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\u003ch5\u003e\u003ca href=\u0022/people/directing-staff/kori-schake\u0022\u003eKori Schake\u003c/a\u003e: Snarling Trump isolated on Iran\u003c/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDonald Trump reprised the dark tenor of his General Assembly performance last year, snarling about globalists impinging on national sovereignty and putting the world on notice that the US intends to safeguard its autonomy.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe impact was on display at the Security Council meeting President Trump chaired, at which no country was willing to support his call for action against Iran. America First appears to be America alone. The consequences of a more unilateral and lonely US are likely to be felt beyond America’s shores, however, in opportunities for collective action that will not be undertaken without US leadership.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\u0022/people/conflict-security-and-development/shiloh-fetzek\u0022\u003eShiloh Fetzek\u003c/a\u003e: More states cite climate change as a security threat\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eClimate change was identified in high-level \u003ca href=\u0022https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/09/1020662\u0022\u003espeeches\u003c/a\u003e and meetings as a pressing security issue that the UN must strengthen its capacity to manage. A wider range of countries has been vocal about the nature of the challenge ahead, while the UN Secretary General called climate a \u0027\u003ca href=\u0022https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/speeches/2018-09-25/address-73rd-general-assembly\u0022\u003edirect existential threat\u003c/a\u003e\u0027. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eObjections to framing climate change as a security issue within the UN system have abated in recent years. This is due in part to a concerted effort by Sweden, the Netherlands and other outgoing Security Council members to make the case for a better understanding of how climate-related factors have driven instability in \u003ca href=\u0022http://www.pnas.org/content/112/11/3241\u0022\u003eSyria\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\u0022https://www.adelphi.de/en/system/files/mediathek/bilder/Lake Chad Region - Climate related security risk assessment.pdf\u0022\u003eLake Chad\u003c/a\u003e, as well as other crises within the Council’s remit.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese efforts are beginning to pay off. The chairman of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Ischinger, chaired a meeting of the 30-state \u003ca href=\u0022https://new-york-un.diplo.de/un-en/news-corner/klima-sicherheit-freundesgruppe-deutschland/2141522\u0022\u003eGroup of Friends on Climate Change and Security\u003c/a\u003e, led by newly-elected Security Council members Germany and Nauru. This group will continue the drive to establish an institutional home for climate security at the UN.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003ca href=\u0022/people/conflict-security-and-development/virginia-comolli\u0022\u003eVirginia Comolli\u003c/a\u003e: Call for action on slavery and people trafficking\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn recent years the United Kingdom has been a leading force in the fight against modern slavery, with steps including the Modern Slavery Act in 2015 and Prime Minister Theresa May’s global call to action at last year’s General Assembly (now endorsed by 77 countries). At this year’s summit, the UK presented a new set of \u003ca href=\u0022https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-agrees-principles-for-tackling-modern-slavery-in-supply-chains\u0022\u003eprinciples\u003c/a\u003e that it has developed with the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, to prevent forced labour in the private and public sector.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUK International Development Secretary \u003ca href=\u0022https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/penny-mordaunt-speech-on-modern-slavery-at-unga-2018\u0022\u003ePenny Mordaunt\u003c/a\u003e highlighted some shocking statistics: ‘At least 40 million victims of modern slavery, 25 million victims of forced labour, and – perhaps the most troubling – one in four victims of modern slavery is a child.’ To address this scourge, she continued, ‘we have to tackle the root causes of instability and extremism that fuel people trafficking. That means promoting political stability and economic growth.’\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe summit also saw the launch of the \u003ca href=\u0022http://www.financialsectorcommission.org/\u0022\u003eFinancial Sector Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\u0022/people/middle-east/elisabeth-marteu\u0022\u003eElisabeth Marteu\u003c/a\u003e: No move towards Israel–Palestine peace\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIsrael’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his appreciation to President Trump for the unprecedented support the US has given Israel at the UN. This has included Washington’s withdrawal from UN science and culture body UNESCO and the UN Human Rights Council, and the recent US funding cut for \u003ca href=\u0022https://www.iiss.org/blogs/analysis/2018/09/trump-unrwa-aid-cut\u0022\u003eUNWRA\u003c/a\u003e, the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile praising the obvious pro-Israel policy of the Trump administration, Netanyahu criticised those who accused Israel of ‘racism’ and ‘apartheid’, especially after controversial moves to declare Israel the nation state of the Jewish people.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMeanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas repeated that there would be no peace without an independent Palestinian state. He declared that ‘Jerusalem is not for sale’, and warned of an approaching one-state reality and of a Palestinian Authority ‘without any authority’. The Israeli and Palestinian leader’s speeches confirmed the absence of any prospect of peace and, therefore, the incongruity of the \u003ca href=\u0022https://www.iiss.org/blogs/analysis/2018/08/americas-flawed-israel-palestine-peace-plan\u0022\u003eso-called US peace plan\u003c/a\u003e that President Trump has promised, once again, to release within months.\u003c/p\u003e","className":"richtext reading--content font-secondary"}), document.getElementById("react_gplzIiwKokGOEqR1wxig"))});
Our experts pick out agenda-setting global security issues from the recent United Nations General Assembly in New York.
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