As Sudan, Darfur rebels sign ceasefire, Ban calls for definitive peace pact

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on all parties in the deadly conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region to agree on a definitive political settlement following the signing of a cessation of hostilities accord between the Government and a major rebel group.

“But I only support the charitable branch of Hamas….”

…or Hizballah - fill in the name of your favorite terrorist organization.

There are arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court over whether it is legal to provide money or other material support to specific subgroups of organizations that have been designated as terrorists by the American government. Although the specific case before the court involves the Kurdish Workers Party, known more commonly as the PKK, the issue applies to Hamas and Hizballah as well. Both Islamic organizations have branches that build schools, operate hospitals and provide public services - in addition to militias that kill Israelis.

There is a problem with providing money or support to the charitable branches of terrorist organizations. It’s the same fiction when the U.S. government provides “non-lethal” support to a liberation or opposition group. For example, at one time, we provided this so-called non-lethal support to Iraqi opposition groups (that later was changed to include lethal support).

Here is how it works. The United States gives a particular group a sum of money with the proviso that the money can only be used to buy non-lethal items. That group then uses money from other sources to buy their weapons, and uses the money from the United States to buy other supplies. If the United States had not provided the non-lethal aid, the group would have had to spend the other money on the non-lethal supplies. It is pure fiction - money is a fungible commodity. To later claim that “no American money was used to buy weapons” is ludicrous.

The same holds true for terrorist organizations. If you give money to Hamas or Hizballah for their charitable work or public service programs, the money they would have spent on those programs is freed up to buy weapons or finance terrorist operations. Again, money is a fungible commodity and it is fiction to believe that you can support only a part of a terrorist organization.

U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan has it exactly right - her brief contends that any support the given to a terrorist group allows the group to put more of its own resources into violent activities.

Sending money to any branch of a terrorist organization is supporting a terrorist organization. It is that simple.

UN official voices hope for peaceful Sudanese polls

Many challenges remain with just under 50 days left until the historic national polls in Sudan, but a United Nations official today expressed hope that the process will continue to be peaceful and reflect the will of the people of the vast African nation.

As Sudan, Darfur rebels sign ceasefire, Ban calls on all sides to reach definitive peace

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on all parties in the deadly conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region to agree on a definitive political settlement following the signing of a cessation of hostilities accord between the Government and a major rebel group.

Today on New Scientist: 23 February 2010

All today’s stories on newscientist.com at a glance, including: the new weapons trained on blindness, how a lawsuit could shut down the LHC, and why we should stop funding homeopathy

Ban to travel to Los Angeles to engage creative community on global issues

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will travel to the United States city of Los Angeles next week to meet with the creative community and look into how the United Nations and the entertainment industry can collaborate to spotlight and mobilize the public on global issues, it was announced today.

Ban praises Latin American, Caribbean cooperation but urges even more action

While praising the significant progress made in strengthening regional cooperation and in pursuing greater economic and social integration among Latin American and Caribbean countries, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a United Nations-backed meeting that now is the time to mobilize further action.

Over 60,000 Haitians vaccinated as part of ongoing UN-backed campaign

More than 60,000 people in earthquake-devastated Haiti have been vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus and other diseases, but additional teams are urgently needed to wrap up this immunization campaign, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) reported today.

Nigeria must set example for rest of Africa in tackling HIV, says UNAIDS chief

The head of the United Nations agency leading the global effort against HIV and AIDS has commended the Nigerian Government for its progressive policies, while calling for greater efforts to tackle the epidemic and set an example for the rest of Africa.

African officials at UN-backed meeting seek to protect migrating children

With cross-border movement of unaccompanied minors reaching into the thousands, senior officials from 15 Eastern and Southern African countries are thrashing out ways to strengthen cooperation for the protection of children at risk, at a three-day United Nations-backed meeting beginning today in Pretoria, South Africa.