Peace Talks Occurring in Darfur to End Violence

The AU and UN hybrid mission to bring peace in Sudan has been holding new chats with the Sudanese government and rebel groups in an effort to curb violence in areas like Darfur so that humanitarian aid may be distributed to civilians and peace talks can begin.

The situation in Sudan, especially Darfur, has only worsened over the course of the past five years. The UN African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) was created to help with the implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement in July 2007. Hopefully these talks will be a step forward for the UN and AU and for an end to the violence in Darfur.

To learn more go to:

http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unamid/index.html

Looking at aid on google

Google and many UN humanitarian aid agencies have now teamed up so that you can use Google Earth to look up the locations of aid distribution around the world. The UN High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) has now posted maps that show the refugee camps located in primarily Darfur, Iraq and Colombia.

This partnership is a tool to show Americans and the world the actual work that the United Nations is performing. It brings the work of humanitarian aid home.

This project is a continuance of a number of programs, in partnership with Google, that operate as tools to connect developed countries with the stories of people in developing countries and with the work that international organizations are performing. Such other projects include UNICEF's initiative to share children's stories on www.ourstories.org, a website where children from developing countries can record their journey and share it with the world.

To learn more about this:

Read the original news article:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=24966&Cr=child&Cr1=

Webcasts from the UN

Ever wanted to know what happens within the United Nations Headquarters in New York City? Now you can experience what it is like to be an Ambassador when you go and watch the webcasts that are posted of various meetings and debates on the UN website. Every day at noon, the UN holds a briefing that is streamed online for all to see. You may not be an employee for the UN but you also can find out what is going on and see for yourself all the great work the United Nations is doing.

Check out the webcasts at:

www.un.org/webcast