United Nations

The outgoing U.N. ambassador sounds a lot like someone running for something.

The outgoing U.N. ambassador will stay in New York and says she wants to be a "voice" on foreign policy.

I was awakened out of my reverie the other morning by a shocking news flash: Nikki Haley was resigning from her post as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations! According to initial reports, the envoy’s announcement was “sudden” and “unexpected” and “caught Washington”—certainly caught me—“off guard.”

The outgoing U.N. ambassador does not mention her future plans.

"People want fame, they want money, whatever."

The president vows to keep sanctions in place 'until denuclearization occurs.'

Woman tells the New Yorker the nominee exposed himself to her at a party at Yale in the early 1980s.

The Trump administration is often accused of swinging wildly—and sometimes with reason. But the speech delivered by national security adviser John Bolton on September 10 was very well aimed. It was a sustained warning to the officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC), delivered at…

Entrepreneurs are leveraging technology, including smartphone apps, to accomplish what bureaucracies are incapable of achieving alone.

Kofi Annan, 1938-2018.

Is the president a shill for Big Formula? Maybe. That doesn't mean he's wrong.

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The Human Rights Council was a hangout for anti-Semitic cranks.

Nikki Haley cites the inclusion of countries such as Venezuela, Cuba, and China on the council.

The world body’s leader on disarmament? Syria, of course.

The U.N. ambassador slams Putin’s regime and Iran for abetting Bashar al-Assad.

United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley on Wednesday blamed Russia for using chemical weapons to poison an ex-spy in the United Kingdom.

Yesterday the U.N. Security Council convened on “the Palestinian question.” This is a regular, and regularly absurd, occurrence. The absurdity reached a new level, however, with a theatrical display of pique by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

The Trump administration recently announced that it will “reassess” American aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA). That’s the agency charged with overseeing Palestinian refugees displaced in 1948 and, of equal importance, their descendants. The United States will…

Amid the flurry of rumors stemming from Michael Wolff’s book Fire and Fury, U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley has faced accusations that she had an affair with Donald Trump, accusations which she has denied.

Activists who oppose abortion doubted Donald Trump when he was a candidate because he had once described himself as "very pro-choice." A year into his presidency, however, they happily point to victories he has achieved for them.

Diplomatic “talks” are often little more than that—gabfests—but Tuesday’s meeting in Vancouver signals a hard-headed determination to deal with the problem of North Korea. The talks, hosted by the U.S. and Canada, brought together 20 nations, primarily those that aided South Korea in the Korean War…

On December 21, Ambassador Nikki Haley delivered the remarks below to the United Nations General Assembly. The resolution then before the U.N. chastised the United States for its decision on December 6 to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and demanded the rescission of that policy. After…

The U.N. General Assembly voted Thursday on a resolution that rebukes the Trump administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, calling it “null and void,” with 128 votes in favor, 9 against, and 35 abstentions.

Nikki Haley on Thursday presented what she described as undeniable evidence that Iran is supplying arms to militants in Yemen and charged that Tehran is fueling conflict in Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria—activities that she said fly in the face of United Nations resolutions.

President Trump has a growing Palestinian problem. Without steadfast U.S. insistence on Palestinian accountability and the supremacy of American law, it is about to get a whole lot worse for Israel and America.

Following reports that the U.S. voted in opposition to a U.N. resolution “combating Nazism and … practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance,” pundits and activists have cited the decision as demonstrative of the…

The United Nations is earmarking millions of dollars for Palestinian efforts to pursue international legal action against Israel over the next four years, triggering outrage on and off Capitol Hill and fueling calls to re-examine U.S. funding of the U.N.

GOP lawmakers are urging the Trump administration to make good on President Barack Obama’s promise that, because of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, inspectors “will have access where necessary, when necessary.”

Just occasionally, the United Nations gets things exactly right. A fine example of that is the recent release of a report from its special investigative mission on human-rights abuses in Crimea. The U.N. verdict? There have been “multiple and grave” violations—up to and including illegal detentions…

Donald Trump was frustrated. Five days earlier, on July 12, 2017, the president had decided for the second time in his young administration that he would certify to Congress Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal he’d promised as a candidate to dismantle. He wasn’t happy with the decision he’d…

Donald Trump was frustrated. Five days earlier, on July 12, 2017, the president had decided for the second time in his young administration that he would certify to Congress Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal he’d promised as a candidate to dismantle. He wasn’t happy with the decision he’d…

To many of those commenting on Donald Trump’s maiden address to the United Nations, especially if otherwise disturbed by the president’s character, his emphasis on state sovereignty was a welcome dose of diplomatic normalcy. For example, David Ignatius of the Washington Post found this theme…

Can the former head of the College Democrats win a seat as... a Republican? At POLITICO Magazine, Tim Alberta has a great feature on Wisconsin's Kevin Nicholson. A veteran with a great resume, Nicholson wants to snatch up Sen. Tammy Baldwin's seat. But first, he has to convince GOP voters in…

This week on the Kristol Clear Podcast, editor at large Bill Kristol talks with Eric Felten about Donald Trump's address to the United Nations.

To many of those commenting on Donald Trump’s maiden address to the United Nations, especially if otherwise disturbed by the president’s character, his emphasis on state sovereignty was a welcome dose of diplomatic normalcy. For example, David Ignatius of the Washington Post found this theme…

United Nations Watch—President Trump’s first address to the United Nations General Assembly was a bit of a hodge-podge. At times, it sounded as if it were a message to Americans that Trump would be defending them and their interests even if (and especially when) those interests contradicted the…

Today on the Daily Standard podcast, deputy managing editor Kelly Jane Torrance talks with host Eric Felten about the President's speech before the U.N. general assembly.

Vice President Mike Pence departed New York City immediately after President Trump concluded his speech before the United Nations General Assembly Monday morning to attend a Senate policy lunch in Washington, D.C. to help wrangle votes on the latest Obamacare repeal effort.

President Trump gave his first address to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, addressing the problematic states of Iran and North Korea, the conflict in Venezuela, and making a pitch for the sovereignty of nation-states.

Ever since John Kelly was tapped as White House chief of staff, right-wing news outlets have been publishing articles making harsh allegations about Donald Trump’s national security adviser, H.R. McMaster.

Donald Trump is back in his hometown for a full week of meetings surrounding the convening of the United Nations General Assembly. The president’s anticipated speech before the GA isn’t until Tuesday, but Trump has a packed schedule starting Monday, including bilateral meetings with the leaders of…

Today on the Daily Standard podcast, associate editor Ethan Epstein talks with host Eric Felten about why the new UN sanctions against North Korea fail to impress.

A vote is expected Monday evening on a new round of U.N. sanctions against North Korea. Unfortunately, in a bid to win Russian and Chinese support for the resolution, the measures proposed by the United States have been watered down. Removed has been what would be one the most useful tools in…

The U.N. Human Rights Council has an election coming up in October, which can mean only one thing: A new slate of human rights abusers are poised to be elected to the U.N.'s top human rights body.

Could "cultural appropriation"—a term that applies to everything from a drug company’s poaching an ancient herbal remedy to Katy Perry in cornrows—ever be banned by international law? Not exactly, but a U.N. committee that convened last week has been working on it for 17 years. The 189-member group…

The U.S. government is preserving all options for dealing with an increasingly belligerent North Korea, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley said Wednesday.

Democratic Senate whip Dick Durbin has told THE WEEKLY STANDARD that he is formulating an amendment that will criticize the Trump administration for failing to mention Jews in a recent statement marking Holocaust Remembrance Day. Durbin plans to add the language to a Senate measure aimed at…

The Senate's number-two Democrat is facing a flood of phone calls urging him to drop his objection to a bipartisan measure condemning an anti-Israel United Nations resolution, according to a leading pro-Israel group that spoke to THE WEEKLY STANDARD.

The Obama administration's United Nations ambassador used the final major speech of her tenure Tuesday to castigate the Kremlin for eight years' worth of destabilizing activities, warning against another reset with the country amid vows from President-elect Donald Trump to mend relations with…

Congress has limited options for responding to a United Nations Security Council resolution critical of Israel, according to a top Palestinian official who spoke to THE WEEKLY STANDARD.

President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of state Rex Tillerson denounced the Obama administration Wednesday for a range of moves against Israel and reiterated vows made by the president-elect to bolster relations with the Jewish state.

The Obama administration has one week to hand over all documents involving a United Nations resolution critical of Israel to a congressional committee, amid allegations from Israeli officials that the administration worked behind the scenes to pass the resolution.

A bipartisan Senate push to censure the United Nations over a recent anti-Israel resolution is being stalled by a top Republican working to insert language increasing pressure on the U.N., an effort that has left the pro-Israel community seething and will make the measure irrelevant, according to…

The House of Representatives on Thursday voted to condemn a United Nations resolution critical of Israeli settlements as anti-Israel and one-sided, in a rebuke of the Obama administration's decision to allow the resolution to pass.

Republican senators Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham are joining forces to propose legislation that will cut off American taxpayer funding of the United Nations until the international body reverses its December 24 Security Council resolution on Israel.

Majority leader Kevin McCarthy and Foreign Affairs committee chairman Ed Royce announced Monday night that the House of Representatives will hold a vote Thursday on a resolution blasting last month's United Nations Security Council resolution regarding Israeli settlements. The Obama administration…

Australia's foreign minister, Julie Bishop, says her country would have opposed the recent United Nations resolution that condemned Israeli settlements. The United States abstained from voting on the resolution. Here's the Sydney Morning Herald:

In the Obama administration's waning days, global challenges to American interests abound. In Syria, which will be a bloody stain on the reputations of Barack Obama and John Kerry, the killing continues. The effort to free Mosul from ISIS is slowing. The rise of Iranian influence in the Gulf and…

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday his government has "absolutely incontestable evidence that the United States organized, advanced, and brought" an anti-Israel resolution to the United Nations Security Council. In an on-camera statement from Jerusalem, Netanyahu said he would…

Israel needs to "stay strong" until Inauguration Day, President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday, when he vows there will be a shift in policy toward the American ally.

The New York Times headline says it all: "Assad's Lesson From Aleppo: Force Works, With Few Consequences."

Secretary of State John Kerry will lay out his vision for the Middle East peace process Wednesday, according to a State Department spokesman, less than a week after the Obama administration allowed the passage of a United Nations resolution critical of Israel.

President-elect Donald Trump described the United Nations like it was a diplomatic holiday party Monday, saying it has "great potential" but implying it does little good.

Israel's deputy minister and former ambassador to the United States said Tuesday that he and the Israeli government "welcome" the proposed plan of incoming president Donald Trump to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Sources tell the Washington Free Beacon's Adam Kredo that Vice President Joe Biden lobbied foreign leaders whose countries sit on the United Nations Security Council to vote for a resolution that calls for the end of Israeli settlement activity. Here's an excerpt from the Beacon:

When 14 members of the United Nations Security Council voted in 2011 for a resolution condemning the expansion of Israeli settlements as illegal, the Obama administration exercised the United States's veto power to block its passage. Opposition to settlements beyond Israel's borders established in…

Editor at large William Kristol's weekly Kristol Clear podcast, where he discusses President Obama's abandonment of Israel at the United Nations, Christmas movies (Die Hard), and looking back at the year of Trump.

For all eight years of the Obama administration, Democrats have made believe that Barack Obama is a firm and enthusiastic supporter and defender of the Jewish state. Arguments to the contrary were not only dismissed but angrily denounced as the products of nothing more than vicious partisanship.…

The United Nations Security Council passed on Friday a resolution calling for an end to further Israeli settlement—with the United States government and its U.N. ambassador Samantha Power abstaining from the vote. The United States is one of five permanent members of the Security Council with veto…

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought out President-elect Donald Trump to help derail a United Nations resolution critical of Israeli settlements after it had been learned that the Obama administration would not veto it, an Israeli official told the Associated Press.

The New York Times headline says it all: “Assad's Lesson From Aleppo: Force Works, With Few Consequences."

America's favorite Glamazonian wonder goddess didn't fit in at the United Nations. She's a powerful agent unafraid to defend the free world against encroaching evils. She gets the job done and she looks good doing it.

President-elect Donald Trump has offered Nikki Haley the role of United State ambassador to the United Nations. The two-term Republican governor of South Carolina has reportedly accepted:

Charles Krauthammer writes in his syndicated column Friday about the United Nations's cultural agency's recent decision to condemn the state of Israel—and the Obama administration's apparent acquiesence to the global campaign by nations hostile to Israel against the United States's strongest ally…

U.S. lawmakers are urging members of the United Nations' cultural body to oppose a resolution that will effectively sever Jewish and Christian ties to holy sites in Jerusalem, only a week after the body passed a similar, controversial measure.

A Christian pro-Israel group flooded the United Nation's cultural arm with thousands of condemnatory emails Monday, after the body passed a draft resolution last week denying Jewish and Christian ties to holy sites in Jerusalem.

A top senator is condemning the United Nations’ cultural organ for approving a draft resolution Thursday that effectively denies Jewish and Christian connections to holy sites in Jerusalem, after more than two-dozen countries, including U.S. allies, abstained from voting on the measure.

It may seem like a minor, technical issue, but it became clear to me on a visit to Taipei earlier this month that the Taiwanese government was furious that it might be blocked from even observing the triennial meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which is just getting…

Matthew Continetti writes at the Washington Free Beacon on what President Obama's final address to the United Nations General Assembly tells us about the failure of Obama's worldview:

Jerusalem

Top Obama adminstration officials have characterized the threat from climate change as "more terrifying" and "more potentially destructive and destabilizing" than a host of other threats, including terrorism and diseases like Zika and Ebola.

Secretary of State John Kerry addressed fellow world leaders Wednesday at an "Entry into Force" event for the United Nations Paris Agreement on climate change with a salutation that sounded like a throwback to 1970s Saturday morning cartoons: "Thank you, warriors for the planet," he praised the…

Last week, Josh Rogin reported for the Washington Post that President Obama will seek a United Nations Security Council resolution that, at the very least, calls for an end to nuclear testing. According to Rogin, the president's diplomatic gambit is to occur in September—around the 20th anniversary…

When UNESCO voted in 2011 to admit the "State of Palestine" as a member despite the fact that there is no "State of Palestine," the United States suspended paying dues to the organization. This was done in accordance with U.S. law, because Congress had forbidden paying dues to any UN organization…

At the end of this month representatives of some 200 nations will gather in Paris for the opening of a United Nations-sponsored conclave to prevent the cataclysm that President Barack Obama, backed by the moral authority of Pope Francis, believes will befall the world if we do not slow the pace of…

By any objective measure, Russia has made a strategic decision to challenge America for dominance in the Middle East. Despite depressed global oil prices and economic sanctions intended to curb his Ukraine adventurism, Vladimir Putin is pursuing an undisguised effort to expand Moscow’s military…

The United States, President Obama said at the U.N. General Assembly last week, “worked with many nations in this assembly to prevent a third world war—by forging alliances with old adversaries.” Presumably, the president was not referring to his deeply flawed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,…

The United States, President Obama said at the U.N. General Assembly last week, “worked with many nations in this assembly to prevent a third world war—by forging alliances with old adversaries.” Presumably, the president was not referring to his deeply flawed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,…

In defending the Iran nuclear deal to Congress, President Obama and his staff argued repeatedly that rejection would leave America in dire isolation at the United Nations. Obama can now relax. Having used slash-and-burn executive tactics to roll right over a dissenting majority in Congress and a…

Pope Francis spoke at the United Nations Friday morning and his remarks were, more or less, what was expected: a long push for climate change legislation mixed with concern about the world’s unjust economy. So in general, there wasn’t much to see. But in their particulars, some of the pope’s…

Cancun

The Associated Press reports that under the provisions of the deal, the Iranian government will be allowed to use its own inspectors on one site thought to have been used to develop nuclear weapons. Here's more from the AP:

Across the Middle East, there is concern about the nuclear deal with Iran. By releasing frozen assets and removing economic sanctions, the deal seems to facilitate renewed aggression. Won’t that encourage more violence from Iranian terror proxies, like Hezbollah and Hamas? The international…

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with editor William Kristol on the President's UN ploy regarding the Iran deal, the Chattanooga shootings, and Donald Trump.

A UN panel says that the White House and other Western governments have neglected to report Iranian violations of the sanctions regime.

Even by the low, low standards of North Korean "diplomats," the scene at the United Nations on Thursday was a particularly vile one.

President Obama told a Washington, D.C. classroom today he'll "still be a pretty young man" when he finishes his second term in the White House. And that he wants to help people after his presidency. 

Immediately after Israel’s March 17 election, Obama administration officials threatened to allow (or even encourage) the U.N. Security Council to recognize a Palestinian state and confine Israel to its pre-1967 borders. Within days, the president himself joined in, publicly criticizing not just…

Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas offered an amendment on the Senate floor this afternoon to "defend the U.S.-Israel alliance" at the United Nations. 

Florida senator Marco Rubio took the floor of the U.S. Senate Thursday to call the Obama administration's treatment of the state of Israel a "historic and tragic mistake." Rubio's address came on the same day as a report the White House is considering not defending Israel in front of attacks from…

In the aftermath of Benjamin Netanyahu's inconvenient (to Barack Obama) victory in the Israeli election, it looks like the administration is heading towards exacting revenge. The administration's threat is that under President Obama the United States will "join the jackals"—the permanent, global,…

Former Texas governor Rick Perry said he was "alarmed" by reports the Obama administration is considering not supporting the state of Israel at the United Nations. Perry, who may run for president in 2016, said he urged Obama to "turn away from such a path."

Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal responded to a report that the Obama administration may consider changing the United States's longstanding position of defending Israel within the United Nations against criticism of that country's settlements. “We are signaling that if the Israeli government’s…

A new law introduced in Congress seeks to prevent foreign diplomats and employees of the United Nations from receiving taxpayer-funded Obamacare subsidies. The bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Republicans Ed Royce and Paul Ryan.

Former Texas governor Rick Perry released a statement Thursday citing his "concern" that President Barack Obama may not seek congressional approval for the ongoing nuclear weapons negotiations with Iran.

The big speech last week was, of course, the one given before Congress by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It was a forceful performance. Nancy Pelosi said that she was so dismayed by both the style and the substance of the prime minister’s speech that she was nearly reduced to tears.

While the attention of much of the world Sunday was focused on the massive unity rally in France in response to the recent terror attacks in that country, Secretary of State John Kerry was in India for a "global business" summit where he spoke of, among other concerns, the "one enormous cloud…

I hereby nominate Dick Cheney's answer to Chuck Todd's question about a United Nations official who's called for the criminal prosecution of U.S. interrogators, as the 2014 Sunday Show Answer of the Year:

Reuters reports that "United Nations human rights experts on Friday called for a halt to racial profiling by U.S. law enforcement officers and a review of laws allowing police to use lethal force."

President Obama’s speech to the UN General Assembly touched very lightly on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That alone is a step forward: in previous years, he has made it a central part of his speech and left the impression that it is the main issue in world affairs.

Here's the text, as prepared for delivery, of President Obama's address to the United Nations General Assembly:

At the United Nations General Assembly, Secretary of State John Kerry will make "climate change ... a foreign policy priority," the State Department announced in press release. "Secretary Kerry Elevates Climate Change at UN General Assembly," the press release is titled.

John Bolton, in a fundraising email, makes the case for defunding UNRWA--and more:

Justin Sink of The Hill reports that:

The new inquisitor has just been appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to “investigate” Israel’s conduct of Operation Protective Edge, following in the footsteps of Richard Goldstone, who famously, incompetently, and unjustly “investigated” Israel's 2009 Operation Cast Lead. The new Goldstone—an…

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with editor William Kristol on the United Nations, the conflicts in Israel and Ukraine, and the crisis at the southern U.S. border.

While crises continue in Ukraine, Syria, Iran, and the Central African Republic, the United Nations turned its attention to a different kind of crisis on Thursday: the "global road safety crisis."  The U.N. General Assembly held a session on Improving Global Road Safety in which the United States…

The non-military measures taken against Russia for its actions in Crimea and against its threatened invasion of Ukraine has not, as yet, had any discernible military effect. Reuters reports that NATO’s Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, "said on Tuesday he had seen no evidence that Russia is…

Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg met with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at United Nations headquarters today for Bloomberg's new role as United Nations special envoy for cities and climate change.  At the photo op, the secretary general was effusive in his praise of Bloomberg, even…

Even as United Nations personnel are in Syria trying to investigate chemical weapons claims that have further exacerbated that country's bloody civil war, U.N. secretary general Ban Ki-moon was incongruously tasked with the celebration of the centennial of the Peace Palace in The Hague. After…

At 5:09 pm on August 21, Samantha Power, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, tweeted this:

In a report to the United Nations Committee Against Torture, the Obama administration unequivocally denies the existence of secret detention facilities operated by any part of the U.S. government. The document is a response to "55 questions prepared by the Committee and transmitted to the United…

The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution to mark "World Toilet Day." The day will be celebrated November 19.

The United States announced today that it “cannot sign” a proposed treaty that would cede some control of the Internet to the United Nations. The details of the treaty have been the subject of more than a weeklong conference in Dubai.

In the middle of the night at a U.N. conference in Dubai, the presiding chairman of the International Telecommunication Union conference surveyed the assembled countries to see whether there was interest in having greater involvement in the U.N. governing the Internet. A majority of countries gave…

America's ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, stated that today's resolution on the status of Palestine as an observer state "does not establish that Palestine is a state."

Next week the United Nations' International Telecommunications Union will meet in Dubai to figure out how to control the Internet. Representatives from 193 nations will attend the nearly two week long meeting, according to news reports.

The U.N. wants to use drones, the French news agency Agence France-Presse reports. "The United Nations wants to use drones for the first time to monitor fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where Rwanda has been accused of aiding rebels," says the report, quoting U.N. officials.

After a year and a half of conflict, and despite some 40,000 deaths, the world still stands impotent to end the bloodshed in Syria. With Russia and China reviving their recurring role as United Nations Security Council obstructionists, concerned countries have been forced to seek out meaningful…

The United States and Venezuela will now serve together on the United Nations Human Rights Council, after both countries won elections today to serve together. Venezuela received 154 votes and is in the Latin American group, while the U.S. received 131 and is in the Western group.

During his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu used a drawing of a bomb to illustrate the threat of Iran's nuclear program. Several media types pooh-poohed Netanyahu's chart, including the Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg. "It is…

Here's the full text of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's United Nations address:

In a message to Israeli citizens yesterday, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he'd use his remarks at the United Nations to respond to the "black day" at the international body. Netanyahu is scheduled to speak later today.

In a speech at the United Nations this morning, President Obama says the attacks on America across the Muslim world over the last two weeks are also an "assault on the very ideals upon which the United Nations was founded."

The reason why President Obama is not meeting with any foreign leaders during this week's United Nations General Assembly in New York is, as one aide to the president explained, because "If he met with one leader, he would have to meet with 10."

CNN blasted President Obama this morning for skipping meetings with foreign leaders this week at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City and instead appearing on daytime TV talk show The View:

While Iran president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke at the United Nations, "Israel's U.N. Ambassador Ron Prosor walked out of the General Assembly hall," according to the Associated Press.

The nation of Iran has been elected to serve on a top U.N. Arms Trade Treaty post, the monitoring group U.N. Watch reports. 

From the Washington Post: "Asked Thursday whether he could envision a situation in which the United States would take military action in Syria without U.N. authorization, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said, 'No, I cannot envision that because, look, as secretary of defense, my greatest…

The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women “is expected to pass a resolution condemning Israel's part in the degrading of living conditions for Palestinian women, while failing to mention the mistreatment of women in the ongoing crisis in Syria,” Haaretz reports.

Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chávez is seeking a seat on the United Nations’ Human Rights Council, the group U.N. Watch reports. The independent watchdog group also says that Pakistan is additionally “slated to run unopposed for seats on the UN’s 47-nation Human Rights Council this year.”

On November 29th the Icelandic parliament voted to recognize Palestine as a state. Yesterday, a ceremony was held in Reykjavik in the presence of the Icelandic and PLO foreign ministers.

Portraying President Obama’s U.N.-centered foreign policy as consistent with American values or pro-Israel has become increasingly difficult for administration officials. The result has been a steady stream of inaccurate accounts of goings-on at the organization.

Earlier this week, the majority of member states of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)—whose self-stated mission is “to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education,…

Some have praised President Obama’s September 20 speech at the U.N. as his most rousing defense of Israel to date. Perhaps so—though that’s not saying much. It rather seems to us that the president merits some credit—but only some—for a growing self-awareness, both of his own limits and of the…

Jerusalem

President Obama tried to reassure more than 900 rabbis today on a half-hour conference call that he’s a stalwart friend of Israel. In the midst of all the happy talk, though, he inadvertently revealed how he really thinks about the Middle East:

Bill Clinton today blasted Benjamin Netanyahu, blaming the Israeli prime minister for the lack of progress toward peace with the Palestinians.   

Regional reactions to Obama’s U.N. speech yesterday are starting to come in, including some very ugly responses. Here, for instance is a column from Adel Abd al-Rahman, a Palestinian journalist from al-Hayat al-Jadida, an official daily newspaper of the Palestinian Authority, that makes much of the…

New York, New York—"Until we have a resolution to see, Daniel, the United Kingdom is not answering that question and you will not evoke another answer, I know, from another authoritative source from the United Kingdom delegation,” Alistair Burt, a member of Parliament and a member of the UK…

As Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s prepares to speak at the United Nations, it is tempting to dismiss his anti-American rants as just another propaganda stunt. But what makes his remarks difficult to ignore is that large segments of the Iranian population will buy into them. And that…

Mitt Romney announced today that former Minnesota senator Norm Coleman will be a "special adviser" to his campaign, focusing primarily on foreign policy. "[Coleman's] advice will be critical as I lay out my vision for improving our economy at home and strengthening our partnerships around the…

The logo of “the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations” – on their website and on top of their official statements at the U.N. – shows the Palestinian Authority’s claim to a Palestine that stretches throughout the entire historical entity of the former Palestine mandate.

President Obama’s speech to the United Nations, which he delivered this morning in New York, is filled with lots of little surprises. (For instance, “the United Nations helped avert a third World War.” Really?) But the big surprise is that he’s made his address to the General Assembly into a…

Obesity is the new global warming, and the battle plan for the crusade against it was published in the August issue of the journal Lancet. Funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and coauthored…

Washington Post: "U.N. showdown over Palestinian statehood tests limits of U.S. influence"

On Friday, at noon, U.N. negotiators revealed the final text of the Durban III declaration that will be adopted by all heads of state attending the "anti-racism" event in New York on September 22, 2011.

At the U.N. in New York, diplomats have been putting the finishing touches on a new “anti-racism” declaration set to be adopted by over a hundred world leaders at the annual opening of the General Assembly. The declaration will be the culmination of the one-day summit on September 22, known as…

The United Nations report on the Mavi Marmara incident, entitled "Report of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Inquiry on the 31 May 2010 Flotilla Incident," is now public and largely exculpates Israel.  All the facts are as Israel contended and as the Commission notes "Israel faces a real threat to…

Plans for the U.N.’s “anti-racism” event known as Durban III, which will be held in New York City on September 22, 2011, just got a whole lot uglier. A new draft of the final declaration that U.N. organizers hope will be adopted by over a hundred world leaders, who will be on hand for the annual…

Jonathan V. Last, writing in the Wall Street Journal: 

On Friday, the Czech Republic became the latest country to pull out of the upcoming U.N. “anti-racism” extravaganza known as Durban III. Canada, Israel, and the United States have already given thumbs down to the event, which the U.N. is bringing to U.S. shores on September 22, 2011. While…

The Obama administration has been under siege for its support of the U.N.’s top human rights body, the U.N. Human Rights Council. Until today, Syria was seeking to join the Council during elections scheduled to take place at the General Assembly on May 20, 2011. The administration, European states,…

To the astonishment of friends and foes of Israel alike, on April 1 in the Washington Post, Justice Richard Goldstone reversed himself. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu promptly demanded that the United Nations retract the Goldstone Report, which, following its publication in September…

To the astonishment of friends and foes of Israel alike, on April 1 in the Washington Post, Justice Richard Goldstone reversed himself. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu promptly demanded that the United Nations retract the Goldstone Report, which, following its publication in September…

According to a new treaty being drawn up by Bolivia at the U.N., "Mother Earth" would be given "the same rights as humans, including the right to life, to pure water and clean air." Both Ecuador and Bolivia have already incorporated the "rights of nature" into their constitutions.

In today's New York Times, there's an article, "In Israel, Time for Peace Offer May Run Out," that discusses the mounting pressure to recognize Palestine as a state:

"Why is Barack Obama like a Teamsters business agent?"

After weeks of failing to provide even strong rhetorical support for the uprising in Libya — an uprising in pursuit of liberty and against a United States adversary — President Obama has now apparently decided that he has sufficient international authorization to act.  This begs two questions:…

In the annals of mind-bendingly obfuscatory teaser lines, the following from the New York Times surely must be given pride of place: “Germany may have secured one of the new nonpermanent seats on the U.N. Security Council, but with the rise of China, Europe’s influence is waning.” The teaser leads…

Eli Lake has more on the Obama administration's  29-page report  to the UN Human Rights Council: