January 1: United Nations
South Korea’s former foreign minister, Ban Ki-moon, becomes the eighth secretary general of the United Nations. His diplomatic agenda focuses on forming a joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force for the Sudanese region of Darfur, the North Korean nuclear issue, and reform of the UN.
February 21: United Nations
The UN Security Council approves a resolution to send the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force to Somalia, where government troops and insurgents have been fighting since the withdrawal of Islamic militants last year. So far, however, only Uganda, Burundi, Nigeria, and Ghana have pledged to send soldiers to the mission.
February 26: United Nations
The International Court of Justice clears Serbia of charges of genocide during the war in Bosnia in 1990s, but blames it for failing to stop the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica. The case, brought before the highest UN court by Bosnia-Herzegovina, is the first in which a state has been charged with genocide.
March 25: United Nations
The UN Security Council unanimously agrees to impose new sanctions on Iran for its refusal to halt its nuclear enrichment program. The proposed sanctions expand the December 2006 sanctions, and include a ban on Iranian arms exports and a freeze on the assets of people and companies involved in Iran’s nuclear program. The resolution also proposes to end new loans for Iran. Iran has sixty days to comply with the resolution and suspend its controversial program.
April 4: Amnesty International
Amnesty International issues a report that criticizes harsh and inhumane conditions of detainees at the United States detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The report says that many of the 385 detainees have been held there for at least five years, most in solitary confinement, and are unable to challenge their detention. Amnesty International calls for the United States to either send the prisoners to trial or release them.
April 4: World Bank
The World Bank grants Burundi, Kenya, and Madagascar $164.5 million to deliver cost-effective high-speed Internet networks aimed at improving the countries’ communication and business competitiveness. Eastern and much of southern Africa are the only regions in the world that are not connected to the global broadband infrastructure but rely on costly satellite services.
April 9: World Bank
The World Bank grants Kazakhstan $126 million to build a second dam on the Aral Sea in an effort to reverse the disappearance of what was once the fourth largest inland body of water. The sea began to shrink after the Soviet Union diverted two rivers feeding the Aral Sea to irrigate cotton fields in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
April 27: United Nations
The UN Security Council lifts a 2001 ban on the export of diamonds from Liberia on condition that Liberia will have to certify that its diamonds do not come from conflict zones. The UN decision rewards Liberia’s efforts to stabilize the country and control the illegal diamond trade after its civil war. Liberia’s president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, has argued that her country needs the profits from diamonds to rebuild its economy.
May 8: Amnesty International
Amnesty International issues a report claiming that China and Russia are defying a UN weapons embargo by supplying arms to the Sudanese government for use in Darfur. Both countries deny the accusation.
May 30: World Bank
The United States President George W. Bush nominates Robert Zoellick, former deputy secretary of state, to be the new president of the World Bank. He will replace Paul Wolfowitz, who is stepping down after a scandal over his role in securing a promotion and pay raise for his girlfriend. Zoellick was the United States’ Trade Representative from 2001 to 2005.
June 4: United Nations Special Court for Sierra Leone
The United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone begins the trial of Liberia’s former president, Charles Taylor. Taylor faces eleven charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity over his alleged role in the civil war in Sierra Leone. He is accused of supporting the Sierra Leone rebels who committed widespread atrocities. The trial, which is being held in The Hague, Netherlands, is expected to last up to eighteen months.
June 25: United Nations
The United Nations World Drug Report says that Afghanistan produces more than 90 percent of the world’s illegal opium, which is used to make heroin. The enormous scale of opium production in Afghanistan stifles efforts to restore security in the country. The report also notes that despite improvements in drug law enforcement, drug traffickers use new routes from Afghanistan through Africa to distribute heroin.
June 26: United Nations
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declares that the Galapagos Islands, the first place it officially designated as a World Heritage site in 1978, is in danger. Situated 620 miles off of Ecuador’s coast and home to unique animals and plants, the islands are endangered by increased tourism, growing immigration, and the introduction of more invasive species.
July 10: International Issues
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper unveils his government’s plan to reassert Canada’s claim to sovereignty over Arctic waters. The plan includes building six patrol ships with ice-breaking hulls to make the country’s presence visible in the area. Canadian claims are challenged by Russia, which has sent an exploratory submarine to Arctic waters to find an underwater ridge, a proof that the northern continent is an extension of Russia’s continental territory. The Arctic is thought to be rich in natural resources, including gas, oil, and diamonds. Other countries state that the Arctic waters are international territory.
July 13: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
The United Nations’ nuclear supervisory body, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reaches a deal with Iran to allow inspections at the country’s Arak heavy water plant and safeguards at the Natanz uranium enrichment plant. The head of the IAEA, Mohammed El Baradei, says that these kinds of agreements could resolve the ongoing diplomatic crisis over Iran’s nuclear program.
July 26: United Nations
Iraq’s neighbors, the United Nations, the United States, and the United Kingdom attend an international conference in Jordan focusing on the situation of two million Iraqi refugees. A final statement calls on the international community to provide all possible support to the Iraqi people. Fifty thousand Iraqis flee their country every month, mostly to Jordan and Syria, where they become a burden on these countries’ social services.
August 1: United Nations
The UN Security Council approves a resolution authorizing a 26,000-strong peacekeeping force for Darfur known as the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). Under a joint UN and African Union (AU) mandate, the mission will provide security for civilians and aid workers, and is expected to cost up to $2 billion a year. The first peacekeepers will arrive in Darfur in October. Sudan says it will cooperate with UNAMID.
August 24: Red Cross
South Korea approves a $40 million aid package to North Korea to help it recover from devastating floods. Also, the United Nations World Food Programme announces plans to provide food aid to North Korea while the Red Cross launches a global appeal to raise $5.5 million. At least 300 people died and 300,000 were left homeless in the recent floods, which damaged large parts of the country’s infrastructure and farms, and destroyed 11 percent of the annual grain harvest.
September 13: United Nations
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that the under-five child mortality rate worldwide has dropped below ten million for the first time. The record low rate is attributed to preventative measures, including vaccinations, anti-malaria actions such as mosquito nets, and increased rates of breast-feeding. The decline was particularly visible in Morocco, Vietnam, and the Dominican Republic. Nevertheless, experts agree that more needs to be done in other regions, such as South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, to reach the millennium development goal of a two-thirds reduction in child mortality by 2015.
October 8: International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) settles an eight-year territorial dispute between Nicaragua and Honduras, setting a new maritime border in the Caribbean Sea. The ruling also grants Honduras sovereignty over four small Caribbean islands. The area in dispute is rich in fish and is thought to contain oil and natural gas.
October 9: Global Health
The Gates Foundation commits another $100 million, on top of the $450 million already committed, for the Grand Challenges Explorations initiative, which supports innovative research projects to promote global health. The initiative encourages scientists to explore new creative methods that could lead to development of new vaccines, diagnostics, medicines, and other technologies that would prevent the spread of deadly diseases around the world.
October 10: United Nations
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reports that governors of eleven Iraqi provinces refuse to accept internally displaced Iraqis because of a lack of resources. According to the agency, there are up to 2.2 million internal refugees in Iraq. In addition, an estimated 2.2 million Iraqis have fled to neighboring countries, most of them to Syria and Jordan.
October 10: United Nations
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reports that opium production in Myanmar (Burma) has risen by 29 percent in 2007, making it the world’s second largest opium producer after Afghanistan. The report states that the reason behind the drug trade in Myanmar is corruption, inadequate border checks, and involvement by high-level officials.
October 15: World Trade Organization (WTO)
The World Trade Organization (WTO) rules that cotton subsidies to American farmers by the United States government are illegal. Cotton industries in West Africa and Brazil welcome the ruling, saying the subsidies drive down prices, making it difficult for cotton farmers in developing countries to compete.
December 11: United Nations
Two car bombs explode in Algeria’s capital, Algiers, hitting a bus full of students near the supreme constitutional court, as well as United Nations buildings in another part of town. More than 40 people are killed. Al Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM), Al Qaeda’s North Africa branch, takes responsibility for the attack. Throughout 2007, Algeria has witnessed an upsurge in terrorist attacks. A triple suicide attack in Algiers in April, also claimed by AQLIM, killed 33 people.
December 31: United Nations
The United Nations takes over the peacekeeping operation in Sudan’s troubled region of Darfur, replacing the African Union mission. The operation, called UNAMID, is supposed to be 26,000 troops strong. So far, however, the UNAMID has a little over 6,800 troops. The mission’s chief, Rodolphe Adada, calls for the donor countries to send more troops as soon as possible.