With the world focused on First Avenue this week, Secretary General Kofi Annan's recent diplomatic success in the Middle East deserves attention. Diplomacy abhors a vacuum. And in the days following the calamitous month-long war in Israel and Lebanon, the ceasefire between the Israeli Defense Forces and Hezbollah militants looked quite tenuous. Neither side had much confidence that the other would comply with the ceasefire requirements set out in Security Council Resolution 1701, which ostensibly ended the conflict on August 11th. Adding to this uncertainty were key issues that remained unresolved: the composition of the peacekeeping force, the sea and air blockades, and the status of the two Israeli prisoners captured by Hezbollah were all kicked down road for further discussion.
CNN: "Violence killed nearly 6,600 Iraqi civilians during July and August, while more than 8,000 were wounded, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.N. Assistance Mission in Iraq.
More than 20,600 Iraqi civilians have died in attacks so far this year, according to UNAMI. The carnage included a string of execution-style slayings, mortar and rocket attacks as well as suicide bombings apparently targeting civilians."
"Iraq is in danger of sliding into civil war and its government and the international community must do more to pull it back from the brink, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said.
"The everyday life of Iraqi people is dominated by the constant threat of sectarian violence and civil strife," Annan said yesterday, addressing a meeting at UN headquarters in New York attended by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani." More
BBC: "Protesters demanding an end to conflict in Sudan's Darfur region are staging a day of demonstrations around the world.... Seven thousand African Union peacekeeping troops are due to leave Darfur at the end of August, but Khartoum has refused to allow UN peacekeepers to take their place.
The government has stressed that any UN troops entering Darfur would be met with armed resistance. On Saturday 1,000 volunteers from a pro-government militia marched through the streets of Khartoum threatening to kill any uninvited UN visitors, the BBC's Jonah Fisher reports from the city.
Violence in the region is reported to be rising again, drawing criticism from figures as diverse as the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, and actor George Clooney, who this week implored the UN Security Council to act.
"Sectarian violence and insurgent attacks increased throughout Iraq over the past three months, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said in the most negative report an American envoy has given to the Security Council since the 2003 invasion.
"The insurgency remains potent and viable, although its visibility has been overshadowed by the increase in sectarian violence," U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said in the latest quarterly report to the council. "The average number of weekly attacks increased 15 percent over the previous reporting period, and Iraqi casualties increased by 51 percent." More
"U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said leaders of Middle Eastern nations believe the Iraq war has "been a real disaster" for the region.
His comments to reporters on Wednesday came after a two-week trip through the Middle East and on a day when separate bomb attacks killed at least 22 people in Baghdad.
"Honestly, most of the leaders I spoke to felt the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath has been a real disaster for them," Annan said. "They believe it has destabilized the region." More
Amidst reports of growing political and security uncertainties in Iraq, the United Nations is still tending to the crucial and monumental task of bringing international donors to the table. Part of that effort includes the International Compact for Iraq, initiated by the UN at the request of the U.S. and Iraqi governments to spur political, economic, and social development.
"Sudan insisted yesterday that there would be no security vacuum if African peacekeepers leave Darfur next month.
Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary-general, warned on Friday that Sudan's leaders could be held responsible for atrocities in the troubled western region if the African Union force is forced to pull out and Khartoum refuses to allow their replacement by UN troops." More