WORLDVIEWS

Hate Speech and Violence at the US Capitol: Lessons From the Rwandan Genocide

• February 10, 2021

Five-hundred-thousand Rwandans were killed in the course of 100 days in 1994. In its “media case,” the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in 2003 held nationalist Hutu political leaders and media accountable for the false propaganda and promotion of ethnic hatred that led to the genocide of the Tutsi population in the country, convicting the …

Africa, WORLDVIEWS

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Myanmar, Still Escaping the Shackles of the Past

Alan Doss

• February 9, 2021

GENEVA — In May 2016, Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary-general, received an unexpected request from a fellow Nobel peace laureate, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s civilian leader and state counselor. She asked him to lead a commission to advise the government on the stability and development of Rakhine State, a region …

Myanmar, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

Danger Still Lurks in Jammu and Kashmir

Munir Akram

• February 2, 2021

The Jammu and Kashmir dispute is one of the oldest unresolved issues on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council. At the heart of the dispute is India’s illegal occupation and persistent refusal to allow the people of Kashmir to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination. Several resolutions of the Security Council have …

Asia, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

UN Agencies Are Not Exactly Zooming Toward Open Meetings

Toby McIntosh

• January 25, 2021

WASHINGTON — With United Nations entities meeting mostly virtually in the Covid-19 pandemic, it is a good time for more of them to hold open sessions. But no transparency trend has materialized in the nearly yearlong pandemic so far. Having surveyed 27 core UN organizations to learn whether they conduct open meetings and issue …

UN Agencies, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

Trump’s UN Team: Gone Today, Sadly Still Here Tomorrow

Irwin Arieff

• January 21, 2021

Donald Trump may be out, along with his disastrously incompetent foreign policy advisers, but don’t expect them to sit quietly on the sidelines while a new team struggles to clean up the mess they left behind. Just days before Joe Biden’s inauguration, Nikki Haley, Trump’s first United Nations ambassador, declared that she was forming …

US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

The Congo, Afghanistan and the Limits of Outside Intervention

Alan Doss

• January 18, 2021

This year, two expansive — and expensive — international peace and security entities will pass a significant milestone. The United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the NATO operation in Afghanistan have been deployed for two decades. Although these missions differ in many respects, notably in the scale and …

Africa, Asia, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

A New Year’s Hope: Restoring the Progressive Role of the US at the UN

Jessica Neuwirth

• December 28, 2020

A wave of relief and hope is sweeping across the United Nations, and the world, desperately awaiting the inauguration of Joe Biden and the beginning of the restoration of normalcy. Hopefully, we will quickly see the rebuilding of our country’s leadership and much-needed progress in the UN, as well as in other international forums …

Gender Violence, Human Rights, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

A Christmas Past in Pakistan and Practicing the Art of ‘Holiday Diplomacy’

Elizabeth Colton

• December 24, 2020

Pakistan is where I’ve had some of my favorite Christmases. Founded as a Muslim state by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the nation honors his birthday on Dec. 25 as a national holiday. “Merry Christmas & Greetings on Quaid-i-Azam Day” were frequent email greetings I received when I lived there as a diplomat. As our Covid-Christmas …

UN Diplomats, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

President Trump’s Attacks on the Rule of Law, From A to Z

Mona Ali Khalil

• December 21, 2020

President Trump’s attacks on the rule of law in his four years in office have ranged from blatant disregard to outright breach of everything from well-established ethical values to universally accepted international norms, from United States laws and regulations to international laws and treaties. As the Trump presidency ends, there is hope that the …

Security Council, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

Many Countries Cheer Gains to Ending the Death Penalty Globally, but Foes Harden Their Stance

Navi Pillay and Ruth Dreifuss

• December 17, 2020

MADRID — A record-breaking vote on a resolution for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty has been passed by the United Nations General Assembly, with 123 countries in favor, 38 voting against and 24 abstaining. The vote, held on Dec. 16, was an improvement over an earlier vote, on Nov. 17 …

General Assembly, Human Rights, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

How Far Will Biden Go With the UN?

Stephen Schlesinger

• December 16, 2020

As President-elect Joe Biden finds his footing in foreign affairs, one of his foremost challenges will be re-engaging with the United Nations. So far, he has said little about the organization, but he has just appointed a new UN envoy-in-waiting, an experienced and articulate diplomat, former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and …

Security Council, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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A Global Forest Treaty Is Needed Now

Adriana Erthal Abdenur

• December 10, 2020

RIO DE JANEIRO — Illegal deforestation has become a defining problem of our time, but its place in global governance remains piecemeal. Just a few months ago, the idea of an international agreement on forests would have been unthinkable because of the spread of climate denialism and nationalist populism. But the winds of geopolitical …

Climate and Environment, Latin America, Sustainable Development Goals, WORLDVIEWS

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Southeast Asia, Forging Ahead on Women, Peace and Security

Noeleen Heyzer

• December 8, 2020

SINGAPORE — With two Asean members, Vietnam and Indonesia, currently sitting in the United Nations Security Council, the region has advanced Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. This is the first global framework that addresses the changing nature of conflicts, the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, the issues of …

Asia, Gender Violence, Security Council, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

The Vanishing Democracy in Hong Kong

Alan Doss

• December 1, 2020

Recent events in Hong Kong should alert those people who hope that economic development can lead to democratic change. A few weeks ago, the territory’s fragile democratic order took another hit when opposition members of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council resigned to protest the disqualification of four of their members, labeled by the Chinese authorities …

Asia, Governance, Human Rights, WORLDVIEWS

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The Process to Choose the Next UN Leader Should Start Now

Ben Donaldson

• November 29, 2020

LONDON — This time five years ago, Mogens Lykketoft, the president of the United Nations General Assembly, was working with members of the Security Council to create the first open process to appoint the next secretary-general, after the adoption of General Assembly Resolution 69/321. In 2021, the process will begin again to select the …