Ruth Wedgewood rises in defense of Ban Ki Moon:
Poor countries did not create the crisis, but they are bearing of the brunt of its human toll. In countries where social safety nets are non-existent, even a modest economic decline puts lives in the balance. The World Bank estimates that if the financial crisis is not brought to heel soon, 1.4 million to 2.8 million children in the developing world will die of malnutrition in the next six years.
One of the more curious features of this morning's Security Council meeting on non-proliferation was the conspicuous absence of the Libyan head of state. Libya, after all, serves on the Security Council so it was expected that he'd participate in this morning's session. Instead, Libya was represented by its UN ambassador.
An enterprising reporter asked Susan Rice for the United States' reaction to Kadaffi's absence from the meeting. Rice was, shall we say, diplomatic in her response.
I'm live-tweeting the Security Council meeting on non-proliferation and disarmament for UN Dispatch
Full text of President Obama's opening statement below the fold:
From Comoros to Israel, Venezuela to Malta, here is day two of the UN General Assembly debate. You can watch all of the proceedings live via UN Webcast.
The day's full UNGA speaking schedule:
I just emerged from a press briefing with Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs and Jeffrey Bader from the National Security Council. Campbell encouraged the assembled press to ask about the contents of the numerous bi-lateral meetings held between President Obama and heads of state this week, so I took the opportunity to ask whether or not issues surrounding Myanmar/Burma were discussed at all during the meeting between Obama and Hu.
At the Clinton Global Initiative, The United Nations Foundation (which supports this blog) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced a $30 million program to eradicate polio.
As it stands, polio is close to being wiped off the map. There were only some 1650 cases reported in 2008. About 90% of those cases originated from countries where polio remains endemic: India, Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The money will largely directed to polio eradication campaigns in those four countries.
Tune in here at about 10 am for a live feed of President Obama's address to the General Assembly, courtesy of the White House. You can watch all the action throughout the day via the UN live webcast. N.B. that President Obama will be immediately followed by..."H.E. Colonel Muammar Al-Qadhafi" Full schedule after the jump.