To draw attention to the highly anticipated report of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change, on-going in Paris, the French government announced that it will turn off the 336 projectors that illuminate the Eiffel Tower at night. The lights will be off for a full five minutes tomorrow evening in advance of the report's release on Friday.

For an excellent insiders' account of the Panel's race to finish the report by Friday's deadline, read this dispatch by AP science writer Seth Borenstein.

BBC News has a short rundown of the history of the conflict in Darfur, Q&A: Sudan's Darfur conflict.

For in-depth coverage from the BBC, click here.

Jody Williams, 1997 Nobel Peace Prize winner and anti-landmine campaigner, will lead a high-level UN team to investigate the human rights situation in Darfur.

The other mission members are United Nations Human Rights Council president and Mexican Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba; Mart Nutt, an Estonian Parliament Member and Member of the Council of Europe's European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance; Bertrand Ramcharan, the former Acting and Deputy UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Patrice Tonda, Gabon's Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Geneva; and Indonesian Ambassador Marakim Wibisono, President of the 61st session of the Commission on Human Rights. More

Also see the Associated Press.

To mark the UN's Holocaust Memorial day, Anne Bayefsky writes in the National Review Online that "the U.N. provides sustenance for the Iranian genocidal threat, which is directed at Israel now, and America next." We then learn from Bayefsky that the UN is "driven by expansionist greed" and serves as a "mouthpiece of Iranian nihilism." Finally, she criticizes the International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohammed elBaredei for having the temerity to suggest that threatening military strikes against Iran may inspire the regime to accelerate its nuclear program. Hence, writes Bayefsky, "Genocide awaits us if we wait for the U.N."

Far from being an Iranian agent, the United Nations and its sister organizations are among the only global actors actively working to curtail Iran's nuclear ambitions. (The president made this clear during his State of the Union.) The International Atomic Energy Agency is currently serving as an interlocutor between Iran and the Security Council, which last month voted unanimously to impose sanctions on Iran. And just last week, the General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution that not-so-subtly chastised the Iranian president for dabbling in Holocaust denial. If anything, this symbolic vote showed that the United Nations is a mouthpiece for countries united against Iranian nihilism.

These facts hardly get in the way of Bayefsky's goal of trashing the United Nations. Yet, while Bayefsky writes polemics against dealing with Iran through diplomacy at the Security Council, she does not suggest any alternatives. Does she think a military option is prudent? Given her repeated invocations of the "G-word" I am tempted to think that she does. If so, she needs to explain herself. Otherwise, she is engaging in pointless war mongering.

The United Nations marked the annual International Day of Commemoration yesterday, in remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, "The Holocaust was a unique and undeniable tragedy...The work of remembrance pays tribute to those who perished. But it also plays a vital role in our efforts to stem the tide of human cruelty. It keeps us vigilant for new outbreaks of anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance. And it is an essential response to those misguided individuals who claim that the Holocaust never happened, or has been exaggerated." More

Eric Shawn, the Fox News correspondent and author of (brace yourself) The U.N. Exposed: How the United Nations Sabotages America's Security and Fails the World, writes a shockingly even-handed dispatch from Kinshasa, where he traveled with the Secretary General this weekend.

From Shawn's report:

"The level of poverty is overwhelming and heartbreaking. The average life expectancy here is just 51 years old. The median personal income is $700, which is why the waitress says, God bless you, when you throw her a buck. Thrown into this mix are 18,000 U.N. peacekeepers, the largest deployment in the world, who Ban honored for their dedication and commitment. Eighty have been killed in the line of duty so far, and as we were flying into Kinshasa there came word of another fatality in the blue helmet ranks. An Indian peacekeeper was shot in the head in Southern Sudan as he was leading a team of U.N. de-mining experts that was suddenly ambushed. All they were trying to do was remove some of the millions of remaining landmines so a little girl or boy wouldn't be blown to bits.

"But this is also the place where the U.N. peacekeeper sex scandal scared the U.N. effort, with the allegations of the protectors preying on children, by trading bananas, coins or candy for sex with victims as young as 12 year old. There was little mention of that, as the nation looks to the future after holding its first democratic elections in 40 years.

"Ban praised the courage of the Congolese people, and in an address in the cavernous legislative building called the Peoples' Palace, he was interrupted by their version of applause, which requires one to loudly use the palm of your hands to bang on the desk in appreciation. The imposing building dates from the1970s era when the nation was under Soviet influence, and in this former socialist enclave Ban warned that a healthy and thriving democracy needs a political opposition where everyone can express himself or herself freely without fear of intimidation. He also met with the opposition leaders, a not so subtle reminder to newly inaugurated President Joseph Kabila, and his followers, to not get any untoward ideas.
Ban's schedule was punishing. He operated on four hours sleep and I am told, does not require much. If this first overseas jaunt is an indication of what's to come, he will be an activist leader who could defy expectations He approaches his task with sincere enthusiasm, a syndrome perhaps of holding a new big job that will likely fade in time." (emphasis mine).

In light of his trip to Kinshasa, I'm curious to know if Shawn still believes the United Nations 'fails the world.' Regardless, this kind of reporting from Fox News is rather welcoming.

After a two day visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the country's problems can only be solved by lasting peace and stability.

"By creating such an environment on the political, economic and social levels, the United Nations and the international community will be encouraged to continue working for prosperity and development with the Congolese government," Ban said. More

"The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has completed construction of the first of the 227 mother-and-child health centres it is building in Indonesia's tsunami-devastated Aceh province and earthquake-hit Nias Island." More

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) announced the 10 finalists for one of five Supporting Entrepreneurs for Environment and Development (Seed) Awards yesterday.

Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP, said, "As we meet in Davos and Nairobi to discuss scaling up sustainable solutions, the Seed Initiative is again offering inspiring examples of local level entrepreneurs in all parts of the world who are setting up new partnerships and using 'global/local' networks to address sustainable development challenges with a business-case approach."

The winners of the Seed Awards will be announced in May 2007. More

UNICEF brings us an insider's look at the Nothing But Nets event that took place earlier this month in New York.

Nothing But Nets is a global grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria--the leading killer of children in Africa. Click here to learn how you can get involved.

A controversy is brewing at the United Nations over allegations that funds from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) have benefited the regime of Kim Jong Il in North Korea. Last week, the Wall Street Journal opinion page--often critical of the United Nations--published a report by Melanie Kirkpatrick which revealed contents of a letter from an American UN representative raising concern that UNDP funds were being converted into hard currency to the benefit of North Korea.

Like the World Food Program and UNICEF, the UNDP must sometimes work in partnership with unsavory totalitarian regimes in order to serve long-suffering citizens. Sometimes, as is the case in North Korea, this requires hiring local staff and renting local office space. This means that foreign currency can end up in the hands of governments in one of two ways: either the agency pays fees and local staff in foreign currency (which is what happens in North Korea) or the agency must purchase local currency through the national bank. Either way, the necessities of doing business can cause less than optimal financial procedures to be followed.

Kirkpatrick admits she does not know the precise amount of hard currency that has been transferred to North Korea, but alleges that tens of millions of dollars have been transferred to the regime since 1998. Over the last ten years, however, the UNDP has only spent $29 million on programs in North Korea, or about $3 million a year since 1998. In the last two years, the UNDP says only $337,000 was handled exclusively by the North Korean authorities. And even these funds, says the UNDP, can be accounted for. Meanwhile, oversight for this program (as in all UNDP programs) is the responsibility of its Executive Board. And it is probably worth mentioning that the United States is one of 36 members of the Board.

Still, it seems that the appearance of impropriety has led Ban Ki-moon and the UNDP to take some swift action. Almost immediately following the public airing of this revelation, Ban called for an external audit the UNDP North Korea program (and more broadly of various UN country programs). For its' part, UNDP immediately briefed the press on its program, provided available information and the UNDP's assistant administrator suspended all cash payments to North Korean workers and said that "a full, independent external audit is in order to make sure that we really understand what it means to work in a country like North Korea."

Despite this quick response by both the UN Secretariat and the UNDP traditional UN critics appear to want to create a scandal before the investigation even begins. The Heritage Foundation quickly turned out a report calling for the suspension of all US funding of the UNDP until "a full independent and outside forensic audit of the UNDP's activities and the activities of other U.N. funds and programs in the DPRK are completed." According to the Wall Street Journal's editorial page, some members of Congress are already considering legislation that would cut US funding to UNDP.

This strikes me as a severe overreaction. Currently, the United States pays 11.4% of UNDP's budget.* (Unlike the regular UN budget, UNDP is funded through voluntary contributions by member states.) Cutting all US funding to UNDP would disrupt important work of UNDP projects like democracy building in countries recovering from conflict, poverty reduction programs; and combating the AIDS pandemic.

Soon, the external audit will begin. It may provide new guidance on how aid agencies like UNICEF, the World Food Program and UNDP approach totalitarian regimes like North Korea. It may find absolutely nothing. In the interim, cutting off all funding to the UNDP until this audit is complete rather extreme response.

*11.4% represents the American contribution to the "core" UNDP budget, which is paid into by developed countries and accounts for about 20% of the full budget. Of the total budget, which is paid by developed and developing countries alike, the United States contributes about 5%, or $245 million out of $4.6 billion for 2005 (the most recent numbers available publicly.)

Yesterday Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon kicked off his first overseas trip since becoming UN chief, meeting in Brussels with European Union (EU) leaders.

"The European Union and the United Nations have maintained a very strong partnership and I regard the European Union's contribution as vitally important for the work of the United Nations," said Ban. More

UN Foundation President Timothy E. Wirth issued a statement on the draft United Nations General Assembly resolution that condemns deniers of the Holocaust:

"The United Nations Foundation welcomes the international effort to reaffirm the tragedy of the Holocaust. Neither the horror of the Holocaust nor the shining example set for international cooperation in response to it should ever be forgotten."

Read Wirth's full statement here.

Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, spoke yesterday at the World Social Forum in Nairobi about urbanization, sustainable housing, and how these issues affect women.

"This is a result of natural population growth, human mobility including rural-urban migration and international migration, as well as the reclassification of rural areas as urban areas. It is therefore important to consider the challenges of urbanization as you discuss women and poverty and listen to testimonies of women." More

In any given year, the number of measles related deaths in the United States can be counted on a single hand. But throughout much of the developing world hundreds of thousands of people, mostly children under five, still die each year from measles.

In response to this often overlooked public health threat, a coalition of American and international organizations (including the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Red Cross, UNICEF, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Foundation) teamed up in 2000 to form the Measles Initiative. The goal: cutting measles deaths by 50% in 2005 and 90% by 2010.

This week, a study published in the British medical journal The Lancet confirmed that that the Measles Initiative in fact exceeded its interim goal, and have cut worldwide measles deaths by 60% from 1999 to 2005.

From The Lancet (registration required):

"Between 1999 and 2005, according to our model mortality owing to measles was reduced by 60%, from an estimated 873,000 deaths (uncertainty bounds 634,000-1,140,000) in 1999 to 345,000 deaths (247,000-458,000) in 2005. The largest percentage reduction in estimated measles mortality during this period was in the western Pacific region (81%), followed by Africa (75%) and the eastern Mediterranean region (62%). Africa achieved the largest total reduction, contributing 72% of the global reduction in measles mortality. Nearly 7.5 million deaths from measles were prevented through immunisation between 1999 and 2005, with supplemental immunisation activities and improved routine immunisation accounting for 2.3 million of these prevented deaths."

[Snip]

"The achievement of the 2005 global measles mortality reduction goal is evidence of what can be accomplished for child survival in countries with high childhood mortality when safe, cost-effective, and affordable interventions are backed by country-level political commitment and an effective international partnership."

I would also add that like polio, measles may soon be joining smallpox as diseases that have been eradicated under United Nations auspices. These are huge public health accomplishments, and were only possible through coordinated international action.

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) announced its plans yesterday to expand their efforts in delivering immunization and preventative treatments using a multi-disease strategy.

Noting the 60 percent reduction in measles death over the past six years and the related health gains, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said, "Increasingly, this initiative is delivering a bundle of life-saving and health-promoting interventions: bed nets for malaria, vitamin A to boost the immune system, de-worming tablets that help keep children in school, polio vaccine, and tetanus vaccine for pregnant women." More

Related: Dont forget to check out Nothing But Nets, which partners with the Measles Initiative.

Contributed by Gwendolyn Beetham, Gender Consultant, Department of Peacekeeping Operations

It's that time of the year...the 37th Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women is being held at UN Headquarters in New York. In this session, delegates from 15 of the 185 countries party to The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) get to talk about the "appropriate measures, including legislation and temporary special measures" that they have put in place in compliance with CEDAW, "so that women can enjoy all their human rights and fundamental freedoms." Experts get to ask questions. The country delegates respond. It's fun.

In this session, running from the 15th of January to the 2nd of February, countries reporting include: Austria, Azerbaijan, Columbia, Greece, India, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Namibia, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Peru, Poland, Suriname, Tajikistan, and Vietnam.

A run down of what's happened so far after the jump.

Kazakhstan reported that the adoption of 2006-2016 Strategy for Gender Equality, involving women's political and economic advancement, protection of women's reproductive health, combating violence against women and the achievement of gender equality in family relations, was "one of the most important developments in the country's democratic transformation." Persistent inequalities to be addressed included: employment discrimination, lack of women in political leadership positions, as well as the need to combat human trafficking. Experts cited delays in implementing these plans, as well as other laws and policies important to gender equality, including in the adoption of the law on domestic violence.

Poland stressed progress made in mainstreaming gender equality into national policies and enacting legislation to strengthen protection of women against domestic violence and workplace discrimination. Their report also described efforts to combat human trafficking, a growing problem in the country, along with improvements to women's health care. However, Poland, in response to experts' concerns, acknowledged that abortion was only legal for women in cases of rape and when the pregnant woman's health was in danger, and although "all women had the right to reproductive services...under the conscience clause, doctors could refuse to perform an abortion."

Viet Nam reported on their recently passed Law on Gender Equality, which will take effect in July 2007, and defines key aspects of gender equality, including promotion measures and governmental responsibility. Other issues addressed included: women's land rights, funding for girls education, human trafficking, and women's economic rights. In response to the latter, the delegation cited the fact that it was recently named a leading country in terms of the ratio of women's participation in economic activities, according to a joint study by the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the United Kingdom's Department for International Development and Canada's International Development Agency.

Namibia reported on various measures taken to address violence against women, HIV/AIDS, women's land rights, discrimination in the family, women's participation in the formal work force and in the political arena. Regarding the latter, Namibia reported gains for women in the 2004 elections including: an increase in the number of women in Parliament from 20 to 27 per cent and, for the first time, the appointment of women to the positions of: Deputy Prime Minister, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, and Minister of Finance. Delegates acknowledged that although "Namibia had made significant progress since its last periodic review...challenges to achieve full gender equality still existed."

India reported on its commitment to encourage changes in legislation and in personal laws, such as those related to marriage, divorce, maintenance and guardianship, sex roles and stereotyping, and customary practices, including dowry, sati, devadasi, child marriage, and selective sex abortion. The report also acknowledged the multiple forms of discrimination against Indian women based on caste, religion and disability. Experts testified that India had not done enough to tackle these issues, arguing that it should remove its reservations to CEDAW (on grounds of on stereotypes, family life and marriage) and do more "to initiate measures rather than wait for male-led communities to overcome deeply entrenched attitudes." Experts also criticized the report's lack of attention to the extensive violence against women which took place during the Gujarat riots in 2002, including the Governments' response after the riots, when, according to a separate report before the Committee and a report from the Special Rapporteur on violence against women "a culture of impunity was created where sexual violence was allowed to continue and that women victims of violence were denied access to justice."

Nicaragua reported on plans to make the country's main women's rights body an autonomous institute. The Nicaraguan Institute for Women (INIM), formerly supervised directly by the President, was instrumental in mainstreaming gender equality principles and strategies into agriculture, socio-economic development, higher education, and sexual and domestic violence prevention. Delegate noted, however, that "discriminatory practices still existed which thwarted Nicaragua's ability to carry out its gender equity objectives, and that it had been difficult to change societal attitudes about the importance of women's rights and participation as full partners in and beneficiaries of Nicaragua's socio-economic development." Delegates also responded to experts' concerns about Nicaragua's ban on abortion by stating that "the issue had created controversy last year in the National Assembly and was subsequently dropped from the legislation."

Ongoing coverage and full country reports are available at the Division for the Advancement of Women.

The New Orleans Saints may have lost their chance yesterday to play in Super Bowl XLI, but the Saints' star running back Reggie Bush will still make a Super Bowl appearance in this ad for the United Nations World Food Program.

105 Indian police officers, set to be deployed to Liberia, make up the UN's first all-female peacekeeping group.

Seema Dhundia, a unit commander, said "Women police are seen to be much less threatening, although they can be just as tough as men. But in a conflict situation, they are more approachable and it makes women and children feel safer." More

As reported yesterday, while in Washington this week Ban Ki-moon asked Congressional leaders to lift the so-called "peacekeeping cap" that Congress imposed on US contributions to the UN peacekeeping budget back in 2000. Since then, the US has been assessed at a rate higher than what it pays, resulting in constant budget shortfalls at the UN.

This is a long and complicated saga, but here's the elevator pitch version:

In 2000, the United States agreed to an assessment scale for peacekeeping operations in which the United States would pay 27% of the total peacekeeping budget. Congress, however, passed legislation capping United States peacekeeping dues at 25%. The cap has been lifted every two years until 2005. Still, this two percent gap has resulted in the accumulation of significant American arrears in peacekeeping. If US contributions to UN peacekeeping remain static, American backlogs would exceed $515 million by 2007.

These arrears have real consequences. The annual budget for UN peacekeeping is only about $5 billion. This funds 16 peacekeeping missions in the world, fielding over 97,000 troops, police, and military observers and civilian staff. And in recent months, peacekeeping has experienced a new surge, with the Security Council authorizing new missions in Lebanon, East Timor, and Darfur. If implemented in full, peacekeeping costs would jump by about 40%.

Few doubt the importance of these new missions. But they can hardly be sustained (or, in the case of Darfur get off the ground) without the necessary funding. The new Congress would be wise to heed Ban's plea.

The UN's mission in Sudan has agreed to set up a task force in collaboration with the government and UNICEF in order to stamp out sexual exploitation.

"The Task force's mandate is to coordinate measures to prevent sexual abuse and exploitation; ensure more effective communication on the subject between all actors concerned from the UN and the Government of Sudan; and review existing mechanisms for reporting, response and follow up on allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation." More

UNEP announced their Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign today, an effort to help dampen global warning.

"Under the Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign, individuals, children, youth and community groups, schools, non-governmental organizations, business and industry, farmers, local authorities, and national governments are urged to plant trees as a small but practical step to combat what UNEP says is probably the key challenge of the 21st century. So far over 157 million tree planting pledges have been received." More

The campaign was inspired by 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya.

Get involved: Tree-planting pledges can be entered on the campaign website.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said yesterday that he has called on U.S. President George W. Bush and Congressional leaders to drop their spending cap on UN peacekeeping, noting that the limited funding creates "very difficult constraints in smoothly carrying out peacekeeping operations."

"The US Government is the largest financial contributor to the regular budget, as well as the peacekeeping operations budget. The US Congress has imposed a cap of 25 percent in peacekeeping operations...I have raised this issue in my meetings with President Bush and all the Congressional leaders. I strongly appealed and requested that the US Congress lift this spending cap...They said they will discuss this matter." More

For a transcript of Ban's remarks to the press, click here.

Ban Ki-moon finished his trip to Washington yesterday with a capstone speech on UN priorities and US-UN relations delivered to a distinguished audience of government, media, and civil society leaders at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Notably, resolving the crisis in Darfur and building consensus for the deployment of a joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force ranked as his very first priority. Ban then cited several other items of concern and ticked off a laundry list of challenges before the world body. He called Iraq "the whole world's problem" and pledged to continue reconstruction support through the International Compact. And in a statement sure to upset some, Ban stated his intention to make the "Quartet" a more central actor in helping to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict. On non-proliferation, Ban gave a nod to the punitive Security Council resolutions against North Korea and Iran and called on member states to boost their overall commitment to non-proliferation and disarmament on a global level.

Though most of his speech centered on security issues, Ban also pledged to work with member states on the Millennium Development Goals. He further reiterated pledges to pursue management and oversight reforms and to "operationalize" the 2005 Responsibility to Protect agreement.

Ban then turned to US-UN relations. And in words that echoed Kofi Annan's valedictory address at the Harry S. Truman Library, Ban affirmed America's indispensable role at the United Nations. "With the US actively and constructively engaged, the potential of the UN is unlimited. And with the UN's potential fulfilled, the US can better advance its aspirations for a peaceful, healthy, prosperous world." Indeed, Ban called for the United States to run for a seat in the new Human Rights Council, which it decided against pursuing last spring.

Also, in unusually explicit terms, Ban called on the United States to make good on its financial pledges to the United Nations. "If I am to succeed as Secretary-General, I will need our partnership to be strong, deep, and broad -- politically, morally, operationally and, not least, financially. With demands exploding on virtually every front, from peacekeeping to humanitarian assistance to health, a sound financial base is not only a matter of survival for the Organization; it is a matter of life and death for millions of people around the world. Such a financial base requires the timely and full engagement of the United States Government -- Administration and Congress alike."

Finally, during the question and answer session, Ban showed an American audience precisely how he earned his peculiar nickname among the South Korean press corps. After taking a tough question from ABC's Sam Donaldson about the legitimacy of pre-emptive military strikes, Ban feigned to being star-struck by a man he's "seen so many times on TV, but never in person." This brought the room to an uproar, and let Ban slip away from answering the question head-on.

Click here for a video of Ban's speech.

According to a UN report released yesterday, over 34,000 civilians were killed in Iraq last year, with over 36,000 injured.

"In virtually every sphere, and building on earlier reports, the latest study amounts to a litany of abuses ranging from attacks on women, minorities and professional groups to forced displacements, to the activities of the police and security forces and the United States-led Multi-National Force (MNF-I)." More

Also see The New York Times, BBC News.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that his first meeting with United States President George W. Bush since assuming office was "a very good, very useful meeting."

"The United Nations needs the strong and active participation and strong support of the United States, as the UN and the US have a shared objective of promoting human rights, democracy and freedom and peace and security, as well as mutual prosperity," said Ban. More

Click here to read remarks from both Ban and Bush.

In the Los Angeles Times today, Lee Feinstein gets to the heart of the conundrum facing Ban Ki-moon as he approaches the conflict in Darfur. Ban will be personally blamed should the blood-letting in Darfur continue at pace, yet the resources to stop the fighting are mainly in the hands of individual member states. True, Khartoum's intransigence remains the number-one obstacle to deploying peacekeepers to Darfur. But these peacekeepers exist mainly in theory at this point. The most Ban can do is cajole and coax key member states to pony up troops for potential deployment to Darfur. If member states refuse his entreaties, Ban and the United Nations will shoulder the blame for "failing to act" in Darfur. This may seem unfair, but it is the reality.

Of course, one potential way to avoid this dynamic would be for member states to establish a readily deployable stand-by contingent of peacekeepers. That idea has gained some traction with the creation of the Multi-National Stand-by High Readiness Brigade. Perhaps the time has come to revisit this idea.

UN and EU leaders alike have criticized the executions of Barzan Ibrahim and Awad Hamed al-Bandar.

Barzan was Iraqs former intelligence chief and Saddam Hussein's half-brother, and al-Bandar was the former head of the Revolutionary Court. Both men were hanged for crimes against humanity.

UN spokesperson Michele Montas said that SG Ban Ki-moon "regrets that despite pleas from himself and the high commissioner for human rights to spare the lives of the two co-defendants, they were both executed."

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour released a statement saying, "The imposition of the death penalty after a trial and appeal proceedings that do not respect the principles of due process amounts to a violation of the right to life."

EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said that the executions were "detrimental also to the question of national reconciliation" in Iraq and other European leaders restated their objections to the death penalty. More

The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) announced plans yesterday to send a second group of staff officers to Darfur.

"The new batch, set to leave on Monday, comes in addition to the 17 UN military staff officers and 19 UN police advisers who are already in Darfur as part of a light support package for the thinly stretched AMIS, which has been struggling to monitor the vast region - roughly the size of France - where over 200,000 people have been killed since 2003 and more than ten times that amount displaced by conflict." More

James Traub, contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine, hit a journalistic jackpot when Kofi Annan agreed to give Traub unprecedented access to the 38th floor. The Best Intentions: Kofi Annan and the UN in the Era of American World Power is a sweeping insider account of the United Nations during one of the institutions most tumultuous periods. I recently spoke to Traub about his book, the prospect of UN reform, and the future of US-UN relations.

Goldberg: Your book largely centers on the tenuous relationship between the United States and the United Nations since the Iraq war. Can you assess the trajectory of that relationship now, given that there's a new Secretary General and potential new US ambassador to the UN in Zalmay Khalilzad?

Traub: I assume that the most important variable in US-UN relations is the attitude that the administration chooses to take toward the UN. The question of whom they choose as ambassador to the UN is more important because it reflects their mentality, not because it is somehow causative of the nature of the relationship. I suspect the same is true with their attitude toward Ban Ki-moon. What is important is not that any particular person is Secretary General, but rather that there is an evolving view inside the administration as to how useful or not the UN is to them.

From what I can tell, there was (and I describe this in the book) a clear change in attitude toward the UN at the beginning of the second term of the administration. Secretary Rice tried to make this clear by declaring that the "era of diplomacy is now." The first term of the Bush administration, however, is probably the low point of US-UN relations--perhaps in the history of the institution. There has never been a time when a US administration was as utterly dismissive of the institution at the same time as it was seeking to use it. The Reagan administration was probably equally indifferent, but it didn't matter because the UN didn't really have a formative role in terms of American foreign policy. These days it does.

My sense is that the shift in attitude occurred because the administration got so beaten up as a result of its own unilateral act in Iraq. As a result, there has been a more pragmatic attitude toward the UN. You see this through the administration's decision to conduct foreign policy with Iran through the Security Council as well as in situations like Lebanon. That is the key thing - the other issues about who the individuals are is kind of ornamental.

This raises a point you bring up in your book. Historically, in areas of great geo-strategic importance, the United States has tended to sideline the UN.

So have other countries. Russia was not about to ask if they could go into Chechnya. The French didn't ask about Cote D'Ivoire. It's not that the United States is unique in its willingness to go it alone in matters of great strategic importance.

But you might say that alternatively, the decision to try to get Security Council approval for the war in Iraq was an affirmation that the UN can be useful even in the most supreme geo-political issues. The fact is, however, that the administration placed a bet on the institution, created impossible terms and then lost that bet through its own intransigence.

Given this troubled history, then, how sustainable is the administration's seemingly newfound affirmation of the UN?

It is going to be a question of the nature of the issues that arise. Iraq set a test that the institution was bound to fail. The issue is going to be much more how much freedom of action this administration is going to be willing to sacrifice in order to be able to act in collaboration with others though the UN. In the case of Iran, for example, there is not much of an alternative to the UN. The US cannot do anything unilaterally.

It will be interesting to see whether Iran remains intractable and if Russia and China refuse to ratchet up sanctions. At this point, will the Administration seek to use NATO instead? Will the administration use some compact of European nations to apply sanctions outside the UN? Would that even be effective? I don't know.

In your book you described how the polarized atmosphere at the UN following the 2005 summit paralyzed reform efforts during Annan's final year in office. Do you think that the competition between the developed and developing world south is a fundamentally insurmountable obstacle to reform, or can a new Secretary General shepherd through reform?

Stuff seems insurmountable, but suddenly it isn't, then you forget that it used to seem insurmountable. For example, China strikes me as an insurmountable obstacle on all sorts of humanitarian issues. At some point, however, the Chinese may decide that it is in their interest to be seen as more of an international partner and become less of an obstacle that are right now. In the same sense, the north-south thing is a huge problem right now. And the suspicion on the part of the G77 countries that management reform is simply a device for increasing the dominance of the US and the west is really pervasive. It has become the pretext for refusing to accept serious reform measures.

Ban has the opportunity to start again - to remove some of that poison simply because he is new and doesn't bear those old scars. And it may very well be that having appointed a third world person as Deputy Secretary General, and also someone who is so associated with the idea of economic development, means that he can find a way around that logger head. Perhaps by convincing people that there is not a zero sum relationship between what is good for the G77 (i.e. development) and what is seen as good for the developed world (i.e. management reform.) But it is going to be really, really hard because the atmosphere is so poisonous.

It seems that the new US team may also help improve that atmosphere.

Yes--especially on reform issues. Here is a case where Bolton's aggressiveness really did cause us harm. Khalilzad will have the enormous advantage of following somebody who was so extreme in his unwillingness to compromise. So Khalilzad can just be a traditionally American figure--which is already hard enough for the institution to deal with. But he'll seem by comparison to be supple and reasonable. I take it one thing he must have learned in all those years in Afghanistan and Iraq is how to deal with people who are profoundly hostile and have a different opinion from yours.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will meet with U.S. President George Bush next Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

Michele Montas, spokesperson for Ban, said "I can confirm that the visit will take place next Tuesday, the 16th of January. In addition to meeting with the President, the Secretary-General will also meet with leaders of the US Congress." More

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke yesterday about the recent US military operations in Somalia, noting that diplomatic efforts should be redoubled "to have some political process for the realization of a peaceful resolution of this issue."

"While I fully understand the necessity behind this [U.S.] attack [on Somalia], we should be cautious enough [that this kind of situation will not] lead to unwanted directions." More

As part of the Nothing But Nets campaign, some "netraisers" are sharing their stories of getting informed and being involved. Here's Benita's story:

"The Malaria Boot Camp was a God-send for me. I have family in Senegal and have witnessed deaths due to malaria first hand. In the summer 2005, a friend took her newborn daughter to Senegal to show her off to the family. When she returned to the US, she felt weak and thought that she had a flu or something. After a few days, she went to our local hospital emergency room. They took blood and could not find anything, so they sent her home. She returned a second time, and was sent home again. After her third visit, the hospital had realized that she had deteriorated significantly, so they sent her blood work to a NYC hospital which helped them diagnose her malaria." More

To find out how you can get involved, click here.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the "Group of 77" yesterday that working closely with the caucus of developing nations will help him to build a stronger UN.

"I am confident that the new Chair of the G-77 will work with me - a new Secretary-General - to implement existing initiatives, and to push for further reform and strengthening of the UN system." More

Claudia Rosett, who has already declared Ban Ki-moon's "half-life of integrity" to be "less than a week," is trying to gin up controversy about the appointment of the new Deputy Secretary General from Tanzania, Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro.

Rosett dredges up a September 2006 Times of London report alleging a qui-pro-quo between South Korean foreign aid disbursements and developing countries' support for Ban Ki-moon's Secretary General candidacy. (Apparently, South Korea gave $18 million in aid to Tanzania last year.) But Tanzania was just one of 192 members of the General Assembly who voted unanimously for Ban's appointment. Also, the real power brokers of the Secretary General selection process are the veto-wielding members of the Security Council. And no where has it been alleged that South Korea used its development-aid largess to curry favor with the United States, France, China, Great Britain and Russia.

Frankly, Migiro's appointment can be considered a boon for the prospect of management reforms for which Kofi Annan pressed hard in his final year. Developing countries were hesitant to back these reforms for fear that their influence in the Secretariat may wane as a result. However, giving the number-two job at the United Nations to a woman who holds great credibility in the developing world may help assuage those fears and inspire developing countries to support management reforms.

The UN refugee agency reported yesterday that more than 20,000 people have been displaced over the last three weeks due to fighting between the Sri Lankan Government and Tamil separatists.

Yoko Akasaka, head of the UNHCR field office in Batticaloa, said "Sites are hosting people at twice their actual capacity, the district is facing a potential food shortage and many families have been separated in flight or during transport to emergency sites." More

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council yesterday that the UN faces "unprecedented demand for peacekeeping as well as a range of growing demands for preventive diplomacy, good offices, peace building and efforts in conflict management," and stressed the importance of "[finding] ways to strengthen our capacities." More

The UN refugee agency launched a $60 million appeal yesterday to aid hundreds of thousands of displaced Iraqis. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that one in eight Iraqis have already left their homes, and 50,000 are now leaving each month.

"The funds will cover UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) protection and assistance programmes for Iraqi refugees in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey, as well as non-Iraqi refugees and IDPs, in what the agency says is the largest long-term population movement in the Middle East since the displacement of Palestinians following the creation of Israel in 1948." More

On Friday, Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro became the second woman appointed to be the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General. Her appointment is being touted as an exciting step forward by the UN community and as a promise fulfilled by women's rights organizations.

Secretary-General Ban said, "Through her distinguished service in diverse areas, [Dr. Migiro] has displayed outstanding management skills with wide experience and expertise in socio-economic affairs and development issues."

Ted Turner, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the UN Foundation, noted that "the United Nations will be well served not only by having such a distinguished public servant as Dr. Migiro, but also by having the perspective of an African woman at the highest level of the organization."

Women's organizations that work with the United Nations also spoke favorably of Ban's decision to appoint Dr. Migiro. June Zeitlin, Executive Director of the Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), says that "from a gender equality perspective, the new secretary general has challenged the status quo...[Ban] may be on his way to setting a record that begins to approach gender parity at the highest levels of the United Nations...such an achievement should be applauded."

Dr. Migiro said of her appointment, "Being an African, I have first hand experience to be able to understand the situation facing Africa and developing countries in general. I will be able to use this experience to contribute in effecting developmental changes at the global level."

To find out more about the newly appointed Deputy SG, click here.

The United Nations is taking some hits over a disturbing Daily Telegraph report alleging that some peacekeeping officials in the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) have sexually exploited children in southern Sudan.

There are about 13,000 UN personnel in southern Sudan, overseeing a two-year-old peace accord that ended a bloody 20 year civil war in Sudan. The new Secretary General has pledged to investigate thoroughly these allegations and has re-affirmed the UN's policy of "zero tolerance, zero complacency and zero impunity" for sexual exploitation.

However, one of the paradoxes of peacekeeping is that the United Nations has no legal authority of its own to prosecute individual troops. Unlike conventional militaries, such as the United States Army which can prosecute serving soldiers under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the United Nations is not vested with sovereign legal authority to charge peacekeepers with a crime and lock them up. Rather, when allegations of misconduct are substantiated, the UN orders that the accused be repatriated. It is up to the each home country to decide if and how to prosecute their own nationals.

Meanwhile, the actions of a few peacekeepers should not serve as an indictment of the UN mission in Southern Sudan. With peacekeepers maintaining a stable security environment there, other UN agencies have been able to maximize their ability to deliver key services to the people of southern Sudan. The World Food Program, for example, announced that it plans to feed two million people there this year.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the Iraqi government this weekend to give a stay of execution to those on death row, specifically two high-ranking co-defendants of Saddam Hussein.

"His Chef de Cabinet, Vijay Nambiar, in a letter to Iraq's UN ambassador, today reiterated the Secretary General's endorsement of the call made earlier this month by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, for restraint by the Government in carrying out death sentences imposed by the Iraqi High Tribunal." More

Related: Rome lit up the arches of the Colosseum to show Italy's support for a global ban on the death penalty. More

The Economist's new cover story calling for greater engagement with the United Nations is a must read. That the magazine's editors chose not to tag a question mark at the end of the cover headline, "A Chance for a Safer World," tells you precisely where the package is going. Two of the special report's articles can be accessed for free, but the rest of the content is behind a subscription wall.

Some highlights, courtesy of the Better World Campaign, are below the fold.

"And although the [US] is often the UN's harshest critic, it has come again to see the point of turning to the UN for help with problems - be they keeping the peace in Lebanon or saving lives in Darfur - it finds hard to solve alone."

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"[L]ook closer at Sudan. In the south, UN forces have since 2005 been keeping the peace after the end of a separate and even bloodier civil war that had lasted for decades. In Sudan's stricken areas, and elsewhere in Africa, the UN's World Food Program feeds millions. Indeed, around the world as a whole, some 30 million people in 50 countries are reckoned to depend on UN relief agencies for their very survival."

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"In Congo one of the largest UN forces ever assembled has just overseen the transition to free elections in another vast country emerging from decades of war. But that is just one of 18 different missions, in which about 100,000 peacekeepers are deployed."

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"Today's disorder stems not so much from conflicts between the big powers as from other problems all say they want to solve: failed states, terrorism, proliferation and the chaotic Middle East. Their priorities and tactics differ, but that still leaves room to co-operate. For example, it has taken an age to sign up Russia and China for action against Iran's nuclear program. But now they have signed: the Security Council is imposing sanctions on Iran for enriching uranium."

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"[T]he permanent five could make the world safer and more orderly by showing a greater willingness to work together using the existing structure...All the big powers ought to see the benefit of making better use of the potential for joint, lawful international action that the UN uniquely provides."

Statement from Ban Ki-moon:

"I have decided to appoint Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Republic of Tanzania, as Deputy Secretary-General. Minister Migiro served previously as Minister for Community Development, Gender and Children of the United Republic of Tanzania for five years. In her academic career, she rose to the rank of a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Dar-es-Salaam." More