Endgame in the Slaughter Coast

Finally, after heartbreaking news from mass murder of more than 1,000 people in Ivory Coast, we have got some good news on UN and French troops humanitarian intervention in that country. According to BBC, the UN has said that three generals loyal to Ivory Coast's besieged President Laurent Gbagbo are negotiating terms for surrender in return for guarantees of safety for him and themselves.

Also, for the past days, thousands of people crossed the border to take refuge in Liberia. In meantime, the The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, has warned that the dispute in Ivory Coast could destabilize adjacent Liberia.

Obama has also issued a sternly worded statement for Ivory Coast's besieged former President Laurent Gbabgo, saying: "To end this violence and prevent more bloodshed, former President Gbagbo must stand down immediately."

Humanitarian Intervention in the Slaughter Coast

The humanitarian intervention of Western power commits a double standard if they do not intervene in Ivory Coast to stop the massacre. People believe that the Western intervention on Libya is based on some benefits rather than a humanitarian intervention.

In Ivory Coast, there is a massacre going on right now where 200 UN peacekeepers are not capable of preventing a mass murder. According to aid agencies, at least 1,000 people have been killed in an act of mass murder by forces loyal to President-elect Alassane Quattara.

The news came out just a few weeks after NATO’s intervention in the war in Libya. One would ask why do NATO allies not intervene in Ivory Coast to stop the massacre? Well, let’s see what will happen in the next few days. French troops have already taken control of the airport in the commercial capital Abeidjan as the fighting continues in the country.

The answer to the aforementioned question is quiet clear. The countries involved in Libya’s war are taking aim to protect international commerce, mainly oil. As unrest in Libya continues, oil prices rose to their highest point since 2008. This is the biggest concern of those countries that benefit from Libya’s oil. In Ivory Coast nothing is significantly important, at least not in terms of economic or strategic value.

Geographically, Ivory Coast is located in West Africa. Ivory Coast is considered one of the biggest cocoa and coffee producers in the world. The country has a potential of an economic take off, but until the political crisis is resolved, international investors would not dare to invest in the country.

At the UN Week Digital Media Lounge

I spent two days last week in New York, having been invivted by Oxfam to cover the events of UN Week, and the Summit on the Millennium Development Goals. These were the final two days, and they were packed full with many great events happening Here I highlight just a few of the many inspirational, informative, and occasionally troubling events that highlighted UN Week Digital Media Lounge.

Thursday morning kicked off with an Oxfam breakfast disccussion about the Pakistani flood, which is affecting more people than the Tsunami of 2004, the Earthquake in Haiti, or Hurricane Katrina. The guest speaker was Dr. Donya Aziz, Pakistan’s youngest MP, and a long term advocate for health, education and womens empowerment in Pakistan. The program was moderated by Øistein Moskvil Thorsen, a humanitarian campaigner for the Oxfam. While by now it is common knowledge among international humanitarians that

The discussion focussd on the continuing effects of the flood. While it has been more than a month since the flood began, 430 people have been killed, more than 20 million people have been affected, thousands of whom remain in desperate need of aid, Dr. Aziz highlighted important aspects of catastrophe that rarely heard from conventional media. For example, a massive amount of crops were destroyed in the flood, which occurred soon before the seasonal harvast, so one of the lingering effects of the flood will be a massive food shortage and the economic impact of food shock.

While Dr. Aziz was talking about the flood and its devastation in Pakistan, USAID Administrator Dr. Raj Shah took part in a discussion moderated by Sen. Tim Wirth, Presidentof the UN Foundation. Though USAID has made major contributions o humanitarian aid relief in Pakistan, Shah took the opportunity to discuss a different issue, he Obama Administration’s domestic and international economic development. He made special mention of public-private partnerships, and the importance of bringing in businesses to invest more in global health problems. As an example, he invoked the work of Coca-Cola and their announcement to empower five million female entrepreneurs by 2020. Shah also spoke of “mutual accountability” as the fundamental driver of how USAID wants to operate.

The week also included the annual reveal of the top ten CNN Heroes of 2010. This is an annual television special created by CNN to honor individuals making extraordinary contributions to helping others. This year’s panel of judges included Muhammad Ali the former champion boxer.

The UN Week Digital Media Lounge was presented by Mashable, 92Y and the UN Foundation. The summit consisted of a week’s worth of activities revolving around how social media can be used to tackle some of the world’s social challenges and issues.

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On January 28, 2010, during the London Conference on Afghanistan—which was intended to focus on security issues—President Hamid Karzai presented a list of top Taliban figures who are on the UN’s black list. For the last few years, Karzai has been pleading with the UN and the US to remove these Taliban leaders' names from the list in order to pave the way for negotiations. Karzai's position has led to widespread criticism from civil society and human rights organizations inside Afghanistan, and has raised concern globally. Continue reading...

It is time to listen to the Afghan people

A few hours before the start of the Afghanistan summit in London on January 28^th five former senior members of the Taliban who occupied key positions in the Taliban government between 1996 and 2001, were removed from the UN blacklist. This move spurred widespread criticism inside Afghanistan that was barely acknowledged in the western media. Prior to the London conference, several Afghan civil society organizations and intellectuals protested against the action. They warned that by removing the names from the list, they were effectively forgiving them for their crimes. Continue reading...