The decision on China’s activities in the South China Sea undoubtedly represents a sweeping victory for the Philippines. It is, however, unenforceable.
Ban on CFCs in aerosol sprays and refrigerants has led to a steady shrinking of the ozone hole.
PiccoloNamek
The world has global authorities for trade and security, but not for threats to the environment. It’s time the natural world got its own version of the World Trade Organisation or UN Security Council.
Outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s successor faces the challenge of making the organisation more accountable.
UN
The ‘functional immunity’ granted to UN officials made good sense when the body was founded after World War II. But as its organisational functions have expanded, so has this immunity.
From the EU to the UN.
Diliff and UN via Wikimedia Commons
A carbon tax on airline tickets might sound like a tricky sell, but many airlines already collect a similar levy to raise funds for developing world health initiatives.
Remembering ISIS victims at the U.N., November 2015.
Lucas Jackson/Reuters
The urgent need to respond to ISIS has redefined the use of “self-defense” to include attacking a nonstate threat in another country. But what are the implications of this? change?
The Falkland Islands (Las Islas Malvinas): a rocky outpost at the centre of a centuries-long dispute.
Eric Gaba
A UN committee has agreed with the science underpinning Falklands boundary claims, but without solving the sovereignty issue the dispute is no closer to a solution.
The next cancer breakthrough could be found in international waters – but who’s in charge of the high seas?
Treasurer Scott Morrison says the changes to foreign investment scrutiny will give the ATO greater powers to crack down on tax avoidance.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
A UN panel has called on the UK and Swedish governments to ensure Julian Assange’s human rights are respected and to compensate him for his time in ‘arbitrary’ detention.
Israel’s land seizure of 154 hectares in the Jordan Valley will displace Palestinian communities.
Reuters/Mohamad Torokman
Settlements are illegal on occupied territory. They undermine the widely acknowledged right of Palestine to statehood. Yet Israel violates international law with near impunity.
Public interest and peer pressure among countries are integral to enforcement of the Paris Agreement.
Mal Langsdon/Reuters
The Paris Agreement recognizes the reality of global environmental pacts: the private sector must lead transition to low-carbon technology and civil society must keep up the pressure to act.