I’m helping out at the annual NGO conference organized by the UN’s Department of Public Information every September at UN headquarters. This year is particularly important as its the five year review of the Millennium Summit and the Millennium Development Goals agreed to by governments in 2000. Right now I’m squatting in the lobby between…
Cuba – Not for the Timid or the Teetotaler
It's around midnight somewhere in Havana. There's a pop! sound and our peso taxi lurches to a halt on the side of the freeway, listing from a rear flat tire. As the driver struggles to fix it, Cindy and two Cuban strangers riding with us start to dance in the dark to the salsa music…
President appoints Jerkwad Bolton as UN Ambassador
This just in…. as anticipated, President Bush today appointed Mr. John Bolton, a rabid unilateralist, to be the new US Ambassador to the United Nations. Despite serious questions about Mr. Bolton’s ability to serve in this post, from both sides of the congressional aisle, and unwillingness of the Congress to vote on the issue, Bush…
SOHO Sweatshops?
Cindy and I just went to see the interesting tour at the New York Tenement Museum called “Piecing It Together: Immigrants in the Garment Industry,” which details the lives of a couple of families around the turn of the century who ran little factories in their homes. It makes me wonder how this compares with…
My thoughts on the Internet Governance report
The Working Group on Internet Governance released their final report a couple of days ago, which will be formally presented tomorrow at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. I have had a brief look at it, and in general like what it says. The fact that civil society had such a strong presence among the…
Thoughts on Security
I am staying with my friends Cecilia and Peter in the outskirts of Geneva, where they have a lovely home they share with their two young children and Peter’s parents upstairs. I arrived yesterday afternoon somewhat surprised to find the front door completely ajar. I cautiously peeked in the house and announced my presence. No…
London’s stiff upper lip
The terrorist attacks on London were a horrible way to start the day yesterday, with four seperate bombs killing around 40 people and injuring hundreds. Like many people, I sent off frantic emails to friends and colleagues in the area. The cell phone systems were quickly shut down for emergency service use only, which meant…
Bringing both emotions and proposals to the table
I wanted to recount what was for me the highlight of the GA Hearings with Civil Society that captured the value of having these kinds of gatherings. It was on the second day of the hearings, June 23, at the session on peace and security issues, when an activist from the Philippines began speaking on…
The GA hearings are over… were we heard?
This past Thursday and Friday were the much anticipated “informal interactive” hearings of the UN General Assembly with civil society. Many of us NGO reps in New York have been actively preparing for these hearings for the past year. I had an interesting perspective on the hearings as one of the rapporteurs of the sessions….
“Voices of the UN”: where UN bashers and whistleblowers meet
Someone has gone and stolen my idea. Some folks have created a website called “Voices of the UN” for workers at the United Nations to express themselves anonymously on how the organization is doing. While I am intrigued by the idea, I have to wonder if there are real dangers in creating a central repository…