The United States has an important role to play in relaunching an Israeli-Palestinian peace process that would create a two-state resolution to the conflict at the pre-1967 lines, the Munich Group said in advance of US President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) must enforce a settlement boycott by ensuring that the database of businesses operating over the pre-1967 lines can be used for enforcement action, special rapporteur Michael Lynk said in a written report submitted to the General Assembly in New York.
In contrast to a low-key stance it has adopted in the past, China is now pushing hard for leadership posts in United Nations agencies, frequently resorting to bribery and economic coercion in doing so, the Washington Times reported on Sunday. As one of the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council, China has veto power.
As the US believes Iran has continued to develop nuclear weapons, and as the United Nations arms embargo on Iran expires next month, the State Department announced Wednesday that it is pressing forward with “snap back” sanctions that are provided for under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Iran Nuclear deal, Fox News reports. Under the terms of the JCPoA, snapback sanctions can be re-imposed if Iran is perceived to be violating the terms of the agreement. However, as the Trump administration withdrew from the JCPoA in 2018, UNSC members Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia have unequivocally stated the US has no authority to unilaterally enforce snapback sanctions once the current embargo is lifted on October 18.
The president of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday rejected the Trump administration’s demand to restore all U.N. sanctions on Iran, a move that drew an angry rebuke from the U.S. ambassador who accused opponents of supporting “terrorists.”
The United Nations Security Council remains at odds over the way the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon operates on the ground, with the United States backing Israel’s demands for major changes.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Wednesday that US and “partner” forces seized a boat in June carrying Iranian weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen as he renewed his call for the UN Security Council to extend an arms embargo on Iran.
Belgium’s Chamber of Representatives will vote today on whether to recognize a Palestinian state and on whether Israel should be threatened with economic sanctions if it unilaterally annexes parts of the West Bank, the Jerusalem Post reports.
The United Nations, European Union countries, and the Arab League joined Wednesday in calling for Israel to abandon its plans to annex parts of the West Bank, as the Jewish state’s envoy to the international body insisted the step would not stand in the way of peace with the Palestinians.
The head of the Lebanese Shiite terror group Hezbollah on Tuesday rejected a US request to empower a UN peacekeeping force patrolling the border with Israel.
Russia’s UN ambassador said Tuesday that Moscow will oppose any attempts by the United States to extend the arms embargo on Iran and reimpose UN sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
UN experts are concerned South Sudan’s peace deal is at risk because unity government partners are arguing about security and resources instead of implementing the terms of the 2018 agreement, VOA News reports. A panel of experts on South Sudan reported to the UN Security Council last week that “selective and incomplete implementation” of agreed security arrangements threatened peace and stability in the country.
Iran has suggested it will abandon an already shaky deal to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons if an arms embargo on Tehran remains in place. The United States wants to extend the ban, which was due to end in October this year.
In ongoing vicious attacks by Muslim Fulani herdsmen against Christian communities in Nigeria, two more people were killed and two others were kidnapped on April 22-23, Morningstar News reports. The herdsmen also burned down 25 homes and a church building in the raids.
A United Nations agency has warned that the world risks widespread famines ‘of Biblical proportions’ due to the coronavirus pandemic.
World powers scrambled on Thursday to build a global response to the human tragedy and once-in-a-century economic collapse caused by the coronavirus epidemic, as death tolls in the US and Europe soared higher.
The UN Security Council made a rare show of unity Monday when it called on all parties to maintain their support for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
After a rancorous UN Security Council debate Tuesday, during which every member nation except the United States and Israel distanced themselves from President Donald Trump’s peace plan, the White House celebrated the withdrawal of a resolution rejecting the proposal.
The Palestinians have abandoned their request for a vote at the UN Security Council Tuesday that they hoped would reject the peace plan of US President Donald Trump, whose administration has put heavy pressure on critics, diplomats said.
The United States has requested a closed-door UN Security Council meeting Thursday for US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, to present the administration’s new Mideast peace plan, diplomatic sources told AFP Monday.