Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters World News and Opinion

I caught up with Estonia's top military commander General Martin Herem at the Halifax International Security Forum in November. Estonia is a NATO member that borders Russia and I was interested in drawing out General Herem's perspective on the conflict in Ukraine. 
We kick off with General Herem's military and strategic analysis of the current state of play of the war in Ukraine. We then have an extended conversation about the implications of a long and drawn out war for frontline countries like Estonia -- and for Europe more broadly. He explains what he believes Ukraine needs to break the current military impasse, and why a long war in Ukraine undermines Estonian security. 
https://www.globaldispatches.org/ 
 
 

There is a mounting humanitarian emergency on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Since October, hundreds of thousands of Afghans living in Pakistan have fled back to Afghanistan. They are being forcibly repatriated by the Pakistani government which began a crackdown on so-called illegal immigrants, compelling the expulsion of over three hundred thousand Afghans in just the last few weeks. 
On the line to explain the unfolding humanitarian crisis is Samira Sayed-Rahman, director of policy advocacy and communications for The International Rescue Committee in Afghanistan. We kick off discussing the reasons for Pakistan's sudden crackdown and then discuss the crisis this is generating inside Afghanistan. We also discuss the complications of international humanitarian relief work in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
 
 

This episode of Global Dispatches was recorded as a live taping of the podcast, produced in partnership with CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future dedicated to transforming food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis. Global Dispatches and CGIAR are partnering on a series of episodes about the nexus between climate and security.
In our conversation today expert panelists discuss the multiple benefits of climate adaptation for disaster related displacement.  The episode kicks off with some opening remarks from, Peter Laderach, Co-lead CGIAR Climate Security, Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT
 I then moderate a panel discussion featuring :
Michelle Yonetani, Senior Policy Officer, Office of the Special Advisor to the High Commissioner on Climate Action, UNHCR 
Sandra Ruckstuhl, Senior Researcher, International Water Management Institute and Co-lead, CGIAR Fragility, Conflict and Migration Initiative
Tasneem Siddiqui, Professor, University of Dhaka  
Raphaela Shveiger, Yale World Fellow, Yale University
 

I caught up with Congressman Jason Crow at the Halifax International Security Forum, a major global security conference held each year in Nova Scotia that brings together military leaders, politicians, media and civil society groups from democratic countries. Congressman Crow is a Democrat from Colorado, first elected in 2019 and someone widely viewed as a rising star in national security and foreign policy circles. We discuss the Israel-Palestine crisis, kicking off with a question about the propriety of calling for a ceasefire. We then discuss the impact this crisis is having in the broader Middle East, on domestic politics in the United States --  and why Israel should not repeat the mistakes of the US War on Terror.  
 

This episode was recorded as a live taping of the podcast, produced in partnership with CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future dedicated to transforming food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis.
It is part of a series of episodes about the nexus between climate and security, and in our conversation today expert panelists discuss the multiple benefits of climate Adaptation for Peace Building and Human Security. The episode kicks off with some opening remarks from,
Cesare Scartozzi, Climate Finance and Peace Specialist, Senior research fellow, CGIAR/Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT
 I then moderate a panel discussion featuring :
Grazia Pacillo,   Senior Scientist and co-lead CGIAR FOCUS - Climate Security
Catherine Wong, Team Leader for Climate and Security Risk at the United Nations Development Programme
Helana de Jong is Senior Specialist for Fragility with the COP28 UAE Presidency
 

The election of judges to the International Court of Justice can be a hotly contested affair. The ICJ — sometimes referred to as the World Court — is one of the six main organs of the United Nations and it is empowered to adjudicate legal disputes between UN member states. This can range from territorial disputes among friendly neighbors like Belize and Honduras, to accusations of genocide.

The decisions handed down by the court are legally binding, though in practice sometimes countries simply ignore the them. Still, it is a powerful institution. Just 15 elected justices have the ability to decide major disputes in international affairs. Accordingly, countries tend to lobby hard to get their nationals a seat on the court.

Judges are elected to nine year terms in a somewhat convoluted process that includes simultaneous votes at the General Assembly and the Security Council. To win, each judge needs an absolute majority in both chambers, so 8 affirmative votes in the Security Council and 97 votes in the General Assembly. Vetos from permanent members of the Security Council don’t factor into this process.

In the vote last week, there were nine candidates vying for five open seats — including an American and a Russian.

In light of recent events, I thought it might be instructive to look at the vote totals to see what conclusions could be drawn about how the Israel-Palestine crisis is impacting sentiments at the General Assembly?