Audio link.
TRANSCRIPT:
State of the United Nations
ANCHORS: NEAL CONAN
NEAL CONAN, host:
This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington.
The crises that face the United Nations today include charges of corruption and mismanagement, rape and murder by UN peacekeepers, and the deep rift between the world body and its most important member, the United States. The UN has also found itself a target in some places in the world. A huge bomb destroyed the UN headquarters in Baghdad a year and a half ago. Just last week, nine UN peacekeepers from Bangladesh were killed in the Congo. As part of an effort to reform and revitalize the institution, Secretary-General Kofi Annan replaced his longtime chief of staff. The new number-three at the UN is Mark Malloch Brown, previously vice president for communications at the World Bank who's earned praise as the head of the UNDP, the UN Development Program. Since taking the job as chief of staff, he's mounted what some call a charm offensive here in Washington, DC, and he's also played a roll in tsunami relief.
FOX News writes: "The United Nations has sent a letter to FOX News in response to the special Breaking Point investigation, "United Nations Blood Money," that appeared Feb. 13 on FOX News Channel and on FOXNews.com.
"U.N. officials charged that FOX News erred in declaring that "high U.N. officials [were] getting oil handouts from Saddam [Hussein]" as part of the Oil-for-Food program.
From UN News Center: "United Nations bodies have begun a series of projects to improve agricultural production in Iraq, including irrigation, fertilizers and the building of skills, the world organization's mission in the country announced today.
The UN Development Group Trust Fund (UNDG TF) is carrying out a $35 million program to strengthen basic irrigation and drainage engineering as well as farming skills in Iraq. The program also seeks to encourage professionals and technicians from different disciplines to work together to benefit farmers."
Remarks released by the State Department: "RICE: The Secretary General and I did have a very good talk.... We talked about a wide variety of issues, the events in Lebanon, the need to make certain that Resolution 1559 is adhered to. We had an opportunity to discuss Sudan and the importance of the Sudanese Government taking seriously the concerns and demands of the international community to bring relief to that long suffering population. We also talked a good bit about U.N. Reform, about the fact that the United States as a founding member of the United Nations wants this to be a strong organization, an organization that is fit and ready for the challenges of the 21st century and we very much appreciate the Secretary General's commitment to United Nations reform in all of its aspects, in all of its manifestations."
Drudge links to this Financial Times piece: "The world is poorly prepared for a future influenza pandemic, with only a dozen countries purchasing significant quantities of antiviral drugs and just 50 with contingency plans on how to cope with such an outbreak. A Financial Times analysis on the eve of a World Health Organisation meeting on preparing for a pandemic shows widely differing approaches between countries that already have plans, and a sharp divide between richer countries and many poorer nations, creating splits that could hinder efforts to curb disease."
The Global Coalition on Women and AIDS is launching a five-city "Women and AIDS U.S. Tour: Empower Women, Save Lives." The Tour will emphasize that local and global communities must join forces to deliver prevention, care and treatment services that meet the needs of women and girls, while engaging men and boys as positive agents of change. More...
... the world should hear more about.
Uganda: child soldiers at center of mounting humanitarian crisis
Central African Republic: a silent crisis crying out for help
AIDS orphans in sub-Saharan Africa: a looming threat to future generations
The peacekeeping paradox: as peace spreads, surge in demand strains UN resources
Tajikistan: rising from the ashes of civil war
Women as peacemakers: from victims to re-builders of society
Persons with disabilities: a treaty seeks to break new ground in ensuring equality
Bakassi Peninsula: recourse to the law to prevent conflict
Overfishing: a threat to marine biodiversity
Indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation