RSS

August 3, 2009 | Nuclear Disarmament Is Possible

The UN is taking important steps to improve the treaties on which disarmament is based. ++ The NPT must be updated so that the disarmament process will be reliably verified, rooted in legal obligations, and visible to the public. ++ The new CTBT will help ensure that the process enhances security and limits dangers from other weapons. ++ Strategic stability, trust among nations, and the

November 17, 2008 | The Security Council's Congo Shame

Congo’s civil war has rendered the eastern region of the nation a “humanitarian catastrophe.” ++ Over 250,000 people are displaced in a conflict that finds its roots in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. ++ Of the 17,000 UN peacekeepers in the country, only 5,400 are located in the east. ++ African leaders should step in to usher a power-sharing arrangement; that is unlikely given

August 27, 2008 | United Nation's Diplomatic Farce

It’s been almost a year since Burmese people were violently crushed as they publicly demanded freedom and the international community has still not achieved anything. ++ As Than Shwe intensifies the crackdown, the world looks towards Ban Ki-moon for leadership in dealing with the dictator but UN mission in Burma has been fruitless. ++ Flowery speeches about democracy aren’t enough –

April 20, 2007 | Daniel Allot on Western Impotence in Darfur

Efforts to solve the Darfur conflict continually follow the same fruitless pattern, writes Daniel Allot of The Weekly Standard:

1. The West pressures the Sudanese government to stop violations, while threatening sanctions.
2. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir promises to meet the demands.
3. The Sudanese government reneges on its promises without repercussions.

The result: Khartoum no