Humanitarianism in the Network Age INCLUDING WORLD HUMANITARIAN DATA and TRENDS 2012
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Icts for the Prevention of Mass Atrocity Crimes
ICTs for the Prevention of Genocide | ICT4Peace Foundation ICTs for the prevention of mass atrocity crimes What is being done to support the prevention of mass atrocity crimes as well as reconciliation, healing and justice with a particular emphasis on the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs)? Caroline Hargreaves1 and Sanjana Hattotuwa2 As the scope for the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) for peace broadens, the issues ICTs can serve to address will be considerably more complex in nature. Many countries have consistently failed to take early action to protect against, prevent or mitigate violence in cases where large numbers of civilian lives are to be in jeopardy. Examples from the past decade are the cases of Rwanda, Cambodia, Bosnia and Burundi, and there are also cases from Afghanistan, the DRC, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, where towards the end of war, there was a high incidence of collateral damage and many civilian lives lost. Emerging technological innovations such as advanced satellite imagery and computer-aided analysis, advancements in forensic science combined with existing legal frameworks to bring human rights abusers to justice can be leveraged to address these atrocities. This brief report will outline how ICTs can help in preventing and mitigating genocidal violence and mass atrocity crimes, not only in the time leading up to such brutalities, but also in environments that have recently experienced such tragic violence. Though this report will not go into it, we acutely recognise that the use of ICTs to engender genocide is the flip side of an increasing proliferation of new technologies and media. -
Livestock Disaster Economics
Report prepared by: Economists at Large Pty Ltd Melbourne, Australia www.ecolarge.com [email protected] Phone: +61 3 9005 0154 Fax: +61 3 8080 1604 Citation: Campbell, R., Knowles, T., 2011. The economic impacts of losing livestock in a disaster, a report for the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), prepared by Economists at Large, Melbourne, Australia. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and may not in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the organisations involved. This report is distributed with the understanding that the authors are not responsible for the results of any actions undertaken on the basis of the information that is contained within, nor for any omission from, or error in, this publication Contents Summary____________________________________________________________ 5 Structure of the report _________________________________________________ 9 Introduction ________________________________________________________ 10 What do we mean by “livestock”? _____________________________________________ 11 What is a disaster? _________________________________________________________ 12 Section 1: Livestock in economies _______________________________________ 14 The role of livestock ________________________________________________________ 14 Livestock in high-income countries ____________________________________________ 14 Livestock in low-income countries _____________________________________________ 16 Livestock and food _________________________________________________________ -
Dynamic Variability Examination of Mediterranean Frontogenesis
Discussion Paper | Discussion Paper | Discussion Paper | Discussion Paper | Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., doi:10.5194/nhess-2015-290, 2016 Manuscript under review for journal Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci. NHESSD Published: 15 January 2016 doi:10.5194/nhess-2015-290 © Author(s) 2016. CC-BY 3.0 License. This discussion paper is/has been under review for the journal Natural Hazards and Earth Dynamic variability System Sciences (NHESS). Please refer to the corresponding final paper in NHESS if available. examination of Mediterranean Dynamic variability examination of frontogenesis B. A. Munir et al. Mediterranean frontogenesis: teleconnection of fronts and flood 2010 Title Page Abstract Introduction B. A. Munir1, H. A. Imran2, and I. Ashraf3 Conclusions References 1National Weather Forecasting Unit, Aviation Division, Pakistan Meteorological Department, Islamabad, Pakistan Tables Figures 2Environmental Protection and Agriculture Food Production, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany J I 3Institute of GIS, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan J I Received: 18 October 2015 – Accepted: 5 December 2015 – Published: 15 January 2016 Back Close Correspondence to: B. A. Munir ([email protected]) Full Screen / Esc Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. Printer-friendly Version Interactive Discussion 1 Discussion Paper | Discussion Paper | Discussion Paper | Discussion Paper | Abstract NHESSD An improved scheme for the detection of Mediterranean frontal activities is proposed, based on the identification of cloud pattern, thermal gradient and water content of air doi:10.5194/nhess-2015-290 masses using Meteosat-7 satellite imagery. Owing to highly variable nature of fronts, 5 spatial shift occurring over 1.5 years are analyzed. -
Icts for the Prevention of Mass Atrocity Crimes
ICTs for the Prevention of Genocide | ICT4Peace Foundation ICTs for the prevention of mass atrocity crimes What is being done to support the prevention of mass atrocity crimes as well as reconciliation, healing and justice with a particular emphasis on the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs)? Caroline Hargreaves1 and Sanjana Hattotuwa2 As the scope for the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) for peace broadens, the issues ICTs can serve to address will be considerably more complex in nature. Many countries have consistently failed to take early action to protect against, prevent or mitigate violence in cases where large numbers of civilian lives are to be in jeopardy. Examples from the past decade are the cases of Rwanda, Cambodia, Bosnia and Burundi, and there are also cases from Afghanistan, the DRC, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, where towards the end of war, there was a high incidence of collateral damage and many civilian lives lost. Emerging technological innovations such as advanced satellite imagery and computer-aided analysis, advancements in forensic science combined with existing legal frameworks to bring human rights abusers to justice can be leveraged to address these atrocities. This brief report will outline how ICTs can help in preventing and mitigating genocidal violence and mass atrocity crimes, not only in the time leading up to such brutalities, but also in environments that have recently experienced such tragic violence. Though this report will not go into it, we acutely recognise that the use of ICTs to engender genocide is the flip side of an increasing proliferation of new technologies and media. -
The 2010 Pakistan Floods Began in Late July 2010 As a Result of Heavy
INTRODUCTION: The 2010 Pakistan floods began in late July 2010 as a result of heavy monsoon rains in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Sindh, Punjab and Baluchistan and affected the Indus River basin. Pakistan has a total land area equal to 796,096 square kilometers (307,374 square miles). Approximately one-fifth of Pakistan's total land area was underwater during the 2010 floods. According to Pakistani government data the floods directly affected about 20 million people, mostly by destruction of property, livelihood and infrastructure, with a death toll of close to 2,000. The Indus River originates in the Tibetan plateau. The river runs a course through the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit, Baltistan and flows through Pakistan in a southerly direction along the entire length of Pakistan to merge into the Arabian Sea near the port city of Karachi in Sindh. The total length of the river is 3,180 km (1,980 mi). It is Pakistan's longest river. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had initially asked for US$460 million for emergency relief, noting that the flood was the worst disaster he had ever seen. Only 20% of the relief funds requested had been received as of 15 August 2010. The U.N. had been concerned that aid was not arriving fast enough, and the World Health Organization reported that ten million people were forced to drink unsafe water. The Pakistani economy was harmed by extensive damage to infrastructure and crops. Almost 65% of the labor force in Pakistan is involved in agricultural activities. -
Markets in Crises: the 2010 Floods in Sindh, Pakistan Steven A
HPG Working Paper Markets in crises: the 2010 floods in Sindh, Pakistan Steven A. Zyck, Irina Mosel, Huma Dad Khan and Saad Shabbir October 2015 HPG Humanitarian Policy Group About the authors Steven A. Zyck and Irina Mosel are Research Fellows with the Humanitarian Policy Group at the Overseas Development Institute. Huma Dad Khan and Saad Shabbir are Researchers at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute in Islamabad. Acknowledgements This project has been conducted in close partnership with the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in Islamabad. This leading Pakistani think tank helped to guide this project’s focus and facilitate the research in Islamabad and Sukkur. The authors are also grateful for the support of the Sukkur Institute of Business Administration (IBA) in Pakistan’s Sindh province. Dr Waqar Akram at Sukkur IBA, in particular, helped to advise the research team, facilitate connections with key stakeholders and identify local researchers from among Sukkur IBA’s cadre of postgraduate students and alumni. These include (in alphabetical order): Sajid Ali, Asma Hussain, Muhammad Younus Khoso, Imran Leghari, Sajid Hussain Shah and Usama Shahzad. This study would not have been possible without the active engagement of these researchers, including foundational support from Mr Leghari and Mr Shah in Sukkur in setting up the field work in Sindh. We would also like to acknowledge the support of Pakistan Hands, a local NGO which helped to enable access to flood-affected communities in Sindh during the initial phase of this project. Participants in a February 2010 roundtable discussion in Islamabad at SDPI also provided insightful comments based on their experience not only with the 2010 floods but also with the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and with other crises in Pakistan. -
Incremental Progress Or Circular Motion? the Un Group of Governmental Experts Report 2021
INCREMENTAL PROGRESS OR CIRCULAR MOTION? THE UN GROUP OF GOVERNMENTAL EXPERTS REPORT 2021 Paul Meyer GENEVA 2021 ICT4Peace Foundation ICT4Peace Publishing, Geneva. July 2021 Copies available from www.ict4peace.org INCREMENTAL PROGRESS OR CIRCULAR MOTION? INCREMENTAL PROGRESS OR CIRCULAR MOTION? THE UN GROUP OF GOVERNMENTAL EXPERTS REPORT 2021 Paul Meyer INCREMENTAL PROGRESS OR CIRCULAR MOTION? INCREMENTAL PROGRESS OR CIRCULAR MOTION? THE UN GROUP OF GOVERNMENTAL EXPERTS REPORT 2021 Making progress on complex issues in a forum like the United Nations with 193 state parties and a consensus decision-making procedure is always going to be a challenge. It becomes even more difcult when the subject matter, in this case international cyber security policy, is contested by infuential states. It is understandable that when a forum can actually arrive at a consensus outcome, with no state opposing, it is often celebrated as a victory in and of itself. Such a “victory” however can ring hollow, if the progress achieved appears more of a circular than linear nature. This situation is evident in the fnal report of the UN Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on “Advancing responsible State behaviour in cyberspace in the context of international security” adopted at the group’s fourth and fnal meeting May 28, 2021.1 The GGE which operated in the 2019-2021 timeframe with 25 nationally appointed “experts” was the most recent in a series of six such GGEs that have been organized by the UN since the turn of the century.2 Two of these (2003-2004 and 2016-2017) failed to achieve consensus and didn’t produce a substantive report. -
Ict4peace: an International Process for Crisis
www.ict4peace.org ICT4Peace: An International Process for Crisis Management ICT4Peace aims to enhance the performance of the international community in crisis management through the application of information Communications Technology (ICT) – technologies that can facilitate effective and sustained communication between peoples, communities and stakeholders involved in crisis management, humanitarian aid and peacebuilding. Crisis management is defined, for the purposes of this process, as civilian and/or military intervention in a crisis that may be a violent or non-violent with the intention of preventing a further escalation of the crisis and facilitating its resolution. This definition covers peace mediation, peace-keeping and peace-building activities of the international community. In bridging the fragmentation between various organisations and activities during different crisis phases, ICT4Peace aims to facilitate a holistic, cohesive and collaborative mechanisms directly in line with Paragraph 36 of the WSIS Tunis Commitment: “36. We value the potential of ICTs to promote peace and to prevent conflict which, inter alia, negatively affects achieving development goals. ICTs can be used for identifying conflict situations through early-warning systems preventing conflicts, promoting their peaceful resolution, supporting humanitarian action, including protection of civilians in armed conflicts, facilitating peacekeeping missions, and assisting post conflict peace-building and reconstruction.” ICT4Peace aims to raise the awareness of and mainstream the Tunis Commitment in all stages of planning and executing crisis management and peace operations. Victims of man-made and natural disasters as well as violent and protracted ethno-political conflict are often severely disadvantaged on account of existing ICT mechanisms that fail to adequately facilitate knowledge and information transfers, augment collaboration and complement multi-stakeholder initiatives. -
The State of Environmental Migration 2010
STUDY N°07/11 DECEMBER 2011 | CLIMATE The State of Environmental Migration 2010 Edited by François Gemenne Pauline Brücker Joshua Glasser Russia France Nepal Haiti Darfur Pakistan Brazil Chile Institut du développement durable et des relations internationales 27, rue Saint-Guillaume www.iddri.org 75337 Paris cedex 07 France © Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) / International Organization for Migration (IOM) Disclaimer – IDDRI As a foundation of public utility, IDDRI encour- ages reproduction and communication of its copy- righted materials to the public, with proper credit (bibliographical reference and/or corresponding URL), for personal, corporate or public policy research, or educational purposes. However, IDDRI’s copyrighted materials are not for commer- cial use or dissemination (print or electronic). Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in the materials are those of the various authors and are not necessarily those of IDDRI’s board. Disclaimer – IOM The opinions expressed in the report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The designations employed and the pres- entation of material throughout the report do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IOM concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries. IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. As an intergovernmental organization, IOM acts with its partners in the international community to: assist in meeting the operational challenges of migration; advance understanding of migration issues; encourage social and economic develop- ment through migration; and uphold the human dignity and well-being of migrants. -
Summary of Working Lunch on ICT and Crisis Management
ICT4Peace: “Strategic use of ICT for Crisis Management”1 High-Level Working Lunch, 15th November 2007 The Permanent Representative of Switzerland hosted a High-Level working Lunch, on 15 NovemBer 2007. The event was sponsored By the ICT4Peace Foundation with the support of UN DESA GloBal Alliance for ICT and Development. Summary The question of how best to move forward on pre-existing commitments was at the forefront of discussion at the High-Level Working Lunch on the use of ICT for crisis management today, 15th November 2007. Focusing attention on implementation and action, participants noted the progress made thus far, highlighted at the recent OCHA Seminar in Geneva, and stressed the need to build on it. They emphasized the need to develop a set of common standards agreed by different agencies and organisations, both within and beyond the UN, to aid knowledge sharing and communication, and all expressed willingness to work together in order to bring about the changes needed. One significant obstacle was thought to be data security and the unwillingness to share information. The importance of creating a multi-stakeholder collaboration – encompassing both the private sector and those who collate and utilise ICT outputs in the field – was emphasised. It was emphasized that ICT can be used as a tool for progress in areas such as crisis management, humanitarian aid, development, peace building, peacekeeping and UN reform. Participants representing a range of national governments, NGOs and international organisations pledged their support to moving forward work in this field, especially via the initiative taken by the ICT4Peace Foundation, functioning as a Community of Expertise of the Global Alliance for ICT and Development. -
Multiscale Analysis of Three Consecutive Years of Anomalous Flooding in Pakistan
Multiscale analysis of three consecutive years of anomalous flooding in Pakistan By K. L. Rasmussen1+, A. J. Hill*, V. E. Toma#, M. D. Zuluaga+, P. J. Webster#, and R. A. Houze, Jr.+ +Department of Atmospheric Sciences University of Washington Seattle, WA *Atmospheric Science Group Department of Geosciences Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX #School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA Submitted to the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society January 2014 Revised April 2014 Revised June 2014 1 Corresponding author: Kristen Lani Rasmussen, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Box 351640, Seattle, WA 98195 E-mail address: [email protected] ABSTRACT A multiscale investigation into three years of anomalous floods in Pakistan provides insight into their formation, unifying meteorological characteristics, mesoscale storm structures, and predictability. Striking similarities between all three floods existed from planetary and large- scale synoptic conditions down to the mesoscale storm structures, and these patterns were generally well-captured with the ECMWF EPS forecast system. Atmospheric blocking events associated with high geopotential heights and surface temperatures over Eastern Europe were present during all three floods. Quasi-stationary synoptic conditions over the Tibetan plateau allowed for the formation of anomalous easterly midlevel flow across central India into Pakistan that advected deep tropospheric moisture from the Bay of Bengal into Pakistan, enabling flooding in the region. The TRMM Precipitation Radar observations show that the flood- producing storms exhibited climatologically unusual structures during all three floods in Pakistan. These departures from the climatology consisted of westward propagating precipitating systems with embedded wide convective cores, rarely seen in this region, that likely occurred when convection was organized upscale by the easterly midlevel jet across the subcontinent. -
Anomalous Atmospheric Events Leading to the Summer 2010 Floods in Pakistan B Y R
Anomalous Atmospheric Events Leading to the Summer 2010 Floods in Pakistan B Y R. A. HOUZE JR., K. L. RASMUSSEN , S. MEDINA , S. R. BRODZIK , AND U. ROMATSC H KE MAJOR HUMANITARIAN DISASTER. such storms. Moreover, the potential of this devas- Addressing the United Nations General As- tating displacement of storms, far away from their A sembly about the floods that affected the Indus usual location of occurrence, could be inferred from Valley of Pakistan in July–August 2010, Secretary- the synoptic-scale circulation that exhibited a great General Ban Ki-moon stated, “Almost 20 million departure from its usual behavior during the South people need shelter, food, and emergency care. That Asian monsoon season. is more than the entire population hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami, the Kashmir earthquake, Cyclone OROGRAPHIC RaINSTORMS SEEN BY Nargis, and the earthquake in Haiti—combined.” TRMM. Major rainstorms can occur in mountainous Such a profound humanitarian disaster deserves a regions when air is lifted over the terrain. When the close look at the conditions under which it occurred. environment is especially unstable, storms may form Recent research based on data from the radar onboard that contain locally intense buoyant updrafts, heavy the U.S.-Japanese Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mis- downpours of rain, and sometimes hail. High winds sion (TRMM) satellite leads to an understanding of may occur where downdrafts, forming in raining the anomalous character of this event and suggests regions, reach the ground and spread out. When a how future disasters in this part of the world might sequence of convective up- and downdrafts occurs, be better anticipated through the use of such data to the precipitating cloud systems take the form of a interpret atmospheric forecast models.