The International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) is an international

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

that focuses on

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and other conflict zones all over the world such as

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

. ICOS is a project of the Network of European Foundations' The Mercator Fund. The organization was originally named the Senlis Council in 2002 but later in 2013 renamed as the International Council on Security and Development to reflect the interest and activities of the

organization An organization or organisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences) is an legal entity, entity—such as ...

. The organization works on security and development issues and states that its objective is "to promote open debate to alleviate current governance, development and economic crises and ensure policymaking in these areas is informed, humanitarian and delivers impact." The organization currently runs five programs: ''Human Security and Youth Inclusion'', ''Education and Employment,'' ''Public Safety and Citizenship,'' ''Global Food Security and'' ''The Rome Consensus for a Humanitarian Drug Policy''.

ICOS programs

The program on Human Security and Youth Inclusion focuses on contemporary conflict zones, including

and

. Reports have noted the problem of unemployment leading to "Angry Young Men" becoming involved in insurgency actions. The 2010 field research in Afghanistan showed how Afghans were unaware of 11 September attacks, and the negative views held by Afghan citizens against the foreign forces. Reports have drawn controversy, with

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

spokesmen disputing an ICOS report's findings on the extent of the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

presence in Afghanistan. The findings on the ineffectiveness of Canadian development aid in Kandahar were also disputed by CIDA officials, regarding food aid and hospitals. The Public Safety and Citizenship initiative "identifies global challenges for public safety in the 21st century". ICOS supports social and economic development, using a "Policy Labs" tool of participatory decision-making. It has conducted a pilot project in Asuncion,

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, addressing the problem of crack consumption and trafficking, and it has also worked in Farmiga, a community in the

Tijuca Tijuca () (meaning marsh or swamp in the Tupi language, from ''ty'' ("water") and ''îuk'' ("rotten")) is a neighbourhood of the Rio de Janeiro#North Zone, Northern Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It comprises the region of Saens P ...

neighborhood of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, on improving public safety in cooperation with the local Pacifying Police Unit. The program on Global Food Security, in collaboration with the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and CINI, examines the intersection between

food security Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, healthy Human food, food. The availability of food for people of any class, gender, ethnicity, or religion is another element of food protection. Simila ...

, development, and state security. It currently focuses on

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, while maintaining a central aggregation website for information on food security.

Directors and spokesmen

Norine MacDonald QC is Founder and President of ICOS. Emmanuel Reinert is executive director and works out of the Rio de Janeiro office.

Poppy licensing

One of the major policy recommendations is the licensing of opium in Afghanistan for pharmaceutical purposes. They argue that it is based on the premise that there are two problems that need to be solved: #Afghanistan's reliance on opium. #A lack of opiate-based medicines available for pharmaceutical purposes They contend that this would be a short-to-medium-term solution to address the opium crisis that is occurring in Afghanistan since alternative livelihood programs in the country will take many years to come to fruition and no crop matches the agronomic properties of opium. Meanwhile, according to the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

there are unmet needs for morphine in developed countries and this is an even greater problem in developing countries, compounded by the growing rates of HIV/AIDS and cancer around the world. Nobel Prize in Chemistry Laureate John Charles Polanyi and Stéphane Dion, leader of the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...

, have expressed their support for the poppy for medicines project.

Food aid in Afghanistan

The organization has carried out some food aid activities in informal internal refugee camps in the provinces of Kandahar and Helmand in southern Afghanistan.Esprit de Corp
"From the ground up"
(11 February 2007)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:International Council on Security And Development Foreign policy and strategy think tanks Think tanks established in 2002