Peace and Security

When Intervention by Foreign Powers Is Justified

• April 24, 2013

One of the most complicated dynamics in international relations is whether foreign powers should intervene when a government is creating a humanitarian crisis among its own people. David L. Phillips, a former a senior adviser to the United States Department of State and to the United Nations, has repeatedly dealt with this problem, and …

Human Rights, Peace and Security

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Try a More Balanced Approach to Iran, Report Advises

Tino Calabia

• April 18, 2013

WASHINGTON — If the term “track two” sounds like an announcement at Grand Central Terminal in New York, it has an altogether different meaning farther east at United Nations headquarters. Diplomats there suspect they’re hearing “track two” talks; that is, informal talks aimed at resolving problems, although the talks neither involve them nor any other …

Asia, Peace and Security

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WORLDVIEWS

More Bark Than Bite in North Korea

Anup Rao

• April 17, 2013

Theodore Roosevelt’s approach to foreign policy was to “speak softly, and carry a big stick.” Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, has confused the two. North Korea’s rhetoric is nothing new — in fact, it’s become de rigueur for Pyongyang to threaten war whenever it wants an increase in its foreign aid allowance, …

Asia, Disarmament, Peace and Security, Security Council

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A New UN Brigade Will Make Combat Moves in Congo

Lorraine Boissoneault

• April 11, 2013

For the first time, the United Nations Security Council has passed a resolution allowing UN troops to go on the offensive in a mission against armed rebels. The combat intervention brigade will operate as part of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Monusco). …

Africa, Peace and Security, Security Council

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Western Sahara: A Chance for Change or to Stay Stuck in Time

Dulcie Leimbach

• April 10, 2013

The saga of Western Sahara, a disputed territory that has been stuck in limbo in North Africa for decades, will receive its annual nod this month by the United Nations Security Council, but this time actual changes may be afoot if the council acts more decisively, particularly on human-rights matters. Christopher Ross, the UN …

Africa, Human Rights, Peace and Security, Refugees, Security Council

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The UN Adopts an Arms Treaty ‘With Teeth’

Dulcie Leimbach

• April 3, 2013

The momentous adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty at the United Nations has been greeted with much enthusiasm worldwide but also strong skepticism as the reality of carrying out its aim — regulating international transfers of conventional arms — sets in. “Effectiveness will be slow as it comes into force,” Peter Woolcott, the permanent …

Disarmament, General Assembly, Peace and Security, US-UN Relations, Women

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Australian Academics Want Women’s Voices Heard at the Security Council

Lorraine Boissoneault

• April 2, 2013

A new network of women academics from Australia and New Zealand is keeping a close eye on Australia’s new two-year term as an elected member of the United Nations Security Council. The academics have organized a collective to track how well the UN’s most powerful body and Australia itself adhere to the landmark Women, …

Peace and Security, Security Council, Women

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The Lethal Effects of Arms on Women

Amy Lieberman

• March 25, 2013

The $100- to $120-billion international arms trade in 2012 intensified the internal conflicts in Colombia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo but also brought guns into homes in these countries, where men turned them against women. That was the message that the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom brought to an …

Gender Violence, Peace and Security, Women

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Life for Women and Girls in Afghanistan Grows Deadlier

Lorraine Boissoneault

• March 20, 2013

With the deadline for the departure of American and NATO troops from Afghanistan just a year away, civilian casualties in the country remain alarmingly high, says a new report from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama). Although the report said the number of casualties had decreased for the first time in six …

Asia, Peace and Security, Security Council, Women

4 Comments

The Masterminds Behind Security Council Resolutions

Amy Lieberman

• March 14, 2013

The United Nations Security Council bases its resolutions on agenda items as varied as the renewal of a peacekeeping force mandate in Haiti to responding to a missile launching in North Korea. With resolutions’ language often dense legalese that recalls, recognizes, emphasizes, demands and, at times, condemns and deplores the issue at hand, the …

Africa, Peace and Security, Security Council, US-UN Relations

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GOINGS-ON

Mary Robinson, New UN Special Envoy for Central Africa?

Dulcie Leimbach

• March 13, 2013

Mary Robinson, a former president of Ireland, United Nations high commissioner for human rights and philanthropist, is said to be the main candidate for the new United Nations special envoy post for the Great Lakes region in central Africa. The area generally covers Burundi, northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda and some …

Africa, GOINGS-ON, Peace and Security

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It’s Official: Osama bin Laden Delisted From UN Sanctions

PassBlue

• March 11, 2013

Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda who was killed by United States Navy Seal forces on May 2, 2011, in Pakistan, was at last officially removed from the international sanctions list by the United Nations last month. What took so long? At the UN, the answer is almost always in the procedures. The …

Middle East, Peace and Security, Security Council

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Illegal Gold Mining Runs Rampant in Eastern Congo

Lorraine Boissoneault

• February 26, 2013

Gold is now one of the most problematic conflict minerals in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and United Nations Security Council sanctions on the illegal mining of natural resources, including gold, have done little to prevent smugglers from profiting, says a new report from a German foundation. The foundation, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, is …

Africa, Peace and Security, Security Council

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The North Kosovo Obstacle to Peace

Yermi Brenner

• February 19, 2013

Thousands of people packed the streets of Pristina this past weekend, celebrating as Kosovo marked five years of independence. But in the municipalities of northern Kosovo, few people were rejoicing. Thirteen years after Slobodan Milosevic, the Serbian leader whose nationalist crusade set off the Balkan wars, withdrew his army from Kosovo, and three years …

General Assembly, Peace and Security

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WORLDVIEWS

The Quest for Peace and Calm in the Pacific

Jayantha Dhanapala

• January 17, 2013

KANDY, Sri Lanka — As the focus of global political and economic power shifts to the Asia-Pacific region and the United States feels compelled to pivot its strategic forces from the Atlantic to the Pacific, the relationship among major East Asian countries acquires critical importance. Residual cold war disputes across the Atlantic are likely …