"Ten years after the 1996 World Food Summit (WFS) in Rome, which promised to reduce the number of undernourished people by half by 2015, there were more hungry people in the developing countries today - 820 million - than there were in 1996.... The report listed a series of steps which, it said, was needed to eradicate hunger in the years ahead. They included: focussing programmes and investments on "hotspots" of poverty and undernourishment; enhancing the productivity of smallholder agriculture; creating the right conditions for private investment, including transparency and good governance; making world trade work for the poor, with safety nets put in place for vulnerable groups; and a rapid increase in the level of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to 0.7 percent of GDP, as promised." More

The next installment of UNF Insights explores some problems associated with using what economists call "Purchasing Power Parity" (PPP) to assess what each member state must pay in dues to the United Nations. Readers of The Economist might recognize the term from the magazine's periodic "Big Mac Index," which uses the price of a McDonalds hamburger to compare economies around the world. In short, PPP is a way to measure comparative standards of living by comparing the price of a "basket of goods" in one place (i.e. a Big Mac in Bengal) to the same "basket of goods" elsewhere (i.e. a Big Mac in Bologna.)

When applied to the price of a hamburger, PPP gives harmless anecdotal evidence about the relative strength of economies. But if used to calculate UN dues - as some key member states have argued - it would have debilitating consequences for UN operations. To find out why, click here for my short essay on the topic.

"While acknowledging that progress has been made over the past two years in reducing foreign influence in Lebanon, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Monday that disarming Hizbollah is a "key element" in ensuring a permanent end to hostilities, and warned that much remains to be done to restore stability and peace." More

"The industrialized world's emissions of greenhouse gases are growing again, despite efforts under the Kyoto Protocol to cap them and stave off global warming, the United Nations reported Monday.

Emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases declined in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet bloc and the shutdown of polluting factories and power plants in eastern Europe. But now those economies are rebounding, contributing to a 2.4 percent rise in emissions by 41 industrialized nations between 2000 and 2004." More

"In his briefing to the United Nations Security Council on Friday, the UN's top official in Sudan, Jan Pronk, highlighted the government's gross violations of the Darfur Peace Agreement and stressed that Sudan was still looking for a military solution to the deepening crisis.

Pronk added that his ongoing criticism of the Sudanese government's decision to seek a military solution, having signed a ceasefire agreement, had prompted his expulsion from his position of UN Special Representative for the Secretary-General in Sudan." More

"The United Nations humanitarian chief said Friday that sectarian killings are "out of control" in Iraq, with about 100 deaths a day and civilians fleeing neighborhoods and towns because of the cycle of Sunni-Shiite reprisal attacks.

The United Nations estimates that at least 320,000 people have left their homes in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion, some for temporary quarters elsewhere in Iraq, some for Syria, Jordan and other places, Jan Egeland said.

"That is not irreversible, but the longer it goes, the more you cement the situation," Egeland said in an interview with The Associated Press, citing experience from the Balkans, Lebanon and other ethnic and religiously driven conflicts.

The figure of 100 violent deaths a day comes from checks of morgues in Baghdad and elsewhere by the U.N. and other aid groups, he said." More

"Women are facing increasing violence in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, especially when they speak out publicly to defend women's rights, a senior U.N. official told the U.N. Security Council. Noeleen Heyzer, executive director of the U.N. Development Fund for Women, called on for fresh efforts to ensure the safety of women in countries emerging from conflicts, to provide them with jobs, and ensure that they receive justice, including compensation for rape." More

From the Better World Campaign: A majority of Americans believe in a strong United Nations and continue to support active engagement with the UN, according to a recent poll released by the Better World Campaign.

So what does your 2006 Congressional candidate think about the UN?

The Better World Campaign asked all 2006 Congressional candidates about their positions on U.S. funding for the United Nations, for UN peacekeeping, for repairing the out-dated and unsafe UN headquarters, and more.

Click here to view the survey.

Washington Post: "Washington's new law allowing tough interrogation techniques and military trials for terrorism suspects risks setting a dangerous standard for other countries to follow, a United Nations rights expert said on Friday.

Martin Scheinin, the U.N. special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, said he was concerned about the impact the U.S. Military Commissions Act would have abroad.

"Some governments may view certain aspects of this legislation as an example that could be followed in their national counter-terrorism legislation," the Finnish jurist said in a statement released in Geneva."

"Highlighting the role played by women in promoting peace in countries emerging from conflict, the United Nations Security Council today stressed it was essential to promote the full participation of women in helping rebuild such societies and also encouraged more female involvement in UN peacekeeping operations." More

Alertnet: "NATO warplanes killed at least 50 civilians, mostly women and children, in bombing in southern Afghanistan during a major Islamic holiday, local leaders said on Thursday.... Witnesses say 25 homes were razed in 4-5 hours of bombing.

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, on Thursday urged a speedy and thorough investigation. "The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan is very concerned by reports that a great number of civilians may have died during the conduct of military operations," it said in a statement in Kabul."

It seems that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's theatrics at the General Assembly have backfired. After 36 rounds of voting, Venezuela still cannot garner the support of 2/3rds of member states necessary to win a seat on the Security Council. In the New York Times today, Warren Hoge explains that member states -- particularly in Latin America -- were none too happy with Chavez's anti-U.S. diatribe.

Says the Mexican ambassador to the UN, "The speech really hurt his case ... Most members don't want this place to be turned into a mockery. In the General Assembly, there are limits, and he went way beyond them."

Following the summit in September, UN detractors used Chavez's speech to cast aspersions on the organization as a whole. At the time, I tried to point out that Chavez speaks for Chavez, not the United Nations. The General Assembly has now spoken and it's clear that they do not approve of impolitic antics in their chamber.

IHT: "The next secretary-general of the United Nations pledged Tuesday to restore trust in the world body and enact reforms, speaking on the 61st anniversary of the organization's founding. Ban Ki-moon, South Korea's foreign minister who will assume the top U.N. job in January, said the organization cannot forge united global political will in an atmosphere of mistrust.

"As secretary-general, I will leave no stone unturned in my endeavor to dispel the bitter atmosphere and shore up the trust and confidence among all stakeholders," Ban told a luncheon marking the U.N. anniversary. "This will begin with winning the trust of all in myself and my leadership as secretary-general."

"For the tenth and last time as Secretary-General, I offer friends and colleagues around the world my best wishes on United Nations Day. I have spent almost my whole professional life working for the United Nations - so this day, and the values that it stands for, will always be special for me." - UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan

UN News: States are still showing a "lack of awareness" over the seriousness of torture, despite the fact they are obligated to criminalize the practice, an independent United Nations expert said today, warning that few cases are ever brought to justice and where they are, the perpetrators generally get away with minor sentences.

"What is always strange to me if I go on a country mission and then speak to high Governmental officials, speak to the heads of prisons, of police stations etc, [is] a lack of awareness that torture is one of the most serious human rights violations," the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Manfred Nowak, told reporters in New York.

A little over one month ago, the pollster Frank Luntz released survey data suggesting that members of Congress could profit from making the United Nations into a "wedge issue" in the coming election. At the time, some pollsters questioned his conclusions, calling the work more of a PR driven poll designed to highlight negative sentiment than an objective research exercise.

The Better World Campaign, a sister organization of the United Nations Foundation, released a poll today further undercutting Luntz's finding.

The poll, by Bill McInturff's firm, Public Opinion Strategies, shows that a majority of Americans have a favorable image of the United Nations and that Americans still strongly believe the United States needs to continue to belong to the UN -- a belief that is supported across party lines. The poll also finds that a whopping 78% of registered voters believe "it is in America's best interest to actively support the United Nations."

These findings do not come as a surprise. Americans routinely express support for the United Nation and reject isolationist attitudes akin to those stoked by Luntz's push poll. Consider this recent poll, by the Program on International Policy Attitudes, which we highlighted on UN Dispatch last week. The poll finds, "Americans show a strong preference for Congressional candidates who would seek to increase multilateral cooperation. Seventy-two percent say they would prefer candidates who believe that 'the U.S. should do its share in efforts to solve international problems together with other countries.' Much less popular are candidates who want the United States to 'continue to be the preeminent world leader' (9% support) or to 'withdraw from most efforts to solve international problems.'"

The myth that American voters are intrinsically hostile to the UN is simply false.

Turner created the UN Foundation 1998 with his historic gift in support of the United Nations. He has said that his gift is an "investment in the future of humanity."

On November 10, Ted Turner will answer questions via video and online. Add your question by visiting The People Speak.

NYT: "Sudan's government ordered the chief United Nations envoy out of the country today, saying he was an enemy of the country and its armed forces.

Secretary General Kofi Annan said that he was reviewing the letter from the Khartoum government and had requested the envoy, Jan Pronk, to return to New York for "consultations."

As reported in the Washington Post today, the U.N. General Assembly has suspended voting for a week as it tries to find a solution to the deadlock caused by competing bids for membership on the Security Council from Venezuela and Guatemala. Guatemala, backed by the United States, has led over 35 rounds of voting, but has yet to secure the necessary two-thirds majority. Some have predictably and irrationally labeled this as an example of UN inaction. This claim not only betrays a basic misunderstanding of the workings of international politics but of the overwhelming benefit of multilateral versus unilateral outcomes both for the United States and the rest of the world.

In fact, the General Assembly is sending a very strong message - to extremists on both ends of the spectrum. It is clearly stating to the world that it will neither reward virulent anti-Americanism nor become too closely aligned with one superpower's desires, as some in the G-77 have claimed. This is happening despite Venezuela's two-year campaign for the seat, which included, as reported in the Christian Science Monitor, the signing of many bilateral trade pacts. According to the same article, the consensus in the General Assembly is that Hugo Chavez's rant at the World Summit has cost him significant support.

If we are truly interested in making the UN as effective as it can be, it's time that we understand what the United Nations is and what it is not. It is not a megaphone for any one nation. It is a platform for dialogue, diplomacy, and multilateralism. And the UN's carefully negotiated decisions, while not as black-and-white as those of any one nation or group, are all the more powerful for it. They carry the weight of the whole world along with it.

Next week, when the General Assembly returns to this issue, a consensus candidate will likely emerge. The process will have worked.

"Americans show a strong preference for Congressional candidates who would seek to increase multilateral cooperation. Seventy-two percent say they would prefer candidates who believe that "the U.S. should do its share in efforts to solve international problems together with other countries." Much less popular are candidates who want the United States to "continue to be the preeminent world leader" (9% support) or to "withdraw from most efforts to solve international problems" (16%)." More

"Despite the deteriorating security situation in Darfur, a new United Nations assessment has found that overall malnutrition levels have mostly stabilized in 2006 and food insecurity has improved slightly thanks to a stronger international response to the suffering in Sudan's war-torn west. Crude mortality dropped for the third year running, but insecurity and lack of access to many Darfurians continued to cloud the aid picture." More

Writing in the National Review Online, Mario Loyala suggests that South Korea's policy toward the North means that the new Secretary General will be an agent of Chinese interests at the UN. His argument is basically this: because Beijing and Seoul have strategies for confronting North Korea that are more similar to each other than to America's own strategy for dealing with the regime, South Korea's foreign minister-turned-next Secretary General will stand up for Chinese interests as a whole at the UN. This is a quite a sweeping assertion, particularly as it is based on an extrapolation from precisely one circumstance in which the foreign policy interests of these two countries temporarily align.

For example, Loyala seems to think that South Korea's policy toward the North will somehow affect how the new Secretary General approaches humanitarian intervention in places like Darfur.

"Another Kofi Anna [sic] tradition that his successor is unlikely to uphold is his readiness to discard the U.N. Charter's cardinal principle of non-intervention 'in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state.' How Ban handles the Darfur situation will be a sign of things to come. In a misguided search for energy security, China has been militarily and financially supporting unsavory regimes in oil-rich countries like Sudan, where the political risk is prohibitive to private commercial investment. Accordingly, in its Security Council votes, China has proved among the strongest opponents of humanitarian intervention in situations like Darfur. Indeed, on the basis of 'non-intervention,' China itself resists calls for human rights reform. It is hard to imagine that Ban will break with his long-standing support for China on these issues. The U.N.'s recent success in the field of humanitarian intervention - however limited - is likely to be an early casualty of the Ban secretariat. (emphasis mine)

It is quite a logical leap to assume that South Korean hesitancy toward 'intervening' in North Korea means that the next Secretary General will have cold feet in places like Sudan, Cote d'Ivoire, Haiti, and elsewhere. I also find it hard to believe that South Korea's reluctance for a military option for North Korea is somehow based on a principled notion of state sovereignty which is tightly held by South Korea and its former foreign minister. Loyala's claim that humanitarian interventions around the world will suffer because of South Korean policy toward the North seems to have been plucked from thin air. It is little more than a scurrilous attack on the incoming Secretary General.

"In a week marking both World Poverty Eradication Day and World Food Day, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called for simultaneous action on both issues, warning that it will be impossible to eradicate one blight without the other.

"Hunger and poverty are ugly siblings. You cannot get rid of either unless you tackle the other as well... Hunger, after all, is both a source and a consequence of extreme poverty. A hungry man cannot think beyond his next meal... This has devastating consequences for the economic and social development of society as a whole," Mr. Annan told government representatives and other officials at UN Headquarters." More

Reuters: "School children in Gaza, cricket fans in India and African church-goers have helped set a Guinness world record for "the largest number of people to 'stand up against poverty,'" U.N. officials said on Tuesday.

The record was set when 23,542,614 people stood up as part of 11,646 organized events around the world during a 24-hour period this week, according to the official Guinness verification text, released at a U.N. news conference."

After taking issue with Ted Turner's positive take on the UN's handling of the North Korea crisis, Schraged at Redstate asks, "Can anyone Provide any evidence that the UN has ever actually accomplished anything beyond spending US Tax Dollars, providing a platform for Terrorists and Tinpot dictators to spew the Anti-American filth, and provide a retirement for corrupt burocrats [sic] like Kofi Anan [sic]?"

I can.

Consider this: since 1988, when the UN-sponsored Global Polio Eradication Initiative began, cases of polio have plummeted worldwide from 350,000 in 1988, to 1,263 in 2004. This success comes on the heels of the global eradication of smallpox by the World Health Organization almost 20 years earlier. And in addition to ridding the world of these scourges, UN agencies have combated obstetric fistula, and helped to contain outbreaks of deadly diseases like yellow fever and plague.

The United Nations is also on the front lines in the fight against the most terrifying global health scenario: an outbreak of bird-flu. United Nations agencies are working in east asian countries to help detect and contain the virus from spreading across borders and across shores.

In areas of peace and security, the UN has a long list of accomplishments. Let's start with the most recent. Hezbollah and Israel are no longer fighting each other in Southern Lebanon. Why? Because Kofi Annan shuttled around the region following Security Council resolution 1701 and shored up the peace. He secured peacekeepers from Europe and Israel-friendly Muslim countries (as Israel demanded) and negotiated the lifting the sea and air blockade (as the Lebanese demanded). Now, refugees have returned home in southern Lebanon and Northern Israel.

Other less visible peacekeeping missions are also paying dividends for American interests worldwide. If UN peacekeepers were not in Haiti right now, US marines would have to be. If UN peacekeepers were not in Liberia, Marines and the British Army would be there. And if Peacekeepers were not in East Timor, the Australian military would have to deploy large numbers of troops there. It is no wonder why both the Quadrennial Defense Review and National Security Strategy for 2006 would emphasize the importance of UN peacekeeping for American national security. These are the three biggest contributors to the coalition in Iraq.

And on that same topic, something that Redstate would likely agree was a highlight of the Iraq war, the "purple finger moment," was accomplished using UN workers with experience in running elections in conflict zones. Similarly, the UN helped to administer elections in Afghanistan in 2005.

So yes, the United Nations does use American dollars to pay for these services. But the return we get on our investment is a bargain.

CNN: "Blaming the United States for instigating U.N. Security Council sanctions against it, North Korea on Tuesday called the resolution approved over the weekend a "declaration of war."

North Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency that the country wants "peace but is not afraid of war."

IHT: "Media mogul Ted Turner sought on Monday to impress upon young Americans the importance of the United Nations, saying those who would weaken the world body are "undermining our future."

From weapons of mass destruction to overfishing in the oceans, today's world is full of critical problems that can only be tackled at a global level through organizations like the U.N., Turner told several hundred high school students from Alabama, Florida and Georgia at Georgia Tech's High School Model United Nations.

"If we didn't have the U.N., the world would be a failed state," Turner said. "Those who want to ... weaken the United Nations are undermining our future."

"The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations celebrates World Food Day each year on 16 October, the day on which the Organization was founded in 1945. The World Food Day and TeleFood theme for 2006 is "Investing in agriculture for food security".

Agriculture may have become a minor player in many industrialized economies, but it must play a starring role on the world stage if we are to bring down the curtain on hunger.

Yet foreign aid for agriculture and rural development has continued to decline. From a total of over US$9 billion per year in the early 1980s, it fell to less than US$5 billion in the late 1990s. Meanwhile, an estimated 854 million people around the world remain undernourished." More

"Nicole Kidman is playing a role that has nothing to do with movies, touring Kosovo as a United Nations goodwill ambassador to the tense province.... The actress was named goodwill ambassador of the U.N. Development Fund for Women, or UNIFEM, in January and the tour of Kosovo is her first visit in that role." More

"The Security Council voted unanimously on Saturday to impose strict sanctions on North Korea for its reported nuclear test, overcoming objections from Russia and China by explicitly excluding the threat of military force." More

"Thousands of Iraqis are fleeing the country every day in a "steady, silent exodus" and a spike in sectarian violence has stopped others from returning to their homeland, the U.N. refugee agency said on Friday.

More than 50,000 exiled Iraqis returned from neighbouring countries last year in the hope that calm might return after the country's first post-war elections in January 2005.

That number has fallen to 1,000 this year.

"Far more are leaving," Ron Redmond, chief spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told a news briefing in Geneva." More

"Applauding in acclamation, the United Nations General Assembly today appointed Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon of the Republic of Korea as the world body's next Secretary-General, to succeed Kofi Annan when he steps down on 31 December." More

UNF board member Mohammed Yunus and his Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize today. In the 1970's Yunus pioneered the use of micro-loans to give rural entrepreneurs in the developing world start-up capitol needed for their small businesses. These loans typically range around $200, and are overwhelmingly directed toward women in the developing world who need funds to buy basic equipment or materials to get their small business off the ground. Fascinatingly, the Grameen Bank, which was founded in Bangladesh, claims a rate of return of over 90%.

Yunus is an economist, and the idea that he pioneered over 20 years ago has become an established part of development strategies worldwide. Micro-lending is not philanthropy, but a win-win-win investment strategy in which the creditor earns some interest, the recipient receives her capitol, and the community benefits from the new business.

The benefits from micro-lending continue to pay dividends to diverse sectors of people worldwide. For example, philanthropists have begun to use the idea to expand the reach of their philanthropy. Last year, Ebay Founder Pierre Omidyar donated $500 million to start a micro-lending bank, of which the proceeds from the interest earned will go to Tufts University.

Yunus has well earned this honor, and deserves our congratulations and thanks.

"A cheap and widely available malaria drug is an effective treatment for pregnant women, scientists said on Friday.... Malaria, a parasitic disease transmitted by mosquitoes, kills more than a million people a year, mostly young children in Africa.

Chloroquine had been the standard treatment against the disease. But the malaria parasite has become increasingly resistant to chloroquine and SP.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged African nations to switch to artemisinin-based combination drugs known as ACTs but doctors have been concerned about the effects of the treatment on the developing foetus." More

In 1998 Ted Turner pledged $1 billion to United Nations causes. The United Nations Foundation that Turner established has now hit that mark.

As the UNF's press release says, "The Foundation (and its sister organization, the Better World Fund) has donated over $600 million from founder Ted Turner and over $400 million from individuals, corporations, governments, and NGOs to programs that address key global challenges in four areas: children's health, environment, women and population, and peace, security and human rights."

In prepared remarks, Annan said: 'Ted's gift was a tremendous financial boost for our organization. More than that, it has helped the UN to change - to become a partnership organization, something that has been a top priority of mine. ... But Ted's act was perhaps most important for the message it sent to his fellow Americans, his fellow businessmen and women, and to the world. Here was an iconic businessman standing up for the United Nations, and saying to the world that the UN and its work were worthy of support.'"

Philanthropy is invaluable to the United Nations' work, but it cannot replace the continued financial support of member states. Perhaps this is something to keep in mind this month as member states renegotiate their dues payments to the UN.

The Washington Post's Colum Lynch is reporting that China has indicated that it is willing to consider an economic sanctions regime for North Korea that references Article 41, Chapter 7 of the UN charter. This is big news.

During Security Council negotiations following North Korea's missile launch in July, China steadfastly refused to consider sanctioning North Korea under Chapter 7. The Council did pass a resolution in July calling for targeted sanctions on North Korea's weapons programs, but because the resolution did not fall under Chapter 7, it was largely unenforceable by the international community.

It now seems that China's UN ambassador, Wang Guangya, is making good on his threat to take "punitive actions" against North Korea. This would mark a significant shift in China's North Korea policy; the question now before China (and the rest of the Council) is over how wide-ranging these sanctions will be. How (not if) to sanction North Korea will be the topic of discussion at the Security Council.

Meanwhile, President Bush's repeated assurances during Wednesday's press conference that the United States has no plans to pursue the military option with North Korea may indicate that the United States is willing to forswear reference to other provisions of Chapter Seven (on the use of force) in Security Council negotiations. I suspect that with these two developments, the Security Council may be on the fast track to reaching an enforceable, punitive sanctions regime for North Korea.

"United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today launched a multi-million dollar Peacebuilding Fund to help war-ravaged countries rebuild state institutions after conflict, and act as a "kick-start" for longer term donor investment in recovery efforts." More

The UN Secretary-General's Study on Violence against Children is a landmark effort to provide a detailed global picture of the nature, extent and causes of such violence and act to prevent it. The final report will be presented to the General Assembly today. More

NYT: "Violence against women by their live-in spouses or partners is a widespread phenomenon, both in the developed and developing world, as well as in rural and urban areas, the most comprehensive and scientific international study on the topic has confirmed. In interviews with nearly 25,000 women at 15 sites in 10 countries, researchers from the World Health Organization found that rates of partner violence ranged from a low of 15 percent in Yokohama, Japan, to a high of 71 percent in rural Ethiopia."

IHT: "Nearly 60 percent of women in Ethiopia are subject to sexual violence by a partner. Domestic violence and rape account for 19 percent of disease in women in developed countries. And in Colombia, a woman is killed by an intimate partner every six days, a study from the United Nations said Tuesday.... Violence against women persists at high rates around the world, and governments are not doing enough to prevent it, according to the report from U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan."

The Drudge Report is featuring a link to a YouTube video of Ted Turner speaking at the National Press Club. In the thirty-second video, Turner is clearly expressing his reservations about the wisdom of invading Iraq in 2003, but the Drudge headline reads, "Ted Turner says he can't pick sides in War on Terror."

This is little more than a smear-job coordinated by a YouTube user who has dishonestly edited a portion of CSPAN's coverage of the event.

Turner says, "There are a lot of things about this war that disturbs me ... and one of them is the attitude expressed most clearly by our President, that either 'you are with us or you are against us.'" (emphasis mine)

"This war" quite obviously refers to Iraq, not the broader War on Terror. However, the YouTube video is edited to make this reference somewhat ambiguous. But if you watch the CSPAN feed of the event, you can see that at minute 44 -- moments before the You Tube snippet begins -- the moderator asks, "What do you think of the fact that other people who have criticized the Iraq war have had their patriotism questioned?"

It was in response this question that Turner laments the kind of political polarization that leads people to question the patriotism of those who take issue with war in Iraq. The cropped YouTube video leaves the moderator's question out, catching Turner mid-way through his response. And Drudge links to the edited snippet, ironically, in order to perpetuate the very character smear that Turner tackles head on just a few seconds before the YouTube video begins.

BBC: China has called for "appropriate" UN action over North Korea's claim to have carried out a nuclear test on Monday. Beijing - traditionally Pyongyang's closest ally - said it had not ruled out UN sanctions but that military action was "unimaginable". The UN Security Council is considering a draft resolution that proposes strict financial and trade sanctions.

"The Security Council today formally chose Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon of the Republic of Korea as its nominee to be the next Secretary-General of the United Nations for a five-year term when incumbent Kofi Annan steps down on 31 December.

The recommendation, made in a resolution adopted in a private meeting by acclamation, now goes to the 192-member General Assembly for formal approval." More

Following North Korea's nuclear test, world leaders are looking to the United Nations Security Council to issue a forceful response. "We expect the UN Security Council to take immediate actions to respond to this unprovoked act," said White House Spokesman Tony Snow. These sentiments are echoed in condemnatory statements from leaders across the globe, including the Chinese government, which is North Korea's only ally on the Security Council.

So what options are available to the Security Council?

Back in July, the Council imposed limited sanctions on North Korea following a series of missile tests. One option that the Security Council may consider as it meets today would be to extend those sanctions to include more punitive measures available under Chapter Seven. (At China's urging, July's resolution was not explicitly under Chapter Seven, but judging by Beijing's response, all veto-wielding members of the Council may be on the same page this time around.)

Chapter Seven opens up a host of possibilities for coercive international actions, including wider sanctions, asset freezes, and even a military response. It's clear that North Korea intended to provoke a response from the international community - and judging by their immediate reaction to the nuclear tests, world leaders seem united in their opposition to North Korea's flouting of international law. And in this time of need, nations that feel threatened by North Korea's missile test are looking to the United Nations.

BBC: North Korea says it has carried out its first test of a nuclear weapon. It said the underground test, carried out in defiance of international warnings, was a success and had not resulted in any leak of radiation....

Pyongyang pulled out of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003 and has refused for a year to attend talks aimed at ending its nuclear ambitions. The UN Security Council imposed an embargo on the import and export of missile-related materials in July after North Korea test-fired several missiles.

In a statement to the Security Council, Sudan hardened its opposition to a UN peacekeeping force for Darfur, saying it would consider UN peacekeepers in Darfur a "hostile act" and a "prelude to invasion." In response, the Security Council met for a special session yesterday to condemn Sudanese defiance.

Column Lynch's Washington Post piece captures a revealing quote from Jean-Marie Guehenno, the head of UN peacekeeping, who suggests that the situation may be becoming intractable. Lynch writes, "Guehenno told reporters on Wednesday that the United Nations is not equipped to fight a war and that it cannot send peacekeepers into Darfur without the consent of the Sudanese authorities. He added that UN members have not been 'forthcoming' with pledges of peacekeepers for the new force. 'When you try to apply peacekeeping to any kind of situation and confuse peacekeeping with peace enforcement, you run very quickly into great difficulties,' he said."

This temporary paralysis is threatening to become self-reinforcing: the United Nations cannot deploy peacekeepers until Sudan gives consent. And all the while, potential troop contributing countries are reluctant to supply forces to the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) because of Sudanese opposition. Absent bilateral pressure applied to Sudan from key members of the Security Council, it is hard to see a way out of this stalemate.

NYT: "The United Nations warned nearly 90 countries including the United States and most of Europe on Thursday to prepare for more deaths from heroin overdoses because of surging opium production in Afghanistan. The 2006 Afghan Opium Survey, published by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, found production of the raw material for heroin hit a record 6,100 tonnes, almost 50 percent higher than last year. This accounted for more than 90 percent of the world's supply."

"Sudan's war-torn region of Darfur has reached a critical stage, with humanitarian groups at risk of withdrawing or drastically reducing their operations unless security conditions improve rapidly, Secretary-General Kofi Annan warns in his latest report to the Security Council.

Reviewing events during August, Mr. Annan says the months since the striking of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) in May have been disastrous, with signatories and non-signatories breaching their obligations under that and other accords." More

U.N. peacekeeping has surged to 93,000 troops, police and civilian personnel in 18 operations around the world, the most ever in the history of the world body, a U.N. official said on Wednesday.

But this figure, which includes nearly 70,000 military personnel, could jump to 140,000 within a year, Jean-Marie Guehenno, the undersecretary-general for peacekeeping, told a news conference.

For example, the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, now at 3,437, is authorized for up to 11,596 personnel and another 1,054 troops and 1,608 civilians are scheduled to go to Timor.

And if the Khartoum government ever gives its consent, the U.N. Security Council has authorized 17,300 troops, 5,300 police and 4,860 civilians to help stop atrocities in Sudan's Darfur region. More

As a high school student, the young Ban placed first in an English speaking contest and won a trip to meet President Kennedy. It was this meeting, he has said, that inspired him to become a diplomat. Needless to say, Ban achieved that goal and more. If Monday's Security Council consensus holds, the South Korean Foreign Minister will become the word's eighth Secretary General.

So who is Ban Ki-Moon? Below the fold is a list of useful resources that give you a sketch of the man and his work.

Biographical information:

Official biography (Republic of Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Unofficial biography (wikipedia)

Useful links:

"The Diplomat Who May Lead the UN" (Christian Science Monitor)

"Contender for top UN job says he can heal its rift with US" (The News)

Council on Foreign Relations transcript (May 31 2006)

United Nations peacekeepers deployed in southern Lebanon to act as a buffer between Israel and Hezbollah fighters are authorized to use force to stop "hostile activity" of any kind, the UN said. More

"Prompted by the magnitude and growing number of emergencies in recent years, WFP has launched a new humanitarian response "Network", with strategic hubs in Africa, Europe, MiddleEast, Asia and Latin America.

The Network is designed to meet the escalating challenges of sudden humanitarian emergencies which can sometimes strike almost simultaneously." More

It's not yet official, but news outlets are reporting that it looks likely that South Korean Ban Ki-Moon will be the next Secretary General. In a straw poll yesterday, the South Korean Foreign Minister garnered 14 positive votes. Crucially, not one permanent Security Council member voted against him. Barring unforeseen circumstances, it looks increasingly likely that Ban will be the next Secretary General.

But with the ink barely dry on the straw-poll, a predicable cadre of anti-UN agitators on the right are already finding reasons to brand Mr. Ban a villain. Asking "Will the UN pick another crook?" the Director of Research at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies alleges that "soft bribery" likely contributed to Ban Ki-Moon's success. The Foundation's Alykhan Velshi somehow finds a correlation between Ban's success in Monday's straw poll and South Korea's recent decision to increase its foreign development aid. Specifically, Velshi points to South Korean aid to Ghana and Tanzania, two rotating members of the Security Council, as somehow corrupting the selection process in a way that guaranteed Ban's success.

What Velshi fails to explain is that Ban's fortunes rose and fell with the support of the permanent five members of the Security Council. And neither the United States, nor the United Kingdom, nor Russia, nor France nor China received development aid, yet they somehow managed to support Mr. Ban. Could it be that they think he might be a competent manager?

Tellingly, Velshi's essay does not take into account that, even if the alleged bribery to Ghana and Tanzania did occur, it would not had much of an effect on Ban's fortunes. Somehow, I can't help but think that the Foundation is fishing for an excuse to tar and feather the new Secretary General, just as they did the last one.

NYT: "North Korea announced today that it plans to conduct a nuclear test, in a sharp escalation of its standoff with the United States that set off ripples of alarm in Japan and South Korea.... American officials have said that if North Korea were to conduct nuclear tests, the United States would seek Security Council sanctions through a procedure that carries the threat of military action to enforce the council's vote."

"Cities around the world on Monday marked the 2006 celebration of World Habitat Day, which was launched from the Italian city of Naples.

The United Nations has designated the first Monday in October every year to reflect on how we manage our cities in the new millennium as humanity now moves from being predominantly rural to overwhelmingly urban. Today, half of us live in cities, and the world is witnessing the fastest urban growth ever experienced." More