Navi Pillay’s Peace Prize and sweeping US sanctions on the International Criminal Court place two opposing views of international law before the world. By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | THE HAGUE 13 October 2026 (IDN) — On the same day that the United States announced sanctions against the International Criminal Court as an institution, the Norwegian […]
UN and The Hague Confront Impunity for War Crimes
By Nicolas J. S. Davies NEW YORK | 12 October 2026 (IDN) — On 9 October 2026, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Navi Pillay, the South African international lawyer who defended Nelson Mandela and the anti-apartheid political prisoners on Robben Island, and went on to serve as a judge on the UN International Criminal […]
Two African Wars Put Civilians—and the UN’s Authority—at Risk
Ethiopia and Eritrea trade accusations before the Security Council as another deadly strike hits displaced families in Sudan. By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | ADDIS ABABA | KHARTOUM (IDN) — Wars in Ethiopia and Sudan are testing how far the United Nations can act when appeals for restraint are ignored. Ethiopia and Eritrea have carried their […]
The Slow-Motion Erasure Of The West Bank
By Dr Alon Ben-Meir* A people are being erased not in a single cataclysm, but through daily terror: bulldozers, armed settlers, night raids, demolished homes, and stolen water. The West Bank’s suffering is not a security policy—it is a warning of Israel’s own moral collapse NEW YORK | 10 October 2026 (IDN) — There are crimes […]
Choosing the UN Chief: The Deals Behind Closed Doors
A study of eight decades of bargaining over senior UN posts raises questions about the independence of António Guterres’s successor. By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | 3 October 2026 (IDN) — The contest to succeed António Guterres as United Nations Secretary-General is gathering pace. Much of the public discussion centres on the candidates, their qualifications and […]
Asia, Africa and the Struggle for a New Global Order
By Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW | NEW YORK | 3 October 2026 (IDN) — The 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations, brought world leaders and delegations to New York in late September 2026. Their speeches addressed political governance, economic development, conflicts, inequality, […]
A Council of Warnings in a World at War
From Ukraine and Myanmar to Haiti, the final days of September showed why the United Nations remains necessary and why its decisions so often fall short. By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | NEW YORK | 1 October 2026 (IDN) — The United Nations Security Council ended on 30 September with a record that was neither empty […]
Russia Challenges South Africa’s Exclusion From G20 Summit
By Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW | NEW YORK | 30 September 2026 (IDN) — At the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated Russia’s objection to South Africa’s exclusion from the forthcoming G20 summit in the United States, while emphasising the importance of multilateral institutions and the place of […]
Censorship Regarding Genocide
By Jan Servaes BRUSSELS | 29 September 2026 (IDN) — During his speech to the UN General Assembly in New York on 24 September, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used a visual aid. He displayed a pager resembling the devices used in the deadly pager attacks that Israel carried out in Lebanon in 2024. An […]
Palestine Gains Recognition While Losing the Land for a State
Diplomatic recognition has widened, but settlement expansion and territorial fragmentation threaten the foundations of Palestinian statehood. By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | NEW YORK | 26 September 2026 (IDN) – Mahmoud Abbas delivered one of the most important speeches of this year’s United Nations General Assembly without being allowed into the hall. The Palestinian president appeared […]