Jordan applies for UNSC seat ‘after consulting KSA’
Jordan has applied for a two-year term on the UN Security Council, the Jordanian information minister said on Monday, after Saudi Arabia won a seat and then turned it down. […]
Fear of reprisal: Pakistan’s UN office warns employees
ET: LAHORE: Fearing a reprisal following the killing of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud in a drone strike on Friday, the local UN office has issued an alert to its employees, The Express Tribune has learnt. “Imminent security threat at Centaurus Mall, Islamabad, for two (02) weeks. Huge security threat of […]
Overwhelming UN vote against US embargo on Cuba
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 29: A record-equalling 188 countries condemned on Tuesday the five-decade-old US embargo against communist Cuba in an annual UN General Assembly vote that signalled hardening opposition to US sanctions. Only Israel joined the United States in the opposing resolution, the smallest number ever. Last year two allies […]
A forgotten effort? ‘Rabat Plan’ to eliminate blasphemy laws …
Rabat Plan of Action on the prohibition of advocacy of national,racial or religious hatred that constitutes incite to discrimination, hostility or violence. Conclusions and recommendations emanating from the four regional expert workshops organised by OHCHR, in 2011, and adopted by experts in Rabat, Morocco on 5 October 2012. READ FULL […]
A forgotten effort? 'Rabat Plan' to eliminate blasphemy laws …
Rabat Plan of Action on the prohibition of advocacy of national,racial or religious hatred that constitutes incite to discrimination, hostility or violence. Conclusions and recommendations emanating from the four regional expert workshops organised by OHCHR, in 2011, and adopted by experts in Rabat, Morocco on 5 October 2012. READ FULL […]
UN chief urges OIC to help mend rifts between Muslim communities
Xinhua | 2013-10-29 9:09:20 By Agencies UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Monday urged the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to try its best to mend rifts between Muslim communities and stem the influence of radical groups. “The challenges of peace and security are too complex and interlinked for any […]
When justice is an accomplice to murder
October 23, 2013 12:17 AM By Rami G. Khouri The Daily Star STORY SUMMARY In a fascinating juxtaposition, two news stories this week affirmed all that is right and wrong in the system of American justice as it pertains to the killing of civilians around the world. One story reported […]
How the Sunni-Shia schism is dividing the world
The unprecedented Saudi refusal to take up its Security Council seat is not just about Syria but a response to the Iranian threat by ROBERT FISK THE INDEPENDENT WEDNESDAY 23 OCTOBER 2013 The Muslim world’s historic – and deeply tragic – chasm between Sunni and Shia Islam is having worldwide […]
Arab League, OIC, Turkey, UAE join anti-UN chorus
Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby, Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and Turkish President Abdullah Gul rallied behind Saudi Arabia’s decision to reject a seat on the UN […]
Saudi Arabia rejects seat on UN Security Council
ASSOCIATED PRESS RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia is rejecting its seat on the UN Security Council and says the 15-member body is incapable of resolving world conflicts. The move came just hours after the kingdom was elected as one of the Council’s 10 nonpermanent members. In a statement carried on […]
U.N. tells U.S. to release drone assassination data
Salon.com: A report by a UN expert urges the US to ‘release its own data on the level of civilian casualties’ caused by drone strikes and attacks the lack of transparency surrounding CIA and US special forces drone operations. Ben Emmerson, a British barrister and UN special rapporteur on counter-terrorism, […]
Saudi Arabia Rejects Seat on U.N. Security Council and Confuses Everyone
The World: by Nate Rawlings – But one wonders if the temporary focus that Saudi Arabia gets by doing this is worth giving up a seat on the Security Council where at least they’d have some voice in resolutions on Syria.” On Thursday, the 193 countries making up the U.N. […]
Isreal must adopt a new approach: Washington Post
By Walter Pincus, Washington Post, Published: October 2 http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fineprint-a-new-approach-for-israel/2013/10/02/4cecf606-2ac9-11e3-b139-029811dbb57f_story.html It’s time for Israel to stop making military threats and to propose an imaginative diplomatic move — risky as it may seem — to help ease nuclear tensions in the Middle East. It can start by acknowledging its own nuclear weapons program. It has accused […]
KSA cancels UN address in protest over Syria inaction
In an unprecedented move, Saudi Arabia has not delivered its annual address at the UN General Assembly in protest at the international organization’s failure to solve major Muslims issues such as Syria, Palestine, and the Rohingya in Myanmar. “This is the first time that Saudi Arabia has canceled its UN […]
OIC chief lauds Pakistan ‘positive role’ in Muslim world
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 26 (APP): The Secretary-General of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, has commended the “positive role” of Pakistan in the Muslim world and the organization’s activities when he called on Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Thursday, officials said. At the outset, Ihsanoglu congratulated the […]
Top-level talks : Geneva conference on Iran is set
September 27, 2013 – 09:02 A top-level conference on Iran’s nuclear programme is to be held in Geneva on October 15-16, it has been confirmed. The announcement came after a […]
Official: Kerry to sign landmark arms trade treaty
By MATTHEW LEE — Sep. 24 2:02 PM EDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — American officials say Secretary of State John Kerry will sign a landmark treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar global arms trade during the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting this week. The officials said Kerry will sign the Arms […]
Questions Plague UN Report on Syria
By Sharmine Narwani and Radwan Mortada A senior United Nations official who deals directly with Syrian affairs has told Al-Akhbar that the Syrian government had no involvement in the alleged Ghouta chemical weapons attack: “Of course not, he (President Bashar al-Assad) would be committing suicide.” When asked who he believed […]
Many say UN needs to modernise
World leaders are booking their flights to New York for the annual UN General Assembly which begins this week. But does the UN, founded after the World War II, reflect […]
I was an Iraqi refugee. I keep thinking of the 2 million displaced Syrians
My family was forced to flee Iraq in 1991. Now Syrian refugees face similar hardships and are at the mercy of other nations Aseel Machi theguardian.com, Wednesday 11 September 2013 13.45 BST As world powers debate the fate of Syria, there is much less discussion surrounding the status of Syrian […]