GPF Annual Highlights
2001
NGO Working Group on the Security Council We organized 48 meetings of the NGO Working Group on the Security Council -- nearly one each week. Most meetings, including three luncheons, brought together 20-30 NGO representatives with a Council ambassador. The Working Group also met with UN officials including High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson and Under Secretary General Sir Kieran Prendergast. The meetings promoted an intense policy exchange.
Foreign Minister Meetings We met with foreign ministers - Jack Straw of the UK and Brian Cowan of Ireland - for the first time, as part of the program of the NGO Working Group on the Security Council.
Social and Economic Policy We worked on income inequality, transnational corporations, offshore finance, the privatization of public services and the Bretton Woods Institutions and we followed closely the preparatory negotiations for the UN's "Financing for Development" conference.
9/11 Coverage We launched a major new section of the GPF web site to cover the unfolding events after the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The secton features materials on UN responses, Afghanistan, terrorism, fundamentalism, civil liberties, and wider global dimensions of the crisis. We gave many media interviews on the Afghanistan war and other breaking news.
Humanitarian Advocacy Luncheon We organized a luncheon for NGOs, UN officials and delegates on "The Landmine Ban: implications for humanitarian advocacy" (March 27) in partnership with Tufts University's Humanitarianism and War Project. Participants discussed how to apply lessons from the landmine campaign to other projects such as the International Criminal Court, and the convention on small arms.
Roundtables on Global Taxes and the Reform of the IMF We organized two international roundtables on economic policy issues, in partnership with the World Economy, Ecology and Development Association (WEED) and the Heinrich Bí¶ll Foundation. More than fifty NGO experts and campaigners from many countries discussed "Global Taxes for Global Priorities" in New York (May 5) and "Quo Vadis IMF? A Reform Debate" in Washington (October 22).
UN Finance We closely monitored the financial difficulties of the United Nations and its agencies. We posted definitive tables and charts to inform the public about the crisis and its causes. After more than six years working on this effort, we welcomed payments of $1.32 billion by the United States, which greatly improved the organization's finances. Over $1 billion of US dues are still unpaid, though, and UN budgets remain frozen and woefully inadequate.
Reception/Book Launch In partnership with Worldwatch Institute, the UN Environment Program and the Rene Dubos Institute, we hosted a reception on World Environment Day (June 5) that included the launch of the Worldwatch book Vital Signs.
Illicit Small Arms Trade In preparation for the UN conference on small arms in July, we developed a special section of our web site – recognized by the Washington Post as one of the most useful sources of information on the subject.
UN Global Compact We took an active role as critic of the United Nations' "Global Compact" with corporations. We spoke at several meetings on this topic, arguing that the Compact is hopelessly vague, lacks monitoring and does not have the confidence of the international community.
Reports and Policy Papers We published several reports and policy papers on development assistance, NGOs, offshore finance, and peacekeeping.
Web Site We posted more than 3,000 new web pages to our web site during the year. Yearly usage again doubled, to 8.5 million hits.
Weekly Electronic Newsletter We produced a weekly List-Serv electronic newsletter with original news analysis on a range of global issues, as well as links to new web site postings. The subscriber list includes persons from more than 70 countries.
Lectures and Conference Participation Executive Director James Paul spoke at a conference in Berlin on "Transatlantic Relations" and a conference in Ottawa on "Canada and the UN Security Council." GPF made a number of other presentations, including talks on peacekeeping reform and "Financing for Development." We attended major conferences including a gathering with UN ambassadors on the UN and NGOs.
Private Meetings and Consultations We participated in a number of private meetings and consultations, including a breakfast meeting with the Managing Director of the Bank for International Settlements Andrew Crockett, consultations on NGO access with Assistant Secretary General Gillian Martin Sorensen, and a dinner with German Environment Minister Jürgen Trittin and UN Environment Programme Director Klaus Tí¶pfer.
Media Outreach We gave over 30 media interviews, including Australian Broadcasting, Pacific News Service, South Africa Radio, CBC TV, Japan TV, CBS-TV, Universal Press Syndicate and UN Radio. Two television interviews were filmed in the GPF office.
Internship Program We hosted 18 interns from ten countries in our international internship program and maintained a contact network with over 60 alumni.
Computer System Upgrade We purchased a new dedicated system server for the office local area network. We also adopted a new software operating system and several new or upgraded programs.
Staff Change Giji Gya of Australia departed and Céline Nahory of Switzerland joined the staff.
Finances We increased GPF's revenue and attracted new sources of funding, both individual and institutional, providing the essential support for our growing program work.
Global Policy Forum is supported primarily by contributions from generous individuals who join as members. GPF also receives grants from foundations and partner institutions. GPF is incorporated in the State of New York, registered as a charitable organization and recognized by the US Internal Revenue Service as a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the revenue code.
