United Nations

Why India needs a refugee law
Why India needs a refugee law
According to United Nations estimates, India hosts almost 213,000 refugees and asylum seekers, most hailing from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, China or Myanmar. India’s location in…
Multilateralism matters again
Multilateralism matters again
Freshly sworn in and already warmly welcomed by Quad leaders in Tokyo, Anthony Albanese got off to a swinging start on the foreign policy front. As the realities of government set…
Even Putin is not beyond the law
Even Putin is not beyond the law
Russia’s ability to launch its so-called “special military operation” to undertake “denazification” in Ukraine has not so far faced international legal sanction. On 25 February, a…
The mysterious missing UN report on human rights abuses in Xinjiang
The mysterious missing UN report on human rights abuses in Xinjiang
Delivering an annual report to the United Nations Human Rights Council last month, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet announced she would undertake an…
Sustainable catch: navigating global fisheries crime
Sustainable catch: navigating global fisheries crime
A fish consumed in Australia could be caught near Palau, by a Thai vessel with a Cambodian crew, shipped to a packing plant in Vietnam and sold to a distributor in Taiwan before…
Young feminist leadership is the future of peacebuilding
Young feminist leadership is the future of peacebuilding
In 2000, the establishment of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda by the United Nations Security Council created formal institutional space for the recognition and…
Sexual exploitation and abuse in peacekeeping: Connecting the dots
Sexual exploitation and abuse in peacekeeping: Connecting the dots
A few years ago, I was in Bosnia researching the nature and impacts of sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers and other interveners in Bosnia during the peace operations in…
The hypocrisy of Russia’s push for a new global cybercrime treaty
The hypocrisy of Russia’s push for a new global cybercrime treaty
As the West braces for a possible escalation of Russian ransomware attacks in retaliation for support to Ukraine, the first meeting to negotiate a new global cybercrime treaty…
Ukraine: Don’t write off the international order – read and rewrite it
Ukraine: Don’t write off the international order – read and rewrite it
Given all that is on the line right now in Ukraine, the persistence of the so-called “rules-based international order” is probably not high on the list of most people’s concerns…
Why was it left to Kenya to speak up for multilateralism?
Why was it left to Kenya to speak up for multilateralism?
In a long speech this week, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin crossed the Rubicon by recognising the “independent” republics of Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, creating…