What are the United Nations General Assembly Debates? Every year, in September, all 193 Member States of the United Nations who are represented in the General Assembly come together to discuss a wide array of international issues covered by the Charter of the United Nations, such as development, peace, security and international law. UN-aligned will be watching the developments of this event closely In the live blog from last year’s United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Adrian Liberto and I summarised some of the most important speeches that unfolded during this four-day event.

The slow pace of same-sex marriage… Same-sex marriage is now legal in almost thirty countries in the world. Considering same-sex unions date back over 12,000 years and that there are almost 200 countries in the world, this is not much of an achievement.

This article is by Abdelkander, an UN-aligned member from Algeria who is on the UN-aligned English Language Programme. He is currently living and working in Turkey. Immigration and survival My name is Abdelkader, though I am also known as Faysal.

A raft full of migrants who are fleeing war and famine are awaiting at the bay. What would “you” do? Picture this: you have five buttons in front of you.

When UN-aligned launched our series of campaigns, we knew that asking the big and uncomfortable questions would not lead to quick and straightforward answers. So far, we have campaigned against anti-Muslim sentiment spearheaded by Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu.

AFRICA 02.08.20: Cameroon. In a vicious grenade attack targeting a camp for displaced people, as they slept, suspected Boko Haram militants murdered over 16 people and wounded several others in the village of Nguetchewe, northern Cameroon.

Picture this: you have five buttons in front of you. They are all linked to a raft full of migrants who are fleeing war and famine. Some may be simply looking for a better life, while a few may be nasty characters out for what they can get. Your buttons are: Destroy, Ignore, Repatriate or Assist. Which would you press? In the September issue of the Gordian we discuss refugees and migration. This issue contains more exclusive reports by Ruby Goldenberg, Aryan Yekrangi, Alex Liberto, Golam Habib and Fazal. Read this issue free of charge by clicking on the link below.

I accidentally discovered UN-aligned through a post on Facebook and then joined the community as I found it quite interesting and inspiring. I also thought that reading articles of interest, such as those relating to climate change, could help me improve my English.

Bhante Ashin Wirathu, I am writing to you on behalf of UN-aligned, an international organisation that focusses on the need to replace the United Nations with a more effective and principled organisation, although we also work to promote human and animal rights, as well as the welfare of the planet. Institutionalised religion has had a sad history in a number of countries around the world owing to its bigotry and abuse of power.

A cathedral first, then a mosque, and later a museum. Last week, Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia became a mosque once again; an insular act for Turkey’s Erdogan to flex his political mussels and to fuel his posture of indignation and grievance.

In 1992, two years before the war between the neighbouring Armenia and Azerbaijan ended, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), met in Helsinki and decided to chair negotiations towards a peaceful political settlement for the crisis. The body, also known as the Minsk group, is led and co-chaired by the US, Russia and France with Belarus, Germany, Italy, Portugal, The Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan as participating member states. During the last OSCE Minsk group summit in 2017, talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan were described as “constructive”.

A Grim Trend July seems to have accelerated the grim trend that has been eroding civility and security over the last few years. The month dawned with Hong Kong finding itself stripped of many of its civil liberties.

AFRICA 01.07.20: Mali. Over 30 farmers were slaughtered by armed jihadists on motorcycles while they were returning home from their fields in villages in the Mopti region.

In this month's Gordian we talk about the Russian referendum and why Putin’s victory is a threat to us all. We also take a closer look at the Armenia and Azerbaijan conflict and offer possible solutions to this century-long problem. This issue contains more exclusive reports by Katha Strophe and Jonna Lappalainen.

All articles in the UN-aligned manifesto are important, but it is only natural that we will feel more attached to some rather than to others. If you are particularly passionate about one of the articles in the manifesto, we would like you to consider becoming a voluntary Ambassador for that specific article.

On Tuesday morning, a spokesman for Iran’s judiciary confirmed the death sentence of three young men who were participants in the nationwide unrest that swept across the country in November 2019. The “November protests” started with anger over the government’s decision to increase diesel prices, and soon developed into violent clashes between police and protestors, with many chanting slogans against the Islamic Republic. Protests also echoed concerns over an increasing assault on individual liberties by the Iranian establishment, massive corruption scandals and a dying economy in which many struggle to make ends meet.