When it comes to the United Nations it seems there are two schools of thought, that it is an ineffective talk shop, or that if it did not exist we would have to invent it. For those who work on the front lines of the world body, and even for many like myself who cover it as a journalist on a daily basis, the UN is the last best hope for a world just this side of disintegration. For those who doubt this they need only look to the past year and contemplate what the world would have been absent the UN, its myriad of relief and development agencies, and the many goodwill ambassadors who bring international attention and aid to the brutal tragedies that have afflicted humanity across the globe. The facts speak for themselves. 2010 was a year when millions struggled to survive not only flood and famine, but also the ravages and suffering brought about by the ever-increasing phenomenon of failed states. In the wake of these tragedies the UN mobilized the resources of the international community deploying more than 124,000 peacekeepers in 16 missions around the world. At the same time, harnessing over a half-century of experience and international cooperation, the preventive diplomacy of the world body continued to maintain and lay the ground work for long-term solutions essential to international peace and security, including nuclear disarmament, and universal human rights. The essential role of the UN was critical in Haiti which was struck this past January with one of the deadliest earthquakes in history. Already the poorest of the countries of the Western hemisphere, the capital, Port-au-Prince suffered 300,000 casualties. While it seemed aid agencies would be overwhelmed by the seeming impossibility of the logistical challenges in Haiti, the United Nations delivered millions of food rations to the homeless while doctors and medical personnel from all over the world rushed to tend the thousands who were injured. Initially some factories and schools were able to reopen quickly, but the rebuilding of the country is a slow painful process further compounded by a hurricane, floods, and then an outbreak of cholera which prompted more emergency appeals. The mission in Haiti continues today even after suffering the personal loss of some 101 staffers who were buried in the collapse of UN headquarters. The determination of the international community to help Haiti continue the road to survival and recovery has been underscored by former President Bill Clinton who has served as relief coordinator. Pakistan There was also tragedy in Pakistan where massive floods destroyed a quarter of a million homes and one fifth of the country was under water. While the UN has mobilized massive airlifts and launched international appeals for donor support thousands remain homeless and survivors are threatened by landmines from recent conflicts which have washed up in the wake of receding flood waters. In Niger where nearly 80% of the children are malnourished, severe drought has wiped out crops and livestock threatening seven million people, about half the population of the country. In the face of a dwindling food supply in the region and rising prices, the World Food Program has rushed to provide emergency food assistance, as well as to neighboring Chad to keep families fed through the emergency. In the Sudan, after decades of conflict, the UN has been instrumental in facilitating the first multi-party election in 24 years. It has mobilized the international community in the dispatch of badly needed helicopters and peacekeepers to distribute ballots for the election in which the south of the country will vote on possible independence from the north. Haunted by the horrors and spectacle of violence in places like Darfur, the election is seen by many as a new opportunity to bring peace to the region. In the Democratic Republic of Congo peacekeeping patrols have been stepped up after a failure to prevent the gang-rapes of hundreds of women by rebels. They escort villagers who travel long distances to a market in North Kivu wher rebel groups operating in the area have been robbing and killing civilians. To further prevent rapes, some refugee camps have been equipped with solar stoves so that the women don't have to go out to collect firewood. Even though they are overstretched and under-resourced, Margaret Wallstrom, UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict who has visited the victims says that peacekeepers are trying their best to secure a vast area. In another failed state the UN is focused on addressing the chaos and anarchy of Somalia where thousands have fled the latest deadly clashes in Mogadishu and according to the World Maritime Organization more than 20 ships and over 400 passengers are being held by pirates off the coast. In Afghanistan where decades of conflict and international intervention have splintered the country much remains to be done. Despite the agreement of 70 countries on an Afghan-led political framework for reconciliation peace remains elusive. UN reports show a sharp rise in insurgent attacks with a 55% increase in child casualties. The UN Security Council continues to keep open the possibilities of Middle East peace negotiations and continues to urge principal players to keep the peace process going, holding out hope for the two-state solution. In the meantime UN relief agencies do what they can to offer assistance and easing tensions in the occupied territories. While substantive agreements move toward a successful conclusion between the super powers, at UN headquarters the 189 member nations of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty agreed to cut nuclear arsenals in a series of small steps. In the meantime the Security Council maintains pressure and focuses attention on the great concern that North Korea and Iran are attempting to make nuclear bombs. The year 2010 has been called the year of biodiversity. In Nagoya, the 193 member of the Convention on Biological Diversity vowed to halt the loss of the word's plant and animal species, to increase protection of the world's vital ecosystems, and to share the Earth's genetic resources equally. UN peackeepers have taken an active role in the battle to reduce illegal trading in endangered species, particularly in Congo where poachers ply their trade. 2010 also saw a redoubling of the UN commitment to the Millenium Develoment goals which call for a world free of extreme poverty by 2015. Heads of state gathered at UN headquarters in New York to review progress and to reassume progress to date and going forward. As the decade draws to a close the UN record shows that despite all of the challenges and multiple catastrophes much has been achieved. Three million more children survive past the age of five every year. More than five million people in developing countries have access to affordable drugs for HIV/AIDS - and millions more boys and girls are going to school. For the first time significantly fewer women are dying in childbirth. Also the UN in the past year has redoubled its efforts on behalf of gender equality, creating a new entity called UN WOMEN to promote the interests of women and girls across the globe. One of the most vital and indispensible agencies of the world body is UNHCR. We are reminded by their work that while there is upheaval from the financial and economic crisis in the developed world, human tragedy is even greater for those 43 million people who have been forcibly displaced by wars, natural disasters, and disease. As the end of this decade draws to a close UNHCR estimates that there are some 15.2 million refugees, 27 million internally displaced, and 983,000 asylum seekers. Further, and sadly, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, warns that there is not only a shrinking of humanitarian space, but also a lessening of respect for humanitarians who struggle to alleviate human suffering. In a world where humanitarians were once respected, increasingly those who seek to help are met with hostility and forbidden access to those in need. This is no more apparent than in The Horn of Africa, one of the world's major trouble spots, where there are more displaced people than anywhere else. Places like Mogadishu are becoming nearly deserted, while in in less than three years, the Afgooye Corridor, flooded by the displaced, has grown into a city of 400,000. In Europe, Greece saw a significant influx of migrants and asylum seekers from Sudan, Afghanistan, and Somalia. Since the beginning of the year, over 44,000 have come from Turkey. Some are smuggled on transport trucks, others hiding under the carriage or the wheels in the hope of getting onto a ship or ferry. Tragically, some never made it alive. UNHCR counts floods in Pakistan as the greatest natural disaster of the year. The rains brought misery to the lives of over 14 million people who had to flee to higher ground to escape the waters. More than 248,000 homes were destroyed or damaged and 1.38 million acres were flooded across the country. Across the globe violence raged in places like southern Kyrgyzstan where an estmated 400,000 people were forced to flee their homes. Homes and businesses were destroyed and at least 300 people were killed in the inter-ethnic clashes in the cities of Osh and Jalalabad. Afghanistan accounted for one out of every four refugees. Iraqis were second with 1.8 million who fled to neighboring states. Over four fifths of refugees flee to neighboring countries threatening international peace and security over wide regions beyond the immediate conflict. On a positive note, UNHCR reports that a record number, 128,000 individuals were resettled in third countries which is the highest level in 16 years. Most will be going to the United States, Canada or Australia. Finally, lest we think we are wasting our time and resources on the UN we are reminded by those who serve it that there are still a billion people in the world who go hungry every day and a myriad of natural disasters that still go unanswered. Even so, the UN continues to work with governments, the private sector and even royalty. To this end the UN has employed the unique services of good-will ambassadors to tell its story and to draw the world's attention to those who need help the most. Among those leading these various and vital missions are actors, entertainers, world leaders, and royalty, including Michael Douglas,Glenn Close, Nicole Kidman, Julia Ormand, President Barack Obama, former president Bill Clinton, Princess Haya of Jordan, and Queen Elizabeth the second of Great Britain who came to the UN more than fifty years after her first visit to underscore its importance to the world. by Tom Osborne See more Film Reports including below links: "2010 UN/Diplomacy in Review" diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/movie/2010-reviewun/23850 "Haiti Emergency" www.haitiemergency.com "Palestinian Needs Urgent" diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/movie/palestine-needs-urgent/23815 "Pakistan Web TV (South & Central Asia)" www.pakistanwebtv.com "Venezuela Web TV (Latin America & Carribean) www.venezuelawebtv.com "United Nations Web TV" www.unitednationswebtv.com "UN Security Council Web TV" www.unsecuritycounciltv.com "Civilians in Armed Conflict" unsecuritycounciltv.com/films/movie/un-civilians-in-armed-conflict/20551 "War Crimes & Justice" www.warcrimesjustice.com "International Financial Crisis" www.internationalfinancialcrisis.org PARODY on UNdiplomatic TV!!! www.undiplomatictv.com