Concerning the many Awake quotes below, they may seem innocuous. But keep in mind that one of the functions of an NGO, as stated above, is "disseminating information and mobilizing public opinion in support of the UN and its Specialized Agencies. Association with DPI constitutes a commitment to that effect."
Let it now be known the lengths to which the Watchtower went to inform its international readership of the UN's programs and activities. But, by no means are the quotes below the full extent to which the organization has disseminated information to legitimize the UN's claim to rule the world. The following is only a partial listing taken solely from the Awake over the past 12 years only. At any rate, let the public record below approximate the depth of the Watchtower's spiritual prostitution with the United Nations.
(Note for those unfamiliar: "g" is the symbol for Awake because it used to be called the Golden Age Magazine.)
*** g01 4/8 p. 3 "Exploding Cities" *** Many experts feel that this does not bode well for the future. Federico Mayor, former director general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, warns that by the year 2035, "three thousand million more people will be living in the urban settlements that exist today." To care for this staggering population, "we shall have to build a thousand cities of three million inhabitants in the next forty years, twenty-five a year."
*** g01 6/8 p. 3 Good Health for All—A Reachable Goal? *** Nevertheless, large-scale efforts are being made to stem the tide of sickness and disease. Consider the World Health Organization (WHO), an agency of the United Nations. At a conference sponsored by WHO in 1978, delegates from 134 lands and 67 UN organizations agreed that health is not simply freedom from sickness or disease. Health, they declared, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being." The delegates then took the bold step of declaring health to be a "fundamental human right"! WHO thus set the goal of achieving "an acceptable level of health for all the people of the world."
*** g01 6/22 p. 3 Is the World Running Out of Water? *** "Access to a secure, safe and sufficient source of fresh water is a fundamental requirement for the survival, well-being and socio-economic development of all humanity. Yet, we continue to act as if fresh water were a perpetually abundant resource. It is not."—KOFI ANNAN, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL.
*** g01 6/22 p. 8 Where Has All the Water Gone? *** Use and Misuse of Groundwater Groundwater is the water supply we tap into when we sink a well. The United Nations Children's Fund report Groundwater: The Invisible and Endangered Resource calculates that half the water used for domestic purposes and for irrigating crops comes from this source.
*** g01 6/22 p. 28 Watching the World *** Life expectancy increased by 12.8 years in Peru during the last 25 years, according to a recent United Nations report on human development. While life expectancy between 1970 and 1975 was 55.5 years, it went up to 68.3 years between 1995 and 2000.
*** g01 6/22 p. 29 Watching the World *** Over five million people became infected with the AIDS virus in the year 2000, says a report by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization. This brings the worldwide number of people with HIV to over 36 million, more than 50 percent higher than projections made in 1991. The epidemic has exploded in Eastern Europe, where the number of infected individuals—mainly intravenous drug users—has nearly doubled in a year. The report also notes that prevention efforts in the world's wealthier nations have stalled, with AIDS spreading primarily among intravenous drug users and homosexual men.
*** g01 7/22 pp. 4-5 Helping Hands Are Everywhere *** On the contrary, United Nations Volunteers (a UN agency) states that viewed globally, "the need for increased volunteer effort is greater today than ever." Says a museum supervisor: "Volunteers are our life blood."
Yet, there is a paradox. Even though many directors, managers, and coordinators working with volunteers feel that such ones are "worth their weight in gold," much of the work of volunteers goes unrecognized. To begin to change that situation, the United Nations decided to use the year 2001 as a time for turning the spotlight on volunteer workers. The box "International Year of Volunteers" describes some of the goals the UN hopes to reach.
*** g01 7/22 Helping Hands Are Everywhere *** International Year of Volunteers On November 20, 1997, the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed the year 2001 to be the "International Year of Volunteers," (IYV 2001). According to the UN, there are four objectives to be achieved during the year.
*** g01 7/22 p. 9 Volunteers at Work *** One newspaper in Congo (Kinshasa) praised the humanitarian work of Jehovah's Witnesses as "practical rather than formal." Officials of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have likewise expressed their support. One UNHCR official in the Democratic Republic of Congo was so pleased with the orderliness of the relief efforts carried out by the Witnesses that she put her vehicle at the disposal of the volunteers.
*** g01 7/22 p. 29 Watching the World *** "The Sahara has crossed the Mediterranean," reports The Guardian of London, "as a lethal combination of soil degradation and climate change turns parts of southern Europe into desert." At a United Nations conference on combatting desertification held in December 2000, one expert put partial blame on global farming, which has made it hard for many small farmers to compete
*** g01 8/22 p. 17 Meteora—Towering Rock Pillars *** A Rich Cultural Showcase Today the rock monasteries form one of the most interesting spots on the cultural map of Greece. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, they are a unique treasure chest of cultural heritage. A recent concern of the Greek State is that the cultural wealth of the Meteora be preserved. Renovated buildings and museums have been opened for visitors. What do they contain?
*** g01 10/8 p. 21 The Chicken—Popular and Plentiful *** For this reason programs have been started to help educate farmers in developing lands. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, for example, recently initiated a five-year project "to benefit the rural poor in Africa through increased poultry production."
*** g01 10/8 p. 29 Watching the World *** Childhood Accidents Accidents are the primary cause of childhood deaths in the world's richest nations, according to a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) study of 26 countries. "Injuries accounted for almost 40 percent of deaths of children ages 1 to 14 in the countries studied," amounting to some 20,000 fatalities each year, reports Japan's Mainichi Daily News.
*** g01 11/8 "Maybe This Time He'll Change" *** The Broad Scope of Domestic Violence According to the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the term "violence against women" can refer to "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life."
*** g01 11/8 p. 13 'The Experiment Has Failed' *** What is the solution? Can human agencies solve the deep economic inequalities through international cooperation? "We do not have adequate international institutions," says Soros, "for the protection of individual freedoms, human rights, and the environment, or for the promotion of social justice—not to mention the preservation of peace. Most of the institutions we do have are associations of states, and states usually put their own interests ahead of the common interest. The United Nations is constitutionally incapable of fulfilling the promises contained in the preamble of its charter."
*** g00 1/8 p. 20 Mothers With AIDS Face a Dilemma *** . In fact, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reports that some 4,000 children die every day as a result of hazards associated with breast-milk substitutes.
*** g00 1/8 p. 20 Mothers With AIDS Face a Dilemma *** To respond to this threat, six UN organizations have pooled their experience, efforts, and resources to form the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, known as UNAIDS. But what UNAIDS has found is that the solution to the AIDS dilemma is not so simple.
*** g00 1/8 Mothers With AIDS Face a Dilemma *** The six organizations are UNICEF, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Population Fund, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. UNAIDS was established in 1995.
*** g00 1/8 p. 24 Help for Victims of Torture *** To many people the idea of inflicting torture on fellow humans is strictly reminiscent of the Dark Ages. After all, in 1948 the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states:
*** g00 1/22 p. 28 Watching the World *** India's Population Passes One Billion According to the United Nations Population Division, India's population passed the one billion mark in August 1999
*** g00 1/22 p. 29 Watching the World *** Dr. Edward Fiske, a primary education specialist for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization: "With no school, the future for most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa hangs on balance."
*** g00 2/8 p. 3 Fatherless Families—A Sign of the Times *** A report by the United Nations Children's Fund states that about 50 percent of white children born in the United States since 1980 "will spend some part of their childhood in a single parent family.
*** g00 2/8 p. 18 Stairway to the Sky *** In December 1995, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization decided to include the Ifugao rice terraces in its World Heritage List.
*** g00 2/8 Stairway to the Sky *** The inclusion of the terraces in the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) further commits the Philippine government to preserving the site. And according to Jean Tuason, deputy executive director at UNESCO's Manila office, "UNESCO may also provide technical and financial assistance for the protection and conservation of the rice terraces."
*** g00 2/8 p. 31 The Gap Between Rich and Poor Is Widening *** "More progress has been made in reducing global poverty in the past five decades than in the previous five centuries," states UNDP Today, a publication of the United Nations Development Programme.
*** g00 3/8 A Well-Kept Secret *** WHAT IS MODERN SLAVERY? This is a question that even the United Nations has difficulty answering after years of effort.
*** g00 3/8 Who Are Slaves Today? *** WORKING FOR SOLUTIONS Various official agencies, such as the United Nations Children's Fund and the International Labor Organization, are diligently instituting and implementing strategies for the elimination of modern slavery. In addition, a host of nongovernmental organizations, such as Anti-Slavery International and Human Rights Watch, have put forth an effort to increase public awareness of modern slavery and to emancipate its victims.
*** g00 4/8 p. 14 Religious Intolerance Now Admitted *** December 10, 1998, marked the 50th anniversary of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 18 recognizes "the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion," including the freedom to change one's religion and to teach and practice it.
*** g00 5/8 p. 3 A Footstep Away From Death *** As recently as 1997, however, the United Nations reported that "for every mine cleared, 20 are laid. In 1994, approximately 100,000 were removed, while an additional 2 million were planted."
*** g00 5/8 p. 5 Land Mines—Weighing the Cost *** Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations, notes: "The presence—or even the fear of the presence—of a single landmine can prevent the cultivation of an entire field, rob a whole village of its livelihood, place yet another obstacle on a country's road to reconstruction and development."
*** g00 5/8 p. 28 Watching the World *** At a special session of the United Nations General Assembly, 43 small island nations aired their concerns over environmental threats, reports the French daily Le Monde.
*** g00 6/22 p. 28 Watching the World *** According to a new United Nations report, worldwide "more than 50 million people have been infected with HIV-AIDS—the equivalent of the population of the United Kingdom—and 16 million have died," says The Globe and Mail of Canada.
*** g00 6/22 p. 28 Watching the World *** Peter Piot, executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, describes the situation in Eastern Europe as "explosive."
*** g00 7/8 p. 28 Watching the World *** The editorial notes: "What an odd, odd species we are to be so brutal to our own kind." The United Nations has declared this year to be an international year of peace.
*** g00 7/8 p. 29 Watching the World *** "Half of all babies in Africa are born infected with HIV the virus that develops into AIDS," reports United Press International. Dr. Peter Piot, executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, stated that HIV and AIDS have shortened life expectancy by 25 years in some parts of Africa
*** g00 7/22 p. 29 Watching the World *** "Human induced disasters such as civil strife and economic crises have more effect on food shortages than nature-induced crises," reports the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Dr. Hartwig de Haen, assistant director-general of FAO, said:
*** g00 10/22 p. 31 Effort to Oust Vatican From UN *** THE Rome-based news agency Inter Press Service (IPS) reported that "an international coalition of more than 70 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has launched a global campaign to oust the Vatican from the United Nations." Presently, the Vatican is a permanent observer, or nonmember state, in the UN organization. The Vatican has had that status since 1964.
*** g00 11/8 p. 28 Watching the World *** "Every day, . . . 30,500 boys and girls under the age of five die of many preventable causes," says the United Nations Children's Fund in its report The State of the World's Children 2000.
*** g00 11/22 p. 24 Greening the Amazon Forest *** DURING the 1990's, the world annually lost millions of acres of natural forests, reported the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization.
*** g00 12/8 p. 3 An Ongoing Search for Solutions *** FROM its very inception, the United Nations organization has been interested in children and their problems. At the end of 1946, it established the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) as a temporary measure to care for children in areas devastated by war.
*** g00 12/8 p. 3 An Ongoing Search for Solutions *** In 1953 this emergency fund was turned into a permanent organization. Although it is now officially known as the United Nations Children's Fund, it retained its original acronym, UNICEF. Thus, for over half a century, UNICEF has been providing children throughout the world with food, clothing, and medical care and has been trying to look after children's needs in general.
*** g00 12/8 p. 3 An Ongoing Search for Solutions *** The needs of children were given greater prominence in 1959 when the United Nations adopted a Declaration of the Rights of the Child. (See box, page 5.) It was hoped that this document would generate interest in the problems of children and would help solve them by encouraging public support, financial and otherwise.
*** g00 12/8 p. 3 An Ongoing Search for Solutions *** So in recognition of the continuing need to solve the problems of children and in accord with its declared goals, the United Nations designated 1979 the International Year of the Child. Government, civic, religious, and charitable groups all over the world were quick to respond to the search for solutions. *** g00 12/8 p. 7 Children Deserve to Be Wanted and Loved *** Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations, mentioned some of the major problems children face today when he wrote: "Millions of children continue to endure the dreadful indignities of poverty; hundreds of thousands suffer the effects of conflict and economic chaos; tens of thousands are maimed in wars; many more are orphaned or killed by HIV/AIDS."
*** g00 12/8 pp. 7-8 Children Deserve to Be Wanted and Loved *** But not all the news is bad! UN agencies, such as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization, have worked hard to improve the lot of children. Annan noted: "More children are born healthy and more are immunized; more can read and write; more are free to learn, play and simply live as children than would have been thought possible even a short decade ago." Still, he warned: "This is no time to stand on past achievements."
*** g00 12/22 p. 28 Watching the World *** Trafficking in humans "is the fastest growing criminal market in the world," says Pino Arlacchi, director general of the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention. According to Mr. Arlacchi, it is estimated that some 200 million people are under the control of the traffickers.
*** g99 1/8 p. 5 Religious Intolerance Today *** In the face of this, Federico Mayor, director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, declared that the emerging world of the near future "does not inspire whole-hearted enthusiasm
*** g99 1/8 p. 12 Protecting Freedoms—How? *** Federico Mayor, director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, wrote: "Tolerance is the virtue of the person who has conviction." Writing in the magazine Réforme, Dominican priest Claude Geffré said:
*** g99 1/8 p. 13 Rights Without Responsibilities? *** Recently, though, 24 former presidents and prime ministers, representing all continents, have suggested that in addition to that declaration, a universal declaration of human responsibilities should be adopted by the United Nations. Why do many feel the need for such a project?
*** g99 1/8 p. 13 Rights Without Responsibilities? *** Consequently, politicians, theologians, and philosophers have been discussing a "universal ethics project," as the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization calls it, to fill the gap and determine what human responsibilities are. However, they have encountered some difficulty.
*** g99 1/8 p. 14 The Mediterranean—A Closed Sea With Open Wounds *** The economy of many Mediterranean lands, however, depends on tourism. Speaking of such countries, Michel Batisse, a former assistant director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, says: "Their only resource is tourism, but that depends on the coastline not being ruined by uncontrolled construction driven by the search for quick profits."
*** g99 1/8 p. 15 The Mediterranean—A Closed Sea With Open Wounds *** In 1990 the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) reported that 93 percent of shellfish taken from the Mediterranean contained more fecal bacteria than the maximum allowed by the World Health Organization.
*** g99 1/8 p. 31 UN Youth Initiatives—How Successful? *** However, the UN publication United Nations Action for Youth notes that especially in the developing world, progress is overshadowed by persistent problems related to education, employment, and poverty, and these are just a few of the areas that the World Programme aims to improve.
*** g99 2/8 p. 23 The Year 2000—Will Computer Crashes Affect You? *** heading off the year 2000 (Y2K) problem in their computer systems, and getting ready to process a new round of population censuses, according to the United Nations Information Service."
*** g99 2/22 Chemical Pesticides Kill More Than Bugs *** The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) estimates that there are more than 100,000 tons of leftover pesticides stored in developing countries. "A significant part of the stocks," notes Our Planet, a magazine published by the United Nations Environment Programme, "are left-overs of pesticides obtained under aid agreements."
*** g99 3/22 p. 28 Watching the World *** According to the International Herald Tribune, a recent United Nations report reveals that poverty is on the increase, even in the world's richest countries.
*** g99 4/8 p. 3 Children in Crisis *** "Unless the investment in children is made, all of humanity's most fundamental long-term problems will remain fundamental long-term problems."—United Nations Children's Fund.
*** g99 4/8 p. 5 The Crisis Is Worldwide *** In 1992 a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) report said that "'war on children' is a 20th century invention." According to a 1996 report by UNICEF, the view of some is that 'future generations of the enemy, that is, the enemies' children, must also be eliminated.'
*** g99 5/8 p. 31 How to Avoid a Global Tragedy *** THE UNITED NATIONS CALLS IT A "GLOBAL TRAGEDY"—AND RIGHTLY SO. WORLDWIDE, EVERY MINUTE A WOMAN DIES AS A CONSEQUENCE OF PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH.
*** g99 5/8 p. 31 How to Avoid a Global Tragedy *** Since many of these 600,000 pregnancy-related deaths each year could have been prevented with the help of skilled birth attendants, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are now stressing the training of women (and men) as professional midwives.
*** g99 5/22 p. 6 By the Sweat of Children *** Regarding an Asian country, the United Nations Children's Fund notes that "the view has been that some people are born to rule and to work with their minds while others, the vast majority, are born to work with their bodies."
*** g99 5/22 By the Sweat of Children *** The United Nations Children's Fund maintains that such work "is beneficial, promoting or enhancing a child's physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development without interfering with schooling, recreation and rest."*** g99 5/22 By the Sweat of Children *** The United Nations Children's Fund comments: "Child labour is often a complex issue.
*** g99 5/22 A New Defense in the Fight Against Tuberculosis *** says Peter Piot, director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, "who didn't benefit from the inexpensive anti-TB medicines they needed to cure their tuberculosis."
*** g99 5/22 p. 28 Watching the World *** Professor Stephen Wurm, editor of Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger of Disappearing, published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, adds:
*** g99 6/8 p. 6 Loss of a Limb—How You Can Reduce the Risk *** According to a report of the United Nations secretary-general, these programs teach "populations at risk . . . how to minimize their chances of becoming victims while living and working in mined areas."
*** g99 6/8 p. 6 Loss of a Limb—How You Can Reduce the Risk *** Sadly, "people become accustomed to the presence of mines and grow careless," says a United Nations report.
*** g99 6/8 p. 28 Watching the World *** "Nearly one-sixth of the 5.9 billion people in the world cannot read or write," reports The New York Times. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the illiteracy rate is expected to climb.
*** g99 6/22 p. 15 The Environment—Its Impact on Your Health *** Dr. Reed says that this environmental disruption, in turn, is contributing to health threats worldwide. In an article reviewing the book World Resources 1998-99, the magazine Our Planet, published by the United Nations, lists some of these threats to people's health. Among them are the following:
*** g99 6/22 p. 15 The Environment—Its Impact on Your Health *** How much money would it take to realize this goal? UN Radio reports that according to the United Nations Human Development Report 1998, providing clean water and sanitation for everyone would cost 11 billion dollars—that is less than the amount of money that Europeans spend on ice cream in one year!
*** g99 7/8 p. 29 Watching the World *** "Just $7 billion more each year are required for the next decade to achieve universal primary [school enrollment] worldwide by the year 2010," says The State of the World's Children 1999—Education, a report by the United Nations Children's Fund.
*** g99 7/22 pp. 3-4 The World Is Growing Grayer *** "The lengthening of life expectancy," says demographer Eileen Crimmins in Science magazine, "has been one of the greatest triumphs of humanity." The United Nations agrees, and to draw attention to this achievement, it has designated the year 1999 as the International Year of Older Persons.
*** g99 7/22 p. 29 Watching the World *** Moreover, the United Nations says that "there are 5,500 AIDS-related funerals every day in Africa," reports The New York Times.
*** g99 8/8 p. 28 Watching the World *** As a result, the paper adds, "instead of monitoring formal ceasefires between nations," the United Nations peacekeeping forces "find themselves interposed between warring factions whose goals—sometimes even their leadership structures—are unclear, and whose desire for peace is suspect."
*** g99 8/8 p. 28 Watching the World *** The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, defined the fundamental right to education. While many commendable efforts have been made, this goal is still far from being reached
*** g99 8/8 p. 28 Watching the World *** According to Reinhard Schlagintweit, the head of United Nations Children's Fund, Germany, it would take about $7 billion to send all children worldwide to primary school.
*** g99 8/8 pp. 28-29 Watching the World *** "Asia is affected by more natural disasters than any other region in the world," says the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. "In Asia in particular, risk reduction will become one of the major challenges of the 21st century."
*** g99 8/8 p. 29 Watching the World *** The Morse code, invented in 1832, "has played an incalculable part in the development of trade and history itself," acknowledges Roger Cohn, of the United Nations agency that regulates world shipping.
*** g99 9/8 p. 29 Watching the World *** . Despite major strides over the past 50 years, influenza continues to kill hundreds of thousands of people a year, reports the United Nations Department of Public Information.
*** g99 9/22 p. 5 What Is the Future of War? *** The desire to end war is expressed in the preamble to the charter of the United Nations. There we read of the determination of the member states "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime [with the two world wars] has brought untold sorrow to mankind.
*** g99 9/22 p. 7 What Is the Future of War? *** Some have felt that the United Nations might be that government. But the UN was never intended to be a world government with power beyond that of its member nations. It is only as strong as its member nations allow it to be. Suspicion and disagreement continue between those nations, and the power they grant to the UN is limited. Therefore, instead of shaping the international system, the UN remains more a reflection of it.
*** g99 9/22 p. 10 How Can I Cope With Injustice? *** THERE is much injustice in the world. A report from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said: "In the last decade, more than 2 million children have been killed during wars, while more than 4 million have survived physical mutilation and more than 1 million have been orphaned or separated from their families as a result of war."
*** g99 9/22 p. 18 Tasty Athletes of the Deep *** Organizations within the United Nations are attempting to promote sustainable harvests, but pitted against them are powerful vested interests. In fact, when some countries have attempted to police catches, they have ignited explosive incidents.
*** g99 11/8 p. 3 Hooking the World on Drugs *** In 1997 the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs warned that in many countries these synthetic drugs have become part of "mainstream consumer culture" and that they must be viewed as a "formidable threat to international society in the next century."
*** g99 11/8 p. 5 How Illicit Drugs Affect Your Life *** Indeed, some 22 percent of the world's HIV-positive population are drug users who injected themselves with infected needles. With good reason, at a recent United Nations conference, Nasser Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, from Qatar, warned that "the global village is about to become a communal tomb for millions of human beings as a result of the illicit drugs trade."
*** g99 11/8 p. 6 How Illicit Drugs Affect Your Life *** "Revenues from illicit drugs fund some of the world's fiercest religious and ethnic conflicts," reports the United Nations International Drug Control Programme.
*** g99 11/8 p. 8 Lives Ruined, Lives Lost *** The new wave of synthetic drugs can be just as hazardous. "Gullible youngsters buying drugs at a 'rave' party can have no idea of what chemical cocktail is about to bombard their brains," warns the United Nations World Drug Report.
*** g99 11/8 p. 11 Can the War on Drugs Be Won? *** One United Nations report calculated that "at least 75 percent of international drug shipments would need to be intercepted in order to substantially reduce the profitability of drug trafficking." At present, the rate of interception is probably not much higher than 30 percent for cocaine—and considerably less for other drugs.
*** g99 11/8 p. 14 Can the War on Drugs Be Won? *** If the war on drugs is to be won, there must be a global solution because the problem is already a global one. In this regard the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs notes:
*** g99 11/22 p. 29 Watching the World *** …a publication of the United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service. Child soldiers—some as young as eight years of age—are presently involved in over 30 conflicts around the world.
*** g99 11/22 p. 29 Watching the World *** To combat the increase in the number of child soldiers, the United Nations Children's Fund supports a proposal "that would raise the age of recruitment into armed forces to 18 years and urges that recruitment below that age be deemed a war crime," says the publication Facts & Figures 1998.
*** g99 11/22 p. 29 Watching the World *** "AIDS is now the [single] leading infectious disease killer in the world," notes Peter Piot, executive director of the United Nations AIDS program.
*** g99 12/8 p. 6 'The Most Profound Changes' *** Of the present 185 members of the United Nations, 116 did not exist as independent states at its founding in 1945!
*** g99 12/8 p. 29 Watching the World *** The United Nations Population Fund estimates that world population reached six billion on October 12, 1999.
*** g98 1/22 p. 28 Watching the World *** The United Nations recently estimated that one-third of all infants with H.I.V. got the virus through their mothers' milk."
*** g98 1/22 pp. 28-29 Watching the World *** These findings, part of the Progress of Nations annual survey conducted by UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), also reveal that "sanitation statistics are among those getting worse worldwide, not better."
*** g98 3/22 Good Stress, Bad Stress *** A United Nations report says: "Stress has become one of the most serious health issues of the 20th century." Its presence in the workplace is palpable.
*** g98 3/22 p. 29 Watching the World *** According to the United Nations organization, it is estimated that there are some 340 million drug addicts worldwide.
*** g98 4/8 p. 4 Discrimination Against Females *** Researchers in one Asian country found that 14 percent of the girls were malnourished, compared with only 5 percent of the boys. In some countries twice as many boys as girls are brought to health centers, explains a report from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). And over 40 percent of the young women in Africa as well as in southern and western Asia are illiterate. "There is a dreadful apartheid of gender going on in the developing world," lamented the late Audrey Hepburn, former UNICEF ambassador.
*** g98 4/8 p. 4 Discrimination Against Females *** According to a United Nations report, more than 70 percent of the 1.3 billion people of the world who live in dire poverty are women.
*** g98 4/8 Discrimination Against Females *** . "The sex industry is a huge market with its own momentum," laments Wassyla Tamzali, of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization).
*** g98 4/8 p. 8 Appreciating Women and Their Work *** A United Nations report estimates that between 30 and 50 percent of all households in Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America depend on a woman as their main provider.
*** g98 4/8 Appreciating Women and Their Work *** Nothing else has such power to improve family health and to improve the lives of women themselves, notes the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) publication The State of the World's Children 1991.
*** g98 4/8 p. 12 What Does the Future Hold for Women? *** Progress has undoubtedly been made since then, but as the United Nations publication The World's Women 1995 states, there is still a long way to go.
*** g98 5/8 p. 29 Watching the World *** The alarm was raised at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization conference on desertification that was held in Rome.
*** g98 6/8 p. 4 Prisoners of Poverty *** James Speth, administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, stated: "We cannot accept that [poverty] will always be with us.
*** g98 6/8 p. 4 Prisoners of Poverty *** The United Nations General Assembly evidently hopes that human efforts can eliminate poverty, as it proclaimed the years 1997 through 2006 as the first "United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty." The UN proposed to work alongside governments, peoples, and institutions to foster economic development, improve access to basic services, improve the status of women, and generate income and employment.
*** g98 6/8 p. 7 Prisoners of Poverty *** The United Nations estimates that the figure will soar to 6.2 billion by the year 2000 and to 9.8 billion by 2050.
*** g98 6/8 Prisoners of Poverty *** In 1971 the phrase "least developed countries" was coined by the United Nations to describe the "poorest and most economically weak of the developing countries."
*** g98 8/8 p. 28 Watching the World *** The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) report for 1997 indicates that malnutrition is the cause of death for 55 percent of the 12 million children under age five who die each year.
*** g98 9/8 p. 4 Suicide—A Scourge of Young People *** . A 1996 report from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) states that the highest youth suicide rates are in Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Russia, and Slovenia.
*** g98 9/8 p. 16 Brasília—Young, Different, and Growing Up Fast *** Admiration for the city and its builders is still very much alive in the office of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Brasília. "There exists no other example of a city plan carried out as faithfully as Costa's plan," UNESCO's cultural attaché, Dr. Briane E. Bicca, tells me. "That is one reason why Brasília is the world's first and only 20th-century city on UNESCO's World Heritage List."
*** g98 9/8 p. 17 Brasília—Young, Different, and Growing Up Fast *** The shape of the National Congress may remind you a bit of the United Nations headquarters in New York—and not without reason. One of the architects who had a hand in planning the UN buildings was Oscar Niemeyer—the same Brazilian architect who designed this National Congress and nearly all of Brasília's other main buildings.
*** g98 9/8 p. 22 A Language That You See! *** A United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization commission on Deaf education stated:
*** g98 9/22 p. 28 Watching the World *** The United Nations has declared 1998 to be the "International Year of the Ocean."
*** g98 11/8 p. 3 Aids—The Epidemic Continues *** . According to United Nations figures, by the turn of the century, that number could soar to 40 million people. One UN report says that the disease rivals the greatest epidemics of history.
*** g98 11/8 p. 9 Aids—What Hope for the Future? *** Each year, according to the United Nations Children's Fund, about four million children die from five diseases that can be prevented by inexpensive, existing vaccines.
*** g98 11/22 p. 3 A "Long Job Finished" *** FIFTY years ago, a grandmotherly-looking woman spoke up, and the world listened. It happened in Paris on December 10, 1948. The United Nations General Assembly was gathered in the recently built Palais Chaillot when the chairwoman of the UN Commission on Human Rights rose to give a speech. In a firm voice, Eleanor Roosevelt, the tall widow of former U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, told those assembled: "We stand today at the threshold of a great event both in the life of the United Nations and in the life of mankind, that is the approval by the General Assembly of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."
*** g98 11/22 A "Long Job Finished" *** What Are Human Rights? The United Nations defines human rights as "those rights which are inherent in our nature and without which we cannot live as human beings."
*** g98 11/22 p. 6 A View From the 29th Floor *** WHEN you step off the elevator onto the 29th floor of the United Nations building in New York City, a small blue sign shows the way to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). This liaison office represents the headquarters of the OHCHR in Geneva, Switzerland—the focal point for UN human rights activities.
*** g98 11/22 p. 12 Human Rights for All—A Worldwide Reality! *** A well-known inscription on a wall of the United Nations Plaza in New York City reads: "They shall beat their swords into plowshares. And their spears into pruning hooks: Nation shall not lift up sword against nation. Neither shall they learn war any more." With this quotation from the Bible book of Isaiah chapter 2, verse 4, King James Version, the UN points to a major way to decrease massive human rights violations—end warfare. After all, war is 'the antithesis of human rights,' as one UN publication expresses it.
*** g98 11/22 p. 22 The Edict of Nantes—A Charter for Tolerance? *** At a recent United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization conference, a speaker argued that "one of the ways of celebrating the Edict of Nantes is to think about the status of religions in our time."
*** g98 11/22 p. 24 Why Must I Live Without My Parents? *** In the meantime, you may face a number of serious problems. A study conducted by the United Nations Children's Fund, called Children in War, reveals: "Unaccompanied children are the most vulnerable children—those who . . . face the harshest obstacles to survival, lack support for normal development and are abused.
*** g98 11/22 p. 28 Watching the World *** "One quarter of the world's population now has no direct access to drinking water." To address the water crisis, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization held an international conference in Paris, in March 1998.
*** g98 12/22 p. 4 A Flood of Man-Made Chemicals *** According to the United Nations Environment Programme, each year some 100 tons of mercury, 3,800 tons of lead, 3,600 tons of phosphates, and 60,000 tons of detergents enter the Mediterranean Sea as a result of human activities.
*** g98 12/22 p. 29 Watching the World *** "Not having a birth certificate is the functional equivalent of not having been born," says Carol Bellamy, executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund, the agency that conducted the worldwide survey
*** g97 1/8 p. 5 Greed—What Is It Doing to Us? *** The New York Times reported that James Gustave Speth, an administrator in the United Nations Development Program, stated that "an emerging global elite . . . is amassing great wealth and power, while more than half of humanity is left out."
*** g97 1/8 p. 31 Violence Against Women *** FROM the womb to the grave, women fall victim to violence, according to the United Nations' Human Development Report 1995. Studies from around the world reveal the following:
*** g97 1/22 p. 28 Watching the World *** The State of the World's Children 1995, a report by UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), says that it is absurd to think that the world cannot afford to meet the essential needs of its children.
*** g97 2/8 p. 14 When Land Turns Into Desert *** The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) calls desertification "one of the most serious global environmental problems."
*** g97 2/8 p. 31 Poverty—The 'Silent Emergency' *** "WE HEAR a lot about loud emergencies of global warming and ozone layers and ocean pollution," said United Nations adviser Dr. Mahbub Ul-Haq, but he added: "Global warming and many other loud emergencies have yet to kill anybody [while] the silent emergencies are wasting many lives in the developing countries every day."
*** g97 2/8 p. 31 Poverty—The 'Silent Emergency' *** "One hundred and fifty years ago the world launched a crusade against slavery," reminded James Gustave Speth, the United Nations Development Programme administrator.
*** g97 3/8 p. 29 Watching the World *** Similarly, Dr. Peter Piot, head of the United Nations AIDS program, told the 11th international meeting on AIDS that India has suddenly emerged as the nation with the largest number of people infected with the AIDS virus—over 3 million of its 950 million population.
*** g97 4/8 p. 12 Sexual Exploitation of Children—A Worldwide Problem *** A United Nations representative said it "is an assault on children on all fronts
*** g97 4/8 p. 31 Women Living Longer but Not Necessarily Better *** Our Planet, a magazine of the United Nations, notes that for a majority of the world's women, basic human rights are still "the icing on the cake they have never tasted.
*** g97 4/22 p. 28 Watching the World *** Globally, the AIDS epidemic has set back human development by 1.3 years, states a recent report by the United Nations Development Programme. Hardest hit are certain African nations—Zambia has lost more than ten years of human development progress; Tanzania, eight years;
*** g97 4/22 p. 28 Watching the World *** According to the United Nations Development Programme, the number of people living in absolute poverty is increasing by nearly 25 million each year.
*** g97 5/8 p. 29 Watching the World *** The report, part of a two-year United Nations study, revealed that child recruits were themselves brutalized, often by being forced to witness the torture and death of relatives.
*** g97 6/8 p. 22 Singapore—Asia's Tarnished Jewel *** As recently as December 29, 1995, Mr. K. Kesavapany, Singapore's permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, in a letter addressed to H. E. Ibrahim Fall, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, of the United Nations in Geneva, stated the following:
*** g97 6/22 p. 28 Watching the World *** According to a recent United Nations social development report, 83 percent of the world's income goes to the richest 20 percent of the population.
*** g97 7/8 p. 16 Matera—City of Unique Cave Dwellings *** ABOUT 50 years ago, some thought that the strange dwellings had become a kind of Dante's "inferno," leading the authorities to decree their evacuation. Partially repopulated, they have now even been included in the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, safeguarded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
*** g97 8/8 p. 12 Food for All—Just a Dream? *** "EVERY man, woman and child has the right to be free from hunger and malnutrition" proclaimed the World Food Conference sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) back in 1974. A call was then made to eradicate hunger from the world "within a decade."
*** g97 8/22 p. 6 Where the Crisis Is Greater *** On November 10, 1980, the United Nations General Assembly spoke confidently about the coming "International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade.
*** g97 9/22 p. 11 Safeguarding Children's Health *** A RECENT report by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), The Progress of Nations, shows significant improvement in health conditions for children in many lands.
*** g97 10/8 p. 10 A Trouble-Free Paradise—Soon a Reality *** The United Nations, so often hailed as the best hope for peace, struggles to keep opposing parties apart in areas of conflict.
*** g97 10/8 p. 28 Watching the World *** Female genital mutilation (FGM) continues to be a problem in many countries, particularly in Africa, according to The Progress of Nations 1996, a yearly report published by the United Nations.
*** g97 10/22 p. 3 War Reaps a Young Harvest *** The toll on children has been heavy. It is estimated that during the past ten years alone, according to the United Nations Children's Fund, wars have slain two million children and disabled four million to five million others.
*** g97 10/22 p. 5 Why Children Make Good Warriors *** Says the United Nations Children's Fund: "Children who have grown up surrounded by violence see this as a permanent way of life. Alone, orphaned, frightened, bored and frustrated, they will often finally choose to fight."
*** g97 10/22 p. 10 A Bright Future for Our Children *** The State of the World's Children 1996, a report by the United Nations Children's Fund, hails these laws as "genuine landmarks" and adds:
*** g97 10/22 p. 11 A Bright Future for Our Children *** And who are the top five exporters of arms to the developing world? The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council!
*** g97 12/8 p. 29 Watching the World *** "Approximately 2 million girls are mutilated every year," states the 1996 edition of The Progress of Nations, a United Nations Children's Fund publication on the health, nutrition, and education of children.
*** g96 1/8 p. 10 Is the Battle Being Won? *** Both sectors are showing signs of deterioration. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has calculated that the fishing fleets of the world cannot catch more than 100 million tons of fish without seriously threatening fish stocks.
*** g96 1/8 Is the Battle Being Won? *** A United Nations study in the early 1980's found that one billion people live in urban areas that are exposed daily to health-threatening levels of soot particles or poisonous gases, such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide.
*** g96 3/8 p. 5 The Plague of Unemployment *** . In 1945 the Charter of the United Nations organization set as a goal the rapid achievement of full employment.
*** g96 2/22 p. 28 Watching the World *** The United Nations is trying to raise $75 million to begin the removal of an estimated 110 million land mines in 64 countries, reports the International Herald Tribune.
*** g96 3/8 p. 29 Watching the World *** According to the United Nations, the number of "least developed countries" increased from 27 in 1975 to 48 in 1995. Worldwide there are 1.3 billion poor people, and their number is increasing.
*** g96 4/8 p. 28 Watching the World *** "In Rwanda and other places, the perpetrators of some of the worst atrocities were children," said a United Nations spokesman.
*** g96 4/22 p. 3 Is a World Without War Possible? *** . For four decades rivalry between the East and the West had made the United Nations little more than a debating society. But the end of the Cold War liberated the UN to do what it was designed to do—to work toward international peace and security.
*** g96 4/22 p. 3 Is a World Without War Possible? *** The UN has in recent years intensified efforts to discourage warfare. Equipped with troops from member nations, the United Nations engaged in more peacekeeping operations in the 4 years preceding 1994 than in the previous 44 years. Some 70,000 civilian and military personnel served in 17 operations throughout the world. In just two years, peacekeeping expenditures more than doubled to $3.3 billion in 1994.
*** g96 4/22 p. 4 Who Can Bring Lasting Peace? *** THE above text is from Isaiah chapter 2, verse 4, in the King James version of the Bible. The Human Development Report 1994, published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), quoted these words and then added: "It appeared that the time for this prophecy had come with the end of the cold war [in 1990]. But so far this has proved to be an elusive hope."
*** g96 4/22 p. 7 Who Can Bring Lasting Peace? *** Between 1989 and 1992, according to a United Nations count, there were 82 armed conflicts, most of which were fought within developing countries. During 1993, 42 countries had major conflicts and another 37 countries experienced political violence. Meanwhile, the United Nations—its budget strained to the limit—struggled without much success to bring peace in just 17 operations.
*** g96 4/22 p. 28 Watching the World *** "For three days last week, leaders from every continent got together at the 50th birthday party of the United Nations to make grand speeches about the state of the world," reported The New York Times last October.
*** g96 6/8 p. 5 A World Without Automobiles? *** In 1995 the United Nations Climate Conference was held in Berlin. Representatives from 116 countries agreed that something needed to be done.
*** g96 7/8 p. 3 A Global Village but Still Divided *** States a report of the United Nations Population Fund: "On a scale unknown in history—and certain to grow—people around the world are uprooting themselves and migrating in search of a better life."
*** g96 7/8 p. 12 End of an Era—Hope for the Future? *** Less than a year later, Arkady Shevchenko, a former political adviser to the Soviet foreign minister, and for five years an under secretary-general of the United Nations, commented with particular insight when he wrote: "The U.S.S.R. is at a crossroads.
*** g96 7/8 p. 15 End of an Era—Hope for the Future? *** In November the United Nations rose to the occasion and threatened military action unless Iraq withdrew from Kuwait. The world was once again teetering on the brink of possible disaster, and control of oil supplies was the basic issue.
*** g96 7/8 p. 22 The Pope's UN Visit—What Did It Accomplish? *** "Our prayer for peace is therefore also a prayer for the United Nations Organization. Saint Francis of Assisi . . . shines forth as a great lover and artisan of peace. Let us invoke his intercession upon the United Nations' work for justice and peace throughout the world."
*** g96 7/8 pp. 22-23 The Pope's UN Visit—What Did It Accomplish? *** Then he stated: "As we face these enormous challenges, how can we fail to acknowledge the role of the United Nations Organization?" He said that the UN needs "to become a moral center where all the nations of the world feel at home." He stressed the need to promote "the solidarity of the entire human family."
*** g96 7/22 p. 12 The "New World Order"—Off to a Shaky Start *** But the United Nations had flexed its muscles and ordered Iraq to withdraw by January 15.
*** g96 7/22 p. 14 The "New World Order"—Off to a Shaky Start *** This led up to the anniversary of another significant event, the founding of the United Nations organization in October 1945. Hopes then ran high that the key to achieving world peace had at last been found. The United Nations, as Boutros Boutros-Ghali, its secretary-general, recently said in its defense, has scored many triumphs.
*** g96 8/22 p. 3 The Offspring of Calamity *** This is the experience of millions today. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 27 million people worldwide have fled war or persecution.
*** g96 8/22 p. 4 Growing Numbers of Refugees *** During the 20th century, the number of refugees has soared. In an effort to care for the 1.5 million refugees remaining from World War II, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was established in 1951.
*** g96 9/22 p. 17 Dying Coral Reefs—Are Humans Responsible? *** A study from the World Conservation Union and the United Nations Environment Programme found that people had damaged or destroyed significant amounts of reef in 93 countries.
*** g96 10/8 Where Is the Country Free of Crime? *** The book The United Nations and Crime Prevention notes "a steady increase worldwide in criminal activity in the 1970s and 1980s."
*** g96 10/8 p. 7 Struggling to End Crime *** A 1990 United Nations survey revealed that the more highly developed countries spend an average of 2 to 3 percent of their annual budgets on crime control, while developing countries spend even more, an average of 9 to 14 percent.
*** g96 10/8 p. 10 At Last—A Government That Will End Crime *** The United Nations is a transnational (international) body. Since its founding, it has sought to combat crime. But it has no more answers than the national governments have. The book The United Nations and Crime Prevention notes:
*** g96 11/22 p. 28 Watching the World *** About 585,000 women die each year during pregnancy or while giving birth, says a new comprehensive survey by UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund). According to the report The Progress of Nations 1996, much of the childbearing tragedy is preventable. It states:
*** g96 11/22 pp. 28-29 Watching the World *** Data compiled by the United Nations Joint Program on H.I.V.-AIDS shows that in 1995 some 1.3 million people were ill with the symptoms of AIDS, a 25-percent increase over the previous year.
*** g96 12/22 p. 29 Watching the World *** According to estimates by the United Nations, there are presently some 100 million mines buried in 68 countries
*** g96 12/22 p. 29 Watching the World *** Ever more people are moving to the cities, reports the United Nations publication The State of World Population 1996.
*** g95 1/8 p. 29 Watching the World *** According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 13 of the world's 17 major ocean fisheries are in trouble—4 of which are classified as commercially depleted.
*** g95 2/8 When Children Are Abducted by Strangers *** According to the United Nations, about ten million children, mostly in developing countries, have been forced into prostitution, many of whom had been kidnapped.
*** g95 2/8 p. 28 Watching the World *** Canada has been judged by the United Nations as the best place in the world to live.
*** g95 2/22 p. 28 Watching the World *** In connection with the upcoming World Summit for Social Development in March 1995, the UNDP (United Nations Development Program) released a newsletter expressing its concern over human security.
*** g95 3/8 p. 3 How Nutritious Is Your Food? *** In fact, according to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 20 percent of the world's population suffer from hunger.
*** g95 3/8 p. 3 How Nutritious Is Your Food? *** Reports UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund): "No epidemic, no flood, nor any earthquake or war has ever robbed the lives of 250,000 children in just a week."
*** g95 3/8 p. 6 How Wholesome Food Can Improve Your Health *** States Facts for Life, a United Nations publication: "For the first few months of a baby's life, breastmilk alone is the best possible food and drink. Infants need other foods, in addition to breastmilk, when they are four-to-six months old."
*** g95 4/22 p. 31 "A Financial Holocaust" *** ACCORDING to a UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) report, sub-Saharan Africa is suffering "a financial holocaust."
*** g95 5/22 p. 29 Watching the World *** According to statistics by UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), the number of people on the planet reached 5.66 billion in mid-1994.
*** g95 6/8 p. 28 Watching the World *** Lack of iodine in the diet affects the well-being of at least 600 million people, estimates the United Nations Children's Fund.
*** g95 7/22 pp. 4-5 Man's Fight Against Disasters *** Five years later, in December 1989, the United Nations responded to his call for an end to passivity by designating the years from 1990 to 2000 as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, or IDNDR. What is its aim?
*** g95 7/22 p. 5 Man's Fight Against Disasters *** To alter this spending pattern, the United Nations defined three targets for the decade. By the year 2000, all countries should have in place their (1) assessment of the risks posed by natural hazards, (2) long-term preparedness and prevention plans, and (3) warning systems.
*** g95 7/22 p. 9 The Fight Against Disasters Won *** THE efforts of the United Nations and of individual governments to mitigate the effects of natural disasters are surely laudable.
*** g95 8/8 p. 28 Watching the World *** Refugees from war-torn Rwanda are plagued with yet another problem in their camps in Ngara, northern Tanzania: witchcraft. According to Reuters news service, UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) has singled out witchcraft as a "serious problem" in the camps. Every night, according to UNHCR spokesman Chris Bowers, two or three people are killed in occult rituals.
*** g95 9/8 How Is Our World Today?</ |