Last week, amid the hubbub of the UN General Assembly and CGI, I received a kind invitation from Nothing But Nets to an event highlighting two worthwhile new endeavors.
Along with tasty treats, the main event was the launch of Exiled, a new show on MTV that is supported by the UN Foundation and Nothing but Nets. Fans of My Super Sweet 16 will find the format familiar, but this time the, what I'll gently call "overly attended to," rich kids spend some time with local families in the developing world. Here we saw Ava, who made her entrance into her sweet 16 party on a red chaise carried by shirtless Loyola polo players, visit a Karen village in Thailand (full episode). One of her tasks was cleaning up elephant dung. I think you can see where this is going.
There is humor in the disconnect, but also real value in the messaging. After seeing how the other half lives, the MTV audience is directed to ThinkMTV, where they can engage in discussion and help out directly (like by sending a $10 bed net to Africa).
Although MTV executive Dave Sirulnick noted that these kinds of shows are doing well in the ratings, kudos to MTV for continuing to take the "risk" of airing them. And kudos to the widely successful Nothing But Nets campaign for continuing to engage new grassroots constituencies in their critical work.
It's somewhat of a truism that leaders of an armed coup will attempt to justify their takeover by painting it as urgently necessary for their country's welfare and overwhelmingly supported by the local population. In his turn speaking in front of the General Assembly, the UN ambassador from Mauritania, whose military toppled the country's democratically elected president in early August, made no exception to this formula:
In view of the political impasse, the armed forces and the security forces, conscious of the serious dangers to the country, intervened in order to correct the deviations and pressure national unity and the other gains of the country, and its prospects of development and progress. This change has engaged the support of two thirds of members of parliament and about 90% of mayors and two thirds of the recognized political parties in addition to other organizations of the civil society including cultural and professional societies and unprecedented popular marches.I don't know where the ambassador is getting his statistics, but independent news outlets have reported that the junta is "facing criticism at home and abroad," even if the putsch "garnered some support in Mauritania's political establishment." Some of the "popular marches," of course, were actually protests against the new regime. The Security Council has condemned the coup, as have the United States, France, the World Bank, and both the European Union and African Union. Also apparently opposed to the coup is al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb -- the very terrorist organization that, ironically, the junta claimed that it would be better than its predecessor at combating. Oh, and also like many putschists before them, the Mauritanian coup leaders have assured that free elections are coming "in the near future."
Three weeks after back to back hurricanes devastated the Gonaives region of Haiti, many residents are still homeless and still living on their roofs. UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador (and blogger) Mia Farrow visited Gonaives a week after the storms slammed the city.
At CGI last week, World Food Programme Director Josette Sheeran announced that she would travel to Gonaives to see the devastation first hand. She now reports that "Haiti's misery index is rising" and that WFP needs $54 million for food, logistics and emergency telecommunications to meet urgent hunger needs.
"The US, Japan, EC, Switzerland and Canada have stepped up with almost $11 million and we can meet urgent food needs until the end of November. Despite this show of generosity from many nations, we need more help so we can continue with the emergency operation and our other programmes here that will contribute to the longer-term solution President Préval and the people of Haiti so desperately need," she said. Almost one month after the disaster struck destroying roads and 3,000 houses, three million cubic metres of mud still need to be removed from the city. Fifty thousand people continue to take refuge in shelters.Here is how you can help.
The debate over a somewhat important financial bailout bill has apparently not plugged the cracks through which uncommonly silly bills from time to time manage to be submitted in the U.S. Congress. In the House of Representatives, Republican legislator -- and former long-shot presidential candidate -- Tom Tancredo has introduced a bill bluntly titled the "United Nations Eviction Act". The purpose of this pressing legislation?
To direct the Attorney General to institute condemnation proceedings to acquire the property in the headquarters district and any other property in the United States ofthe United Nations, and for other purposes.Trying to kick the UN out of New York has long been a hobby of fringe anti-UN types, but the attempt seems particularly out of place just one week after President Bush attested to the organization's importance in his final speech before the General Assembly. In the words of Republican Representative Chris Shays, speaking at an event last week honoring 60 years of UN peacekeeping, hosting the United Nations should be seen not as an undue burden, but as a real source of pride for Americans. While it would be nice if everyone appreciated the honor of having UN headquarters of U.S. soil as much as Rep. Shays, I am fairly confident that Rep. Tancreco will have a hard time rounding up enough voices to support the eviction of 191 other countries from Manhattan.
It may have seemed almost farcical at first -- pirates, really? -- but the seriousness of the danger off Somalia's coast reached a new level over the weekend.
A Ukrainian ship seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia was carrying 33 tanks and other weapons, the Ukrainian defence minister has confirmed.Pirates had previously seized a number of passenger and cargo ships, spurring armed intervention from the French and Security Council action authorizing Member States to aggressively combat piracy in Somalia's lawless waters. The involvement of heavy weaponry, though -- even if the pirates have no interest, or use, really, for the tanks -- have made this chapter in the saga a natural headline-grabber. American ships are closely monitoring the pirates, who are anchored in Somali waters off one of the country's notorious pirate towns and have pledged to "defend ourselves, until the last one of us dies." The main objective is to ensure that the weapons are not offloaded and make their way into the hands of Somali insurgents. The rumor that the tanks were bound for the Government of South Sudan -- which would be in contravention of an international arms embargo but which the government of Kenya has denied, insisting that it was to be the legitimate recipient -- merely underscores the hazards of transmitting weapons in these pirate-infested waters.
In this week's edition of UN Plaza, I interview Ambassador James Dobbins, who after September 11 was tasked to be the American envoy to the Afghan resistance. We discuss his new book, After the Taliban: Nation Building in Afghanistan
Critics of UN peacekeeping often charge that the Security Council is wont to authorize missions before it can be assured that Member States will pony up the requisite troops and equipment. By and large, this is an unfounded accusation, as the Secretary-General's recent recommendation [pdf] for the UN mission in Chad and the Central African Republic (MINURCAT) makes clear:
In order to achieve the required effect, the force should be led by high-quality commanders and provided the necessary capabilities, selected by the United Nations. In this regard, and in accordance with the Brahimi report (S/2000/809), it would be recommended that the Security Council consider leaving in draft form the resolution authorizing the deployment of the force until such time as the Secretariat has firm commitments of troops and other critical mission support elements from Member States.The 2000 "Brahimi report" that the S-G cites was a major doctrinal moment in UN peacekeeping, as it stipulated that missions should only be undertaken where there is a peace to keep and when they will be provided with the necessary component parts. Crafted in response to the rapid (over)expansion of UN peacekeeping in the mid-90's, the Brahimi report is now facing another significant test, as UN peacekeeping is being looked to in complex conflict zones like Ethiopia/Eritrea, Somalia, and Darfur.
...while you're drinking Diet Snapple.
He's in the house here at CGI as part of a "mega-commitment," which includes the Global Water Challenge. Their $25 million commitment will help fund new projects to provide safe drinking water and sanitation for the world's poorest people.
The projects were selected through a changemakers.net competition. It's a really cool idea and a great way to forge the best ideas. Over 254 proposals for funding were submitted to GWC. I talked to executive director Paul Faeth about this for a while on Wednesday, and he loves developing this sort of marketplace for ideas. In general GWC are good folks and are doing great things.
The global water crisis may be the most underreported major global crises. Nearly 900 million people lack access to safe drinking water, and $2.5 billion lack access to safe sanitation. A lack of access to safe sanitation is what caused the Black Death...in the 14th century. In addition to the day-to-day suffering of nearly a billion people, access to water has and will continue to be casus belli.
Clinton has emphasized this issue several times during CGI. We applaud these groups for making such a generous and desperately needed commitment.
Continuing our coverage of some of the speeches of world leaders at the General Assembly, yesterday the president of East Timor, where the UN has maintained a peacekeeping presence since 1999, proclaimed the dawning of a new era of peace for his country. Addressing the UN -- albeit perhaps not in the role he may have expected that he would -- President Jose Ramos-Horta applauded the progress that East Timor has made in moving beyond recent violence, and duly acknowledged the crucial support his country has received:
"However, we would not have succeeded in pulling back from the brink without the prompt and steadfast support from the international community," Mr. Ramos-Horta, co-laureate of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, said, highlighting the assistance received from the UN and countries such as Australia and New Zealand.
He mustn't forget to recognize the influence of Jackie Chan, of course.