The Security Council’s mandate in Syria has come to an end and while a UN liaison office will remain in the country, all the peace observers have vacated their mission. Coupled with Kofi Annan’s decision to end his role as envoy of the UN and Arab League, this pull out suggests that the international institutional(…)
The Arab League has taken an uncharacteristic turn in its activities over the past ten months. While the Arab Spring is takings its toll on states in the region, it appears that the most important regional organisation in North Africa and the Middle East, the Arab League, is catching some of the euphoria of change.(…)
UNESCO’s 36th General Conference begins today, running from October 25th to November 10th amid intense media interest since its executive committee decided to allow a vote to grant full membership to the Palestinians. Two-thirds of members will have to approve the bid in order for it to be successful. There have been recriminations ahead of(…)
The vote in the Security Council last night represented an unprecedented step in the history of the authorisation of the use of force. All resolutions authorising the use of force must be decisions passed under Chapter VII of the UN Charter and, as with all resolutions of this kind, must not be vetoed by the permanent five(…)
This weekend’s recommended reading is an excellent book that covers the history of the Arab people from the conquests of the Ottoman Empire through to Obama’s speech in Cairo. The Arabs: A History, written by Eugene Rogan, gives an excellent oversight of the history of region in a positive and insightful fashion. It covers the often long(…)
On Friday the 16th April the Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Micheál Martin T.D. made a speech to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions on the Middle East Peace Process. This follows his trip to Gaza in February which was discussed here and which was characterised as a humanitarian trip to highlight the crisis created by the blockade(…)
Yesterday, international jurist Richard Goldstone presented a report to the Human Rights Council on breaches of international humanitarian law in the Gaza conflict which had found strong evidence of violations during Israel’s military assault that lasted from December 2008 to January 2009, and claimed more than 1400 lives. The report concluded that Israel and Hamas were responsible(…)
