Abstract: In the six two-year budgets between 2000 and 2011, the United Nations’ regular budget grew by 117 percent. In its 2010–2011 budget, the U.N. spent a whopping $5.42 billion, with American taxpayers footing 22 percent of the bill. The 2012–2013 budget was expected… 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: In September 2011, the Palestinian Authority requested membership for “Palestine” in the United Nations—violating its commitment under the 1993 Oslo Accords to seek statehood through negotiations with Israel. Prospective U.N. member states must first receive a recommendation from the Security Council. The Obama Administration has vowed to veto, if… 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
American taxpayers contributed a staggering $7.7 billion to the United Nations system in 2010, including 22 percent of the world bodys regular budget. In fact, the United States pays more than all the permanent members of the Security Council combined, 13 times more than Russia and seven times more than… Read more
With little attention from national media or Congress, the pieces are falling into place for the United Nations to build a brand-new building next door to its current 39-story tower. That’s fast work, considering the U.N. has yet to provide the Obama administration or Congress an official cost estimate for… Read more
From The Heritage Foundation, I'm Ernest Istook. … 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
Today the Palestinians will poke President Obama in the eye with his Nobel Peace Prize. And he has no one to blame but himself. Even before Mr. Obama walked the red carpet in Oslo, he believed he was his own best foreign policy advisor —… Read more
This key research from 2004 has been updated in several Heritage Foundation publications, including: Congress Should Ignore Budget Requests Relating to the Law of the Sea Treaty By Steven Groves (WebMemo #1804) February 8, 2008 … Read more
Abstract: Since 2000 about 95 percent of U.N. member states that receive U.S. assistance have voted against the United States most of the time in the U.N. General Assembly on non-consensus votes. The U.S. should inform aid recipients… Read more
Abstract: The United Nations has largely failed to maintain international peace and security, promote self-determination and basic human rights, and protect fundamental freedoms. While the conflicting interests of member states have led to many of these failures, the U.N. system itself is partly to… Read more
The source and amounts of all U.S. funding to the myriad number of organizations affiliated with the United Nations are difficult to track accurately. This difficulty prompted Congress to pass legislation requiring the Administration to report annually on U.S. contributions to the U.N. A recent report to Congress by the… 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
Abstract: Since the 2000-2001 biennial budget, the U.N. regular budget has more than doubled, reflecting the U.N.'s failure to adopt reforms to reduce waste, prevent mismanagement and corruption, and increase efficiency. In December 2007, the General Assembly broke with a 20-year tradition of adopting budgetary decisions only by consensus by… Read more
Abstract: Countries that receive U.S. foreign aid routinely oppose U.S. diplomatic initiatives and vote against the U.S. in the United Nations. While linking humanitarian and security aid to support of U.S. policy priorities would undermine the purposes and effect of that aid, the effectiveness… Read more
The effectiveness of the Administration’s “new era of engagement”[1] to build goodwill toward the U.S. at the U.N. based upon mutual respect and cooperation will be tested this week when Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas formally requests U.N. membership for the Palestinian delegation. Despite… Read more
Abstract: Negotiations to sell or otherwise transfer the Robert Moses Playground property in New York City to the United Nations for the construction of a second tower have proceeded quickly over the summer, and a final deal appears… Read more
This summer, the Horn of Africa confronted its worst drought in decades. Estimates indicate that more than 12 million people across the region are vulnerable to starvation. Somalia, lacking a credible government and beset by internal instability and conflict, has been particularly hard hit, and the United Nations has formally… Read more
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wanted to reach her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign...… Read more
Last weekend, Boko Haram, a Nigerian terrorist organization launched a deadly strike in the northern city of Kano....… Read more
Internal ethnic strife, a deep-rooted but often overlooked challenge facing newly independent South Sudan, has recently...… Read more
As the Universal Declaration of Human Rights celebrated a birthday this month, it is worth noting how this...… Read more
In this week's Heritage in Focus, expert Bruce Klingner discusses all the latest surrounding North Korea and the death...… Read more
North Korea's official media announced that Kim Jong-il, the country's long-time leader, died on Saturday of "physical...… Read more
There are quite a few reasons to be concerned about the U.N.’s pending Arms Trade Treaty. It poses a number of risks to...… Read more
[caption id="attachment_85672" align="alignnone" width="550" caption="United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon...… Read more
Ready to trade in your car for a bike, or maybe a subway instead? Interested in fewer choices for your home, paying more...… Read more
Tonight, the GOP presidential candidates square off in Washington, D.C., at the CNN/Heritage/AEI debate to discuss...… Read more
Senior Research Fellow in Anglo-American Relations
Director, Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom
Bernard and Barbara Lomas Fellow
Vice President, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, and Director, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies
Director, Center for International Trade and Economics and the Mark A. Kolokotrones Fellow in Economic Freedom
F.M. Kirby Research Fellow in National Security Policy
Jay Kingham Fellow in International Regulatory Affairs