The decision on China’s activities in the South China Sea undoubtedly represents a sweeping victory for the Philippines. It is, however, unenforceable.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
Settlements are illegal on occupied territory. They undermine the widely acknowledged right of Palestine to statehood. Yet Israel violates international law with near impunity.
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.