United Nations
Will Owen Jones apologise?
Last November, during another exchange between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza, the left-wing columnist Owen Jones appeared on BBC Question Time. Invited to comment on recent events, what he… Continue reading
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The Iraq fury still burns, fuelled by unanswered questions
I was fascinated to read the reaction to Nick Cohen’s article expressing his view that after 10 years he still believed the invasion of Iraq was the right thing to… Continue reading
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Argentina’s Foreign Minister compares the Falklanders to Israeli settlers
Argentina’s foreign minister, Hector Timerman, is in town. He spoke to all the All Party Parliamentary Group on Argentina earlier this afternoon. There are close economic and social links between… Continue reading
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The Spectator presents: an evening with Kofi Annan
I’m delighted to announce that The Spectator will be hosting an evening with Kofi Annan early next year. The ex Secretary-General of the United Nations has played a major role in… Continue reading
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Abbas and the death of the two-state solution
If anybody still wonders why there has not been a two-state solution long ago to the most famous – albeit least bloody – Middle East conflict, tonight’s UN speech by… Continue reading
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Interview: Mary Robinson
In 1990 Mary Robinson became Ireland’s first female president. As a progressive liberal, Robinson seemed a very unlikely candidate for the job, in what was then, a deeply conservative country. … Continue reading
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The United Nations is not in Foggy Bottom. On balance, that’s a good thing.
For an Englishman, Nile Gardner is an unusually reliable mouthpiece for the more reactionary elements of reactionary American conservative foreign policy preferences. His latest epistle to the Daily Telegraph demonstrates… Continue reading
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South Africa: Mired in corruption?
On the 5th of August Mary Robinson delivered the annual Nelson Mandela lecture in Cape Town. It should have been an occasion when the former Irish President and UN Human… Continue reading
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The racism of the respectable
To be a racist in Britain, you do not need to cover yourself in tattoos and join a neo-Nazi party. You can wear well-made shirts, open at the neck, appreciate… Continue reading
105 CommentsUN observers enter Mazraat al-Qubeir
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has said that ‘some foreign players’ are provoking opposition to the Assad regime while ‘demanding the international community take decisive steps to change the regime’. He… Continue reading
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Syrian massacres expose Britain’s pretence
More than a week on from the massacre at Houla, another hundred or so men, women and children have been slaughtered in Hama, Syria. They were apparently stabbed to death… Continue reading
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Euphoria gives way to worry as fog of war descends
The slaughter of the innocents in Houla, Syria, has concentrated the West’s collective mind. The Times declares (£), not unreasonably, that there is a desire to stop what the UN,… Continue reading
6 CommentsThe Syrian tragedy continues
Last Friday, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, produced a gloomy 13-page report about the situation in Syria. ‘The overall level of violence in the country remains… Continue reading
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Brits sceptical of Syria intervention
Britain’s response to Syria so far has been uncertain and cautious. A YouGov poll today suggests that the public is keen for this hands-off approach to continue. When presented several… Continue reading
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Stopping Assad
The situation in Syria grows worse by the minute. President Assad seems to have taken the UN Security Council’s deadlock as carte blanche to launch an all-out attack on Homs.… Continue reading
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A Syrian Srebrenica?
Every day things are getting worse in Syria. Today the Syrian regime started what looks like an all-out assault on the key city of Homs, reportedly killing at least 55… Continue reading
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Uncertainty reigns in Syria
The Syrian situation is worsening by the day. Now the Arab League has pulled back its monitors in recognition of their failure to ease the violence. Foreign Secretary William Hague… Continue reading
11 CommentsPaying for justice
To British ministers, the role that the International Criminal Court played over Libya was key – it made clear that Colonel Gaddafi’s actions were unacceptable and would be subject to… Continue reading
20 CommentsPalestine presses on in the UN
While the Palestinian bid for membership at the United Nations moved closer to rejection, it turned out that Palestine has a veto over which UN agencies the United States funds.… Continue reading
12 Comments7 billion and onwards
Today, if the United Nations is to be believed, the world population will reach seven billion. Almost as many words have already been written about the perils of a booming… Continue reading
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