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The new Olympic golf course: Risks vs. benefits?4
- Environment and Energy, Op-ed
- 09/07/2016
The new golf course for Rio Olympics has been the cause of huge controversy between the city`s government and the activists, leading to the movement “Occupy Golf”. The government claims that the new golf course inside the nature reserve has increased the biodiversity, but the protesters are right to be worried about the risks of such an intervention.
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Keeping Europe secure requires new thinking 0
- EU Governance and Politics, Op-ed
- 08/07/2016
On the 21st of April the EU Council adopted the Passenger Name Records Directive, a security mechanism which enables law enforcement and national security agencies to access the personal data of everyone flying into and outside of the EU. This includes addresses, names, credit card information and details on accompanying passengers, even minors.
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Ready, Set, Go: Fighting Olympic Corruption 0
- International Relations and Global Affairs, Op-ed
- 08/07/2016
The preparation of the Olympic Games ends on a false note. In recent weeks, numerous scandals flooded news outlets all over the world. Be it the recent doping revelations, inconsistent awarding procedures or domestic cases of corruption that started with Petrobras and led to the impeachment of President Dilma Roussef. However, there is a straightforward solution for the IOC (International Olympic Committee) to mitigate the scandals related to the construction of the Olympic infrastructure: transparency in public procurement procedures.
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Politicizing children’s rights: the United Nations and the crisis of impunity 0
- Human Rights and Migration, Op-ed
- 07/07/2016
UN Office of the SRSG for Children and Armed Conflicts recently issued its well-known ‘list of shame’. This report tracks State Parties and non-state actors that commit grave violations against children in armed conflict. Saudi Arabia is not included.
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Development through sport: the EU and the Olympics 0
- International Relations and Global Affairs, Op-ed
- 06/07/2016
Sport has become an essential tool in the European Union’s soft power approach. Over the past few years, the political vision promoting economic development through sport has become a standard practice in Europe’s policies of solidarity and sustainable development. Yet, how can the European experience help improve the Olympic ideal of using sport to promote peace and prosperity?
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Not-so-green games for a blue planet 0
- Environment and Energy, Op-ed
- 06/07/2016
The organisers of the Rio Olympic Games promised to clean up Rio’s dangerously polluted waterways and provide sanitation for at least 80% of the inhabitants before 2016. As the games draw near, they admit that they have failed, but claim that there are no risks to athletes or to the general public.
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