Wednesday, December 25

UN Security Council

Can world leaders still come together to solve problems diplomatically rather than through brute force? That question is put to the test in the United Nations Security Council. The council has power, such as the ability to sanction countries and entities. Its five permanent members have more power than the revolving members. And those five members–China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States–have the ability to veto actions.

Earth To Warm By 1.5 Degree Celsius By 2040, UN Report Warns
9Aug By Patti MohrNo Comments
Climate Action, ESG, Sustainable Finance, Types of News: Brief, Types of News: Videos, UN Security Council

Earth To Warm By 1.5 Degree Celsius By 2040, UN Report Warns

Consensus Now Says Human Influence on Climate Warming Is 'Established Fact' August 9, 2021--In a massive 3949-page report, a United Nations working group warns that the climate is warming and humans influence is a cause. The report covers every area of the world. It discusses both the cause and effect. Most notably, it warns that even under the best-case scenario, scientists predict the Earth will warm by 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2040. "It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land," the report said."Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred." It is the sixth of eight reports by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report comes in advance of the UN Climate Change Conference i...
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UN Security Council Looks At Syrian Chemical Weapons
6Aug By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief, UN Security Council

UN Security Council Looks At Syrian Chemical Weapons

August 6, 2021--Since Syria joined the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has worked to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons program. On Wednesday, UN Security Council members met to discuss that work. 'Gaps, Inconsistencies And Discrepancies' Thomas Markram, deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, addressed the council with an update. First, the COVID-19 pandemic has faced greater difficulty advancing progress. Second, the Syrian government has yet to fully disclose and destroy its chemical weapons program. "As a result of the identified gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies that remained unresolved," Markram said he could not consider Syria's declaration to be "considered accurate and complete i...
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UK, US Diplomats Denounce Taliban’s Crimes Against Humanity
2Aug By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, International Law, Legal Battles, Types of News: Brief, UN Security Council

UK, US Diplomats Denounce Taliban’s Crimes Against Humanity

August 2, 2021--Following reporting by a human rights organization about retaliatory killing by the Taliban in Afghanistan, diplomats for the United States and the United Kingdom took to Twitter to call for accountability. The latest report comes after an attack against a UN compound in Herat, Afghanistan. It also follows news from the United Nations about a sharp rise in civilian killings in Afghanistan since May. As violence rises, many international diplomats are questioning whether the Taliban could ever be trusted to govern and take part in peace talks. A UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan warns that 2021 is on track to witness the "highest ever number of documented civilian casualties in a single year since UNAMA records began." Retaliatory Killings The Afghanistan Inde...
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Foreign Diplomats Discuss Path To Sustainable Development
16Jul By Steve BerlinNo Comments
Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, International Development, Types of News: Brief, UN Security Council

Foreign Diplomats Discuss Path To Sustainable Development

July 16, 2021—International diplomats cast a particular eye this week on the needs of the world’s poorest countries. As they met under the leadership of the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), representatives looked at ways the poorest countries are trying to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic. The high-level delegation meetings come amid warnings by the OECD and others that developing countries are at a high risk for rising discontent and protests as many economies struggle to recover from the global pandemic. Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 Representatives to the meetings this week met both in person and virually. They worked on a draft agenda for sustainable development goals for 2030. The draft agenda for SDGs is a significant document for the United Nations. It...
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Afghanistan: A “Ticking Clock” as U.S. Military, NATO Exit
1Jul By Spencer HayesNo Comments
Diplomacy, Geopolitics, UN Security Council

Afghanistan: A “Ticking Clock” as U.S. Military, NATO Exit

July 1, 2021-As the U.S. and NATO military forces leave Afghanistan, a tumultuous unraveling of society is taking place in the country. Afghans are facing human rights violations, corruption, and economic threats, a panel of experts told the UN Security Council last week. Meanwhile, new clashes between the government and Taliban forces are breaking out.  U.S. and NATO troops are pulling out of Afghanistan earlier than the expected September 11, 2021 withdraw. That's causing a “seismic tremor” in Afghanistan, according to Deborah Lyons, Special Representative and Head of the UN Assistance Mission. “The withdrawal decision was expected, but its speed — with the majority of troops already withdrawn — was not,” a UN News publication quoted her as saying. Lyons briefed the co...
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Syrians Face Dire Situation as Clashes Continue And UN Security Council Preps for Key Decision
1Jul By Spencer HayesNo Comments
Types of News: Brief, UN Security Council

Syrians Face Dire Situation as Clashes Continue And UN Security Council Preps for Key Decision

Photo: UN file photo Humanitarian Aid Convoys At Risk of Losing Access to the Last Cross-Point Available July 1, 2021-UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for an extension of the measure that allows humanitarian aid to reach refugees living in Syria. UN Security Council's Mandate 2533, which expires in July, allows for aid to cross the Turkey-Syria border to 13.4 million people dependent on the assistance. As the Global Economic Report previously reported, the aid is a lifeline for refugees in northwest Syria. According to a UN press release, the decade of war in Syria has left 13.4 million dependent on aid relief. Now, the conditions for the Syrians are worse than any time since the war began, the UN reported late last week. Meanwhile, the situation in northwest Syri...
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Millions Syrian Refugees At Risk of Losing Access to Humanitarian Aid
5Jun By Spencer HayesNo Comments
Foreign Aid, International Development, Middle East, Types of News: Brief, UN Security Council

Millions Syrian Refugees At Risk of Losing Access to Humanitarian Aid

By Spencer Brooke Hayes June 5, 2021--More than 3 million Syrian refugees may lose access to food, medical supplies and humanitarian aide next month when a UN Security Council resolution expires. “It’s going to be a disaster if the Security Council resolution is not extended. We know that people are really going to suffer,” Mark Cutts, U.N. deputy regional humanitarian coordinator, told Reuters in a recent news report. "In northwest Syria you have some of the most vulnerable people anywhere in the world." UN Security Council mandate 2533 gives humanitarian agencies the right to cross the Syrian-Turkish border to deliver aid. The resolution comes up for review in July. According to reporting by Reuters Tuvan Gumrukcu, Russia and China reduced humanitarian access to border crossing...
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Syrian Constitutional Committee Begins in Geneva
30Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Middle East, Political Systems, Domestic Politics, Types of News: Brief, UN Security Council

Syrian Constitutional Committee Begins in Geneva

October 30, 2019-As fighting again broke out in northern Syria, representatives the Syrian government, opposition forced and civil society met today in Geneva to negotiate a new constitution for the country plagued by eight years of civil war. "The task you are about to take is momentous," UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen told the 150 delegates. "You are mandated to prepare and draft for popular approval a constitutional reform as a contribution to the political settlement in Syria." UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen said he knows it "is not easy" for members to be present next to one another. (See video.) The directive is part of Security Council Resolution 2254, adopted unanimously in 2015, which sets out goals for a political solution for a sovereign state of Syria. Th...
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U.S. Rebuffed at UN Security Council Meeting on Iran
9Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Middle East, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief, UN Security Council

U.S. Rebuffed at UN Security Council Meeting on Iran

At its first formal meeting of the year, the UN Security Council met at the request of the United States to assess the situation in Iran after a near week-long protests in 80 cities. The meeting itself drew criticism from many members who accused the United States of using human rights as an excuse to meddle in Iran's internal affairs. The meeting also comes at a crucial time when leaders are trying to reach a political settlement to end the Syrian civil war. It also comes ahead of a Jan. 13 deadline for the U.S. President Donald Trump to decide whether or not to remove nuclear-related sanctions against Iran based on a 2015 international agreement. Under U.S. law, he must decide every 90 days whether or not to certify the deal, and therefore ease up on nuclear-related sanctions. Trum...
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UN Gives New Authority to Implement Sanctions on North Korea
29Dec By Patti MohrNo Comments
International Law, Legal Battles, Sanctions, UN Security Council

UN Gives New Authority to Implement Sanctions on North Korea

Dec. 29, 2017 - The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a new resolution tightening sanctions against North Korea. It is the tenth Security Council resolution on North Korea since 2006 and the fourth in 2017. It follows 20 ballistic missile tests by North Korea (DPRK) in the past year that violate UN resolutions against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The consensus language in the December 22 resolution was opaque and loose enough to bring together the 15-member council. While it is too soon to know how effective new resolution will be, it is already having an effect. The latest resolution gives countries added authority to implement previous sanctions, and today South Korea put the new authority to use when it seized a Hong Kong-flagged ship suspected of illega...
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