Research papers published by the Reference and Research Services of the Deutscher Bundestag

This page sets out the English summaries of the Research Papers published by the Reference and Research Services. A link from the end of the summary will take you to the complete research paper in German.

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Commissioner for Human Rights
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe elected on 5 October 2005 a new Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammerberg, from Sweden. The Commissioner for Human Rights was established in 1999 as an independent institution within the Council of Europe. The Commissioner focuses his activity on three main areas: the promotion of the education in and awareness of human rights, and the promotion of their effective respect and full enjoyment in all the member States of the Council of Europe.
Topical Term of 01/10/2006
Tsunami Recovery - Stock Taking one year later
The Tsunami in December 2005 killed more than 230,000 people, devastated over 5,000 miles of coastline surrounding the Indian Ocean, swept away 430.000 homes, and destroyed over 100.000 fishing boats. The UN, international financial institutions, governments, charitable groups and nongovernmental organizations have pledged billions of dollars by now for the reconstruction process.. The recovery in 2006 will focus on the following priorities in order ?to build back better?: progress on disaster risk reduction, importance of political reconciliation, peace, and good governance, building of capacity, strengthening of coordination efforts, promoting transparency and accountability.
Topical Term of 01/11/2006
Federal share of the cost of accommodation/heating benefits under Book II of the Social Code
Under Book II of the Social Code, the municipalities bear the cost of accommodation and heating benefits within the framework of the basic income for jobseekers. In order to ensure that the burden on the municipalities is reduced by the Fourth Law for Mod-ern Services in the Labour Market (Hartz IV), the Federation helps to meet the cost of these benefits. For 2005 and 2006, the Federation?s share in accommodation and heat-ing costs has now been fixed by law at 29.1%, following contentious negotiations with the Länder. The First Act to Amend the Second Book of the Social Code entered into force on 31 December 2005. The Federation?s contribution from 2007 is to be regu-lated by a federal law
Topical Term of 01/18/2006
Reform of communal finances
In light of the current financial problems of many cities and local authorities a reform of the communal finances is still of great relevance. In their coalition agreement the coalition parties have set themselves the task to put the finances of the local authorities on a stable basis. Their goal is a communal tax that is based on the economic capacity of the companies, which assures a constant tax revenue and guarantees the fairness between the local authorities. The financial reform should not move the burden to the side of the employees. The Topical Term outlines the current developments of the communal finances and concepts provided by parties, local authorities and different representatives of the economy regarding a reform.
Topical Term of 01/24/2006
Constitutional guarantee of intergenerational equity
Intergenerational equity is a topical issue in Germany ? not least since a number of younger parliamentarians have called for the inclusion of an article on the protection of future generations in the Basic Law, Germany?s constitution. It has been suggested that a new Article 20 b be added to the constitution as a state goal, committing the state to adhere to the principle of sustainability in its actions and to protect the interests of future generations. In addition, an amendment to Article 109 of the Basic Law (Budgets of the Federation and the Länder) is being considered to make it more difficult for the Federation and Länder to take on debt. State goals outline a certain programme for state action and thus serve as guidelines for state activities, the interpretation of laws and other legislation.
Topical Term of 01/26/2006
High Representative for Bosnien and Herzegowina
The Dayton Peace Agreement for Bosnia and Herzegovina (1995) provided for the establishment of an office of a High Representative whose task would be to implement the civilian aspects of the peace settlement. Candidates for the office are designated by the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council, an institution consisting of 55 countries and international agencies that also provides the political guidelines for the High Representative?s work. Initially endowed with little competences, the office now possesses great power, based on the so called Bonn Conclusion from 1997. From time to time, the policies of the several office holders have been highly controversial, especially in the public of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Topical Term of 01/26/2006
The Asia-Pacific Partnership
In July 2005, the United States, China, Japan, India, South Korea and Australia presented a new climate pact, called the ?Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate? (APP). Contrary to the Kyoto Protocol, the pact does not contain binding targets or a timetable to achieve reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the APP represents the American understanding of climate policy as it is based on the technology push principal, while the Kyoto Protocol is an instrument in the sense of a market pull strategy.
Factsheet of 01/27/2006 (17 pages)
Reform of the United Nations System. Debates and Measures concerning Structural Change of the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Secretariat and UN funding
Whereas the United Nations has undergone major changes with respect to membership and functions since its origins, its institutional structures have persisted as yet. However, after the Cold War new vistas have opened up for a sweeping reform. The political debate focussed on the Security Council as the power centre of the United Nations. Although considerable progress has been made on questions like the definition of structural shortcomings and the criteria for the selection of potential new members, no single reform model has gained the broad backing necessary for adoption so far. Most of the proposals referring to the General Assembly aim at an enhancement of its efficiency. In the view of most of the member states there remains a lot to be done in order to further streamline the body?s structures and procedures. The several measures to downsize and modernize the secretariat are primarily due to the initiative of the two Secretary Generals Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Kofi Annan. They managed to enhance the capacity of the senior management, to rationalize decision-making processes and to make the recruitment of personnel more open. Since its establishment the UN funding system has been characterized by a permanent scarcity of resources. After a long debate the UN managed to agree upon a new contribution system that was approved by the General Assembly in 2002.
Factsheet of 02/13/2006

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