U.S., China Seek Common Ground on North Korea

U.S. President Barack Obama is set to host his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Jun. 7-8 for their first bilateral meeting as heads of state. Figuring on their agenda is how to address a precarious North Korea, which is armed with a small nuclear arsenal and vying for a bigger one.

Israeli Attacks on Syria Escape Security Council Scrutiny

Israel, which has launched three air strikes inside Syria since January this year, has escaped scrutiny or condemnation by a Security Council which remains sharply divided.

South Africa Deployment to DR Congo Opposed

Kholekile Dlamini has been devastated by the death of her son Xolani Dlamini, a South African National Defence Force soldier who died in the Central African Republic. Like many South Africans, she had not even been aware of the SANDF deployment to the resource-rich nation.

Syria Air Strikes ‘Target Civilians’

Air strikes have hit bakeries and hospitals among other civilian targets in Syria, a rights watchdog reported Thursday, accusing the Syrian government of killing thousands in such raids it said amounted to war crimes.

Libya Intervention More Questionable in Rear View Mirror

While the tenth anniversary last month of Washington’s invasion of Iraq provoked overwhelmingly negative reviews of the adventure except among its most die-hard neo-conservative proponents, a more recent - albeit far less dramatic and costly - intervention has faded almost completely from public notice.

Conflicts of Interest Plague Arms Trade Treaty Talks

The U.N. organ tasked with maintaining international peace and security harbours a serious conflict at its core.

Security Council Vow on Women Lives Mostly on Paper

When the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) adopted a landmark resolution numbered 1325 back in 2000, it was supposed to integrate gender into its core mandate: the establishment and maintenance of international peace and security.

Politics of War Crimes Trials Under Spotlight

Ten years after the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened its doors in The Hague, the United Nations Security Council held its first open discussion on the role of the court, with some nations reiterating complaints that its docket is highly politicised and has unfairly singled out African nations for censure.

U.N. Takes Up Intervention Plan on Mali

The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday began to debate a plan to deploy West African peacekeeping troops to tackle the six-month Islamist insurgency in northern Mali.