Joseph A. Klein, CFP United Nations Columnist

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.

Time to Launch an All-Out War Against ISIS and the Global Jihad

The latest terrorist attack in France, which has taken at least 84 lives and injured scores of other people, has all the hallmarks of an ISIS operation. The jihadist group’s supporters sadistically celebrated the carnage left by a truck turned into a killing vehicle by its Tunisian-born driver.

New Evidence of Hezbollah’s Massive Arms Build-up in Lebanese Civilian Areas

Every calendar quarter the United Nations Security Council holds an extensive debate on the Israeli-Palestinian “situation.” The Israeli and Palestinian UN representatives make speeches following the Secretary General’s report on the current status, which are normally predictable restatements of their respective positions.

Syrian Peace Talks Remain on Hiatus

The war in Syria drags on, taking hundreds of thousands of lives and displacing millions of people. The conflict has created a power vacuum being filled by ISIS and other jihadist groups, while also serving as a proxy for the clashing geo-political strategic interests of Russia, the United States, Iran and other regional players. The United Nations has been helpless in trying to bring any order out of the chaos.

Terror Sponsoring Iran Takes U.S. to International Court

Iran has filed a complaint against the United States with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding the seizure of two billion dollars in frozen Iranian assets, which are being held at Citibank in the U.S. The purpose of the seizure was to compensate American victims, their estate representatives, or surviving family members for the harms suffered as a result of Iranian-sponsored terror attacks.

UN Human Rights Chief’s Response to Jihadist Massacre: More "Robust Gun Regulation"

In response to the ISIS-inspired massacre at an Orlando nightclub on June 12th, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein focused on gun control. He said that such violent attacks are “the direct result of insufficient gun control.” He called on the U.S. to adopt "robust gun regulation" in order to counter the impact of gun violence on human rights.

Obama’s Syrian Refugee Policy Discriminates Against Christian Victims of Genocide

The Obama administration is rapidly accelerating its admission and resettlement of Syrian refugees. The administration is well on its way to meeting its target of taking 10,000 Syrians into the country by the end of the current fiscal year on September 30th.

Case Study of Out-of-Control Transnational Adjudicative Body

Multilateral treaties have become a bedrock of international law, especially since the end of World War II. More than 600 multilateral treaties have been sponsored by the United Nations out of the approximately 8,000 multilateral treaties entered into since World War II. In setting out the parties’ rights and obligations, norms of behavior and dispute resolution mechanisms, carefully written treaties that have buy-in from the member countries can reduce the potential for resort to armed conflict or economic warfare.

Obama Administration Cooperates with the UN on Open Borders

President Obama is reportedly planning to accelerate the screening process for Syrians claiming refugee status, so that they can be rapidly resettled in communities across the United States.

The UN World Humanitarian Summit Money Pit

Anyone who is serious about accountable, transparent delivery of humanitarian aid to people truly in need should think long and hard before making any further unconditional funding commitments to OCHA,

Fiery Exchange Between Israeli and Palestinian UN Envoys at Security Council

During the United Nations Security Council's April 18th quarterly "open debate" on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon delivered an impassioned speech accusing the Palestinian leadership of inciting violence against Israeli civilians and honoring the terrorists. “The endless incitement and the ongoing glorification of violence,” by the Palestinians “is directly responsible for the murder of innocent Israelis,” he said.

UN Issues Deeply Flawed Audit of Corrupt Dealings Between the UN and Private Interests

As a result of an unfolding corruption scandal at the United Nations, serious unanswered questions have arisen about the rigor with which the UN vets the companies and their affiliated private foundations who seek to make donations to the UN. In order to keep the money flowing into UN coffers and make up for shortfalls in member state contributions to agency budgets, at least some UN offices appear willing to sell to private donors an opportunity to associate themselves with the image of noble sounding UN causes such as sustainable development.