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131-530: Since 2014, ACLED has operated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization registered in the United States. Data are collected and analyzed by teams of researchers based around the world. ACLED is led by founder, CEO, and president Prof. Clionadh Raleigh, a professor of political violence and geography at the University of Sussex, and operated by executive director, Olivia Russell. In 2005, ACLED began as

262-545: A safe harbor for the "substantial part" test, the United States Congress enacted §501(h), called the Conable election after its author, Representative Barber Conable . The section establishes limits based on operating budget that a charity can use to determine if it meets the substantial test. This changes the prohibition against direct intervention in partisan contests only for lobbying. The organization

393-674: A "systemic failure". In 2010, the organization suffered the worst loss of life in its history, when 101 personnel died in the Haiti earthquake . Acting under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 in 2011, NATO countries intervened in the First Libyan Civil War . The Millennium Summit was held in 2000 to discuss the UN's role in the 21st century. The three-day meeting was

524-429: A 501(c)(3) organization, a donor can consult the searchable online IRS list of charitable organizations to verify that the organization qualifies to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. Consumers may file IRS Form 13909, with documentation, to complain about inappropriate or fraudulent (i.e., fundraising, political campaigning, lobbying) activities by any 501(c)(3) organization. Most 501(c)(3) must disclose

655-621: A UN official, negotiated an armistice to the resulting conflict , with the Security Council deciding that “an armistice shall be established in all sectors of Palestine”. On 7 November 1956, the first UN peacekeeping force was established to end the Suez Crisis ; however, the UN was unable to intervene against the Soviet Union's simultaneous invasion of Hungary , following the country's revolution . On 14 July 1960,

786-509: A candidate in some manner, or (c) favor a candidate or group of candidates, constitute prohibited participation or intervention. Since section 501(c)(3)'s political-activity prohibition was enacted, "commentators and litigants have challenged the provision on numerous constitutional grounds", such as freedom of speech , vagueness , and equal protection and selective prosecution. Historically, Supreme Court decisions, such as Regan v. Taxation with Representation of Washington , suggested that

917-623: A charity without such status, and individual donors often do not donate to such a charity due to the unavailability of tax deduction for contributions. The two exempt classifications of 501(c)(3) organizations are as follows: The basic requirement of obtaining tax-exempt status is that the organization is specifically limited in powers to purposes that the IRS classifies as tax-exempt purposes. Unlike for-profit corporations that benefit from broad and general purposes, non-profit organizations need to be limited in powers to function with tax-exempt status, but

1048-595: A choice between two sets of rules establishing an upper bound for their lobbying activities. Section 501(c)(3) organizations risk loss of their tax-exempt status if these rules are violated. An organization that loses its 501(c)(3) status due to being engaged in political activities cannot subsequently qualify for 501(c)(3) status. Churches must meet specific requirements to obtain and maintain tax-exempt status; these are outlined in "IRS Publication 1828: Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations". This guide outlines activities allowed and not allowed by churches under

1179-544: A church's principal means of accomplishing its religious purposes must be to assemble regularly a group of individuals related by common worship and faith." The United States Tax Court has stated that, while a church can certainly broadcast its religious services by radio, radio broadcasts themselves do not constitute a congregation unless there is a group of people physically attending those religious services. A church can conduct worship services in various specific locations rather than in one official location. A church may have

1310-518: A component of Prof. Raleigh's PhD work, with a focus on African states. She developed the idea while on a fellowship at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) . Initial data collection covered six Central African states and three West African states. In 2008, while Prof. Raleigh was employed at Trinity College Dublin , ACLED expanded to cover the 50 least developed countries, with a concentration on African states. This led to

1441-481: A conference and initialised the drafting of the UN Charter , which was adopted on 25 June 1945. The charter took effect on 24 October 1945, when the UN began operations. The UN's objectives, as outlined by its charter, include maintaining international peace and security, protecting human rights , delivering humanitarian aid , promoting sustainable development , and upholding international law . At its founding,

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1572-503: A deduction for federal income tax purposes, for some donors who make charitable contributions to most types of 501(c)(3) organizations, among others. Regulations specify which such deductions must be verifiable to be allowed (e.g., receipts for donations of $ 250 or more). Due to the tax deductions associated with donations, loss of 501(c)(3) status can be highly challenging if not fatal to a charity's continued operation, as many foundations and corporate matching funds do not grant funds to

1703-558: A determination letter. A nonprofit organization that did so prior to that date could still be subject to challenge of its status by the Internal Revenue Service. Individuals may take a tax deduction on a charitable gift to a 501(c)(3) organization that is organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary or educational purposes, or to foster national or international amateur sports competition (but only if no part of its activities involve

1834-411: A foreign subsidiary to facilitate charitable work in a foreign country, then donors' contributions to the 501(c)(3) organization are tax-deductible even if intended to fund the foreign charitable activities. If a foreign organization sets up a 501(c)(3) organization for the sole purpose of raising funds for the foreign organization, and the 501(c)(3) organization sends substantially all contributions to

1965-444: A limited amount of lobbying to influence legislation. Although the law states that "no substantial part" of a public charity's activities can go to lobbying, charities with large budgets may lawfully expend a million dollars (under the "expenditure" test) or more (under the "substantial part" test) per year on lobbying. The Internal Revenue Service has never defined the term "substantial part" with respect to lobbying. To establish

2096-783: A manner consistent with a particular religion's religious beliefs does not qualify as a tax-exempt church. Organizations described in section 501(c)(3) are prohibited from conducting political campaign activities to intervene in elections to public office. The Internal Revenue Service website elaborates on this prohibition: Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of

2227-1013: A myriad of autonomous, separately administered funds, programmes, research and training institutes, and other subsidiary bodies . Each of these entities have their own area of work, governance structure, and budgets such as the World Trade Organization (or the WTO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (or the IAEA), operate independently of the UN but maintain formal partnership agreements. The UN performs much of its humanitarian work through these institutions, such as preventing famine and malnutrition (the World Food Programme ), protecting vulnerable and displaced people (the UNHCR ), and combating

2358-467: A non-partisan manner do not constitute prohibited political campaign activity. In addition, other activities intended to encourage people to participate in the electoral process, such as voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives, would not be prohibited political campaign activity if conducted in a non-partisan manner. On the other hand, voter education or registration activities with evidence of bias that (a) favor one candidate over another, (b) oppose

2489-414: A non-profit corporation is by default not limited in powers until it specifically limits itself in the articles of incorporation or nonprofit corporate bylaws. This limiting of the powers is crucial to obtaining tax exempt status with the IRS and then on the state level. Organizations acquire 501(c)(3) tax exemption by filing IRS Form 1023 . As of 2006 , the form must be accompanied by an $ 850 filing fee if

2620-547: A permanent member to block adoption of a resolution, though not debate. The ten temporary seats are held for two-year terms, with five members elected each year by the General Assembly on a regional basis . The presidency of the Security Council rotates alphabetically each month. The UN Secretariat carries out the day-to-day duties required to operate and maintain the UN system. It is composed of tens of thousands of international civil servants worldwide and headed by

2751-606: A plane crash . Months later he was posthumously awarded the Nobel Peace Prize . In 1964, Hammarskjöld's successor, U Thant , deployed the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus , which would become one of the UN's longest-running peacekeeping missions. With the spread of decolonization in the 1960s, the UN's membership shot up due to an influx of newly independent nations. In 1960 alone, 17 new states joined

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2882-804: A range of special initiatives to broaden the scope and depth of coverage by spotlighting key conflicts and providing the public with new tools to better analyze the data. ACLED regularly establishes new special projects to improve and deepen existing coverage of political violence and disorder around the world. ACLED and its partner organizations have created multiple local conflict observatories to enhance data collection efforts in low-information conflict contexts and offer additional analysis through weekly and monthly updates. In partnership with Zitamar News and MediaFax, ACLED launched Cabo Ligado — or 'connected cape' — in 2020 to monitor political violence in Mozambique. The project supports real-time data collection on

3013-564: A regular bulletin of conflict news in Amharic and English, weekly updates on all active conflicts, monthly analysis of major developments, special reports on emerging trends and thematic issues, as well as actor profiles, conflict profiles, and summaries of political violence dynamics across Ethiopia's different regions. The Early Warning Research Hub provides a suite of interactive resources aimed at supporting data-driven initiatives to anticipate and respond to emerging crises. These tools include

3144-442: A significant number of people associate themselves with the church on a regular basis, even if the church does not have a traditional established list of individual members. In order to qualify as a tax-exempt church, church activities must be a significant part of the organization's operations. An organization whose operations include a substantial nonexempt commercial purposes, such as operating restaurants and grocery stores in

3275-498: A three-year period beginning with the due date of the return, including any extension of time for filing. The Internal Revenue Service provides information about specific 501(c)(3) organizations through its Tax Exempt Organization Search online. A private nonprofit organization, GuideStar , provides information on 501(c)(3) organizations. ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer provides copies of each organization's Form 990 and, for some organizations, audited financial statements. Open990

3406-445: A two-thirds majority of those present and voting is required. All other questions are decided by a majority vote. Each member has one vote. Apart from the approval of budgetary matters, resolutions are not binding on the members. The Assembly may make recommendations on any matters within the scope of the UN, except matters of peace and security that are under consideration by the Security Council. Draft resolutions can be forwarded to

3537-561: A week into the future or to explore historical predictions. When Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, ACLED created a dedicated research hub on the Ukraine Crisis to provide near real-time information on the conflict, including a curated data file, interactive data visualization tools, and weekly analysis of violence patterns in Ukraine, Russia, and the broader region. Additionally, in 2022, ACLED launched

3668-619: A wide range of local, regional, and national sources and the information is collected by trained data experts worldwide. In addition to traditional media, government reports, and select new media sources, ACLED has a wide-ranging network of local data collection partners on the ground. ACLED currently has over 50 local partners all over the world and integrates data from more than 1,200 non-English sources publishing in more than 100 languages. The dataset has different coverage periods for different regions and countries, as back-coding remains ongoing: all African countries are covered starting from 1997 to

3799-889: A wide variety of complex tasks. The UN comprises six principal operational organizations: the General Assembly , the Security Council , the Economic and Social Council , the International Court of Justice , the UN Secretariat , and the Trusteeship Council , although the Trusteeship Council has been suspended since 1994. The UN System includes a multitude of specialized agencies , funds, and programmes, including

3930-1033: A wide variety of topics. These include the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues , which advises UN agencies on issues relating to indigenous peoples , the United Nations Forum on Forests , which coordinates and promotes sustainable forest management, the United Nations Statistical Commission , which co-ordinates information-gathering efforts between agencies, and the Commission on Sustainable Development , which co-ordinates efforts between UN agencies and NGOs working towards sustainable development . ECOSOC may also grant consultative status to non-governmental organizations. as of April 2021 almost 5,600 organizations have this status. The UN Charter stipulates that each primary organ of

4061-557: Is a searchable database of information about organizations over time. WikiCharities, is a nonprofit database of nonprofits and charities by name, location, and topic, that allows each organization to report its financials, leadership, contacts, and other activities. Section 501(c)(3) organizations are prohibited from supporting political candidates, as a result of the Johnson Amendment enacted in 1954. Section 501(c)(3) organizations are subject to limits on lobbying , having

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4192-434: Is allowed to award grants to foreign charitable organizations if the grants are intended for charitable purposes and the grant funds are subject to the 501(c)(3) organization's control. Additional procedures are required of 501(c)(3) organizations that are private foundations . Donors' contributions to a 501(c)(3) organization are tax-deductible only if the contribution is for the use of the 501(c)(3) organization, and that

4323-624: Is covered from 2020 to the present; Canada is covered from 2021 to the present; and all countries and territories in Oceania are covered from 2021 to the present. In 2022, ACLED expanded to the entire world with all regions being covered in real time. A full account of definitions, practices, source, and coding procedures is available in the Resource Library section of the ACLED website. Data are updated in real time and can be downloaded from

4454-467: Is defined in the UN Charter as the organization's chief administrative officer. Article 99 of the charter states that the secretary-general can bring to the Security Council's attention "any matter which in their opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security", a phrase that secretaries-general since Trygve Lie have interpreted as giving the position broad scope for action on

4585-443: Is now presumed in compliance with the substantiality test if they work within the limits. The Conable election requires a charity to file a declaration with the IRS and file a functional distribution of funds spreadsheet with their Form 990. IRS form 5768 is required to make the Conable election. A 501(c)(3) organization is allowed to conduct some or all of its charitable activities outside the United States. A 501(c)(3) organization

4716-794: The African Union , the Ministry of Finance of Japan , the Australian Department of Defense , the Ghanaian Armed Forces , and country embassies in Mozambique, Somalia, Indonesia, Senegal, and Kenya, among others. International and local NGOs such as Action on Armed Violence , Amnesty International , Center for Social Change, Center for Civilians in Conflict , Darfur Women Action, Deep South Watch, European Asylum Support Office , Genocide Watch, Global Centre for

4847-655: The Battle of Mogadishu . The UN mission to Bosnia faced worldwide ridicule for its indecisive and confused mission in the face of ethnic cleansing. In 1994, the UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda failed to intervene in the Rwandan genocide amidst indecision in the Security Council. From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, international interventions authorized by the UN took a wider variety of forms. The United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 authorised

4978-528: The Four Power Declaration on General Security which aimed for the creation "at the earliest possible date of a general international organization". This was the first public announcement that a new international organization was being contemplated to replace the League of Nations. The Tehran Conference followed shortly afterwards at which Roosevelt, Churchill and Joseph Stalin , the leader of

5109-540: The Group of 77 under the leadership of Algeria, which briefly became a dominant power at the UN. On 10 November 1975, a bloc comprising the Soviet Union and Third World nations passed a resolution , over strenuous American and Israeli opposition, declaring Zionism to be a form of racism . The resolution was repealed on 16 December 1991, shortly after the end of the Cold War. With an increasing Third World presence and

5240-472: The ICJ Statute , which forms an integral part of the UN Charter, and non-members may also become parties. The ICJ's rulings are binding upon parties and, along with its advisory opinions, serve as sources of international law . The court is composed of 15 judges appointed to nine-year terms by the General Assembly. Every sitting judge must be from a different nation. The Economic and Social Council (or

5371-528: The NATO -led Kosovo Force beginning in 1999. The UN mission in the Sierra Leone Civil War was supplemented by a British military intervention . The invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 was overseen by NATO. In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq despite failing to pass a UN Security Council resolution for authorization, prompting a new round of questioning of the UN's effectiveness. Under

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5502-820: The Paris Peace Conference . The League of Nations was approved and started operations, but the United States never joined. On 10 January 1920, the League of Nations formally came into being when the Covenant of the League of Nations , ratified by 42 nations in 1919, took effect. The League Council acted as an executive body directing the Assembly's business. It began with four permanent members—the United Kingdom , France , Italy , and Japan . After some limited successes and failures during

5633-887: The United States Code . It is one of the 29 types of 501(c) nonprofit organizations in the US. 501(c)(3) tax-exemptions apply to entities that are organized and operated exclusively for religious , charitable , scientific , literary or educational purposes, for testing for public safety , to foster national or international amateur sports competition, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals . 501(c)(3) exemption applies also for any non-incorporated community chest , fund, cooperating association or foundation organized and operated exclusively for those purposes. There are also supporting organizations—often referred to in shorthand form as "Friends of" organizations. 26 U.S.C.   § 170 provides

5764-520: The United States Court of Federal Claims have concurrent jurisdiction to issue a declaratory judgment of the organization's qualification if the organization has exhausted administrative remedies with the Internal Revenue Service. Prior to October 9, 1969, nonprofit organizations could declare themselves to be tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) without first obtaining Internal Revenue Service recognition by filing Form 1023 and receiving

5895-753: The White House in December 1941 for the Arcadia Conference . Roosevelt is considered a founder of the UN, and coined the term United Nations to describe the Allied countries . Churchill accepted it, noting its use by Lord Byron . The text of the Declaration by United Nations was drafted on 29 December 1941, by Roosevelt, Churchill, and Harry Hopkins . It incorporated Soviet suggestions but included no role for France. One major change from

6026-646: The World Bank Group , the World Health Organization , the World Food Programme , UNESCO , and UNICEF . Additionally, non-governmental organizations may be granted consultative status with the Economic and Social Council and other agencies. The UN's chief administrative officer is the secretary-general , currently António Guterres , who is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. He began his first five-year term on 1 January 2017 and

6157-406: The secretary-general , who is assisted by the deputy secretary-general . The Secretariat's duties include providing information and facilities needed by UN bodies for their meetings and carrying out tasks as directed by the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, and other UN bodies. The secretary-general acts as the spokesperson and leader of the UN. The position

6288-509: The 14-point list is a guideline; it is not intended to be all-encompassing, and other facts and circumstances may be relevant factors. Although there is no definitive definition of a church for Internal Revenue Code purposes, in 1986 the United States Tax Court said that "A church is a coherent group of individuals and families that join together to accomplish the religious purposes of mutually held beliefs. In other words,

6419-702: The 1920s, the League proved ineffective in the 1930s, as it failed to act against the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1933. Forty nations voted for Japan to withdraw from Manchuria but Japan voted against it and walked out of the League instead of withdrawing from Manchuria. It also failed to act against the Second Italo-Ethiopian War , after the appeal for international intervention by Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I at Geneva in 1936 went with no avail, including when calls for economic sanctions against Italy failed. Italy and other nations left

6550-640: The 501(c)(3) designation. In 1980, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia recognized a 14-part test in determining whether a religious organization is considered a church for the purposes of the Internal Revenue Code: Having an established congregation served by an organized ministry is of central importance. Points 4, 6, 8, 11, 12, and 13 are also especially important. Nevertheless,

6681-405: The 501(c)(3) organization is not merely serving as an agent or conduit of a foreign charitable organization. The 501(c)(3) organization's management should review the grant application from the foreign organization, decide whether to award the grant based on the intended use of the funds, and require continuous oversight based on the use of funds. If the donor imposes a restriction or earmark that

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6812-402: The ACLED to see if it added predictive power in estimating the probability of coups, and explained both how he approached the problem and why he eventually concluded that the ACLED data did not add predictive power for coup forecasting. However, 23 successful and unsuccessful changes in power through coups have occurred across Africa since 1997. Recent research suggests that coup risk is related to

6943-700: The Atlantic Charter was the addition of a provision for religious freedom , which Stalin approved after Roosevelt insisted. Roosevelt's idea of the " Four Powers ", refers to the four major Allied countries, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and China , emerged in the Declaration by the United Nations. On New Year's Day 1942, Roosevelt, Churchill, the Soviet Union's former Foreign Minister Maxim Litvinov , and

7074-562: The Charter by the five permanent members of the Security Council : the United States, the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union and China — and by a majority of the other 46 nations. The first meetings of the General Assembly , with 51 nations represented, and the Security Council took place in London beginning in January 1946. Debates began at once, covering topical issues such as

7205-666: The Chinese Premier T. V. Soong signed the " Declaration by United Nations ", and the next day the representatives of twenty-two other nations added their signatures. During the war, the United Nations became the official term for the Allies. In order to join, countries had to sign the Declaration and declare war on the Axis powers . The October 1943 Moscow Conference resulted in the Moscow Declarations , including

7336-548: The Court, if it were to squarely examine the political-activity prohibition of § 501(c)(3), would uphold it against a constitutional challenge. However, some have suggested that a successful challenge to the political activities prohibition of Section 501(c)(3) might be more plausible in light of Citizens United v. FEC . In contrast to the prohibition on political campaign interventions by all section 501(c)(3) organizations, public charities (but not private foundations) may conduct

7467-481: The ECOSOC) assists the General Assembly in promoting international economic and social co-operation and development. It was established to serve as the UN's primary forum for global issues and is the largest and most complex UN body. The ECOSOC's functions include gathering data, conducting studies and advising and making recommendations to member states. Its work is carried out primarily by subsidiary bodies focused on

7598-1008: The Federal Foreign Office for Migration in Germany, the German Parliament , the French Government , the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs , the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands , the Central Bank of Ireland , and the United Kingdom Home Office all frequently engage with ACLED data to inform domestic and foreign policymaking. For example, the Belgian and French governments use ACLED data to support

7729-467: The Financial Times , Middle East Eye , Channel 4 , Voice of America , USA Today , Rolling Stone , ProPublica , PBS Frontline , La Croix , Televisa Mexico , El Universal , Iran International , and El Pais , among others. In 2019, The Mail & Guardian listed ACLED as "the most comprehensive database of conflict incidents around the world." Political scientist, data analyst, and forecaster Jay Ulfelder blogged about his experience trying to use

7860-420: The General Assembly by its six main committees: As well as by the following two committees: The Security Council is charged with maintaining peace and security among nations. While other organs of the UN can only make recommendations to member states, the Security Council has the power to make binding decisions that member states have agreed to carry out, under the terms of Charter Article 25. The decisions of

7991-422: The Internal Revenue Service. The same public inspection requirement applies to the organization's annual return, namely its Form 990 , Form 990-EZ, Form 990-PF, Form 990-T, and Form 1065, including any attachments, supporting documents, and follow-up correspondence with the Internal Revenue Service, with the exception of the names and addresses of donors on Schedule B. Annual returns must be publicly available for

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8122-422: The League. When war broke out in 1939 , the League effectively closed down. The first step towards the establishment of the United Nations was the Inter-Allied Conference in London that led to the Declaration of St James's Palace on 12 June 1941. By August 1941, American President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had drafted the Atlantic Charter ; which defined goals for

8253-415: The Middle East. This release brought the total number of countries covered to 79. Following the release of Version 8, and encouraged by a partnership with The University of Texas at Austin , ACLED transitioned to a dynamic project that collects data in real time and releases updates on a weekly basis. In 2019, ACLED introduced new event and sub-event types to improve the project's core methodology. By 2020,

8384-661: The Responsibility to Protect, Mercy Corps , International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), International Justice Mission , International Rescue Committee , International Women's Peace Group, Sahel Watch, Save the Children , UNICEF , United Against Inhumanity, World Food Programme and many others use ACLED data and analysis to design data-driven programming that better responds to the needs of their beneficiaries and make more granular assessments based on specific local contexts. The ICRC uses ACLED data for humanitarian analysis and data mapping in their areas of operation. Mercy Corps has drawn on ACLED data to identify "aid deserts" where

8515-562: The Sahel, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, the Lake Chad Basin, and Nigeria. Other UN entities utilizing ACLED data include: UN Peacekeeping , UN Women , the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, among others. ACLED provides the fields of peacebuilding, development, and humanitarian aid with high-quality data that reflects local conflict and insecurity trends. This has enabled organizations like

8646-427: The Soviet Union, and the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement on 27 July 1953. On 29 November 1947, the General Assembly approved resolution 181 , a proposal to partition Palestine into two state, with Jerusalem placed under a special international regime. The plan failed and a civil war broke out in Palestine, that led to the creation of the state of Israel afterward. Two years later, Ralph Bunche ,

8777-400: The Soviet Union, before all the issues were resolved. By 1 March 1945, 21 additional states had signed the Declaration by the United Nations. After months of planning, the UN Conference on International Organization opened in San Francisco on 25 April 1945. It was attended by 50 nations' governments and a number of non-governmental organizations. The delegations of the Big Four chaired

8908-451: The Soviet Union, met and discussed the idea of a post-war international organization. The new international organisation was formulated and negotiated amongst the delegations from the Allied Big Four at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference from 21 September to 7 October 1944. They agreed on proposals for the aims, structure and functioning of the new organization. It took the conference at Yalta in February 1945, and further negotiations with

9039-527: The Subnational Threat & Surge Trackers to track and map subnational conflict spikes; the Volatility & Risk Predictability Index to track the frequency and intensity of conflict surges; the Conflict Change Map to identify countries at risk of rising political violence; and the Emerging Actor Tracker to monitor the proliferation of new non-state actors. ACLED's Conflict Pulse is an actor prediction and modeling tool. This tool features an interactive dashboard to track predicted trends in conflict actor behavior

9170-499: The UN authorized a US-led coalition that repulsed Iraq's invasion of Kuwait . Brian Urquhart , the under-secretary-general of the UN from 1971 to 1985, later described the hopes raised by these successes as a "false renaissance" for the organization, given the more troubled missions that followed. Beginning in the last decades of the Cold War , critics of the UN condemned the organization for perceived mismanagement and corruption. In 1984, American President Ronald Reagan withdrew

9301-412: The UN established the United Nations Operation in the Congo (or UNOC), the largest military force of its early decades, to bring order to Katanga , restoring it to the control of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by 11 May 1964. While travelling to meet rebel leader Moise Tshombe during the conflict, Dag Hammarskjöld , often named as one of the UN's most effective secretaries-general, died in

9432-562: The UN had 51 member states ; as of 2024 , it has 193 sovereign states , nearly all of the world's recognized sovereign states. The UN's mission to preserve world peace was complicated in its initial decades due in part to Cold War tensions that existed between the United States and Soviet Union and their respective allies. Its mission has included the provision of primarily unarmed military observers and lightly armed troops charged with primarily monitoring, reporting and confidence-building roles. UN membership grew significantly following

9563-488: The UN itself and operate with almost complete independence from it". These include specialized agencies, research and training institutions, programmes and funds and other UN entities. All organizations in the UN system obey the Noblemaire principle , which calls for salaries that will attract and retain citizens of countries where compensation is highest, and which ensures equal pay for work of equal value regardless of

9694-529: The UN's focus on promoting development, peacekeeping, human rights and global security. The Sustainable Development Goals (or SDGs) were launched in 2015 to succeed the Millennium Development Goals. In addition to addressing global challenges, the UN has sought to improve its accountability and democratic legitimacy by engaging more with civil society and fostering a global constituency. In an effort to enhance transparency, in 2016

9825-520: The UN's primary mandate was peacekeeping , the division between the United States and the Soviet Union often paralysed the organization; generally allowing it to intervene only in conflicts distant from the Cold War . Two notable exceptions were a Security Council resolution on 7 July 1950 authorizing a US-led coalition to repel the North Korean invasion of South Korea , passed in the absence of

9956-582: The UN, 16 of them from Africa. On 25 October 1971, with opposition from the United States, but with the support of many Third World nations, the People's Republic of China was given the Chinese seat on the Security Council in place of the Republic of China (also known as Taiwan). The vote was widely seen as a sign of waning American influence in the organization. Third World nations organized themselves into

10087-795: The US Mission to Ethiopia recently reported that ACLED data are important for making decisions about intra-country travel, while the US Congress frequently uses the dataset to support policy initiatives related to the war in Yemen. The Department of Homeland Security 's Fusion Center and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have utilized ACLED data on far-right violence in the United States. ACLED research has also been shared by former President Barack Obama. Additional government entities and policymakers that make use of ACLED data include

10218-580: The United Nations can establish various specialized agencies to fulfill its duties. Specialized agencies are autonomous organizations working with the United Nations and each other through the coordinating machinery of the Economic and Social Council. Each was integrated into the UN system through an agreement with the UN under UN Charter article 57. There are fifteen specialized agencies, which perform functions as diverse as facilitating international travel, preventing and addressing pandemics, and promoting economic development. The United Nations system includes

10349-560: The United States' funding from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (or UNESCO) over allegations of mismanagement, followed by the United Kingdom and Singapore. Boutros Boutros-Ghali , the secretary-general from 1992 to 1996, initiated a reform of the Secretariat, somewhat reducing the size of the organisation. His successor, Kofi Annan , initiated further management reforms in

10480-662: The United States, and the UN has other offices in Geneva , Nairobi , Vienna , and The Hague , where the International Court of Justice is headquartered at the Peace Palace . The UN was established after World War II with the aim of preventing future world wars , and succeeded the League of Nations , which was characterized as being ineffective. On 25 April 1945, 50 nations assembled in San Francisco , California, for

10611-699: The World Bank , NATO , the International Monetary Fund , and the World Health Organization , among others to respond to crises with objective, unbiased data on political violence and disorder in near real time. Many governments and government entities use ACLED data extensively for domestic and foreign policy decisions, including in the United States , the United Kingdom , Canada , nearly every European country, Australia , and New Zealand . The European Union (EU) uses ACLED data to track trends in global disorder and to better understand

10742-615: The Yemen Truce Monitor tool to support analysis of conflict trends during the UN-sponsored truce and allow users to track violations as they are reported. The interactive tool is updated weekly with the latest data on reported violations. Research produced by past special projects are also still available on ACLED's website, including ACLED-Religion and the COVID-19 Disorder Tracker. ACLED-Religion

10873-709: The assembly gathers at annual sessions at the General Assembly Hall , but emergency sessions can be summoned. The assembly is led by a president , elected by the member states on a rotating regional basis, and 21 vice-presidents. The first session convened on 10 January 1946 in the Methodist Central Hall in London and comprised representatives of 51 nations. When the General Assembly decides on seminal questions such as those on peace and security, admission of new members and budgetary matters,

11004-529: The basis of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations , the UN and its agencies are immune from the laws of the countries where they operate, safeguarding the UN's impartiality with regard to host and member countries. Below the six organs are, in the words of the author Linda Fasulo, "an amazing collection of entities and organizations, some of which are actually older than

11135-589: The body's former headquarters in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands , making it the only principal organ not based in New York City. The ICJ's main function is adjudicating disputes among nations. Examples of issues they have heard include war crimes, violations of state sovereignty and ethnic cleansing. The court can also be called upon by other UN organs to provide advisory opinions on matters of international law. All UN member states are parties to

11266-622: The century prior to the UN's creation, several international organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross were formed to ensure protection and assistance for victims of armed conflict and strife. During World War I , several major leaders, especially U.S. President Woodrow Wilson , advocated for a world body to guarantee peace. The winners of the war, the Allies , met to decide on formal peace terms at

11397-405: The contribution must be used for foreign activities, then the contribution is deemed to be for the foreign organization rather than the 501(c)(3) organization, and the contribution is not tax-deductible. The purpose of the grant to the foreign organization cannot include endorsing or opposing political candidates for elected office in any country. If a 501(c)(3) organization sets up and controls

11528-537: The council are known as United Nations Security Council resolutions . The Security Council is made up of fifteen member states: five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) and ten non-permanent members (currently Algeria , Ecuador , Guyana , Japan , Malta , Mozambique , the Republic of Korea , Sierra Leone , Slovenia and Switzerland ). The five permanent members hold veto power over UN resolutions, allowing

11659-883: The eighth secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon , the UN intervened with peacekeepers in crises such as the War in Darfur in Sudan and the Kivu conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and sent observers and chemical weapons inspectors to the Syrian Civil War . In 2013, an internal review of UN actions in the final battles of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009 concluded that the organization had suffered

11790-500: The employee's nationality. In practice, the International Civil Service Commission , which governs the conditions of UN personnel, takes reference to the highest-paying national civil service. Staff salaries are subject to an internal tax that is administered by the UN organizations. The General Assembly is the primary deliberative assembly of the UN. Composed of all UN member states ,

11921-492: The face of threats from the US to withhold its UN dues. Though the UN Charter had been written primarily to prevent aggression by one nation against another, in the early 1990s the UN faced several simultaneous, serious crises within Somalia, Haiti, Mozambique, and the nations that previously made up Yugoslavia. The UN mission in Somalia was widely viewed as a failure after the United States' withdrawal following casualties in

12052-504: The failure of UN mediation in conflicts in the Middle East , Vietnam , and Kashmir , the UN increasingly shifted its attention to its secondary goals of economic development and cultural exchange. By the 1970s, the UN budget for social and economic development was far greater than its peacekeeping budget. After the Cold War, the UN saw a radical expansion in its peacekeeping duties, taking on more missions in five years than it had in

12183-807: The first version of the data in 2009 (pilot), which was tested with ground-truthing methods in 2010. The dataset was introduced by Raleigh and co-authors in a 2010 paper in the Journal of Peace Research . Subsequently, Version 2 was released in 2011, Version 3 in 2012, and Version 4 in 2013. Each version extended and revised collections of political violence and protest data in African states. New additions – including remote violence and revised terminology – were added in Versions 5, 6, and 7. Version 8 expanded to include 14 states in South and Southeast Asia as well as 15 in

12314-659: The five principal organs are located at the main UN Headquarters in New York City, while the International Court of Justice is seated in The Hague . Most other major agencies are based in the UN offices at Geneva , Vienna , and Nairobi , and additional UN institutions are located throughout the world. The six official languages of the UN, used in intergovernmental meetings and documents, are Arabic , Chinese , English , French , Russian and Spanish . On

12445-427: The foreign organization, then donors' contributions to the 501(c)(3) organization are not tax-deductible to the donors. The main differences between 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations lie in their purposes and the tax-exempt benefits they receive. Here is a brief explanation of the differences: United Nations The United Nations ( UN ) is a diplomatic and political international organization with

12576-602: The goal of "protecting and promoting the human rights of women and girls, in conflict settings and humanitarian emergencies." The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has employed ACLED data and analysis in its Calls for Action urging better-coordinated response from humanitarian actors and increased support from funders to close resource gaps. ACLED data are also regularly used in OCHA monitoring of humanitarian and security developments in places like in

12707-614: The high level of conflict prevents aid workers from reaching certain areas, as well as to track potential security threats to their humanitarian operations. Peacebuilding organizations such as Search for Common Ground employ the data as an indicator for their Global Impact Framework. Scholars, students, and academic researchers frequently make use of ACLED data and analysis in their work on protest and political violence. The Council on Foreign Relations draws on ACLED data for their Sub-Saharan Africa Security Tracker. The Sub-Saharan Security Tracker (SST) uses over three million data points to map

12838-744: The impact of emerging crises around the world. The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) and Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), as well as the European External Action Service (EEAS), rely on the Global Conflict Risk Index (GCRI) and their monthly reports, which draws on ACLED data to contribute to situational awareness across the EU. Also in Europe, the Belgian Government ,

12969-681: The insurgency in the country's northern Cabo Delgado province and provides cutting-edge analysis of the latest conflict trends. The project's weekly and monthly reports are published in both English and Portuguese . The team also produces a podcast released twice weekly in Portuguese, Swahili, Emakwa, Shimakonde, and Kimwanithe. In 2021, ACLED launched the Ethiopia Peace Observatory (EPO), a conflict observatory to enhance local data collection and analysis on political violence and protest trends across Ethiopia. The EPO produces

13100-484: The intended purpose of maintaining international peace and security , developing friendly relations among nations, achieving international cooperation, and serving as a center for coordinating the actions of member nations. It is widely recognised as the world's largest international organization. The UN is headquartered in New York City , in international territory with certain privileges extraterritorial to

13231-481: The largest gathering of world leaders in history, and it culminated in the adoption by all member states of the Millennium Development Goals (or MDGs), a commitment to achieve international development in areas such as poverty reduction , gender equality and public health . Progress towards these goals, which were to be met by 2015, was ultimately uneven. The 2005 World Summit reaffirmed

13362-523: The names and addresses of certain large donors to the Internal Revenue Service on their annual returns, but this information is not required to be made available to the public, unless the organization is an independent foundation. Churches are generally exempt from this reporting requirement. Every 501(c)(2) organization must make available for public inspection its application for tax-exemption, including its Form 1023 or Form 1023-EZ and any attachments, supporting documents, and follow-up correspondence with

13493-461: The organization are five principal organs established by the UN Charter: the General Assembly , the Security Council , the Economic and Social Council , the International Court of Justice and the UN Secretariat . A sixth principal organ, the Trusteeship Council , suspended its operations on 1 November 1994 upon the independence of Palau ; the last remaining UN trustee territory. Four of

13624-506: The organization held its first public debate between candidates for secretary-general. On 1 January 2017, Portuguese diplomat António Guterres , who had previously served as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees , became the ninth secretary-general. Guterres has highlighted several key goals for his administration, including an emphasis on diplomacy for preventing conflicts, more effective peacekeeping efforts, and streamlining

13755-515: The organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violating this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes. Certain activities or expenditures may not be prohibited depending on the facts and circumstances. For example, certain voter education activities (including presenting public forums and publishing voter education guides) conducted in

13886-482: The organization to be more responsive and versatile to international needs. On 13 June 2019, the UN signed a Strategic Partnership Framework with the World Economic Forum in order to "jointly accelerate" the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development . The United Nations is part of the broader UN System, which includes an extensive network of institutions and entities. Central to

14017-509: The pandemic's impact on political violence and protest trends around the world, monitoring changes in demonstration activity, state repression, mob attacks, overall rates of armed conflict, and more. ACLED data and analysis is regularly used to inform journalism, academic research, and public discourse on conflict, and to support the work of practitioners and policymakers. ACLED is a critical resource for data-driven policy analysis and decision-making aimed at preventing and resolving conflict around

14148-410: The payee or the payee's children. The payments are not tax-deductible charitable contributions even if a significant portion of a church school's curriculum is religious education. For a payment to be a tax-deductible charitable contribution, it must be a voluntary transfer of money or other property with no expectation of procuring financial benefit equal to the transfer amount. Before donating to

14279-524: The plenary meetings. Previously, Churchill had urged Roosevelt to restore France to its status of a major power after the liberation of Paris in August 1944. The drafting of the Charter of the United Nations was completed over the following two months, and it was signed on 26 June 1945 by the representatives of the 50 countries. The UN officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, upon ratification of

14410-553: The post, but over the years it has become accepted that the position shall be held for one or two terms of five years. The current secretary-general is António Guterres of Portugal, who replaced Ban Ki-moon in 2017. The International Court of Justice (or ICJ), sometimes known as the World Court, is the primary judicial organ of the UN. It is the successor to the Permanent Court of International Justice and occupies

14541-600: The post-war world. At the subsequent meeting of the Inter-Allied Council in London on 24 September 1941, the eight governments in exile of countries under Axis occupation , together with the Soviet Union and representatives of the Free French Forces , unanimously adopted adherence to the common principles of policy set forth by Britain and the United States. Roosevelt and Churchill met at

14672-560: The presence of Russian troops in Iranian Azerbaijan and British forces in Greece . British diplomat Gladwyn Jebb served as interim secretary-general. The General Assembly selected New York City as the site for the headquarters of the UN. Construction began on 14 September 1948 and the facility was completed on 9 October 1952. The Norwegian Foreign Minister, Trygve Lie , was the first elected UN secretary-general . Though

14803-495: The present; Middle Eastern countries are covered from 2016 to the present, with the exception of Yemen (2015–present), Saudi Arabia (2015–present), and Syria (2017–present); South and Southeast Asian countries are covered from 2010 to the present, with the exception of India (2016–present), Indonesia (2015–present), the Philippines (2016–present), and Malaysia (2018–present); all Eastern European countries are covered from 2018 to

14934-695: The present; all Western European countries are covered from 2020 to the present; all countries in Central Asia & the Caucasus are covered from 2018 to the present, with the exception of Afghanistan (2017–present); all countries in Latin America & the Caribbean are covered from 2018 to the present; all countries in East Asia are covered from 2018 to the present; the United States of America

15065-532: The previous four decades. Between 1988 and 2000, the number of adopted Security Council resolutions more than doubled, and the peacekeeping budget increased by more than tenfold. The UN negotiated an end to the Salvadoran Civil War , launched a successful peacekeeping mission in Namibia , and oversaw democratic elections in post- apartheid South Africa and post- Khmer Rouge Cambodia. In 1991,

15196-743: The production of country of origin reports for asylum seekers and refugees. In North America, the Government of Canada , the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, and the Peace and Stabilization Operations Program in Canada make use of ACLED data. The US Government extensively uses ACLED's data for a wide range of policy initiatives and decision-making at both federal and state levels. For example,

15327-483: The project expanded geographic coverage to Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus, East Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the United States. At least by February 2022, ACLED had data covering the entire world including Antarctica for events since January 2021 with coverage of continental African since January 1997 and with coverage of other places starting between 1997 and 2021. ACLED codes reported information on

15458-472: The provision of athletic facilities or equipment), or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals. An individual may not take a tax deduction on gifts made to a 501(c)(3) organization that is organized and operated exclusively for the testing for public safety. In the case of tuition fees paid to a private 501(c)(3) school or a church school, the payments are not tax-deductible charitable contributions because they are payments for services rendered to

15589-576: The size and stability of a leader's cabinet, and not episodes of political violence preceding coups. A post by Thomas Zeitzoff at the Political Violence at a Glance blog listed the ACLED as one of several "high-profile datasets." Patrick Meier blogged about it at irevolution.net. 501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust , unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of

15720-399: The state of political violence, and deaths caused by such violence, in the region, including geographic distribution, trends over time, and actors involved. ACLED data and analysis are regularly cited in media reports on conflict and protest trends. In 2021, ACLED earned over 17,000 media mentions. The data are used by a wide range of major international, national, and local outlets all around

15851-408: The type, agents, location, date, and other characteristics of political violence events, demonstrations, and select politically relevant non-violent events. ACLED focuses on tracking a range of violent and non-violent actions by political agents, including governments, rebels, militias, identity groups, political parties, external actors, rioters, protesters, and civilians. ACLED data are derived from

15982-461: The website's Data Export Tool, the website's Curated Data Files, or directly from the ACLED API. ACLED provides a codebook intended for all users of the dataset as well as additional FAQs and guides. Data-driven analysis of political violence and demonstration trends can be found on the ACLED website, including weekly regional overviews, briefings, reports, and infographics. ACLED has also launched

16113-416: The widespread decolonization in the 1960s. Since then, 80 former colonies have gained independence, including 11 trust territories that had been monitored by the Trusteeship Council . By the 1970s, the UN's budget for economic and social development programmes vastly exceeded its spending on peacekeeping . After the end of the Cold War in 1991, the UN shifted and expanded its field operations, undertaking

16244-404: The world stage. The office has evolved into a dual role of an administrator of the UN organization and a diplomat and mediator addressing disputes between member states and finding consensus to global issues . The secretary-general is appointed by the General Assembly, after being recommended by the Security Council, where the permanent members have veto power. There are no specific criteria for

16375-598: The world, including NPR , Reuters , CBC Radio Canada , Bloomberg News , Agence France Presse , The New York Times , The Guardian , The Washington Post , CNN , The Telegraph , The Independent , Buzzfeed News , Al Jazeera , Middle East Eye , the Associated Press , Le Monde , the BBC , National Geographic , The Economist , The Atlantic , Africa Check , OZY , VICE News , the Daily Beast , Sky News ,

16506-479: The world. ACLED data are routinely used and referenced by development practitioners, humanitarian agencies, and policy makers, including several United Nations offices and affiliates. ACLED data on political violence targeting women (PVTW) fueled a global conversation on violence against women in politics and ultimately contributed to the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2493. In June 2019, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres personally commented that he

16637-405: The yearly gross receipts for the organization are expected to average $ 10,000 or more. If yearly gross receipts are expected to average less than $ 10,000, the filing fee is reduced to $ 400. There are some classes of organizations that automatically are treated as tax exempt under 501(c)(3), without the need to file Form 1023: The IRS released a software tool called Cyber Assistant in 2013, which

16768-594: Was "shocked" by the prevalence of PVTW, indicating that the new ACLED data had expanded his understanding of the situation and reinforced his policy position to "protect and promote women's participation in political life." In October 2019, the Secretary-General's official report to the Security Council on Women, Peace, and Security laid out the UN's priorities concerning the implementation of UNSC resolutions 1325 (2000) and 2122 (2013) on Women, Peace, and Security, explicitly citing ACLED's new data to underscore

16899-573: Was a pilot project collecting real-time data on religious repression and disorder. Building off ACLED's core methodology, ACLED-Religion introduced new event types to capture religion-related violence and harassment while adding further information about religious dynamics and actors to existing ACLED data. The pilot project covered seven countries in the Middle East and North Africa: Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Palestine, and Yemen. The COVID-19 Disorder Tracker (CDT) provided special coverage of

17030-447: Was re-elected on 8 June 2021. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states. The UN, its officers, and its agencies have won multiple Nobel Peace Prizes , although other evaluations of its effectiveness have been contentious. Some commentators believe the organization to be a leader in peace and human development, while others have criticized it for ineffectiveness, bias, and corruption . In

17161-408: Was succeeded by Form 1023-EZ in 2014. There is an alternative way for an organization to obtain status if an organization has applied for a determination and either there is an actual controversy regarding a determination or the Internal Revenue Service has failed to make a determination. In these cases, the United States Tax Court , the United States District Court for the District of Columbia , and

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