United Nations

On Wednesday July 9, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the imposition of sanctions by the United States under a Presidential Executive Order targeting Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Palestine. Her crime? Speaking the truth about the Gaza genocide and those who profit from it.

As Trump and Netanyahu cosy up in Washington again with fresh talks on Gaza, one thing is certain: there is no Israeli atrocity, however diabolical, that the US will not back. Here I pick at Dorothy Shea’s narrative after yet another US veto blocking moves to put an end to the genocide.

A UN Peace Corps can transform global indifference into active engagement, leveraging the American Peace Corps model to foster international cooperation and make a tangible impact in the global South.

While accountability for wrongdoing of UNRWA is necessary, collective punishment that exacerbates the suffering of the vulnerable is neither just nor effective.

Challenging superpowers and advocating, António Guterres, UN-aligned Person of the Year, embodies a paradoxical crusade for change from within the system.

UN peace efforts in Gaza are criticised as Security Council vetoes block cease-fire moves and expose the General Assembly's limited power.

How do the multifaceted processes of nation building shape our understanding and implications for the future of the United Nations?

As the UN's longest-standing peacekeeping mission faces a turbulent exit from the Democratic Republic of Congo, what were its critical failings, and what can the UN learn from them?

In a world beset by rising nationalism and a chronic disregard for global responsibility, could a world constitution steer us towards peace and prosperity?

Could the development of robots capable of demining, ensure that peace is within reach for regions recovering from or living through conflict? One of the greatest escapes for children growing up against the backdrop of war and famine is in their creative imaginations. The power of pretend is brilliantly articulated by children in games where they explore and adventure in the unforgiving rubble and debris of their war-torn communities. Imagine, a child wanders to the outskirts of town kicking stone pebbles in between barbed wiring, intermittingly dispersed in a seemingly unsuspecting demarcation area alluding to some kind of Neverland. The child struggles to read and does not understand the faded warning signs informing of the nearby minefield.

As Russia takes over the UN Security Council presidency, the world confronts the baffling irony of a nation, embroiled in the Ukraine war and led by a convicted war criminal, guiding an organisation entrusted with the preservation of global peace and security.

Russia's permanent seat on the UN Security Council is under scrutiny like never before. What would happen if the UN decided to expel this rogue state from the Security Council? Will it lead to war, polarisation, or perhaps a new beginning for the UN?

Exploring the concept of the ‘New Soviet Man’ and how a modern-day equivalent could promote world federalism and overcome nationalism.

The recent UN General Assembly vote on the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories sheds light on the disturbing trend of political ignorance amongst powerful nations.

Angelina Jolie, has decided to quit her role as a Special Envoy to the United Nations refugee agency citing a desire to “work differently”.

The UN has removed Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women for violations against women's rights, but many countries with poor records remain on the council.

The Montreux Declaration presents a coherent alternative to the UN's design flaws for achieving genuine world peace, argues Lukas Pfluger.

The first chapter will take you on a journey to discover a utopia where war is abolished and where facts are sacred. But the encounter will raise more questions than answers, as it challenges our understanding of war, humanity, and the future of our world.

The IAEA has successfully preserved the spirit nuclear disarmament, but today we know that the enforcement of international law fails without a multilateral body of enforcement.

Quickly catch up with some of the best/worst quotes of the United Nations General Assembly debates.

The Human Rights Council passed a resolution on the protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

One cannot help comparing Guterres to a spouse in an abusive relationship who does what they can to protect their children from constant harm.

The WHO regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, warned of a growing risk of pathogenic outbreaks on the continent, caused by human proximity to wild and domesticated animals.

Mexico threatens to sue the UN following the WHO's failure to provide the country with covid vaccines.

Tedros Ghebreyesus gets re-elected by the World Health Assembly (WHA) to a second term despite his affiliation with the repressive regime that has been accused of torture, repression, and electoral fraud.

Sadly, “concerns” is one of the strongest words in the United Nations’ arsenal, only a notch or two below “unacceptable”- its primary weapon – which, to no one’s surprise, was not used during this visit.

As long as international justice is left in the hands of nation states at the UN nothing will ever improve because self-interest will always win the day. This needs to change.

Guterres visit to Kiev made it once again clear: the UN is not led by principles, but by States that regularly flout the most basic standards of decency.

Putin, sometimes the West is as crazy as you are, but not for saying you should be removed, but for trying to mitigate the blow.

Once again, the UN fails to secure its primary mission of safeguarding world peace. But what can we do about it?

UN-aligned intern, Kaitlyn Rivera, who is based in New York, presents a thorough timeline of all United Nations-Ukraine related events that led to the war.

Many may not know, but the United Nations is the creator of some of the worst “reality TV” of all time. This is The Gordian Magazine’s review of United Nations events as if they were reality TV.

Apart from the hackneyed pleas to resolve the differences and a blunt reassertion of the facts there were no enlightened solutions aimed at finding ways of de-escalating the Ukraine crisis.

This is an open letter drafted by UN-aligned and addressed to the President of the United Nations Human Rights Commission.

The Sixth Assessment Report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was published on August 9, 2021. The Report paints a grim picture of the planet’s health owing to human induced climate change and rising temperatures.

On July 29, the UN had a Security Council Arria-Formula meeting on the deteriorating situation in Myanmar. US ambassador and senior advisor for political affairs, Jeffrey DeLaurentis, summarised the dire situation, stating: “Humanitarian aid workers inside Burma are sounding the alarm.

The United Nations: the devil you know I met someone from a peculiar land with a completely messed up political system yielding a society that was plagued with poverty, oppression, corruption and strife. I commiserated until I found out that there actually was an alternative party that, given the chance, would put things right, yet nobody seemed to care about it.

At the end of June, the budget for peacekeeping operations for the period from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022 was approved by the United Nations. Eye-watering sums have been allocated in order to maintain buffers between hostilities that have been stewing for decades.

For the 29 years in a row, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favour of a resolution demanding the end of the 60-year embargo on Cuba imposed by the US. What happened? The US and Israel were the only countries opposed to the June 30 resolution: 184 voted in support of it. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla did not mince his words lambasting the US for human rights violations: “This is made visible by the lengthy lines which every day overwhelm the Cuban people in the midst of a pandemic to access basic goods, by the shop shelves that are empty and the unbridled increase in food prices. … The blockade is a massive, flagrant and systematic violation of the human rights of all of the Cuban people.

While the UN's causes are noble, its communiques can feel like an alphabet soup and its members often behave like undisciplined children. An audio episode explores the ambitions and limitations of its leader, António Guterres

The feeling I experience when plunging into the ocean of communiques from the United Nations is always the same: drowning in an alphabet soup. Often, the words are noble, the causes honourable.

The Secretariat consists of the personnel of the United Nations, with the Secretary-General as its head. It is estimated that as of 2021, more than 35,000 people are employed by the United Nations.

The slow pace of justice UN judges have still not quite finished with the aftermath of the atrocities relating to the breakup of the former Yugoslavia almost 30 years ago. On June 30, they convicted former head of Serbia’s State Security Service, Jovica Stanisic, and his subordinate Franko “Frenki” Simatovic to 12 years in prison.

Last week Edward Mortimer, the chief speechwriter for Kofi Annan, passed away at the age of 77. He was described as “one of the lively minds surrounding the Secretary-General, given license to think and experiment at a time when the future of the United Nations was being written anew”.

The globally displaced rose from 79.5 million in 2019 to 82.4 million by the end of 2020, a near 3 million increase. This is as the G7 decides to take no action whatsoever. The UNHCR says that the number of refugees around the world has hit a new high, this is in spite of the pandemic, a time in which over 160 countries closed their borders.

On 23 June, António Guterres reported ongoing Israeli settlement expansion and Palestinian displacement, despite Security Council Resolution 2334 and recent political shifts.

Earlier this year, Secretary General António Guterres appointed the Frenchman Jean Arnault as his envoy covering Afghanistan and regional issues. Mr Arnault is expected to support the negotiations and implementation of any agreements between the Taliban and Afghanistan.

Unlike France, the UN must not suspend its peacekeeping operations in Mali Following Mali’s latest coup on May 24, France decided to stop joint military operations with Malian forces until it is convinced that a civilian government will be returning to power. Some may argue that the UN should also take a step back and suspend its peacekeeping operations rather than indirectly aid a regime that usurped power.

Final tallies earlier this month showed that Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were elected as the five new non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. The new members elected this year will be taking up their seats on 01.01.2022 and will serve for 1 year, until 31.12.2023.

Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb commander largely responsible for the Srebrenica Massacre in 1995 lost his appeal with the special UN tribunal set up to judge the case. He had been convicted on ten counts including genocide and crimes against humanity.

Battling for universally affordable and available vaccines The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights released a Statement on May 11 calling for COVID-19 vaccines to be universally affordable and accessible. The five-page document covered all the main issues comprehensively and with refreshing lucidity.