UN Security Council (UNSC)

Sargent Forrest Huckabey from Neodesha, Kansas with the U.S. Army's 2nd Battalion 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division stands guard with a gun in front of a billboard which encourages women to vote in Afghanistan's April 5th presidential election during a patrol outside of Forward Operating Base (FOB) Shank on March 29, 2014 near Pul-e Alam, Afghanistan.

Women, Peace, and Security: Is DOD Turning a Human Rights Corner?

The push to protect women and girls in conflict and involve women in security decision-making increases attention to human rights in military operations.

Feb. 17, 2021 Army Major Dimitri J. Facaros

Linda Thomas-Greenfield appears before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on her nomination to be the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 27, 2021.

Biden’s UN Nominee Thomas-Greenfield Awaits Vote After Questioning on China, Iran, Israel and More

As President Joe Biden prepares for his first major foreign policy speech in office this week, his nominee for ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, awaits…

Feb. 1, 2021 Tess Graham

A picture taken on October 16, 2020 shows a destroyed tank in the city of Jabrayil, where Azeri forces regained control during the fighting over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict and the Exercise of “Self-Defense” to Recover Occupied Land

The fighting raised a fundamental but surprisingly overlooked question of international law on the use of force.

Nov. 10, 2020 Tom Ruys and Felipe Rodríguez Silvestre

Suzan Aref, founder and director of Women Empowerment Organization in Iraq discusses a national report on implementation of the country’s first national action plan on women, peace and security, pursuant to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325, at the United Nations in January 2019.

UN Resolution on Women, Peace, and Security Stumbles in Iraq When It’s Needed Most

Civil society fights hard to be heard above the din of war, displacement, political dysfunction and the ebbs and flows of international aid.

Oct. 31, 2020 Viola Gienger

Veronika Tsepkalo, the wife of opposition figure Valery Tsepkalo, who was barred from running for presidency, presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and Maria Kolesnikova, Viktor Babaryko's campaign chief, pose during a press conference in Minsk on July 17, 2020.

The Women, Peace and Security Agenda at 20: Setbacks, Progress, and the Way Forward

Two decades after the landmark UN resolution, the rise of authoritarianism and extreme rightist ideologies have generated backlash against gender equality and the idea of involving…

Oct. 30, 2020 Chantal de Jonge Oudraat and Kathleen Kuehnast

Issa Konfourou, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Mali to the United Nations, addresses the Security Council meeting on the situation in Mali.

National Security at the United Nations This Week (Oct. 2 – 9)

WFP wins the Nobel Peace Prize; new PM appointed in Mali; conflict continues in Nagorno-Karabakh; and countries split on China's human rights record.

Oct. 9, 2020 Tim Hirschel-Burns

Putin sits a desk during a video conference. A large television screen on a cart shows the other participants of the meeting.

National Security at the United Nations This Week (Sept. 25 – Oct. 2)

Security Council holds emergency meeting on Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict; tensions flare between China-US; progress and challenges in Sudan peace process; island nations warn, “Climate…

Oct. 2, 2020 Lyes Jalali

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, without a face mask, speaks to reporters following a meeting with members of the UN Security Council about Iran's alleged non-compliance with a nuclear deal and calling for the restoration of sanctions against Iran at United Nations headquarters in New York, August 20, 2020.

The US “Snapback” Against Iran – Bad Politics and Flawed Law

One of the most eminent former US Ambassadors issues 9-page memorandum challenging the US government's position on the Iran nuclear deal.

Sep. 28, 2020 Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering

Adela Raz, Vice-President of the 75th session of the General Assembly and Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the United Nations, chairs the general debate of the General Assembly's seventy-fifth session. Sitting at an appropriate socially distanced space is Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed. Both wear face masks.

National Security at the United Nations This Week (Sept. 18-25)

General Debate opens; leaders urge cooperation and UNSC reform; Trump attempts to snapback sanctions on Iran, allies decline; and Special Envoy for Syria describes "ray of hope"…

Sep. 25, 2020 Lyes Jalali

Volkan Bozkir, President of the seventy-fifth session of the United Nations General Assembly, does not wear a face mask while opening the seventy-fifth session of the General Assembly. To his right and somewhat socially distanced is Secretary-General António Guterres, who wears a face mask.

National Security at the United Nations This Week (Sept. 11-18)

The UN General Assembly opens its 75th session in NYC; the Security Council extends UN missions in Afghanistan, Libya; UN fact-finding missions in Venezuela and Syria issue reports;…

Sep. 18, 2020 Tim Hirschel-Burns

Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jorge Alberto Arreaza holds the Charter of the United Nations during a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Caracas, on January 28, 2019.

The UN Charter’s Original Effect on State Sovereignty and the Use of Force

In 1945, not all states were UN members and not all territories were states: Dehn explains how use of force and self-defense rights under the Charter reflect these different statuses…

Aug. 27, 2020 John Dehn

A facility believed to be a re-education camp where mostly Muslim ethnic minorities are detained, north of Akto in China's northwestern Xinjiang region.

Policy Options in Response to Crimes Against Humanity and Potential Genocide in Xinjiang

The international community can unite in myriad ways to end the stunningly sweeping abuses China is committing against Uyghurs.

Aug. 25, 2020 Beth Van Schaack