The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) issued a final report on 8 July 2016 on the postponed early parliamentary elections in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which were scheduled for 5 June 2016. The final report assesses whether the electoral process and activities conducted before the postponement of elections were in line with OSCE commitments, other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, and with national legislation.  

While recognizing that 2015 amendments to the Electoral Code attempted to address most of the prior OSCE/ODIHR recommendations, the report notes that late changes negatively affected electoral stakeholders’ understanding of new provisions and impacted their ability to fulfil their functions. In addition, a number of previous recommendations remain to be addressed and legal inconsistencies eliminated. The report recommends conducting a complete review of the Code after consultations between all political stakeholders and relevant civil society organizations.  

As one of the priority recommendations, the report recommends the State Election Commission and the Ministry of Internal Affairs continue the process of updating the voter register through a co-ordinated effort ahead of the next elections. In order to increase the citizens’ confidence in the accuracy of voter registration, it also recommends that the process is transparent and ensures political parties and civil society access for verification.  

Noting that some measures to prevent intimidation and pressure on citizens were taken by authorities, it however mentions that a climate of intimidation persisted, attributed to a fear of retribution existing in state companies and institutions. The report recommends that authorities actively encourage citizens to report any cases of pressure and intimidation and thoroughly investigate such instances. 

While a number of aspects for the media coverage of election campaigns have been detailed in the Electoral Code, a need for continued substantial reform was highlighted. The report suggests amending the legal framework to further clarify the requirements for balanced reporting during the pre-campaign period.

Additional recommendations in the report include deciding on election-related cases within timely deadlines and harmonizing the Electoral Code with the Constitution, which provides for public hearings. It also recommends periodic review of district boundaries by an independent body to ensure the equality of the vote.

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[Government of Mauritius] Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam has been sworn-in as Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius, this afternoon, during a ceremony held at the State House, in Réduit. The newly appointed Prime Minister took the oath of Allegiance and oath of Office before the President of the Republic of Mauritius, Mr Prithvirajsing Roopun.

Report Includes Section on Mineral Exploitation and Conflict in the DRC

U4SSC - Case Study - Daegu, Korea (Republic of)
This case study outlines the journey of Daegu since 2014, when the city's Smart City Plan was unveiled to the public. The U4SSC key performance indicators for smart sustainable cities to assess the achievement of sustainable development goals' were implemented to support the assessment of the city's existing smart city undertakings, benchmark performance and underscore effective best practices in order to improve the applicability of these KPIs on a global scale.

Being one of the pioneering cities in the Asia-Pacific to implement the U4SSC KPIs, the findings from the implementation process will also serve as a touchstone for other cities in the region that are commencing their smart and sustainable city journeys.

U4SSC - Case Study - Daegu, Korea (Republic of)

U4SSC - City Snapshot - Anyang, Korea (Republic of)

U4SSC - Verification report - Anyang, Korea (Republic of)

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s foreign policy priorities 29 October 2024 — 1:00PM TO 2:00PM Anonymous (not verified) 18 October 2024 Chatham House and Online

The DRC’s Minister of Foreign Affairs discusses the country’s approach to regional stability and the role of international partnerships in securing economic prosperity.

At this event, HE Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DRC, will discuss DRC’s regional diplomatic priorities and international agency, including its ambitions around global critical mineral supply chains.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) faces foreign policy tests as it manages a complex security crisis and regional tensions, alongside global economic and trade partnerships.

Entrenched conflict in eastern DRC continues to have wider regional implications. Troops from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) deployment are tackling a growing mandate as the UN’s peacekeeping mission prepares to withdraw. Tensions with Rwanda also remain high despite mediation efforts under the Luanda process.

As a major producer of critical minerals for the global energy transition, the DRC seeks to benefit from growing international demand without sacrificing value addition. New and existing frameworks with international partners will remain key to this vision, including for the development of regional infrastructure networks such as the Lobito Corridor.

At this event, HE Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DRC, will discuss the DRC’s regional diplomacy and international agency, including the country’s positioning in global critical mineral supply chains.

Please note that in-person attendance for this event will be balloted. Guests looking to join in-person must register interest in joining. Full confirmations to successful applicants will be sent on Friday 25 October.

Mr Chairman,

I wish to convey, through you, to the Committee on Fisheries, the considered views of the FAO Secretariat on the item on the proposed Fisheries University.  

So far, the [...]

Kim Seung-ho initiated the idea to host an exhibition featuring artworks by 30 Chinese and South Korean artists born in 1992, when China and the Republic of Korea established formal diplomatic relatio

The new Trump administration is bad news for American civil and human rights and brings uncertainty for the rest of the world

This video introduces a new publication presenting five case studies of projects in the People's Republic of China that illustrate how effective solutions to environmental and social problems have been applied in different contexts.

Climate change financing is a key part of green finance, essential for driving investment towards climate action and achieving the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) carbon peaking and neutrality goals.

How have Latin American exporters been affected by the rapid increase in the PRC's exports to the USA and other large markets? Are PRC and Latin American exports complementary or competitive with each other?

In a case study on Korea, a VAR model is used to investigate the effects of capital flows on asset prices.

Theoretical and empirical analyses of People's Republic of China's infrastructure and rural development.

How has the recent dramatic growth of PRC's exports affected its neighbors? Have they lost export markets and seen foreign investment diverted to PRC? This paper surveys the empirical evidence on these important questions.

This paper examines enterprise performance in the North-East region of the People's Republic of China.

This paper is part of a cross-country study on corporate governance in Asia. A consensus has yet to be reached about exactly what factors were behind the crisis of 1998 and how these factors interacted in bringing about the crisis.

Regional disparities within and among Chinese provinces have declined, but are still a serious problem.

This paper examines the role of finance in development in the light of the experience of Township and Village Enterprises in the People's Republic of China.

This paper analyses economic and social indicators across provinces in the People's Republic of China.

This brief shows how mainstreaming blue finance hinges on developing a solid regulatory framework that drives investment toward bankable marine-based projects and analyzes how to expand the sector in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

This edition of the ASEAN+3 Bond Market Guide series focuses on updates in the Republic of Korea’s (ROK) market since the publication of the previous guide for the ROK in 2018.

This paper examines how booms and busts in peer-to-peer (P2P) lending in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) affect monetary policy transmission to inflation and output.

ABSTRACTIn the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), male engagement, social norms, and social networks mitigate family planning behavior. We discuss the adaptation of the Social Norms Exploration Tool (SNET), which identifies relevant social norms and community members upholding these norms, to inform the development of family planning interventions in the DRC. The SNET provides activity tools and templates to guide users through the following steps: (1) plan and prepare, (2) identify reference groups, (3) explore social norms, (4) analyze results, and (5) apply findings.The SNET approach resulted in discussion of social norms, particularly around birth spacing and gender norms framing the man as the decision-maker. However, despite applying a methodology specifically designed to identify social norms, other factors limiting use of contraceptive methods were identified in the process, including lack of education, rumors, and misconceptions. Adaptations were needed to include the full range of reference groups due to narrow phrasing of primary questions, and some of the participatory methods were overly complicated. Feedback from experienced data collectors suggested that the social norms framework is not intuitive, is difficult to apply correctly, and may require that data collectors have a stronger foundation in the relevant concepts to produce valid and actionable results.Although the SNET provides language for discussing normative factors and techniques to identify reference groups and social norms, modifications to the implementation process are recommended when adapting the tool for research.

Sep 21, 2023

Recent scholarship on Sino-Indian relations in the 1950s has emphasized cooperation, revising previous narratives of an inexorable march towards the 1962 border war. This article reassesses that cooperation by focusing on India's role as an intermediary between the unrecognized government in Beijing and the United Nations (UN). Chinese sources reveal that Sino-Indian cooperation over UN affairs was complicated by competing conceptions of how the decolonizing world should fit into the international system and who should be at the helm. Despite such disagreements, the Cold War UN provided a setting where divergent post-colonial visions could be sublimated into meaningful international cooperation.

The first goal is to thwart the outbreak, but researchers also hope for new insights into combating the virus

The Department of Immigration has announced on September 22 that the nationals of the Republic of Yemen need to attain a visa to enter Hong Kong, including the transit passengers from September 29th.In the present scenario, the nationals of the Republic…

Focused mainly on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this report takes stock of 5 years of implementation of national and international programmes and initiatives designed to operationalise the recommendations of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance on Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas in the Great Lakes Region of Central Africa.

The OECD Secretary-General, Mr. Angel Gurría, chaired several high-level panels; the OECD actively participated through a series of events, the launch of four new reports and by taking part in a number of workshops and seminars throughout the forum. ‌

There is a wealth of research and literature explaining suburban sprawl and the urgent need to retrofit suburbia. However, until now there has been no single guide that directly explains how to repair typical sprawl elements.

The Forest Inventory and Analysis program collected, analyzed, and summarized field data on 44 forested field plots for the 10 largest atoll groups in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI): Ailinglaplap, Arno, Jaluit, Kwajalein, Likiep, Majuro, Maloelap, Mili, Rongelap, and Wotje.

(United States Supreme Court) - Addressed a question concerning a method of serving civil process on a foreign state. The Republic of Sudan argued that a mailing must be sent directly to the foreign minister's office in the foreign state, not to the foreign state's U.S. embassy. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed with Sudan's argument in an 8-1 decision. Justice Alito delivered the Court's opinion, in this case arising out of the 2000 bombing of the Navy vessel USS Cole.

(United States DC Circuit) - Held that 14 Holocaust survivors could proceed with their lawsuit against the Republic of Hungary seeking compensation for the seizure and expropriation of their property during the Holocaust. Reversed the district court, which had dismissed their complaint based on principles of international comity and on grounds of forum non conveniens.

(United States Supreme Court) - Addressed a question concerning a method of serving civil process on a foreign state. The Republic of Sudan argued that a mailing must be sent directly to the foreign minister's office in the foreign state, not to the foreign state's U.S. embassy. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed with Sudan's argument in an 8-1 decision. Justice Alito delivered the Court's opinion, in this case arising out of the 2000 bombing of the Navy vessel USS Cole.

(United States DC Circuit) - Held that the district court should not have sua sponte raised a statute of limitations defense to defeat a terrorism lawsuit against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which had failed to make an appearance in the case. The suit alleged that Iran was involved in terrorist bombings in the 1980s and 1990s that killed or injured the plaintiffs' family members. Vacated a dismissal.

(United States DC Circuit) - Held that claimants whose family members were harmed in a terrorist attack may state a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress even if the claimants were not present at the scene of the attack. The case involved District of Columbia tort law and terrorist bombings in East Africa.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Affirmed. In the absence of the invalidated extension statute, Plaintiffs’ claims seeking compensation for property taken from Plaintiffs’ ancestors during the Armenian Genocide brought under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act were barred by the statute of limitations for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

(United States Fourth Circuit) - Affirming the district court's grant of a declaratory judgment to the plaintiff that it hadn't breached any contractual agreement with Korea, but refusing a permanent injunction barring Korea from suing them in Korean courts in a contract suit between a US defense contractor and Korea in a complex set of exchanges involved in upgrading the country's fighter planes.

A chronology of key events

A chronology of key events

Key facts, figures and dates

Key facts, figures and dates

The Amateur Traveler talks to Kathy from My Time To Travel about her recent trip to the Republic of Georgia. Kathy is a fan of mountains and Georgia has them in abundance because of its location between the Lesser and Greater Caucuses. She visited the Black Sea coast at Batumi, the capital of Tibilisi, the wine region, the cave city of Voronya and went part of the way up the legendary Georgia military highway into the Caucuses. Kathy talks about the history of Georgia and its location on the silk road, its religion and architecture.

Hear about travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as the Amateur Traveler talks to Chris and Sasha Rosencranz about their recent trip to this African country. The DRC is located along the south bank of the Congo River. This large country used to be the Belgian Congo. Chris was previously on the Amateur Traveler talking about the Republic of the Congo as well.