TresSugar

UN Drafts Controversial Sex Ed Guidelines

TresSugar — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:00:00 -0700

Is it possible to have an international standard for sexual education? The United Nations thinks so. The new global sex ed guidelines, to be handed out to education ministries, school systems, and teachers, are designed to help reduce the number of HIV and STD infections around the world, but some find them to be too explicit or culturally insensitive.

Religious groups, primarily based in the US, object to the following guidelines: recommending a discussion of homosexuality, presenting abstinence as only one option available to young people, and suggesting a discussion about masturbation with children as young as 5-years-old.

The UN's global coordinator for HIV and AIDS has a response for the critics. He said: "In the absence of a vaccine for AIDS, education is the only vaccine we have." If they might save lives, it seems that the guidelines are worth a shot, even if one size doesn't fit all.

Angelina Jolie Urges the UN to Act on Darfur

TresSugar — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Darfur has almost disappeared from the news, and experts now call it a "low intensity" conflict. But the intensity of the crisis has not lessened for those who are struggling to survive. . . . Thirty percent of those displaced are school-age children. Girls leaving the [refugee] camps are raped; boys leaving the camps are killed. They want an education; they want to go back to their villages, to their land; they want peace. But they also want justice.

In an op-ed on Time.com today, Angelina Jolie attempts to lend some publicity to the crisis in Darfur. Today, the United Nations Security Council will look into the case against Sudanese President Omar al Bashir, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Bashir has been accused of taking out his inability to defeat rebels on the civilian population by subjecting it to rape, hunger, and fear. Angelina hopes the UN will act on this indictment and end the suffering in Darfur.

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Displaced: Pakistani Girls Await Their Meals in Refugee Camp

TresSugar — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:00:00 -0700

Pakistani girls watch through a hole in the kitchen tent to see when the food will be ready at the Jalozai refugee camp outside Peshawar, Pakistan. According to the UN, approximately three million people have been displaced inside Pakistan as a result of ongoing fighting and military operations against the Taliban.

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Afghanistan Legalizes Rape but Only Sometimes

CitizenSugar — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:00:50 -0700

The UN is in an uproar after Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, hastily signed a law that legalizes rape. But, you know, only between husband and wife.

The bill, according to UN papers, says there's no need for sexual consent between married couples; approves child marriage implicitly; and, in a throwback to Taliban days, restricts a woman's right to leave her home. If you think that's bad, look at the specifics. UN papers, which London's Independent has seen, said:

Article 132 requires women to obey their husband's sexual demands and stipulates that a man can expect to have sex with his wife at least "once every four nights" when travelling, unless they are ill. The law also gives men preferential inheritance rights, easier access to divorce, and priority in court.

I bet you anything "ill" means "has period."

Why erode women's rights now? Election time! Critics say President Karzai rushed the bill through parliament to butter up fundamentalists before September elections. One senator said the bill was never even read in parliament's Upper House much less debated. Hmm. Good thing women (and girls over 12?!) have the right to vote!

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UN Chief Tours "Alarming" Destruction in Gaza

CitizenSugar — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:01:43 -0800

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon became the highest ranking international leader to visit Gaza since violence broke out three weeks ago. Calling the destruction "shocking and alarming," the UN head said Israel had used excessive force in Gaza. But he didn't place all the blame on Israel explaining: "I view the rocket attacks into Israel as completely unacceptable. We need to restore basic respect for civilians."

While there putting international pressure on Israel and Hamas to maintain the ceasefire, Ban also took time to inspect damage caused by the Israeli bombing of the UN's headquarters in Gaza. Despite the mistaken bombing, Ban told Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that the UN would help rebuild Gaza after the violence, which killed 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israeli citizens.

What sort of role do you think the UN and the international community should have in ending violence in Gaza?

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Quiz Nation! Universal Declaration of Human Rights Turns 60

LibertySugar — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:30:55 -0800

Sixty years ago the United Nations General Assembly passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, an international guarantee of civic and political rights born out of the hardships and atrocities of World War II and the Great Depression. Since then, the document has been added to, ignored, or invoked in the name of freedoms. Take this quiz to find out what you know about the UDHR!

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Bush Touts Religious Freedom and US Record at UN

LibertySugar — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:30:35 -0800

Speaking at the UN Culture of Peace gathering, President Bush emphasized how religious freedom is crucial to a flourishing society. Bush maintained that freedom to worship as you want is "God's gift to every man, woman, and child."

Bush cited the US as an example of how to promote religious freedom:

Our nation has helped defend the religious liberty of others, from liberating the concentration camps of Europe to protecting Muslims in places like Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. We're not afraid to stand with religious dissidents and believers who practice their faith even where it is unwelcome.

At the meeting billed as an "interfaith" dialogue, the president of Pakistan also spoke out against hate speech, saying: "The imaginary fear of Islam has been rising. This is exactly what the terrorists had hoped to provoke. Those in the West who accept this are falling into the trap of the terrorists."

As this was most likely Bush's last appearance at the UN, do you think he went out with the right message?

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Guard the Nukes! Rate of Nuclear Thefts Disturbingly High

LibertySugar — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:00:45 -0700

Almost 250 thefts of nuclear or radioactive material were reported last year. The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency explained this week: “The possibility of terrorists obtaining nuclear or other radioactive material remains a grave threat. Equally troubling is the fact that much of this material is not subsequently recovered.”

Experts say health consequences of a dirty bomb are minimal compared to the panic that it would cause. But, there's no need to panic quite yet -all the material stolen last year combined would not be enough to build a device.

Last week, a new commission created by Australia and Japan to bring together officials from nuclear powers and other interested parties, met to discuss the spread of nuclear weapons since the Cold War. In 2009, the commission will meet again in Washington, DC to push for the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, a treaty that still awaits US ratification.

Hopefully, other crises like the financial or climate crises don't cause world leaders to take their eyes off this dangerous issue.

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Front Page: Strike Kills Taliban Leader, Protesters Attack UN in Congo, AIDS Treatment Should Start Sooner

CitizenSugar — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 07:00:26 -0700

Strike Kills Taliban Leader:
An missile strike thought to be from the US has killed 20, including a top Taliban commander in Pakistan. Mohammed Omar was killed when the missile, fired from a pilotless drone, hit his compound in South Waziristan. Omar fought with the Taliban in the late 1990s. The US has launched an increasing number of missile strikes from Afghanistan against suspected militants.

Protesters Attack UN in Congo:
Thousands of protesters attacked the UN headquarters in eastern Congo today rallying against the UN peacekeeping force that has been unable to protect residents from rebel attacks that have forced tens of thousands to flee. Thousands of refugees continued to flee as protesters threw rocks at the UN compound.

AIDS Treatment Should Start Sooner:
A new study recommends that people who have the AIDS virus should start treatment sooner than current guidelines suggest. Delaying treatment until the immune system is badly damaged almost doubles the risk of dying in the next few years. There was a 70 percent improvement in patients who started therapy early. Approximately 56,000 Americans are infected with HIV every year.

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Humanitarian Aid Workers Face Growing Dangers

CitizenSugar — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:30:58 -0700

The UN has been doing everything to help the planet from warning about meat consumption to turning down their own thermostat, but there's one global danger that's harder to fix: serious threats to aid workers.

Gayle Williams, a British and South African aid worker stationed in Afghanistan, was recently murdered by Taliban soldiers illuminating this growing tragedy. Growing numbers of people who dedicate themselves to assisting those living in impoverished nations are becoming victims of fatal attacks.

In the year from July 2007 to 2008, 63 aid workers were killed. Eighteen in Somalia, 17 in Afghanistan, 14 in Sudan, six in Pakistan, and four in Chad. Since June, those numbers have increased. Recently 17 were killed in one bomb attack in Algeria. Although in some countries, the murder of aid workers falls along ideological lines, such as the Taliban murdering for what they believe are religious reasons (Aid workers are there solely for humanitarian purposes and not to promote religious ideology). While in other nations, they are murdered simply for their possessions, as a result of unchecked banditry.

To see some of the reasons behind it, and what one aid worker has to say, read more.

While the latter reason is the result of general lawlessness, in countries like Afghanistan that are going through a political transformation, the reasons fall much more along religious lines. The United Nations under secretary general for humanitarian affairs said, “This is not the result of people being caught up in a conflict or in crossfire, these are people being targeted deliberately because they are humanitarian workers and that is frankly outrageous and unacceptable and makes it extremely difficult to continue our work.”

Aid workers have shared their thoughts about their work in danger. One says:

There are lots of incidents that happen that never make the press. This latest killing, however, I think has shown how dangerous it can be working here. I think it's the sort of the incident that if you're wavering about coming to Kabul in the first place it might possibly change your mind. But personally I always think that these are the sorts of the risks that you take when you believe in a place.

That sounds like the definition of bravery to me.

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