Monthly Archives: August 2006
UN Receives Offers of Thousands of Troops for Lebanon Mission
Bloomberg: “Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and Nepal were among nations that offered thousands of troops to a United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon as Israel’s military transferred control of 50 percent of the region to the UN. “I think we’re in business,” UN Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown said after envoys of almost 50 nations attended a closed meeting of potential troop contributors. The UN wants to deploy about 3,500 troops within two weeks and eventually increase to 15,000 the current force of 2,000.”
Sudan May Be Gearing Up for Major Offensive in Darfur
“The Sudanese Government seems to be determined to pursue a major military offensive in strife-torn Darfur, building up its armed forces in the region as the situation there deteriorates … In a closed-door briefing, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hedi Annabi also warned the Security Council that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has reiterated his opposition to a United Nations peacekeeping force in Darfur and vowed that the Sudanese armed forces would fight any UN force dispatched to the region.” [More]
Children Slip Through Cracks of AIDS Efforts
NYT: “Efforts to greatly expand antiretroviral treatment for AIDS in poor countries are not reaching a vast majority of children who need it, a World Health Organization official said [in Toronto] on Wednesday.
The official, Dr. Kevin M. De Cock, who directs the organization’s AIDS program, said that an estimated 2.3 million children 15 and under around the world are infected with H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, and that 800,000 of them needed antiretroviral drugs to stay alive. Of the 800,000, only 60,000 to 100,000 are receiving therapy. While the children account for 14 percent of AIDS deaths, they make up only 6 percent of recipients of antiretroviral drug therapy. Many of the children are orphans.
Blog Roundup #111
Bolton Watch: “Public officials cannot be responsible for the opinions of the people who interview them. But they can be judicious with whom they choose to grant interviews. It is therefore a wonder why Ambassador John Bolton would grant an interview to Pamela Oshry, proprietor of the anti-Muslim hate website “Atlas Shrugs.”
Glenn Greenwald: “U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, on Saturday, in the middle of the most pressing crisis the U.N. has faced since he was appointed to that position, decided to sit for an hour-long, one-on-one “interview” and chose as his journalistic interrogator . . . LGF commenter Pamela “Atlas” Oshry of the blog AtlasShrugs, whose views are so far outside of what is mainstream, in equal parts inane and despicable, that it would be impossible to describe fully.”
Think Progress: “‘Violence against women in Afghanistan is widespread and mainly happens inside victims’ homes,’ according to a report from the U.N. Development Fund for Women. ‘Acts of violence (against women) are happening with impunity,’ the report said.”
Congo Donors Fund Elections but Neglect Crisis
Alertnet: “The international community may have funded historic post-war elections in Democratic Republic of Congo but it must do more to counter a humanitarian crisis that kills thousands every week, the U.N. said on Tuesday.
Food aid has been cut in half and entire families are dying from preventable diseases as aid workers struggle to tackle an emergency that continues despite the official end to the 1998-2003 war and the elections on July 30.”
BBC: UN Aims for Advance Lebanon Force
“The UN is trying to get an advance force of peacekeepers into Lebanon in 10-15 days, a senior official has said. The force would be up to 3,500-strong, to be boosted later to the full 15,000 agreed in the UN ceasefire resolution.” [Full story]
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The SC; HRC; DPRK; South Sudan
The SC: The Security Council today held its last consultations under the Council Presidency of ROK. Tomorrow, Russia will take over the rotating Presidency of the Security Council for March under Ambassador Vitaly Churkin.
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The SG; Mali; Middle East; Palestine
The SG: At the Fifth Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations in Vienna, Austria today, the SG emphasized the role of youth in ensuring a “prosperous, equitable and peaceful future.”
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The SG; DRC; HRC; Palestinian Prisoner
The SG: In Ethiopia over the weekend, the SG is now in the United Arab Emirates. Today he met with Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, where the two discussed developments in the region, including Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan, and in the Middle East Peace Process.
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