New York Times (October 21)
“The sweeping victory of Justin Trudeau in Canada’s elections on Monday shows how ready Canadians were to emerge from a decade under the Conservative government of the secretive and combative Stephen Harper,” who proved to be “at odds with” Canada’s identity, which features “core values, like a generous safety net, active participation in international organizations like the United Nations, a humanitarian foreign policy and an inclusive concept of nationhood.”
Tags: Canada, Conservatives, Core values, Foreign policy, Harper, Safety net, Secretive, Sweeping victory, Trudeau, UN
Washington Post (February 22)
“There is a danger that as other pressing concerns about North Korea accumulate — nuclear weapons, missiles, cyberattacks — the world will lose interest in the human rights disaster.” Ideally, “North Korea’s leaders should be held accountable” and referred “to the International Criminal Court for investigation of crimes against humanity.” At present, however, a Security Council referral looks doomed to veto by China or Russia. For the time being, the UN must continue “to investigate human rights abuses in North Korea, with an eye toward identifying who in the regime’s leadership is responsible for the horrors so that they can eventually be held to account.”
Tags: Abuses, Accountable, China, Crimes against humanity, Cyberattacks, Disaster, Human rights, International Criminal Court, Investigation, Leaders, Missiles, North Korea, Nuclear weapons, Russia, Security Council, UN, Veto
Bloomberg (November 4)
A United Nations panel released its latest grim report on climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change asserts that irreversible damage could result unless climate change is arrested quickly. Unfortunately, “another report won’t slow climate change…. All this was known. Doing something about it—that’s the hard part, and where most politicians, especially in the U.S., are failing.” Governments need to take action and “change their policies.”
Tags: Climate change, Damage, IPCC, Irreversible, Policies, Politicians, U.S., UN
National Geographic (April 1)
“The world is not ready for the impacts of climate change, including more extreme weather and the likelihood that populated parts of the planet could be rendered uninhabitable,” according to 772 scientists who worked on a report released in Yokohama by the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report “warns that the world is close to missing a chance to limit the global warming that has occurred since the Industrial Revolution.”
Tags: Climate change, Extreme weather, Global warming, Impacts, Industrial Revolution, IPCC, Planet, UN, Uninhabitable, Yokohama
Wall Street Journal (March 24)
The Obama administration announced plans “to give up U.S. control of the Internet to a still-to-be-determined collection of governments and international groups.” It’s hard to imagine this creating a better governing body. “It’s easy to imagine a new Internet oversight body operating like the United Nations, with repressive governments taking turns silencing critics. China could get its wish to remove FreeTibet.org from the Internet as an affront to its sovereignty. Russia could force Twitter to remove posts by Ukrainian-Americans criticizing Vladimir Putin.” Congress should override President Obama’s decision.
Tags: China, Congress, Critics, Governing body, Icann, Internet, Obama, Putin, Russia, Sovereignty, Tibet, Twitter, U.S., Ukraine, UN
New York Times (February 26, 2014)
Recent cross-border family reunions “reinforced the stark differences: South Korea is an economic powerhouse and democracy; North Korea is the most totalitarian and isolated state on earth. That reality is unlikely to change soon, but when it does, North Korean leaders must be brought to justice” for the atrocities recently disclosed by a special commission of the United Nations.
Tags: Atrocities, Democracy, Isolated, Justice, Leaders, North Korea, Powerhouse, Reunions, South Korea, Special commission, Totalitarian, UN
New York Times (November 25, 2013)
“The last-minute deal at the United Nations Climate Conference in Warsaw keeps hopes for a comprehensive successor agreement to the 1997 Kyoto protocol alive. But let us be clear: Much more decisive action will be needed if we are to stand any chance at fending off the dangers of climate change.”
Investments & Pensions Europe (November Issue)
“UN analysis suggests that if present trends persist, demand for fresh water will outstrip supply by 40% by 2030. By 2050, four billion people will be living in areas facing severe water stress. Add that almost 800m people worldwide do not have access to clean water, while 2.5bn lack basic sanitation, and a worrying picture emerges.” For some investors, however, this suggests opportunities as they begin targeting businesses with water-related growth and avoiding those with unaddressed water-related risk.
Tags: Clean water, Demand, Fresh water, Investors, Opportunities, Risk, Sanitation, Supply, UN, Water stress, Water-related growth
The Economist (March 30)
“India is often spoken of in the same breath as China because of its billion-plus population, economic promise, value as a trading partner and growing military capabilities.” Yet, in the common view, India remains a near power, rather than a great power. Despite shortcomings, India has much to offer and deserves a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. “Although poorer and less economically dynamic than China, India has soft power in abundance. It is committed to democratic institutions, the rule of law and human rights. As a victim of jihadist violence, it is in the front rank of the fight against terrorism.” India would be “a force for stability and an upholder of the rules-based international system.”
Tags: China, Democracy, Human rights, India, Permanent seat, Security Council, Terrorism, UN
New York Times (April 10)
International attempts to end Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s reign of terror are failing. “Instead of abiding by a commitment to a cease-fire negotiated with the United Nations, he has kept his killing machine rolling, raising the death toll to an estimated 9,000 Syrians in the year since the start of the uprising.” It is time for the United Nations Security Council “to take tough and unified action.” Russia and China must drop their veto and quit protecting Bashar al-Assad.
International attempts to end Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s reign of terror are failing. “Instead of abiding by a commitment to a cease-fire negotiated with the United Nations, he has kept his killing machine rolling, raising the death toll to an estimated 9,000 Syrians in the year since the start of the uprising.” It is time for the United Nations Security Council “to take tough and unified action.” Russia and China must drop their veto and quit protecting Bashar al-Assad.
