"A flight chartered by the United Nations (UN) World Food Program has arrived in the west African state of Niger, as efforts intensify to relieve the famine there.

It is carrying more than 40 tonnes of emergency rations. It is the first of a series of planned airlifts over the next few days. Two and a half million people in Niger are at risk of starvation.

The emergency supplies being flown in are being loaded onto trucks and are being delivered across the country." [Link]

"Sudanese security forces and other armed groups continue to rape and abuse displaced women in Darfur with impunity, according to a U.N. report on sexual violence in the troubled Sudanese province.

Louise Arbour, the United Nations' high commissioner for human rights, wrote that victims are routinely subjected to humiliating treatment at the hands of the authorities if they say they have been raped. Sudanese police frequently fail to register or investigate sex crimes, and courts sometimes try rape victims as adulteresses if they cannot prove they are telling the truth, she wrote.

"Rape and gang rape continue to be perpetrated by armed elements in Darfur, some of whom are members of law enforcement agencies and armed forces, and the government appears either unable or unwilling to hold them accountable," the 29-page report said. "Many women do not report incidents, out of fear of reprisals, and are discouraged from reporting by the lack of redress for sexual violence." [Full Story]

Selected summary of United Nations related news and events

UN to expand its crackdown on al Qaeda, Taliban

Famine in Niger Threatens 800,000 Children

Demand for Aid to the Homeless is Exceeding Supply
in Zimbabwe, UNICEF Says

Zimbabwe Says Shantytown Demolitions Have Ended

Secretary-General Welcomes IRA Disarmament Decision

UN welcomes Romania Refugee Decision

"Drug cartels are increasingly using West Africa as a hub for smuggling, working with criminal networks from the region who market cannabis, cocaine and heroin in Europe and North America, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

"If you look at recent seizures of cocaine, the biggest are all linked to groups with operations on the West African coast," Antonio Mazzitelli, head of UNODC's regional office for West and Central Africa, said." [More]

Selected summary of United Nations related news and events

Algerians' Murder in Iraq Makes Anti-terror Treaty More Urgent Than Ever - Annan

Niger Famine Shows Need for UN Fund, Says Benn

Forced Evictions and Demolitions Continue Despite UN Condemnation

United Nations To Monitor Use, Abuse of Child Soldiers

Manchester United Donates 200,000 Pounds for Anti-child-trafficking in China

With a Push From the U.N., Water Reveals Its Secrets

A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary

Americablog: "Kofi Annan to visit destroyed slums in Zimbabwe - This is a very good development to keep the spotlight on the disgusting destruction that the Mugabe regime has brought to the poor of Zimbabwe. I'm still hoping that South Africa manages to include political reform in their loan to Zim that they will surely be providing soon but so far "quiet diplomacy" has not shown many results and the ANC has been very reluctant to criticize Mugabe and his brutal policies."

Blog for America: "The United Nations announced that food and funding donations have arrived in drought-stricken Niger to aid the 3.5 million people living there. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, however, warned that the country has only received approximately a fifth of the aid it needs to ward off starvation. Niger, one of the poorest nations in the world and frequently hit by droughts, recently experienced a devastating locust infestation which destroyed most of the crops."

Media Girl: "Can we talk about the urgent Niger story? - No, I'm not talking about Wilson's trip. If you are not restricted to USA media and the blogosphere for news, you'll know already that I'm talking about the 3.6 million people about to starve to death there: "The situation is desperate. Even the limited food that is available has soared in price, rendering it unaffordable for most families, and there is no hope of any harvest for at least three months," said Natasha Kafoworola Quist, an Oxfam spokeswoman. "Families are feeding their children grass and leaves from the trees to keep them alive." Oxfam said U.N. appeals for aid were "dangerously" underfunded, with only one third of the money needed from donors being pledged. In many cases, the pledged money hasn't arrived, the agency added. The United Nations first appealed for assistance for Niger in November and got almost no response."

Norm Blog: "It seems that, after the UN report on Zimbabwe condemning the exercise in which 700,000 people were made homeless in that country, Robert Mugabe would like the UN secretary general to come and see things for himself. He has issued an invitation. I like this detail: "Zimbabwe has criticised the report as hostile and false, saying it "described the operation in vastly judgmental language which clearly demonstrates its inbuilt bias against the operation".

Tour Egypt: "The United Nations World Tourism Organization (WTO) has offered Egypt its full support in helping the country to surmount the negative impact on its flourishing tourism industry from Saturday's terrorist bombings at its Sharm el-Sheikh resort. "WTO has gained extensive experience in crisis management in the last few years, especially due to the work of our Recovery Committee, which for a long time was chaired by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism," WTO Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli told Egyptian Minister of Tourism Ahmed el Maghraby in a letter."

Washington Note: "Efforts are underway to resolve "officially" whether John Bolton met with the Valerie Plame grand jury or its investigators. If he did before submitting his declaration statement to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, his recess appointment will not occur. If he simply failed to amend his declaration but did meet with the Committee, there is still a chance he could squeak by during recess."

"UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday called for the cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations to work together more closely for the peace and prosperity of the world. Opening the Sixth High-Level Meeting of heads of regional and inter-governmental organizations, Annan said the events that have shaken the international community so profoundly in recent years have produced a crisis of confidence in the ability of the multilateral institutions, including the United Nations and the multilateral system, to "cope with the challenges of our time." [Read more]

Selected summary of United Nations related news and events

Zimbabwe Receives UN-HABITAT Officer to Advise Government
on Resettlement

Mugabe Invites Annan to View 'clean-up' Campaign

Go green, Says Keng Yaik

Meeting Women's Needs, Supporting Aceh's Future

Rural and Minority Women Still Meet Many Forms of Discrimination,
UN Panel Says

"Nasseiba Ali is the face of hunger in Niger. The 20-month-old girl weighs just 12 pounds, and her eyes are clouded at night, one of the symptoms of her chronic malnourishment.

Nasseiba may survive, because her grandmother was able to get her to a feeding center. But aid groups despair that so many other children are dying because the world was slow to respond." [Full Story]

"U.N. diplomats have revised their blueprint for reforming the world body to include a definition of terrorism, indicating nations are moving toward consensus on a contentious global issue.

World leaders are to consider the plan at their summit in September and, if approved, the definition could break the impasse over a comprehensive treaty against terrorism." [More]

BBC: "A major UN report has called for an immediate end to Zimbabwe's slum clearance programme, declaring it to be in violation of international law.

"The scale of suffering is immense," it said. About 700,000 people have lost their homes or livelihoods and another 2.4 million people have been affected.

Secretary General Kofi Annan said it confirmed "catastrophic injustice" had been done to Zimbabwe's poorest."

Selected summary of United Nations related news and events

U.S. State Dept Tells Congress to Give UN a Chance

Israeli-Palestinian Relations Bedevilled by Lack of Framework, UN Envoy Says

UNICEF Chief In Kenya on Trip to Promote Child Survival

Refugee Chief Calls for More Tolerance

A School Where Displacement, Not Discipline, is the Biggest Problem

UN Forces Flush Out Rwanda Rebels

UNIFEM Calls for Stronger Support for Women's Roles in Peace Processes

Landmark Civil Society Forum on Conflict Prevention Wraps Up at UN

"Thousands of children are starving to death in Niger because the international community has been too slow to respond to the country's food crisis, UN officials and aid workers said yesterday. They warned that the numbers dying could rise to 150,000 without urgent aid."
[Full article]

Also read: Niger Food Crisis Timeline

A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary

Constant Inanity: "Huge crater and whale-with-feet boneyard named U.N. heritage sites - The cultural and education arm of the United Nations on Friday added a giant meteorite crater in South Africa and a whale boneyard from the time the creatures had feet among seven new global heritage sites. The new spots also include two long and deep Norwegian fjords, 244 rugged islands off the coast of Mexico, a forest park in Thailand and the last refuge of the crested eagle off southwest Panama. The heritage list, which has 188 sites around the world designated for their importance to nature and to culture, is part of a campaign to encourage conservation in host countries."

Exbaptist: "There is no shortage of well-documented dementia of Americans who think the United Nations building in New York is occupied by a secret cabal of European intellectuals who would like nothing better than to turn us all into brie-eating socialists, but I think the John Bolton nomination represents how closely Christian conservatives have merged their religion with their politics."

Intellibriefs: "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Bush today declare their resolve to transform the relationship between their countries and establish a global partnership. Drawing on their mutual vision for the U.S.-India relationship, and our joint objectives as strong long-standing democracies, the two leaders agree on the following: Develop and support, through the new U.S.-India Global Democracy Initiative in countries that seek such assistance, institutions and resources that strengthen the foundations that make democracies credible and effective. India and the U.S. will work together to strengthen democratic practices and capacities and contribute to the new U.N. Democracy Fund."

Mudville Gazette: "5800 to contest Afghan polls - NEARLY 6000 candidates have been declared eligible to contest Afghanistan's first post-Taliban parliamentary polls in September, more than 10 per cent of them women, election officials said today. A total of 2778 candidates will stand for the 249-seat lower house Wolesi Jirga elections and 3027 will stand for provincial councils, Bismillah Bismil, chairman of the UN-backed electoral commission told reporters."

Sideshow: "Publication of The Costs of War by Sir Jeremy Greenstock, UK ambassador to the UN during the build-up to the 2003 war and the Prime Minister's special envoy to Iraq in its aftermath, has been halted."

"The famine in Niger could have been prevented if the United Nations had a reserve fund to jump-start humanitarian aid, a senior UN official has said.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA, has a fund of $50,000 to quickly respond to emergencies, but only for loans, which must be repaid.

Instead, it wants $500,000 for grants to rapidly launch emergency relief campaigns as soon as warning signs emerge, said Jan Egeland, head of OCHA." [Full Story]

Selected summary of United Nations related news and events

First-ever Civil Society Meeting on Conflict Prevention Opens at Headquarters

U.N. Supports Women in Conflict Resolution

International Mission in Haiti To Get 200 More Philippine Troops

More Liberians Returning From Western Cote d'Ivoire, Reports UNHCR

Indonesia: New School Year is a Time of Hope for Tsunami-affected Aceh

"Condemning the recent murder of journalists in Brazil and Haiti, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has yet again stressed that an attack on reporters is an attack on society itself." [More]

The UN Democracy Fund is the latest manifestation of the UN's commitment to supporting emerging democracies with legal, technical and financial assistance and advice.

Click here to learn more...

CNN: "The two main rebel movements in Sudan's conflict-ridden western Darfur region have signed an agreement to stop all acts of enmities and friction between their supporters to maintain unity in the strife-torn province.

The United Nations has called Darfur the world's worst humanitarian crisis and said it has claimed 70,000 lives and 1.5 million people are now homeless after having fled their homes since February 2003."

Selected summary of United Nations related news and events

Can Peace Take Root in War-weary Burundi?

Global Compact Members Disclose Actions Supporting
Good Corporate Citizenship

Timbuktu Crossed off Heritage Danger List

Clinton Boosts Interest in Tsunami Relief

Africa World Heritage Sites Named

BBC NEWS: "The United Nations is to set up a task force to investigate the effects of climate change on regions like the Himalayas.

The decision came at the annual meeting of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (Unesco) World Heritage Committee, which declared that climate change does pose a threat to natural and cultural heritage sites."

Selected summary of United Nations related news and events

UN Mission, UNICEF voice outrage at 'horrific' killing of children in Iraq

Tsunami areas must 'build back better' - Clinton

UN Officials Stress Need to Curb Portable Missiles, Other Light Arms
Used in Terror

Afghanistan: UN Expert on Violence Against Women Meets with Female Prisoners

Annan announces new initiative to bridge gap between Islamic, Western worlds

A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary

Move The UN: "The US House has decided to reduce and withold (House Backs Withholding Dues to Spur U.N. Changes By Mike Allen and Colum Lynch, Washington Post Staff Writers, Saturday, June 18, 2005) its funding till the UN is reformed. And today's headline in the BBC News website is US opposes UN Council reform plan. US is calling for just 2 new permanent seats, one being Japan, but with no veto powers. The G4 proposal put forward by Brazil, Germany, India and Japan, which is to add the G4 proposers with 2 additional members from the African continent, is what the US is rejecting!! Hypocrisy is at its height here."

Moderate Voice: "It sounds like John Bolton is indeed destined to be a recess appointment after all. What continues to be fascinating is this implicit argument that John Bolton is the ONLY PERSON in the GOP who can fill that slot and achieve the administration's goals. In the huge pool of GOP talent - diplomats, law professors, political scientists, and businessmen - only John Bolton will do? Even though some in the GOP itself don't want John Bolton, it MUST be John Bolton?"

Outside the Beltway: "Embattled UN Ambassador nominee John Bolton may take a recess appointment after all.... Unless the White House calculates that there is no getting around acrimony over the Supreme Court nomination(s), stoking the flames over what will, in the long run, be an insignificant appointment makes little sense. The Supreme Court picks the president makes may serve a quarter century or more; his UN Ambassador will be forgotten before his successor finishes his oath."

Washington Note: "Officials in the White House, the State Department and in the Senate close to the Senate-White House fight over Bolton's nomination to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations report to TWN that they were caught off guard by the Washington Post article by Charles Babington and Dafna Linzer suggesting both that Bolton would accept a recess appointment -- and that if the Senate failed to confirm him the President would give Bolton such an appointment. Most officials on the Democratic side of the equation think that not only Bolton's confirmation -- but his actual nomination -- are dead. Republican voices close to this battle think that Bolton's nomination is withering badly and in critical condition, barely surviving on life support."

Textually: "The United Nations is working toward a world agreement on the scrapping of metal-intensive mobile phones that could impact the cost of making them, reports Reuters: "The U.N., the scrap industry and mobile phone makers and operators, such as Nokia and Vodafone, are working together as part of the U.N. Basel Convention on the control and disposal of waste. It could expand agreements already in place in Europe, North America and Japan in the lead up to a key conference in Africa next year."

Unpaid Punditry Corps: "Easy question, should President Bush recess appoint John Bolton as the Ambassador to the United Nations? It would be an appointment good through the end of 2006. In the past I have been pretty clear that I believe John Bolton is the right guy at the right time. Personally, I would love to see this happen, the Senate has stalled on this long enough."

"Former South African President Nelson Mandela was named Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in recognition of his "outstanding leadership" in the fight against racial discrimination and his "unfailing commitment" to democracy.

UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura made the designation at a ceremony at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg, South Africa.

According to the citation, Mr. Mandela was awarded the title "in recognition of his outstanding leadership in the fight against apartheid and racial discrimination, in his country and worldwide; for his dedication to reconciliation between different communities; his unfailing commitment to democracy, equality and learning; his support for all the oppressed of the Earth; and his exemplary contribution to international peace and understanding."

As one of UNESCO's Goodwill Ambassadors, Mr. Mandela joins an outstanding group of celebrity advocates who have generously agreed to use their talent and status to promote UNESCO's work and ideals. They include President Valdas Adamkus of Lithuania, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand, and 1992 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Rigoberta Menchu Tum of Guatemala."
[Link]

NIAMEY/GENEVA - 12 July 2005 - Acute malnutrition rates have risen to 13.4 per cent in southern Niger Maradi and Zinder Regions, with 2.5 per cent of this group identified as severely malnourished children under age five, says UNICEF quoting recent nutrition surveys by the UN and several NGOs.

The food shortage impacts some 3.3 million people - including 800,000 children under age five - in some 3,815 villages. Officials estimate cereal deficits at 223,448 tons and livestock feed deficits at 4,642,219 tons.

At UNICEF-supported therapeutic feeding centres, admissions are rising exponentially. They are at least twice as high as those registered last year for the same period." [Read more]

Selected summary of United Nations related news and events

UN Officials Commemorate 10th Anniversary of Srebrenica Massacre

Aid less as nations get richer

"Natural Capital" Investment or Higher Costs and Lower Profits

Climate Change Prompts First Mt. Everest Climber to Act

UN's WFP Calls for More Aid Without Ties

True Number of Conflict Deaths Worldwide is Vastly Underreported, Report Says

China Calls for Empowering Women to Fight Rise in HIV Infections

Jeffrey Sachs: "When world leaders gather at the United Nations summit in September, they can build quickly on the Gleneagles achievements. They should insist that donor countries that still lack a timetable to 0.7 per cent announce one in order to complete the financing package for Africa and other poor regions; that the IMF, World Bank, and other international organisations set their work plans according to the Millennium Development Goals; and that the new donor commitments to double aid start now. The leaders should be guided by the spirit of London that was on display last week, which showed that hope and generosity are the greatest bulwarks against terror and hate."

A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary

Chez Nadezhda: "The Democracy Fund is one of several "UN reform" initiatives that both the US and Annan have embraced, as highlighted in this briefing by Nicholas Burns in June. By announcing the creation of the fund now, with the September summit as a target date for unveiling the thing, it looks like Kofi is giving a boost to the US' fund-raising and organizing efforts. So far, it seems the US has rounded up 25 other countries who, in a letter last month to Annan, have supported Bush's proposal and indicated they are considering providing some financing."

Juan Cole: "Russian Premier Vladimir Putin is pushing the other members of the G8 to give the United Nations a leading role in Iraq and setting a timetable for US withdrawal. As regular readers know, the first part of this plan is one that I have also endorsed. The Russians have explored a role as intermediaries in Iraq, having their ambassador in Baghdad meet with Shiite nationalist Muqtada al-Sadr last month."

Light Up the Darkness: "Updates on the London Bombing Coverage - U.N. Condemns London Terror Strikes - Hours after the bombings in London, the U.N. Security Council "voted unanimously to condemn the terrorist attacks and vowed to bring those responsible to justice." Secretary-General Kofi Annan echoed that sentiment. "These vicious acts have cut us all to the core, for they are an attack on humanity itself," Annan said in a statement. "Today, the world stands shoulder to shoulder with the British people."

Marginal Revolution: "I'll be blogging next week from Monrovia, Liberia. I will try to post three to four times, but the reliability of "internet cafes" in Liberia is suspect at best. Liberia may be the poorest nation in the world. Recent estimates from the world bank indicate that per capita gross national income in Liberia is about half that of Rwanda.... Since the fall of 2003, U.N. troops have been stationed in Liberia to disarm the various factions, keep the peace, and oversee presidential elections (slated for this coming October)."

Steve Clemons: "[T]he battle over Sandra Day O'Connor's seat is only just beginning -- and will dominate the news for the weeks ahead. And yet on top of that drama, we have a major terrorist attack in London -- another tremendous tragedy. That too will take attention and time and calls for the White House to send a constructive, bridge-building personality to the U.N. to strengthen the league of those who stand against this type of violence and want to build an "ideology of hope," to use President Bush's words."

"The Security Council "condemns without reservation the terrorist attacks in London on July 7, 2005 and regards any act of terrorism as a threat to peace and security," said the resolution, drafted by Britain. It urged all nations "to cooperate actively in efforts to find and bring to justice the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of these barbaric acts." [More]

UN News Service: "United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today joined G8 summit leaders in condemning the "barbaric attacks" that rocked London's public transport system, declaring a united resolve to fight terrorism until victory."

CNN: London rocked by explosions

Selected summary of United Nations related news and events

Millennium Development Goals Have Unprecedented Support, Annan Says

UN Releases 'Blueprint' for Fight Against Bird Flu in Asia

G8 Leaders Told It Pays to Protect Forests

UN Special Forces Launch Blitz in Eastern DRC

"Secretary-General Kofi Annan has announced the creation of a fund to promote democratric institutions and practices around the world - an idea first proposed by the United States.

The United Nations said Tuesday that since many members have offered to contribute, Annan wanted to set up the fund this summer so interested countries could make donations by September. That's when Annan has invited world leaders to a summit to tackle U.N. reform and agree on measures to meet U.N. development goals, including cutting extreme poverty by half by 2015." [More]

A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary

Agonist: "LAT - The United Nations World Food Program said it has suspended aid shipments to Somalia after gunmen hijacked a vessel it chartered and demanded a $500,000 ransom."

Democracy Arsenal: "The Bush administration's options for advancing the nomination of John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations are now dwindling, and one that officials are now considering is the recess appointment. Bolton's own supposed reluctance to accept a recess appointment may reflect a recognition that interim status would compromise effectiveness. The latest word is that the Senate Republican leadership is realizing this truth as well, and may now try to fold the Bolton nomination into some sort of broader reform pitch. Meanwhile, reform negotiations at the UN are proceeding apace. While its leadership has often been lacking, the U.S. delegation is taking a mostly reasonable line and making progress toward key reforms of the UN's Commission on Human Rights, its peace-building capabilities, and its approach to terrorism. An ill-conceived recess appointment should not be allowed to jeopardize this."

Juan Cole: "Carl Nyberg, a former UN peacekeeper in Cambodia, writes: "I'm skeptical of putting much hope into a UN solution for Iraq's security problems. I was a UN peacekeeper in Cambodia, but don't want to lean too heavily on my personal experience. What I learned from my experience is that it is almost impossible for one person to capture the full story of something as complex as a UN peacekeeping mission."

Selected summary of United Nations related news and events

Nearly 3,000 refugees from Central African Republic have
gathered in a makeshift site at the Chadian village of Betel while
they await relocation to an existing camp. © UNHCR/G.Le Breton

Refugee Relocation Operation in Southern Chad Rushes to Beat the Rainy Season

Sachs Says Africa Must Pin Down Rich on Pledges

Global UN Strategy Directed at Bird Flu

Australian Park Administration, Mexican Conservationist Win UN-Backed Awards

"The devastating tsunami that struck Asia last year has left several countries that were already vulnerable to AIDS at even greater risk of the deadly disease, United Nations officials said on Monday.

One in four new infections occurs in Asia, home to more than half the world's people, and 1,500 in the region die from the disease each day. Another 12 million could be infected over the next five years if prevention programmes are not stepped up." [Full Story]

"One in three Africans suffers from malnutrition and a total of 852 million people in the world suffer from hunger, the United Nations says in a new report.

The World Food Program (WFP) report highlighted the plight of starving Africans and said that the financial contributions necessary for alleviating the continent's hunger problems were lacking." [More]

On a related note, Live 8 has kicked off. Read what bloggers are saying about it.

"The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) with the support of three UN agencies - WFP, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and UNICEF - has launched a Charity Project entitled "Athletics for a Better World - The IAAF Stars' Donation Fund". The initiative aims to encourage top athletes to increase awareness of and raise funds for humanitarian initiatives." Read more at the WFP website