A few weeks ago I was invited to comment on what I felt the change in China’s government and the Communist Party leadership will mean for the future of China and for the UN. (1) I am not an expert on China, but I have by now had the experience of observing China’s activity at the UN and particularly in the Security Council for almost seven years.

What I have observed recently, is that in some areas, like the Syrian conflict, China continues to insist on its long standing principle to support negotiations and to work toward a political settlement of the conflict. But in other areas, particularly the situation with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) China has seemed to be subordinating its emphasis on the peaceful settlement of conflicts to go along with the coercive actions proposed by the US government against the DPRK. (2)

One… weiter lesen

[Note:Below is a press release received from a group of women in South Korea who are calling for support to encourage a dialogue for peace on the Korean Peninsula. I am posting it on this blog as it is rare that such a statement is broadly available so that people outside of the Korean Peninsula can understand the sentiments of those who are most affected by the tense situation.]

Press release on March 13, 2013: Women’s Urgent Call for the prevention of a war and making peace on the Korean Peninsula

Stop the threat of a war on the Korean Peninsula and start a dialogue for peace!

We women are deeply concerned about the crisis of war. Since North Korea’s rocket launch last December, a vicious circle of sanctions and armed protests has continued unabated. Particularly, South Korea and the US governments recently conducted the Key Resolve military exercise, which… weiter lesen

While there are rare instances of the UN Security Council acting in a way that welcomed the parties to a conflict to explain their views to the members of the Security Council so that the Security Council could be helpful toward a resolution, there are a number of examples of the Security Council acting in a way that intensifies or causes a conflict to become more serious. This is in direct contrast to the obligation of the Security Council according to the UN Charter. Such a failure on the part of the Security Council is particularly demonstrated by the treatment accorded the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) by the Security Council, with the exception of the two examples described in the article, “Two Precedents for UN Security Council Action to Calm Tension in the Korean Peninsula.”(1)

The DPRK has complained about the hostile acts of the US toward it.(2)… weiter lesen

I-Introduction

In his opening presentation to a hearing on US policy toward North Korea in March 2011, then US Senator John Kerry, referring to the events of the past year observed that the year 2010 “was the most dangerous on the Korean Peninsula since the end of the Korean War in 1953.” (1)

He was referring to several serious crises in the region in 2010. What was surprising, but yet attracted little media attention, was the role played by the United Nations Security Council in calming tension in two of these crises. In these two situations, there were members of the Security Council who demonstrated a commitment to serious consideration and an impartial exploration of the problem leading to the crises. This is a role notably different from how the Security Council has approached most situations involving the Korean Peninsula. For example, this role was remarkably different from the… weiter lesen

“The U.S. effort in Benghazi was at its heart a CIA operation, according to the officials who briefed on intelligence.” WSJ, Nov 1, 2012

Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, finally appeared before the US Senate and House Foreign Relations Committees on Wednesday, January 23, after a long delay. She was asked many questions by the Congress about what had happened in Benghazi on September 11 and how this could happen. The problem with the responses she gave to these questions was that she focused on the narrative presented in the State Department Report that had been released a month earlier, and which is deeply flawed.

In order to understand the nature of what happened on September 11, 2012 in Benghazi, and how the State Department under Hillary Clinton has been an important part of the cover up of what this second September 11 is actually a part… weiter lesen

(Note: The following is the introduction to a talk I gave in Beijing this past summer about the experiences I have had in China in support of a conceptual understanding that the netizen represents in China. Thru this set of experiences I have proposed that we are in the early stages of a new Era, an Era I propose is “the Era of the Netizen.” The participatory empowerment of netizens as is happening in China, South Korea and other nations around the world is setting the basis for the creation of new models for economic, political and social development. I hope in the new year to develop this conceptual framework further.)

Introduction

I am happy to be here today and to accept April Media’s invitation to make one of the first presentations at April café and salon.

The title of my talk is” The United Nations, China and Journalism in… weiter lesen

I-Conflicting Views on the Human Rights Council September 28 Resolution

On September 28, the UN’s Human Rights Council asked for a consensus vote on a resolution holding the Syrian government responsible for the violence in Syria. The resolution particularly referred to the Houla Massacre that took place in Syria on May 25-26, 2012. The resolution said it (1):

“Condemns in the strongest terms the massacre of the village of AL-Houla near Homs, where the forces of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic and members of the Shabbiha were found by the commission of inquiry to be the perpetrators of outrageous and heinous crimes and stresses the need to hold those responsible to account.”

Opposing the call that the resolution be passed by acclamation, Maria Khodynskaya-Golenischv, the Representative of the Russian Federation, explained why her country would vote against the resolution. Among the several reasons she gave was the objection… weiter lesen

Oct 31 UN Security Council Mtg After UN closed for 2-1/2 days

The impact of the storm Sandy on UN Headquarters in New York from Monday October 29, until 3 pm Wednesday, October 31 was essentially the suspension of all meetings and official silence. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was away from UN Headquarters, on a trip to South Korea. For over two days, little had been heard from the UN except for an occasional email notice that the UN would be closed. This went on for Monday, Tuesday and part of Wednesday. But then on Wednesday, around 3:05 pm a new email arrived announcing that there would be a Security Council meeting to take place at 3:00 pm, but not in the usual Security Council meeting area .

It was possible to view the meeting itself on the UN web site and it was evident that the… weiter lesen

[This is an updated and edited excerpt from a talk I gave in Beijing in July 2012 at a program sponsored by April Media.]

Part I – The Houla Massacre

The Houla massacre occurred in Syria on May 25, 2012.

This was but a few days before Kofi Annan, who was at the time the joint Arab League-UN envoy, was scheduled to visit Syria.

Immediately after the massacre, there was a media campaign in much of the western media to blame the Syrian government for the deaths. There were 108 deaths reported which included men, women and children. A short time after the massacre, an alternative account was made available by a Russian online media group, Anna News.(1) The day following the massacre, a news team for this online site visited the area where the massacre had occurred. Their report appeared on a number of alternative news sites soon… weiter lesen

At a press conference held on June 4 marking the beginning of China’s presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of June, Li Baodong, China’s Ambassador to the UN, observed that there are different versions of the facts of the Houla Massacre. “Now we have different stories from different angles,” he noted. “Now we have the story from the Syrian government, and from the opposition parties, and from different sources.”

Since the Security Council has “ a team….on the ground,” he said, “We want to see first-hand information from our own people.” He hoped this would make it possible to put the different pieces of information together and to come “to our own conclusion with our own judgment.”(1)

The expectation was that Joint UN-Arab League Envoy Kofi Annan would be able to provide further information from the UNSMIS Observer mission when he came to speak with the Security… weiter lesen