A new UN report shows that he number of returning Afghan refugees fell significantly in 2009 compared to 2008. The UN Refugee Agency says the drop is attributable to insecurity and limited economic opportunities for returning refugees. From the UN News Center:
The UN’s Conduct and Discipline website now has a new section. Called “Statistics,” it will make public the aggregate data on peacekeeper abuses. It’s an impressive demonstration of transparency – or at least it will be. The data isn’t up there yet.
Here’s what the statistics page says at present:
Considering how the end of 2009 is shaping up, 2010 may be the year of Yemen.
The country has been in the news quite a bit the last few days as the alleged potential Northwest Airlines bomber is said to have ties to extremists in Yemen, which is located just south of Saudi Arabia on the Arabian peninsula. The United States is also said to be expanding its covert operations in Yemen to target al Qaeda members who have a foothold there.
Last week, the Obama Administration issued an executive order that extended certain diplomatic privileges to Interpol--the International Criminal Police Organization. This was a pretty innocuous bureaucratic move, but it has apparently sparked some serious concerns among a certain cadre of blogger. For example, you have Steve Shippert and Clyde Middleton of ThreatsWatch worrying that this "could conceivably include...Americans arrested on our soil by
The United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) has been accused of sexual abuse and exploitation among its military personnel. It has announced that it is investigating the allegations, and adding additional preventative procedures to ensure that the UN’s zero-tolerance policy against abuse and exploitation is followed.
Six months ago, I predicted that Eritrea was on its way to becoming the newest pariah state on the international scene. Later today, that status may be officially confirmed as join the ranks of Sudan, North Korea, and Iran when the Security Council votes on a sanctions resolution on Eritrea and its political leadership. How did it come to this? I'll refer back to my original post.
Scientific American has a cheery article on up their website right now, estimating the global impact of a nuclear war between India and Pakistan. The result: sunlight is reduced, the planet cools, and the growing season shortens. Drought ensues. The ozone layer erodes. Global agriculture is decimated.
When a disaster strikes somewhere in the developing world, the UN Office of the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) generally issues an appeal for donations to assist in recovery and clean-up. Sometimes, the disaster makes global headlines and funds come pouring in (think: the 2004 Tsunami). Sometimes, though, disaster can unfold slowly, like drought in the Sahel. And sometimes, the disaster occurs in a country whose leadership has generally hostile relations with donor countries (e.g., Zimbabwe).
GlobalPost reported recently on a new Office of the Inspector General review of Afghanistan. USAID takes heavy criticism in the document for poor management of large contracts, and GlobalPost brings in a range of Afghanistan and aid experts to comment on the report.