What's New

Resources updated between Monday, December 16, 2013 and Sunday, December 22, 2013

December 20, 2013

Draft was adopted with 169 votes in favor, 6 against (Australia, Canada, Federated States of Micronesia, Israel, Palau, United States), and 4 abstentions (Cameroon, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Tonga).

General Assembly Resolution "Oil slick on Lebanese shores" Development

Draft was adopted with 168 votes in favor, 6 against (Canada, Federated States of Micronesia, Israel, Marshall Islands, Palau, United States), and 9 abstentions (Australia, Cameroon, Honduras, Kiribati, Malawi, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Tonga).

General Assembly Resolution "Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources" Development

Draft was adopted without a vote.

General Assembly Resolution "Harmony with Nature" Development

December 19, 2013

Obama threatens Congress over Iran

More than two dozen U.S. Senate Democrats and Republicans introduced a bipartisan Senate bill (when was the last time we heard that phrase?) that would impose new sanctions on Iran if it violates last month's agreement. Obama's response? A veto threat. To the President, Congress is more of a threat than Iran.

Obama Issues Rare Veto Threat on Iran Bill Article

December 18, 2013

Draft was adopted with 158 votes in favor, 4 against (Canada, Israel, United Kingdom, United States), and 28 abstentions.

General Assembly Resolution "The right to development", A/RES/68/158 Development

Draft was adopted without a vote.

General Assembly Resolution "Right to the truth", A/RES/68/165 Development

Draft was adopted with 132 votes in favor, 52 against, and 6 abstentions (Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Palau, Peru, Samoa).

General Assembly Resolution "Promotion of a democratic and equitable international order", A/RES/68/175 Development

Draft was adopted with 94 votes in favor, 71 against, and 23 abstentions.

General Assembly Resolution "Report of the Human Rights Council", A/RES/68/144 Development

Draft was rejected with 83 votes against, 80 in favor, and 18 abstentions.

Amendment to "Report of the Human Rights Council", A/68/L.33 Development

Draft was adopted with 136 votes in favor, 54 against, and no abstentions.

General Assembly Resolution "Human rights and cultural diversity", A/RES/68/159 Development

Draft was adopted with 178 votes in favor, 7 against (Canada, Federated States of Micronesia, Israel, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, United States), and 4 abstentions (Cameroon, Paraguay, Tonga, Vanuatu).

General Assembly Resolution "The right of the Palestinian people to self-determination", A/RES/68/154 Development

Draft was adopted with 86 votes in favor, 36 against, and 61 abstentions.

General Assembly Resolution "Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran", A/RES/68/184 Development

Draft was adopted with 127 votes in favor, 13 against, and 47 abstentions.

General Assembly Resolution "Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic", A/RES/68/182 Development

December 17, 2013

Robert Serry

Robert Serry, the UN's Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, briefed the UN Security Council. He repeated the UN threat against Israel, calling the year 2014 the "moment of truth" for the Middle East peace process. Among other things, he warned Israel not to respond to the recent killing of one of its soldiers by a member of the Lebanese army. At the UN, Israeli self-defense is only a theory.

Special Coordinator For Middle East Peace Process Predicts Possible 'Moment Of Truth' On Two-State Solution In 2014, SC/11216 Development

December 16, 2013

Syria destroyed

UN asks for a record $6.5B to help the 16 million Syrians it says are affected by Assad's bloodbath - the cost of continuing the war while the world stands by. Where's John Kerry after all? Pounding Israel.

UN Makes Record Syria Appeal To Avert 'Greatest Humanitarian Crisis In Modern History' Article

Human Rights Activist Omar al-Saeed

"A political and human rights activist in Saudi Arabia was sentenced to 300 lashes and four years in prison for defying the king and calling for democracy, a rights group said Sunday. Omar al-Saeed, a member of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), was sentenced in the city of Buraidah on Dec. 12 and is the fourth of his group to be imprisoned this year. Adam Coogle, Middle East researcher for advocacy group Human Rights Watch, told NBC News that since Saudi Arabia has no formal penal code, the charges against al-Saeed and the other group members are arbitrary."

Saudi Political Activist Sentenced To 300 Lashes, 4 Years In Prison, Rights Group Says Human Rights Voices