In The News

Mali: Refugee Flows and Increased Hunger Point to Need for Mali Federation

Rene Wadlow July 1, 2012
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees drew attention to the increased number of refugees and internally-displaced people in Mali – a crisis deteriorating a society and economy already in disarray. Analysts point to political conflict as a root cause. The UNHCR is experienced in assisting refugees, but has not addressed the underlying political issues. Two rival Tuareg groups, the Mouvement...

Standoff in the South China Sea

Carlyle A. Thayer June 12, 2012
The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, designates boundaries for the seas, sorting out nation’s rights to fish and exploit other resources, including gas and oil. An offshore island, defined as a naturally formed feature with an economic function, is entitled to a 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone; rocks are entitled to 12 nautical miles of territorial waters, but not an...

India’s Iran Challenge

Harsh V. Pant February 17, 2012
While the international community agrees that Iran’s development of nuclear weapons will destabilize the Middle East, responses to the West’s call for sanctions against Iran highlight diverse foreign-policy approaches, especially from India and China, ranked fourth and second, respectively, as the world’s largest oil consumers. China unequivocally prioritizes its domestic interests and energy...

A Deal in Durban

December 13, 2011
The good news is nations reached a deal to stem climate change; the bad news is the deal’s terms could allow temperatures to rise by as much as 4 degrees centigrade. Countries will continue negotiations on a new treaty with legal force by 2015, planning to make it operational by 2020, thus ending the divide between developed countries that have long polluted and fast-growing developing nations...

Divisions Deepen at UN Talks on Climate

Pilita Clark December 3, 2011
The European Union has long been a leader advocating reduced carbon emissions to stem climate change. China rejects EU demands, though, that rapid-growing emerging economies also join in making sacrifices: a China spokesman urges sticking to a plan that does not hold developing nations to binding commitments; the EU maintains that all countries, developed or undeveloped, should join on binding...

Toppling of Libyan Dictator Legitimizes R2P Doctrine

Bennett Ramberg November 29, 2011
The war in Libya broke new ground, lending support for the international community to take a strong stand against dictators who threaten their own people. Bennett Ramberg, formerly with the US State Department, analyzes recent wars and how intervention in Libya compares. After horrific massacres in Rwanda and Srebrenica, the Canadian government took the lead in 2001, convening diplomats in...

The Bloc That Dare Not Speak Its Name

Graham Usher November 24, 2011
The Arab Spring has brought to the forefront a dominant dichotomy in the UN Security Council between human rights and sovereignty: The US and EU tend to support the former, while Russia and China tend to advocate the latter. Global observers had hoped that the emerging powers known as IBSA – India, Brazil and South Africa – might break the deadlock. Indeed, they had promised a voice from the...