emergency remains and divisions between the Thai establishment and the protesters, many of whom support former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, have widened. Meanwhile, in the Korean Peninsula tensions continued to mount after investigators announced that a South Korean ship that sunk in March had been hit by a North Korean torpedo. Pyongyang continues to deny responsibility for the sinking which killed 46 people. Security also deteriorated in India, where suspected Maoist rebels derailed a train on 28 May leaving at least 147 civilians dead.

The Amnesty International Report 2010 documents the state of human rights in 159 countries in 2009. It details a year in which accountability seemed a remote ideal for many, as people’s lives continued to be torn apart by repression, violence, discrimination, power plays and political stalemates. But the report also celebrates real progress. It reveals how it is harder now for perpetrators of the worst crimes to secure impunity. It argues that the demand for accountability is not confined to redress for killings or torture, but extends to the denial of all the rights that we need to live our lives in dignity. The report also records the courage, imagination and determination of the worldwide human rights movement.

Events & Announcements

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HUMAN TRAFFICKING

News & Commentaries

Latest Publications

In order to attempt providing, if not a response to but leads on organised crime, UNODC in partnership with the Institute for International Research on Criminal Policy (IRCP) of Ghent University initiated a study focusing on the role of organised crime in trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants. The goal of the study is neither to provide a simple literature review of what has been written already, nor to provide the readers of the final report with estimates or a conclusion about the scale of involvement of organised crime in trafficking of persons and smuggling of migrants. Instead, updated information on what is known of this involvement to date is provided.

The Core Commitments for Children (CCCs) in Humanitarian Action are a global framework for humanitarian action for children undertaken by UNICEF and its partners. The updated CCCs reflect recent humanitarian developments, including humanitarian reform. The CCCs provide guidance for each sector in both rapid-onset and protracted humanitarian situations. The sectoral interventions are results-based, and preparedness and early recovery are now explicit commitments.

As the only UN development and humanitarian agency wholly dedicated to children, UNICEF assisted more than 150 countries and territories in 2009, the year of the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Annual Report 2009 emphasises UNICEF’s unwavering commitment to children in its achievement of results and the global challenges the organisation faced.

Events & Announcements

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WATER SECURITY

News & Commentaries

Events & Announcements

Latest Publications

This report not only identifies the threats to human and ecological health and the consequences of inaction, but also presents opportunities, where appropriate policy and management responses over the short and longer term can trigger employment, support livelihoods, boost public and ecosystem health and contribute to more intelligent water management. The first part of this report addresses the critical challenges we face in managing wastewater and considers the implications for people and the environment across different sectors, and how these may be influenced by issues such as population growth, urbanisation and climate change. The second part looks at solutions and how these challenges can be turned around.

Authors Gleick and Palaniappan argue that the world is not running out of water – but very close to using much of the renewable supply and in some regions well past the point of peak ecological water – where the environmental damage of human use of water exceeds the benefits of that water use. The specter of ‘peak oil’ – a peak and then decline in oil production – has long been predicted and debated. Gleick and Palaniappan assess ‘peak water’ as a way to help water managers, water users, and policymakers to understand and manage different water systems more effectively and sustainably. They describe peak water in three ways: Peak renewable water: where flow constraints limit total water availability over time; Peak non-renewable water: where production rates substantially exceed natural recharge rates or where over-pumping or contamination leads to a peak production followed by a decline (similar to peak oil curves); Peak ecological water: the point beyond which the total costs of ecological disruptions and damages exceed the total value provided by human use of that water. These concepts can help shift the way freshwater resources are managed towards more productive, equitable, efficient, and sustainable use. One of the most important outcomes of the concept of peak water is that it signals the end of cheap and easy access to water. This recognition of the value of water can drive us to an important paradigm shift in the way water is managed and priced — toward a soft path for water, a strategy that improves the productivity, equity, and efficiency of water use.

The purpose of this report is to open up a dialogue on an issue that could put the lives and livelihoods of millions of people at risk in the foreseeable future – water as a vital resource and a potential crisis driver in the Hindu-Kush Himalaya (HKH) region. In seeking to foster that dialogue, the report has three specific objectives: to survey various types of potential water-related hazards and crisis drivers that could affect the region, to foster new types of alliances – including greater attention to what will be called humanitarian policy-maker/science dialogues – for addressing the threats that the region may face, and to propose first steps that must be taken now to lead to prevention and preparedness measures that commensurate with the nature and scale of threats facing the region.

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TRANSNATIONAL CRIME

News & Commentaries

Events & Announcements

Latest Publications

This research consolidates six years of movement data on IUU-listed vessels, tracking their port visits globally to evaluate port performance in combating illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing. The authors focused on the implementation of Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) Conservation and Management Measures (CMM) in relation to the vessels on IUU vessel lists. While IUU-listed vessels represent only a small fraction of those operating illegally, they are the only officially recognised IUU vessels and therefore provide a basis for evaluating the willingness or capacity of states to implement port state measures, as well as the effectiveness of the current regulations.

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Use of this article:

You are free to publish this article in its entirety or only in part in your newspapers, wire services, internet-based information networks and newsletters and you are also free to use the information in your radio-TV discussions or as a basis for discussion in different fora. We would, however, appreciate it if you could let us know when and where the article was used.

About the Centre:

The Centre for NTS Studies of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, was inaugurated by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretary-General Dr Surin Pitsuwan in May 2008. The Centre maintains research in the fields of Climate Change, Energy Security, Health Security, as well as Internal and Cross Border Conflict. It produces policy-relevant analyses aimed at furthering awareness and building capacity to address NTS issues and challenges in the Asia Pacific region and beyond. The Centre also provides a platform for scholars and policymakers within and outside Asia to discuss and analyse NTS issues in the region.

In 2009, the Centre was chosen by the MacArthur Foundation as a lead institution for the MacArthur Asia Security Initiative, to develop policy research capacity and recommend policies on the critical security challenges facing the Asia-Pacific.

The Centre is also a founding member and the Secretariat for the Consortium of Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies in Asia (NTS-Asia). More information on the Centre can be found at www.rsis.edu.sg/nts


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