Issues 2012 provides candidates for elected office the ability to quickly identify the key issues of the day and present clear policy recommendations, supported by facts, for addressing them. Read More.
On November 25, after four years of intensive negotiations, the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), a U.N.-based process through which participating nations adopt protocols to regulate or limit the use of conventional weapons, failed to reach an agreement on a new protocol to regulate cluster munitions. The U.S. had… Read more
Negotiations for a new U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) are supposed to be finalized in July 2012. Some of its supporters argue it would have no “impact on the ability of individuals within the United States to acquire and possess firearms.”[1] Even if this is true, it is… Read more
Abstract: Agenda 21, a voluntary plan adopted at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, unabashedly calls on governments to intervene and regulate nearly every potential impact that human activity could have on the environment. However,… Read more
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, also known as the Law of the Sea Treaty (or LOST), presents a dilemma for some national security conservatives. On one hand, LOST “codifies” key navigational rights and freedoms that are important to the U.S. Navy—and the… Read more
The United Nations General Assembly held a high-level meeting on September 22 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the adoption of The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action at the 2001 United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. The Durban commemoration (also called Durban III)… Read more
Abstract: For more than 200 years, the United States has successfully preserved and protected its navigational rights and freedoms by relying on naval operations, diplomatic protests, and customary international law. U.S. membership in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)… Read more
On July 11–15, the United Nations held a third meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the Arms Trade Treaty. The committee discusses the content of the treaty in advance of a meeting of the conference in 2012 to finalize the treaty and open it for ratification. This treaty is purportedly… Read more
Abstract: The U.N. Human Rights Council has failed to consistently fulfill its mandate to hold governments accountable for violating basic human rights and fundamental freedoms and to promote and protect human rights. Two years of U.S. membership on and engagement with the council have… Read more
Abstract: If the U.S. becomes a member of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, it will be required to transfer a large portion of the royalties generated on the U.S. extended continental shelf to the International Seabed Authority. These royalties… Read more
From the halls of the United Nations at Turtle Bay to its expansive buildings in Geneva, radical feminism is among the predominant views dictating social policy and programs. Feminists lead their international agenda from the new United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, known as “UN… Read more
The idea of establishing an international court to prosecute serious international crimes--war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide--has long held a special place in the hearts of human rights activists and those hoping to hold perpetrators of terrible crimes to account. In 1998, that idea became reality when the Rome Statute of the… Read more
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold hearings this week on whether the United States should ratify the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. Twenty-five years ago, President Ronald Reagan rejected the treaty-and rightly so. Today, the convention remains a threat to American interests. Reason #1: The Treaty Will Undermine U.S. Sovereignty. President… Read more
Abstract: Eight countries hold vast territories in the Arctic: the United States, Canada, Russia, Norway, Denmark (via Greenland), Finland, Sweden, and Iceland. All eight countries are positioning themselves to protect their sovereignty, defend their competing territorial claims, and develop significant natural resources. Future disputes… Read more
Abstract: Overall, the U.S. effort at the International Criminal Court Review Conference in Kampala was a qualified success. The outcome could have been much worse. While the conference adopted the Belgian amendment, creating a precedent for criminalizing the use of additional weapons as war crimes under the Rome Statute, the… Read more
The United States Senate voted to reject ratification of the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) on October 13, 1999. This determinate action by the Senate should have marked the end of consideration of the treaty by the U.S. Nevertheless, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security… Read more
Ratification of the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) would jeopardize American security, rule of...… Read more
This week the 49th Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women is meeting at the U.N. to...… Read more
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) recently sent a letter to the United Nations and the International Criminal Court...… Read more
When Britain’s new Chief Secretary to the Treasury, David Laws, walked into his office last week, he found a letter...… Read more
Senior Research Fellow in Anglo-American Relations
Bernard and Barbara Lomas Fellow
Vice President, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, and Director, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies
Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy and Chairman of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies
Jay Kingham Fellow in International Regulatory Affairs
Senior Legal Fellow