Diplomacy & Defense Think Tank News

On 2 March 2022, the UN General Assembly voted in a special emergency session on a resolution condemning the Russian attack on Ukraine. The General Assembly dealt with the issue on the basis of a referral from the Security Council, which was paralysed by a Russian veto. The resolution calls for an immediate ceasefire and clearly names Russia as the aggressor. Voting behaviour in the UN General Assembly should not be over-interpreted, assuming that votes are transferable to other bodies and situations. Nevertheless, this vote in New York can be seen as a key moment that shows which states are currently ready to condemn the violation of the UN Charta by Russian aggression.

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Despite decades of international climate negotiations, cumulative worldwide climate-action pledges still fall short of the needed effort to keep the maximum global mean temperature increase well below 2oC and to further strive for a maximum of 1.5oC, as established in the Paris Agreement. This Agreement ensures that all developed and developing countries are engaged in climate action, but ambition levels nationally determined. Hence, understanding what enables and what discourages climate action and how to use these levers to boost ambition is key to the implementation of the Paris Agreement. My PhD research aims to address research gaps on major climate-change action enablers and to explore how these enablers have performed over time and across countries. Moreover, it aims to develop research and policy-making tools to further analyse these enablers and to leverage their potential to boost climate-change action. The major enablers that I address in my thesis, are: key moments in international climate negotiations; country contexts and the common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC) principle; international climate assistance; and policy coherence for the joint implementation of climate targets and the sustainable development goals (SDGs). In this context, I discuss four policy coherence types: coherence between national and international action; coherence between sources of finance; socio-economic and environmental coherence; and coherence between international policy agendas. My PhD thesis advanced the scientific understanding of climate-change action enablers and provides tools for further research and policy making. In particular, the tools allow researchers and relevant stakeholders to 1) compare the ambition of countries' climate pledges in a development context; 2) better align climate and sustainable development finance; 3) make use of an overview of climate and SDG interactions and of opportunities for enhanced policy coherence; and 4) assess gaps and opportunities for a better integration of the international climate and biodiversity agendas. From a policy perspective, our climate-change action assessments likely facilitate comparability and support policy makers to design better measures that maximize synergies and minimize trade-offs between climate and sustainable development actions.

Despite decades of international climate negotiations, cumulative worldwide climate-action pledges still fall short of the needed effort to keep the maximum global mean temperature increase well below 2oC and to further strive for a maximum of 1.5oC, as established in the Paris Agreement. This Agreement ensures that all developed and developing countries are engaged in climate action, but ambition levels nationally determined. Hence, understanding what enables and what discourages climate action and how to use these levers to boost ambition is key to the implementation of the Paris Agreement. My PhD research aims to address research gaps on major climate-change action enablers and to explore how these enablers have performed over time and across countries. Moreover, it aims to develop research and policy-making tools to further analyse these enablers and to leverage their potential to boost climate-change action. The major enablers that I address in my thesis, are: key moments in international climate negotiations; country contexts and the common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC) principle; international climate assistance; and policy coherence for the joint implementation of climate targets and the sustainable development goals (SDGs). In this context, I discuss four policy coherence types: coherence between national and international action; coherence between sources of finance; socio-economic and environmental coherence; and coherence between international policy agendas. My PhD thesis advanced the scientific understanding of climate-change action enablers and provides tools for further research and policy making. In particular, the tools allow researchers and relevant stakeholders to 1) compare the ambition of countries' climate pledges in a development context; 2) better align climate and sustainable development finance; 3) make use of an overview of climate and SDG interactions and of opportunities for enhanced policy coherence; and 4) assess gaps and opportunities for a better integration of the international climate and biodiversity agendas. From a policy perspective, our climate-change action assessments likely facilitate comparability and support policy makers to design better measures that maximize synergies and minimize trade-offs between climate and sustainable development actions.

Despite decades of international climate negotiations, cumulative worldwide climate-action pledges still fall short of the needed effort to keep the maximum global mean temperature increase well below 2oC and to further strive for a maximum of 1.5oC, as established in the Paris Agreement. This Agreement ensures that all developed and developing countries are engaged in climate action, but ambition levels nationally determined. Hence, understanding what enables and what discourages climate action and how to use these levers to boost ambition is key to the implementation of the Paris Agreement. My PhD research aims to address research gaps on major climate-change action enablers and to explore how these enablers have performed over time and across countries. Moreover, it aims to develop research and policy-making tools to further analyse these enablers and to leverage their potential to boost climate-change action. The major enablers that I address in my thesis, are: key moments in international climate negotiations; country contexts and the common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC) principle; international climate assistance; and policy coherence for the joint implementation of climate targets and the sustainable development goals (SDGs). In this context, I discuss four policy coherence types: coherence between national and international action; coherence between sources of finance; socio-economic and environmental coherence; and coherence between international policy agendas. My PhD thesis advanced the scientific understanding of climate-change action enablers and provides tools for further research and policy making. In particular, the tools allow researchers and relevant stakeholders to 1) compare the ambition of countries' climate pledges in a development context; 2) better align climate and sustainable development finance; 3) make use of an overview of climate and SDG interactions and of opportunities for enhanced policy coherence; and 4) assess gaps and opportunities for a better integration of the international climate and biodiversity agendas. From a policy perspective, our climate-change action assessments likely facilitate comparability and support policy makers to design better measures that maximize synergies and minimize trade-offs between climate and sustainable development actions.

Nach dem völkerrechtswidrigen Einmarsch der russischen Truppen in die Ukraine haben sich die EU-Mitgliedstaaten und die USA am vergangenen Wochenende auf tiefgreifende Restriktionen im Finanzsektor verständigt. Die Schweiz hat sich diesen Sanktionen inzwischen angeschlossen. Die gegen die russische Zentralbank ergriffenen Maßnahmen zielen darauf ab, deren Handlungsspielräume durch Einfrieren ihrer Devisenreserven deutlich zu beschränken. Dies ist ein äußerst wirksames Instrument, das in der Geschichte erstmals gegenüber einer großen Volkswirtschaft verhängt wurde und zur Folge hat, dass die russische Zentralbank keinen Zugriff mehr auf einen Großteil ihrer knapp 600 Milliarden US-Dollar umfassenden Währungsreserven hat. Daraus resultiert der Absturz des Rubels am 28. Februar, dem die russische Zentralbank noch am gleichen Tag mit einer starken Erhöhung ihres Leitzinses begegnete. Diese Zinserhöhung trifft eine ohnehin schon wachstumsschwache Volkswirtschaft, die es bislang versäumt hat, ihre starke Abhängigkeit von der Produktion fossiler Energieträger zu reduzieren.

On Tuesday, March 22nd, IPI together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan is cohosting a virtual policy forum on “Triangular Partnerships in UN Peacekeeping Operations: Promoting Innovation and Sustainability.”

Remarks will begin at 5:30am PST / 8:30am EST

Refresh this window at the scheduled time to watch the video.

This virtual policy forum aims to discuss triangular partnerships and how they can contribute to effective and sustainable UN peacekeeping operations. It will analyze how these partnerships can help improve mandate delivery by responding to specialized technical and operational needs. The virtual policy forum will provide opportunities for member states and UN officials to discuss their experiences with triangular partnerships and consider areas for prioritization in the coming years. The policy forum will also reflect on the outcomes of the 2021 UN Peacekeeping Ministerial and how various pledges will help the UN Secretariat address critical capabilities gaps. Finally, it will consider suggestions for improving the sustainability of these triangular partnerships and discuss ways they can provide platforms through which member states can contribute to UN peacekeeping more innovatively.

Opening remarks:
Ambassador Motosada Matano, Deputy Director-General and Deputy Assistant Minister, Foreign Policy Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

Keynote remarks:
Mr. Atul Khare, Under-Secretary-General, UN Department of Operational Support (DOS)

Speakers:
Brigadier Joyce Sitienei, Director, International Peace Support Training Centre
Major General Hoàng Kim Phụng, Director of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Ministry of National Defence of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
Dr. Omowunmi Omo, Head of the Field Training Support Team, Policy, Evaluation and Training Division, UN Department of Peace Operations (DPO)
Mr. Yoshimitsu Morihiro, Senior Operations Coordinator, Joint Staff, Ministry of Defence of Japan

Moderator:
Dr. Jenna Russo, IPI Director of Research and Head of the Brian Urquhart Center for Peace Operations

The UN Security Council is expected to renew the mandate of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in March 2022. Deliberations on UNMISS’s mandate arrive as South Sudanese stakeholders and the UN are accelerating preparations for crucial governance milestones at the heart of the country’s political transition, as outlined in the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS). Yet despite this crucial moment in the transition, international attention and support for the country are wavering.

In this context, the International Peace Institute (IPI), the Stimson Center, and Security Council Report co-hosted a virtual roundtable discussion on February 2, 2022, to discuss the mission’s mandate. This roundtable offered a platform for member states, UN stakeholders, civil society representatives, and independent experts to share their assessments of the situation in South Sudan in a frank and collaborative environment. The discussion was intended to help the Security Council make more informed decisions with respect to the prioritization and sequencing of UNMISS’s mandate and the mission’s strategic orientation and actions on the ground.

Workshop participants largely agreed that UNMISS’s mandate, strategic vision, and priorities remain relevant for the coming year. Considering that the country’s transitional period is expected to conclude in 2023, discussions gravitated toward identifying concrete actions that UNMISS and the Security Council can take to support South Sudanese stakeholders in meeting crucial milestones in these final stages of the political transition. Based on this workshop, suggestions for revisions to the UNMISS mandate include:

• Detailing the mission’s support to the upcoming constitution-drafting process and election cycle;
• Reinforcing language on the mission’s role in promoting inclusive dialogue and protecting civilians through diverse approaches, including enhanced mobility and political dialogue; and
• Integrating climate and security analysis across all mandated priorities.

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Dr. Phoebe Donnelly, Research Fellow and Head of IPI’s Women, Peace and Security Program, moderated a roundtable on March 1st entitled “Priorities for the next UNAMA Mandate: Protecting and Promoting Women’s Human Rights and Political Participation.” This roundtable, hosted by The Dutch Permanent mission, served to reassess the priorities of UNAMA in four key areas. In collaboration with Afghan women activists and experts, participants discussed the upcoming mandate renewal of the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) by the UN Security Council. The renewal provides an important opportunity to assess how the mission could be recalibrated, with a particular focus on securing women’s rights and implementing the Women, Peace and Security agenda.

This event offered a unique space for UN Security Council members to tap into the expertise of Afghan women and learn about their experience with UNAMA as well as their recommendations on the future mandate. Additionally, it opened up conversation around how to strengthen Afghan women’s political representation, rights, and access to justice, and how this should be reflected in the next UNAMA mandate. Especially given the current situation in Afghanistan, this was a timely and critical discussion that highlighted the challenges for and roles of Afghan women in the country’s future.

Transnational knowledge cooperation is becoming increasingly important – in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and in dealing with global crises such as thecurrent pandemic. The German Development Institute /Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) with its Managing Global Governance (MGG) Network has a particular interest in the role of transnational knowledge actors and knowledge communities that research and shape global change.

Transnational knowledge cooperation is becoming increasingly important – in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and in dealing with global crises such as thecurrent pandemic. The German Development Institute /Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) with its Managing Global Governance (MGG) Network has a particular interest in the role of transnational knowledge actors and knowledge communities that research and shape global change.

Transnational knowledge cooperation is becoming increasingly important – in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and in dealing with global crises such as thecurrent pandemic. The German Development Institute /Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) with its Managing Global Governance (MGG) Network has a particular interest in the role of transnational knowledge actors and knowledge communities that research and shape global change.

Transnationale Wissenskooperation wird immer wichtiger – im Kontext der Agenda 2030 für nachhaltige Entwicklung und bei der Bewältigung globaler Krisen wie der aktuellen Pandemie. Das Deutsche Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) mit seinem Netzwerk Managing  Global Governance (MGG) hat ein besonderes Interesse an der Rolle von transnationalen Wissensakteur*innen und Wissensgemeinschaften, die den globalen Wandel erforschen und gestalten.

Transnationale Wissenskooperation wird immer wichtiger – im Kontext der Agenda 2030 für nachhaltige Entwicklung und bei der Bewältigung globaler Krisen wie der aktuellen Pandemie. Das Deutsche Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) mit seinem Netzwerk Managing  Global Governance (MGG) hat ein besonderes Interesse an der Rolle von transnationalen Wissensakteur*innen und Wissensgemeinschaften, die den globalen Wandel erforschen und gestalten.

Transnationale Wissenskooperation wird immer wichtiger – im Kontext der Agenda 2030 für nachhaltige Entwicklung und bei der Bewältigung globaler Krisen wie der aktuellen Pandemie. Das Deutsche Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) mit seinem Netzwerk Managing  Global Governance (MGG) hat ein besonderes Interesse an der Rolle von transnationalen Wissensakteur*innen und Wissensgemeinschaften, die den globalen Wandel erforschen und gestalten.