What's the matter with Ohio?

Editor's note: I have promoted this post by Monica Smith to the front page, because I think an alternate thread on Sunday should be a genuinely alternate thread rather than merely "If you don't want to talk about religion, you can gather over here."

I want to start a series of "What's the matter with Ohio?" focusing on some of the thirty Rangers that supported GWB to the detriment of the people in their state. One, William O. Brisbane, is now representing us at UNICEF. Should he be ashamed of having made the following statement to that organization?

Remarks by William O. Brisben, U.S. Representative to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), to the UNICEF Executive Board, September 28, 2005

Thank you Mr. President.

I want to thank UNICEF as well as the countries represented in this room who have offered their assistance following the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, and now Hurricane Rita. The American public has been overwhelmed with the world's generosity. More than 115 countries and nearly a dozen international organizations have stepped forward with offers of assistance. Although we could not accept all of the offers, we appreciate each offer of assistance made.

We appreciate the careful and extensive work that UNICEF staff has undertaken on the Medium Term Strategic Plan. Overall the Plan offers a coherent vision for UNICEF programming over the next four years.

In particular, we are pleased with the focus on data, evidence and measurable results, especially in child survival; with the attention given to the humanitarian response function; with the emphasis on the role of the supply division; and with recognition that pilot projects, partnerships, research and advocacy must be undertaken strategically. We are also pleased with the treatment of the family as the center actor in the development of children.

Results-based advocacy can be a powerful tool in helping children survive and thrive. When it is paired with good research, strategic focus, and skilled communication, effective Goodwill Ambassadors and UNICEF staff can educate, encourage and cajole their audience to put children first.

Advocacy, however, is rarely sufficient by itself, and is not credible without strong programs that go beyond the rhetoric. The United States believes that UNICEF is at its very best converting goodwill and dollars into actions that meet children's needs in health, education, nutrition, and protection.

In keeping with this mandate, this Plan reflects international commitments to measuring progress towards the child survival, health and education goals set out in the Millennium Declaration and the Core Commitments to Children in Emergencies. UNICEF plays a vital role in achievement of these international commitments through its support for national capacity building. We would like to see that support more clearly tracked in the MTSP through the addition, where possible, of indicators that measure UNICEF's support for national capacity building in the MTSP's five focus areas.

The United States very strongly supports democracy, freedom and human rights, but is concerned by the implications of closer ties between the rancorous and often paralyzed human rights apparatus and the much more functional UN funds and programs such as UNICEF. Improving child welfare is principally a matter of setting policies that improve health, education, and overall security; it is a matter of political will and resources rather than asserting rights.

We share the human rights concerns that motivate UNICEF to focus on marginalized and vulnerable children and families. We believe, however, that making the achievement of "rights" is not a reliable method of organizing programs.

We also believe the Plan needs to stress the central role of families in child survival and well being to reflect and encourage UNICEF programs to support and empower families and communities. Parents and caregivers should be explicitly recognized and supported as the primary partners of UNICEF in helping children grow to adulthood in good health and with opportunities for a better life. In this context, we continue to advocate for the expansion of initiatives in life-skills training beyond the most fundamental elements of hygiene and skills training to cover broader youth development incorporating prevention of HIV/AIDS, and the promotion of involved and responsible fatherhood and motherhood.

BTW, some other Ohio "Leaders" whose help has to be suspect:

Carl H. Linder
W.R. Timken, Jr
Robert T. Bennett
Ron Beshear
David L. Berman
Douglas E. Corn
Walden W. O'Dell
M. Keith Weikel, PhD

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