"Aiming to ease the emergency conditions caused by recent flooding in Venezuela, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has allocated $100,000 for initial relief efforts being carried out in coordination with the country's Government. The agency will seek first to re-establish basic services for children, provide psychosocial support and dispatch supplies such as water purification tablets." More...
In a New Republic commentary (subscription required), James Traub writes about the UN's role in the Oil-for-Food Program: "Oil-for-Food was a conscious act of diplomacy. And it was, on balance, a successful one: The program saved the sanctions, and the sanctions made possible the disarmament of Iraq."
The Dispatcher spent some time in Beirut during the Lebanese civil war. This article touches on one of the holdovers of that war: the presence of thousands of Syrian troops inside Lebanon... "Mr. Roed-Larsen, until last month UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, was named to his new post to implement Security Council resolution 1559, which was adopted in September and called for the withdrawal of all remaining foreign forces from Lebanon, disbanding all militias and extending Government control over the whole country."
"United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special envoy for children and armed conflict (CAAC) today launched an action plan for systematically monitoring and reporting of child abuse in situations of armed conflict, or in "situations of concern," with a view to triggering a strong international response." Learn More...
From the BBC: "In a speech in London, Mr Annan said the UN had an important role to play in fighting terror and poverty. Earlier, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair strongly endorsed Mr Annan, calling him a "tremendous unifier".
From the Chicago Tribune: "The United Nations said governments have given only a fraction of the money they pledged for tsunami aid and warned that more cash is needed to fund long-term reconstruction efforts."
Secretary Rice, from a Q&A in Paris: "The United States is a founding member of the United Nations. We want the United Nations to be strong and active and effective.... The United Nations has been critical in providing the mandate for the coalition forces that are now in Iraq as a part of a multinational force there to support the Iraqi people."
Via UN Wire, this article on the battle to end HIV/Aids in Africa. Quote: "The United Nations children's and public health agencies may be able to develop and market anti-HIV/AIDS formulations for children within 18 months, the UN Special Envoy helping to coordinate the battle against HIV/AIDS in Africa said today in Barcelona, Spain.... "The most important touch of solace on the horizon is that UNICEF and WHO have come together in an effort to address the most complex aspects of this predicament," he said."
From UN Wire: "As American officials seek to quell fears of an Iranian-like theocracy coming into power in Iraq with guarantees that Iraq's leaders will embrace only moderate policies, Swanee Hunt and Isobel Coleman write in the International Herald Tribune that without real rights afforded to women, any claims of moderation are simply "an illusion."