The UN & Human Rights, Conflict Mediation, and Democratiya

The UN & Human Rights, Conflict Mediation, and Democratiya

David Ginsberg at Partnership for a Secure America highlights an interesting WorldPublicOpinion.org survey on Muslim Perceptions of the UN. The organization polled Muslims from several countries, finding, “there is widespread support for a more active UN with much broader powers than it has today. On the other hand, there is a perception that the UN is dominated by the US and there is dissatisfaction with UN performance on several fronts…”   Notably, 63% of those surveyed said they would like to see the UN do more “to promote human rights principles.”


On a related note, Michael Bauer and Julia-Kristina Ismar at the Center for Applied Policy and Research at the University of Munich co-authored a paper entitled, “Regional Problems–Regional Solutions? Taking stock of the recent mediation efforts in the Middle East” that covers conflicts in Israel-Palestine, HAMAS & Fatah, Lebanon, Israel-Syria.  The paper examines recent regional efforts at mediation played by countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Yemen, and Qatar, as well as the role of the European Union.


And the Winter 2008 issue of Democratiya is out, tackling three topics, Islamism, Obama, and Afghanistan, over the course of several articles.