GPF Annual Highlights
2004
We continued our active program of information and advocacy on Iraq, carrying out research, providing dozens of media interviews, and working for a real end to the occupation. Our website remains one of the world's major Iraq resources, with special emphasis on the occupation and the role of the United Nations. We deepened our special expertise on the role of oil in the conflict and published several papers on this topic. We also took a leading role in analysis and advocacy concerning the Development Fund for Iraq, whose billions have remained unaccounted for. We covered the Oil for Food scandal, providing an informed and serious analysis to balance the aggressive conservative attacks on the UN and the Secretary General.
Peace & Security
With much of media and political attention still focused on Iraq, GPF provided vital information on the many other crises, both on (and off) the UN agenda, including Haiti, Burundi, the Ivory Coast, and Sudan/Darfur. We organized 51 meetings of the NGO Working Group on the Security Council, bringing NGO leaders into weekly contact with Council ambassadors, UN officials and even a few foreign ministers. NGOs use these meetings to monitor the Council and to advocate for just and effective Council action in crises such as Iraq, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Israel/Palestine, Sudan and Afghanistan. We also continued our active policy work on sanctions and peacekeeping.
Natural Resources in Conflict
We deepened our policy research, advocacy and website coverage on the role of natural resources - such as diamonds, timber and oil - in conflict. We built networks with other NGOs working on the topic, and led advocacy efforts at the UN. Along with NGO partners, we submitted recommendations to the Secretary General's panel on "Threats, Challenges and Change," and we raised the issue of natural resources in conflict in private meetings with a number of delegations.
NGOs & Global Governance
We continued our active research and advocacy on the worldwide NGO movement, including close monitoring of the UN's Cardoso Panel on "The UN and Civil Society." In the fall, GPF published a response to the panel report, concluding that the recommendations may hinder rather than help NGO access at the UN. We thoroughly examined government and corporate funding of NGOs and how these relationships shape NGO policy stances and priorities. We also monitored the growing problems of humanitarian NGOs' field operations in crisis areas and war zones, especially the pressure for political conformity and the blurring of distinctions due to military forces engaging directly in humanitarian action. Our seven year ODS campaign succeeded in gaining UN financing for computer infrastructure that allows free worldwide access to the UN "Official Documents System." By 2005 everyone in the world will have free access to all official UN documents via the internet.
Social & Economic Policy/Globalization
Our work on global social and economic policy focused on inequality and poverty, the role of the international financial institutions, international trade, and transnational corporations. We produced tables and charts highlighting the gender imbalance at the UN and we deepened our analysis of corporate malfeasance and the crisis arriving from the large scandals at Enron, WorldCom, Parmalat and many other large companies. We examined globalization and its discontents and completely revamped the globalization web section to make it more user-friendly and comprehensive.
Hunger
We continued our special policy work on world hunger, analyzing the causes of hunger and examining the scandal of rich governments' failure to provide adequate funding for hunger emergencies. On our website we published tables and charts clearly illustrating the lack of funding for international hunger relief.
Global Compact Counter-Summit
In partnership with a number of other NGOs, we organized a counter-event to the UN's "Global Compact Leaders' Summit" on June 23. The official summit brought several hundred top executives of multinational companies to UN headquarters to discuss their commitments to ten Compact principles. Our event pointed out that the Compact has no means of oversight or enforcement and is largely a public relations exercise. Harvard professor John Ruggie, one of the architects of the Global Compact, debated John Cavanagh, Executive Director of the Institute for Policy Studies to a standing-room-only crowd. The political theater group "Billionaires for Bush" added humor to the proceedings. The event concluded in the signing of a "Joint Civil Society Statement on the Global Compact and Corporate Accountability," calling on governments and the UN to critically examine the Global Compact and consider real alternatives to corporate accountability.
Empire?
We built our analysis of Empire, by studying the history of the United States and its emergence as a world power in the late 19th Century. We see empire today as the despotic counter model to multilateralism and a democratic world order. Factors of concern include the US military presence in over 100 countries, enormous US economic influence, and strong opposition from Washington to multilateral institutions like the UN and to democratic citizen movements for an alternative world.
United Nations Finance
We closely monitored the UN's financial travails. Though the US and the UK have spent over $150 billion on the war and occupation in Iraq, they are opposed to increases in the UN budget, which presently totals a mere $1.5 billion -- just 25¢ per person worldwide.
UN Reform
We completely overhauled our web-based information on UN reform, taking into account many initiatives over the past six years and placing the reform process in a context of larger global trends of neoliberalism and globalization and conservative efforts in the US to undermine the world body. Among other things the site includes analysis and information on recent UN panels and other past initiatives. It looks at reform of ECOSOC, the General Assembly and the Security Council and the role of non-state actors such as NGOs and business at the UN.
Media
We gave 167 interviews to over 50 media outlets including television, film, radio, newspaper and magazines from many countries including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Dubai, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Qatar, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Web Site/Newsletter
GPF hosts the world's largest NGO site on the UN and global policy. During 2004 the site registered a total of 42 million hits from more than 4 million visitors. We posted new documents and continued to refine the design of the site for greater user-friendliness. Our electronic newsletter distribution grew rapidly, reaching subscribers in more than 80 countries.
Policy Papers & Essays
We produced a paper on "Oil Companies in Iraq: a Century of Rivalry and War" and another titled "Byzantine Beginnings," on the history of oil in Iraq from the World War I era to the nationalization of 1972. We also published short papers on "The Hidden Veto," about the use of veto threats in the Security Council, and "CAFTA from a Nicaraguan Perspective," about the Central American Free Trade Agreement and its likely effects on the Nicaraguan society. We prepared two other papers for publication: one on offshore financial centers and another on diamonds and conflict in Africa.
Anniversary Events
In celebration of GPF's Tenth Anniversary, we hosted a reception on May 5 that was attended by 175 friends and supporters, including NGO colleagues, diplomats, UN staff, donors and other friends. On May 22, we held an anniversary picnic in Central Park for interns past and present.
Conferences, Lectures and Meeting Participation
We participated in a conference on "Petropolitics" in Washington DC in January and a conference on "Responsibility to Protect" in Montreal in June. We also took part in more than a dozen meetings, conferences and other events at the UN and its environs.
European Office
In October, GPF opened a European office in Bonn, Germany. GPF Europe is headed by Jens Martens, a longtime friend of GPF and a well-respected NGO leader. The European office took part in organizing two events during its first three months: "Globalisation and Tax Justice" and "Strengthening Coalitions for Social Justice in Europe."
New Office Space
GPF acquired a larger office space, located in the same building right across the street from UN headquarters. The new office required much planning beginning in June. Construction work started in November with the move taking place in January of 2005. The new office will greatly strengthen GPF's capacity for future work and development.
Internships
We hosted a total of 14 interns in 2004. The talented young people joined GPF from ten countries – Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, India, Malaysia, Sweden and the United States. We wrote numerous recommendation letters and gave career support to current and former interns.
Budget & Fundraising
In 2004 GPF's budget grew to $290,000 from $256,000 in 2003. In the fall GPF received a generous bequest from founding board member Ruth Steinkraus-Cohen, who passed away in the spring of 2002.
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.
