The impending July trial of Omar Khadr at Guantanamo Bay sets a dangerous precedent on the treatment of child soldiers, UNICEF head Anthony Lake warns. Khadr was arrested in 2002 when he was 15 years old, accused of throwing a grenade that killed an American soldier in Afghanistan.
Afghan deal with Taliban would cost women, former official says
Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s plan to offer amnesty to the Taliban in exchange for an end to their insurgency poses a direct danger to women and the meager gains in women’s rights over the past decade, says Massouda Jalal, former Cabinet minister and presidential candidate. “Their engagement will be bad news to our values and to the women of Afghanistan, so I hope it doesn’t happen. We need to depowerment of the Taliban and extremism,” Jalal says.
MLS stars shoot for Nothing but Nets
As athletic spokesmen for the UN Foundation’s Nothing but Nets anti-malaria campaign, Robbie Russell and Jean Alexandre of the Real Salt Lake soccer team led several teammates and tourists in an anti-malaria and soccer skills workshop in Washington on Thursday. U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have encouraged Real Salt Lake, who are visiting Washington as the victorious Major League Soccer champions, to participate in community service campaigns while they are in town. Nothing but Nets has sent more than 3 million insecticide-treated nets to African since 2006, where the UN assists in distributing them, even to remote areas.
Haiti, allies call on donors to honor promises
Representatives at a regional summit for Haiti are calling on international donors to honor their promises of aid, noting that only Brazil has made a contribution to the $5.3 billion in reconstruction aid for the next two years promised at a 140-country gathering in March. Hundreds of thousands of Haitians left homeless by a Jan. 12 earthquake are living in camps or under tarps on the medians of busy roads while they await help in constructing more durable shelters.
In Brazil, abortion is outlawed and ordinary
One out of every five Brazilian women has had an abortion despite severe restrictions on legal procedures, while more than 200,000 women are hospitalized every as a result of unsafe abortions, according to a new government study. While women’s rights and health advocates are pushing Brazilian authorities to reform legislation, the Brazilian congress is debating a bill that would add additional restrictions.
Ban urges universal support for ICC
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging countries around the world to join the International Criminal Court and expand its jurisdiction. “[The court] must have universal support. Only then will perpetrators have no place to hide,” Ban said of those who commit war crimes. Member states are meeting in Kampala to review the ICC’s progress and discuss a motion to give the court power to prosecute crimes related to state aggression.
Independence will not end South Sudan’s challenges
South Sudan’s upcoming January vote for independence is widely expected to create Africa’s newest country and begin dismantling artificial borders created as a result of Europe’s colonial history, but will not address the myriad problems facing the area. Hunger, lack of infrastructure, frequent outbreak of disease and continued violence between ethnic groups are among the many issues that will keep an independent South Sudan almost completely reliant on foreign aid for survival.