Peace and Security Issues

A peacekeeper of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) with a group of children during patrols of the Katanga area.

UN Bodies

• Security Council
  Function, structure, rules of procedures, members, documents, and Security Council Committees, including: Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC/CTED), 1540 Committee, and Sanctions Committees
.
• General Assembly First Committee (Disarmament and
  International Security)
  Function, structure, rules of procedures, members, documents, action by the General Assembly First Committee.
• General Assembly Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization)
  Function, structure, rules of procedures, members, documents, action by the General Assembly Fourth Committee.
• Peacebuilding Commission
  Function, membership, activities, documents.
• Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force
  Function, membership, activities, documents.
• Disarmament Commission
  Consensus principles, guidelines and recommendations.
• Conference on Disarmament
  Annual reports, documents, Member States, meeting records, statements.
• Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
  Function, activities, reports and studies.

Thematic Issues

• Peacemaking and Preventive Action
  Peacemaking activities, reports, documents and other related material.
• Peacekeeping
  Peacekeeping activities, current and completed missions, maps, documents, statements, statistics.
• Peacebuilding
  Peacebuilding architecture, functions, documents, statements and other related material.
• Disarmament
  Disarmament agenda, Advisory Board, UN Institute for Disarmament Research, documents.
• Countering Terrorism
  Global strategy to counter-terrorism; implementation of strategy, UN system-wide actions and actors.
• Electoral Assistance
  Objectives, overview, activities, documents, roster of experts.
• Decolonization
  History, structure, documents on the UN role in decolonization.
  
• Children and Armed Conflict
  Mission statement, reports and statements, issues relating to child soldiers.
• Women, Peace and Security
  Gender perspective in peace and security issues, documents, statements.
• Mine Action
  Policies, advocacy, action, victim assistance, mine-risk education, documents.

Other Resources

• International Day of Peace
  Commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace within and among all nations and people.
• International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers
  Paying tribute to all men and women who have served and continue to serve in United Nations peacekeeping operations.
• Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters
  Issues, reports, members, contact.
• United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research
  Research projects, publications, small meetings and expert networks.
• University for Peace
  Education programmes, training and research for peace, including conflict-prevention, human security, human rights, environmental security and post-conflict rehabilitation.

Taking Things Slow

This Monday I had the privilege of listening to myself play Viola. It was a weird experience for me-not cause I've never heard myself play before-because I had forgotten I let Jacob record me. This particular performance for my friend occurred within the first month of college life at TLU. It was interesting to listen and see myself play. I was surprised to find that it sounded quite nice, especially after my summer break without any practice. :O But it made me feel accomplished.
College life is tough-REEEALLLY TOUGH-but it's manageable. We have a lot of readings and studying to do, all while trying to fit in time for our friends. To say the least, it's unpleasant. But you have to push through. You don't need to warp your brain cramming in information non-stop, we're not machines you know. If you're like me, you've made some changes to adapt to the flow of college and are doing pretty well for the most part. So now I believe it's time for you to take things slow. Gaze out onto the campus-if it's not raining-and admire its beauty. Go for a walk, get some fresh air. Most of all, take time to look at how far we've all come this past month adjusting and pursuing our education. Stop and see the work you've put in since the start of this semester, how it's payed off, and how we're almost halfway there! Remember you've worked hard to be where you are, and we must continue working hard to move forward. Sometimes, like this Monday, you'll catch a glimpse into performances from your past and boast of your success, realizing its a constant slope upward to improvement. We're all doing well, and only 4 more years to go!

Cheap Auto Insurance For Young Drivers

Cheap vehicle insurance for young drivers is one of the main problems for many parents and young drivers. By taking a few simple extra steps a parent and young driver can insure that they are buying Cheap Car Insurance For Young Drivers. Our counselors are waiting for you to visit today to receive your quote for inexpensive car insurance for young drivers.

Getting cheap car insurance for young drivers requires planning and effort for both parents and young people. It is vital that the people understand that cheap vehicle insurance for young people is only available if the young driver has met several requirements. Students must take workshops that are given by most major insurance groups. These classes provide the training necessary for the young drivers to be safe in any event. They instruct students about driving through oil, water, and other hazards on the freeway as well as how to maneuver past hazards in the freeway. In addition, students are trained how to drive in heavy traffic and what hazards to be aware of when motoring at night. These seminars also teach young people how to react when vehicles or motorcycles suddenly pull in front of their auto. This is important when a young person will be traveling in a large urban area or on busy streets.

Some large insurance companies also give cheap auto insurance for students to young people who keep a certain grade point average. As long as the grade point average is sustained, young drivers are awarded a significant reduction in their insurance costs and this reduction will get carried through to adulthood. The grade point average is based on the national average for grades and in some areas will be well below what the actual grade point average of many students are. This makes if much easier for average young drivers to qualify for this rate reduction.

The least complex way to acquire low cost car insurance for young people is to add them to their parent’s standard insurance policy. When the young driver is added to their parent’s in-place insurance policy he~she gets all of the conveniences of the primary insured and can drive in any of the cars on the insurance policy, but they do not have to pay the increased premium that it would cost a student to get the same insurance on their own. Many young people stay on their parents’ insurance policy until they either leave home or graduate from school. Many insurance companies make provisions for students to attain low cost auto insurance for students as long as they live at home or remain in school. This is a advantage for both the young person and their parents who would normally pay for their young driver’s auto insurance when they were away at school.

Cheap Car Insurance For Young Drivers is a necessity that cannot be delayed. All cars on the highway must have insurance to be driven legally. When a young person begins traveling they need to have the protection that insurance offers.

The Benefits of a Secured Loan

A secured homeowner loan is, as its name suggests, a loan secured against your property. Secured loans require no upfront survey, legal or other fees. The loan can be used for many uses, including paying off outstanding loans or credit cards and reducing your monthly repayments. Also, the loan can be used for home improvements, a new car, a wedding, a holiday or to inject cash into your business.

There are various specialist lenders willing to advance finance secured by way of a second charge against the your home over a term of between 5 and 25 years. Generally speaking, the maximum combined loan-to-value (LTV) of the existing mortgage, plus the proposed extra secured loan, should not exceed 90%. In fact, some lenders will restrict the maximum LTV to 80% if for business purposes.

As the finance lender would be second in the queue for security, this involves a slightly higher risk which means that a higher interest rate would be charged, the interest rate depending upon the applicant’s credit history. Although secured homeowner loans might be more costly in terms of the interest charged in some cases, the following advantages may apply.

• A secured loan may usually be raised much faster than finance using a remortgage. Whereas it might typically take three weeks to arrange finance via a secured loan, it usually takes at least six weeks to remortgage.
• The applicant may be tied to a mortgage lender offering a low interest rate for say 3 or 5 years, which might involve early redemption charges if the mortgage is redeemed prematurely. In using a secured loan, the mortgage can remain in place to avoid this charge.
• Whilst the applicant may have a 25 year mortgage, they may not wish to extend his business finance for such a long term, which would be the case if they remortgaged.
• Finance raised via remortgaging cannot be offset against the future profits of a business for tax purposes. However, a separate secured loan can be clearly identified as being for business use and offset against tax accordingly.

When thinking about applying for a secured homeowner loan, it is wide to consult with a professional loan broker who will search the market and source the best secured loan for you from a wide panel of lenders.

Obama warns of 'serious issues' in Afghan election

President Barack Obama warned Sunday of "serious issues" in the disputed Afghan elections and vowed domestic political concerns would not dictate whether he sends more troops to the unpopular war.
Ahead of the UN and G20 summits this week, Obama also denied "paranoid" Russian objections had dictated his decision to abandon a US missile shield in Eastern Europe and said North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il seemed "healthy" and in "control."
The president's media offensive came a day before he is due to head to New York for his debut United Nations general assembly as president, and the G20 economic crisis summit of developed and developing nations later in the week in Pittsburgh.
As allegations of fraud mount following Afghanistan's elections in August, complicating Obama's attempt to maintain failing public support for the eight-year war, the president made his most expansive comments yet on the conduct of the polls.
"It did not go as smoothly as I think we would have hoped, and there are some serious issues in terms of how the election was conducted in some parts of the country," Obama said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Obama added on CNN that the world would have to "wait and see" if reported widespread fraud had a substantial impact on the election, which President Hamid Karzai appears to have won.
The president also weighed in on the raging debate about a widely expected request by the US military for more troops in Afghanistan, as he digests war commander General Stanley McChrystal's classified report on US strategy.
"We're going to test whatever resources we have against our strategy, which is if by sending young men and women into harm's way, we are defeating Al-Qaeda," he said on ABC.
"(If) that can be shown to a skeptical audience -- namely me, somebody who is always asking hard questions about deploying troops -- then we will do what's required to keep the American people safe," Obama said.
The president also gave his most detailed assessment yet of the priceless intelligence brought back by former president Bill Clinton from his mission to Pyongyang in August to win the release of two US journalists.
The president told CNN he had been interested by Clinton's assessment that North Korean leader Kim, with whom Washington is locked in a dispute over nuclear weapons, was "pretty healthy and in control."
"President Clinton had a chance to see him close up and have conversations with him," Obama added.
"There's no doubt that this is somebody who I think for a while people thought was slipping away. He's reasserted himself."
Speculation has surrounded Kim's health for months amid signs he suffered a stroke last year and was preparing the succession for his son Kim Jong-Un.
Days before meeting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at the United Nations, the president also denied that his decision to shelve a plan by the former Bush administration for a missile shield in Europe was based on Moscow's objections.
"Russia had always been paranoid about this, but George Bush was right, this wasn't a threat to them," Obama told CBS show "Face the Nation."
"The Russians don't make determinations about what our defense posture is," he said.
"If the by-product of it is that the Russians feel a little less paranoid and are now willing to work more effectively with us to deal with threats like ballistic missiles from Iran or nuclear development in Iran, you know, then that's a bonus."
Obama also made an attempt to bolster his push to pass his top priority health care initiative, amid opposition from Republicans and even reservations among some fellow Democrats in Congress.
He dismissed the view that the furor over his plan was a symptom of racism.
"Anytime there's a president who is proposing big changes that seem to (involve) the size of government, that gets everybody's juices flowing and sometimes you get some pretty noisy debate.
"This isn't a radical plan. This isn't grafting a single payer model onto the United States. It's simply trying to deal with what everybody acknowledges is a big problem."
On the economy, ahead of the G20 summit, Obama warned that although there are signs that growth may soon resume in the United States, there is little evidence of better news on unemployment.
"I want to be clear, that probably the jobs picture is not going to improve considerably and it could even get a little bit worse over the next couple of months," Obama, who already has predicted the national jobless rate will hit 10 percent, told CNN.