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The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting on the situation in the Brazilian Embassy in Honduras, where ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has been sheltering since Monday. The council condemned acts of intimidation and called on the defacto Honduran authorities to stop harassing the embassy. Security Council president for the month of September, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice, read a statement from the council, in which it stressed the importance of respecting international law by preserving the inviolability of the embassy and the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations. "They [the council] condemned acts of intimidation against the Brazilian Embassy and...

Pittsburgh: India has argued that non-proliferation obligations arise from treaties to which states are parties and that any question of non-compliance has to be addressed in accordance with those treaties or agreements and not by the Security Council over-reaching its mandate. In a letter to the U.N. Security Council president aimed at distancing India from the September 24 resolution on non-proliferation, Ambassador Hardeep Puri also insisted that India cannot accept obligations stemming from the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) or agreements it has not signed or externally prescribed norms that infringe its sovereignty, national interest and Constitution. India also emphasised that...

Barack Obama’s Gallup approval rating of 52 percent may well be lower at this stage of his presidency than any US leader in recent times with the exception of Bill Clinton. But he is still worshipped with messiah-like adoration at the United Nations, and is considerably more popular with many of the 192 members of the UN than he is with the American people. The latest Pew Global Attitudes Survey of international confidence in Obama’s leadership on foreign affairs shows strikingly high approval levels for the president in many parts of the world – 94 percent in Kenya, 93 percent...

Barack Obama will cement the new co-operative relationship between the US and the United Nations this month when he becomes the first American president to chair its 15-member Security Council.

This may be a knee-jerk reaction on my part - and I'm willing to concede the point - but in my defense, I have a long track record from which I can accurately draw this conclusion. I call it the "American Rule of Thumb." In short, whatever world opinion is, go with the opposite.Simple.Whatever the consensus from the rest of the world may be on any subject of relevance, go in the other direction.The United Nations Security Council has called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza - and, of course, because this is coming from the ever-reliable, always morally clear...

Japan wins seat at UN Security Council; Iran fails Japan was elected Friday to a seat at the UN Security Council for 2009-2010, overcoming a challenge from Iran for a place at the head table of international diplomacy. In a vote in the UN General Assembly, which includes all member nations of the world body, Japan took 158 votes against 32 for Iran, the assembly's president Miguel d'Escoto of Nicaragua said. Asia has two non-permanent seats on the 15-nation Security Council, on top of the permanent seat held by China. Indonesia's term is ending; Vietnam's stint continues through the end...

Excerpt - UNITED NATIONS (AFP)--The U.N. General Assembly on Monday agreed to begin negotiations on expanding the membership of the powerful Security Council no later than next Feb. 28. After hours-long bargaining, the assembly adopted by consensus a resolution on Security Council enlargement on the last day of its 62nd session. ~ snip ~ It said the aim was to "garner the widest possible political acceptance by member states." ~ snip ~ During the transitional period, a number of configurations including a repartitioning of seats on a regional basis and the most delicate, the veto- wielding power of the five...

Excerpt - UNITED NATIONS, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Veto-holding Russia blocked U.N. Security Council action on the Georgian crisis on Tuesday, refusing to support a Western-backed draft resolution calling for an immediate Russian military withdrawal. Even though Moscow has said it will withdraw, Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the council the resolution should include and endorse a six-point peace plan promoted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and signed by both Georgia and Russia. ~ snip ~

Excerpt - LONDON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Georgia is calling for a United Nations' peacekeeping force to intervene to halt its conflict with Russia, a Georgian diplomat said. ~ snip ~ "We need troops (on the) ground," he told Reuters in an interview late on Monday. "Let it be a U.N.-mandated international force, ideally EU," he said. Russia, as a permanent member of the Security Council, would have the ability to veto any such move. ~ snip ~

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Iran seeking Security Council seat 05 Jul 2008 Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has urged unity among the Muslim countries to counter the challenges in the world today. Mottaki briefed the envoys of 57 Muslim countries to the UN on Iran's policy in a meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, IRNA reported. Iran's top diplomat condemned recent moves in the West to undermine Islamic values and said that these initiatives are intolerable for Muslim nations. He also urged Muslim countries to support Iran's bid to hold a seat at the UN Security Council and noted that Iran is...

UNITED NATIONS, June 30 (Reuters) - A U.S.-drafted U.N. sanctions resolution calls for the U.N. Security Council to impose an arms embargo on Zimbabwe and freeze the assets of specific Zimbabwean individuals and companies. The draft, obtained by Reuters on Monday, says the council would not recognize Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's June 27 re-election and would freeze the assets of and ban travel for anyone who helped the government "undermine democratic processes" or supported politically-motivated violence.

AUSTRALIA will launch an all-out push for membership of the elite 15-seat Security Council of the United Nations, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced overnight from New York. Mr Rudd emerged from hour-long talks with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to front the media in the UN's famous "press encounter" area declaring "you've got to be in it to win it and have a go." "I informed the Secretary General of the United Nations today that Australia will be seeking election to the United Nations Security Council 2013/2014," he said. "That'll be a ballot which will be held in 2012." The campaign,...

UNITED NATIONS - An interim proposal to tackle the divisive issue of Security Council reform would expand the U.N.'s most powerful body from 15 to 22 members but leave it up to the 192 U.N. member states to decide which countries should fill them. The proposal, obtained Friday by The Associated Press, also leaves it up to U.N. members to decide how long the new seats should be held — with suggestions of two years, five years and permanently offered as possible options. It leaves the contentious issue of veto power to future negotiations. There is strong support for enlarging...

Iran sanctions vote faces new delay: diplomats By Louis Charbonneau Reuters Feb 27, 2008 UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council will likely delay a vote on a third round of sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, as Western countries lobby for a big vote in favor, diplomats said on Wednesday. Tehran denies Western charges it seeks nuclear weapons and has ignored three previous Security Council resolutions demanding it freeze its uranium enrichment program, which can produce fuel for nuclear power plants or atomic weapons. "It looks very likely there will not be a vote on the sanctions...

Former U.S./U.N. ambassador John Bolton returned to U.N. headquarters in NYC on Friday to launch his new book "Surrender Is Not An Option" (Threshold Editions- Simon & Schuster - 486 pgs.) The controversial U.S. diplomat quit his U.N. post in November 2006 when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee stalled a vote on his nomination. For the preceding 18 mos. Bolton served as UN ambassador under a temporary Congressional recess appointment that was to expire on January 1, 2007. With a Democratic Congress taking office and a rejected nomination likely, Bolton asked President Bush to withdraw his name rather than face...

UNITED NATIONS - Libya won a seat on the powerful U.N. Security Council on Tuesday. Libya was virtually assured of election because it has been endorsed by the African group along with Burkina Faso and faced no opposition. Vietnam, which was endorsed by the Asian group, also ran unopposed. All three countries won in the first round of voting, but the battle for seats from Latin America and Eastern Europe went to a second round. Susan Cohen, of Cape May Court House, N.J., who lost her 20-year-old daughter, Theodora, in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie,...

Despite Sanctions, Iran Seeks UN Security Council Seat September 10, 2007 Ha'aretz Shlomo Shamir NEW YORK -- Iran plans to vie for one of the temporary seats on the United Nations Security Council, according to a low-key announcement last week in a routine informational document distributed by the Asia Group of member states. The same document announced Japan's candidacy for the seat, which is reserved for the region and will become vacant in September 2009. Diplomats at UN headquarters here say Iran has little chance of beating Japan, particularly in view of the Security Council sanctions imposed on Iran for...

The United States and Britain are preparing drafts for a punishing new U.N. resolution against Iran that could impose sweeping travel bans on the country's top military and security officials, require inspections on its cargo flights and ships, forbid all import and export of arms shipments, and freeze the assets of major Iranian banks, according to U.S. and European officials. The new Security Council resolution would be the third against Iran for failing to comply with a U.N. resolution demanding a freeze on Tehran's uranium enrichment program...

UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council refused to approve a statement Friday that would condemn remarks about Israel's impending destruction attributed to Iran's hard-line president because of objections from Indonesia, council diplomats said. Qatar, the only Arab nation on the council, said it had no instructions, which also meant approval on Friday was impossible, the diplomats said. The statement must be approved by all 15 council members. France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere, who called for condemnation of the remarks attributed to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said it was unfortunate that the council could not act immediately. But he...

"The Security Council must stop acting illegally. Iran is a lion on the prowl, and we tell the Security Council: "Don't play with the lion's tail," Ahmadinejad said at a press conference marking 18 years since the death of Ayatollah Khomeini. He added: "When we look at the situation in the region we can see that the US cannot seriously damage Iran. Do they have a way out of the Iraqi crisis...

UNITED NATIONS - A deeply divided U.N. Security Council approved a resolution Wednesday to unilaterally establish an international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the assassination of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The vote was 10-0 with five abstentions — Russia, China, South Africa, Indonesia and Qatar. Nine votes were needed for passage. Current Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora asked the council earlier this month to establish the tribunal. He cited the refusal of opposition-aligned Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to convene a session to ratify the statutes to create the tribunal, which have already been approved by his government and...

The U.N. Security Council voted Wednesday to set up the international tribunal that would try ex-premier Rafik Hariri’s suspected assassins. The 15-member council adopted a legally binding resolution that sets June 10 as the date for the entry into force of an agreement between the U.N. and Premier Fouad Saniora’s government to establish the court. Ten countries voted in favor, with veto-wielding members Russia and China as well as South Africa, Indonesia and Qatar -- three non-permanent members -- abstaining. Immediately after the voting in New York, fireworks lit Beirut’s skies in celebration of the tribunal’s establishment. A sound...

This week Dr. Mohammed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will submit another report to the United Nations Security Council on Iran's nuclear program. The report, couched in vague diplomatic parlance, will state that Iran continues to ignore Security Council resolutions, is not allowing IAEA monitors to do their job properly, as it had pledged to, and continues to enrich uranium. The uranium enrichment facility at Natanz already has 1.600 centrifuges, 1.300 of which are operating well, at least according to the Iranians. This fact shows that Iran's nuclear experts have mastered the technology. According to...

IAEA pushes Iran to accept cameras at key atom site By Mark Heinrich VIENNA (Reuters) - The International Atomic Energy Agency is pushing Iran to agree to cameras in its underground nuclear plant within days and Western states are mulling whether to seek a crisis IAEA meeting if Tehran refuses, diplomats said. The U.N. Security Council widened sanctions against Iran last week after it defied a second deadline for it to stop enriching uranium, which Iran says will yield solely electricity but world powers fear is a disguised atomic bomb program. Tehran, disputing any obligation to do so, has refused...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad canceled a trip to New York to address the U.N. Security Council before it votes on whether to impose further sanctions against his country for refusing to stop enriching uranium, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Friday. The decision came as diplomats from the five veto-wielding members of the Security Council ? the U.S., Britain, France, China and Russia ? and Germany held a flurry of last-minute negotiations in New York on a draft resolution seeking to pressure Iran to comply. The six powers want a vote on the resolution by Saturday, but diplomats said that could...

Islamic Republic News Agency - Iran - White House creates obstacle in visa issuance for Iran president (Updates to add quotes) Tehran, March 23, IRNA - The White House has created obstacle in issuing visa for Iranian president to take part in the meeting of the Security Council. President mahmoud Ahmadinejad decided to go to New York to defend Iranian right at the Security Council debate on Iranian nuclear program on Saturday. Deputy Foreign Minister for International and Legal Affairs Abbas Araghchi expressed regret at absence of cooperation on part of the US Administration for issuing visa for the Iranian...

Iran warns it may ignore nuclear rules TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Wednesday the country will pursue nuclear activities outside international regulations if the U.N. Security Council insists it stop uranium enrichment. "Until today, what we have done has been in accordance with international regulations," Khamenei said. "But if they take illegal actions, we too can take illegal actions and will do so." Khamenei did not elaborate what "illegal actions" could be pursued by Tehran as it faces new sanctions by the U.N. body over its refusal to halt enrichment which the West fears is...

U.S. will give visa to Iranian president The U.S. will approve Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's request for a visa so he can visit the U.N. as the Security Council moves to impose additional sanctions against his country for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Friday that the United States has approved a U.S. visa for Ahmadinejad previously and will do so again, consistent with its obligations as host country for the United Nations. Ahmadinejad has been a vociferous defender of his nation's nuclear efforts and a critic of the U.S. On Thursday, the five...

UNITED NATIONS (AP)--Iran's U.N. Mission sent a letter to the Security Council president Thursday officially requesting permission for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak during its discussion on a resolution that would impose new sanctions on Tehran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment, a council diplomat said. Iranian state television quoted government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham on Sunday as saying Ahmadinejad wanted to take his case for pursuing nuclear power before the council as it considers the sanctions resolution. ~ snip ~

The Kosovo Future Status Process Daniel Fried, Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs; Rosemary DiCarlo, Deputy Assistant Secretary On-The-Record Briefing Washington, DC March 13, 2007 ASSISTANT SECRETARY FRIED: I'd like to convey to you my impressions and sense after a week of intense meetings and discussions in Belgrade and then throughout Kosovo. Rosemary can say something about the Vienna talks which took place on Saturday. I spent Monday and Tuesday in Belgrade; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in Pristina, but also throughout Kosovo, and I'll get to that in a minute. In Belgrade, my message -- my public message to...

via translation - Ahmadinejad wants to take part in the meeting of the Security Council on Iran TEHERAN - Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to attend the next meeting of the Security Council of UNO which will examine the nuclear file of Teheran, announced to Sunday the spokesman of the government. The president thus hopes “to defend the national interests and the international laws” of the Iranian people, said Gholam Hossein Elham, quoted by the television of State on his Internet site. The Security Council should meet, at a still unspecified date, to examine a draft Resolution on the Iranian...

VIENNA, Austria - Iran offered Tuesday to clear up suspicions about its disputed nuclear activities if the Security Council ends its "interference," in an apparent attempt to head off new sanctions for its refusal to freeze uranium enrichment. The overture, contained in a restricted document made available to The Associated Press, came as the five permanent council members deliberate on a new resolution aiming to tighten up the sanctions against Iran for its nuclear defiance. The document — a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency — said Iran was ready to "negotiate ... for the resolution of outstanding issues...

ALARM - Iran installs centrifugal machines with Natanz VIENNA - Iran started to install centrifugal machines on its site of Natanz, where it hopes to use 3.000 of them to enrich by uranium in spite of the calls of UNO, declared Thursday of the diplomats.

Excerpt - The U.N. Security Council is set to adopt Saturday a draft resolution that bans the transfer of items that could contribute to Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, U.N. diplomats said Friday. The draft resolution is a modified version of what had been agreed upon earlier between the permanent five members of the Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States --plus Germany. It will be the first sanctions resolution to be adopted by the Security Council since the International Atomic Energy Agency referred the issue to the...

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Wednesday unanimously adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution authorizing a regional peacekeeping force to be deployed in Somalia. The resolution, co-sponsored by the United States, Congo, Ghana and Tanzania, also eased the 1992 arms embargo on Somalia to facilitate the deployment of the peacekeeping force. It authorized the 7-nation Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an east African group, and the African Union to establish "a protection and training mission in Somalia" for an initial period of six months. The regional force would monitor progress made by both sides in implementing...

(CNSNews.com) - Venezuela is removing itself from consideration for the open seat on the United Nations Security Council and is now backing Bolivia. Bolivian President Evo Morales said Tuesday his country has agreed to be a candidate for the Security Council as a non-permanent member. Morales said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez acknowledged to him in a telephone conversation that his country would not be able acquire the two-thirds majority needed to secure the seat. The U.N. General Assembly has already elected Belgium, Indonesia, Italy and South Africa to serve as non-permanent members on the Security Council for the two-year terms...

(English-language translation) Guatemala and Venezuela are competing for a two-year seat in the most powerful organization in the world, the only one in the U.N. with binding resolutions. The Security Council discusses and decides on matters that threaten security and world peace. The next items on the agenda are North Korea's nuclear threat, which the Council attempts to deter with economic sanctions, followed by - yet remotely - military sanctions. Other issues are the Iranian nuclear threat, the genocide in Sudan, or the African civil wars. Maintaining peace and international security, investigating controversies that may create conflicts at that level,...

Pyongyang: the resolution of UNO is a "declaration of war" Seoul - the North Korea regards as a "declaration of war" the adopted resolution Saturday by the Security Council of UNO sanctioning its nuclear test of October 9. It again promised a response. "It goes without saying that the Council Resolution of safety of UNO cannot be interpreted differently than like a declaration of war against the RPDC (democratic popular Republic of Korea)", a spokesman of the Foreign Affairs declared quoted by official agency KCNA. Indeed, this resolution "was based on the scenario according to which the United States...

United Nations: Whatever the outcome of the contested Security Council seat for the Western Hemisphere, one thing's likely: Hugo Chavez is not going to be on it. The U.N. should be ashamed he got as close as he did. As we went to press, the marathon vote for a two-year rotating Security Council seat had moved into a ninth round, with Guatemala ahead of Venezuela 102-85. At that point, the best Venezuela could hope for was a compromise candidate subject to the approval of the non-Chavez votes. If it comes to that, it would be humiliating for Chavez, who spent...

SAN DIEGO – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday announced he had signed an executive order that creates a state maritime security council that should improve coordination and information sharing by federal, state and local governments on port security issues. As envisioned, the California Maritime Security Council will identify potential threats, organize training exercises and develop a statewide maritime security strategy. Officials said it will formalize relationships that already exist and make it easier for local ports to coordinate responses when problems occur. With the San Diego Convention Center as his backdrop, the governor was joined by other state officials, representatives...

Iran Warns of Retaliation if Sanctions Imposed AFP October 9, 2006 TEHRAN -- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has vowed to impose retaliatory sanctions on world powers if the UN Security Council carries out threats to penalize Iran over its nuclear program. The warning came amid an intensifying global uproar Monday over North Korea's announcement of its first test of a nuclear weapon, a move that prompted Iran to declare that it wanted a world free of atomic arms. Ahmadinejad did not specify what kind of tit-for-tat measures might be imposed and Iran - OPEC's second largest producer - has always insisted...

UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council should congratulate North Korea for its nuclear test instead of passing "useless" resolutions or statements, North Korea's U.N. ambassador said Monday. Pak Gil Yon told reporters he was proud of the North Koreans who conducted the test, and said the Security Council ought to be, too. Asked if the North planned any more tests, Pak said: "That will be enough. You don't think so?" The council was holding a meeting about the test, and several diplomats warned of tough measures, possibly including the threat of sanctions. "It will be better for the...

France says Iran sanctions must be 'progressive, proportionate and reversible' The Associated Press October 5, 2006 PARIS France said Thursday that sanctions to force Iran to cooperate with international demands for a suspension of its nuclear program should be "progressive, proportionate and reversible." Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei did not give details on what form sanctions might take. "We favor measures that are progressive, proportionate and reversible, with the objective being to convince Iran to cooperate with the international community," he said. Foreign ministers from six major powers including France are expected to meet Friday in London to discuss the...

/begin my translation N. Korea Ceased Most Diplomatic Activities at UN China dismayed by N. Korea's behavior (New York = Yonhap News) Kim Kye-hwan = We have learned that N. Korea had virtually no contact with UN Security Council while it was drafting a statement of warning against N. Korea. UN sources told us on Oct. 6 that N. Korea showed no interest in the Council's adoption of the statement. Such an attitude even made Security Council worried, which will further isolate N. Korea. They said that N. Korea is not even talking to China. China also appeared to be...

/begin my excerpt U.S. Under Secretary of State, "N. Korean nuclear test to be met with tough military actions" Robert Joseph, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security remarked on Sept. 28(U.S. time), "If N. Korea goes ahead with nuclear test, U.N. Security Council will be firmly in favor of taking strong measures against N. Korea." Under Secretary Joseph made the comment in a special interview with Voice of America, while warning N. Korea, "It would be a grave strategic blunder for N. Korea to actually carry out nuclear test." He explained, "It will be followed...

Bachelet's price for supporting Chavez After the speech of the Venezuelan president, the critical comments of the [Venezuelan] Ambassador in Santiago Victor Delgado are what has endangered the inclination of the Chief Executive for this country [to support Venezuela's candidacy for a seat on the UN Security Council] By Sergio Espinosa V. When Hugo Chavez abandoned the podium of the General Assembly of the United Nations, Wednesday the 20th, the echo of his inflammatory speech against the President of the United States, George W. Bush, and his histrionic gestures still resounded in the ears of incredulous listeners. The members of...

(English-language translation) [Guatemalan] President Óscar Berger expressed concern during an interview in New York with the BBC Mundo network over the future of the United Nations Security Council if Venezuela manages to take the seat Guatemala is also competing for. "If it's Venezuela, I greatly fear the Security Council will be worthless," Berger said. The Guatemalan leader granted the interview after appearing before the U.N. last Wednesday. Prensa Libre tried to get the opinion of Félix Méndez Correa, Venezuela's ambassador to Guatemala, but his secretary said that the diplomat received instructions from his country not to talk about the matter....

Iran: Chirac proposes that the Six give up seizing the Security Council PARIS - French president Jacques Chirac proposed Monday that the six great powers in load of the file of the Iranian nuclear power "give up seizing the Security Council" for sanctions, and that "Iran gives up the enrichment of uranium" to allow the negotiation. "We must initially find an agenda of the negotiation, then to enter into a negociation and, during this negotiation, I suggest that, on the one hand, the Six give up seizing the Security Council and that Iran gives up throughout the negotiation the...

INDONESIA is set to win a seat on the United Nations Security Council next month - a move that will bolster UN opposition to Israeli actions in the Middle East and hamper the prospect of sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear program. The elevation to a non-permanent council seat would be a significant diplomatic victory for Jakarta and increase the international influence of Australia's key regional partner. Indonesia is virtually assured of the position after South Korea withdrew from the race at the weekend. It faces only Nepal in the vote for the seat, which is reserved for an...