Thursday, December 7, 2023

United Nations

UN General Assembly 2023: More progress urgently needed on Sustainable Development Goals

The 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) kicked off in New York as planned on September 18, with global attention focused on the so-called...

Former UN judges, prominent jurists & politicians demand Iran’s leaders be held accountable for 1988 massacre

During an international conference on August 21, former UN Judges, renowned legal experts, and prominent politicians from the US, Europe, and Africa called on...

The global impact two years after the Taliban’s takeover

Two years ago, the world saw the return of a repressive Taliban regime. The rapid fall of the Afghan government sent shockwaves throughout neighbouring...

Turkey-Syria earthquake relief efforts spawn new diplomatic initiatives

With rescue efforts continuing after a devastating 7.8 Richter earthquake that took place on the Turkey-Syria border on February 6, survivors are miraculously still...

In Davos, philanthropists back $3 tln initiative for climate & nature

A new global initiative will fund and grow new and existing public, private and philanthropic partnerships to help unlock $3 trillion in financing to reach net zero, reverse nature loss and restore biodiversity by 2050.

Urgent UN action is required for Ukraine

Many struggle to understand world powers’ refusal to enforce a No-Fly-Zone (NFZ), at least on the western rest of Ukraine not (yet) occupied by...

A sustainable feminist recovery

As the world marked International Women’s Day on March 8th, the clock on women’s rights is moving backwards. All of us are paying the...

The global problem-solving paradox

As Secretary-General of the United Nations, I spend much of my time speaking with world leaders and taking the pulse of global trends.  It’s...

Russia called out at the UN Security Council

The calling for a special meeting of the Security Council at the UN this past week was a long-overdue diplomatic initiative or even diplomatic...

As the UN Security Council meets, Ghana is pushing back against the scourge of urban warfare

Cast an eye around the globe and you will see that we are at a crossroads in the containment of urban warfare.  From the rubbled...

Why China cannot invade Taiwan

China’s recent aerial incursion in Taiwan air defense zone and President Xi Jinping’s confrontational remarks re-prompted a debate on whether or not Beijing is...

Tales of mystery and imagination in Skopje – Part 2

North Macedonia’s conservative opposition failed in its November 11 bid to topple Prime Minister Zoran Zaev’s government. This happened only because ruling coalition lawmakers...

Support for frontline staff and volunteers is key to overcoming Europe’s fresh COVID onslaught

In many ways, Europe is far better placed to withstand its second pandemic winter. Though cases are surging across the continent and the new...

Why Biden shouldn’t use the ‘Summit for Democracy’ to start more Cold Wars

On December 9 and 10, President Biden will host a virtual “Summit for Democracy.” The gathering will bring together leaders from 110 countries who...

Greek-led panel wants cultural, natural monument protection to be part of global climate strategy

On November 2, the Greek Government - through its Coordination Unit at the UN -organized a high-level event chaired by George Kremlis, a principal...

New political patterns in the South Caucasus

Developments in the South Caucasus continue to race ahead of Europe’s understanding of them. By the time an event has been noticed, recognized, digested,...

In US foreign policy, realists are finally on the rise

During the autumn of 2020, the United States lost one of its most brilliant, incisive, yet unheralded thinkers in Sherle R. Schwenninger.One of Schwenninger’s...

The need for trilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific

A coercive China and a nuclear North Korea are peripherally affecting the U.S.’ security interests in the Indo-Pacific.  With increasingly well-developed power derived from...

Defense pacts and energy in the Eastern Mediterranean

The Greeks have finally come to the realization that despite a period of relative calmness Turkey is not about to abandon its assertive behavior...

The West needs to unite to fight for human rights

Human rights seem nonexistent in today’s world. That’s because the world’s democracies are not fighting for it. While the world’s dictatorships always seem to have...

Why the Taliban’s promise to stop the opium trade rings hollow

One of the first announcements the Taliban made after seizing power in Afghanistan in August was that they were going to “ban the production and sale...

The road to conflict resolution in Karabakh

Events are moving quite quickly in the South Caucasus, although they have not yet reached a breakthrough. Nevertheless, the first anniversary of the outbreak...

Kosovo-Serbia tensions fading after deal reached

The slow-motion crisis between Kosovo and Serbia over automobile license plates that began with little notice on September 20 escalated into a tense show...

Why the fall of Afghanistan sllows Iran to expand its influence

Since 2020, the United States has been working to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. The Americans' announcement emboldened the Taliban, who recently took control...

At UN, EU Commission announces three Energy Compacts

At the UN High-Level Dialogue on Energy this week in New York, EU Commission Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal Frans Timmermans and...

President Biden’s short UN General Assembly visit raises questions

President Joe Biden’s first address to the 76th UN General Assembly (UNGA) on September 21 provided the world with an almost infinite supply of...

Germany and its neo-imperial quest in Bosnia

When rumors first began to swirl in January about the possible appointment of Christian Schmidt as Europe's High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina, I...

With the AUKUS pact, the US has opted to snub some of its European partners

In the nearly nine months since he took office, it has become apparent that the US and European Union will not immediately experience a...

Will Central Asia serve as Europe’s bridge to Afghanistan?

Just over one month on from the fall of Kabul, Europe is still grasping for answers to the question of how to engage in...

Conflict is spreading across the African continent

Many African countries are run by dictatorships, but their grasp on power is increasingly unstable. Mali has seen at least 2 changes of power...

On 9/11, it’s time for a reckoning and reflection of decades of failed US national security policy

A reckoning with America’s failed national security policy is long overdue.Our calamitous misadventures in the Middle East and the global financial collapse of 2008...

What next after 20 years of war in Afghanistan? Anatol Lieven on the U.S.’ legacy and the Taliban’s rise

On August 30, 2021, a C-17 transport plane took off from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, signaling the end of America’s longest war....

Enough of the Durban depravity

This month marks the 20th anniversary of the so-called “World Conference Against Racism”, otherwise known as Durban I. The 2001 conference was to be...

Zero tolerance for hate teaching is not negotiable

The June 2021 publication of an overdue review of Palestinian textbooks by Germany’s Georg Eckert Institute (GEI) was meant to bring peace of mind...

Afghanistan 2021: An extremist ‘stammtisch’

Everybody has a favorite bar or coffee house. A place you can go to seek solace or connect with old friends. In some cases,...

Greek Foreign Minister Dendias chasing shadows in Skopje?

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias traveled to North Macedonia August 31, for a hastily scheduled official visit to the country while his own capital...

Are Turkish investors falling for Hamas’ games?

Recent reports have revealed the extent of investments and assets controlled by Hamas, the Palestinian terror group, within Turkey. Hamas has long maintained a strong...

Economic progress and political reforms give post-Soviet space reason to celebrate

On August 30th, Kazakhstan celebrated one of the country’s most important holidays—Constitution Day, which commemorates the adoption of the 1995 constitution which confirmed the...

An EU diplomatic ‘bâdgir’ in Vienna: The Iran nuclear deal 2.0

When things get hot, you look to cool them down. Persian culture is too familiar with heat with scorching Middle East temperatures. One of...

Russia and China poised to gain influence in Afghanistan

Amidst the chaotic scenes that ushered in the Taliban’s take over of the Afghan capital Kabul, coupled with the West's harried exodus from the...

A viable – and perhaps the only – path to lasting peace in Afghanistan

As each day goes by, the Taliban’s forces edge closer to controlling all of Afghanistan. In the first week of August, the Taliban swept...

Afghanistan and the Great Powers

Can Afghanistan's never-ending internal conflict be resolved by the efforts of great and regional powers that have numerous conflicting strategic and global goals? Is...

Erdogan’s visit to the Turkish-occupied northern district of Cyprus

Whatever Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expected to come out of his visit to the occupied part of Cyprus – on the day that...

If Europe is serious about fighting antisemitism, it must skip Durban 20

Countries are lining up to declare they will not attend the20th anniversary of the UN’s notorious 2001 World Conference Against Racism, held in Durban,...

Afghanistan: No peace without a clear vision

Peace is the absence of war, while war is the absence of peace! A negotiated peace in Afghanistan presents a number of challenges. The...

When the “New Middle East” meets the “New Europe”

Middle Eastern experts have commented widely on the “new” foreign policy of the United Arab Emirates. Many of these same commentators have gone so...

From Vienna to Tripoli, the Muslim Brotherhood’s impact is felt on both sides of the Mediterranean

Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has recently undertaken a number of legislative initiatives that target Islamist groups and movements, which are active within the country,...

A broken migration system

Turkey and Greece are both transit countries for migrants on their way to Germany and wealthy destinations in northern Europe. Migrants are resilient. Many...

Fighting impunity in the 21st-century

In 2006, Thomas Lubanga was the first person to be convicted as a war criminal by the International Criminal Court.  For the first time...

Violence in the name of God

On July 5, Georgian far-right activists dispersed the planned Tbilisi Pride week by physically attacking more than 50 people, of which 53 were members...

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