Remarks released by the State Department: "RICE: The Secretary General and I did have a very good talk.... We talked about a wide variety of issues, the events in Lebanon, the need to make certain that Resolution 1559 is adhered to. We had an opportunity to discuss Sudan and the importance of the Sudanese Government taking seriously the concerns and demands of the international community to bring relief to that long suffering population. We also talked a good bit about U.N. Reform, about the fact that the United States as a founding member of the United Nations wants this to be a strong organization, an organization that is fit and ready for the challenges of the 21st century and we very much appreciate the Secretary General's commitment to United Nations reform in all of its aspects, in all of its manifestations."
Drudge links to this Financial Times piece: "The world is poorly prepared for a future influenza pandemic, with only a dozen countries purchasing significant quantities of antiviral drugs and just 50 with contingency plans on how to cope with such an outbreak. A Financial Times analysis on the eve of a World Health Organisation meeting on preparing for a pandemic shows widely differing approaches between countries that already have plans, and a sharp divide between richer countries and many poorer nations, creating splits that could hinder efforts to curb disease."
The Global Coalition on Women and AIDS is launching a five-city "Women and AIDS U.S. Tour: Empower Women, Save Lives." The Tour will emphasize that local and global communities must join forces to deliver prevention, care and treatment services that meet the needs of women and girls, while engaging men and boys as positive agents of change. More...
... the world should hear more about.
Uganda: child soldiers at center of mounting humanitarian crisis
Central African Republic: a silent crisis crying out for help
AIDS orphans in sub-Saharan Africa: a looming threat to future generations
The peacekeeping paradox: as peace spreads, surge in demand strains UN resources
Tajikistan: rising from the ashes of civil war
Women as peacemakers: from victims to re-builders of society
Persons with disabilities: a treaty seeks to break new ground in ensuring equality
Bakassi Peninsula: recourse to the law to prevent conflict
Overfishing: a threat to marine biodiversity
Indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation
"No one at the United Nations doubts that big change is necessary for the institution to regain its footing and restore its name. Mark Malloch Brown, the new trouble-shooting chief of staff, speaks of the need for "another San Francisco moment," a reference to the founding conference of the United Nations in 1945.... Mr. [Edward] Luck, a former president of the United Nations Association of the United States of America, said it was just as customary for Washington to accommodate itself to the United Nations. He recalled that President Ronald Reagan came into office skeptical of the United Nations but left with an appreciation of its importance. "I think the same thing is happening with Bush," he said. "Like Reagan, they've found that they need to do business with the U.N." Read the rest...
"Responding to poor road conditions and heavy snow in Afghanistan, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is organizing relief airdrops over two remote areas in the centre of the country.
Coalition forces aircraft dropped 40 tons of food provided by WFP over Tulak and Saghar districts in the central Ghor province. WFP's partner, Samander Development Programme, is working with local authorities and community leaders to distribute the food to 7,600 people there." Full Story
CNN Health: "A global treaty aimed at dissuading children from smoking and helping adults kick the habit came into force on Sunday with the United Nations saying it could save millions of lives.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) applauded the strong warnings on cigarette packages and the eventual ban on tobacco advertising and sponsorship laid down in the the world's first international public health treaty.... Tobacco, the second leading cause of preventable deaths globally after hypertension, kills 4.9 million people a year, the U.N. agency says."
"Ten years after the landmark United Nations women's conference in Beijing, hundreds of delegates and thousands of non-governmental organization (NGOs) representatives will meet at the United Nations for nearly two weeks to review the world's progress towards equality for women." Read More...
From today's NYT: "Unidentified militia fighters ambushed and killed nine United Nations peacekeepers on Friday in the volatile Ituri region of eastern Congo. It was the worst attack in the six years of the mission and a sign of continued instability ahead of planned nationwide elections.... The attack came as the peacekeepers had adopted a more aggressive posture in recent months, confronting and forcibly disarming militia groups that had been terrorizing the local population."