Joseph A. Klein, CFP United Nations Columnist

UN Launches Investigation Into Syrian Chemical Weapons Allegations

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced yesterday at a hastily arranged press briefing that he decided to launch an independent investigation into allegations of the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria, after receiving a formal request for such an investigation from the Syrian government. “My announcement should serve as an unequivocal reminder that the use of chemical weapons is a crime against humanity,” Mr. Ban said in his press briefing. He told reporters that the investigation will start “as soon as practically possible.”

The Gap Between Reality And The UN Security Council Rhetoric On Afghanistan

The United Nations Security Council held a foreign ministerial level open "debate" on Afghanistan on Tuesday. The problem is that none of the Security Council permanent members' foreign ministers bothered to show up. Not even the foreign minister of Afghanistan itself made the trip to New York to speak to the Council.

UN Security Council Finally Gets Its Act Together Against North Korea

The United Nations Security Council displayed a rare sign of effectiveness on March 7th by passing unanimously its most toughly worded resolution to date (Resolution 2094) against North Korea. It condemns the rogue state's nuclear test last month and imposes significant new penalties under the Council's enforcement powers pursuant to Chapter VII of the UN Charter.

Terrorists Seize UN Peacekeepers In The Golan Heights Area

Armed forces opposed to the Syrian regime seized at least twenty United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) peacekeepers on Wednesday, March 6th. “The U.N. observers were on a regular supply mission and were stopped near Observation Post 58, which had sustained damage and was evacuated this past weekend following heavy combat in close proximity,” the UN said in a statement.

The UN’s Alliance Of Bigots

The United Nations "Alliance of Civilizations," co-founded by Turkey and Spain, has an annual budget of approximately four million U.S. dollars. It just completed its Fifth Global Forum this past week in Vienna. The ostensible theme of the lavish two-day gathering was “Responsible Leadership in Dialogue and Diversity.”

Obama Administration Causes Latest Security Council Impasse On Syria

In the latest episode of rampant violence resulting in the deaths of innocent civilians in Syria, a car bomb killed more than fifty people and wounded two hundred in Damascus on February 21st. The tally included students at a nearby secondary school. The bombing took place close to the Russian Embassy compound, where significant damage was reported, and to the ruling Baath Party offices in the central Mazraa district of the Syrian capital.

UN Punts Real Action To Another Day In Response to North Korean Nuclear Test

Once again North Korea has thumbed its nose at the international community, including its ally China, by confirming on Tuesday (February 12th) that it had conducted its third and most powerful nuclear test.

Israel Enforces UN Security Council Resolutions Against Hezbollah

Binding United Nations Security Council resolutions over the last decade, including Resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1701 (2006), have called for the disbanding and disarming of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias in Lebanon, including in particular the disarming of the Islamic terrorist group Hezbollah. The edict has gone unheeded. These same resolutions also directed all member states to prevent the shipment of any weapons to such groups, an arms embargo which has also gone unheeded.

Top UN Official In Libya Questions The Fact Of Libyan Arms Transfers To Terrorists

The top United Nations official in Libya Tarek Mitri, head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), briefed the UN Security Council on January 29th regarding the situation in that beleaguered country. He provided a mixed report. He saw some reason for optimism with regard to institutional reforms and improvements in security, but said that Libyan authorities would still need to make tough decisions on such key issues as constitution-making, transitional justice and security sector reform.

Egypt Erupts Against The Islamist Regime Favored by Obama

During last Sunday's "Sixty Minutes" joint interview with President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Obama boasted that "You know, when it comes to Egypt, I think, had it not been for the leadership we showed, you might have seen a different outcome there."

Mali’s Liberation From Islamist Colonial Occupation

The liberator of Mali appears to be its former colonizer, France. Today's colonizers are the Islamist jihadists, many of whom are Arabs. They invaded and occupied the northern portion of Mali and were aggressively extending the territory under their control until France intervened at the Malian government's request with air strikes and ground forces. Vive la France!

Chuck Hagel Does Not Deserve A Chance

Just as rumors began circulating that President Obama was having second thoughts about nominating former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel to become the next secretary of defense in light of strong criticisms of Hagel's record, Thomas Friedman wrote an op-ed article for the New York Times on December 26th entitled "Give Chuck A Chance."

The United Nations’ Year-End Message To Israel: Stop Building

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon devoted part of his year-end press conference on December 19th to bashing Israel for its announcement of plans to build new housing in and around Jerusalem. He claimed that the Israeli announcement was a "near fatal blow to a very fragile Middle East peace process."

Turkey Is The World’s Leader In Jailing Journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has just issued a report finding that the number of journalists imprisoned worldwide reached a record high this year, many of whom were jailed on the untenable pretext that they were terrorist sympathizers.

President Obama Gives His Blessing To Islamist Dominated Syrian Opposition Coalition

President Obama chose an exclusive interview with ABC News' Barbara Walters to announce his decision that the United States now formally recognizes the recently formed umbrella coalition of Syrian rebels who are fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad. The coalition is known formally as the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. In yet another example of leading from behind, Obama's decision follows recognition of the rebel coalition by France, Britain, Turkey, the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Barbarians Versus Barbarians In Syria

At least forty thousand people have lost their lives to date during the 21 month war in Syria. The war has turned into a life-and-death struggle between the barbarian Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime and its barbarian Islamist adversaries. Every day brings fresh evidence of atrocities committed by both sides. Innocent civilians living within Syria and the surrounding region are caught in the middle.

Islamic Jihadists Occupy Mali With Impunity

Foreign Islamist jihadists from Sudan, Algeria, Libya and elsewhere, who are part of a network of terrorist groups that affiliate themselves with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, are entrenching themselves in yet another African country.

State of Moral Bankruptcy

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas came to New York for the second time in four months to present the Palestinian case for statehood in person to the United Nations General Assembly. He basked in the glory of thunderous standing ovations, which both preceded and followed his speech. Thousands of miles from Gaza and Ramallah, Abbas was enjoying his own version of a Turtle Bay "New York State of Mind."

Abbas’s “Diplomatic Resistance”

Permanent United Nations Observer of Palestine, Riyad H. Mansour, heralded the upcoming vote by the United Nations General Assembly on November 29th to upgrade the Palestinians' status to an observer "state" as an "historic event." He boasted that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's maneuver, in which Abbas will personally appear at the General Assembly and present the resolution for a vote, was a form of resistance to Israeli occupation that Mansour labeled "diplomatic resistance."

Stop The Re-Arming Of The Gaza Terrorists

President Obama pushed Israel into accepting a ceasefire arrangement with Hamas, which was engineered by Hamas's Muslim Brotherhood patron, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel is supposed to negotiate, through Egyptian intermediaries, an easing of border restrictions between Gaza and Israel. This would be the same Egyptian government that had sent its prime minister to Gaza to express solidarity with Hamas during the fighting. Hamas, on the other hand, is not required to give up its remaining stockpile of Iranian-supplied weapons, nor to commit to cease all further imports of Iranian missiles or missile parts. In short, the ceasefire is a sham. Only a Gaza Strip without re-armed terrorists can truly stop the fire in the long run.