http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/unreform/ en-us Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:55:24 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2083168/posts Excerpt - UNITED NATIONS (AFP)--The U.N. General Assembly on Monday agreed to begin negotiations on expanding the membership of the powerful Security Council no later than next Feb. 28. After hours-long bargaining, the assembly adopted by consensus a resolution on Security Council enlargement on the last day of its 62nd session. ~ snip ~ It said the aim was to "garner the widest possible political acceptance by member states." ~ snip ~ During the transitional period, a number of configurations including a repartitioning of seats on a regional basis and the most delicate, the veto- wielding power of the five... Agence France-Presse (excerpt) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2083168/posts#comment Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:55:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2003221/posts Miami, FL (AHN) - At a speaking engagement in Florida, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev took issue with Sen. John McCain's call for a new "League of Democracies" and said any move that undermines the United Nations is a "mistake." "Great powers set an example to the world and must give a chance to the United Nations to develop a new global system," Gorbachev said. "We must not, instead of the United Nations, propose NATO or some kind of a coalition of democratic countries, as suggested by Sen. McCain. I think that to replace the U.N. with that kind of... allheadlinenews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2003221/posts#comment Fri, 18 Apr 2008 01:09:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1957781/posts The Prime Minister has called for a radical reform of international institutions ranging from the United Nations to the World Bank. In a speech to business leaders in the Indian capital New Delhi, Mr Brown said the UN Security Council should be expanded to include places for nations such as India, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should have a new "early warning" role to head off crises such as Northern Rock. He also said the World Bank should focus more on increasing clean energy and the environment. He said: "To succeed now, the post-war rules of the game and... Independent Television News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1957781/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jan 2008 20:03:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1866989/posts The UN is the chief world producer of political and geopolitical lies.I am from France, a country where the UN is popular, where people were genuinely relieved when they heard about the 2006 UN-brokered cease-fire in Lebanon, where, in fact, most people think that the UN and its Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, are the very embodiment of international law, order, and decency. Of course, there are some reservations even in France about the UN. The French think that the U.S. exerts too much influence there and deters it from being effective much of the time. The French think that the... Michel Gurfinkiel http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1866989/posts#comment Tue, 17 Jul 2007 02:54:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1846470/posts Publics around the world favor dramatic steps to strengthen the United Nations, including giving it the power to have its own standing peacekeeping force, to regulate the international arms trade and to investigate human rights abuses. Large majorities believe the United Nations Security Council should have the right to authorize military force to prevent nuclear proliferation, genocide and terrorism. However support is not as robust among the publics polled for accepting UN decisions that go against their countries’ preferences. These are some of the findings from a survey conducted by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs and WorldPublicOpinion.org, in cooperation... The Chicago Council on Global Affairs http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1846470/posts#comment Thu, 7 Jun 2007 16:18:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1830571/posts Axis of Soros May 9, 2007; Page A16 Mark Malloch Brown spoke Monday to a crowded auditorium at the World Bank's headquarters, warning that the bank's mission was "hugely at risk" as long as Paul Wolfowitz remained its president. Only hours earlier, news leaked that a special committee investigating Mr. Wolfowitz had accused him of violating conflict-of-interest rules. A coincidence? We doubt it. Mr. Malloch Brown, remember, was until last year Kofi Annan's deputy at the United Nations. In that position, he distinguished himself by spinning away the $100 billion Oil for Food scandal as little more than a blip... The Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1830571/posts#comment Wed, 9 May 2007 06:20:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1821369/posts JOHANNESBURG, April 18 (Reuters) - During apartheid rule in South Africa, the country's liberation movement used the United Nations as a key battleground to win support for its struggle for democracy and human rights. But these days, South Africa's U.N. diplomats find the issues are rarely so clear cut. Post-apartheid South Africa has found itself in the firing line after a string of U.N. votes in which critics say it supported dictatorship and repression in countries ranging from Zimbabwe to Myanmar. It has also raised Western hackles by wanting to drop sanctions against Iran in the dispute over Tehran's nuclear... reuters.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1821369/posts#comment Sat, 21 Apr 2007 22:07:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1793083/posts Surprisingly, the New Delhi meting of foreign ministers of India, China and Russia did not draw a wider notice. It could be because a major focus of the three-way talks was trade and energy, not conflict resolution, though tricky issues like terrorism and West Asia were on their agenda. ... The New Delhi conclave provided a clue about the role that the trioka wants to play in the world when the three foreign ministers decided that they should meet more regularly. They were clear that ‘cooperation, rather than confrontation’ should govern the approach to regional and global affairs. And expectedly... asiantribune.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1793083/posts#comment Thu, 1 Mar 2007 04:11:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1491647/posts The UN's vaunted neutrality props up evil regimes. More than 170 political leaders from around the world recently met at the United Nations to consider what the New York Times called "the most sweeping institutional changes" in the organization's history. But this exercise was, predictably, hopeless. Although both detractors and defenders eagerly proposed "reforms," they skirted the UN's insuperable problem: its corrupt "ideal" of moral neutrality. The fundamental feature of the UN is its policy of opening membership non-judgmentally to all nations--whether free or oppressive, peaceful or belligerent. This is upheld as the UN's central virtue and a vital means... American Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1491647/posts#comment Mon, 26 Sep 2005 19:57:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1701892/posts UNITED NATIONS Secretary-General Kofi Annan has refused to fill out a newly minted U.N. financial disclosure form, rejecting advice of his inner circle that doing so would send a good signal as the U.N. seeks to counter allegations that it is closed to public scrutiny, U.N. officials said Thursday. The U.N. unveiled new rules last year that tightened staff financial disclosure requirements in effect since 1999. Annan is not required to fill out the form because he is technically not a staff member. Nonetheless, two U.N. officials told The Associated Press that several of Annan's top aides had recently urged... IHT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1701892/posts#comment Fri, 15 Sep 2006 07:09:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1699833/posts NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States should give the United Nations until the end of the year to reform and then consider cutting back on its U.N. dues if the changes fall short, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said on Monday. "Is good management and lack of corruption too much to ask for?" he asked, calling the United Nations "severely challenged from a management and accountability point of view." Bolton made his comments in response to a question after addressing a symposium on the future of the United Nations sponsored by the conservative Hudson Institute. The United States, one of... Reuters on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1699833/posts#comment Tue, 12 Sep 2006 05:53:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1691417/posts Bolstered by the support of a second permanent U.N. Security Council member, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Monday took his campaign to win a seat on the council to Malaysia. He faces strong opposition from the United States. During a six-day visit to China, the populist leftist won Beijing's backing for Venezuela's bid to be elected onto the 15-member council in October. Russia earlier agreed to support Venezuela. Washington is adamantly opposed to the seat going to a country sympathetic to some of America's biggest foes, including Iran, North Korea and Cuba. The nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea... CNSNEWS.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1691417/posts#comment Mon, 28 Aug 2006 18:11:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1673916/posts Few political figures in recent history have so polarized opinion in Congress as John Bolton, the United States permanent representative to the United Nations. Faced with Senate gridlock, Bolton was sent by President Bush as a recess appointment to the United Nations last August. With Bolton’s recess appointment expiring when the new Congress convenes in January 2007, the President recently announced that he would again submit Bolton for confirmation. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee plans to vote on Bolton’s nomination in August, with a full vote of the Senate expected in September. Over the past year, Bolton has proven a... Human Events http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1673916/posts#comment Fri, 28 Jul 2006 19:42:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1673129/posts BOLTON HEARING LIVE ON C-SPAN 3 C_SPAN 3 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1673129/posts#comment Thu, 27 Jul 2006 13:45:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1650771/posts The United States is trying to use the power of the purse to force through badly needed management reforms, and these tactics have provoked a reaction among developing countries. the daily yomiuri http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1650771/posts#comment Fri, 16 Jun 2006 21:40:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1647702/posts Last month President Bush issued a rare apology. "Saying 'Bring it on,' kind of tough talk, you know, that sent the wrong signal," he confessed. "I think in certain parts of the world it was misinterpreted." Well done, Mr. President, you've understood that bluster can backfire. Now how about sharing this insight with your ambassador to the United Nations? John R. Bolton, the ambassador in question, has a rich history of losing friends and failing to influence people. He was notorious, even before arriving at the United Nations last year, for having said that 10 stories of the U.N. headquarters... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1647702/posts#comment Mon, 12 Jun 2006 07:08:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1633208/posts Kofi Annan is giving commencement addresses on college campuses while Eric Shawn is not, but the author of the new book U.N. Exposed can give graduating seniors greater insight into how the United Nations really works than the secretary-general can. “At heart I am a New York City crime reporter so I came at it [U.N.] as a local reporter,” said Shawn who is a member of the U.N. press corps and a senior correspondent for FOX News. It is like a corrupt city hall, “U.N. World is the inverse of any logical reality,” explained Shawn. One example of such... Accuracy in Academia http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1633208/posts#comment Tue, 16 May 2006 18:21:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1630637/posts President Vladimir Putin gave his annual address to the Federal Assembly on Wednesday, and there are several things that make this year’s presidential address notable. One is that it comes very close to outlining the contours of Putin’s desired political legacy, which could be described as the New Deal and the Great Society mixed together in one strategy for securing a more just and effective distribution of Russia’s new wealth among its people. It is no coincidence that Putin opened his speech with a strongly worded quote from Franklin D. Roosevelt: “We have stepped on toes, and we will continue... russiaprofile.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1630637/posts#comment Thu, 11 May 2006 18:48:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1604417/posts UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would have the final say on withholding half of U.S. dues to the United Nations under a compromise plan announced on Monday that aims to overhaul the world body. This compromise takes away the threat of an automatic deduction of U.S. dues unless the United Nations makes a series of reforms, a key requirement of a House bill passed in June. Rep. Henry Hyde, an Illinois Republican who led a congressional delegation to the United Nations, said he now agrees with members of the Senate and his House Democratic colleague... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1604417/posts#comment Tue, 28 Mar 2006 04:14:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1592704/posts More than 240 women from over 50 countries accused U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan of failing to promote women's rights and of neglecting gender equality in his U.N. reform plans. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is proposing a shakeup of U.N. management practices. that would create a mobile civil service, allow a one-time staff buyout costing about $100,000 per person, modernize technology and consider outsourcing. The proposal, to be unveiled yesterday, is a response to last year's investigation into the U.N. oil-for-food program, which concluded that the U.N.'s shoddy management was partly to blame for widespread corruption. It is also an effort to... AP via Concord Monitor Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1592704/posts#comment Wed, 8 Mar 2006 23:13:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1583303/posts As a moderate-right conservative, it distresses me to reach this conclusion, because I have always thought that having a place where the peoples of the world could meet and talk would always be a good idea, no matter what. However, the obstructionism, the inefficiency, the anti-Semitism, the arrogance and the incredible waste of resources are one thing, but the scandals involving rape and child molestation and oil-for-food bribes are quite another. As more and more information dribbles out, it has become clearer and clearer that these scandals involve the highest levels of UN leadership, and are widespread and so deeply... From Sea to Shining Sea http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1583303/posts#comment Wed, 22 Feb 2006 11:42:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1584611/posts Why the UN needs reform In 1991, the members of the United Nations threw their collective efforts behind the attempt to guarantee peace and to bring free elections to Cambodia. To one of the world's most abused, tragic nations, the UN sent its biggest, most expensive peacekeeping force in history. In about two years, some 20,000 UN troops passed through the unfortunate country, proving again the cliche about too many cooks spoiling the broth _ except that the ''broth'' was the nation of Cambodia. The peacekeeping mission turned into a travesty which failed to suppress the Khmer Rouge, tripled the... bangkok post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1584611/posts#comment Fri, 24 Feb 2006 07:11:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1581817/posts UNITED NATIONS: US Ambassador John Bolton’s drive to crack down on UN fraud and abuse is triggering a backlash from developing nations who fear Washington is trying to wrest control from UN members. The simmering conflict between Washington and the developing nations that make up a majority of UN members boiled to the surface this week when two US congressmen said nonaligned states had “worked feverishly in New York to block the efforts ... to clean up the institution”. “We and our colleagues in the House of Representatives have followed, and will continue to follow, your actions very closely, and... Daily Times (Pakistan) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1581817/posts#comment Sun, 19 Feb 2006 22:08:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1580322/posts UNITED NATIONS -- The U.S. ambassador opened Security Council discussions on the next U.N. secretary-general, calling the choice of a replacement for Kofi Annan probably the most important decision the world body will make this year. U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, the council's president this month, called a meeting of the five veto-wielding permanent members Thursday "to get a sense of where the council is, so that we can begin to move forward on the issue." Annan's second five-year term ends on Dec. 31 and his successor must be approved by the General Assembly based on a recommendation from the council.... Newsday http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1580322/posts#comment Fri, 17 Feb 2006 09:53:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1580910/posts UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador John Bolton's drive to crack down on U.N. fraud and abuse is triggering a backlash from developing nations who fear Washington is trying to wrest control from U.N. members. The simmering conflict between Washington and the developing nations that make up a majority of U.N. members boiled to the surface this week when two U.S. congressmen said nonaligned states had "worked feverishly in New York to block the efforts … to clean up the institution." Tensions escalated after Bolton, who holds the rotating presidency of the 15-nation Security Council in February, scheduled council meetings... ABC News/Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1580910/posts#comment Sat, 18 Feb 2006 02:09:54 GMT