April 12, 2005
Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies // Nanyang Technological University

Abstract:

In an effort to make European troops more employable in out-of-area operations, the United States has urged NATO to set goals of having each member nation able to deploy 40 percent of its forces abroad with at least 8 percent of each nation's military actually deployed at any given time. The motivation behind this idea would be to help sustain the ongoing shift from reliance on territorial defenses during the Cold War to expeditionary forces in the post-September 11 era. Even so, this objective may be exceedingly difficult for new NATO members to achieve, given the competing budgetary and political pressures to which they are subjected....

June 7, 2006
Council of Europe

Abstract:

The United States of America finds that neither the classic instruments of criminal law and procedure, nor the framework of the laws of war (including respect for the Geneva Conventions) has been apt to address the terrorist threat. As a result it has introduced new legal concepts, such as "enemy combatant" and "rendition", which were previously unheard of in international law and stand contrary to the basic legal principles that prevail on our continent. Thus, across the world, the United States has progressively woven a clandestine "spider's web" of disappearances, secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers, often encompassing countries notorious for their use of torture. Hundreds of persons have become entrapped in this web, in some cases merely suspected of sympathising with a presumed terrorist organisation....

October 5, 2005
Globalsecurity.org

Abstract:

After the 1946 election, the communists began to lose some of their popularity, and, as the 1948 election approached, their public support began to decline. Not leaving anything to chance, the communists staged a coup d'etat in February 1948 rather than wait for the scheduled May election. To ensure passivity among military units that might object to such unconstitutional methods, Svoboda confined all noncommunist commanders to quarters. Various units under communist command were placed on alert during the coup, but they were not needed and were not used as the legitimate government was ousted and a Moscow-oriented, communist regime was installed....

October 5, 2005
Globalsecurity.org

Abstract:

On August 20, 1968, Warsaw Pact forces--including troops from Bulgaria, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), Hungary, Poland, and the Soviet Union--invaded Czechoslovakia. Approximately 500,000 troops, mostly from the Soviet Union, poured across the borders in a blitzkrieg-like advance.

January 12, 2005
Minorities at Risk Project // Center for International Development and Conflict Management // University of Maryland

Abstract:

Concentrated mainly in the eastern part of the country (in 1989, more than 55% of Roma lived in the eastern region of Slovakia). Roma are by far the most disadvantaged minority in Slovakia and much of Eastern Europe. The actual size of the minority in Slovakia is unclear. Unofficial estimates claim that as many as 750,000 live in Slovakia but the official census shows only 75,802 who identified themselves as Roma in 1992. However, the Slovak government estimates that there are about 250,000 Roma in the country. It is most likely that the number of Roma in Slovakia is actually somewhere between 400,000 and 500,000. This discrepancy is at least partially due to many Roma claiming other nationalities, either due to assimilation or fear of persecution. Highly distinct from the majority population in terms of culture, race, language, and customs, the group has been historically a frequent target of various forms of official and unofficial discrimination and prejudice. The predecessors of today's Roma are believed to have left their Indian homeland during the 9th and 10th centuries, migrated in the middle of the 11th century through Persia, Armenia and small Asia, and in the 14th and 15th crossed the Danube basin to proceed to the Central and Western Europe. Due to their lack of political cohesion, widespread poverty and low levels of education, Slovak Roma have virtually no risk of rebellion and only a very low risk of protest. Their situation, however, remains poor at best. Roma are still among the poorest in Slovakia and are subject to several forms of discrimination and popular prejudice. The proliferation of Roma political parties and the lack of support at the polls for these parties by the Roma have left them with no representation in the national government. ...

January 12, 2005
Minorities at Risk Project // Center for International Development and Conflict Management // University of Maryland

Abstract:

Virtually all ethnic Hungarians, or Magyars, live in geographically contiguous areas of southern Slovakia. This region, bordering Hungary, is approximately 3,500 square miles, and its population is 61.2 percent ethnic Hungarian. Ethnic Hungarians exceed 50 percent of the population in 432 townships. Nationwide, they constitute the largest ethnic minority in the country. Culturally and linguistically distinct from the dominant Slovak population, the present-day ethnic Hungarians are what remains of the Hungarians who politically and culturally dominated Slovakia for about 1000 years (most recently in the form of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) until 1918, when Czechoslovakia was created. Many Slovak nationalists resent the long history of political subordination to Hungary and view the remaining Hungarian minority in Slovakia not merely as a minority but as the dispossessed former masters. The negative image of the Hungarian minority and fears of their irredentism had been intensified by the group's persistent refusal to integrate itself into the new host state as well as by the revisionist efforts of the neighboring Hungary which had never fully reconciled itself to the harsh dictate of the 1920 Trianon Treaty. The Hungarians in Slovakia have none of the risks of rebellion. While they continue to suffer various types of discrimination, tensions between Hungarians and Slovaks have declined considerably over the last few years. This positive development is partly due to the electoral strength of the Slovak Hungarian parties, which have been part of the ruling democratic coalition since 1998. Another reason for the dec#line in the official Slovak nationalism can be found in the personalistic splits within the Slovak National Party (SNS) itself, leading to its failure to enter the parliament. ...

December 10, 2008
International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Abstract:

A Survey and Analysis of Border Management and Border Apprehension Data from 20 States. With a Special Survey on the Use of Counterfeit Documents. Based on the contributions of the border services of 20 Central and Eastern European states, the 2006 Yearbook again provides its valuable overview and analysis of irregular migration trends in the region. Over the past ten years the annual Yearbook on Illegal Migration, Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe has come to be regarded as an authoritative source of information on recent border trends and in particular on the phenomena of illegal migration, human smuggling and trafficking. The annual Yearbook covers the most recent trends in illegal migration and human smuggling in the region, including long-term trends in border apprehensions, shifts in source, transit and destination countries, demographic characteristics of irregular migrants, the relationship between legal and illegal border crossings, new developments in the methods of border crossings and document abuse and on removals of irregular migrants. In addition, this year’s edition for the first time features a Special Survey on the use of counterfeit documents for illegal migration purposes. This Survey is based on the contributions received from document specialists or Special Units dealing with document security in the countries under review and provides the first comprehensive overview and analysis of patterns and trends in the use of counterfeit documents for illegal migration purposes in Central and Eastern Europe....

September 8, 2008
Amnesty International

Abstract:

This bulletin contains information about Amnesty International’s main concerns in Europe and Central Asia between July and December 2007. Not every country in the region is reported on; only those where there were significant developments in the period covered by the bulletin, or where Amnesty International (AI) took specific action. A number of individual country reports have been issued on the concerns featured in this bulletin. References to these are made under the relevant country entry. In addition, more detailed information about particular incidents or concerns may be found in Urgent Actions and News Service Items issued by AI. This bulletin is published by AI every six months....

September 5, 2008
Congressional Research Service

Abstract:

U.S. policymakers have made securing and maintaining foreign contributions to the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq a major priority since the preparation period for the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. This report highlights and discusses important changes in financial and personnel contributions from foreign governments to Iraq since 2003. To date, foreign donors have pledged an estimated $16.4 billion in grants and loans for Iraq reconstruction, with most major pledges originating at a major donors' conference in Madrid, Spain, in October 2003. However, only a small part of the pledges have been committed or disbursed to the World Bank and United Nations Development Group Trust Funds for Iraq. The largest non-U.S. pledges of grants have come from Japan, the European Commission, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates. The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, Japan, and Saudi Arabia have pledged the most loans and export credits. Currently, 33 countries including the United States have some level of troops on the ground in Iraq or supporting Iraq operations from nearby locations. Those forces are working under the rubric of one of several organizations — the Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I), the NATO Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I); or the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). Currently, the largest troop contributors, in addition to the United States, are the United Kingdom, Georgia, Australia, South Korea, and Poland. Some of these key contributors have announced their intention to reduce or withdraw their forces from Iraq during 2008. The total number of non-U.S. coalition troop contributions has declined since the early stabilization efforts, as other countries have withdrawn their contingents or substantially reduced their size....

November 16, 2007
Amnesty International

Abstract:

The systematic denial of the right to education of Romani children in Slovakia has been exposed and opposed by a wide range of national and international human rights organizations and human rights bodies.1 However, Romani children continue to be largely segregated in inferior education, including through being disproportionately represented in “special” schools and classes. Recent initiatives taken by the government have failed to address these issues, as shown in this report, and underlying causes of these violations have not been effectively and consistently tackled. With this report, Amnesty International is launching a campaign for real change. Amnesty International is calling upon the government of Slovakia, supported by the international community including the European Union (EU), to show leadership and direction to reverse racial discrimination in education and address grave violations of the right to education for Romani children....

May 14, 2007
Government Accountability Office

Abstract:

In March 2003, a U.S.-led multinational force began operations in Iraq. At that time, 48 nations, identified as a "coalition of the willing," offered political, military, and financial support for U.S. efforts in Iraq, with 38 nations other than the United States providing troops. In addition, international donors met in Madrid in October 2003 to pledge funding for the reconstru#ction of Iraq's infrastructure, which had deteriorated after multiple wars and decades of neglect under the previous regime. This testimony discusses (1) the troop commitments other countries have made to operations in Iraq, (2) the funding the United States has provided to support other countries' participation in the multinational force, and (3) the financial support international donors have provided to Iraq reconstruction efforts....