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As the UN finally Admits Role in Haiti Cholera Outbreak – Here is How Victims Must be Compensated
Rosa Freedman, University of Reading and Nicolas Lemay-Hébert, University of Birmingham The United Nations has, at long last, accepted some responsibility that it played a part in a cholera epidemic that broke out in Haiti in 2010 and has since killed at least 9,200 people and infected nearly a million people. This is the first…
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What Are the UN Global Goals?
Asghar Zaidi, University of Southampton At the end of one of the largest summits at the United Nations headquarters in New York, government representatives from all over the world will sign a commitment to new global development goals. These will replace the millennium development goals, setting objectives for bringing peace and prosperity, and reducing the…
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An Update on the Sustainable Development Goals + Key Dates
Today the United Nations released their final assessment (PDF) on the eight Millennium Development Goals that were adopted fifteen years ago. Some of the goals have achieved greater global impact than others. However, the fact remains that more people are not living in poverty, less mothers and infants are losing their lives during childbirth, more people…
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Featured Photo: South Sudan Police Officers Complete Sensitization Workshop
A ceremony was held at Central Equatoria Police Headquarters in Juba, South Sudan, to mark the completion of a sensitization workshop for 38 members of the South Sudan National Police Service (SSNPS), which is also known as South Sudan Police Service (SSPS). The workshop in Confidence and Trust Building Policing Strategy was conducted with support…
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International Day Against Sexual Violence in Conflict
Rape has always been used as a weapon of war and women and girls are typically the victims of these heinous crimes. To bring more awareness to sexual violence during conflict the United Nations General Assembly created the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict that will be commemorated on June 19…
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Featured Photo: Back to School Campaign in Sudan
UN Photo/JC McIlwaine
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Report – UN Peacekeepers Engage in Sex Exploitation in Haiti
While visiting Haiti you will see that the United Nations’ presence is palpable across the country especially in the capital Port-au-Prince where the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) is housed. During rush hour it is not uncommon to see countless UN vehicles with peacekeepers and leaders in berets (mostly men) among the many motos and cars…
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Expert Panel Draws Up International Code in Response to Reported Peacekeeper Sexual Abuse
An international expert panel of leaders convened today in New York City to launch the Code Blue campaign demanding an end to sexual abuses by UN peacekeeping forces and the automatic immunity they are afforded when abuses occur. In recent weeks a scathing, formerly classified, report: Sexual Abuse on Children by International Armed Forces, was leaked…
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The Next #HeForShe Initiative Launches in Davos
Last September Emma Watson, UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador, helped launch the UN Women’s #HeForShe global campaign that calls upon men and boys to stand up against gender discrimination and to help women gain parity economically, politically, and socially through everyday actions and a commitment to change. Now Watson is in Davos, Switzerland at the annual World Economic Forum…
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Has the Global Community Failed the Central African Republic?
A view of internally displaced children at the main mosque in Bangui during the Secretary-General’s visit. It comes as no surprise that many in the international community are now admitting that the Central African Republic, which many believe now rests on the brink of genocide, has been failed entirely. For one, sectarian fighting and ethnic cleansing…
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An Update on Central African Republic’s Growing Violence, Humanitarian Response
Since I last wrote about the growing violence in the Central African Republic, things have made a marked turn for the worse. Even with a reported 7600 French (1600) and African Union (6000) troops on the ground and with United States’ air support inter-religious violence between Muslims and Christians has escalated into all-out militia and…
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Today Marks World Humanitarian Day
Today, and for a full month, the world will remember the humanitarians and aid workers who work tirelessly around the globe to better the lives of others. Being an aid worker is often a thankless job and a dangerous one to boot. Today marks a day to solemnly remember all of those who have given…
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Somalia: A Country in Flux
Photo: Ramadan in Somalia: Men pray at a mosque in Mogadishu, Somalia, during the holy month of Ramadan. UN Photo/Ilyas A Abukar Even though there was much fanfare and optimism coming out of Somalia a year ago as a new government was put in place and a new constitution was ushered in , the Horn of Africa country…
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Push the Envelope for International Youth Day
To celebrate International Youth Day today, join Catapult.org, the leading crowdfunding site for girls’ and women’s issues, and fund a program that will specifically help girls in developing countries. Projects can be funded quickly and simply on Catapult. OXFAM: Provide education for 6,000 girls in Pakistan’s flooded regions by flood-proofing 30 schools and campaigning for the right of…
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Unicef USA’s Children With Disabilities Webinar
On Thursday, August 1, Unicef USA conducted a webinar with Cara E. Yar Khan, UNICEF Haiti Disability Focal Point and Mark Engman is currently the Director of Public Policy and Advocacy for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. From UNICEF The issue of disability is not new to UNICEF, however the agency has moved from just…
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Somalia Celebrates 53rd Independence Day
While we celebrated our Independence Day here in the United States today, Somalia — a country that is currently undergoing a transition to a more stable government — celebrated its Independence on July 1st, 53 years after achieving freedom from British and Italian colonial rule. A colorful celebration took place at Konis Stadium in Mogadishu…
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World Food Programme Releases First Logistics Report
When you think of the logistics of humanitarian aid there is no better United Nations agency in the world that documents, shares, and reports on the remarkable work they do than the World Food Programme (WFP). With a separate department devoted entirely to logistics, the WFP shares multiple ways in which they deliver food aid…
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Recognizing the World’s Refugees
Today is World Refugee Day, a day created by the United Nations in 2000 to bring awareness to the more than 45 million people who have been displaced internally or across borders from their homes forcibly. Based on numbers released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees a person becomes a refugee, loses everything…
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A Compelling Case for a Justice Development Goal
Last Friday we participated in the UN Foundation’s digital rally toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). We helped mark the 1000-day countdown to the MDGs and now that they are squarely in sight, there is much to do to ensure the goals are achieved. In reality, some won’t be met by the 2015 deadline and…