Between war and peace: humanitarian assistance in violent urban settings

Cities are fast becoming new territories of violence. 1 The humanitarian consequences of many criminally violent urban settings are comparable to those of more traditional wars, yet despite the intensity of the needs, humanitarian aid to such settings is limited. The way in which humanitarian needs are typically defined, fails to address the problems of these contexts, the suffering they produce and the populations affected. Distinctions between formal armed conflicts, regulated by international humanitarian law, and other violent settings, as well as those between emergency and developmental assistance, can lead to the neglect of populations in distress. It can take a lot of time and effort to access vulnerable communities and implement programmes in urban settings, but experience shows that it is possible to provide humanitarian assistance with a significant focus on the direct and indirect health consequences of violence outside a traditional conflict setting. This paper considers the situation of Port‐au‐Prince (Haiti), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Guatemala City (Guatemala).     

An Ombudsman for Humanitarian Assistance?

The early phases of a project to design and make operational an ombudsman for humanitarian assistance (HAO) are described in this paper. Beginning with a brief historical overview of the ombudsman concept, it then outlines seven key features of a potential HAO that were identified in the initial feasibility study. The main conclusion from the feasibility study was that, in principle, it is possible to design an HAO by adapting the operational frameworks of existing ombudsman schemes so as to match the needs of the humanitarian sector. Although this seems possible in theory, there still remain some major challenges requiring practical testing in a pilot phase. The most fundamental of these is how to enable the beneficiaries of aid to make their voices heard and register their views on the management of the emergency that is affecting them. Important also, are the issues of ensuring an international jurisdiction and finding sustainable ways of financing the scheme. Finally, the paper alludes to the framework of the pilot itself and how to address the main challenges ahead.     

Development of an Integrated Coastal Zone Management System for the Black and Caspian Seas

Six Black sea and five Caspian sea riparian countries began their way to modern managerial practice at their coasts in 1990s of the previous century. For five Black sea and four Caspian sea countries the time has coincided with launching complicated transitional period from socialism to market economy. The most important activities were carried out within framework of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea (CEP) Environmental Programs and resulted in National and Regional ICZM Reports (Coastal Profiles), ICZM Networks, Transboundary Diagnostic Analyses, Strategic Action Plans. The international assistance in ICZM development in the regions is very important, but the large specificity of the regions and countries required and keeps demanding improvement of the approaches, methods, criteria for efficiency and practical significance of the international activities. The paper analyses heritage, current situation and possible prospects of ICZM development in the regions under consideration. During the last decade, important steps have been taken for the improvement of managerial process at the Black and Caspian seas countries coasts, but the clear need should be emphasized now to move from planning to implementation stage. Among the main findings of this stage are: ICZM is very difficult for real implementation and takes years, it needs proper understanding, and it has to be implemented using both top-down and bottom-up approaches, it has to be implemented using all possible tools and procedures. At the moment the use of sustainable development approaches to the coasts depends, in the first place, on social responsibility and vital motivation of certain key decision-makers, especially at provincial and local levels. Meanwhile, two recent events: (a) new activity in the Black sea region initiated by EU, and (b) launching of the long-waited CEP second phase – produce real infrastructural opportunities for moving forward.     

排污许可证信息化监管方式创新探析

面对排污许可证“一证式”监管的高标准、严要求,通过创新信息化管理手段,设计排污许可管理辅助系统,一是能够为企业提供服务,提升企业按证守法管理的规范性;二是能够为监管部门审计式核查提供技术支持,通过对数据的全面性、规范性、逻辑性进行分析,为现场执法提供支持,提升管理部门的行政监管效率,提升排污许可证管理的专业化水平,真正落实事中事后监管要求,提高监管执法效能。同时,也能为政策制定提供辅助决策支持。