Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS – The 15-member Security Council, the only UN body wielding power to impose mandatory sanctions on the organization’s 192 member states, is unable to help contain two ongoing crises primarily because of threatened vetoes by China and the United States. The two draft resolutions currently before the Security Council – one to punish … Continue reading “US Gets a ‘Dose of Its Own Medicine’ From China”

UNITED NATIONS – The 191-member General Assembly is expected to elect Iraq as chair of a key UN committee dealing with human rights and social development. But the proposed election comes at a time when both the United Nations and several human rights organizations have accused successive U.S.-backed governments in Baghdad of either committing or … Continue reading “Iraq’s Chairing of UN Rights Committee Faulted”

UNITED NATIONS – As the four-year-old cease-fire in Sri Lanka is on the verge of crumbling, the United States has offered to strengthen its military assistance programs and increase training for government forces if the country’s rebel group resumes its separatist war in the northern and eastern provinces. After meeting with senior officials in Washington … Continue reading “US Promises Sri Lanka Aid Against Tamil Tigers”

UNITED NATIONS – Amid charges of waste, fraud, and malfeasance in its multi-billion-dollar peacekeeping operations, the United Nations has suspended one contractor and eight staff members pending further investigations into potential wrongdoing. The focus of the investigation is procurement, which, according to one UN source, could emerge as a major financial scandal in the history … Continue reading “UN Probes Peacekeeping Contracts Fraud”

At the height of the Cold War in the 1950s and 1960s, the United States and the former Soviet Union jealously safeguarded their own global political and military interests by vetoing each other’s resolutions in the most powerful body at the United Nations: the Security Council. "We will soon see the same cat-and-mouse game," predicts … Continue reading “Iran’s Nuclear Dispute Sparks East-West Rivalry”

UNITED NATIONS – A beleaguered UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Thursday stood his ground despite charges of corruption, inefficiency, and mismanagement of the $34 billion now-defunct Iraqi oil-for-food program run by the UN secretariat, which he administers. Asked if there would be any resignations from within the organization over the strictures, Annan told reporters: "I don’t … Continue reading “Despite Growing Scandal, UN Chief Refuses to Yield”

UNITED NATIONS – When UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was asked recently about his likely successor when he completes his second five-year term next year, the UN chief hinted at the possibility that an Asian might take over from him. "Yes, it is true that the secretary-general of the United Nations is elected on a [geographical] … Continue reading “Asia, Eastern Europe Head for Showdown Over New UN Chief”

The United States has accelerated arms sales to some of the world’s most repressive and undemocratic regimes since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, according to a new report from leading arms trade researchers. The report, from the Arms Trade Resource Center at New York-based New School University’s World Policy Institute, says … Continue reading “US Ramps Up Arms Supplies to Repressive Regimes”

UNITED NATIONS – The proposed expansion of the 15-member UN Security Council has been thrown into disarray once again – this time by a spirited political campaign to block the permanent membership of Japan, Germany, India, and Brazil. The campaign is being led by a group of about 40 "like-minded" countries – headed by Italy, … Continue reading “UN Security Council Expansion Thrown into Disarray – Again”

UNITED NATIONS – Saudi Arabia, a traditionally authoritarian regime that recently held the first Western-style local elections in its 73-year history, is trying to break new ground by turning to Russia for arms purchases. As one of the world’s biggest single weapons buyers, the family-run kingdom has militarily depended on the United States, which has … Continue reading “Saudis Break New Ground Eyeing Russian Weapons”