The UN Security Council held its annual Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict, 12 July 2011 in New York, at which time the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution expanding the criteria for listing parties to conflict in the Secretary-General’s annual report, the 10th Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict, published in April […]
As I wrote on June 23rd, the IAEA Board of Governors referred Syria to the UN Security Council over allegations, proven-ish, that it had covertly built a plutonium production reactor which the Israelis then destroyed in 2007. And, because Damascus has continued to block IAEA efforts to return to the Dair Alzour site to gather […]
In the aftermath of the Fukushima meltdown, it seems that the Japanese government is seriously entertaining the idea of going nuclear-free. “In the future, we should aim to have a society that does not rely on nuclear power,” Prime Minister Naoto Kan said, according to a Nikkei business daily report. “When we consider the risk […]
The Guardian and Nick Davies deserve the prize for breaking open the biggest story of the decade: the extraordinary extent and maliciousness of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation violating not only British law but also the most basic elements of decency. On July 4th, the Guardian fanned the nearly cold embers of what should have long-since […]
Is the Arab Spring going to lead to polarized, issue-specific politics, similar to those that currently afflict America? If so, what are the implications for the wave of revolution and can, or even should, the US do anything to ensure that the democratic revolution is cemented? Moreover, what would the long-term effects of polarized politics […]
The Australians have come a long way since 2007 when climate change was a big factor in the change of government from Tory to Labor. A few years later, in part because the new Labor PM, Kevin Rudd, wasn’t effecting legislation fast enough to put a price on carbon, he was replaced in his party […]
After a decade of reporting, this year’s focus shifts to how to move forward. In the words of Ambassador-At-Large Lou CdeBaca, “This year’s TIP Report focuses on how governments can move toward a more targeted, purposeful approach that fully addresses the minimum standards to fight trafficking in persons… For a maturing modern approach, it is […]
Today, July 11, 2011, is World Population Day, an annual event established to raise awareness of global population issues. The day was set by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989. It was inspired by the public interest in Five Billion Day on July 11, 1987, when the world’s population was […]
The plight of Somali children, whose families are fleeing the country’s ongoing 20 year conflict and continuing drought, attempting to reach refugee camps in neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia, is ringing alarm bells at the United Nations. Somali children are dying in great numbers- aid workers have begun to discover that many are unable to survive […]
I just spent my Saturday morning doing some solid nerding. By that I mean, I read two great articles about that rising behemoth, China. The first was ‘China’s Bumpy Road Ahead by international consultant and geopolitical analyst Ian Bremmer. Bremmer, has a blog at Foreign Policy that features many guest writers and covers impactful global […]
Last year, the world investment in renewable energy rose to $211 billion according to the UN Environment Program, an increase of 32% over 2009. Using 2004 as a baseline, that is more than a five-fold increase. Not counting hydroelectric dams, renewable energy supplied 5% of global electricity, 30% of new electrical capacity overall. Thanks largely […]
In case you missed it, the U.S., along with the European Union and Mexico, won an important ruling at the World Trade Organization earlier this week. The parties had lodged complaints against China, whom they accused of unfairly restricting exportation of a variety of key raw materials commonly found in a wide range of manufactured […]
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