The UN is important for Americans because we of all people should realize that we don't exist on the planet as an island. Most Americans trace ancestry to other lands and cultures giving us a rich history of international composition and heritage. - Mark Kroeker, Civilian Police Advisor, Department of Peacekeeping Operations
There are thousands of Americans who work for the UN - over 1,800 in New York City alone. "Americans at the UN" is a project dedicated to telling their stories and celebrating the extraordinary work they do quietly every single day in countries all over the world.
The Americans profiled come from very different backgrounds and work in extremely diverse settings. But whether they are from Los Angeles, St. Louis, or Boston, and whether they work from an office in New York City, a tent in a tiny village in Sri Lanka, or a battleground in the Congo, they are all committed to creating a better world.
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"Today" show host Katie Couric talked with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, the world's highest ranking diplomat, in General Assembly Hall.
EXCERPT:
Kofi Annan: "Let me say, the U.N., like all organizations has some problems. Difficulties that we need to work out. But when you look at the U.N. as a whole, it is an organization of immense importance to every member state in the world.
And recently, you've seen situations where the U.N. has had to step in and help work with the international community to get things done. I think the most the vivid example is in the question of the tsunami. The U.N. had to lead the humanitarian response. We responded quickly. We organized elections in Iraq, in Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories. These are things only the U.N. can do." Full Story...
A sampling of United Nations related blog commentaryBump in the Beltway: "Congress faces tough issues after recess: In theory, Republicans want to proceed with the controversial nomination of former Undersecretary of State John Bolton to be ambassador to the United Nations. But it is uncertain how quickly Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., will be able to move it to the floor again. The drama was deferred, not defused. This is going to be a messy week."
Daily Kos: "What will it take to get a few Republican Senators to vote against Bolton? He is clearly an individual who has shown an unwillingness to work diplomatically with allies and enemies alike."
Little Green Footballs: "The latest Associated Press push to discredit John Bolton is one of the sleaziest, most biased pieces of work I've read in quite some time: Bolton Said to Orchestrate Unlawful Firing."
Moderate Voice: "Yet another news story has surfaced to give a big, fat black eye to John Bolton - but in hard-nosed political terms will it really matter in terms of derailing his likely approval as the new U.S. Ambassador to the UN?"
TPM Cafe: "The United Nations is celebrating World Environment Day by producing an atlas, One Planet Many People. The book documents the harm that we're doing to the environment. The internet spot for the book is here. Click on "chapters" to download the pdf files. The book is available for sale here."
UN News Service: "The theme of the UN environmental day this year is "Green Cities - Plan for the Planet," The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has adapted it to: "Green your Camps - Improve Natural Resource Management and Plan for the Planet." The Day was celebrated yesterday, 5 June, in San Francisco, California and around the world."
"An atlas of environmental change compiled by the United Nations reveals some of the dramatic transformations that are occurring to our planet.
It compares and contrasts satellite images taken over the past few decades with contemporary ones. These highlight in vivid detail the striking make-over wrought in some corners of the Earth by deforestation, urbanisation and climate change.
The atlas has been released to mark World Environment Day. The United Nations Environmental Programme (Unep) produced One Planet Many People: Atlas of our Changing Environment in collaboration with other agencies such as the US Geological Survey and the US space agency (Nasa)." Read full article
A sampling of United Nations related blog commentaryDiplomatic Times Review: "The Toledo (Ohio) Blade opined in a June 2, 2005 editorial: "Thank goodness the Senate has put President Bush's controversial nomination of John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations on hold at least until next week."
Martin Varsavsky: "No matter how local we think we are we all share planet earth. So what about 100 hours out of 10,000 in which students follow a United Nations curriculum that is the SAME for all kids in the planet. My proposal is that during this 100 hours student learn the basic principles of human rights, understanding and respecting others, and as importantly learning about our fragile environment and how to protect it. That´s it, 100 hours. If we implement this any person in the planet who meets anyone else will in the future have at least 100 hours of a common background."
Washington Note: "My sense is that there are MORE than three Republican Senate offices now scrambling for reasons -- for phone calls -- to oppose Bolton."