United Nations

Highlights:

Officials sit around the iconic maple-colored wooden, horseshoe-shaped dias in the U.N. Security Council chamber, hands raised in a vote, as others seated behind them around the edges look on.

Reading the Signals of China’s U.N. Security Council Role in the Afghanistan Mission Renewal

China's prominent role in negotiations over the U.N. mission in Afghanistan marks a shift in its approach to Security Council diplomacy and illuminates its tactics.
Wide view of the UN General Assembly Hall showing delegates standing at their desks, with the UN emblem illuminated on the gold wall behind the dias and a large screen displaying the chamber.

After a Failed U.N. Counterterrorism Strategy Review, What Other Paths to Structural Reform?

The U.N.'s periodic review of its counterterrorism strategy again leaves human rights protections weak and its sprawling system unchecked.
Six people stand behind podiums in front of the U.N. General Assembly dias with its gold backdrop, all facing two individuals sitting at a desk in front of them (apparently the moderators of the discussion).

U.N. Secretary-General Candidates May Agree More than They Differ on the Way Forward

The seven candidates share a common premise: that the U.N. remains indispensable but is struggling to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world.
A view of the United Nations headquarters building in New York on September 17, 2025. The first day of high-level General Debate for the 80th session of the UN General Assembly will begin on September 23, 2025.

AI in the Military Domain: Multilateralism at a Crossroad

Recent U.N. discussions add a new forum on global governance and international norms on military uses of A.I.

Why the Dearth of Female Nominees for U.N. Secretary-General?

UN member states should expand the field of candidates for Secretary-General by nominating more women for the role.
The detectives sit in the foreground, the man in a suit jacket, the woman in a blouse, their backs to the camera, across a table from the prisoner, whose hands are folded atop the edge of the table, which is covered with files and photos and a tape recorder. A video recorder on a tripod is to the left.

Effective Interviewing, Not Torture: Lessons from the Méndez Principles Five Years On

The Mendez Principles, drafted to end the use of torture in interrogations, are being implemented variously across regions and institutions.
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A red and white cargo ship at sea in the distance, with a yellow crane-like piece of equipment, presumably at the terminal, in the foreground.

Merchant Mariners: Unseen in Peacetime and Forgotten in Conflict

The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran illustrates how thousands of merchant mariners, so desperately needed globally, increasingly are trapped at sea during times of conflict.
A masked federal agent dressed in a tan, long-sleeved shirt, dark pants and a dark bullet-proof vest walks through a hallway in front of a wall covered with what appears to be a long blackboard with the words "Immigration Court" in large capital letters across the top and miscellaneous notices posted on the board below.

Key Trump Deportation Strategies: Removing, Replacing, and Pressuring Immigration Judges

New data shows how mass firings, loyalist replacements, and pressure tactics are turning U.S. immigration courts into a deportation enforcement arm.
Secretary-General António Guterres stands at a podium on a dias, with screens flanking him also showing his address before an arc of desks and chairs in a soaring U.N. chamber.

Will States Address Disability Invisibility in the Crimes Against Humanity Convention?

Only two of 64 proposed amendments submitted by U.N. member States for a draft Crimes Against Humanity Convention enumerate disability as a specific protected category.
This photograph shows smoke rising above buildings following an air attack in Kharkiv on June 10, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Beyond the Vanishing Point? What the Destruction of Civilian Infrastructure in Armed Conflicts Reveals about the State and the Role of IHL Today

There is a widening gap between international humanitarian law and the realities of civilians affected by armed conflicts.
Guterres speaks at a podium in the massive General Assembly hall, on a large dais at the base of a gold backdrop stretching to the high ceiling, his image also projected on screens behind him, as member state representatives are seated at long rows of desks arrayed in front of the dais.

As U.N. Secretary-General Candidates Make Pitch to be Mediator-in-Chief, Will Peacebuilding End Up On the Cutting Room Floor?

A U.N. pivot back to conflict mediation, suggested in the secretary-general search, will only reap dividends if peacebuilding is high on the next leader's agenda.
This photo taken on July 16, 2025 shows the logo of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Kingston, Jamaica.

Deep Sea Mining and the Logic of Contracting Around the Commons

A non-binding U.S.-Japan agreement on deep-sea mining highlights the weaknesses and vulnerability of the International Seabed Authority.
U.S. forces patrol the Arabian Sea near M/V Touska on April 20, 2026, after firing upon the Iranian-flagged vessel that the U.S. accused of attempting to violate the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports near the Strait of Hormuz.

Blockade and Article 2(4) of the UN Charter

"The U.S. military’s enforcement of the ongoing naval blockade of Iran may have now resulted in fresh violations of the U.N. Charter against four entirely different countries."
Pigeons fly against a darkened, cloudy sky looming over a skyline of mid-rise buildings in the background and a destroyed concrete building in the foreground.

Ukraine and the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression: Redefining International Justice

The tribunal to prosecute Russia's crime of aggression seeks to close one of the most enduring gaps in international criminal law and strengthen the U.N. Charter.
People walk through heavy rubble inside the destroyed courtyard of Al-Zeitoun Preparatory School in Gaza City, following Israeli airstrikes on June 29, 2025. The scene is viewed through metal bars in the foreground.

The ICESCR in Armed Conflict: Submission to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Experts argue ICESCR applies in armed conflict and caution against broad claims of international humanitarian law as lex specialis.
A wide view of the Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question on May 21, 2026. (Via UN Photo) A wide view of the Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question on May 21, 2026. (Via UN Photo)

Follow the Law, Not the Plan: Legal Considerations for Third States in Gaza

Third State’s support for Trump’s Gaza plan must remain strictly conditioned on compliance with international law and be continuously reassessed in light of evolving facts.…
Naija Raufi in a dark dress and a floral hijab stands at a balcony railing, overlooking the low- to medium-rise urban landscape of Athens, her back to the camera, alongside a young girl in a pink dress and pony tails in her dark hair.

I Was Afghanistan’s Attorney General. Here Is What Justice Looked Like — and What Destroyed It.

Afghanistan’s justice system took 20 years to build and 11 days to destroy. Former Attorney General Mohammad Farid Hamidi outlines the ongoing fight for accountability.
Two soldiers in the foreground wearing fatigues and olive green caps place flags in front of each of the small, white headstones lined up along the green spring grass under leafy trees at Arlington National Cemetery Arlington, Virginia.

To Memorialize the Fallen, Renew the Pursuit of Peace

This Memorial Day, to honor the memory of those who gave their lives in war, Americans should consider how to help mold a more peaceful future at home and abroad.
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