Joseph A. Klein, CFP United Nations Columnist

Chief Palestinian Negotiator Displays Usual Intransigence In United Nations Speech

Saëb Erakat, Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Chief Palestinian Negotiator, addressed the 352nd meeting of the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People at UN headquarters in New York on May 20th. His message was wrapped in the standard Palestinian victimhood narrative. It contained superficially nice sounding words about the Palestinians' interest in peace but only on their terms.

The United Nations Hezbollah Protection Force

The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1701 in August 2006, which brought about an end to the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The resolution called on the Lebanese government to "secure its borders and other entry points to prevent the entry in Lebanon without its consent of arms or related materiel" and authorized the peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon ('UNIFIL") to assist the government of Lebanon to accomplish this objective "at its request."

UN Peacekeepers In Sudan Fail to Protect Black African Tribal Chief From Arab Militia Executioners

South Sudan's ambassador to the United Nations Francis Deng told reporters on May 12th that the Misseriya Arab tribesmen's attack on a convoy of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) and a delegation of the Ngok Dinka tribe the previous week killed his older brother, the Ngok Dinka tribe's Paramount Chief Kuol Deng Kuol.

The UN, Syria and Israel

The United Nations' investigations into the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria are going nowhere. The UN Security Council is paralyzed when it comes to dealing with the current crisis in Syria, and is unwilling to enforce resolutions it passed years ago to prevent Syria's neighbor Lebanon from becoming Hezbollah's staging ground to attack Israeli civilians with sophisticated imported rockets.

Stalemate Continues On UN Chemical Weapons Investigation In Syria

H.E. Bashar Ja'afari, Syria's ambassador to the United Nations, held an hour long press conference today at UN headquarters in New York where he complained of "fraudulent accusations" against the Syrian government that it has used chemical weapons against the Syrian people. He said that such charges leveled at his government, including those based on unreliable intelligence assessments, lacked "any corroborated facts" and reminded him of the unfounded weapons of mass destruction charges leading up to the Iraq war in 2003.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s Office Criticizes UN “Human Rights Expert”

Richard Falk - a top "expert" appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council to justify the Council's anti-Israel bias - characterized the Boston Marathon terrorist bombings as an understandable reaction to the "American global domination project."

UN-Arab League Special Envoy To Syria Brahimi Won’t Resign - At Least For Now

Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN-Arab League Special Envoy to Syria, expressed frustration with the deteriorating situation in Syria and the lack of UN Security Council action in remarks to reporters following his closed door briefing Friday morning to the Security Council.

UN Hypocrisy And Money Drain In Gaza

In response to a deteriorating security situation in and around Gaza including the resumption of rocket firings into Israel from Gaza, Israel has taken some measured security steps to restrict the movement of people and goods to and from the Gaza Strip. Since March 21st, these restrictions have also included a reduction in the fishing limit from six to three nautical miles.

Flawed UN Arms Trade Treaty Stalled For Now But Poised For Quick General Assembly Approval

The President of the United Nations' Final Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty, Australian Ambassador Peter Woolcott, ruled on March 28th that there was no consensus of the member states to adopt the final draft text of the treaty because of formal objections raised by Iran, North Korea and Syria.

UN Arms Trade Treaty On The Verge Of Adoption

Update From the UN in New York City: Iran and North Korea just blocked consensus adoption of the arms trade treaty. Syria also objected but did not raise its flag to formally block consensus. The meeting was suspended pending informal consultations They are still conferring but the most likely outcome in the absence of full consensus today is referral to the General Assembly for a vote next week on the draft treaty which should require no more than a two thirds vote. I would predict that one way or the other this folly is going to be adopted within a week for signature and ratification by the member states.

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."