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Global Climate Change: The Kyoto Protocol

Description: This report discusses the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that was completed December 11, 1997, committing the industrialized nations to specified, legally binding reductions in emissions of six “greenhouse gases.”
Date: October 27, 2004
Creator: Fletcher, Susan R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America: An Overview and Selected Issues

Description: The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) is a trilateral initiative that was launched in March 2005 for the purpose of increasing and enhancing security and prosperity in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This initiative promoted communication and cooperation across several key policy areas of mutual interest, such as improving certain sectors of the economy, developing higher health and safety standards, and addressing environmental concerns. This report describes th… more
Date: May 27, 2009
Creator: Villarreal, M. Angeles & Lake, Jennifer E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Piracy off the Horn of Africa

Description: This report discusses recent (2010) pirate attacks on vessels, including United States vessels, in the waters off the Horn of Africa. The Horn of Africa is sometimes called the Somali Peninsula and includes the nations of Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Somalia. This report explores reasons behind the increased number of pirate attacks in recent years, as well as what efforts are being taken to combat said attacks, including those by the 111th Congress and President Obama and his Administratio… more
Date: April 27, 2011
Creator: Ploch, Lauren; Blanchard, Christopher M.; O'Rourke, Ronald; Mason, R. Chuck & King, Rawle O.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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In Re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001: Claims Against Saudi Defendants Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA)

Description: This report summarizes the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) and jurisdiction in cases against foreign defendants and analyzes the court of appeals decision. It also discusses legislative efforts to address these issues(S. 1535 and H.R. 3143).
Date: December 27, 2013
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Nuclear Cooperation with Other Countries: A Primer

Description: This report discusses section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), the specific requirements of which must be met in order for the United States to engage in civilian nuclear cooperation with other states. The AEA also provides for exemptions to these requirements, export control licensing procedures, and criteria for terminating cooperation.
Date: January 27, 2014
Creator: Kerr, Paul K. & Nikitin, Mary Beth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Closing the Guantanamo Detention Center: Legal Issues

Description: This report provides an overview of major legal issues likely to arise as a result of executive and legislative action to close the Guantanamo detention facility. It discusses legal issues related to the transfer of Guantanamo detainees, the continued detention of such persons in the United States, and the possible removal of persons brought into the country. It also discusses selected constitutional issues that may arise in the criminal prosecution of detainees, emphasizing the procedural and … more
Date: January 27, 2010
Creator: Garcia, Michael John; Bazan, Elizabeth B.; Mason, R. Chuck; Liu, Edward C. & Henning, Anna C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Protecting the U.S. Perimeter: "Border Searches" Under the Fourth Amendment

Description: This report addresses the scope of the government's authority to search and seize individuals at the border pursuant to the constitutional framework that encompasses the border search exception to the warrant and probable cause requirements of the Fourth Amendment. This report also describes the varying levels of suspicion generally associated with each type of border search as interpreted by the courts. In addition, this report highlights some of the border security recommendations made by the… more
Date: June 27, 2008
Creator: Kim, Yule
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Trafficking in Persons: U.S. Policy and Issues for Congress

Description: This report focuses on international and domestic human trafficking and U.S. policy responses, with particular emphasis on the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) and its subsequent reauthorizations. The report begins with a description of key Trafficking in persons (TIP)-related definitions and an overview of the human trafficking problem. It follows with an overview of major foreign policy responses to international human trafficking. The report then focuses on responses to traf… more
Date: February 27, 2013
Creator: Siskin, Alison & Wyler, Liana Sun
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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International Parental Child Abductions

Description: This report discusses the applicability of the Hague Convention and current U.S. laws, both civil and criminal, which seek to address the quandary of children abducted by parents to foreign nations.
Date: January 27, 2014
Creator: Smith, Alison M.
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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H.R. 399, the Secure Our Borders First Act of 2015: Report in Brief

Description: This report provides a summary of select provisions in the Secure Our Borders First Act of 2015 (H.R. 399), which was introduced on January 16, 2015. On January 21, 2015, an amendment in the nature of a substitute to the bill was offered and marked up. The bill was also reported out of the House Homeland Security Committee on January 21, 2015.
Date: January 27, 2015
Creator: Seghetti, Lisa & Bjelopera, Jerome P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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United Nations Reform: U.S. Policy and International Perspectives

Description: This report focuses on U.N. reform efforts and priorities from the perspective of several key actors, including the U.S. government, the U.N. Secretary-General, selected groups of member states, and a cross-section of groups tasked with addressing U.N. reform. It also examines congressional actions related to U.N. reform, as well as future policy considerations.
Date: July 27, 2009
Creator: Blanchfield, Luisa
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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United Nations Reform: U.S. Policy and International Perspectives

Description: This report focuses on U.N. reform efforts and priorities from the perspective of several key actors, including the U.S. government, the U.N. Secretary-General, selected groups of member states, and a cross-section of groups tasked with addressing U.N. reform. It also examines congressional actions related to U.N. reform, as well as future policy considerations.
Date: January 27, 2009
Creator: Blanchfield, Luisa
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and the Role of Congress in Trade Policy

Description: This report presents background and analysis on the development of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), which expired on July 1, 2007. The report also includes a summary of the major provisions under the recently expired authority and a discussion of the issues that have arisen in the debate over TPA renewal, as well as policy options available to Congress.
Date: April 27, 2015
Creator: Fergusson, Ian F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Mexico's Free Trade Agreements

Description: This report provides an overview of Mexico's free trade agreements, its motivations for trade liberalization and entering into free trade agreements, and some of the issues Mexico faces in addressing its economic challenges.
Date: August 27, 2009
Creator: Villarreal, M. Angeles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives After 15 Years: Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives' (OTI's) origin, its past and present activities, and issues about the program's impact, structure, and role within USAID that may be of interest to Congress. OTI's activities are overtly political, based on the idea that in the midst of political crisis and instability abroad there are local agents of change whose efforts, when supported by timely and creative U.S. assistance, can tip the balance toward peaceful and democratic outc… more
Date: May 27, 2009
Creator: Lawson, Marian L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iran Nuclear Agreement

Description: This report discusses the recently finalized Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that attempts to ensure that Iran's nuclear program can be used for purely peaceful purposes, in exchange for a broad suspension of U.S., European Union (EU), and United Nations sanctions.
Date: October 27, 2015
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth & Kerr, Paul K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Nuclear Cooperation with Other Countries: A Primer

Description: This report discusses section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), the specific requirements of which must be met in order for the United States to engage in civilian nuclear cooperation with other states. The AEA also provides for exemptions to these requirements, export control licensing procedures, and criteria for terminating cooperation.
Date: December 27, 2016
Creator: Kerr, Paul K. & Nikitin, Mary Beth D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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