Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS – Nationwide elections in Iraq, scheduled to take place before the end of January 2005, are now jeopardized by two powerful UN staff unions demanding that no UN employees be sent to the violence-ridden country. "Just one staff member is one staff member too many in Iraq," say the Federation of International Civil … Continue reading “UN Unions Want Workers Out of Iraq”

UNITED NATIONS – The UN’s annual arms register, created about 12 years ago to ensure military transparency among member states, continues to be shunned by some of the world’s biggest arms buyers in the Middle East and by key arms exporters such as China. Of the 191 member states only 60 countries have consistently participated … Continue reading “Mideast Arms Buyers Shun UN Register”

UNITED NATIONS – Having been cold-shouldered by the international community for more than a decade over its claims for a permanent seat on the 15-member UN Security Council, Japan is expected to launch an aggressive campaign to re-ignite its long-standing demand for an expansion of the Organization’s most powerful political body. "The composition of the … Continue reading “Japan to Re-Launch Security Council Bid”

UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations is reluctant to impose punitive economic sanctions on Sudan – accused of genocide in the politically troubled province of Darfur – because embargoes have a relatively poor track record, according to senior UN officials and diplomats. "If the Security Council wants to punish Sudan," says one Third World diplomat, … Continue reading “UN Reluctant to Push Sanctions for Sudan”

UNITED NATIONS – The escalating violence in Iraq – with over 50 civilians killed in Tuesday’s terrorist attacks in Baghdad – is dissuading the United Nations from going back to the war-ravaged country, according to a senior UN official. Briefing the Security Council for the first time since his appointment last month as the UN’s … Continue reading “Rising Violence Deters UN Presence in Iraq”

UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations, which was forced to withdraw its international staff from Iraq last year because of growing violence, is weighing the possibility of downsizing its humanitarian operations in Afghanistan following the weekend destruction of four of its offices in the war-ravaged country. The agency worst hit by the looting and destruction … Continue reading “Under Attack in Afghanistan, UN Weighs Options”

UNITED NATIONS – As the United Nations gets ready for the opening of the 59th session of the General Assembly next week, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has asked the 191 member states to provide more than 30,000 troops for an anticipated surge in demand for peacekeeping operations in the world’s battle zones. "The number and scope … Continue reading “UN Chief Seeks 30,000 More Troops for Peacekeeping”

UNITED NATIONS – As the 53-member African Union (AU) prepares to bolster its peacekeeping force in Sudan tenfold, UN chief Kofi Annan is appealing for funds, equipment and other support to sustain the body mandated to stem the rising number of atrocities and killings in violence-prone Darfur province. But senior UN officials and representatives of … Continue reading “UN Tries to Drag World Into Darfur”

Fear of being linked to U.S.-backed regimes that lack authority has inhibited potential recruits in violence-prone Iraq and Afghanistan from heeding calls to join nascent or rebuilding national armies, say U.S. academics and political and military analysts. "The challenge of creating national armies in both countries is fundamentally linked to the challenge of legitimacy for … Continue reading “US-Backed Armies Firing Blanks”

UNITED NATIONS – With battle-scarred Iraq in shambles, the United States is now trying to showcase war-ravaged Afghanistan as a potentially vibrant multi-party democracy on the road to political success, say UN diplomats and Afghan experts. "[U.S. President George W.] Bush desperately needs an international success story for his reelection in November," a South Asian … Continue reading “Credibility of Afghan Vote Threatened by Violence, Fraud”