Research Briefing
A parliamentary election took place in Israel on 17 March 2015. No party won an overall majority, but Likud – the centre-right party of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu – remained the largest party. This note provides a summary of developments.
Research Briefing
South Sudan has been embroiled in a brutal civil war since December 2013. On one side is the government of President Salva Kiir Mayadit (Sudan People’s Liberation Movement) and its’ allies; on the other side is former Vice-President Riek Machar (Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition) and his backers. As some observers warned might happen at the time, the euphoria and optimism that attended South Sudan’s independence in July 2011 has quickly been shattered. At least 2.5 million people currently face crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity. 1.5 million people have been internally displaced. An estimated 60,000 people have been killed. With the price of oil down and oil exports in decline, the country’s economy is in a parlous condition. Peace talks have so far failed and observers now fear a return to all-out conflict.
Research Briefing
In his keynote speech on immigration on 28 November 2014, the Prime Minister set out plans to secure agreement on changes to European law on free movement of persons in order to allow the UK to, among other things, deny EEA migrants in-work benefits for four years and prevent Child Benefit being paid for children living abroad. Proposals to further restrict EEA migrants’ access to benefits have also been put forward by Labour and by the Liberal Democrats.
Research Briefing
The radical jihadis of ISIS still control large areas of Iraq and Syria, despite the international campaign against them. But who are they really?
Research Briefing
Prime Minister David Cameron would like to reform the EU and renegotiate the UK’s relationship with it, before holding an in/out referendum in 2017 if a Conservative government is elected in May 2015. The UK’s new relationship with the EU would be put to the electorate, who would decide whether the UK should remain in the EU under new terms or be the first Member State to leave the EU. This Note looks at what the Government is doing to tackle some of the perceived weaknesses of EU policy and procedures and looks at prospects for future reform.
Research Briefing
This Note looks at past and present law, the role of the Interception of Communications Commissioner in overseeing the present regime and recent developments in this area.
Research Briefing
The EU announced broad economic sanctions against Russia on 29 July 2014 including restrictions on some Russian banks’ ability to borrow money in EU financial markets, and an arms embargo.
Research Briefing
This briefing paper is now out-of-date and has been replaced by Commons Library Briefing 7353, Replacing the UK's Trident Nuclear Deterrent, 26 October 2015.
Research Briefing
The Armed Forces (Service Complaints and Financial Assistance) Bill (HL) 2013-14 completed all of its stages in the House of Commons. It will now go to the House of Lords for consideration.
Research Briefing
What has the Council of Europe done about Russia's poor human rights record or the alleged Russian action in Ukraine?
Research Briefing
The nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference will be held in New York from 27 April to 22 May 2015. This note looks at progress made since the 2010 Conference and outlines the UK Government's position.
Research Briefing
What are the trends for women's equality in the UK and across the globe? This document provides background statistics for International Women's Day 2015, examining international comparisons and UK-specific data.
Research Briefing
On 26 February 2015, the Department for International Development (DFID) announced that it was reconfiguring important elements of its bilateral aid programme with Ethiopia. A key element of this reconfiguration is ending its support for the ‘Promotion of Basic Services Programme’ (PBS), a large multi-donor programme that also receives support from the World Bank and the African Development Bank. DFID’s announcement is striking in that it makes no reference to the controversy that has surrounded the PBS in recent years. Some have implicated it in the Ethiopian Government's 'villagisation programme', which has allegedly involved forced resettlement and human rights abuses. This briefing seeks to place DFID’s announcement in context.
Research Briefing
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (the LDP) won a decisive victory in snap elections held in December 2014. One of the reasons for holding early elections was Abe’s desire to amend Japan’s ‘peace Constitution’ so that in future it expressly permits the country’s armed forces to come to the aid of allies under attack. This is known in Japan as the right of ‘collective self-defence’. In mid- 2014 the Japanese Cabinet approved interpreting the Constitution in this way. Abe is now seeking to give this new interpretation legal and constitutional underpinning. Important as it is, amending Article 9 of the Constitution is just one part of Abe’s plans on the defence and security front. Japan is now looking to enhance its defence capabilities so that it can play a greater role in promoting international “peace, stability and prosperity”. It will also increase its ability to respond effectively to any attack on the Senkaku Islands (as Japan calls them) in the East China Sea.
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