The Global Citizen

Thinking Outside the Box

Rocio La Rosa | February 3rd, 2012
Topics: Genocide Prevention, International Criminal Court, Civilian Protection, Law & Justice, Human Rights

Last night I attended a great event titled In Search of Accountability: Justice after Nuremberg. The panel discussion, organized by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, focused on international justice and the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Michael Abramowitz, director of the Committee on Conscience at the museum, guided the discussion so that the three panelists would focus on the questions most significant to global justice: Are the mechanisms established in the first war crimes tribunals enough to deliver justice to perpetrators today? Since the Nuremberg trials, what new strategies have emerged?

Obama Stands Up for International Affairs Funding at Google+ Hangout

Julia Strasser | January 31st, 2012
Topics: Get Involved, UN Funding, Capitol Hill

Monday night President Obama participated in the first Presidential virtual interview ever! This Google+ Hangout event was part of the White House's continued public outreach following the State of the Union Address last Tuesday. Since the president's address last week, the White House has been requesting that people send in questions via all forms of social media, and has been holding Twitter interviews with many of the senior administration officials. This Hangout was the culmination of that week, and it turned out to be a great moment for foreign policy!

Facing a Nuclear Iran

Carolyn Blake | January 31st, 2012
Topics: United Nations, Other

The Center for National Policy recently hosted a panel discussion on the future of Iran's nuclear program and U.S. options in face of a nuclear armed Iran. Iran's nuclear energy program was originally developed through the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Their program has expanded over the years, and eventually resulted in suspicions about Iran's plans for developing nuclear weapons. Many years and IAEA Board of Governors meetings later, sanctions have been imposed on Iran and many other international actions have been taken in response to the country's enrichment activities. Panelists at the discussion indicated that Iran has not yet decided if it will pursue nuclear weapons, but the past two U.S. administrations have stated that a nuclear Iran is not an option.

Syria: A Game of Politics

Arielle Weaver | January 31st, 2012
Topics: Genocide Prevention, Human Rights, United Nations

"No chance, no chance, no chance...ever," said Vitaly I. Churkin, Russian envoy to the United Nations Security Council, in response to whether or not Russia would ever support economic sanctions in Syria.

Gaddafi's Son Creates a New Conflict, ICC vs Libya

Rocio La Rosa | January 30th, 2012
Topics: International Criminal Court, Human Rights

Although the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for him, Court judges have not yet decided whether the trial of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi will take place in The Hague or Libya. UN Security Council referred the case to ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, followed by the warrant for Saif in June 2011. After months of violence and the death of Moammar Gaddafi (Saif's father), Libyan officials are pushing to hold Saif's trial in their own country and refuse to hand over Gaddafi to the Court or even inform prosecutors of his location. This is causing confusion in the media and showcasing the lack of cooperation between non-member nations and the ICC.

An Insider's View of the #SOTU

Julia Bunting | January 25th, 2012
Topics: Election News & Analysis

The Tweet-Up was an amazing opportunity to actively participate in the State of the Union address! To give a brief recap, the speech heavily focused on the economy and job creation through American innovation. In fact, the President only devoted 13% of his address to international affairs, astounding considering the United States and the world are facing many global challenges.

Two Julias Tweet-Up at the White House

Julia Strasser | January 25th, 2012
Topics: Get Involved, Election News & Analysis, Capitol Hill

Just six months ago I was not a huge social media user, and never dreamed that Twitter would turn out to be my ticket to the White House. My coworker Julia Bunting and I were invited to watch the State of the Union address at the White House in a room full of advocacy tweeters, and then participated in a live discussion with senior Administration officials afterwards. The live “Tweet-Up” was an amazing experience and I wanted to give you a glimpse of the action.

ICC to Try Four Suspects in Kenya Post-Election Violence

Melissa Kaplan | January 25th, 2012
Topics: Genocide Prevention, International Criminal Court, Civilian Protection

The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced this week that it will try four defendants from Kenya in connection with the post-election violence which broke out in the country in late 2007.

William Samoei Ruto, Joshua Arap Sang, Francis Muthaura and Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta will be tried by the Court for crimes against humanity. Kenyatta and Ruto were both presidential candidates and holders of high-level positions in Kenya. The ICC declined to confirm charges against two other Kenyans who had been investigated.

Following elections in late 2007, violence broke out in Kenya which resulted in 1,2000 deaths and the displacement of 600,000 people, many of whom still have not returned home.

Is 2011 the new 1989?

Rebecca Justus | January 23rd, 2012
Topics: Human Rights

1989 is remembered, among other things, as the year the Berlin wall came down. It was the year the Cold War ended, the year of the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, and the year of the Baltic Way for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. 1989 was a year that marked a transformation for the world.

Will 2011 be remembered as the same kind of transformational year that 1989 is remembered as?

U.S. Calls for Strong U.N. Reform

Julia Bunting | January 20th, 2012
Topics: UN Reform & Revitalization, United Nations

The United States Mission to the United Nations has issued a statement today that lays out how America plans to lead on U.N. reform in 2012. While the global community has long called for such reform, the statement details some progress that the U.S. has already made, reforming the U.N. budget for only the second time in 50 years, saving American taxpayers $100 million. The U.S. has also pushed for increased transparency, especially promoting public disclosure online of all internal audit reports starting in 2012.

The statement outlines how the U.S. Mission believes the U.N. can move forward on further reforms to make the U.N. more effective and efficient. They suggest several recommendations, including steps to make the U.N. more cost-effective, reduce administrative bureaucracy while increasing accountability, address issues of corruption and unfairness, and increase overall efficiency throughout the U.N. system.