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  • 13 hours ago
    • United Nations
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Solomon Islands
    • Tonga
    • Vanuatu
    • United States

    The US–Pacific Islands Partnership, one year on

    Meg Keen , Daniel Mandell
    Recognising that it cannot go it alone, Washington needs to coordinate its development efforts with like-minded partners.    
  • 19 Sep 2023
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability
    • United Nations

    Global Stocktake: Unlocking trillions for climate action

    Frank Jotzo , Michelle Lyons
    The Paris Agreement’s assessment of climate policies finds some good news, but massive room for improvement.
  • 18 Sep 2023
    • G20
    • BRICS
    • United Nations

    UN General Assembly: Snubs and fragmentation

    Stéphanie Fillion
    This year’s meeting will be marked by notable absentees, fuelling a sense that the body’s multilateral power is on the wane.
  • 30 Aug 2023
    • Europe
    • Russia
    • Ukraine
    • International law
    • United Nations
    • War Crimes

    Europe’s last war

    Ian Kemish
    Remembering the Bosnian conflict of 30 years ago to compare how the world responds to Russia’s war on Ukraine today.
  • 28 Aug 2023
    • Japan
    • Australia
    • Cyber Security
    • Cyber Warfare
    • Emerging Threats
    • Multilateral Institutions
    • United Nations
    • United States

    Australia and the UN: A new agenda for peace

    Adam Bartley , Charles T. Hunt , Aiden Warren
    Multilateral responses to the threats of new and emerging tech – from AI warfare to bioweapons – are crucial to success.
  • 22 Aug 2023
    • Bangladesh
    • Myanmar
    • Migration
    • United Nations

    Remember the Rohingya, for disease hasn’t forgotten them

    Arunn Jegan
    After six years, supposedly temporary camps now resemble slums. How long can the world turn away?
  • 4 Aug 2023
    • Indonesia
    • Maritime Security
    • International law
    • United Nations
    • United States

    Archipelago angst: How Indonesia and the US differ on air routes over sea lanes

    Aristyo Rizka Darmawan
    UNCLOS ambiguity, again.
  • 19 Jul 2023
    • Russia
    • Ukraine
    • Trade
    • United Nations
    • Türkiye

    Why the Black Sea Grain Initiative must be restored

    John Denton
    The collapse of a deal integral to world food security will imperil millions of lives.
  • 17 Jul 2023
    • Trade
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability
    • United Nations

    The cost-benefit of turning “dirty” shipping clean

    Joe Lo
    The engines of global trade pump out enormous amounts of carbon and vulnerable Pacific islands are fighting for a change.
  • 23 May 2023
    • Global Issues
    • Human rights
    • International law
    • Migration
    • United Nations

    By default not design: the end of the asylum consensus

    Khalid Koser
    Ever since Australia adopted the “Pacific Solution”, norm busting has become the norm.
  • 14 Apr 2023
    • Australia
    • Diplomacy
    • Climate change
    • Multilateral Institutions
    • United Nations
    • Pacific Islands

    A strategy for engaging for small developing states

    Hamish Fejo
    If Australia is serious about climate change, it needs better relationships with island nations – near and far.
  • 9 Feb 2023
    • Asia
    • Asean
    • China
    • India
    • Laos
    • North Korea
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam
    • Defence & Security
    • Russia
    • Ukraine
    • United Nations

    With caution and tact: How Asian countries voted on Ukraine at the UN 

    Stéphanie Fillion
    A resolution forces nations to show their hand. After Russia’s invasion, consistency has not been to everyone’s liking.
  • 15 Nov 2022
    • Malaysia
    • Myanmar
    • Human rights
    • Migration
    • United Nations

    Refugees may become victims of Malaysia’s electoral politics

    Max Walden
    The plight of Myanmar Rohingyas exposes Southeast Asia’s disjointed policies and fragile human rights protections.
  • 9 Nov 2022
    • Climate change
    • United Nations

    Climate change: governance on the highway to hell

    Mark Beeson
    If wealthy states can’t agree on compensating the world’s most environmentally ravaged, things are looking grim.
  • 25 Sep 2022
    • Russia
    • Digital Disruption
    • Technology
    • United Nations

    A neck-and-neck election for the future of the internet

    Mercedes Page
    As the war in Ukraine goes from bad to worse, Russia may still win a vote to reshape the net as we know it.
  • 21 Sep 2022
    • Defence & Security
    • Climate change
    • United Nations

    Guterres whistles in the wind

    Mark Beeson
    Yes, “our planet is burning”, yet those leaders with the power to act are stubbornly guarding their own little patch.
  • 9 Sep 2022
    • China
    • Human rights
    • United Nations

    Beijing three-step: China denies, deflects and dissembles on Xinjiang

    Michael Clarke
    The UN human rights report has exposed China’s hollow propaganda claims – but won’t stop them.
  • 2 Sep 2022
    • China
    • Human rights
    • United Nations

    A tragedy in Xinjiang, a tragedy for the UN

    Mercedes Page
    A long-delayed report finding human rights abuses – though damning – is a sign of China’s level of influence at the United Nations.
  • 2 Aug 2022
    • Myanmar
    • War Crimes
    • United Nations
    • Human rights

    ASEAN governments need to act on Myanmar

    Elaine Pearson
    The execution of four opposition activists by the junta needs urgent action from governments of all stripes.
  • 1 Aug 2022
    • Aid & Development
    • China
    • Chinese Foreign Aid
    • United Nations

    Unpacking China’s Global Development Initiative

    Mercedes Page
    Red flags should be flying about Beijing’s latest challenge to the international development agenda.
  • 25 Jul 2022
    • India
    • United Nations
    • Migration
    • International law

    Why India needs a refugee law

    Shivangi Seth
    Adopting international standards will not only benefit people seeking asylum but India’s relations in the neighbourhood.
  • 31 May 2022
    • Multilateral Institutions
    • United Nations
    • Australia

    Multilateralism matters again

    Mercedes Page
    The world’s big challenges – and main priorities for Australia – are best tackled by cooperation.
  • 22 Apr 2022
    • Russia
    • Ukraine
    • International law
    • United Nations
    • War Crimes

    Even Putin is not beyond the law

    Donald R Rothwell
    International and domestic justice systems are working in the background to bring accountability in the war on Ukraine.
  • 6 Apr 2022
    • United Nations
    • China
    • Human rights

    The mysterious missing UN report on human rights abuses in Xinjiang

    Mercedes Page
    Months of stalling over the release of a long-completed investigation raises suspicions about China’s pressure tactics.
  • 14 Mar 2022
    • Sustainability
    • United Nations

    Sustainable catch: navigating global fisheries crime

    Adam Graycar
    For a problem as wide as the ocean, many factors compound the challenge of protecting fish stocks.
  • 8 Mar 2022
    • United Nations
    • Human rights
    • Sex and Gender

    Young feminist leadership is the future of peacebuilding

    Helen Berents , Erika Yague , Shadi Rouhshahbaz
    Feminist leadership coupled with the UN’s Youth, Peace and Security agenda envisions a more just and inclusive peace.
  • 8 Mar 2022
    • United Nations
    • Human rights
    • Sex and Gender

    Sexual exploitation and abuse in peacekeeping: Connecting the dots

    Jasmine Westendorf
    The abuse of women and children must be urgently addressed as a key issue in the hierarchy of harm.
  • 7 Mar 2022
    • Global Issues
    • United Nations
    • Russia
    • Technology
    • International law

    The hypocrisy of Russia’s push for a new global cybercrime treaty

    Mercedes Page
    The same Russia in the middle of invading a neighbour is preaching respect for state sovereignty online.
  • 4 Mar 2022
    • Global Issues
    • United Nations
    • Russia
    • International law
    • Ukraine

    Ukraine: Don’t write off the international order – read and rewrite it

    Fleur Johns , Anastasiya Kotova
    Resistance to Russia’s aggression is being shaped by how decentralised and data-centric global rules have become.
  • 25 Feb 2022
    • Diplomacy
    • United Nations
    • Russia
    • Africa
    • Ukraine

    Why was it left to Kenya to speak up for multilateralism?

    Mateo Szlapek-Sewillo
    Kenya’s UN envoy Martin Kimani was a sensation at an emergency Security Council session—with a message for all nations.
  • 23 Feb 2022
    • War Crimes
    • United Nations
    • Myanmar
    • Human rights
    • International law

    It’s a mistake to allow Myanmar’s junta to appear in Rohingya case

    Adam Simpson , Juliette McIntyre
    Accepting military representatives in the genocide defence serves to lend the coup an undeserved legitimacy.
  • 1 Feb 2022
    • United Nations
    • Afghanistan
    • Human rights

    Oslo talks expose the West’s Taliban dilemma 

    Syed Fazl-e-Haider
    Trusting the fundamentalists to deliver aid would mean ignoring a record of past promises to respect rights.
  • 13 Jan 2022
    • United Nations

    Peace and security are not the same thing

    Shannon Zimmerman
    Adding counter-terrorism tasks to UN peacekeeping mandates will likely make an already difficult job much harder.
  • 2 Dec 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • United Nations
    • North Korea
    • South Korea

    Honouring the dead on the path to Korean peace

    Khang Vu
    Recovering troop remains and negotiating denuclearisation are vital to end-of-war declarations on the Korean peninsula.
  • 23 Nov 2021
    • United Nations
    • Climate change
    • Environment

    Glasgow delivered, but what, exactly?

    Stephen Minas
    Not a miracle, certainly. But hard and messy negotiations secured a commitment to bring the temperature down.
  • 13 Oct 2021
    • Diplomacy
    • Multilateral Institutions
    • United Nations
    • Coronavirus

    Zooming out of digital diplomacy

    Jeffrey Robertson
    It’s time to think beyond the videoconference to allow countries to trust again.
  • 10 Aug 2021
    • United Nations
    • Myanmar

    The battle for Myanmar’s seat in the UN General Assembly

    Catherine Renshaw
    An empty chair in New York would be a potent reflection of the situation on the ground in post-coup Myanmar.
  • 2 Jun 2021
    • War Crimes
    • United Nations
    • Human rights

    R2P: An idea whose time never comes

    Catherine Renshaw
    The doctrine of the Responsibility to Protect was meant to stop atrocities. Instead, it has become another empty mantra.
  • 2 Jun 2021
    • United Nations
    • Australia
    • Indonesia

    Troubled waters? Australia-Indonesia maritime boundary in the news

    Bec Strating
    It would not be a good example for the region should Canberra and Jakarta be unable to resolve “technical amendments”.
  • 29 Apr 2021
    • United Nations
    • Myanmar
    • Human rights

    Response to Myanmar coup shows need for UN reform

    Rebecca Barber
    Veto power on the Security Council too often obstructs action in the face of atrocities. Here are some ways around it.
  • 15 Apr 2021
    • United Nations
    • Thailand
    • Human rights

    Thailand’s sweeping associations law courts disaster

    Michael Altman-Lupu  , Matthew Bugher
    Draft legislation to strictly control all kinds of groups could crush civil society and drive out foreign organisations.
  • 15 Feb 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • US Navy
    • United Nations
    • United Kingdom
    • Africa
    • Human rights

    The power of example: America’s presence in Diego Garcia

    Blake Herzinger
    US claims to upholding the rules-based order don’t square with its silence on Mauritian sovereignty in the Chagos.
  • 3 Feb 2021
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Trade
    • Coronavirus
    • Human rights
    • United Nations

    A “beggar-thy-neighbour” approach keeps seafarers stranded

    Sandra Tsui
    Some countries have banned crew rotations. Some have tight limits. A few are open. So a crisis continues.
  • 28 Jan 2021
    • Australia in the World
    • Human rights
    • International law
    • United Nations

    Australia in focus at the UN Human Rights Council

    Shannon Maree Torrens
    Despite Australia’s history of support for human rights, a formal review offers a serious reality check.
  • 15 Dec 2020
    • United Nations
    • Space exploration

    Bringing space law into the 21st century

    Donald R Rothwell
    The international agreements around outer space, which date to the Cold War, are being tested by new space activity.
  • 7 Dec 2020
    • Global Issues
    • Diplomacy
    • United Nations

    Solve generational problems by listening to the youth who’ll live them

    Caitlin Mollica , Helen Berents
    Developing the Youth, Peace and Security agenda in the Asia-Pacific is a chance to ensure lasting change.
  • 10 Nov 2020
    • United States
    • Afghanistan War
    • War Crimes
    • United Nations

    A chance for the US to change its tune on justice

    Shannon Maree Torrens
    Will American hostility to the International Criminal Court, and exception from it, shift under a Biden administration?
  • 5 Nov 2020
    • Diplomacy
    • United Nations
    • Indonesia
    • Russia
    • Human rights
    • Sex and Gender

    A backlash against the Women, Peace and Security agenda?

    Jacqui True , Irine Hiraswari Gayatri , Nuri Widiastuti Veronika , Patricia Salas Sanchez
    Power politics overshadow progress at the UN Security Council as Resolution 1325 celebrates its 20th anniversary.
  • 3 Nov 2020
    • Multilateral Institutions
    • United Nations

    Peace Prize to WFP: A win for international cooperation

    Peter McCawley
    The success of the World Food Program shows the global system can work with good leadership and strong support.
  • 2 Nov 2020
    • Australia in the World
    • Diplomacy
    • United Nations

    But what does “rules-based order” mean?

    Ben Scott
    For Australia to shape the future order, it will have to get more specific about what it wants.
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