One would think that Harvard Law School-educated Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, a South African jurist and current United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights would have better things to do than get involved in the affairs of a democracy like the United States. Yet Pillay, who has served as a judge …
The U.N. Security Council finally reached an agreement on Syria yesterday. In typical U.N. form, it amounts to more talk than action. Russia and China acquiesced to a non-binding presidential statement calling for “a ceasefire in Syria and opening conflict areas to humanitarian aid.” The statement contains no ultimatum for …
If the U.S. reverses its 30-year policy and joins the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), it will certainly be exposed to climate change lawsuits in the tribunals established by the convention, as detailed in a new Heritage Foundation Backgrounder, “Accession to U.N. Convention on the Law …
A pair of major light bulb manufacturers is teaming up with the United Nations in an attempt to pressure countries into participating in “a global transition” to more energy-efficient light bulbs. The two companies are both major manufacturers of the types of bulbs that would replace incandescents under the plan. …
Fifty-five explosions rocked the city of Homs, Syria, in the span of 15 minutes. Artillery and automatic gunfire pound neighborhoods. Snipers perch on rooftops, firing at civilians. Families crowd in makeshift basement shelters to avoid the violence, and the military is reportedly on a campaign to flatten every single neighborhood …
The embattled Assad regime escalated its horrific attempts to crush Syria’s opposition movement this week after Russia, one of its few allies, blocked action by the U.N. Security Council. On Friday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned against any foreign intervention, saying that other countries should “not interfere under any …
Earlier this year, the Obama Administration trumpeted the recently passed United Nations regular budget as a triumph of fiscal discipline. To some degree, it is justified in that claim. The initial appropriations for the 2012–2013 budget (at $5.15 billion) are $263 million lower than the final expenditures for the 2010–2011 …
Last weekend, Boko Haram, a Nigerian terrorist organization launched a deadly strike in the northern city of Kano. Targeting government security forces, Boko Haram claimed responsibility for waging a series of bomb attacks and gun assaults that killed over 160 people. Boko Haram has gained increasing notoriety in the past …
Internal ethnic strife, a deep-rooted but often overlooked challenge facing newly independent South Sudan, has recently emerged as a threat to the country’s stability. Last month, the South Sudanese army and United Nations reinforcements were sent to the town of Pibor in Jonglei state to prevent attacks by members of …
