13 October|
Joel Charny
Somalia may be the most difficult place to provide aid in the world. The needs are tremendous after years of conflict and drought. The central government controls a few square blocks of the capital and is under threat from an Islamist insurgency that includes both local and foreign elements. Infrastructure is badly degraded. In such a resource poor environment, aid itself has a value out of proportion to its actual cost.
5 October|
Kristele Younes
ISLAMABAD -- The mandate of the UN World Food Program (WFP) is to feed
the hungry and the poor. It is an agency which only has one purpose ---
to help the needy. That did not protect its staff from the wrath of
Pakistani militants, one of whom blew himself up today in the offices
of the WFP in Islamabad. The casualties will be far greater than those
killed or injured by the blast. This attack will impact the future of
the UN in Pakistan. It will also affect millions of Pakistanis who
depend on the WFP assistance to survive.
2 October|
May Al-Barzinji
Violence. It comes in many forms. Some of the most brutal and damaging forms of violence are those that are committed against women. Rape, female genital mutilation, forced marriages, domestic violence, honor killings... the list is endless. These actions do not just hurt the women, or their families and communities, but global society at large. How long will we continue to accept the fact that at least one in every three women worldwide will have been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime?
30 September|
Sean Garcia
Earlier today the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific held a hearing on US policy towards Burma. The hearing was held in the interest of exploring options for dialogue and engagement with the government of Burma, and was long-overdue in a Washington policy context that has been dominated by debate over sanctions. Today’s hearing will be followed up next week by a similar hearing in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and also echoes the recently-released State Department Burma policy review which makes engagement the policy of the day.
