International Law Blog Postings

In an address delivered in New York on June 6, United Nations Deputy Secretary General Mark Malloch Brown critiqued U.S. policy towards the UN in his speech "Power and Super-Power: Global Leadership in the Twenty-First Century." The Deputy Secretary challenged the United States to sustain "inside-the-tent diplomacy at the UN" and to drop its attitude of "take it or leave it," as well its "red-line demands thrown in without debate and engagement." The next day, as if on cue, the United Nations Association of the United States of America commenced its annual meeting in Washington, D.C. First on the agenda, members met with elected officials on Capitol Hill to discuss US-UN relations, voting records, and proposed legislation to withhold mandatory contributions to the UN. Next, members convened for three days of issue sessions. Experts, such as Dr. Joxel Garcia, Mark Lagon, Ambassador William H. Luers, Dr. Johanna Mendelson, and Ruth Wedgwood, spoke on the challenges facing the UN and the world, including UN reform, global health, the future of nuclear weapons, and international law. Continue Reading