This online panel will explore key questions on the future of American foreign policy and its implications on global security.

News from the United Nations

• Will those responsible for atrocities in Syria finally face justice? January 18, 2025
  Hopes are rising that, with the support of the United Nations, the architects of the brutal former regime of Bashar al Assad in Syria will eventually be held accountable for their crimes.
• Security Council briefed on challenges to peacekeeping in Lebanon, Syria January 17, 2025
  Two senior UN peacekeeping officials briefed the Security Council on Friday on recent developments in Lebanon and the occupied Syrian Golan, and the challenges facing “blue helmets” serving there. 
• Gaza ceasefire could boost aid deliveries to 600 trucks per day: WHO January 17, 2025
  Amid reports that Israel’s security cabinet has given the green light to a ceasefire deal with Hamas, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) expressed cautious optimism on Friday over the potentially major boost to aid relief in the devastated enclave.
• Sudan war becomes more deadly as ethnically motivated attacks rise January 17, 2025
  The conflict in Sudan is taking an “even more dangerous turn for civilians”, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said on Friday. 
• Relentless crisis in Haiti: One in eight children internally displaced January 17, 2025
  The humanitarian crisis in Haiti has reached a critical point, with one in eight children now internally displaced due to escalating violence fuelled by armed groups who continue to control most of the capital, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).  
• In Lebanon, Guterres highlights challenges and support for peacekeepers January 17, 2025
  Continuing his high profile visit to Lebanon, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday underscored the challenges faced by UN peacekeepers and reiterated the organization’s commitment to supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces.
• World News in Brief: Antisemitism action plan, DR Congo violence escalates, new migration movie, year of ‘peace and trust’ January 17, 2025
  The UN launched a new Action Plan on Friday that will enhance monitoring and response to antisemitism.
• UNRWA chief: Ceasefire is the start, not the solution January 17, 2025
  Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) on Friday welcomed the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, pledging to scale up aid delivery across the stricken enclave once it comes into effect.
• UN stands with Ukrainians for the long-term, insists UN aid chief January 16, 2025
  The embattled people of Ukraine and those forced abroad need $3.32 billion in lifesaving and sustained humanitarian assistance to help them cope as a fourth year of war looms after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, UN aid chiefs said on Thursday. 
• UN human rights chief hails ‘signs of new beginnings’ in Lebanon and Syria January 16, 2025
  The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed solidarity with the people of Lebanon and Syria on Thursday, acknowledging the traumas both nations have endured over decades.