"Former U.S. president Bill Clinton said on Saturday he supported a tsunami aid-sharing deal between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels, saying it could lead to a lasting peace.
Clinton, the U.N. envoy for tsunami relief, also told a news conference at the end of a one-day visit he had seen much progress in recovery efforts since his last trip in February." Full Story
"With human rights observance being one of the central goals of the United Nations, Human Rights High Commissioner Louise Arbour today outlined a strategic vision for the future and called for tools to increase her office's global leadership and its engagement with individual countries.
"Our objective must be to help bridge the gap between the lofty rhetoric of human rights in the halls of the United Nations and its sobering realities on the ground," Ms. Arbour says in a report to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who transmitted it to the General Assembly." Read more...
Selected summary of United Nations related news and events
Annan urges donors to bolster expanded African Union efforts in Darfur
Child Trafficking is the Subject of the Latest VOA News Series
France, Germany, Spain call for autonomous UN environment agency
New Program Aims to Reduce Alarming Destruction of Global Forests by Ten Percent Annually
UN investigator in Beirut to probe Hariri killing
If you haven't checked out the Oil-for-Food Facts site recently, there's lots of new material posted, including a link to this Philadelphia Daily News letter:
Letters | What Rosett left out
WHILE disparaging the U.N., Secretary-General Kofi Annan and reform efforts initiated by him, Claudia Rosett (op-ed, May 3, "Just some more stale Kofi") focuses primarily on corruption in the Oil-for-Food relief program.
From 1996 until 2003, the Oil-for-Food Program let the Iraqi government sell oil to pay for food, infrastructure, medicine and humanitarian goods. It addressed the humanitarian impact of the sanctions on the Hussein regime while maintaining the sanctions to keep Saddam from acquiring weapons of mass destruction. It was successful in both respects.
Despite U.S. allegations, weapons of mass destruction were not found in Iraq; the caloric intake of Iraqis increased 83 percent during that period; malnutrition rates in 2002 in the central and southern part of the country were half those in 1996 among children under 5; in the three northern governorates, chronic malnutrition decreased 56 percent. The program also contributed to vaccination campaigns that helped reduce child mortality and eradicated polio.
Ms. Rosett fails to point out that most of the money pocketed by Saddam through illegal oil sales came through smuggling outside the framework of the program. Nor does she acknowledge that the U.N. raised concerns about potential wrongdoing on multiple occasions. Also missing is the fact that the U.S. was aware of the corruption taking place by Security Council members China, Russia and France, and to a lesser extent by U.S. companies, and chose to look the other way.
Nor is selective silence unique to this program. In the last few days, the White House has declined to comment as an uprising against the repressive government of President Karimov of Uzbekistan turned fatal as government forces fired on its citizens, killing at least 500.
Similarly, it is withholding support to the people of Kazakhstan against the corrupt regime of President Nazarbayev. The U.S. has military alliances with both of these countries.
Norma VanDyke, President
United Nations Association
Greater Philadelphia Chapter
A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary
CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS: "Voinovich's continued offensive against Bolton will rankle the base, especially in light of fellow Ohioan Mike DeWine's participation in the confirmation agreement. Now with all of the shenanigans going on in the Senate, the last thing the GOP caucus needs is another "maverick" showing up the leadership and the White House."
LOADED MOUTH: "As I've reported before, the UN World Food Program (WFP) is runing extremely low on funds, and for the people of Darfur, this is the worst possible time for a WFP budget crisis because Sudan's rainy season starts in a month, which will make the transportation of rations nearly impossible. But even I'm surprised at how far in the hole WFP is. There's still time to donate. Hint hint."
WASHINGTON NOTE: "Doug Jehl captured the rarity of a Senator like Voinovich breaking not only once with his party -- but essentially THREE TIMES -- given his "Dear Colleagues" letter on Bolton."
Selected summary of United Nations related news and events
Sudan food operation faces funding disaster
Troops end peacekeeping mission in Cyprus
UNICEF and Procter & Gamble Join Forces
Sri Lanka rebels recruiting fewer child soldiers
Wrapping up world meeting, UN health body acts on cancer, immunization
"Enhancing the role of female MPs in Bahrain, the UAE, Oman and Kuwait will be the focus of a seminar in Abu Dhabi on Monday. It is taking place at the General Women's Union as part of a regional project to empower women.
The project is being spearheaded by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and also aims to establish an Arab women parliamentarians' forum, bring gender issues onto the agendas of Arab parliaments and sow the seeds of equal participation at the national level." LINK
A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary
DEMOCRACY ARSENAL: "In response to my post yesterday on the beefing up of UN peacekeeping capabilities, Greg at Belgravia Dispatch raised the question of whether we would ever entrust missions "of utmost import to our national security" to a UN force.... We may never hand something akin from a strategic perspective to Iraq over to the UN, but its easy to envision a mission in Darfur - provided the killings can be stopped - being handled by the world body."
TREEHUGGER: "A recent survey may have found that some young people aren't engaged by environmental issues, but the United Nations Environment Program is not planning on leaving them uninformed."
WAR AND PIECE: "How does the Senate deal affect the Bolton nomination? Steve Clemons reports on several developments, including the Democratic Caucus discussion on Bolton today."