I speak with Melanie Teff, one of co-authors of a new Refugees International report about the condition of Haiti's IDPs. She paints a very bleak picture of the plight of nearly 1 million Haitians displaced by the earthquake nearly ten months ago.
I chat with John McArthur of Millennium Promise for BloggingHeads. John does an excellent job explaining the Millennium Development Goals in a way that ought to satisfy wonks and newcomers alike.
When a disaster like the Pakistan floods strike, one of the most urgent priorities is making sure that all of the aid agencies responding to the disaster can coordinate their relief activities on the ground. At the most basic level, this means that they have to be able to talk to call each other and send emails. The problem is, disasters can easily wipe out the means of communication.
I thought folks might be interested in another one of my talk radio day interviews at the UN. I sat down with Moae Doraid, deputy executive director of UNIFEM. We talk about the role of UNIFEM in the constellation of UN programs and agencies advocating for women and about a new effort underway at the UN to bring all of these gender and women-focused agencies under the same management structure.
Last Friday, I sat down with the Iraqi Ambassador to the United Nations Hamid Al-Bayati. We discuss the recent Iraqi elections, what the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq is up to, and his thoughts on the planned U.S. draw down of troops. Enjoy.
I chat with international law blogger, Professor Kevin Jon Heller of Opinio Juris and the University of Melbourne about the legal implications of the Gaza blockade, the International Criminal Court's big review conference underway in Kampala, and CIA drone attacks. The whole thing is up at bloggingheads. In the clip below we chat about America's role at the ICC review conference. Kevin accuses the Obama administration of "concern trolling" from the sidelines. I disagree.
Moments ago I spoke with the Indian Ambassador to the UN Manjeev Singh Puri about India's policies toward Afghanistan. (I've long lamented the fact that Indian's role in the conflict in Afghanistan is rarely discussed--both by media figures and in official circles. ) Alas, I could not shake him much from his talking points, but I found his explanation of Indian interests vis-a-vis Afghanistan to be a very good distillation of official Indian foreign policy.
I just sat down with the UK Ambassador to the United Nations Mark Lyall Grant. In a discussion about the flotilla incident, he seems to suggest that there is some serious international momentum behind convincing Israel to lift the Gaza blockade. He throws cold water on the notion that Israel cannot credibly investigate itself, citing, for example, the hard-hitting Winograd Report about Israel's incursion into Southern Lebanon in 2006.
I'm at the United Nations today, filming back to back interviews with officials around the United Nations for BloggingHeads. Throughout the day, though, I'll post some of the interviews I'm able to upload to YouTube. Below is a just-completed interview with the highest ranking American UN official, under secretary general for Political Affairs B.