Category Archives: United Nations

Can the Turkey-Russia Agreement Help Syrians End Their Civil War?

Helena · 2:57 pm · 10/25/2019 · Russia, Syria, Turkey, United Nations

The United Nations’ Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, recently expressed confidence that the Syrian Constitutional Committee (SCC), a key gathering of representatives of the country’s government, opposition, and civil society, can convene as planned in Geneva, October 30. If this does occur-even with, perhaps a slippage of a few days-it could mark the beginning … Continue reading Can the Turkey-Russia Agreement Help Syrians End Their Civil War? →

Reviving Westphalia

Helena · 4:48 pm · 07/24/2019 · Ethics, Humanitarian Intervention, United Nations, World order

It is a time of great uncertainty in international affairs. U.S. troops are deploying to Saudi Arabia for the first time in 16 years, presaging an increasingly probable showdown with Iran. The Anglosphere is likely to soon see a second, intensely nationalistic and straw-maned populist rise to the seat of government. The U.S. president has … Continue reading Reviving Westphalia →

Did Assad Really Use Chemical Weapons in Douma?

Helena · 7:29 pm · 06/11/2019 · Chemical weapons, Syria, United Nations

Last month, a network of UK-based academics challenged allegations-which the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) officially corroborated on March 1-that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against civilians in the outer Damascus suburb of Douma in April 2018. The challenge came in the form of a 15-page assessment, apparently prepared by a … Continue reading Did Assad Really Use Chemical Weapons in Douma? →

The curious case of US domination of Palestine-Israel peacemaking

Helena · 7:04 pm · 02/27/2019 · Israel, U.S. policy, Uncategorized, United Nations

Berkeley, CA, February 26 — How weird is it that Palestinians, Israelis, and the rest of the world have been agog for months, awaiting the launch of a new “peace process” from a young, seldom successful real-estate developer named Jared Kushner? There are many different levels at which this is weird. First, it’s very strange that, though … Continue reading The curious case of US domination of Palestine-Israel peacemaking →