Delegates’ Lounge

by Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Ten years ago, I stood on the floor of the U.S. Senate to introduce a bill, which eventually became known as the "Helms-Biden law", to authorize the payment of nearly $1 billion in back dues to the United Nations. Securing its passage was a hard-fought, but worthwhile, initiative. Unfortunately, we are again in arrears to the UN. For over a year, we have not been paying our full contribution for its peacekeeping operations -- missions in places like Lebanon, Sudan, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kosovo -- that advance our national interests while sharing the human, political and financial costs of peacekeeping with other nations.

July has been a bad month for war criminals. On Monday, July 14, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court set in motion proceedings against Sudanese president Omar el Bashir for genocide. Exactly one week later Radovan Karadzic--wanted for genocide in the Balkans--was arrested in Belgrade. What does one have to do with the other? To be precise: not much. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a separate institution from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. (ICTY). The latter is a temporary, ad hoc tribunal focused only on the Balkans. The former is a permanent institution with a global remit. Despite these differences, though, Karadzic's arrest may offer a glimpse into how Bashir may one day face justice. It also shows why international war crimes tribunals can be such useful institutions to have around.

By Ken Bacon, President, Refugees International Today nearly five million Iraqis--20% of the population--are displaced. About half of them have fled the country and live as refugees throughout the Middle East, while the rest are displaced within Iraq. Most fled their homes because they felt unsafe; those who worked for the U.S. as translators or drivers fled after they were attacked as collaborators. Most refugees and internally displaced lack access to employment, education and medical care; they are facing shortages of food and money. This is a humanitarian crisis first, but it is also becoming a security problem.

The Atlantic blogger and author of the Heads in the Sand: How The Republicans Screw Up Foreign Policy and Foreign Policy Screws Up The Democrats talks to UN Dispatch about his new book, explains why Americans need to get in touch with our liberal internationalist roots, and warns against displacing multi-lateral institutions with so-called "concerts of democracies."

Interview with Katrin Verclas, co-founder of MobileActive.org and co-author of Wireless Technology for Social Change: Trends in Mobile Use by NGOs What are the major findings of the publication? We found that there's a lot of activity. Lots of organizations are beginning to use mobiles for social change are are realizing the potential of mobile technology. We're really just seeing the tip of the iceberg. Right now, mobile phones are still primarily being used for staff coordination as opposed to an actual tool for advancing civil society work. However, we found that there is a huge awareness in the NGO community about the potential for doing so and quite a number of pilot projects probing that potential.

Interview with Katrin Verclas, co-founder of MobileActive.org and co-author of Wireless Technology for Social Change: Trends in Mobile Use by NGOs What are the major findings of the publication? We found that there's a lot of activity. Lots of organizations are beginning to use mobiles for social change are are realizing the potential of mobile technology. We're really just seeing the tip of the iceberg. Right now, mobile phones are still primarily being used for staff coordination as opposed to an actual tool for advancing civil society work. However, we found that there is a huge awareness in the NGO community about the potential for doing so and quite a number of pilot projects probing that potential.

remarks made by Kathy Calvin, COO of the UN Foundation, at Breakthrough: The Women, Faith, and Development Summit to End Global Poverty

I want to speak to you about three things this evening: First, about adolescent girls and why the UN Foundation has spent over $42 million in the past ten years to try change the realities that far too many of them live; second, about a new initiative we are announcing as our commitment to the Women, Faith and Development Alliance; and, third, to urge you to join us in elevating adolescent girls on the global agenda.

remarks made by Kathy Calvin, COO of the UN Foundation, at Breakthrough: The Women, Faith, and Development Summit to End Global Poverty

I want to speak to you about three things this evening: First, about adolescent girls and why the UN Foundation has spent over $42 million in the past ten years to try change the realities that far too many of them live; second, about a new initiative we are announcing as our commitment to the Women, Faith and Development Alliance; and, third, to urge you to join us in elevating adolescent girls on the global agenda.

This op-ed originally appeared in The Guardian Today, at the end of his week-long jaunt through Africa, President Bush stops in Liberia, the war-torn east African country, to highlight that country's democratic transition. Two weeks prior to his visit, though, the president imperilled Liberia and other emerging democracies by releasing a budget request that significantly shortchanged UN peacekeeping, which over the last seven years has been the main vehicle by which African conflicts have become African democracies. This is not only disingenuous, but it is an incredibly shortsighted move.