Diplomacy & Defense Think Tank News

Die Bundesregierung hat sich auf einen Haushalt für das kommende Jahr geeinigt. DIW-Präsident Marcel Fratzscher kommentiert die Entscheidung wie folgt:

Die Einigung der Bundesregierung zum Haushalt 2024 ist ein fauler Kompromiss, mit dem die Bundesregierung die Probleme lediglich in die Zukunft verschiebt. Der Kompromiss ist unzureichend, um Deutschland zukunftsfähig zu machen. Die Einigung bedeutet, dass dem Staat dauerhaft 60 Milliarden Euro für Klimaschutz und Transformation fehlen werden. Die Bundesregierung versucht mit Tricks behaupten zu können, dass alle Ziele und Versprechen eingehalten werden. Dies stimmt aber nur bedingt. Die FDP ist der große Gewinner dieser Einigung, denn sie konnte ihre beiden roten Linien – Einhaltung der Schuldenbremse und keine stärkere Belastung, sondern Entlastung vor allem für Spitzenverdienende – durchsetzen, wohingegen SPD und Grüne bei Investitionen, Klimaschutz und Sozialleistungen Abstriche machen müssen.

Für die Wirtschaft reduziert die Einigung die Unsicherheit nur kurzzeitig, weil bereits getätigte Versprechen nun größtenteils eingehalten und umgesetzt werden. Langfristig erhöht die Einigung jedoch die Unsicherheit für die Unternehmen, da mit dem Sparkurs der Bundesregierung weniger Geld für Investitionen in Klimaschutz, Infrastruktur und die grüne Transformation zu Verfügung stehen wird. Das Paket der Bundesregierung wird die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit der deutschen Wirtschaft langfristig weiter schwächen. Bürgerinnen und Bürger gehören zu den Verlierern dieser Einigung. Die Bundesregierung will 1,5 Milliarden Euro beim Bürgergeld und anderen Sozialleistungen einsparen, was vor allem die wirtschaftlich schwächsten Menschen treffen wird. Dagegen hat der Bundesfinanzminister verkündet, dass die steuerliche Entlastung durch das Inflationsausgleichsgesetz vor allem für Spitzenverdienende mit 16 Milliarden Euro im Jahr für 2024 auch weiterhin Bestand haben wird.

Auch die schnellere Erhöhung des CO2-Preises wird zulasten der Bürgerinnen und Bürger gehen. Im Gegenzug bleibt die Bundesregierung das Klimageld weiterhin schuldig, mit dem die CO2-Bepreisung an die Menschen zurückgegeben werden soll. Die Einigung ist eine Enttäuschung und eine große verpasste Chance eines Neuanfangs für die Bundesregierung. Die Bundesregierung hat es versäumt, klare Prioritäten auf Zukunftsinvestitionen zu legen und Deutschland langfristig wieder wettbewerbsfähiger zu machen. Die Einigung ist zudem realitätsfern, da sich durch den Ukraine-Krieg und viele andere Risiken schnell herausstellen könnte, dass man mit dem Geld wieder nicht auskommen wird. Es ist wahrscheinlich, dass die Bundesregierung sich weiter von Konflikt zu Konflikt hangelt und die großen Herausforderungen nicht lösen können wird.

Humanitarian organizations have repeatedly called attention to the challenges that counterterrorism resolutions and UN sanctions regimes can pose to humanitarian action. In response, the council has progressively incorporated language that better takes into consideration international humanitarian law (IHL), international human rights law (IHRL), humanitarian principles, and the need to protect principled humanitarian action from the potential negative consequences of sanctions and counterterrorism measures. Most notably, in December 2022, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2664, which provides a cross-cutting humanitarian exemption to asset freezes under all its sanctions regimes, including the 1267 counterterrorism regime against ISIL/al-Qaida, to safeguard the timely and effective conduct of humanitarian activities.

In this context, IPI and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Office in New York hosted a closed-door, hybrid roundtable on November 14, 2023, to assess the implementation and impact of Resolution 2664, including its potential application to counterterrorism measures. This roundtable provided a platform for exchanges between humanitarian organizations, member states, the UN Secretariat, civil society organizations, and independent experts, including those based in Geneva and New York.

There was broad agreement among participants that Resolution 2664 is a milestone achievement representing a fundamental policy shift within the Security Council. However, the resolution does not resolve all obstacles facing humanitarian actors seeking to provide aid in contexts where sanctions from the UN and autonomous regimes, as well as counterterrorism measures, apply. Participants thus provided the following recommendations on how to continue to safeguard principled humanitarian action:

• Member states should incorporate the obligations of Resolution 2664 into national and regional frameworks;
• Member states should take steps to apply the humanitarian exemption to autonomous sanctions regimes and counterterrorism measures;
• Donors should streamline reporting requirements for humanitarian actors;
• UN entities, humanitarian actors, and member states should invest in greater guidance and capacity building on the implementation of Resolution 2664; and
• UN entities, international and local humanitarian actors, member states, and the private sector should continue to engage in inclusive, multi-stakeholder dialogue at the national and global levels on the implementation of Resolution 2664 and risk-mitigation measures.

Download

The UN Security Council is expected to renew MONUSCO’s mandate on December 20, 2023. The upcoming negotiations will unfold against the backdrop of the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) request to the Security Council on September 1, 2023, for the mission’s accelerated withdrawal to commence at the end of 2023; the government and the mission’s signing in November of a disengagement plan to implement this accelerated withdrawal; and the general elections, slated for December 20, 2023. The past two months have also seen renewed fighting between the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC), the M23 rebel group, and other armed groups. The Nairobi and Luanda peace processes were disrupted by the resumption of hostilities and heightened tension between the DRC and Rwanda. The security and humanitarian conditions continue to worsen in the eastern provinces of the DRC, with persistent threats to human rights and the protection of civilians.

In this context, the International Peace Institute (IPI), Security Council Report, and the Stimson Center cohosted a roundtable discussion on November 21, 2023, to reflect on MONUSCO’s mandate renewal. This roundtable offered a platform for member states, UN officials, civil society stakeholders, and independent experts to share their assessments of the situation in the DRC in a frank and collaborative manner. The discussion was intended to help the Security Council make more informed decisions with respect to the prioritization and sequencing of MONUSCO’s mandate, as well as the mission’s strategic orientation and actions on the ground as it prepares for a drawdown.

Given the context of MONUSCO’s transition and withdrawal in the coming months, the mission will likely need to balance the following issues:

• Prioritizing the protection of civilians and safeguarding humanitarian access to prevent the widening of protection gaps during the mission’s drawdown;
• Enhancing engagement with local communities and civil society organizations to execute the withdrawal plan in line with specific needs in regions within and outside eastern DRC;
• Improving coordination between the UN and regional partners that are present in eastern DRC through regular communication, information sharing, and joint planning;
• Providing a clearer definition of and political guidance on security sector reform to ensure the appropriate and timely transition of security responsibilities to national actors;
• Reinforcing support to the Congolese government on the implementation of its Demobilization, Disarmament, Community Recovery and Stabilization Program (P-DDRCS); and
• Supporting the revitalization of the Luanda and Nairobi processes following the December 2023 presidential election.

Download

Ocean sustainability initiatives – in research, policy, management and development – will be more effective in delivering comprehensive benefits when they proactively engage with, invest in and use social knowledge. We synthesize five intervention areas for social engagement and collaboration with marine social scientists, and in doing so we appeal to all ocean science disciplines and non-academics working in ocean initiatives in industry, government, funding agencies and civil society. The five social intervention areas are: (1) Using ethics to guide decision-making, (2) Improving governance, (3) Aligning human behavior with goals and values, (4) Addressing impacts on people, and (5) Building transdisciplinary partnerships and co-producing sustainability transformation pathways. These focal areas can guide the four phases of most ocean sustainability initiatives (Intention, Design, Implementation, Evaluation) to improve social benefits and avoid harm. Early integration of social knowledge from the five areas during intention setting and design phases offers the deepest potential for delivering benefits. Later stage collaborations can leverage opportunities in existing projects to reflect and learn while improving impact assessments, transparency and reporting for future activities.

Ocean sustainability initiatives – in research, policy, management and development – will be more effective in delivering comprehensive benefits when they proactively engage with, invest in and use social knowledge. We synthesize five intervention areas for social engagement and collaboration with marine social scientists, and in doing so we appeal to all ocean science disciplines and non-academics working in ocean initiatives in industry, government, funding agencies and civil society. The five social intervention areas are: (1) Using ethics to guide decision-making, (2) Improving governance, (3) Aligning human behavior with goals and values, (4) Addressing impacts on people, and (5) Building transdisciplinary partnerships and co-producing sustainability transformation pathways. These focal areas can guide the four phases of most ocean sustainability initiatives (Intention, Design, Implementation, Evaluation) to improve social benefits and avoid harm. Early integration of social knowledge from the five areas during intention setting and design phases offers the deepest potential for delivering benefits. Later stage collaborations can leverage opportunities in existing projects to reflect and learn while improving impact assessments, transparency and reporting for future activities.

Ocean sustainability initiatives – in research, policy, management and development – will be more effective in delivering comprehensive benefits when they proactively engage with, invest in and use social knowledge. We synthesize five intervention areas for social engagement and collaboration with marine social scientists, and in doing so we appeal to all ocean science disciplines and non-academics working in ocean initiatives in industry, government, funding agencies and civil society. The five social intervention areas are: (1) Using ethics to guide decision-making, (2) Improving governance, (3) Aligning human behavior with goals and values, (4) Addressing impacts on people, and (5) Building transdisciplinary partnerships and co-producing sustainability transformation pathways. These focal areas can guide the four phases of most ocean sustainability initiatives (Intention, Design, Implementation, Evaluation) to improve social benefits and avoid harm. Early integration of social knowledge from the five areas during intention setting and design phases offers the deepest potential for delivering benefits. Later stage collaborations can leverage opportunities in existing projects to reflect and learn while improving impact assessments, transparency and reporting for future activities.

Politikberatung gehört zu den Kernaufgaben des DIW Berlin. Um seine Forschungsergebnisse und Empfehlungen in die wirtschafts- und sozialpolitische Debatte einzubringen, betreibt das Institut eine intensive Öffentlichkeitsarbeit. Die Abteilung Kommunikation bereitet Themen und Inhalte für unterschiedliche Zielgruppen in verschiedenen Formaten auf. Dazu gehören insbesondere Pressearbeit, Print- und Onlinepublikationen, Website- und Social-Media-Kommunikation sowie Veranstaltungen.

Zum nächstmöglichen Zeitpunkt suchen wir eine*n PR-Volontär*in mit dem Schwerpunkt Presse (w/m/div) (Vollzeit).