Development
CARE is a private international humanitarian organization who advocates for the end of poverty. CARE focuses on poor women in working to provide them economic opportunity as well as lobbying on their behalf for policies that will benefit them in governments throughout the world.
The Center for Global Development is a not-for-profit think-tank researching policy effectiveness for reducing poverty and economic inequality. The CGD uses its research to lobby the United States and other powerful actors to adjust their policies to positively affect the economic situation of the world’s poor. The CGD features research in a multitude of topics associated with economic globalization and current policy analysis of policies that affect the world’s poor.
The IMF is comprised of 185 member states whose purpose is to promote financial stability in its member states. The IMF uses a system of loans funded by contributions from its member states to stabilize struggling economies and support trade, employment, and reducing poverty while also using its technical expertise to survey economies and advise states of appropriate action to meet these goals.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation is a United States government sponsored corporation whose mission is to alleviate poverty in the poor, developing countries through economic development. The MCC provides investments for qualifying countries who adhere to the MCC’s vision of “good governance, economic freedom, and investment in people.” The MCC also provides grants to countries who do not yet meet these standards to help them achieve them and garner further investment. The MCC requires countries to develop effective policies with clear results and benchmarks to ensure the effectiveness of the program and to more effectively monitor its change.
The OECD is a membership organization of 30 countries who share an adherence to both democracy and market economies. The OECD supports economic growth, employment and increased trade while also assisting the development of other countries. Additionally, the OECD collects and distributes economic and social data and statistics of its member countries and countries in cooperation.
Focusing on the areas of development, emergency relief, and advocacy, Oxfam represents more than 3,000 local organizations working to eradicate poverty and injustice in the developing world. Oxfam funds projects for helping the poor as well as produces research for policy advocacy on behalf of the world’s poor and to provide a voice for the world’s poor in government.
“The Society for International Development (SID) is a global network of individuals and institutions concerned with development which is participative, pluralistic and sustainable. SID has over 3000 members in 80 countries and 45 local chapters. It works with more than 100 associations, networks and institutions involving academia, parliamentarians, students, political leaders and development experts, both at local and international level. This makes SID one of the few organizations that has a holistic, multidisciplinary and multisectorial approach to development and social change.”
The UNDP operates in 166 countries working toward the goal of development. Specifically, the UNDP works with countries to help them reach the Millennium Development Goals through the creation of networks of knowledge and resources. The UNDP releases an annual Human Development Report featuring measurement tools and policy prescriptions.
USAID is an independent federal government agency that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State. USAID focuses on economic growth, trade, health, and democracy in its assistance to the world’s poor. USAID simultaneously advocates for United States’ foreign policy interests as well as the interest of poverty stricken people in an attempt to mutually benefit both parties.
Made up of 185 countries, the World Bank is the amalgam of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association. The World Bank provides low-interest loans to both poor and middle income countries for development. In addition to loans, the World Bank provides technical assistance and advice for these countries in assisting their development. The World Bank is operated by a Board of Executive Directors who approve loans and manage the Bank.
The WEF is a not-for-profit non-governmental organization whose mission is to improve “the state of the world.” This is achieved through a host of forums that bring together world leaders and private actors to address problems facing the world. Additionally, the WEF contends that all stakeholders in society have a responsibility to help “millions more” people reap the benefits of economic development.
Drug Trafficking
Efforts to significantly reduce the flow of illicit drugs from abroad into the United States have so far not succeeded. Moreover, over the past decade, worldwide production of illicit drugs has risen dramatically: opium and marijuana production has roughly doubled and coca production tripled. The effectiveness of international narcotics control programs in reducing consumption is a matter of ongoing concern.
Despite apparent national political resolve to deal with the drug problem, inherent contradictions regularly appear between U.S. anti-drug policy and other national policy goals and concerns. Pursuit of drug control policies can sometimes affect foreign policy interests and bring political instability and economic dislocation to countries where narcotics production has become entrenched economically and socially. Drug supply interdiction programs and U.S. systems to facilitate the international movement of goods, people, and wealth are often at odds.
Well-being, social cohesion and security are all objectives which guide the action taken by the European Union in combating drugs. In this context, the EU’s action focuses mainly on reducing supply and demand, which links up with both the fight against organized crime and a high level of health protection. The main components are: greater coordination between the competent services in the EU; harmonization in the field of infringements and penalties; and effective international cooperation. To this end, bodies such as the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction and instruments such as the financial strategies and programs complete the policy framework to combat drugs effectively and to achieve all these defined objectives.
Just over a decade ago, Europe’s capacity for monitoring its drug problem was extremely limited. National approaches to the topic varied greatly and there was a lack of reliable and comparable information at European level concerning drugs, drug addiction and their consequences. In other words, it was impossible to talk with confidence about patterns and trends in drug use across the EU. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) was set up in 1993 to change that.
INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organization, with 187 member countries. Created in 1923, it facilitates cross-border police co-operation, and supports and assists all organizations, authorities and services whose mission is to prevent or combat international crime.
INTERPOL aims to facilitate international police co-operation even where diplomatic relations do not exist between particular countries. Action is taken within the limits of existing laws in different countries and in the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. INTERPOL’s constitution prohibits ‘any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.’
UNODC is a global leader in the fight against illicit drugs and international crime. Established in 1997 through a merger between the United Nations Drug Control Programme and the Centre for International Crime Prevention, UNODC operates in all regions of the world through an extensive network of field offices. UNODC relies on voluntary contributions, mainly from Governments, for 90 per cent of its budget.
UNODC is mandated to assist Member States in their struggle against illicit drugs, crime and terrorism. In the Millennium Declaration, Member States also resolved to intensify efforts to fight transnational crime in all its dimensions, to redouble the efforts to implement the commitment to counter the world drug problem and to take concerted action against international terrorism.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol is one of the Department of Homeland Security’s largest and most complex components, with a priority mission of keeping terrorists and their weapons out of the U.S. It also has a responsibility for securing and facilitating trade and travel while enforcing hundreds of U.S. regulations, including immigration and drug laws.
The mission of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is to enforce the controlled substances laws and regulations of the United States and bring to the criminal and civil justice system of the United States, or any other competent jurisdiction, those organizations and principal members of organizations, involved in the growing, manufacture, or distribution of controlled substances appearing in or destined for illicit traffic in the United States; and to recommend and support non-enforcement programs aimed at reducing the availability of illicit controlled substances on the domestic and international markets.
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), a component of the Executive Office of the President, was established by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.
The principal purpose of ONDCP is to establish policies, priorities, and objectives for the Nation's drug control program. The goals of the program are to reduce illicit drug use, manufacturing, and trafficking, drug-related crime and violence, and drug-related health consequences. To achieve these goals, the Director of ONDCP is charged with producing the National Drug Control Strategy. The Strategy directs the Nation's anti-drug efforts and establishes a program, a budget, and guidelines for cooperation among Federal, State, and local entities.
By law, the Director of ONDCP also evaluates, coordinates, and oversees both the international and domestic anti-drug efforts of executive branch agencies and ensures that such efforts sustain and complement State and local anti-drug activities. The Director advises the President regarding changes in the organization, management, budgeting, and personnel of Federal Agencies that could affect the Nation's anti-drug efforts; and regarding Federal agency compliance with their obligations under the Strategy.
Environmental Issues
Environmental Defense Fund is a leading national nonprofit organization representing more than 500,000 members and was founded in 1967. Their strategy is to link science, economics and law to find the best solutions to the environmental problems that are currently most urgent. The organization is dedicated to protecting the environmental rights of all people and also seeks to ensure an environment for future generations. Environmental Defense Fund uses science as its first method to best study and analyze environmental problems. The purpose is to create and advocate the best possible solutions that garner political, economic and social support because they are nonpartisan, cost-efficient and fair. The EDF is also strongly committed to the environmental rights of the poor and people of color.
Greenpeace is an international organization that prioritizes global environmental campaigns. Global headquarters are in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Greenpeace has 2.8 million supporters worldwide and regional offices in 41 countries. Greenpeace activists and supporters have come together to ban commercial whaling, convince the world's leaders to stop nuclear testing, protect Antarctica, as well as other projects. Their fight to save the planet includes tackling issues such as those of global warming, destruction of ancient forests, deterioration of our oceans, and threats of nuclear disaster.
The ICLEI develops and runs a broad range of campaigns and programs that address local sustainability issues while protecting global common goods (such as air quality, climate, water), and link local action to internationally agreed goals and targets. Their goal is to help local governments bring awareness to certain key political issues and establish plans of action towards measurable targets. As the international sustainable development and environmental agency for local governments, ICLEI provides information, delivers training, organizes conferences, facilitates networking and city-to-city exchanges, carries out research and pilot projects, and offers technical services and consultancy.
The UNEP provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life while simultaneously making efforts to not compromise the lives of future generations. It is the United Nations system’s designated entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. It coordinates the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and by bringing emerging issues to the forefront of governments and the international community’s attention, so that necessary action can be taken, if necessary. The UNEP Governing Council reports to the UN General Assembly through the Economic and Social Council. It consists of 59 members. There are 16 seats for African States, 13 for Asian States, 6 for E. European States, 10 for Latin American States and 13 for Western European and other States.
EPA’s work extends from North America to Africa to Asia and the Pacific Islands. Its main areas where it seeks to promote better environmental practices include air pollution, climate, safe drinking water, and protection from toxic pollution. EPA works around the world to protect the health of Americans and the health of the citizens of neighbors. EPA's Office of International Affairs is set forth so that the US can partner with other nations to assess and tackle international environmental priorities. Working with the experts from EPA's other program and regional offices, other government agencies, and other nations and international organizations, OIA identifies international environmental issues and helps implement technical and policy options to address them.
The International Institute for Environment and Development is an independent international research organization that links local to global. The IIED works in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central and South America, the Middle East and the Pacific, in order to ensure that some of the world's most vulnerable people have a voice in the policy arenas that most closely affect them — from village councils to international conventions. Through close collaboration with partners at the grassroots, they attempt to make their research and advocacy relevant to the needs and realities in which these people live each day. The IIED also advises businesses, governments and development agencies and publishes widely to bring awareness to the most important environmental issues within communities.
The Center for International Environmental Law is a nonprofit organization working to use international law and institutions to protect the environment, promote human health, and ensure a just and sustainable society. It provides services that include legal counsel, policy research, analysis, advocacy, education, training, and capacity building. CIEL cites its main goals as being to solve environmental problems and promote sustainable societies through the use of law, to incorporate fundamental principles of ecology and justice into international law, to strengthen national environmental law systems and support public interest movements around the world, and to educate and train public-interest-minded environmental lawyers. CIEL’s program areas include Chemicals, Climate Change, Biodiversity and Wildlife, Biotechnology, Trade and Sustainable Development, International Financial Institutions, Law and Communities, and Human Rights and the Environment. CIEL’s work covers more than sixty countries on six continents, and emphasis on the Western Hemisphere, Central and Eastern Europe as well as Asia and Africa.
WWF is a non-profit (charity) foundation with its Secretariat based in Gland, Switzerland. WWF teams up with local non-profit agencies and other global NGOs and forms relationships with village elders, local councils and regional government offices. The WWF also works with businesses who are willing to change their practices to be more environmentally friendly. There are currently more than 1300 WWF conservation projects underway globally. The vast majority of these focus on local issues. WWF seeks to be global, independent, multicultural and non party political and use the best available scientific information to address issues and critically evaluate all its endeavors.
Food Security
Alliance for Global Food Security
The Alliance for Global Food Security seeks adequate resources for food security programs and the adoption of government policies that support multi-faceted programs that address the underlying causes of hunger. Its regular members are non-profit organizations that conduct food security programs in partnership with local communities and institutions in developing countries, using food aid and other resources as part of their efforts to alleviate hunger, to improve nutrition, to build local capacity, and to foster agricultural, economic and human development.
The CGIAR is a strategic alliance of an alliance of 64 governments, private foundations, and international and regional organizations that mobilizes science to benefit the poor. The CGIAR generates cutting-edge science to foster sustainable agricultural growth that benefits the poor through stronger food security, better human nutrition and health, higher incomes and improved management of natural resources. The new crop varieties, knowledge and other products resulting from the CGIAR’s collaborative research are made widely available to individuals and organizations working for sustainable agricultural development throughout the world.
FAO's mandate is to raise levels of nutrition, improve agricultural productivity, better the lives of rural populations and contribute to the growth of the world economy. The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2008 published by FAO presents the latest statistics on global undernourishment, reviews the impact of high food prices, and examines how high food prices could offer an opportunity to relaunch smallholder agriculture in the developing world.
Global Food Response Program (GFRP) is $1.2 billion financing facility that was created in May 2008 to speed assistance to the neediest countries. GFPR is part of the World Bank Group's New Deal on Global Food Policy.
The International Alliance Against Hunger (IAAH) is a voluntary association of international organizations and National Alliances Against Hunger (NAAH) who share a common commitment to the rapid eradication of hunger in the world and who believe that their actions will be all the more effective through working together.
The International Alliance Against Hunger was born as a voluntary partnership for combining the strengths of local, national and international governmental and non-governmental organizations, service and religious organizations, the private sector and concerned individuals with the common mission of working to eradicate hunger on our planet. Participants recognize that a united effort can present a much more powerful message to political, social and economic leaders who make decisions on advocacy, resource mobilization and development strategies. The International Alliance is working directly toward the fulfillment of Millennium Development Goal number 1, the reduction of poverty and hunger and MDG 8, the establishment of partnerships.
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty. IFPRI is one of 15 centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. A 2020 Vision for Food, Agriculture, and the Environment is an initiative of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) to develop a shared vision and a consensus for action on how to meet future world food needs while reducing poverty and protecting the environment. IFPRI's 2020 Vision is a world where every person has access to sufficient food to sustain a healthy and productive life, where malnutrition is absent, and where food originates from efficient, effective, and low-cost food systems that are compatible with sustainable use of natural resources.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized agency of the United Nations, was established as an international financial institution in 1977. IFAD's goal is to empower poor rural women and men in developing countries to achieve higher incomes and improved food security.
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is the largest non-profit agricultural research center in Asia, with headquarters in the Philippines and offices in 14 nations. Supported by donors and partners around the globe, IRRI is known as the home of the Green Revolution in Asia. IRRI helps feed almost half the world’s population. Its mission is to reduce poverty and hunger, improve the health of rice farmers and consumers, and ensure that rice production is environmentally sustainable.
UN Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis was established on April 28, 2008, by the UN Secretary-General. It is composed of the heads of the United Nations specialized agencies, funds and programmes, Bretton Woods institutions and relevant parts of the UN Secretariat. The primary aim of the Task Force is to promote a unified response to the challenge of achieving global food security, including by facilitating the creation of a prioritized plan of action and coordinating its implementation.
The World Food Programme is the United Nations frontline agency in the fight against global hunger. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization. WFP is the food aid arm of the United Nations system. Food aid is one of the many instruments that can help to promote food security, which is defined as access of all people at all times to the food needed for an active and healthy life. The policies governing the use of World Food Programme food aid must be oriented towards the objective of eradicating hunger and poverty. The ultimate objective of food aid should be the elimination of the need for food aid.