Tom Miller
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The President’s Corner:
A UN Corps to the Rescue
For decades, United Nations members and peacekeeping experts have debated the idea of a rapid deployment force to intervene in conflict zones, a subject that remains deeply controversial. Yet the last decade showed us that the need for rapid response is as important for resolving human-generated conflicts as it is for countries hit by natural disasters. Such a force could have been extremely useful on the ground in Haiti, where the earthquake last month left the country in dire need of immediate outside help. Read more.
 In Haiti, UN Workers Endure Strife as Part of the Job
By Barbara Crossette
Jens Kristensen, a 48-year-old Dane in the UN’s Haiti mission, had been trapped for five days in a coffin-size space under the rubble of his office when an American rescue team found him, miraculously alive. Bruised, dehydrated and no longer able to keep track of time, Kristensen nonetheless sized up the disaster all around him, skipped trauma counseling and was back at work within three days. Read more.
In London, Staffan de Mistura (far left), the new special representative of the secretary-general for Afghanistan; Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan; and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. UN Photo. |
De Mistura, Veteran UN Diplomat, Inherits Serious Challenges in Afghanistan
By Irwin Arieff
The United Nations mission in Afghanistan is changing leadership at a time of soaring insecurity and growing international pressure on the country to prove it can assume responsibility for its own problems eventually. Read more.
Samir Sanbar, a former UN expert on Yemen. |
Samir Sanbar, a UN Expert, Says to Go Easy on Yemen
By Barbara Crossette
The newest backdrop for the migrating war against Al Qaeda may look familiar: a country with rough, ragged peaks for sanctuary; tribal and sectarian divisions of head-spinning complexity; a land of great strategic importance that for years served as a theater of cold-war US-Soviet rivalry; and an opportunistic president whose manipulation of elections and suppression of dissent is well known in Washington. Read more.
Featured Video: US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice reports on the Obama administration's first year at the United Nations
Courtesy of the US Mission to the UN
Advocacy News Action Alert: Ask President Obama for a US Policy on the International Criminal Court
This spring, the US will attend the ICC Review Conference, a unique and important opportunity to further a relationship of cooperation with the Court. However, without an official policy towards the ICC, there is a real danger the US could jeopardize this opportunity. The US delegation must have clear instructions based on an official US policy in order to participate effectively. Tell President Obama that time is running out! Take action now!
U.S.-UN Funding Update: President Submits FY 2011 Budget Request to Congress
This week, the Obama Administration submitted its FY 2011 budget to Congress, requesting $3.8 trillion in funding, including a total of $3.78 billion for U.S. dues to nearly fifty international organizations and UN peacekeeping. The budget request for both U.S. assessed and voluntary contributions to the UN and other international organizations represents a slight reduction from FY 2010 levels, while the request for UN peacekeeping dues is slightly higher.Read more.
Members in the Media
UNA-USA members from across the country are actively engaging others in discussion about the UN by writing opinion pieces and letters to the editor for their local newspapers and publications. Recent letters to the editor cover UN efforts in Haiti, US-UN funding and other subjects. Also included are tips on how to write opinion letters and letters to the editor, work with the media, and find your local media outlets. Read more.
News and Notes
This UN warehouse, containing food and medicine, was damaged during Israel’s offensive in Gaza from December 2008 to January 2009. UN Photo |
Israel Pays UN $10.5 Million for Gaza
By Amanda Vance
Despite disagreements between Israel and the United Nations since the publication of the Goldstone report on Israel’s offensive in Gaza that began in late 2008, Israel has agreed to pay the organization $10.5 million for damages to its facilities during the assault. Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s military strike against Hamas, which rules Gaza, lasted three weeks, from December 2008 to January 2009. Read more.
Nechama Tec, center, a Holocaust survivor, speaks at the UN’s concert event in observance of the International Day in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. UN Photo/Mark Garten |
Hope, the One Thing You Can’t Live Without
By Dulcie Leimbach
Survivors,
Nechama Tec told the audience filling the hundreds of seats in the
General Assembly Hall last Wednesday, succeed only through the help of
others. No one, this woman of white hair and poise repeated several
times, survives alone. Read more.
In the Field:
The United Nations Association
of the USA
UN Information Officer Dan Shepard, right; and Aaron Etra, treasurer, NGO Committee on Sustainable Development. Denise De Marco /UNA-USA |
The Copenhagen Accord on Climate, Inching Onward By Denise De Marco
Although no legally binding agreement was reached at the UN Copenhagen Climate Summit in December 2009, the dialogue on moving forward with an accord, brokered by President Barack Obama at the last minute in Denmark, continues to be thrashed out. Read more.
Rescuing Haiti: The US and UN at Their Best
As a former director of the World Health Organization, Anthony Piel knows how humanitarian relief efforts work. Piel, who is also a UNA-USA member in Sharon, Conn., recently published an op-ed on emergency aid to Haiti in a local paper, The Lakeville Journal. Here is his essay in full. Read more.
At the summer study program in 2009, Vladimir Safronkov of Russia, Courtney Smith of Seton Hall and Ayca Ariyoruk of UNA-USA. Joe Penney/UNA-USA. |
UNA-USA’s Summer Program Returns to the UN
The UN Intensive Summer Study Program will be offered from Monday, July 26, to Friday, July 30, 2010, by the John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University and UNA-USA. Designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, the program immerses participants in the political dynamics of the UN. Read more.
View the Complete UNA-USA Calendar
UNA-USA's Grassroots Voices
The United Nations Association of the USA recently launched Grassroots Voices, a new undertaking within its E-Newsletter, to promote cross-chapter dialogue and foster effective civic participation.
The feature serves as a tool for UNA members to voice their opinions on a wide range of issues that concern US foreign policy and the United Nations. Through Grassroots Voices, UNA-USA aims to stimulate new ideas to advance public debate on ways the US and the world can cooperate to address global problems.
Submissions are judged on writing quality, clarity, supporting materials and how well contributors meet the criteria outlined in the authors' guide, available below. Submissions will be accepted on a rolling basis and edited at the discretion of UNA-USA. Please read the author's guide for all the details.
To respond to writers in Grassroots Voices, please e-mail your letters, of no more than 150 words, to Roger Nokes, Coordinator of Chapter Relations, rnokes@unausa.org, with your name, address and phone number included. Letters may be selected for publication in future Grassroots Voices but may be edited for space constraints.
The views expressed in this E-Newsletter do not necessarily represent those of the United Nations Association of the USA | February - July
"UNA-USA Membership Drive"
For the next five months,UNA's chapters and divisions and individual members are invited to create personal membership-drive Web pages to track their membership recruitment efforts. Then, on July 1, UNA will tally the results and offer our top participants exclusive membership benefits.The rewards and incentives range from recognition in UNA-USA publications to $500 chapter development grants. Clickherefor a full list of rewards and incentives. For more information on the drive and membership resources(like talking points, fact sheets and brochures on the UN), please click here.
To create your personal log-in, set up an individual or team page, and start recruiting members today, click here.
Feb. 4
“Why the Numbers Continue to Rise: Cancer Today,” a DPI/NGO briefing event to mark World Cancer Day; Conference Room 6, UN Headquarters, New York; 10:15 a.m. to noon. Information: www.un.org/dpi/ngosection or 212-963-7233.
Feb. 10
“Education Under Attack: A Call to Action,” an event presented by Unesco, featuring a keynote address by Radhika Coomaraswamy, UN special representative of the secretary-general for children and armed conflict; 10 a.m. to noon, Conference Room 5, North Lawn Building. To register, e-mail m.freeouf@unesco.org or call 212-963-5985.
Feb. 10
“Worldly Perspectives With Clyde Haberman,” a series featuring the New York Times columnist interviewing David Rohde, a Times reporter held captive in Afghanistan for more than seven months and escaped last year. Center for Global Affairs, New York University; 6:30 to 7:45 p.m., 15 Barclay Street, 4th floor. Free with registration: 212-992-8380 or scps.nyu.edu/cga.events.
Feb. 11
“The Year Ahead in US-UN Relations,” an event presented by UNA-USA’s Council of Organizations, featuring Minh-Thu Pam, director of public policy, Better World Campaign. At UNA-USA, 801 Second Avenue, 2nd floor; 1:15 to 2:30 p.m. To register, e-mail Jessica Hartl at jhartl@unausa.org or call 202-462-3446, ext. 12.
Feb. 19
“A Year of Crisis: Opportunities for the Change,” presented by the UNA-USA Members’ Day and Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference; speakers include Ban Ki-moon, secretary-general of the UN, and Tom Miller, president of UNA-USA. Topics: Afghanistan, global economy, disarmament; 9:30 to 4:30 at UN Headquarters, New York. To register and for more information, click here.
Feb. 27
“2010: Global Classrooms/New York City Model UN Conference,” hosted by UNA-USA. Speakers to include Ambassador Thomas J. Miller, president of UNA-USA; Dr. Robert E. Paaswell, president of the City College of New York; and Josh S. Weston, UNA board member and former chairman of Automatic Data Processing. At the City College of New York, Shepard Hall, 9 to 9:45 a.m. For more information, e-mail jwilliams@unausa.org.
March 22-26
UN Habitat’s annual World Urban Forum, covering the future and growth of cities, with experts from urban planning, sustainable architecture, information technology, economic development, US government, NGOs and others. Rio de Janeiro; for more information, go to unhabitat.org/wuf. Businesses that are interested can contact the Western Hemisphere Affairs, US State Department: SmithHJ@state.gov.
Write to Us
We'd like to hear your thoughts on current world events, US-UN relations and the UN at work.
Email us at publications@unausa.org or write to the editor:
Dulcie Leimbach
dleimbach@unausa.org
International Day Observances :
February 6
International Day against Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting
March 8
International Women's Day
March 21
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
March 22
World Day for Water
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