UN Security Council (UNSC)

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

Two people in camo with guns nearby. Cover of U.N. Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) publication, “Guidelines to facilitate the use and admissibility as evidence in national criminal courts of information collected, handled, preserved and shared by the military to prosecute terrorist offences.”

The UN Guidelines on “Battlefield” Evidence and Terrorist Offences: A Frame, a Monet, or a Patchwork?

In December 2019 the United Nations Counter Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), with the support of the traditional alphabet soup of other U.N. organizations focused…

Aug. 21, 2020 Robert Cryer

The UN Security Council Is About to Dangerously Undermine Fair Trial Guarantees

Dangerous flaws in a current draft U.N. Security Council resolution on foreign fighters need to be addressed, if the Security Council is to live up to its responsibility to respect…

Aug. 20, 2020 Simon Crowther

Judges Walid Akoum, Janet Nosworthy, David Re, Micheline Braidy and Nicola Lettier preside over the first hearing in the trial of four people accused of murdering former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in The Hague on January 16, 2014.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon is Set to Issue Historic Ruling on the Assassination of PM Hariri

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon will release its long-awaited judgment in the case involving the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. The verdict, set to…

Aug. 17, 2020 Beth Van Schaack

Martin Griffiths, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen on a screen for a virtual Security Council meeting.

National Security at the United Nations This Week (July 25-31)

(Editor’s Note: This is the latest in Just Security’s weekly series keeping readers up to date on developments at the United Nations at the intersection of national security,…

Jul. 31, 2020 Kamran King