Free Republic

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- The United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly adopted a resolution demanding Israel drop its threat to "remove" Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The measure was passed in a vote of 133 to 4, with 15 abstentions. Sudan, Malaysia and 18 other nations presented the resolution to the General Assembly after a similar one was vetoed by the United States on Tuesday at the Security Council. But unlike those adopted by the 15-nation council, General Assembly resolutions are not binding.

<p>UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Arab nations plan to go to the U.N. General Assembly to ask for a resolution condemning the U.S.-British-led coalition in Iraq and calling for troop withdrawal.</p> <p>Secretary-General Kofi Annan met in New York Monday with ambassadors from Arab nations to brief them on Iraq and hear their concerns on the conflict, his spokesman said.</p>

Could the U.N. use military force to prevent the United States and Britain from waging war on Iraq without a Security Council mandate? United Nations headquarters in New York Some anti-war groups are urging the world body to invoke a little-known convention that allows the General Assembly to step in when the Security Council is at an impasse in the face of a "threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression." The willingness by the U.S. and Britain to go to war with Iraq without Security Council authorization is the kind of threat the U.N. had...

Here is the latest tactic from Greenpeace to stop the U.S. from disarming Saddam Hussein - Let the voices of the WORLD be heard Mon 17 March 2003 UNITED STATES/New York The leaders of the most powerful nations on Earth have failed us. The Security Council has failed us. The world stands on the brink of war. The UN has one last chance to stand up for peace. If ever there was a need for the United Nations to rise to the challenge it was conceived to meet, now is that time. When the majority of world opinion stands opposed...

Russia and France are threatening to veto any U.N. Security Council resolution that authorizes military action against Iraq. Is a veto the same thing as a "no" vote? For the Security Council's five permanent members, voting "nay" is, indeed, tantamount to a veto, per a rule known as "great power unanimity." The word "veto" is nowhere to be found in the U.N. Charter, but the document does mention that Security Council decisions "shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members, including the concurring votes of the permanent members." So, if permanent members China, Russia, France, Great Britain,...