UN Security Council (UNSC)
325 Articles
“This One Goes To Eleven”: The ICC and the Security Council
The unprecedented rejection by Saudi Arabia of its elected seat on the Security Council in October, 2013, ostensibly in protest of the Council’s perceived failures in the Middle…
Breaking News: Security Council Authorizes Robust Peacekeeping Mandate for CAR
[The full text of Resolution 2127 is now available.] An important development this morning in the Security Council to respond to a recent upsurge in violence in the Central African…
Iran’s Right to Enrichment
Whether Iran is possessed of a right to enrich uranium is said to be the central question in its negotiations with the P5+1. It should not be. Neither side’s argument is…
Expert Opinion on Iran’s “Right” to Enrich Uranium in the Face of Security Council Resolutions
It is early morning in Geneva and dawn of the latest round of negotiations to decide the fate of Iran’s nuclear program. As I wrote yesterday, Iran’s claim to a “right”…
Iran’s Purported “Right” to Enrich Uranium, and Alleged Bias at the New York Times
As attention turns to the upcoming negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program, an important factor will be the media coverage that inevitably shapes public opinion. In a recent piece…
The End of the M23, Will Justice Follow?
In the last few days, we have witnessed some important and welcome developments in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)—a region of the world in desperate need of some…
Why the US Failure to Support an ICC Referral for Syria does not Protect Israel (or American Interests)
As we watch and wait for the outcome of the destruction and disposal of the chemical weapons in Syria, the issue of accountability for war crimes and/or crimes against humanity…
Humanitarian Intervention and Global Legal Norms
Thank you to Harold Koh for spurring (here and here) a discussion about some of the most important issues of our time—on matters concerning wars of choice and building an effective…
Syria and the Law of Humanitarian Intervention (Part III – A Reply)
My recent two-part essay on Syria, posted on this blog, made both a policy claim and a legal claim. My policy claim was that despite undeniable political miscues, President Obama’s…
Security Council Resolution on Syria is Final but Russia Begins Chipping Away
On Friday, I posted an analysis of the draft Security Council Resolution on Syria questioning the strength and scope of its legal obligations. The United Nations has now released…
Are the Press Reports of the Security Council’s Draft Syria Resolution Accurate? How weak or strong is it?
After weeks of diplomatic wrangling, the permanent members of the Security Council emerged last night with a compromise draft resolution on chemical weapons in Syria. The key part…
The U.S.-Russia Agreement on Syrian Chemical Weapons: More Questions Than Answers
The Framework Agreement negotiated by the United States and the Russian Federation to bring Syria’s chemical weapons under international control seems like an elegant way out…