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Corruption and development
The report argues that corruption is a global phenomenon that severely impedes development by distorting public spending, undermining efficiency, and discouraging investment. It rejects the notion that corruption can foster development, asserting instead that it kills the 'development spirit'. For South Africa, the authors recommend a combination of economic liberalisation, democratic consolidation, and specific institutional reforms—including tax and procurement overhauls—driven by strong political will to ensure accountable governance.
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Document type: Report
Evolution and Challenges
The document analyzes the transition from traditional peacekeeping to multifunctional peace support operations (MPSOs) in the post-Cold War era. It highlights the confusion between peacekeeping, peace enforcement, and enforcement, and argues that the failure of many 1990s missions stemmed from a lack of clear authority, poor civil-military coordination, and the application of 'old scripts' to complex intra-state conflicts. The authors propose a reversal of operational tasking—starting with peace enforcement to establish a secure environment before transitioning to peacekeeping—and emphasize the need for specialized training and robust information gathering.
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Document type: Report
Thai-Khmer rouge links, and the illegal trade in Cambodia's timber
Global Witness reports that despite a May 1, 1995, timber export ban by the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), illegal timber continues to enter Thailand via land and sea. The investigation finds that Thai military officers and companies maintain direct trade links with the Khmer Rouge, with some companies signing multi-year concessions. Global Witness estimates the Khmer Rouge earn between US$10 million and US$20 million per month from the timber trade. The report highlights that the Thai government is undermining the 1991 Paris Peace Accords and the RGC's efforts to curb deforestation, which has already contributed to rice harvest failures and malnutrition in Cambodia.
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Document type: Briefing
A SURVEY OF UNITED STATES LAWS RESTRICTING THE EXPORT OF CONTROLLED AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES
The document analyzes the fragmented nature of U.S. export laws for hazardous substances, noting that there is "no single, unified approach" across different statutes. It details specific requirements for notification, consent, labelling, and reporting under acts such as TSCA, RCRA, and FIFRA, while also outlining the restrictions on exporting unapproved new drugs and radioactive materials. Additionally, it includes an appendix on the Basel Convention's framework for transboundary movements of hazardous waste.
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Document type: Research paper
Superhot Rock Geothermal in Cambodia
The document highlights that just 1% of Cambodia's estimated superhot rock geothermal resource could provide 304 GW of energy capacity, far exceeding the country's 2021 electricity consumption of 10,156 GWh. This resource could theoretically replace all coal and electricity imports, reducing electricity sector emissions by approximately 4 megatonnes of CO2eq. Superhot rock geothermal is presented as a land-efficient alternative to other renewables, requiring roughly 12 km² per 1 GW, and as a means to foster socio-economic development through job creation and foreign investment.
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Document type: Fact sheet
IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy and Climate Change Mitigation: challenges for Asian countries
The document assesses the integration of renewable energy (RE) targets in Asian countries, highlighting national goals in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, and China. It emphasizes that while RE technologies are feasible and market-oriented, their deployment in Asia is hindered by a lack of financing mechanisms and inadequate management capacity. The author argues for the use of legal instruments, South-South collaboration for 'appropriate' (small-scale) technologies, and innovative financing like revolving funds to overcome high upfront costs.
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Document type: Briefing
Difensori dei diritti della terra e dell'ambiente in pericolo: una panoramica su casi recenti
The report documents a global pattern of violence and legal harassment against land and environmental rights defenders in 2013. It argues that these individuals, often representing vulnerable indigenous or rural communities, are targeted by governments and corporations during conflicts over natural resources and large-scale development projects. The document provides specific case studies from Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia, detailing arrests, assassinations, and forced displacements linked to opposition to mining, hydroelectric dams, agribusiness, and oil exploration.
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Document type: Report
States’ Human Rights Obligations in the Context of Climate Change
The document synthesizes the work of UN human rights treaty bodies (HRTBs) in addressing climate change, specifically focusing on Concluding Observations issued to States. It highlights that while climate change is not explicitly in key human rights treaties, HRTBs increasingly use their monitoring roles to argue that protecting human rights requires specific climate action. The report details recommendations across several themes, including the disproportionate impacts on women, children, and indigenous peoples, the need for gender-sensitive and child-sensitive climate strategies, and the obligation of some States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel extraction to meet human rights standards. It provides detailed analysis of the three most active bodies: CEDAW, CESCR, and CRC.
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Document type: Report
States’ Human Rights Obligations in the Context of Climate Change: CEDAW
The report outlines how the CEDAW Committee interprets States' obligations to ensure gender-responsive climate action, emphasizing the particular vulnerabilities of rural and older women and the necessity of women's participation in decision-making.
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Document type: Report
Civil Society Statement on the October 31 Decision of the World Bank’s Board of Directors on the Review of the Inspection Panel’s Toolkit
The statement argues that the World Bank's recent updates to the Inspection Panel's Toolkit are insufficient to modernize the independent accountability mechanism. While welcoming the addition of an advisory role and improved information sharing, the signatories contend that the failure to implement monitoring and dispute resolution functions leaves the Panel deficient compared to other mechanisms. They specifically criticize the reliance on the management-led Grievance Redress Service (GRS) as a substitute for independent dispute resolution and call for the complaint filing deadline to be extended to at least two years after project completion or loan closure.
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Document type: Statement
ASEAN Guiding Principles for Effective Social Forestry Legal Frameworks
The ASEAN Guiding Principles for Effective Social Forestry Legal Frameworks offer a regional baseline for Member States to design laws that empower local communities to manage forests. The guide emphasizes secure tenure, simplified allocation processes, and inclusive governance to improve livelihoods and support climate goals like carbon storage and biodiversity conservation. It details existing social forestry models across ASEAN countries and proposes ten principles covering tenure rights, market access, benefit sharing, and conflict resolution.
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Document type: Guide
EU Fisheries Control System Factsheet
The factsheet evaluates the European Commission's proposal to revise the EU Fisheries Control System, highlighting improvements in electronic record-keeping and trip identification for EU-caught fish while criticizing loopholes in the traceability of imported seafood, such as the lack of mandatory IMO numbers and imprecise FAO fishing area codes.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Recommendations related to the role of carbon markets in the Paris Agreement
Carbon Market Watch argues for stringent rules to prevent double counting, 'hot air' credits, and the inclusion of REDD-plus in carbon markets. It advocates for a 'net atmospheric benefit' through discounting, the establishment of a share of proceeds for adaptation and loss and damage, and the integration of a human rights-based approach into the core agreement to protect vulnerable populations.
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Document type: Policy brief
Complaint: Verra’s non-compliance with ICVCM grievance mechanism rules
Carbon Market Watch has filed a complaint with the ICVCM, asserting that Verra violated the Core Carbon Principles (CCP) Assessment Framework by failing to ensure impartiality during its review of human rights allegations made by Human Rights Watch. The complaint highlights that Verra relied on the project implementer and the same validation/verification bodies that had previously approved the project, creating inherent conflicts of interest. Carbon Market Watch calls on the ICVCM to evaluate the real-world effectiveness of Verra's grievance mechanism and to implement a broader process for assessing program compliance beyond written commitments.
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Document type: Statement
致部长和联合国气候变化公约(UNFCCC)相关方代表们的公开信
The document is an open letter addressed to ministers and UNFCCC representatives during COP-19. Signed by 33 civil society networks and individuals from 87 countries, it argues that carbon markets must not compromise the ambition of climate mitigation efforts. The authors call for a comprehensive climate agreement by 2015, specifically demanding the rejection of pilot phase trading under the Diversified Framework Approach (FVA), the removal of non-additional projects and coal power from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and the establishment of international verification to prevent double counting.
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Document type: Statement
Climate Change and International Responses
The report argues that climate change will increasingly exacerbate risks to US national security by intensifying physical impacts and mounting geopolitical tensions over the energy transition. It identifies a likely increase in cross-border conflicts over water and migration, strategic competition in the Arctic, and the risk of unilateral solar geoengineering. The document highlights 11 highly vulnerable countries and two regions (Central Africa and Pacific island states) where climate-induced instability may necessitate increased US diplomatic, humanitarian, and military resources. It also notes that current global policies are insufficient to meet Paris Agreement goals, leading to competition over critical minerals and technologies.
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Document type: Report
BACKGROUND SUPPLEMENT TO COMMENTS SUMITTED BY HUDSON RIVER SLOOP CLEARWATER ON INDIAN POINT LICENSE TRANSFER APPLICATION FROM ENTERGY TO HOLTEC
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater opposes the transfer of Indian Point's nuclear licenses to Holtec International, citing the company's 'rip and ship' decommissioning model as a risk to public safety and a means to maximize private profit from ratepayer funds. The document details a pattern of bribery and fraud involving Holtec and its partner SNC-Lavalin, including a World Bank ban and criminal charges in Canada and Libya. It highlights safety failures at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, such as damaged canisters and a near-miss accident, and criticizes Holtec's proposed Consolidated Interim Storage facility in New Mexico for being located in an active oil field. The author contends that Holtec's lack of decommissioning experience and its complex LLC structure create a significant risk that taxpayers will be left with the costs of incomplete remediation.
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Document type: Statement
IL EST TEMPS DE PROSCRIRE L’ACCAPAREMENT DES TERRES, PAS QUESTION DE LE RENDRE “RESPONSABLE” !
The statement by Friends of the Earth International and partner organizations denounces the RAI framework as a tool to legitimize land grabbing. It argues that large-scale land acquisitions are driven by financial speculation and result in human rights violations, environmental degradation, and threats to food security. The authors demand the cancellation of existing land grab agreements and the adoption of food sovereignty and agroecological models based on small-scale farming.
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Document type: Statement
A Briefing on the Belt and Road Initiative
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a global infrastructure and economic cooperation framework led by China, focusing on energy and transport connectivity across Asia, Europe, and Africa. While marketed as a 'win-win' development strategy, the document argues it often serves Chinese domestic interests, such as exporting industrial overcapacity and asserting geopolitical influence. The briefing highlights significant environmental risks, particularly the funding of coal-fired power plants and large hydropower projects, and a lack of transparent environmental, social, and governance (ESG) safeguards. It identifies a 'debt trap' risk for recipient countries and calls for a shift toward a 'Green BRI' aligned with international sustainability standards.
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Document type: Briefing
FOREST DECLARATION ASSESSMENT
The document provides the technical annexes for the Forest Declaration Assessment, detailing the definitions and methodologies used to measure deforestation, forest degradation, and restoration potential. It establishes a 'gross zero' deforestation benchmark for 2030, requiring a linear 10 percent annual reduction in loss relative to a 2018-2020 baseline. The methodology incorporates satellite data and econometric models to estimate GHG emissions from forest loss and identifies 'cost-effective' restoration potential based on a carbon price threshold of USD 100/tCO2eq. A provided table lists the 30 countries with the highest absolute levels of deforestation in 2021, showing varied trends such as a 3% increase in Brazil and a 25% decrease in Indonesia compared to the baseline.
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Document type: Report