Cluster bombs are bad news. Small bomblets packed into artillery shells explode over a target, spewing golf-ball sized mini bombs far and wide. The problem is, not all of the bomblets explode on impact. Some are duds. And much like landmines, the unexploded sub-munitions lay dormant until disturbed. If a child, for example, picks up an unexploded bomblet it may blow up in her face. Like landmines, cluster bombs continue to kill and maim long after hostilities have ended.
So far, efforts to control the use of cluster bombs have been disregarded by the United States, which argues for their military utility. But the United States government may have just had a change of heart. The Associated Press reports today that the American delegate to the UN Convention on Conventional Weapons, which is meeting in Geneva this week, has agreed to participate in negotiations on cluster bombs. American officials have said they are not seeking an outright ban, but are open to regulating the use and manufacture of cluster bombs. This, at least, is an improvement over a previous policy of simply ignoring international efforts on cluster bombs.
A new study by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) reports that pervasive sex discrimination is impeding African women's success in business.
The study, entitled "Lessons from Success Stories of African Women Entrepreneurs," called for initiatives beyond microcredit schemes while pointing out that women continue manage businesses which generate employment and tax revenue despite limited government support, negative social environments, institutional discrimination and lasting gender inequalities.
The study is based on the experiences of women entrepreneurs in Botswana, Burundi, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda.
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Matthew Lee, the UN blogger and author of Innercity Press, and I square off on Blogging Heads TV. We discuss Kurt Waldheim's legacy, the so-called "Cash for Kim" brouhaha, Darfur, UN Peacekeeping and the prospects of United Nations reform. Enjoy.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has called on governments, communities and families to increase efforts to prevent child trafficking.
UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman noted that every year globally, about 1.2 million children are trafficked. "Children are trafficked into prostitution, into armed groups to serve as child soldiers, to provide cheap or unpaid labour, and to work as house servants or beggars."
Trafficking exposes children to violence, sexual abuse, severe neglect, and HIV infection, she pointed out, while violating children's right to be protected, to grow up in a family environment and to have access to education.
UNICEF called for punishing the perpetrators of human trafficking, which generates an estimated $9.5 billion a year and fuels other criminal activities.
The Citizens for Global Solutions blog points me to this recent speech by State Department Legal Advisor John Bellinger III on the United States and International Law. In one portion, Bellinger discusses his government's relationship with the International Criminal Court.
Over the past couple of years we have worked hard to demonstrate that we share the main goals and values of the Court. We did not oppose the Security Council's referral of the Darfur situation to the ICC, and have expressed our willingness to consider assisting the ICC Prosecutor's Darfur work should we receive an appropriate request. We supported the use of ICC facilities for the trial of Charles Taylor, which began this week here in The Hague. These steps reflect our desire to find practical ways to work with ICC supporters to advance our shared goals of promoting international criminal justice.
The ICC's three open war crimes investigations—Darfur, northern Uganda, and eastern Congos—are all in places that the united states has played a leading role in peace, justice, and reconciliation efforts. Bellinger's speech suggests that at least some in the US government may be finding that the ICC is, in fact, complimenting American foreign policy objectives in these places.
Stara Thomas, a well-known Tanzanian singer, is joining forces with the United Nations to advocate for safe motherhood.
"In our country there is joy; in our country there is peace; in our country there is hope, but we still need to protect the women and the children, because their health is our future," said Stara, a mother of two who has written and performed an anthem about promoting safe motherhood and infant health called 'Play your Part,' which has become a hit, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said in a news release.
"The song talks about how a pregnant woman's health is supposed to be taken care of by specialists in order to reduce the number of women and children dying during the delivery time," said the singer.
Tanzania's maternal mortality rate is 578 deaths per 100,000 live births; more than half of all pregnant women in the country deliver at home without a skilled birth attendant.
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On Wednesday, the House Subcommittee on International Organizations held a hearing (video) on UN peacekeeping forces acting as a force multiplier for the U.S. with testimony from Tim Wirth, President of the UN Foundation; James Dobbins, Director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at RAND and a former Assistant Secretary of State; Joseph Christoff, Director of International Affairs and Trade at the GAO; and Steven Groves, a fellow at the Heritage Foundation.
All in all, the hearing was positive for those who support the work of UN peacekeeping and believe that, because the UN is vital to U.S. national security, the U.S. should pay its full arrears. Chairman Bill Delahunt led off the hearing with the assertion that UN peacekeeping forces are a force multiplier and offer the U.S. "more bang for the buck," pointing to the oft-quoted GAO report that he and Congressman Rohrabacher requested last year. (Christoff testified about this report in depth.) He also mentioned that the "U.S. military is stretched to its breaking point" and that the UN could go where the U.S. might not be welcome, but where it has national security interests. He offered the UN force in Lebanon as an example, postulating that a U.S. force in the same position would engage in combat almost daily and suffer terrorist attacks. He finished by saying that this is not merely an academic argument. The U.S. is voting for all of these missions in the Security Council, but not fully paying for them, even as the international community is preparing to create the largest and most complex peacekeeping mission in history (the impending mission to Darfur).
On Wednesday, the House Subcommittee on International Organizations held a hearing (video) on UN peacekeeping forces acting as a force multiplier for the U.S. with testimony from Tim Wirth, President of the UN Foundation; James Dobbins, Director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at RAND and a former Assistant Secretary of State; Joseph Christoff, Director of International Affairs and Trade at the GAO; and Steven Groves, a fellow at the Heritage Foundation.
All in all, the hearing was positive for those who support the work of UN peacekeeping and believe that, because the UN is vital to U.S. national security, the U.S. should pay its full arrears. Chairman Bill Delahunt led off the hearing with the assertion that UN peacekeeping forces are a force multiplier and offer the U.S. "more bang for the buck," pointing to the oft-quoted GAO report that he and Congressman Rohrabacher requested last year. (Christoff testified about this report in depth.) He also mentioned that the "U.S. military is stretched to its breaking point" and that the UN could go where the U.S. might not be welcome, but where it has national security interests. He offered the UN force in Lebanon as an example, postulating that a U.S. force in the same position would engage in combat almost daily and suffer terrorist attacks. He finished by saying that this is not merely an academic argument. The U.S. is voting for all of these missions in the Security Council, but not fully paying for them, even as the international community is preparing to create the largest and most complex peacekeeping mission in history (the impending mission to Darfur).