Ashish Kumar Sen

The United States, successive Afghan governments and the Taliban missed several opportunities to achieve peace over the past couple of decades. Today, under the Taliban government, which is not recognized by a single country, Afghanistan is facing twin economic and humanitarian crises while the marginal gains made on women’s rights have all but evaporated .

Seventy years after its ratification, the Convention of Refugees remains an important pillar of the international system. Every day, conflict, hunger, economic deprivation and climate change are forcing people around the world to flee their homes in search of a better life. It is critical, therefore, that the international community uphold their obligations under the convention, while elevating efforts to address the root causes of migration, according to U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

US President Donald J. Trump on September 25 used his second address to the United Nations General Assembly to reaffirm his commitment to an America First approach to foreign policy.

The 73 rd session of the United Nations General Assembly opened in New York on September 18. General debate opens on September 25. US President Donald J. Trump will be among a galaxy of world leaders who will address the meeting.

Where Does the P5+1 Stand on the Iran Nuclear Deal?   US President Donald J. Trump is expected to reveal his decision on May 8 as to whether he will extend key sanctions waivers on Iran. A failure to do so would effectively take the United States out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—the Iran nuclear deal—which it signed with the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, China, and Iran in 2015.   

Samantha Power Outlines Russian Threat to the United States, Rules-Based Order   The United States’ Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, on January 17 described Russia as a “major threat” facing the United States and the rules-based liberal world order, and cautioned Americans against allowing Moscow to divide them in the face of this threat.

The UN Goes to South Sudan. Here’s What to Expect. A sharply divided United Nations Security Council will likely end up delivering mixed messages this week on a rare visit to South Sudan—a nation that is once more on the brink of full-blown civil war, according to the Atlantic Council’s J. Peter Pham.

South Sudan: Heading Down a Familiar Road to War?   The international community needs to take a more active role in defusing the crisis in South Sudan where gun battles between forces loyal to the president and vice president over the weekend resulted in the death of 200 people, said the Atlantic Council’s J. Peter Pham. Contending that South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir, and his vice president, Riek Machar, have been forced into a “shotgun marriage” as a result of an agreement on a unity government, Pham, who is director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center, said it is unreasonable to expect to successfully impose reconciliation upon warring factions that are not ready for it.

What the UN Gets Wrong About Rights in Eritrea A UN panel’s expected conclusion that crimes against humanity are being committed in Eritrea would be legally indefensible because of the flawed methodology in the compilation of the report and would further erode the credibility of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Africa, said the Atlantic Council’s Bronwyn Bruton.

Libya Needs a Little Help from its Friends Even if a Tripoli-based faction were to set aside its grievances and sign a UN-brokered peace deal that would not be enough to rescue Libya. What the North African nation needs is an international peacekeeping force with a clear mandate to fight terrorists, says the Atlantic Council’s Karim Mezran.

At UN, Obama vows to dismantle Islamic State’s ‘network of death’ US President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged the world to join the fight against Islamic State terrorists in Syria and Iraq and vowed that the US and its allies would work hard to “dismantle this network of death.”

Kerry tells U.N. to focus on ridding Syria of chemical weapons, not on sarin attack Secretary of State John F. Kerry on Thursday urged the U.N. Security Council to ignore Russia ’s questions about the source of chemical weapons used in the Syrian civil war and to back quickly the plan to rid Syrian President Bashar Assad ’s regime of its stockpile.

U.N. inspectors: Chemical weapons used on a ‘relatively large scale’ in Syrian civil war U.N. inspectors have found that the banned nerve agent sarin, loaded in rockets, was used “on a relatively large scale” in an attack on the outskirts of the Syrian capital, Damascus, last month that the Obama administration says killed more than 1,400 people.

U.N. panel urges Sri Lanka to probe mass murders The U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday passed a U.S.-backed resolution that urges the Sri Lankan government to properly investigate accusations that its army was involved in the mass murder of civilians in the final days of its war against Tamil separatists in 2009.

U.N. expected to approve resolution on Sri Lanka war crimes The U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva will vote Thursday on a resolution to press the Sri Lankan government for a more thorough probe of accusations of mass murder of civilians by the army in the last days of its war against Tamil separatists in 2009.

Head of U.N. alarmed by Turkey-Syria tensions U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon expressed alarm Thursday over the growing tension on the Turkish-Syrian border after Turkey ’s Parliament authorized military operations against Syria .

Iran’s foreign minister blasts Israel’s ‘war drum beaters’ Iran ’s foreign minister on Monday accused Israel ’s leaders of being “war drum beaters” and said his country will zealously defend itself against any attack.

Myanmar leader hails democratic reform UNITED NATIONS — Myanmar ’s president told the U.N. General Assembly Thursday that no one can reverse the democratic reforms that have helped his nation shed its international pariah status over the past 18 months.

Netanyahu to U.N.: It’s 11th hour on Iran nukes UNITED NATIONS — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned world leaders Thursday that Iran could make a nuclear weapon by spring, and called on them to draw a “red line” to stop the Islamic regime.

Iranian president hurls insults with less fury UNITED NATIONS — Iran ’s president complained Wednesday about threats of military action from “uncivilized Zionists” and intimidation by nuclear-armed “hegemonic powers” in his address to the U.N. General Assembly .