Thalif Deen

Stories written by Thalif Deen
Thalif Deen, Senior Editor & Director, UN Bureau, Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency has been covering the United Nations since the late 1970s. Beginning with the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, he has covered virtually every major U.N. conference: on population, human rights, the environment, sustainable development, food security, humanitarian aid, arms control and nuclear disarmament. As the former UN Bureau Chief for IPS, he was cited twice for excellence in U.N. reporting at the annual awards presentation of the U.N. Correspondents' Association (UNCA). In November 2012, he was on the IPS team which won the prestigious gold medal for reporting on the global environment-- and in 2013, he shared the gold, this time with the UN Bureau Chief of Reuters news agency, for his reporting on the humanitarian and development work of the United Nations. A former information officer at the U.N. Secretariat, he served twice as a member of the Sri Lanka delegation to the UN General Assembly sessions. His track record includes a stint as deputy news editor of the Sri Lanka Daily News and senior editorial writer on the Hong Kong Standard. As military analyst, he was also Director, Foreign Military Markets at Defense Marketing Services; Senior Defense Analyst at Forecast International; and military editor Middle East/Africa at Jane’s Information Group. He was a longstanding columnist for the Sri Lanka Sunday Times, U.N. correspondent for Asiaweek, Hong Kong and Jane's Defence Weekly, London. A Fulbright scholar with a Master’s Degree (MSc) in Journalism from Columbia University, New York, he is co-author of the 1981 book on “How to Survive a Nuclear Disaster” and author of the 2021 book on the United Nations titled “No Comment – and Don’t Quote me on That”— and subtitled ‘from the Sublime to the Hilarious’, both of which are available on Amazon

POLITICS: Iraq Decision Will Ring Throughout Region – U.N. Chief

By Thalif Deen

How the U.N. Security Council deals with the Iraq crisis will signal whether it can successfully treat the most profound problem in the Middle East region: Palestinian-Israeli relations, U.N. chief Kofi Annan said Monday.

POLITICS: U.N. Chief Refuses to Predict Outcome of Iraq Vote

By Thalif Deen

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan refused Thursday to predict the outcome of an upcoming vote on a U.S.-U.K.-sponsored Security Council resolution that may or may not legitimise an impending U.S. military attack on Iraq.

POLITICS: U.S. Spies at U.N. Raise Bugging to ‘New Level’ – Expert

By Thalif Deen

The United States came under fire Monday over news reports that key U.N. diplomats in the Security Council were under high-intensity surveillance by U.S. intelligence agencies.

POLITICS: U.S. Flexes Economic Muscle to Garner U.N. Votes

By Thalif Deen

The United States is flexing its economic muscle to round up political support and generate U.N. votes - both of which it desperately needs for its impending war on Iraq, according to political experts and diplomats here.

POLITICS: U.S., Britain Cautious About New U.N. Resolution on Iraq

By Thalif Deen

Faced with the threat of a possible veto by France, the United States and Britain are cautiously testing the political waters before they pursue a new U.N. Security Council resolution that would authorise the use of military force against Iraq, say diplomats here.

POLITICS: U.N. States Condemn U.S. Double Standard at Open Meeting

By Thalif Deen

The United States, which has challenged the political virility of the United Nations because of its reluctance to authorise military force against Iraq, came under heavy fire at an open meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday.

POLITICS: U.N. Security Council Applauds Anti-War Declarations

By Thalif Deen

The rare sound of applause rang through the august chamber of the U.N. Security Council on Friday as the majority of members saluted the anti-war statements of French and Russian officials, in contrast with the bellicose views of U.S. and British representatives.

POLITICS: U.N. Security Council Applauds Anti-War Declarations

By Thalif Deen

U.N.: Relief Agencies Warn of Humanitarian Aid Shortage for Iraq

By Thalif Deen

A U.N. contingency plan to meet urgent food needs and relief supplies in a post-war Iraq may fall short of targets, according to senior officials here.

POLITICS: U.N. Body Sends North Korea Crisis to Security Council

By Thalif Deen

The United Nations Security Council, which remains hopelessly deadlocked over an impending U.S. military attack on Iraq, is being asked to resolve an emerging new crisis in Asia: the intransigence of North Korea.

POLITICS: Lawyers, Doctors Warn UN Over US Attack on Iraq

By Thalif Deen

Groups representing more than 300 international lawyers, jurists and physicians warned Wednesday that a military attack on Iraq would not only be a blatant violation of international law but could kill over 260,000 people.

''(U.S.) President (George W.) Bush has no interest in or understanding of international law,'' said Peter Weiss, vice president of the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA).

POLITICS: Lawyers, Doctors Warn U.N. Over U.S. Attack on Iraq

By Thalif Deen

POLITICS-U.N.: U.S. Stymied by Move to Boost Iraqi Arms Inspections

By Thalif Deen

Seeking a U.N. resolution to legitimise a military attack on Baghdad, the United States appears to have hit a stumbling block following a tentative proposal by France, Russia and Germany to strengthen arms inspections by deploying thousands of U.N. peacekeepers inside Iraq.