UN in Focus: Newsbrief from FES New York, No. 1/2009, March 16, 2009 ISSUE NO. 1/2009: FES NEW YORK WELCOMES NEW COLLEAGUE In January 2009, Alischa Kugel joined the FES as Policy Analyst handling peace and security issues. Over the past five years, Alischa has worked with NGOs on various UN policy issues, including international justice, UN reform, NGO access to the UN and human rights. http://www.fes-globalization.org/new_york/staff.htm =========================================== REFORMING FINANCIAL REGULATION AND INSTITUTIONS This Briefing Paper lays out key principles for the reform of financial regulation and outlines necessary national and international institutional arrangements for a well-functioning global financial system. Stephany Griffith-Jones:“How To Create Better Financial Regulation& Institutions” Briefing Paper 2, FES New York, March 2009: http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/global/06200.pdf =========================================== FINANCING THE UNITED NATIONS On February 11, 2009, FES New York and Global Policy Forum hosted a conference discussing the recently-passed UN Regular Budget and the UN’s financial challenges for the coming budgetary year 2009.The second conference of this kind, the event was well attended and perceived, signalizing the need to provide room for informal dialogue between practitioners and theorists. For an update on UN Finance, see the Fact sheet below. Evamaria Weisser:“Financing the UN” Fact Sheet, FES New York, March 2009: http://www.fes-globalization.org/publicationsNY/FES_FactSheet-FinancingUN-EvameriaWeisser.pdf =========================================== NEW DIRECTIONS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT? On January 12, 2009, FES New York and the Century Foundation convened a luncheon discussion on the future of the International Criminal Court(ICC). At the center of the discussion lay the US attitude toward the court, which through successive United States administrations has vacillated between wary and hostile. David Scheffer and John Hutson, who presented the report“Strategy for U.S. Engagement with the International Criminal Court,” argued that the US could reap benefits from joining the ICC. Whether the new administration will do so, remains to be seen. Another point of discussion was the charges the court prosecutor has filed against Sudan’s President Bashir, which raised concerns among some participants. David Scheffer and John Hutson:“Strategy for U.S. Engagement with the International Criminal Court.” The Century Foundation, October 2008: http://www.tcf.org/Publications/internationalaffairs/Scheffer.pdf =========================================== CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENTS: GOVERNANCE, TRANSPARENCY& ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORTING DEMOCRACY: RE-SETTING THE COURSE OF INTERNATIONAL POLICY

FES New York and the Initiative for Policy Dialogue will host a task force meeting on Governance, Transparency and Accountability in National and International Financial Institutions at Columbia University April 27 and 28, 2009. http://www.fes-globalization.org/new_york/ny_assets/programme-minimum.pdf FES New York and the Century Foundation will convene an international conference on new prospects for the democratic idea, on April 30, 2009. The conference will discuss the future challenges of democracy support after the international consensus around democracy has eroded over the recent years and democracy support has come under suspicion as simply a tool of the national security interests of leading promoters or of their economic interests and ideology. http://www.fes-globalization.org/new_york/ny_assets/democracyconfprelimagenda.pdf Both events will be by invitation only. For further inquiries about“UN in Focus” please contact Alischa Kugel: akugel@fesny.org To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to akugel@fesny.org(Subject: unsubscribe) Friedrich Ebert Stiftung New York Office 747 Third Avenue, Suite 22B New York, NY 10017 Tel:+1(212) 687-0208 Fax:+1(212) 687-0261 www.fes-globalization.org