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Sexual Violence in African Conflicts

Description: This report covers the issue of sexual violence in the midst of civil conflict in African nations. Civilians in Africa's conflict zones are often vulnerable to sexual violence, including rape, mutilation, and sexual slavery. This violence is carried out by government security forces and non-state actors, including, rebel groups, militias, and criminal organizations. Some abuses appear to be opportunistic, or the product of a larger breakdown in the rule of law and social order that may occur am… more
Date: November 30, 2010
Creator: Arieff, Alexis
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The European Union: Leadership Changes Resulting from the Lisbon Treaty

Description: The European Union (EU) is an important partner or interlocutor of the United States on a large number of global political and economic issues. This report discusses changes introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, which have a significant impact on the leadership of the European Council, the Council of Ministers, and the EU's rotating presidency system.
Date: July 8, 2010
Creator: Mix, Derek E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S.-China Counterterrorism Cooperation: Issues for U.S. Policy

Description: This report discusses the United States counterterrorism cooperation with China after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. This effort raised short-term policy issues about how to elicit cooperation and how to address China's concerns about military action (Operation Enduring Freedom). Longer-term questions have concerned whether counterterrorism has strategically transformed bilateral relations and whether China's support has been valuable and not obtained at the expense of other U.S. … more
Date: July 8, 2010
Creator: Kan, Shirley A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iran Sanctions

Description: This report focuses on the United States' relationship with Iran and how the Obama Administration is handling prior administration's economic sanctions against Iran. The Obama Administration's policy approach toward Iran has contrasted with the Bush Administration's by attempting to couple the imposition of sanctions to an active and direct U.S. effort to negotiate with Iran on the nuclear issue.
Date: May 26, 2010
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Maritime Territorial and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes Involving China: Issues for Congress

Description: This report presents policy and oversight issues for Congress arising from maritime territorial disputes involving China in the South China Sea (SCS), East China Sea (ECS), and an additional dispute over whether China has a right under international law to regulate U.S. and other foreign military activities in its maritime Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Date: December 24, 2014
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Cuba Sanctions: Legislative Restrictions Limiting the Normalization of Relations

Description: This report provides information on legislative provisions restricting relations with Cuba. It lists the various provisions of law comprising economic sanctions on Cuba, including key laws that are the statutory basis of the embargo, and provides information on the authority to lift or waive these restrictions.
Date: February 13, 2015
Creator: Rennack, Dianne E. & Sullivan, Mark P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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NATO Common Funds Burdensharing: Background and Current Issues

Description: Member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) contribute to the activities of the alliance in several ways, the chief of which is through the deployment of their own armed forces, funded by their national budgets. Certain commonly conducted activities, however, are paid for out of three NATO-run budgets. These three accounts--the civil budget, the military budget, and the security investment program--are funded by individual contributions from the member states. This report dis… more
Date: January 27, 2009
Creator: Ek, Carl
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iran: Interim Nuclear Agreement and Talks on a Comprehensive Accord

Description: This report discusses the nuclear agreement talks between Iran and the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and Germany -- collectively known as the "P5+1 -- which finalized an interim agreement ("Joint Plan of Action," JPA) requiring Iran to freeze many aspects of its nuclear program in exchange for relief from some international sanctions.
Date: February 2, 2015
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth; Kerr, Paul K. & Nikitin, Mary Beth D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Sudan: The Crisis in Darfur and Status of the North-South Peace Agreement

Description: This report discusses the history of Sudan's civil unrest and the subsequent crisis in Darfur, as well as United Nations and United States aid and peacekeeping efforts, and current related policy under the Obama Administration.
Date: May 28, 2010
Creator: Dagne, Ted
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Nigeria's 2015 Elections and the Boko Haram Crisis

Description: This report provides an overview of the social and political situation in Nigeria. The report discusses the 2015 election in Nigeria, the rising threat of Boko Haram, and the U.S. policy and assistance.
Date: January 28, 2015
Creator: Ploch Blanchard, Lauren
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Border Security: Immigration Inspections at Ports of Entry

Description: This report reviews the legislative history of immigration inspections requirements and the entry-exit system. The report then describes the implementation of these provisions, including pre-travel screening, primary and secondary inspections, trusted traveler programs, outbound enforcement, and the entry-exit system. The final section of the report identifies a number of issues for Congress related to immigration admissions and enforcement at ports of entry (POEs).
Date: January 26, 2015
Creator: Seghetti, Lisa
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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International Drug Control Policy

Description: This report provides an overview of U.S. international drug control policy. It describes major international counternarcotics initiatives and evaluates the broad array of U.S. drug control policy tools currently in use. The report also considers alternative counterdrug policy approaches to current initiatives and raises several counterdrug policy issues and considerations for policy makers.
Date: March 8, 2010
Creator: Wyler, Liana Sun
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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People Crossing Borders: An Analysis of U.S. Border Protection Policies

Description: This report provides an overview of the current border protection framework and its operationally oriented strategic elements and measures their effectiveness. The report draws on documents from Congress and the Administration, as well as other publications, to pull together an overarching picture of protection at the border. This overview includes a historical background and a definition of what "border protection" means in a contemporary context. Building on this definition, the report provid… more
Date: May 13, 2010
Creator: Haddal, Chad C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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NATO Common Funds Burdensharing: Background and Current Issues

Description: Member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) contribute to the activities of the alliance in several ways, the chief of which is through the deployment of their own armed forces, funded by their national budgets. Certain commonly conducted activities, however, are paid for out of three NATO-run budgets. These three accounts--the civil budget, the military budget, and the security investment program--are funded by individual contributions from the member states. This report dis… more
Date: April 22, 2010
Creator: Ek, Carl
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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United Nations System Funding: Congressional Issues

Description: This report tracks the process by which Congress provides the funding for U.S. assessed contributions to the regular budgets of the United Nations, its agencies, and U.N. peacekeeping operation accounts, as well as for U.S. voluntary contributions to U.N. system programs and funds. It includes information on the President's request and the congressional response, as well as congressional initiatives during this legislative process. Basic information is provided to help the reader understand thi… more
Date: May 19, 2010
Creator: Browne, Marjorie Ann & Nakamura, Kennon H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Islamic State in Egypt: Implications for U.S.-Egyptian Relations

Description: This report discusses Islamist militancy in Egypt; specifically the presence the Islamic State organization (IS, aka the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL/ISIS). The report also briefly discusses what the propagation of militants means for relations between the United States and Egypt.
Date: December 18, 2014
Creator: Sharp, Jeremy M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Kuwait: Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

Description: This report looks at Kuwait's relationships with its neighbors in the Persian Gulf, and its own political system which has been in turmoil since 2006.
Date: February 3, 2015
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement

Description: This report discusses the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), a free trade agreement that includes nations on both sides of the Pacific. Original members of the TPP were Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, and Singapore. The United States, Australia, Peru, and Vietnam have committed themselves to joining and expanding this group. This report discusses similar trade partnerships, the importance of Asia to U.S. trade and security interests, and U.S. participation in the TPP.
Date: April 14, 2010
Creator: Fergusson, Ian F. & Vaughn, Bruce
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Nigeria

Description: This report discusses the political climate, development challenges and reform in Nigeria. The report discusses Nigeria's most recent general elections, which the U.S. State Department called "deeply flawed," were held in April 2007.
Date: June 4, 2010
Creator: Ploch, Lauren
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Latin America and Climate Change

Description: This report briefly discusses recent policy efforts in Latin America to confront climate change and the Obama Administrations' Energy and Climate Partnership for the Americas (ECPA).
Date: December 11, 2014
Creator: Beittel, June S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Uganda: Current Conditions and the Crisis in North Uganda

Description: This report discusses the current political conditions of Uganda, which have long been ravaged by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), an armed rebel group backed by the government of Sudan. In particular, the report focuses on largely unsuccessful Ugandan efforts to resolve the conflict with the LRA, as well as talks with the U.S. under the Bush Administration and the recent suicide bombings in Kampala, Uganda, in July 2010.
Date: May 19, 2010
Creator: Dagne, Ted
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Pakistan: Key Current Issues and Developments

Description: This report reviews key current issues and developments in Pakistan and in U.S.-Pakistan relations.
Date: June 1, 2010
Creator: Kronstadt, K. Alan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Defense: FY2015 Authorization and Appropriations

Description: This report examines the issues related to the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the state and substance of the negotiations (to the degree that the information is publicly available), the specific areas under negotiation, the policy and economic contexts in which the TPP would fit, and the issues for Congress that the TPP presents.
Date: January 30, 2015
Creator: Fergusson, Ian F.; McMinimy, Mark A. & Williams, Brock R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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A Shift in the International Security Environment: Potential Implications for Defense--Issues for Congress

Description: A shift in the international security environment could have significant implications for U.S. defense plans and programs. A previous shift in the international security environment--from the Cold War to the post-Cold War era--prompted a broad reassessment by the Department of Defense (DOD) and Congress of defense funding levels, strategy, and missions that led to numerous changes in DOD plans and programs. The issue for Congress is whether a shift in the international security environment ha… more
Date: January 21, 2015
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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