"It is most obvious in Congo, which commands by far the largest deployment of United Nations troops in the world. Peacekeepers in armored personnel carriers, facing enemy sniper attacks as they lumber through rugged dirt paths in the eastern Ituri region, are returning fire. Attack helicopters swoop down over the trees in search of tribal fighters. And peacekeepers are surrounding villages in militia strongholds and searching hut by hut for guns." Full Story
CNN: "The United Nations on Sunday condemned as "utterly unacceptable" the alleged abuse of detainees at the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, and urged the U.S. military to allow a probe by Afghan human rights investigators."
A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary
LEFT COASTER: "US computer billionaire Bill Gates yesterday accused rich countries of turning their back on deadly diseases affecting millions of poor people, as he announced an additional $250 million (BD94.5m) (euro198 million) ($A330.73 million) (NZ$639 million) contribution for health research in developing countries."
FIRST DRAFT: "Paging Norm Coleman - Norm Coleman to the White Courtesy Phone Please: "U.S. officials are now unsure whether billions of dollars dispatched to Iraqi ministries to fund reconstruction projects ever reached their final destinations. Schools and hospitals refurbished with hastily issued contracts have again fallen into disrepair. The oil and power industries are in worse shape than during the Saddam Hussein regime."
WARREN ELLIS: "More than half of all humans will soon be living in cities, according to a prediction by the United Nations. "Psychologically it is an important step for mankind," Hania Zlotnik, director of the United Nations Population Division, told the BBC. "It's an increasing trend that is becoming more obvious. People do not realise how rural the world was until recently. That is changing." In 1900, only 14% of humanity lived in cities. By the century's close, 47% of us did so. This change is revealed in the growth of the number of medium-sized cities. In 1950, there were 83 cities with populations exceeding one million; but by 2000, this had risen to 411."
Selected summary of United Nations related news and events
AP: U.S. Bill Would Demand U.N. Reform
Togolese refugees in Ghana and Benin now number nearly 32,000
Tsunami damage helps UN to price the unseen value of ecosystems
UN Holds Seminar on the Use of Technology for Disaster Management
Annan requests extension and expansion of UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti
"The United Nations will end its peacekeeping mission in East Timor today, marking the country's transition to a viable and peaceful state, the international body said in a statement. East Timor President Xanana Gusmao and the UN's special representative Sukehiro Hasegawa held a ceremony in the capital, Dili, yesterday to bid farewell to the peacekeepers who have kept the country secure since 24 years of Indonesian rule ended in bloodshed and widespread destruction in 1999." More...
A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary
ATRIOS: "Franken: Meanwhile, the Coalition Provisional Authority, which we ran, has lost 8.8 billion dollars. By lost, I mean it's totally unaccounted for. Not only has Congress not "looked into" this $8.8 billion and who might have it now, but it seems that some members are completely unaware that this staggering sum, which was supposed to go toward rebuilding Iraq, is missing."
HUFFINGTON POST (Al Franken): "Right now Coleman is looking into the Oil-for-Food program, which was administered by the Security Council in the U.N., mostly by the U.S. and Britain. That didn't stop Coleman from demanding Kofi Annan's resignation without any proof of any wrongdoing on his part. There appears to be anywhere from one to two billion dollars stolen through the program - with most of that going to Saddam. Primarily the U.S. and Britain took it upon themselves to make sure that none of this money went toward making W.M.D.s. They seemed to have done a pretty good job. Meanwhile, the Coalition Provisional Authority, which we ran, has lost 8.8 billion dollars. By lost, I mean it's totally unaccounted for."
MARTIN STABE: "The most interesting thing about George Galloway's performance in the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations yesterday was the way it highlighted the major differences in style between Westminster and Washington."
Selected summary of United Nations related news and events
UN demands independent probe into Uzbek killings
'Core' UN staff returning to Afghan city hit last week by riots
Government of the Netherlands to Host Sustainable Business Conference in Conjunction with UN World Environment Day
UN meeting for South Asia seeks end to violence against children
From the UN Foundation website: "United Nations Foundation (UN Foundation) President and former U.S. Senator Timothy E. Wirth testified before the House International Relations Committee at a hearing today on UN reform. Senator Wirth outlined five key points which will be essential to a constructive reform process that achieves meaningful and lasting results. He also urged Congress to support UN reform without the threat of withholding UN dues, an action which most often is cost-ineffective and counterproductive."
Transcript of CNN's program Diplomatic License, which aired on May 15th, 2005, covering "Current Events at the United Nations."
Excerpt:
GEORGE LOPEZ, NOTRE DAME UNIV.: Well, remember, we know that $4.4 billion in Oil For Food needs to be accounted for. This may be a good deal of that. What we also know is that it is nearly triple that amount worked outside the system, with the approval of individual members of the council, and the dialogue in the media up to this point has focused almost exclusively on the secretariat and not on the member states and the Security Council.