Russia took over the chairmanship of the UN Security Council (UNSC) June 1, and Ugandan Minister of Foreign Affairs Sam Kutesa took over the Presidency of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) June 11. One of these nations is currently at the top of world headlines for aggression in Ukraine, and both have recently made headlines for passing strict anti-gay legislation–in contravention of and threatening the guarantees of the UN Charter of Rights and Freedoms, according to top UN representatives. When Russia passed anti-gay laws before the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, the UN took several measures to condemn the laws. “The United Nations
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UN Security Council and UN General Assembly Now Led by Two Countries Condemned Strongly by UN for Passing Strict Anti-Gay Laws, Threatening Human Rights, With Elections of Kutesa and Churkin
UN Security Council Votes to Lift “Conflict Diamonds” and Arms Bans for Cote d’Ivoire
The 15-member UN Security Council unanimously voted to lift the 2005 resolution banning rough diamond imports from Cote d’Ivoire, as well as partially lift the 2004 arms embargo on the West African nation. A review of progress made by the Republic of the Ivory Coast showed that the nation had made headway towards the 2003 Kimberley Process Certification Scheme implementation and better governance of the sector, which had aimed to prevent conflict diamonds from entering mainstream markets. Another review–of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) of combatants as well as security sector reform (SSR), national reconciliation and the fight against
UNSC Members 2014 and Links to their UN News Sites
A list of the 15 United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members in 2014, linked to their UN news site: China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, United States (5 permanent members), Argentina (2014) Australia (2014) Chad (2015) Chile (2015) Jordan (2015) Lithuania (2015) Luxembourg (2014) Nigeria (2015) Republic of Korea (2014) Rwanda (2014) (10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly (with end of term date). UN