UN Wire Septmber 4, 2013

September 4, 2013 FOLLOW THE UN FOUNDATION   News covering the UN and the world SIGN UP | FORWARD | ADVERTISE | DONATE Top Story Ban says UN must approve Syria action, calls on Security Council to end deadlock United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says that military action against Syria must be approved by the Security Council and that a U.S.-led attack could exacerbate matters. He also called on the Security Council to break its stalemate. "This is a larger issue than the conflict in Syria. This is about our collective responsibility to humankind," Ban says. Reuters (9/3), The Huffington Post/The Associated Press (9/3), Voice of America (9/3), BBC (9/3) Share: Above the Fold Could a UN resolution on human rights and surveillance be in the offing? Adapting to new information can help attain health MDGs Calvin: Renew the commitment to better health for women, children Water-resource cooperation is becoming crucial, expert says Russia waits for Syria evidence as U.S. crafts draft resolution UN Radio Quote of the Day @Refugees: Some good news for a change -- we've helped more than 100,000 refugees return home to northern #DRC rfg.ee/owsRO #Congo Share: UN Dispatch Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the former deputy president of South Africa, was sworn in late last month as the new Executive Director of UN Women. ... As Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka settles into her new office in New York, her agenda for the first 100 days is taking shape. Will she succeed? UN Dispatch (9/3) Share: United Nations Could a UN resolution on human rights and surveillance be in the offing? A recent report on privacy and spying by Frank La Rue, United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of expression, argued for policies that protect human rights from spying, writes Fabiola Carrion. It's possible that the UN Human Rights Committee could issue a resolution on the issue next year, Carrion argues. The InterDependent (8/30) Share: More support is needed to secure Somalia, Ban says ABC News/The Associated Press (9/4) Share: Illegal trafficking increases in East Africa, UNODC says Thomson Reuters Foundation (9/4) Share: Middle East's shared water resources to be surveyed by UN Thomson Reuters Foundation (9/3) Share: Health & Development Adapting to new information can help attain health MDGs Achieving the health Millennium Development Goals means working with current, timely data, knowing that later data may result in changing course, writes Suprotik Basu, CEO of the UN special health envoy's office. "[W]e must get more comfortable with imperfect, but faster, data that can inform our decisions and actions right now," Basu argues. Thomson Reuters Foundation (9/4) Share: Women & Girls Calvin: Renew the commitment to better health for women, children Progress is being made on improving the health of women and children through Millennium Development Goals and other programs, writes Kathy Calvin, CEO of the United Nations Foundation. "However, significant inequalities in better health outcomes remain ... and more work must be done quickly as we approach the 2015 deadline for the MDGs," she writes. The Huffington Post (9/4) Share: Botswana court grants women the right to inherit property Thomson Reuters Foundation (9/4) Share: Climate and Energy Water-resource cooperation is becoming crucial, expert says Cooperation has been the hallmark of water policies between countries, but as water resources come under pressure, access could become a reason for conflict, says Torgny Holmgren of the Stockholm International Water Institute. "I think the future situation depends very much on our ability to deal with the water demand challenge," he argues. Inter Press Service (9/2) Share: Reducing air pollution is aim of World Bank program Thomson Reuters Foundation/Reuters (9/4) Share: Peacekeeping and Security Russia waits for Syria evidence as U.S. crafts draft resolution Russian President Vladimir Putin says Russia might back United Nations-approved military action against Syria if it's proved that the Syrian government was behind the recent chemical-weapons attack. Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has drafted a resolution for limited military strikes. Voice of America (9/4), The Guardian (London) (9/4), The Washington Post (tiered subscription model) (9/3) Share: UN requests more protection for Iranian exiles in refugee camp ABC News/The Associated Press (9/3) Share: Sudan, South Sudan talks yield agreement on keeping oil pipeline open BBC (9/3) Share: Sectarian violence intensifies in Iraq Al Jazeera (9/4) Share: Position Title Company Name Location Program Manager Social Science Research Council Brooklyn, NY Associate Producer, Digital Media, Climate and Energy Initiatives United Nations Foundation Washington, DC Communications Associate, Women, Girls & Population United Nations Foundation Washington, DC Business Services and Contracts Officer United Nations Foundation Washington, DC Click here to view more job listings.