Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the Iraqi government this weekend to give a stay of execution to those on death row, specifically two high-ranking co-defendants of Saddam Hussein.
"His Chef de Cabinet, Vijay Nambiar, in a letter to Iraq's UN ambassador, today reiterated the Secretary General's endorsement of the call made earlier this month by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, for restraint by the Government in carrying out death sentences imposed by the Iraqi High Tribunal." MoreRelated: Rome lit up the arches of the Colosseum to show Italy's support for a global ban on the death penalty. More
Statement from Ban Ki-moon:
"I have decided to appoint Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Republic of Tanzania, as Deputy Secretary-General. Minister Migiro served previously as Minister for Community Development, Gender and Children of the United Republic of Tanzania for five years. In her academic career, she rose to the rank of a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Dar-es-Salaam." More
Would you spend ten dollars to save a child's life? If it seems too simple, that's because it is. And that's what makes the Nothing But Nets campaign so incredible.
Nothing But Nets is a global grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria--the leading killer of children in Africa. For just ten dollars, you can provide a child with a life-saving anti-malaria bed net. It's really that easy.
Inspired by sports columnist Rick Reilly, who asked each of his readers to donate at least $10 for a bed net, the campaign is now thousands strong, with partners such as the UN Foundation, NBA Cares, Sports Illustrated, VH1, The People of the United Methodist Church, the Mark J. Gordon Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. (In fact, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have recently awarded a challenge grant to Nothing But Nets, meaning they'll match donations dollar for dollar up to $3 million!)
I had the pleasure of going to a Nothing But Nets event yesterday at the NBA store in New York City, and the excitement around the campaign was amazing.
In addition to featuring Rick Reilly and representatives from the campaign partners, perhaps the most convincing attendees were six-year old Katherine Commale and her mother, Lynda. After viewing a PBS program on Malaria and learning how the disease kills a child in Africa every 30 seconds, Katherine and Lynda decided to take action. To date, they have raised over $10,000 for the campaign.
If a six-year old can do it, so can we. So please, spread the word about Nothing But Nets and start saving lives one net at a time.
To learn more about Malaria, click here.
To join the campaign, or to help out, click here.
Yesterday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon chaired the first meeting of the Darfur Task Force, a new UN-wide undertaking.
"The Task Force includes the heads of the UN departments of peacekeeping, political affairs, public information, legal affairs, and safety and security, as well as the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)." More
Michele Montas, the newly appointed spokesperson to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, said yesterday that the UN is "deeply concerned" by reports of sexual exploitation allegations concerning UN personnel in Juba.
"The UN standard on this issue is clear -- zero tolerance, meaning zero complacency and zero impunity." More
New SG Ban Ki-moon appointed John Holmes, a British diplomat, as the new UN humanitarian chief and Alicia Barcena Ibarra, a Mexican national and former Deputy Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), as undersecretary-general for management. More
In a press conference yesterday, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon pledged to give the conflict in Darfur his "highest attention."
"The crisis situation in Darfur is very high on my agenda. I will turn immediately my attention to this issue...I hope that we will be able to resolve peacefully, as soon as possible, this very serious issue." More
A report by former Secretary-General Kofi Annan, which outlines the work of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), recommends extending the mission until February 2008, citing "significant challenges." More
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the Iraqi government this weekend to give a stay of execution to those on death row, specifically two high-ranking co-defendants of Saddam Hussein.
"His Chef de Cabinet, Vijay Nambiar, in a letter to Iraq's UN ambassador, today reiterated the Secretary General's endorsement of the call made earlier this month by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, for restraint by the Government in carrying out death sentences imposed by the Iraqi High Tribunal." More
Related: Rome lit up the arches of the Colosseum to show Italy's support for a global ban on the death penalty. More
In a press conference yesterday, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon pledged to give the conflict in Darfur his "highest attention."
"The crisis situation in Darfur is very high on my agenda. I will turn immediately my attention to this issue...I hope that we will be able to resolve peacefully, as soon as possible, this very serious issue." More
The UN has some terrific multimedia resources up on new SG Ban Ki-moon.
You can watch a video of Ban's address to the General Assembly (audio and text also available), which he gave after taking the oath of office. There's also video coverage of the press conference and swearing-in ceremony available.
If you'd rather listen than watch, you can also check out UN Radio's report on the appointment or this segment from NPR.
For more info on Ban Ki-moon's career and accomplishments, click here.