miƩrcoles, 14 de marzo de 2007

Tuvalu

Tuvalu has never participated with any type of contribution in UN peacekeeping operations. Besides not having defence forces, Tuvalu’s main reason for not contributing is that their foreign policy agenda is more focused into environmental issues (rising seas which could make Tuvalu disappear) and issues of international development. Tuvalu is also a member of the SIDS. Tuvalu has provided police officers to the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands since December 2004 (RAMSI 2006g, par. 1).

Initial variables of the data collection process:

UN/UN peacekeeping policy reform
No record.

Perception of peacekeeping
No record.

Domestic political environment
There are no political parties, and political life and elections are dominated by personalities (Thomson 2006x, par. 2). Small island constituencies with a few hundred kin-related electors judge the leaders by their service to the community (Ibid.). “Apisai Ielemia took office in August 2006 [as the prime minister] after nearly all the ministers in the previous government were ousted at the ballot box” (BBC 2006bj, par. 3). On taking office, he promised to improve media freedom and accused the previous government of gagging the press (Ibid.).

Domestic economic environment
Prime Minister Toaripi Lauti noted that all Tuvalu has is sun and a portion of the Pacific (Thomson 2006x, par. 2). Economic life is simple, but there is no extreme poverty (Ibid.). Subsistence is based on intensive use of limited resources (Ibid.). The islands are too small and too remote for development of a tourist industry (Ibid.).The United Nations ranks Tuvalu among the least-developed countries (Ibid., par. 4).

Military affairs
Tuvalu has no armed forces except for the local police, which include a maritime surveillance unit (Ibid., par. 2). For defence the islands rely on Australian-trained volunteers from Fiji and Papua New Guinea (Ibid.).

Foreign policy
Tuvalu became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations in September 2000, and the 189th member of the UN in September 2000 (Ibid., par. 9). In 1979, Tuvalu signed a treaty of friendship with the United States, which in 1983 formally dropped its prior claim to four of the nine islands (Ibid.). Tuvalu opposes French nuclear testing in the South Pacific (Ibid.). Tuvalu depends on foreign aid, the income from the sale of tuna fishing licenses and the interest from a trust fund set up in 1987 (BBC 2006bj, par. 3). The sale of postage stamps also brings in revenues (Ibid.). It is one of a handful of countries to have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which has funded the construction of Tuvalu's largest building—a three-storey administrative headquarters (Ibid.).

Additional variables found after the preliminary analysis:

Climate changes

Its vulnerability to external shocks includes the real possibility that the nine low-lying coral islands that constitute the country could disappear beneath a rising ocean level as one of the effects of global warming (Thomson 2006x, par. 1). Already, thousands in this rather densely populated country have been displaced by ocean swamping parts of the land (Ibid.).

Independent negotiations taken by DPKO to seek troops
No record.

Independent negotiations taken by contributor countries to engage non-contributor countries
No record.

Meetings organized by other international organizations to engage in dialogue about peacekeeping
No record.