Latin America & Caribbean Publications, March 2011

A list of recent reports on Latin America and the Caribbean that were highlighted in the March issue of the Democracy Resource Center Bulletin.

100 celebrations later, where is Latin America on the road to gender equality in politics?
http://www.idea.int/gender/100_celebrations_later.cfm
As International Women’s Day hits the century mark this year, there was good news for the inclusion of Latin American women in positions of political decision-making. Source: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA).

Coding and decoding: The state of Venezuelan civil society
http://www.civicus.org/images/stories/csi/csi_phase2/venezuelaacr%20af%20final.pdf
Venezuelans have historically been inclined to perceive the state as responsible for the solution to all their needs, and therefore to give in to clientelism. The result, which came out of the CIVICUS Civil Society Index (CSI) report, illustrates why most CSOs in the country are affected by a model in which autonomous intermediate organisations are not considered by authorities as legitimate interlocutors. Source: CIVICUS

Inclusion of a publication does not imply ownership or endorsement by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED); rather, these are publications that the Democracy Resource Center believes would be of interest to NED staff and others interested in democracy promotion.

Asia publications, March 2011

A list of recent reports on Asia that were highlighted in the March issue of the Democracy Resource Center Bulletin.

Election Season Returns to Taiwan: Prospects for Taiwan’s National Elections in 2012
http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2011/0307_taiwan_election_fell.aspx
Taiwan is once again gearing itself up for election season, with both legislative and presidential contests to be held in early 2012. Source: Brookings

Thailand: A Democratic Failure and Its Lessons for the Middle East
http://www.cfr.org/thailand/thailand-democratic-failure-its-lessons-middle-east/p24485
As the experience of many developing nations in East Asia shows, these initial, exuberant glimpses of democratic reform can prove a mirage, and toppling a dictator hardly guarantees a smooth path to consolidated democracy. Source: Council on Foreign Relations

Women’s rights to be incorporated in Nepal’s new constitution
http://www.idea.int/asia_pacific/nepal/womens_rights_incorporat.cfm
The Women’s Agenda document summarizes the women’s movement in Nepal and describes the limited rights enjoyed by women at various points in history. The document then identifies the rights of citizens contained in the preliminary reports of the constitutional and thematic committees of the CA before proposing revisions to ensure that the new constitution takes into account women’s rights. Source: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA)

Inclusion of a publication does not imply ownership or endorsement by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED); rather, these are publications that the Democracy Resource Center believes would be of interest to NED staff and others interested in democracy promotion.

Africa Publications, March 2011

A list of recent reports on Africa that were highlighted in the March issue of the Democracy Resource Center Bulletin.

Challenges faced by women in Civil Society in Africa
http://www.civicus.org/images/stories/civicus/Challenges_Faced_by_Women_in_Civil_Society_in_Africa.pdf
The report’s conclusion argues that while advancements have been made in acknowledging the role and rights of women in recent years, there remain deeply rooted cultural, religious and patriarchal perceptions that continue to inhibit the work of women human rights defenders across the continent. Source: CIVICUS.

Côte d’Ivoire: Is War the Only Option?
http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/africa/west-africa/cote-divoire/171-cote-divoire-is-war-the-only-option.aspx
Côte d’Ivoire is on the verge of a new civil war. This tragedy can only be avoided if Africans and the wider international community stand firm behind the democratically elected president, Alassane Ouattara, and he launches an initiative for reconciliation and a transitional government of national unity. Source: International Crisis Group.

International Law and the Right to Nationality in Sudan
http://www.soros.org/initiatives/justice/articles_publications/publications/sudan-nationality-20110218
In the aftermath of the referendums on the status of South Sudan and Abyei, questions surrounding nationality and citizenship loom especially large in Sudan. This report, published by the Open Society Foundations, weighs in on the debate and offers specific recommendations on the criteria that should be used to determine citizenship in the new entities. Source: Open Society Foundations.

Inclusion of a publication does not imply ownership or endorsement by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED); rather, these are publications that the Democracy Resource Center believes would be of interest to NED staff and others interested in democracy promotion.

Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers. A Revised Edition. ( in Nepali)

http://www.idea.int/publications/wip2/np.html
Source: International IDEA.

This report examines the obstacles confronted by women when entering politics and presents a range of solutions, such as changing electoral systems and introducing quotas. It also provides strategies for women to influence politics once elected to parliament.

Enhancing Women’s Political Participation: A Policy Note for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States

URL: http://europeandcis.undp.org/home/show/0C9D0589-F203-1EE9-B2EAB8FD2B7B54A4
Source: UNDP

This Policy Note presents a set of pragmatic recommendations that will enable policy makers to enhance women’s political participation in the region. These measures are the product of six national roundtable discussions organized in 2008 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Turkey and Ukraine as well as a regional conference in Turkey in December 2008.

National Platform for Women: A Unified Vision for a New Path

URL: http://www.ndi.org/node/16031
ource: National Democratic Institute (NDI)

This report notes that Iraqi women are slowly increasing their involvement in government, political parties, and civil society, but they are still largely absent from the decision-making processes within these bodies. Women constitute 54 percent of Iraq’s population, yet their voices are not reflected in the current political discourse. In conjunction with the upcoming national elections, the National Platform for Women provides an opportunity to alter this trend by encouraging debate on a common set of policy priorities.

Arrest the Violence: Human Rights Violations Against Sex Workers in 11 Countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia

URL: http://soros.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=52d98944f5466486ab8567329&id=25cb1c4576&e=9a5e83b51b
Source: Open Society Institute

This first report document the human rights violations that sex workers face throughout Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Tool for Family Law Reform.

URL: http://www.learningpartnership.org/en/publications/other. Source: Women’s Learning Partnership for Rights, Development, and Peace (WLP).

This is an innovative advocacy tool for reform of family law in Muslim-majority societies. The guide outlines the process that led to the reform of Morocco’s family law, one of the most progressive among Muslim-majority societies. Family law governs every aspect of a woman’s life from minimum age and conditions for marriage, to divorce, child custody, and the right to work or travel.

Trade Unions say no to violence against women.

URL: http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/ITUC-violence-pageGB.pdf. Source: International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

On the occasion of the United Nations (UN) International Day on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, ITUC affiliates in several countries, including Ghana, Sierra Leone, Congo, Japan, Columbia and Great Britain, are organizing activities to mobilize against the trivialization and impunity of the violence that affect women and girls around the world. Violence against women and girls is often defined as the most socially tolerated of human rights violations, and many women workers, and girls trapped in child labor, experience violence at work.

Progress of the World’s Women 2008/2009: Who answers to women? – Gender and Accountability.

URL: http://www.unifem.org/progress/2008/media/POWW08_Report_Full_Text.pdf%20. Source: United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).

This report argues that realizing women’s rights and achieving the Millennium Development Goals depends on strengthening accountability for commitments to women and gender equality. The report argues that women’s empowerment and gender equality are drivers for reducing poverty, building food security, reducing maternal mortality, safeguarding the environment, and enhancing the effectiveness of aid.