"The head of the U.N. mission's human rights unit in Haiti accused judicial officials and the U.S.-backed interim government on Thursday of illegally detaining most of the 4,000 people behind bars in the country.
"International donors are turning their backs on Sudan's crisis-torn Darfur region, putting at even greater risk the lives of people who are already victims of conflict and banditry, UNICEF said on Wednesday.
Dan Toole, head of emergency programmes for the United Nations' children's fund, said large parts of the vast region were off limits to aid workers as government forces and local militias battled each other as peace talks faltered." [More]
A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary
Rikomatic: "The United Nations recently concluded an international conference on early warning in Bonn, Germany. Over 1,200 participants from 140 countries participated in the gathering, that concluded that a "people-centered" approach was needed to build effective early-warning systems to prevent the loss of human life from natural disasters such as floods, tsunamis and pandemics. As a preparation for the conference, a "Global Survey of Early Warning Systems" [PDF] was prepared by the UN, that details what capacity already exists for early warning, what the major gaps are."
"Rich countries have changed their attitude toward would-be immigrants and are adopting or changing laws to allow in skilled and low-skilled workers to meet specific workplace demands, according to a U.N. report released Tuesday.
At the same time, countries are stepping up efforts to prevent and combat illegal immigration, especially since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, it said." [More]
A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary
Democracy Arsenal (Suzanne Nossel): "In scenes straight out of a Hollywood action figure, last week former Liberian strongman Charles Taylor found himself in a dragnet when the Nigerian government, after years of protecting him, finally announced plans to turn the ex-dictator over to a UN special court to be tried for war crimes and atrocities committed in support of civil war in Sierra Leone. Within 24 hours Taylor had escaped, and rumor was that he might attempt a coup back in Liberia's capital. But the Nigerians nabbed him, and Taylor is now in UN custody in Freetown, Sierra Leone on his way to trial. If things go as planned from now on, Taylor's extradition could become a major step toward justice and accountability in Africa."
Informed Comment: "The UN oil for food program has continued to provide staples to most Iraqi families, but will be phased out by the end of 2006 as a "socialist" legacy. Despite the talk of staples "stabilizing," the price of foodstuffs has skyrocketed. Nor is a share for Iraqis in some of their oil wealth socialism. The Alaskans get a direct dividend from their petroleum, and the food aid was the closest thing the Iraqi public had to that. If the end of the program produces, as is likely, hardship and even hunger, there will be big urban disturbances. I lived through one such in Cairo in January of 1977. The gloaming was polluted with the bottles and stones thrown at government buildings by angry crowds chanting against the International Monetary Fund. That will be the final indignity, if the Americans actually manage to starve Iraqis to death with their policies."
"A delay in aid payments and Ugandan rebel attacks are threatening the delivery of aid to millions in southern Sudan, a senior United Nations official said.
Jan Egeland, UN under secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, is on a tour of Africa and was also planning a visit to Sudan's troubled western Darfur region. But that visit is now in doubt due to a disagreement with Khartoum officials." [More]
"In 2005, the United Nations delivered 1,200 reports on issues from Guinea-Bissau to the rights of women in the developing world. Its human rights office alone produced 44,000 pages of documents which in turn had to be translated into six official languages.
Such a huge volume of information, and the bureaucracy needed to produce it, threatens to overwhelm the United Nations, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a study released Thursday. The 191 member states must fund the things they ask for, and stop demanding so much if the world body is to live up to the ideals and promises of its founders, he said." [More]