Year of multiple crises ends, another begins

NEW YORK - As he completes his second year in office, come December 31, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon must surely be one of the world's most passionate globe trotters. In the last 12 months alone, he participated in more than 700 bilateral meetings, including 350 meetings with presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers.

As he toured the far corners of the world -- either on political or humanitarian missions -- he spent 103 days on the road this year, visiting 35 countries and flying 254,128 miles (or more than 400,000 kilometers). But he still skipped Sri Lanka from his Asian itinerary - wittingly or unwittingly.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (L) and Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband greet U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon before a United Nations Security Council meeting to address piracy off the coast of Somalia at the U.N. headquarters in New York December 16. Reuters

Numbers do not equal results, the Secretary-General told reporters during his year-end news conference last week. "But they are a measure of our sincere engagement with all concerned parties."

Not surprisingly, the Secretary-General outlined a relatively dismal picture of the political, military and humanitarian situation both in the Middle East and the perpetually strife torn Africa.

"This has been a difficult year for all of us," he said. "I have called it the year of multiple crises. The coming year promises to be no less difficult. Our commitments and good intentions will be tested as never before".

The food and fuel crises were aggravated by the financial meltdown which spread from Wall Street to Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Last week there was never a dull moment on the international news wire either -- both on the economic and political fronts and also inside and outside the United Nations.

The financial edifice in New York was in danger of collapsing as a private investment firm admitted a monumental scam where individual investors and charities lost a staggering $50 billion almost overnight giving another black eye to Anglo-Saxon capitalism.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, blasted Israel for the "unprecedented and deeply regrettable" treatment of a UN human rights expert, Professor Richard Falk, who was held incommunicado at the Ben Gurion airport and denied entry into the occupied territories stymieing his mission to check the continued repression of Palestinians.

At the UN, the General Assembly passed a controversial declaration -- a first step towards de-criminalizing homosexuality -- with 66 countries voting in favour. The US joined an "unholy alliance," siding with countries such as China and Russia (with whom it crosses swords in the Security Council over Iraq, Zimbabwe, Myanmar and Sudan) in refusing to support the declaration.

The Europeans, the traditional allies of the US, were on the opposite side of the aisle, because the declaration that condemned homophobia as a human rights violation was sponsored by France, the current chair of the 27-member European Union.

The breaking news that virtually burnt the wires last week was the story of a gutsy Iraqi journalist, Muntader al-Zaidi, who hurled his shoes at visiting US President George W. Bush at a Baghdad press conference delivering what is considered the ultimate insult in the Arab world.

Hailed as a hero in much of the Arab world, he received strong support from a massive demonstration in the streets of Baghdad. A Saudi newspaper reported an offer of some $10 million to buy just one of the shoes that shot into international fame almost overnight.

Less than 24 hours after that incident, the outgoing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was holding a news conference at the UN and there were rumours that reporters covering that briefing may be asked to leave their shoes at the door. But that turned out to be untrue.

As the UN struggles to keep the peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Somalia, it is finding it increasingly difficult to get troops, military equipment and funds to sustain its peacekeeping operations.

The joint UN-African Union force in Darfur will be about 60 percent deployed by year's end, and 85 percent by March of next year. But it still lacks critical assets, including helicopters and additional troops, which member states are unwilling to provide.

The humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe has grown more alarming by the hour, with over 1,000 deaths caused by cholera. "Zimbabwe stands on the brink of economic, social and political collapse," says the Secretary-General.

But the UN remains helpless in Somalia which faced with anarchy and political chaos. The secretary-general said he had spoken with the leaders of 50 countries and three international organizations about organizing a multinational force in Somalia.

But not a single country has volunteered to lead such a force while most member states have refused to provide troops. As a result, there will be no UN force in Somalia.

The Middle East is no better as the situation continues to deteriorate. Despite pleas by the UN, Israel is unwilling to loosen its tight grip on its occupied territories where Palestinians have been cut off from food supplies, medicine and urgently needed funds.

The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has worsened with insurgent attacks rising on a daily basis.
The New Year does not hold much hope for the world at large.