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Latest Updates: UN RSS

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  johnpi 4:55 pm on February 1, 2010 | 1 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: gaza (202), Gaza Massacre (33), Israel (352), UN, war crimes (111)

  Israel disciplines top officers over UN compound attack.

  The Israeli military said Monday it has reprimanded two high-ranking officers for approving the firing of artillery shells toward a U.N. compound during the Gaza Strip war last year – the first admission of any high-level wrongdoing during the offensive.

  Israel announced the punishment in a document submitted to the United Nations last Friday in response to a U.N. report that has accused Israel’s military of committing war crimes, including the use of white phosphorus, an incendiary munition, in the warehouse attack.

   

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  thabet 3:08 pm on January 27, 2010 | 1 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: British Muslims (42), human rights (381), international law (143), torture (164), UN, united kingdom (732), united nations (6)

  UN report concludes that the UK is complicit in the mistreatment and possible torture of its own citizens:

  United Nations human rights investigators have concluded that the British government has been complicit in the mistreatment and possible torture of several of its own citizens during the “war on terror”.

  In a report published today that will make difficult reading for ministers who repeatedly denied the UK’s involvement in torture, UN officials have indicated that there is clear evidence of the UK’s role in the secret detention overseas of several British Muslims.

   
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  johnpi 10:06 am on January 23, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: gaza (202), Gaza Massacre (33), Israel (352), reparations, UN

  Israel pays UN for damage in Gaza offensive.

  That’s swell of them. As long as we’re on the topic of reparations…

   
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  johnpi 8:33 am on December 23, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: cambodia (5), Hegemony of human rights discourse (32), Hegemony of human rights discourse watch (29), human rights (381), Uighurs (29), UN

  Cambodian deportation of Muslim Uighurs criticised by UN.

  The UN refugee agency condemned the deportation.

  “The forced return of asylum-seekers without a full examination of their asylum claims is a serious breach of international refugee law,” the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement.

  Agency spokeswoman Kitty McKinsey said her agency had sent staff to Phnom Penh’s main airport on Saturday to try to physically stop the deportation, but authorities circumvented this by using a military airport.

   
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  johnpi 8:28 am on October 31, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: anti-blasphemy law (2), blasphemy (7), blasphemy laws (3), defamation of religion (2), Israel (352), israeli occupation (8), OIC (10), settler theft of palestinian land (7), UN, UN Defamation Resolution (2)

  If members of the Organization of Islamic States can get an anti-blasphemy rule passed at the UN to curtail conversations about activities that some Muslims consider Shariah (female genital mutilation, stoning and child marriages), then will the rule also prevent OIC states from criticizing Israel and Israeli settlers for taking Palestinian land, since that too is said to be prescribed by religion?

   
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  johnpi 7:10 pm on October 7, 2009 | 4 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: gaza (202), Gaza Massacre (33), Goldstone report (8), Hamas (53), Israel (352), libya (21), Mahmoud Abbas (2), Obama (249), Palestinian Authority (3), palestinian suffering (7), Palestinians (31), UN

  Richard Silverstein sheds light on some interesting facts about Libya’s status at the UN that makes the Goldstone report – which indicts Israel for war crimes – an issue that can’t be easily dispensed with a security council veto from the US.

  Libya not only sits on the Security Council, it also is president of the General Assembly. So that means that Qaddafi has the U.S. over a boulder twice over. If the U.S. vetoes Security Council consideration of the Report, Libya can introduce it before the General Assembly, where we don’t have veto. If Abbas hadn’t singed himself so badly in mishandling this affair, he might’ve been able to weasel out of this by telling Libya to take a hike. But Hamas already has his ass in a sling over his betrayal of the Gazans. He can’t very well dump Goldstone twice.

  So Obama may have the Goldstone nightmare return to haunt him in the Security Council. It might even be passed by the General Assembly. So much for our president’s supposed political adeptness.

   
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  johnpi 5:50 am on October 7, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: gaza (202), Gaza Massacre (33), Goldstone report (8), Israel (352), palestine (241), palestinian suffering (7), Palestinians (31), UN

  UN council mulls emergency meet on Gaza report.

  The United Nations Security Council will hold closed-door consultations on Wednesday to consider whether to accept a Libyan request for a meeting mainly to discuss a U.N. report that accused Israel and Palestinian fighters of war crimes during Israel’s assault of Gaza, diplomats said.

  Libya’s deputy ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi told AFP that his country circulated a letter on behalf of the U.N. Arab group requesting “an emergency meeting” of the 15-member body to consider the U.N. report.
  ….

  A spokesman for Libya’s U.N. mission, Ahmed Gebreel, said his country, which currently has a Security Council seat, had requested a meeting “because of the seriousness of the report and because we think it’s too long to wait until March.”

  “We are welcoming Libya’s step that they have asked the Security Council to meet to discuss the Goldstone report,” Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said in a telephone conversation from Rome.

  “Libya’s step is supporting the Palestinian people’s rights.”

  Critics of the Palestinian Authority have accused Abbas of letting his people down by agreeing to the postponement. A statement by the Palestinian observer mission at the United Nations said it fully supported the Libyan request for a Security Council meeting.

   
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  thabet 6:24 am on October 6, 2009 | 66 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: aid (8), Pakistan (570), Pakistani Taliban (126), suicide bombing (5), Theocratic Imperialist Watch (15), UN, violence (161)

  Theocratic Imperialists say a food aid distribution programme is “not in the interests of Muslims”.

  So they blew it up.

   
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  johnpi 10:46 am on October 5, 2009 | 1 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: afghan election (3), afghan elections (7), Afghanistan elections (2), UN

  Disgruntled ex-UN official lashes out – UN failed to prevent Afghan election fraud.

  An American ousted as the No. 2 official at the U.N. mission in Afghanistan said Monday he has no second-thoughts about assertions that the organization failed to aggressively probe vote fraud charges in the August presidential election.

  “The flaw that took place in Afghanistan was preventable,” the dismissed diplomat, Peter Galbraith, said Monday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

  He’s not a ‘team player’ anymore.

   
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  thabet 10:45 pm on August 30, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: international law (143), morocco (14), occupation (49), oil watch (33), resources (25), UN, western sahara (2)

  That other occupation:

  The latest United Nations-backed talks between Morocco and the Frente Polisario over the disputed territory of Western Sahara have concluded with a commitment from both parties to continue negotiations as soon as possible.

  The two-day discussions, held in the Austrian town of Duernstein on 10 and 11 August, took place in an “atmosphere of serious, frankness and mutual respect,” according to a statement issued by the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Christopher Ross.

  Oh, and oil and gas are involved too.

   
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  thabet 4:47 am on August 4, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: geopolitics (119), human rights (381), international law (143), international relations (189), liberal interventionism (49), responsibility to protect, UN

  Heathlander and Anthony Fenton link to a UN debate and conference on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) concept. There is some more commentary from the Reuters Global News Blog and The Economist.

  I am still listening to the debate, but the real problem with R2P seems to be very simple: the powerful will always decide what to ‘protect’ (and what to destroy).

   
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  thabet 2:36 pm on April 20, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Change We Can Make Believe In (28), international law (143), Obama (249), politics (765), torture (164), UN

  A UN expert has said the US is obliged under international law, to which it has signed up, to investigate and prosecute those involved in torture.

   
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  thabet 9:21 am on April 20, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: durban ii (5), geopolitics (119), international relations (189), racism (201), UN

  French and British diplomats are amongst those who walked out of Durban II over Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s attack on Israel.

  A number of Western countries had already boycotted the conference.

   
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  thabet 10:00 am on April 19, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: durban ii (5), Fanatical Defenders Of The Only Democracy In The Middle (18), freedom of speech (71), geopolitics (119), international relations (189), racism (201), UN

  The US drops out of Durban II.

  The hypocrisies of all sides are self-evident.

   
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  thabet 12:58 am on April 1, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: human rights (381), international law (143), uae (99), UN

  The UAE government adopted 36 out of 74 human rights recommendations from the UN.

  Unsurprisingly, a number of the motions rejected by the UAE related to labour reform.

   
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  thabet 2:42 am on March 29, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: freedom of religion (61), human rights (381), Pakistan (570), state (101), UN

  While Pakistan is proposing resolutions to outlaw ‘defamation of religion’, her minorities continue to suffer abuse… because of their religious beliefs.

   
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  Ergo Ratio 4:03 pm on February 16, 2009 | 1 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: free speech (19), Islam (244), UN

  In case anyone missed these editorials by Hari the first time:
  Oppressive religions need to be battled with
  more free speech.

  When you demand “respect”, you are demanding we lie to you. I have too much real respect for you as a human being to engage in that charade.

   
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  thabet 8:03 am on February 4, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Hamas (53), palestine (241), UN

  Hamas ‘confiscates’ (steals) UN supplies meant for distribution to the wider population.

   
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  thabet 8:02 am on January 15, 2009 | 3 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: gaza (202), palestine (241), The Only Democracy In The Middle East (163), UN, violence (161), war crimes (111)

  This is The Only Democracy In The Middle East:
  

  The headquarters of the UN refugee agency was on fire today as Israeli forces pushed deeper into Gaza City, unleashing the heaviest shelling of densely packed neighbourhoods since their military operation began nearly three weeks ago.

   
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  thabet 1:07 pm on January 9, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: politics (765), The Only Democracy In The Middle East (163), UN, united states (577)

  “Why do they hate us?”

  “US abstains from UN vote on Gaza cease-fire” as Israel ignores the ceasefire.

   
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  thabet 2:11 pm on December 15, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: christians (25), homosexuality (35), human rights (381), muslims (347), politics (765), state (101), UN

  When Muslims and Christians unite (to deny other people basic rights they themselves demand in strongest terms from others): Islamic governments may join up with the Vatican to oppose a UN motion that calls for the decriminalisation of homosexuality worldwide.

   
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  thabet 8:47 pm on December 10, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: human rights (381), UN

  60 years on there is still a lot of work to do.

   
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  thabet 8:37 pm on August 18, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: durban ii (5), human rights (381), muslim states (4), UN

  Nailing Muslim hypocrisy:

  The United Nations’ much-maligned Humans Right Council is organizing Durban II, so it’s small wonder that the planning is proceeding as it has. In a recent council session, a speaker asked to bring up a particularly egregious human rights problem: genital mutilation of women. Egypt objected mightily, demanding: “We will not discuss issues related to Sharia law; this will not happen.” He thundered on, joined by a colleague from Pakistan, until the item was dropped.

  Sharia, of course, is canonical law based on the teachings of the Quran and the traditions of Mohammed. I wasn’t aware that it advocated genital mutilation.

  (Via an emailer.)

   
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  thabet 6:20 am on August 15, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: freedom of speech (71), law (91), libel (10), state (101), the terror threat (68), UN, united kingdom (732)

  Another genuine threat to free speech: The UN committee on human rights has criticised Britain for its terror and libel laws, saying they contradicted a covenant guaranteeing freedom of speech and exchange of ideas and information “regardless of borders”.

   
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  thabet 12:45 am on July 24, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: conflict (10), Israel (352), palestine (241), politics (765), polls (25), UN

  A new WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of 18 countries found that people in 14 of them expressed the belief that their governments should not take sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

  Respondents in three countries favoured taking the Palestinian side (not surprisingly these were Egypt, Iran, and Turkey). India remained divided. No country favoured taking Israel’s side, including the United States, where 71 percent favor taking neither side.

  A majority of people in Muslim majority countries (Indonesia, Nigeria and Azerbaijan), rejected taking sides, as did the EU countries covered by the survey (Britain, France, Spain).

  There was also significant support for the UN to be more involved through the use of peacekeepers.

  (Via Glenn Greenwald, who also discusses what these sorts of views mean for American politics.)

   
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  thabet 10:52 pm on May 26, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: humanitarianism (3), peacekeeping, UN

  The charity Save the Children says sexual abuse of women and children by UN peacekeepers is ‘rife’.

  This follows claims that abuses by Indian and Pakistani soldiers were ‘watered down’ by the UN for fear of offending two of the biggest contributors to its peacekeeping missions.