Joseph A. Klein, CFP United Nations Columnist

Obama Sides with Terrorists over Historic Ally at the Anti-Israel United Nations

President Obama is ending his presidency the way he began it--throwing Israel to the wolves. On September 23, 2009, he told the United Nations General Assembly, "America does not accept the legitimacy of continued settlements." On December 23, 2016, Obama broke with the longstanding practice of both Democratic and Republican administrations to protect Israel from one-sided UN resolutions. He let the UN Security Council pass a resolution declaring that the establishment of settlements by Israel has "no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law."

President Obama Throws Israel to the Wolves

The United Nations Security Council voted Friday to approve a resolution demanding that "Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem."

UN Security Council Passes Watered Down Humanitarian Resolution for Aleppo

The United Nations Security Council managed to pass a consensus resolution unanimously on December 19th regarding the ongoing humanitarian crisis in eastern Aleppo, Syria. Security Council Resolution 2328 (2016) emphasizes the importance of ensuring “the voluntary, safe and dignified passage of all civilians from the eastern districts of Aleppo or other areas, under the monitoring of and coordination by the United Nations and other relevant institutions, to a destination of their choice."

Incoming UN Secretary General Takes the Oath of Office as Trump Presidency Looms

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres will commence his duties as secretary general on January 1, 2017, succeeding Ban Ki-moon. Mr. Guterres took the oath of office on December 12th in a ceremony presided over by the president of the UN General Assembly.

New UN Security Council Resolution Strengthens Sanctions against North Korea

The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2321 (2016) on November 30th. It condemns the North Korean (DPRK) regime’s continued pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles while its people continue to suffer under inhumane conditions. The resolution strengthens previous UN-imposed sanctions on the DPRK in response to its fifth nuclear test conducted on September 9, 2016.

Towards a More Constructive Engagement with China under a Trump Administration

Amidst concerns over how a Trump administration will interact with China, especially with respect to trade, China’s President Xi Jinping told President-elect Trump during their recent telephone conversation that "The facts prove that cooperation is the only correct choice for China and the United States."

Palestinians Use a Willing United Nations to Advance their Destructive Agenda

The United Nations continues to serve as the Palestinians’ battering ram to try and destroy the legitimacy of the Jewish state of Israel.

UNESCO’s Shameful Dejudaization of Jews’ Holiest Sites in Jerusalem

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) executive board passed a resolution, entitled “Occupied Palestine,” which refers to Jerusalem's holy sites only by their Islamic names. The resolution effectively denies the historical ties of the Jewish people to the Temple Mount, proving that this dysfunctional UN body is not grounded in any educational, scientific or cultural reality at all.

UN Continues Substantial Purchases from Companies Tied to Assad Regime

The United Nations Security Council once again deadlocked over what to do about the increasing carnage in Syria, particularly in the besieged city of Aleppo. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed frustration at the lack of any decisive action by the Council. Yet, while the UN’s own procurement division continues to do millions of dollars’ worth of business with individuals and entities tied to the Syrian regime and its president Bashar al-Assad despite the ongoing atrocities, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is demanding that the UN procurement division target Israel for blacklisting and boycott.

Unchecked Barbarism in Syria Continues

"There were no conclusions reached." This is how the outgoing president of the United Nations Security Council described the Security Council's response on September 29th to the latest horrors against civilians being inflicted daily upon innocent civilians, including little children, in eastern Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria.

UN Panel Accuses the U.S. of Systematic Racism Against African-Americans

Just when you thought the United Nations could not sink any lower, a UN panel has issued a report recommending that the United States pay “reparations” to African-Americans for its “legacy of colonial history, enslavement, racial subordination and segregation, racial terrorism and racial inequality.” The report accuses the United States of maintaining “institutional and structural racial discrimination and racism against people of African descent.”

Dangerous Plans Hatched by Obama and UN for Refugee Resettlement

President Obama's State Department finally admitted the obvious regarding ISIS terrorists embedding themselves in the refugee flow from the Middle East. "I wouldn't debate the fact that there's the potential for ISIS terrorists to try to insert themselves, and we see that in some of the refugee camps in Jordan and in Turkey, where they try to insert themselves into the population," State Department spokesman John Kirby said on "Fox and Friends" on September 21^st. Then Kirby tried to assure Americans that the "vetting process, while not perfect, is a very, very stringent."

Ban Ki-moon's Disappointing Valedictory Speech

Ban Ki-moon delivered his final address as United Nations Secretary General to world leaders gathered for the UN's annual high level General Assembly debate. He highlighted as successes during his two terms in office the UN member states' adoption of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals agenda and the successful negotiation of the Paris Agreement on climate change. The Secretary General then catalogued the many unresolved conflicts and "grave security threats" from Syria to North Africa to North Korea.

Hillary Clinton Uses the UN to Advance her Progressive Globalist Agenda

Hillary Clinton is planning to hold "a number of bilateral meetings" during this week’s gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where climate change and the rights of migrants and refugees will top the agenda.

Senate Must Act Now to Disavow President Obama’s Climate Change Treaty

The United States Senate must act urgently to save its treaty approval authority from irreversible damage inflicted by President Obama with the help of the United Nations. Congress has already allowed President Obama to get away with putting in force his nuclear deal with no more than a pro forma review.

UN Security Council Falters in Face of North Korean Defiance

North Korea is reported to have conducted its fifth and largest underground nuclear test on September 9th. According to South Korean officials, monitors had picked up unusual seismic activity near a North Korean nuclear test site.

Obama Uses UN to Bypass Senate’s Treaty Consent Authority

President Obama has just committed his most flagrant violation of the U.S. Constitution to date. He purported to commit the United States to a legally binding treaty without first obtaining consent by two thirds of the Senators present, as required under Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution. Obama is using the United Nations to end run the Senate with regard to the Paris Agreement on climate change negotiated last December.

The United Nations’ Botched Mission in South Sudan

South Sudan, the youngest member state of the United Nations, began its life as an independent country with expressions of hope for a bright future. At the independence ceremony of South Sudan, held in its capital Juba on July 9, 2011, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon proclaimed that, after years of violence, “we open a new chapter: a day when the people of South Sudan claim the freedom and dignity that are their birthright

UN Refugee Agency Cannot be Trusted

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is where would-be asylum seekers are first registered and vetted for possible referral to a destination host country for resettlement. UNHCR is the prime international advocate for self-identified “refugees” seeking asylum. While the agency gives lip service to security concerns and the need to weed out terrorists, it operates on the premise that such asylum seekers, wherever they come from including the Middle East, should be given the benefit of the doubt.

UN Law of the Sea Arbitration Tribunal Sinks the Rule of Law

The international arbitration tribunal, constituted under Annex VII to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (“UNCLOS”), issued its final Award on July 12th in the so-called “compulsory” arbitration instituted by the Republic of the Philippines against the People’s Republic of China. The Philippines had sought rulings on a number of issues, including the source of the parties’ rights and obligations in the South China Sea and the effect of UNCLOS on China’s claims to historic rights within its claimed ‘nine-dash line.’ The tribunal’s decision found in the Philippines’ favor on these two key issues, and most others that had been raised by the Philippines.