Year: 2010

Home
2010

Attack in Kabul

Ed Note: UN Dispatch welcomes blogger Una Moore to our roster of contributors.  Una is an international development specialist who focuses on security and governance in post-conflict settings.  Follow her on Twitter.

Living in an Earthquake Zone

I live in Guatemala, where we frequently experience "seismic activity," which is to say that the earth ceases to be bedrock, the room shakes like it's 3am, and those of us who have never lived in regions prone to such attacks start to understand what it's like to fear the ground you walk on.

Haiti Earthquake. Security Council Expands UN Mission in Haiti; UN applauds Israeli Rescue and Medical Efforts (Video)

Moments ago, the Security Council unanimously passed resolution 1908, increasing the size and strength of MINUSTAH.  The move clears the way for an additional 1,500 UN Police and 2,000 UN peacekeeping troops.  Brazil is expected to contribute the bulk of the troops and the European Union will dispatch police units to Haiti.

The vote follows Ban Ki Moon's meeting with the Security Council in which he urged the members to boost MINUSTAH.  From the UN News Center:

Ban Ki Moon Confirms Death of Haiti UN Mission chief, Hedi Annabi; Delays at PaP Airport

Ban Ki Moon issues a statement confirming the deaths of MINUSTAH chief Hedi Annabi, Deputy mission chief Luiz Carlos da Costa and acting police commissioner Doug Coates. 

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

I am deeply saddened to confirm the tragic death of my Special Representative to Haiti, Hédi Annabi. His Deputy Luiz Carlos da Costa and the Acting Police Commissioner, Doug Coates of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, are also confirmed to have perished.

No One Needs Your Old Shoes: How Not to Help in Haiti

1) Don’t donate goods. Donating stuff instead of money is a serious problem in emergency relief. Only the people on the ground know what’s actually necessary; those of us in the rest of the world can only guess. Some things, like summer clothes and expired medicines are going to be worthless in Haiti. Other stuff, like warm clothes and bottled water may be helpful to some people in some specific ways. Separating the useful from the useless takes manpower that can be doing more important work.