The globally displaced rose from 79.5 million in 2019 to 82.4 million by the end of 2020, a near 3 million increase. This is as the G7 decides to take no action whatsoever. The UNHCR says that the number of refugees around the world has hit a new high, this is in spite of the pandemic, a time in which over 160 countries closed their borders.

On 23 June, António Guterres reported ongoing Israeli settlement expansion and Palestinian displacement, despite Security Council Resolution 2334 and recent political shifts.

On the 21st of June the United Nations General Assembly started publishing a number of draft resolutions calling on the colonial powers to relinquish their control on the few remaining colonies. The UN states that its target is to eradicate colonialism by 2030.

Earlier this year, Secretary General António Guterres appointed the Frenchman Jean Arnault as his envoy covering Afghanistan and regional issues. Mr Arnault is expected to support the negotiations and implementation of any agreements between the Taliban and Afghanistan.

Unlike France, the UN must not suspend its peacekeeping operations in Mali Following Mali’s latest coup on May 24, France decided to stop joint military operations with Malian forces until it is convinced that a civilian government will be returning to power. Some may argue that the UN should also take a step back and suspend its peacekeeping operations rather than indirectly aid a regime that usurped power.

Final tallies earlier this month showed that Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were elected as the five new non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. The new members elected this year will be taking up their seats on 01.01.2022 and will serve for 1 year, until 31.12.2023.

Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb commander largely responsible for the Srebrenica Massacre in 1995 lost his appeal with the special UN tribunal set up to judge the case. He had been convicted on ten counts including genocide and crimes against humanity.

According to the Palestinian health authorities, during the recent clashes between Israel and Gaza, at least 254 Palestinians including 66 children were killed. This is while more than 1,900 are reported to be wounded. For 30 years, the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), a nonpolitical humanitarian relief organisation, has provided the children of Gaza with free medical care.

Your past is in front of your eyes, it’s 2014, 2012 and 2008 all over again. You cannot escape it, visual reminders are scattered all over the city.

In an article in last month’s issue of The Gordian, I highlighted some of the weaknesses of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC). Whilst these bodies are merely a part of a wider international legal system that is also governed by various treaties, conventions and accords, they are pivotal in as much as their focus is on safeguarding human life and world peace.

Is the UNSC becoming obsolete? Well, it is not that the Security Council (UNSC) is no longer fit for purpose, it has never really been designed to fit its purpose. In 1946, after the League of Nations ceased its operations, the Security Council was invested with most of the power of the brand new organisation, the United Nations.

Join this practical and informative online workshop, which will culminate in a published article in The Gordian. In the space of just five lessons, starting on the first of July, Adrian Liberto, author, journalist, a former professor at the American University of Rome and current editor-in-chief of the Gordian Magazine, will teach you how to overcome your weaknesses in writing. Adrian will use his vast reserves of experience and enthusiasm to give you an overall assessment of your writing strengths and weaknesses and how to maximise the former and overcome the latter.

Battling for universally affordable and available vaccines The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights released a Statement on May 11 calling for COVID-19 vaccines to be universally affordable and accessible. The five-page document covered all the main issues comprehensively and with refreshing lucidity.

War is an unacceptable way of resolving differences, or crimes committed by one country against another. In this issue of The Gordian, we discuss a solutions towards comprehensive global justice. We also take a closer look at the crimes committed by Israel and the UN Security Council. This issue contains exclusive reports by our Administrator, Ruby Goldenberg, our literary editor, Alex Liberto, our treasurer, Jonna Lappalainen and other UN-aligned members, namely Carla Pietrobattista and Anahita Ahmadi. The editors are Adrian Liberto and Ariana Yekrangi.

Humanity has created a biased, self-serving 'doppelgänger' of true justice through flawed laws, a concept explored here in relation to institutions like the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.