[…] The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the U.N. General Assembly on December 10, 1948, declares that everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and freedom of thought, conscience and religion. But 60 years later, Rees said, “There are still countries that hold prisoners who have done nothing other than to exercise their God-given and internationally recognized rights.”

[…] Expressing disappointment at the failure of the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution condemning and sanctioning Zimbabwe’s leaders, U.S. officials said they will continue to seek ways to pressure President Robert Mugabe’s government to end the violence against its political opposition and engage it in serious negotiations.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said July 14 that the Bush administration is talking to others in the international community about the next steps to take on Zimbabwe.

[…] But when she came to the United States in 2004 after fleeing Cameroon, torture had left her severely underweight and depressed. She couldn’t sleep, and she felt she couldn’t trust anyone. Manikeu, however, was lucky to find the Advocates for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (ASTT), an independent, nonprofit organization that helps torture victims like herself. Based in Baltimore, ASTT gave her a place to stay, medical aid and psychological counseling.

[…] The United States has joined 180 other countries in agreeing to an ambitious plan to combat the global food crisis and to ensure future food security through investments in science and technology.
The United States welcomed the plan's recognition of the important "challenges and opportunities" related to biofuels, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said June 5 at the conclusion of a three-day United Nations world food summit in Rome.

[…] Food security -- a state in which everyone has all the food they need for a healthy life -- is a simple concept with many variables. These variables include crop planting and yield, local livelihoods and markets and trade. Measuring such elements is the increasingly technical job of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which in 1985, with four other U.S. agencies, established the Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) and in 2000 made it FEWS NET -- an extended network of international, regional and national partners.

[…] Food security is an international issue that demands an international response. We see the current price crisis playing out in streets and homes around the world, and it demands our swift action. No single nation or organization can solve this problem and it will take a collective effort. As the world’s largest donor of food assistance, the United States will continue to coordinate our own efforts closely with U.N. agencies, the G8, the World Bank, and other international partners.

[…] The global economy has been buffeted by a combination of financial market turmoil, cooling housing markets, and sharply higher commodity prices, says Jorgen Elmeskov, acting head of the Paris-based OECD Economics Department. "The current economic situation is particularly unsettled and the distribution of risk ... is wide," he said in an economic forecast released June 4. "OECD economies have been hit by strong gales over the recent past and it will take time and well-judged policies to get back on course."

[…] The relation of biofuel production to the rising cost of food is expected to be a major point of discussion at a June 3-5 United Nations summit in Rome on world food security. At a briefing in Rome with international reporters on the eve of the summit, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer took an early stance on behalf of his country, saying just 2 percent to 3 percent of the recent increase in food prices is due to biofuel production.

[…] Top U.S. officials attending a United Nations conference addressing the global food crisis will call for more agricultural development assistance to countries most able to increase food production rapidly. The United States also will call for increased research in agricultural technologies, said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer, who will lead the U.S. delegation. More than 40 heads of state are expected to attend the meeting June 3-5 in Rome.