In The News

Kofi Annan Presents Comprehensive Agenda for Reforming the UN

Kofi Annan March 21, 2005
Following the huge row over the Iraq war and the embarrassing oil-for-food scandal, critics and supporters of the United Nations agree that the body is in dire need of reform. Without reform, both sides fear, the UN risks sliding into irrelevance. UN secretary-general Kofi Annan addressed those concerns today, introducing plans for the most sweeping reforms of the UN since its founding in 1945....

A Global Strategy for Fighting Terrorism

Kofi A. Annan March 15, 2005
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan proposes a series of five strategies to fight global terror in this article, which is adapted from a public address in Madrid, Spain. The "five D's" include "dissuading" discontented groups from engaging in terrorist tactics; "denying" terrorists the weapons of attack, including nuclear arsenal; "deterring" states from...

A World Without the UN?

Ernesto Zedillo March 14, 2005
Critics of the United Nations point to its failure to intervene in humanitarian crises and to maintain global peace and security. Some claim that the organization has reached its expiration date, that the world no longer needs such an impotent governing body. Yet despite the significant changes in world politics in the last 60 years, collective action among nations is still necessary to assure...

US Says It Has Withdrawn from World Judicial Body

Adam Liptak March 10, 2005
The US administration has angered many countries in its lack of deference to international institutions, particularly the United Nations. Most recently, a US State Department announcement essentially revoked International Court of Justice jurisdiction to review disputes within US courts. Washington's withdrawal from this optional protocol, part of the Vienna Convention on Consular...

Tsunami's Legacy Includes Airborne Toxins

Ochieng' Ogodo March 3, 2005
A recently released United Nations report details the environmental consequences of the South Asian tsunami. Sewage, asbestos, and oil have contaminated groundwater throughout the region. The ecological disaster has spread to Somalia, whose coastline has long been used as a dumping ground for hazardous waste by other nations. Evidence now shows that the tsunami stirred up this nuclear waste,...

The Problem Is the Extended Presidency

Chibli Mallat March 2, 2005
The Lebanese people launched a democratic revolution this week, as the sheer weight of street protests brought about the resignation of Prime Minister Omar Karami – thus toppling the Syrian-backed government. Protesters are now calling for a complete withdrawal of Syrian occupying forces and democratic parliamentary elections. However, according to this Daily Star commentary, these changes must...

Leveraging the Dragon: Toward "An Africa That Can Say No"

Chris Alden March 1, 2005
China is extending its economic influence to every corner of the world, and natural-resource-rich Africa is no exception. Between 2000 and 2003, China-Africa trade volume increased from US$10 billion to US$18 billion. However, some fear that this bilateral relationship is not built on equitable terms. According to economist Chris Alden, Africa's trade deficit with China has increased...