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Global Climate Change: Selected Legal Questions About the Kyoto Protocol

Description: This report addresses legal issues after the United States signed the Kyoto Protocol to the UnitedNations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The protocol is not yet in effect internationally and cannot be legally binding on the U.S. unless and until the Senate gives its advice and consent.
Date: October 1, 2002
Creator: Ackerman, David M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Trade and the Americas

Description: At the 1994 Summit of the Americas, 34 hemispheric democracies agreed to create a “Free Trade Area of the Americas” (FTAA) no later than 2005. If created, the FTAA would be a $13 trillion market of 34 countries (Cuba is not included) and nearly 800 million people. The population alone would make it the largest free trade area in the world with nearly twice the 450 million population of the now 25-nation European Union. In the nearly ten years following the 1994 summit, Western Hemisphere trade … more
Date: October 19, 2004
Creator: Ahearn, Raymond J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Europe and Counterterrorism: Strengthening Police and Judicial Cooperation

Description: The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States gave new momentum to European Union (EU) initiatives to combat terrorism and other crossborder crimes such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, and financial fraud. For many years, EU efforts to address such challenges were hampered by national sovereignty concerns, insufficient resources, and a lack of trust among law enforcement agencies. However, the terrorist attacks and the subsequent revelation of Al Qaeda cells in Europe ch… more
Date: October 15, 2004
Creator: Archick, Kristin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture and Fast Track or Trade Promotion Authority

Description: New “fast track” (or, trade promotion) authority (TPA) is at issue in the 107th Congress. Such authority could enable the Administration to submit negotiated foreign trade agreements to Congress for consideration under expedited procedures. Efforts to renew this authority, which expired in 1994, have not succeeded since then. Many agricultural and food industry interests are among the export-oriented enterprises that support TPA, arguing that foreign trading partners will not seriously negotiat… more
Date: October 11, 2001
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S. & Hanrahan, Charles E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW): Congressional Issues

Description: This report provides an overview of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and describes its background, objectives, and structure, including the role of the Convention's monitoring body, the CEDAW Committee. It examines U.S. policy and issues in the U.S. ratification debate, including the Convention's possible impact on U.S. sovereignty, its effectiveness in combating discrimination, and its role as an instrument of U.S. foreign policy.
Date: October 28, 2008
Creator: Blanchfield, Luisa
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Afghanistan and Pakistan Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs), H.R. 1318/H.R. 1886/H.R. 2410 and S. 496: Issues and Arguments

Description: This report discusses proposed legislation that would establish a unilateral U.S. trade preference program for Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan. The legislation would permit certain goods produced in designated geographic areas called Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) to be imported into the United States duty-free.
Date: October 15, 2009
Creator: Bolle, Mary Jane
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Jordan-U.S. Free Trade Agreement: Labor Issues

Description: The U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement (FTA), implemented as P.L. 107-43, breaks new ground in including multiple worker rights provisions in the body of a U.S. trade agreement, rather than as a side agreement, for the first time. For this reason, it adds some controversy to the congressional debate over whether worker rights provisions should be included in future trade agreements. This report will be updated as events warrant.
Date: October 4, 2002
Creator: Bolle, Mary Jane
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Chemical Weapons Convention: Issues for Congress

Description: The Convention provides the most extensive and intrusive verification regime of any arms control treaty, extending its coverage to not only governmental but also civilian facilities. The Convention also requires export controls and reporting requirements on chemicals that can be used as warfare agents and their precursors. The CWC establishes the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to oversee the Convention's implementation. Chemical Weapons Convention implementing legis… more
Date: October 29, 2002
Creator: Bowman, Steven R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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First Responder Initiative: Policy Issues and Options

Description: Following the terrorist attacks of September 2001, Congress has given considerable attention to the role of first responders in the nation’s homeland security efforts. This report discusses the “First Responder Initiative”, a recent proposal by the Bush Administration to help state and local first responders prepare for possible terrorist attacks.
Date: October 7, 2002
Creator: Canada, Ben
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congress and U.S. Policy on North Korean Human Rights and Refugees: Recent Legislation and Implementation

Description: The passage of the reauthorization of the North Korean Human Rights Act in October 2008 reasserted congressional interest in influencing the Bush Administration's policy toward North Korea. In addition to reauthorizing funding at original levels, the bill expresses congressional criticism of the implementation of the original 2004 law and adjusts some of the provisions relating to the Special Envoy on Human Rights in North Korea and the U.S. resettlement of North Korean refugees. Some outside a… more
Date: October 22, 2008
Creator: Chanlett-Avery, Emma
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Proposed U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA): Provisions and Implications

Description: This report is designed to assist Members of Congress as they consider the costs and benefits of the U.S.-South Korean Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA.) It examines the provisions of the KORUS FTA in the context of the overall U.S.-South Korean economic relationship, U.S. objectives, and South Korean objectives.
Date: October 17, 2008
Creator: Cooper, William H.; Manyin, Mark E.; Jones, Vivian C.; Cooney, Stephen; Jurenas, Remy & Siskin, Alison
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The "FTO List" and Congress: Sanctioning Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations

Description: The purpose of this report is to provide Congress with an overview of the nature and status of the designated foreign terrorist organizations list, as a potential tool in overseeing the implementation and effects of U.S. legislation designed to sanction terrorists
Date: October 21, 2003
Creator: Cronin, Audrey Kurth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Democratic Republic of Congo: Background and Current Developments

Description: This report discusses in brief the current political state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as the crisis situation in eastern Congo that has displaced more than 250,000 civilians. It also describes U.S., U.N., and other international efforts to aid in resolving the crisis.
Date: October 15, 2009
Creator: Dagne, Ted
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Africa's Great Lakes Region: Current Conditions in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda

Description: Africa's Great Lakes region is slowly becoming more stable after almost a decade of conflicts. The region remains vulnerable, however, since armed rebel groups are active in eastern Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and northern Uganda. This report discusses conflicts in these areas in detail, as well as U.S.-led efforts to reach peaceful resolutions.
Date: October 28, 2003
Creator: Dagne, Theodore S. & Farrell, Maureen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Terrorism Abroad: A Quick Look at Applicable Federal and State Laws

Description: Terrorists' attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City and the American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania have stimulated demands that the terrorists responsible and those like them be brought to justice. American criminal law already proscribes many of these acts of terrorism and there have been proposals to expand that coverage.
Date: October 3, 2001
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Terrorism at Home: A Quick Look at Applicable Federal and State Criminal Laws

Description: Terrorists' attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City and the American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania have stimulated demands that the terrorists responsible and those like them be brought to justice. American criminal law already proscribes many of these acts of terrorism and there have been proposals to expand that coverage. The conduct we most often associate with terrorism – bombings, assassinations, armed assaults, kidnapping, threats – … more
Date: October 3, 2001
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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