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These might be
of interest to some FWers: I. Open Society Institute. The first pdf file below is just six
pages, the second nine pages. Iraq Revenue Watch Two
new reports by the Iraq Revenue Watch (www.iraqrevenuewatch.org)
highlight an absence
of transparency and inclusiveness in the reconstruction of Iraq and the
management of its public finances. Iraq’s First Public Budget is the first in-depth analysis of the Iraqi
budget. The report highlights the lack of transparency and accountability in
the $6.1 billion budget, which was put forward last month by U.S. Ambassador
Paul Bremer. This budget was a huge step in a country where budgets were
closely guarded state secrets and it was a crime to reveal them. In a list of
recommendations on how to improve the budgetary process in 2004, the report
calls for greater inclusion of Iraqis in the budgetary process, transparency of
the Development Fund for Iraq, the publication of minutes of the Program Review
Board and the elimination of off-budget funds. (http://www.iraqrevenuewatch.org/reports/080503.pdf Iraq’s Reconstruction Contracts: Telecommunications analyzes the lucrative tender that the
Coalition Authority announced in July to provide wireless phone services to
Iraqis. Expanding telephone access is a key step to improving Iraqis' lives.
However, if the U.S. is to succeed in its goal of building a capable and
transparent public administration in Iraq, it is important that Iraqis are
included in the contracting process and that the terms of the tender are not
designed to preference U.S. companies. The report highlights concerns with the
fairness and openness of the mobile phone tender, and provides recommendations
on how to improve the transparency and inclusiveness of subsequent tenders. http://www.iraqrevenuewatch.org/reports/082803.pdf About Iraq Revenue Watch To
receive free notification of new reports, please enter your e-mail address on
the Iraq Revenue Watch web site or simply reply to this email with
"subscribe" as the subject. II. St. Thomas University School of Law: Diplomacy Monitor @ http://www.diplomacymonitor.com More and more
countries around the world are releasing official policy documents,
communiques, and other crucial communications via the Web, along with more
traditional means. The Diplomacy Monitor at the St. Thomas University School of
Law is a fine way to keep track of various communications, as it allows users
to globally track diplomatic and international official statements, press
briefings through their readily accessible monitoring system located at their
site. Utilizing their own proprietary technology, the staff at the Diplomacy
Monitor review annotate and categorize these documents several times throughout
the United Nations business day. The site includes a brief introduction to
using the Monitor, along with the option of full-text searching of every
document archived within the database. For additional discussion of how the
Internet affects global diplomacy, the site also contains some interesting
working papers and reports, such as The Rise of Netpolitik-How the Internet is
Changing International Politics and Diplomacy. [KMG] |
