political nonsense

At the United Nations, a top diplomat is warning international efforts are failing to quell increasing violence in Sudan’s south and western Darfur region. UN Special Representative to the Sudan Jan Pronk:

“The ceasefire agreement is violated day after day. Both parties know that these violations will be noted down but neither discussed nor addressed let alone sanctioned. The ceasefire does not function, the joint committee does not meet. The sanctions foreseen with the Security Council panel of experts exist only in theory.”

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Iran ended snap U.N. checks of its nuclear sites and said it was resuming uranium enrichment, a day after being reported to the Security Council over suspicions it is building nuclear weapons.
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An atlas of environmental change compiled by the United Nations released to mark World Environment Day reveals some of the dramatic transformations that are occurring to our planet. Among the transformations highlighted in the atlas are the huge growth of greenhouses in southern Spain, the rapid rise of shrimp farming in Asia and Latin America and the emergence of a giant, shadow puppet-shaped peninsula at the mouth of the Yellow River that has built up through transportation of sediment in the waters. The effects of retreating glaciers on mountains and in polar regions, deforestation in South America and forest fires across sub-Saharan Africa are also shown in the atlas.

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The U.N. Security Council asked the International Criminal Court to investigate atrocities in Sudan. This is the world’s first permanent and independent criminal court for judging war crimes, which formed despite US opposition three years ago. Darfur will put the court to its first major test.

Some diplomats say the UN assigned this case to the court because it would allow the Security Council to postpone direct intervention and nonetheless appear to be taking action.

The US has forced out a top human rights investigator at the United Nations just days after he released a report criticizing the US for committing human rights abuses in Afghanistan. The UN eliminated Cherif Bassiouni’s job last week after Washington had pressed for his mandate to be changed so that it would no longer cover the US military.
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A United Nations human rights monitor has accused American military forces and contractors in Afghanistan of acting above the law “by engaging in arbitrary arrests and detentions and committing abusive practices, including torture.” In a report released Thursday, the Afghan police and security forces were also criticized for similar actions.

The United Nations released a video game called “Food Force” that lets players pretend they are feeding the starving.

The United Nations Security Council has voted unanimously to authorize a 10,000-strong peacekeeping force for the south of the country. The official mission of the peacekeepers will be to monitor the agreement signed between the government and southern rebels.
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The United Nations estimated 180,000 people have died in Darfur since 2003.

Dr Les Roberts, who led the study, said: “Making conservative assumptions we think that about 100,000 excess deaths, or more, have happened since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

iraq
sudan

President Bush on Monday chose John R. Bolton, a blunt-spoken conservative known for his sharp skepticism of the United Nations and international diplomacy, as the new American ambassador to the world organization…Mr. Bolton had been scathing in his criticism of the United Nations.

Kerry, the unsuccessful 2004 presidential candidate, said Bolton’s nomination “carries with it baggage we cannot afford.”…Even within the Bush administration, some said they were surprised that Mr. Bolton, who only last fall angered a room full of diplomats when he spoke disdainfully of the European effort to negotiate with Iran, was picked for such a sensitive job…During a particularly sensitive moment in talks with North Korea in August 2003, he described Kim Jong Il, the North’s leader, as a “tyrannical dictator” of a place where “life is a hellish nightmare.” North Korea then labeled him “human scum” that it would refuse to deal with…

Mindful that he, like the president, has sometimes questioned the relevance of the United Nations, Bolton said, “Working closely with others is essential to ensure a safer world.”

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