Kofi's Deputy Criticizes US Criticism

[Annie]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/07/w...html?_r=3&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Official of U.N. Says Americans Undermine It With Criticism

By WARREN HOGE
Published: June 7, 2006

UNITED NATIONS, June 6 — Secretary General Kofi Annan's deputy assailed the United States on Tuesday for withholding support from the United Nations, encouraging its harshest detractors and undermining an institution that he said Washington needed more than it would admit.

"The prevailing practice of seeking to use the U.N. almost by stealth as a diplomatic tool while failing to stand up for it against its domestic critics is simply not sustainable," said the deputy, Mark Malloch Brown. "You will lose the U.N. one way or another."

In a highly unusual instance of a United Nations official singling out an individual country for criticism, Mr. Malloch Brown said that although the United States was constructively engaged with the United Nations in many areas, the American public was shielded from knowledge of that by Washington's tolerance of what he called "too much unchecked U.N.-bashing and stereotyping."

"Much of the public discourse that reaches the U.S. heartland has been largely abandoned to its loudest detractors such as Rush Limbaugh and Fox News," he said.

Richard A. Grenell, the spokesman for John R. Bolton, the United States ambassador, said Mr. Bolton had not had time to read the speech to react to it fully on Tuesday evening. "Mr. Malloch Brown did not extend to us the courtesy of a copy of the speech," Mr. Grenell said. "We need to read it and will certainly have to respond."

Mr. Malloch Brown is a Briton who became deputy secretary general in March and will leave office when Mr. Annan's term ends on Dec. 31. He made his remarks in a lunch speech at a Midtown hotel to a conference on global leadership co-sponsored by the Center for American Progress and the Century Foundation.

The speech reflected frustration in Mr. Annan's office with a looming crisis over the United Nations budget, which, under a six-month gap agreed to under pressure from Washington in December, will pay the bills only until the end of June.

The deal was struck to link budget approval with achievement of significant management reforms, and Mr. Bolton made frequent mention of Congressional impatience with the United Nations and legislation that would authorize Washington to start withholding its dues. The United States is the largest contributor to the United Nations, paying 22 percent of its budget.

"In recent years the enormously divisive issue of Iraq and the big stick of financial withholding have come to define an unhappy marriage," Mr. Malloch Brown said.

He noted that the United Nations was fielding 18 peacekeeping operations abroad at lower cost and higher effectiveness than "comparable U.S. operations." Yet, he said, that fact has been ignored or underplayed by policy makers and opinion shapers in Washington.

"To acknowledge an America reliant on international institutions is not perceived to be good politics at home," he said.

Mr. Malloch Brown did not mention Mr. Bolton by name, but he criticized the working strategy that many diplomats have associated with Mr. Bolton since his arrival last August. "Exacerbating matters is the widely held perception, even among many U.S. allies, that the U.S. tends to hold on to maximalist positions when it could be finding middle ground," Mr. Malloch Brown said.

 

[CSM]

Sounds like whining to me...and from an organization that delights in bashing the US!

 

[Annie]

Sounds like whining to me...and from an organization that delights in bashing the US!

Most definately! They are too funny. No real reform and US isn't releasing money. Sounds alot like the Palestinians.

 

[CSM]

Most definately! They are too funny. No real reform and US isn't releasing money. Sounds alot like the Palestinians.

The Palestininans at least TRY to do what they say they will...the UN on the other hand is so incompetent and ineffective that it really doesn't matter what they say.

 

[Annie]

The Palestininans at least TRY to do what they say they will...the UN on the other hand is so incompetent and ineffective that it really doesn't matter what they say.

You're right. The Palestinians say they will not recognize Israel and don't. They will continue to fight and do.

The UN says it will clean up their messes and bring more corruption and sex scandals. Exactly what have they done about the Oil for Food Scandal, to ensure it doesn't happen again?

 

[5stringJeff]

Wah, wah, wah. What has the UN ever done for us, that we should give them any gratitude at all?

 

[Annie]

Bolton responds:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060607/pl_afp/unreformusbolton_060607163353

Bolton rebukes Annan deputy for criticizing US role at UN

1 hour, 12 minutes ago

US Ambassador John Bolton strongly rebuked remarks by a senior UN official criticizing Washington's stance on key UN issues, demanding that they be repudiated to avoid doing serious damage to the world body.

In a speech delivered Tuesday at a New York conference on global leadership, UN Deputy Secretary General Mark Malloch Brown slammed what he called the prevailing US "practice of seeking to use the UN almost by stealth as a diplomatic tool while failing to stand up for it against its domestic critics."

"To acknowledge an America reliant on international institutions is not perceived to be good politics at home," he added.

In a furious reaction, Bolton called the speech by UN chief Kofi Annnan's deputy a "very grave mistake."

"We are in the process of an enormous effort to achieve substantial reform at the United Nations," he said. "To have the deputy secretary general criticize the United States in such a manner can only do great harm to the United nations.

"Even though the target of the speech was the United States, the victim, I fear, will be the United Nations," he added. "Even worse was the condescending and patronizing tone about the American people. This was a criticism of the American people not the American government by an international civil servant."

The US envoy to the UN said the only way "to mitigate the damage to the United Nations" was for Annan to "personally and publicly repudiate this speech at the earliest possible opportunity."

"Otherwise I fear the consequences not just for the reform effort but for the organization," he added.

The world body faces possible financial gridlock at the end of the month, when a 950-million dollar spending cap on a two-year 3.798 billion-dollar (3.2 billion-euro) UN budget agreed last December expires, if wealthy and developing countries fail to reach agreement on a package of management reforms proposed by Annan.

Washington has threatened to withdraw funding if the reforms are not adopted by then, and EU countries have said they will have to take another look at their contributions.

 

[jasendorf]

The Palestininans at least TRY to do what they say they will...the UN on the other hand is so incompetent and ineffective that it really doesn't matter what they say.

And, CSM bellies up to be the first to prove Malloch Brown's statements true.

 

[Annie]

And, CSM bellies up to be the first to prove Malloch Brown's statements true.

What has the UN done, competently?

 

[jasendorf]

Anyone see anything in Bolton's "furious reaction" where he even so much as insinuates that Brown's statement was untrue?

 

[jasendorf]

What has the UN done, competently?

-------------------------------
UNITED NATIONS ACCOMPLISHMENTS
-------------------------------

1. Deploying more than 35 peace-keeping missions. There are presently 16 active peace-keeping forces in operation.

2. Credited with negotiating 172 peaceful settlements that have ended regional conflicts

3. The UN has enabled people in over 45 countries to participate in free and fair elections

4. Development - The system's annual disbursements, including loans and grants, amount to more than $10 billion.

5. UNICEF spends more than $800 million a year, primarily on immunization, health care, nutrition and basic education in 138 countries.

6. UN Human Rights Commission has focused world attention on cases of torture, disappearance, and arbitrary detention and has generated international pressure.

7. UN Conference eon Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, resulted in treaties on bio-diversity and climate change.

8. Has helped minimize the threat of a nuclear war by inspecting nuclear reactors in 90.

9. Over 300 international treaties, on topics as varied as human rights conventions to agreements on the use of outer space and seabed.

10. The International Court of Justice has helped settle international disputes involving territorial issues, diplomatic relations, hostage-taking, and economic rights.

11. The UN was a major factor in bringing about the downfall of the apartheid system.

12. More than 30 million refugees fleeing war, famine or persecution have received aid from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

13. Aiding Palestinian Refugees with free schooling, essential health care, relief assistance and key social services virtually without interruption. There are 2.9 million refugees in the Middle East served by UNRWA.

14. Alleviating Chronic Hunger and Rural Poverty in Developing Countries, providing credit that has benefited over 230 million people in nearly 100 developing countries.

15. The Africa Project Development Facility has helped entrepreneurs in 25 countries to find financing for new enterprises. The Facility has completed 130 projects which represent investments of $233 million and the creation of 13,000 new jobs, saving some $131 million in foreign exchange annually.

16. Promoting Women's Rights *have supported programs and projects to improve the quality of life for women in over 100 countries, including credit and training, marketing opportunities, etc.

17. Providing Safe Drinking Water * Available to 1.3 billion people in rural areas during the last decade.

18. Eradicating Smallpox * through vaccinations and monitoring. Helped wipe out polio from the Western Hemisphere, with global eradication expected soon.

19. Pressing for Universal Immunization of polio, tetanus, measles, whooping cough, diphtheria and tuberculosis * has a 80% immunization rate, saving the lives of more than 3 million children each year.

20. Reducing child mortality rates, halved since 1960, increasing the average life expectancy from 37 to 67 years.

21. Fighting parasitic diseases, such as saving the lives of 7 million children from going blind from the river blindness and rescued many others from guinea worm and other tropical diseases.

22. Promoting investment in developing countries *promoting entrepreneurship and self-reliance, industrial cooperation and technology transfer and cost-effective, ecologically-sensitive industry.

23. Reducing the effects of natural disasters *early warning system, which utilizes thousands of surface monitors as well as satellites, has provided information for the dispersal of oil spills and has predicted long-term droughts.

24. Providing food to victims of emergencies * Over two million tons of food each year. 30 million people facing acute food shortages in 36 countries benefited from this assistance last year.

25. Clearing land mines - The United Nations is leading an international effort to clear land minds from Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia, El Salvador, Mozambique, Rwanda and Somalia.

26. Protecting the ozone layer & global warming*highlighting the damage caused to the earth's ozone layer. As a result there has been a global effort to reduce chemical emissions of substances that have caused the depletion of the ozone.

27. Preventing over-fishing

28. Limiting deforestation and promoting sustainable forestry development *in 90 countries.

29. Cleaning up pollution *encouraged adversaries such as Syria and Israel, and Turkey and Greece to work together to clean up beaches. As a result, more than 50% of the previously polluted beaches are now usable.

30. Protecting consumers' health *have established standards for over 200 food commodities and safety limits for more than 3,000 food contaminants.

31. Reducing fertility rates * Family planning programs. Women in developing countries are having fewer children * from six births per woman in the 1960s to 3.5 today. In the 1960s, only 10% of the world's families were using effective methods of family planning. The number now stands at 55 percent.

32. Fighting drug abuse *Reduce demand for illicit drugs, suppress drug trafficking, and has helped farmers to reduce their economic reliance on growing narcotic crops by shifting farm production toward other dependable sources of income.

33. Improving global trade relations * The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has worked to obtain special trade preferences for developing countries to export their products to developed countries with fair prices.

34. Promoting economic reform * Together with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations has helped many countries improve their economic management, offered training for government finance officials, and provided financial assistance to countries experiencing temporary balance of payment difficulties.

35. Promoting worker rights *worked to guarantee freedom of the right to association, the right to organize, collective bargaining, setting worker safety standards, the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples, promote employment and equal remuneration and has sought to eliminate discrimination and child labor.

36. Introducing improved agricultural techniques and reducing costs *Resulted in improved crop yields, Asian rice farmers have saved $12 million on pesticides and governments over $150 a year in pesticide subsidies.

37. Promoting stability and order in the world's oceans *global agreement for the protection, preservation and peaceful development of the oceans.

38. Improving air and sea travel *Setting safety standards for sea and air travel, making air travel the safest mode of transportation.

39. Protecting intellectual property *Protection for new inventions and maintains a register of nearly 3 million national trademarks. artists, composers and authors worldwide.

40. Promoting the free flow of information *free of censorship and culturally unbiased, aid to develop and strengthen communication systems, established news agencies and supported an independent press.

41. Improving global communications * Regulated international mail delivery, coordinated use of the radio spectrum, promoted cooperation in assigning positions for stationary satellites, and established international standards for communications, thereby ensuring the unfettered flow of information around the globe.

42. Empowering the voiceless *recognize the needs and contributions of groups usually excluded from decision-making such as the aging, children, youth, homeless, indigenous an disabled people.

43. Establishing "children as a zone of peace" * From El Salvador to Lebanon, Sudan to former Yugoslavia, provide vaccines and other assistance desperately needed by children caught in armed conflict.

44. Generating worldwide commitment in support of the needs of children *more than 150 governments have committed to reaching over 20 specific measurable goals to radically improve children's lives by the year 2000.

45. Improving education in developing countries *60% of adults in developing countries can now read and write, and 80 percent of children in these countries attend school.

46. Improving literacy for women *Raise the female literacy rate in developing countries from 36 percent in 1970 to 56 percent in 1990.

47. Safeguarding and preserving historic cultural and architectural sites *protected through the efforts of UNESCO, and international conventions have been adopted to preserve cultural property.

48. Facilitating academic and cultural exchanges encouraged scholarly and scientific cooperation, networking of institutions and promotion of cultural expressions, including those of minorities and indigenous people.

http://www.una-usadanecounty.org/about/index.php?category_id=1550

 

[GotZoom]

Let's not forget these great accomplishments too:

-----

However, in many cases UN members have shown reluctance to achieve or enforce Security Council resolutions. Iraq is said to have broken 17 Security Council resolutions dating back to June 28, 1991 as well as trying to bypass the UN economic sanctions. For nearly a decade, Israel defied resolutions calling for the dismantling of settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. Such failures stem from UN's intergovernmental nature — in many respects it is an association of 191 member states who must reach consensus, not an independent organisation. Even when actions are mandated by the 15-member Security Council, the Secretariat is rarely given the full resources needed to carry out the mandates.

Other serious security failures include:

* Failure to prevent the 1994 Rwandan genocide, which resulted in the killings of nearly a million people, due to the refusal of the security council members to approve any necessary military action [17].
* Failure by MONUC (UNSC Resolution 1291) to effectively intervene during the Second Congo War, which claimed nearly five million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), 1998-2002 (with fighting reportedly continuing), and in carrying out and distributing humanitarian aid.
* Failure to intervene in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, despite the fact that the UN designated Srebrenica a "safe haven" for refugees and assigned 600 Dutch peacekeepers to protect it.
* Failure to successfully deliver food to starving people in Somalia; the food was instead usually seized by local warlords. A U.S./UN attempt to apprehend the warlords seizing these shipments resulted in the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu.
* Sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers. Numerous peacekeepers from several nations have been repatriated from UN peacekeeping operations for sexually abusing and exploiting girls as young as 12 in a number of different peacekeeping missions. This abuse has become widespread and ongoing despite many revelations and probes by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services. [18][19] A 2005 internal UN investigation found that sexual exploitation and abuse has been reported in at least five countries where UN peacekeepers have been deployed, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, and Liberia; UN peacekeepers were at that time deployed in 16 countries. [20]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN#Successes_and_failures_in_security_issues

-----

I did not mention the Oil-For-Food Program. No need.

 

[jasendorf]

Let's not forget these great accomplishments too:

Kathianne didn't ask for failures.

 

[theHawk]

"The prevailing practice of seeking to use the U.N. almost by stealth as a diplomatic tool while failing to stand up for it against its domestic critics is simply not sustainable," said the deputy, Mark Malloch Brown. "You will lose the U.N. one way or another."

In a highly unusual instance of a United Nations official singling out an individual country for criticism, Mr. Malloch Brown said that although the United States was constructively engaged with the United Nations in many areas, the American public was shielded from knowledge of that by Washington's tolerance of what he called "too much unchecked U.N.-bashing and stereotyping."

"Much of the public discourse that reaches the U.S. heartland has been largely abandoned to its loudest detractors such as Rush Limbaugh and Fox News," he said.

What is Washington supposed to do? Ban U.N. bashing?
I think someone needs to teach this idiot that respect is not given on demand, its EARNED. So until the U.N. earns it, it will never get it from Americans.

 

[GotZoom]

Kathianne didn't ask for failures.

Oh. Right.

Wow. You told me.

 

[theHawk]

Oh. Right.

Wow. You told me.

And half his list was nothing but feel-good statements.

20. Reducing child mortality rates, halved since 1960, increasing the average life expectancy from 37 to 67 years

. --does this include abortions?

Oh wait, think I found a reference for abortions:

31. Reducing fertility rates * Family planning programs. Women in developing countries are having fewer children * from six births per woman in the 1960s to 3.5 today. In the 1960s, only 10% of the world's families were using effective methods of family planning. The number now stands at 55 percent.

 

[Annie]

http://www.una-usadanecounty.org/about/index.php?category_id=1550

Using your list:

-------------------------------
UNITED NATIONS ACCOMPLISHMENTS
-------------------------------

1. Deploying more than 35 peace-keeping missions. There are presently 16 active peace-keeping forces in operation.

Please take a look at this site, (refugees international):

http://www.refintl.org/content/article/detail/7934/

2. Credited with negotiating 172 peaceful settlements that have ended regional conflicts

Let's get some specifics here, then we can look at how they ended the conflicts. Last I saw they landed and left the Sudan.

3. The UN has enabled people in over 45 countries to participate in free and fair elections

I'll agree, they are not bad at monitoring elections.

4. Development - The system's annual disbursements, including loans and grants, amount to more than $10 billion.


Ok, so what they don't steal they use to redistribute wealth.

5. UNICEF spends more than $800 million a year, primarily on immunization, health care, nutrition and basic education in 138 countries.


See above. First they spend billions, now millions, primarily on bla, bla, bla...

6. UN Human Rights Commission has focused world attention on cases of torture, disappearance, and arbitrary detention and has generated international pressure.


Not so good in Sudan. Mostly they wish to appease and let the weaker get killed off. That's what they were doing in Bosnia too.

7. UN Conference eon Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, resulted in treaties on bio-diversity and climate change.


Oh, they've made real inroads there. Honestly they are the best freaking letter writers ever, now if they could actually get something done.

8. Has helped minimize the threat of a nuclear war by inspecting nuclear reactors in 90.


Huh?

9. Over 300 international treaties, on topics as varied as human rights conventions to agreements on the use of outer space and seabed.
Again with the letter writing. Oh, no doubt they are claiming the sea and space...:rolleyes

10. The International Court of Justice has helped settle international disputes involving territorial issues, diplomatic relations, hostage-taking, and economic rights.
You show me where this has stopped hostage taking or successfully settled territorial disputes. Economic rights in this case I'm sure is related to the redistribution of money idea.

11. The UN was a major factor in bringing about the downfall of the apartheid system.


Not until separate groups started to employ economic sanctions, then the UN jumped on the bandwagon, after it became obvious what was going down.

12. More than 30 million refugees fleeing war, famine or persecution have received aid from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
The UN High Commissioner...has done zippo for anyone. Countries give aid, ie. US over and above their dues, along with the rest of the West donate additional monies. The UN doesn't even do a good job of it, which is why more and more we just send the military. The military may waste money in budgets, but they don't steal from 'on the ground.'

13. Aiding Palestinian Refugees with free schooling, essential health care, relief assistance and key social services virtually without interruption. There are 2.9 million refugees in the Middle East served by UNRWA.
You say that like that's a good thing.

14. Alleviating Chronic Hunger and Rural Poverty in Developing Countries, providing credit that has benefited over 230 million people in nearly 100 developing countries.
again, redistribution of money that could be handled more efficiently and better by private charities.

15. The Africa Project Development Facility has helped entrepreneurs in 25 countries to find financing for new enterprises. The Facility has completed 130 projects which represent investments of $233 million and the creation of 13,000 new jobs, saving some $131 million in foreign exchange annually.I don't know if this is the same agency that a woman I went to school with was very upset with. She said that all that was wanted was 'African crafts' which were time consuming, no education necessary and low profit. She did not think that making jewelry and art work was going to do it in the long term for Africa.

16. Promoting Women's Rights *have supported programs and projects to improve the quality of life for women in over 100 countries, including credit and training, marketing opportunities, etc. Well I've heard them speak out about genital mutilation, which is something. At the same time, haven't heard condemnation against Sharia Law, which is more than oppressive towards women.

17. Providing Safe Drinking Water * Available to 1.3 billion people in rural areas during the last decade.ok, that's important.

18. Eradicating Smallpox * through vaccinations and monitoring. Helped wipe out polio from the Western Hemisphere, with global eradication expected soon. How much of that was from the US? More important it's the UN that is blocking the spraying of low dosage DDT to prevent malaria, a major cause of illness and death in the third world.

19. Pressing for Universal Immunization of polio, tetanus, measles, whooping cough, diphtheria and tuberculosis * has a 80% immunization rate, saving the lives of more than 3 million children each year.Pressing how? For the West to provide more $$$, without educating the people of the necessity. One of the largest areas of corruption in the UN.

20. Reducing child mortality rates, halved since 1960, increasing the average life expectancy from 37 to 67 years. Bullshit

21. Fighting parasitic diseases, such as saving the lives of 7 million children from going blind from the river blindness and rescued many others from guinea worm and other tropical diseases.?

22. Promoting investment in developing countries *promoting entrepreneurship and self-reliance, industrial cooperation and technology transfer and cost-effective, ecologically-sensitive industry.Again, nothing to back this up of substance.

23. Reducing the effects of natural disasters *early warning system, which utilizes thousands of surface monitors as well as satellites, has provided information for the dispersal of oil spills and has predicted long-term droughts.LOL. Just so wrong

24. Providing food to victims of emergencies * Over two million tons of food each year. 30 million people facing acute food shortages in 36 countries benefited from this assistance last year.Shoot the US brought more than that with the tsunami. These numbers are f*****.

25. Clearing land mines - The United Nations is leading an international effort to clear land minds from Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia, El Salvador, Mozambique, Rwanda and Somalia. It would be real interesting to see who's doing the clearing. I'll bet it's indigenous people.

26. Protecting the ozone layer & global warming*highlighting the damage caused to the earth's ozone layer. As a result there has been a global effort to reduce chemical emissions of substances that have caused the depletion of the ozone.Right. Check. No blinkers on.

27. Preventing over-fishingHow many people in various countries agree with what the UN declares on this topic? Just because the UN pronounces something, doesn't make it fact.

28. Limiting deforestation and promoting sustainable forestry development *in 90 countries. Oh yeah, damn good job.

29. Cleaning up pollution *encouraged adversaries such as Syria and Israel, and Turkey and Greece to work together to clean up beaches. As a result, more than 50% of the previously polluted beaches are now usable. Sure Israel, Turkey, and Greece, all of whom depend on tourists dollars, truly needed the UN to tell them to pick up. Right. Syria? Who the heck knows?

30. Protecting consumers' health *have established standards for over 200 food commodities and safety limits for more than 3,000 food contaminants.

31. Reducing fertility rates * Family planning programs. Women in developing countries are having fewer children * from six births per woman in the 1960s to 3.5 today. In the 1960s, only 10% of the world's families were using effective methods of family planning. The number now stands at 55 percent.

32. Fighting drug abuse *Reduce demand for illicit drugs, suppress drug trafficking, and has helped farmers to reduce their economic reliance on growing narcotic crops by shifting farm production toward other dependable sources of income.

33. Improving global trade relations * The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has worked to obtain special trade preferences for developing countries to export their products to developed countries with fair prices.

34. Promoting economic reform * Together with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations has helped many countries improve their economic management, offered training for government finance officials, and provided financial assistance to countries experiencing temporary balance of payment difficulties.

35. Promoting worker rights *worked to guarantee freedom of the right to association, the right to organize, collective bargaining, setting worker safety standards, the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples, promote employment and equal remuneration and has sought to eliminate discrimination and child labor.

36. Introducing improved agricultural techniques and reducing costs *Resulted in improved crop yields, Asian rice farmers have saved $12 million on pesticides and governments over $150 a year in pesticide subsidies.

37. Promoting stability and order in the world's oceans *global agreement for the protection, preservation and peaceful development of the oceans.

38. Improving air and sea travel *Setting safety standards for sea and air travel, making air travel the safest mode of transportation.

39. Protecting intellectual property *Protection for new inventions and maintains a register of nearly 3 million national trademarks. artists, composers and authors worldwide.

40. Promoting the free flow of information *free of censorship and culturally unbiased, aid to develop and strengthen communication systems, established news agencies and supported an independent press.

41. Improving global communications * Regulated international mail delivery, coordinated use of the radio spectrum, promoted cooperation in assigning positions for stationary satellites, and established international standards for communications, thereby ensuring the unfettered flow of information around the globe.

42. Empowering the voiceless *recognize the needs and contributions of groups usually excluded from decision-making such as the aging, children, youth, homeless, indigenous an disabled people.

43. Establishing "children as a zone of peace" * From El Salvador to Lebanon, Sudan to former Yugoslavia, provide vaccines and other assistance desperately needed by children caught in armed conflict.

44. Generating worldwide commitment in support of the needs of children *more than 150 governments have committed to reaching over 20 specific measurable goals to radically improve children's lives by the year 2000.

45. Improving education in developing countries *60% of adults in developing countries can now read and write, and 80 percent of children in these countries attend school.

46. Improving literacy for women *Raise the female literacy rate in developing countries from 36 percent in 1970 to 56 percent in 1990.

47. Safeguarding and preserving historic cultural and architectural sites *protected through the efforts of UNESCO, and international conventions have been adopted to preserve cultural property.

48. Facilitating academic and cultural exchanges encouraged scholarly and scientific cooperation, networking of institutions and promotion of cultural expressions, including those of minorities and indigenous people.

Ok, I ran out of steam after 29. Looking at 48 I wonder what they are saying about the boycott of Israeli academics? Nothing, I'm sure.

 

[5stringJeff]

And how much of this has helped the US? ZERO.

 

[MtnBiker]

Anyone see anything in Bolton's "furious reaction"

That is subjective.

 

[theHawk]

LOL I've never seen such a long list of bullshit bullet-statements in my life. And I've been in the millitary!