Paper short abstract:

This communication proposes to describe how the global (OVC), medical (HIV/aids) and muslim (fatherless) definitions of orphans are reappropriated and negociated in the nigerien muslim context through the case study of an association of people living with HIV/aids in Zinder (the second town of Niger).

Paper long abstract:

Since the beginning of 2000', UNICEF proposes economic and sanitary interventions for « Orphans of aids » called "Orphaned and Vulnerable Children" in order to include children with alive parents.

In Niger, a muslim context, the orphan is "officially" a fatherless child. The distinction of orphans is founded on kinship rules and no on illness or "global" categories. In spite of it, since 2005, the Global Fund and Unicef proposed a support for the OVC of aids. Consequently, different actors started to interact around these different definitions: the UN representatives, the state workers, the local actors (the traditionnal chief, the religious leaders and the families).

This communication proposes to describe how the global, medical and muslim definitions of orphans are reappropriated and negociated in this context through the case study of an association of people living with HIV/aids in Zinder (the second town of Niger).

This focus is permitted by the combined observation of :

-the emic status of orphaned members and their strategies of membership,

-the description of a meeting on the OVC and aid application,

-the analysis of the gap between the children statistically registered (near 120) and the children physically identified or included in health program (less than 50).

The logics of the identities' negociation appear in the interactions and the discourses of the different actors, and associate:

-health preoccupations

-religious meanings

-social contraints (kinship, neighbourhood)

-economic strategies fluently observed in a "developmentist" context.

Paper short abstract:

Fieldwork was carried out in northern Uganda. UNDP has been appointed the ‘cluster lead’ UN agency for 'early recovery’, directly threatening established procedures. To disguise the identity of informants, findings are presented as a fictional account.

Paper long abstract:

There has been growing pressure on the UN to improve its accountability mechanisms, and in particular to avoid direct competition and conflict between its own agencies. The new cluster arrangements are supposed to address the issue. Individual agencies have been allocated 'cluster lead roles' for specific situations, and funding from donors is supposed to be channelled through them. UNDP has been appointed cluster lead for 'early recovery' in circumstances of war to peace transition. The idea is that, where there is an anticipated shift from humanitarian assistance to development assistance, UNDP will coordinate UNHCR, WFP, WHO, and UNCEF, as well as all the other locally operational aid agencies. It directly challenges established arrangements, and there are far reaching implications. This paper overviews the experiences of a young woman who is appointed to be an early recovery adviser, and is based on fieldwork within a UN agency. Due to the sensitivity of the material, and to disguise the identity of informants the ethnography is presented as a fictional account.

Paper short abstract:

Drawing on participant observations, the paper examines different modes of communication and patterns of speech in the WIPO's intergovernmental committee concerned with “cultural property”. To what extent can these tentative or emergent communicative norms be harnessed for bargaining tactics?

Paper long abstract:

In 2001, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) installed an intergovernmental committee focussing on the development of frameworks concerning ownership issues in the realm of genetic resources, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions (GRTKF). The committee faces an enormous task in conflating divergent conceptions of these conceptual domains within one communicative setting, seeking consensus amongst actors from disparate backgrounds and speech communities. The inception of intellectual property agreements on GRTKF is thus contingent upon their compliance with the positions of attending actors, and on the committee's ability to by-pass communicative problems encompassing it's work.

Drawing on participant observations from two committee meetings as well as on ethnographic readings of the committee's extensive paper trail, the paper will examine different modes of communication and patterns of speech among different groups of actors on the international, national and regional levels during the sessions and in collateral meetings as well as their relevance to the decision-making process. We are interested in examining the repercussions resulting from diverging conceptions of "culture", "tradition", "resource" or "property" within different speech communities of heterogeneous backgrounds. We will present evidence from our ongoing research on the maturation of communicative norms and conventions in an UN agency. We will probe to what extent this tentative or emergent state can be harnessed for bargaining tactics and whether these matters are reflected by the committee itself and in official documents made available by the WIPO Secretariat which serve as a basis for negotiations.

Paper short abstract:

This paper analyses the recent development of UNESCO World Heritage, showing why it has moved to both a more dynamic and a more "anthropological" conception of culture and heritage in recent years.

Paper long abstract:

UNESCO World Heritage now includes 851 sites in 142 states and has developed into a major global brand name that bestows prestige upon participating nation-states and is a significant resource for tourism. The general success of the program, however, fosters rather than decreases concern about the "credibility" of the list that almost from its inception has been castigated as overly Eurocentric. I will show that the countermeasures taken have led to both a more dynamic and a more "anthropological" conception of heritage. Instead of immutable witnesses of the past, recent position papers and nomination rounds emphasize "living" cultures and milestones within narratives of ongoing technical, scientific, or political progress. At the same time, conceptions of culture have been broadened, authenticity is defined in a cultural relativist way, and sites from everyday rather than elite backgrounds are increasingly listed. The recent expansion into immaterial heritage promises to strengthen these two trends even further. Besides analysing the underlying factors of this development, the paper also looks into the consequences for anthropological practice.

Paper short abstract:

This paper focuses on the ILO, its conventions and work related to indigenous rights. I seek to provide an anthropological perspective on the interlinkages between the local and the global with ethnographic material ranging from the corridors of Geneva, national politics in Peru to indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon.

Paper long abstract:

One of the arguably most high profile UN processes relates to the consolidation of internationally recognized rights of indigenous peoples. This paper focuses on the International Labour Organization and its Convention concerning indigenous and tribal peoples (C169). As an anthropologist having worked within the ILO system and now undertaking ethnographic research in Peru, I seek to provide an anthropological perspective on the interlinkages between international normativity, local actor strategies and discourses on Convention 169.

The paper will explore such interlinkages through the realm of international standard setting and normativity as well as are articulated and recycled in national and local discourses. This will include presenting ethnographic material ranging from the corridors of Geneva, national politics in Peru to indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon.

The paper will explore this as a process of cultural production grounded in a particular set of global dynamics. It will seek to provide an anthropologically grounded discussion of what the case implies for wider discussions on how the work, presence and particular discourses of UN organizations relate to wider socio-cultural and economic dynamics. Whereas UN organizations are in a constant quest to respond to "real" issues of the world, the paper argues that an anthropological perspective is fundamental to explore how this "reality-connection" is made, articulated and played out.

Paper short abstract:

The paper will address the UN as a transnational, multilateral organization involved in the regulation of social accountability at a global level. The paper addresses how ‘transparency’ is perceived and put forward by the UN Global Compact as an important regulatory concept in relation to corporate social accountability in transnational trade.

Paper long abstract:

In an expanding global economy, 'transparency' has gained increased currency as an organizational goal. In a wide variety of situations, 'transparency' is held up as a panacea for the ills that transnational trade and corporate power may bring along. A number of transnational organizations, including the UN, has placed transparency on top of their agendas in the pursuit of social accountability for business. 'Transparency' has emerged as a key ingredient of 'audit culture'.

The current significance of 'transparency' is evinced in the creation of voluntary corporate 'codes of conduct' and standards for 'corporate social accountability', encouraged through the UN Global Compact. Through workshops, training sessions and consultancy services, corporate managers are learning how to 'open their books' to public scrutiny and judgement. Yet, processes of making visible certain kinds of information also involve complex negotiations regarding what shall be displayed and what shall remain hidden. Transparency may thus be seen as a technology that allows for enhanced visibility of organizational decisions practices - but also for a shadowing of these.

The paper will address the UN as a transnational, multilateral organization involved in the regulation of social accountability at a global level. The paper addresses how 'transparency' is perceived and put forward as an important regulatory concept in relation to corporate social accountability in transnational trade. The discussion builds on in-depth interviews with UN staff, with senior managers of corporations, as well as multi-sited fieldwork in Europe and the US.