In The News

New York Times: US Opposition to Breastfeeding at World Forum

Andrew Jacobs July 8, 2018
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization recommend breastfeeding for the first six months of life “to achieve optimal growth, development, and health.” US delegates defied longstanding research on infant nutrition at the UN-affiliated World Health Assembly in an attempt to weaken a breastfeeding resolution. “American officials sought to water down the resolution by...

Council on Foreign Relations: Global Implications of Justice Kennedy’s Retirement

Stewart M. Patrick July 2, 2018
US Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy had a lead role in sculpting a positive relationship between the United States and international law over his tenure. His replacement promises to be more conservative, with Donald Trump aiming to appoint a successor before midterm elections. “Foreign relations law,” regarding the place of international law in US jurisprudence, is a field that...

The Guardian: UN Human Rights Body Meets on Gaza

Peter Beaumont May 24, 2018
The UN’s human rights council held a special meeting in the wake of mass killings by Israeli troops at border protests on May 14, the same day that the United States relocated its Israel embassy to Jerusalem. As of May 16, 60 Palestinians had been killed. The Palestinian foreign ministry has recalled its ambassadors to Romania, Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic – four nations that broke...

Business Insider: Two Winners Emerge After US Rift Over Russia

Sonam Sheth and Eliza Relman April 19, 2018
With evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election, global audiences pay attention to US policies and messages on the subject. The Trump administration had made plans for a new round of sanctions for Russia after a suspected chemical attack in Syria. US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley announced the sanctions without knowing that Donald Trump had reversed the...

Wall Street Journal: Myanmar Court Holds Journalists Investigating Rohingya

Jon Emont April 11, 2018
Government leaders who engage in shameful behavior strive to limit press freedoms. A Myanmar court is holding two Reuter journalists for reporting on the Rohingya crisis. The minority Muslim group has no citizen rights in the Buddhist nation and the military burned villages and forced as many as 700,000 people to relocate to Bangladesh. “Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo had been investigating alleged...

Washington Post: US Retreats From UN Leadership

Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León March 27, 2018
Migration is part of human history and human nature, sometimes the only means of surviving war, natural disaster or economic despair. In 2016, UN member states committed to negotiating the Global Compact on Migration. The United States, under the Trump administration, announced plans to withdraw from negotiations. The goal of the compact, not legally binding, is agreement on a “set of general...

BBC: UN Tussles Over Syria Ceasefire

February 23, 2018
Russian-backed Syrian forces are pounding the rebel-held city of Ghouta with airstrikes that have left hundreds of people dead. About 400,000 people are reported to be trapped. The UN Security Council is considering a 30-day truce to allow aid and evacuations, but Russia called for changes in the draft proposal that will be voted on today. The Syrian government claims to be targeting terrorists....