Robert McMahon

Also by Robert McMahon

• September 15, 2004

  Iraq: UN Envoy Says 'Climate Of Fear' Remains Entrenched

  The Iraqi charge d'affaires said terrorists will work to prevent the elections from happening The UN's special envoy in Iraq says the country's political transition remains fragile and has expressed concern about meeting the timetable for elections. Envoy Ashraf Qazi told the UN Security Council that Iraq's political process must be broadened and include some of the groups involved in an ongoing series of attacks. Qazi was joined by the Iraqi and U.S. envoys to the UN in appealing for contributions to a UN protection force to safeguard the election planning process.

• September 10, 2004

  UN: Russian Statement On Preemption Revives Focus On UN Role

  Do governments have the right to strike preemptively to prevent terrorist attacks? Russia's assertion of the right to launch preventive attacks against terrorists outside the country has raised new questions about whether the war on terror is eroding international law. The UN Charter permits states to act in self-defense in the event of attack. But following policy shifts by Russia and the United States, UN experts say there is need for more clarification on the issue of preemptive strikes. A UN expert group formed after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq is expected to issue recommendations soon on the matter.

• September 09, 2004

  UN: Powell Calls Darfur Atrocities 'Genocide,' As Debate Begins On New Resolution

  Darfur refugees in Chad (file photo) U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said today that genocide has occurred in Sudan's western Darfur region. It is not immediately clear what this designation will lead to, but Powell's comments come as the United States circulates a new draft resolution in the UN Security Council that seeks stronger measures to end the rampant human rights abuses still being committed in Sudan. The resolution includes a reference for the first time to sanctions on Sudan's oil trade and a call for bolstering international monitors there. The Security Council is due to discuss the draft today.

• September 03, 2004

  U.S.: Jeers For UN Amid National Security Talk At Convention

  The UN was booed at the Republican convention Prominent Republicans speaking at this week's party convention have generated some of their biggest reactions at the expense of the United Nations. Their comments are rooted in Republican anger at resistance in the UN Security Council to the war on Iraq 18 months ago. But the Bush administration remains closely engaged with the United Nations on several fronts crucial to U.S. national security, indicating that criticisms of the UN at the convention are more about politics than policy.

• September 03, 2004

  U.S.: Bush Vows To Build Safer World, 'Free Societies' In Mideast

  U.S. President George W. Bush has begun the final phase of his reelection campaign vowing to spend a second term pushing forward his Middle East democracy initiative. Bush told an enthusiastic crowd at his Republican Party nominating convention that his government's antiterrorism strategy is succeeding and that, if elected, he will remain on the offensive.

• September 02, 2004

  U.S.: Muslims Present At Republican Convention, But Influence Unclear

  Muslim-Americans voted in favor of George W. Bush's presidency four years ago. But opinion surveys indicate that since then he has alienated many of them through the antiterror policies that followed 11 September 2001. At the Republican Party's convention in New York this week, Muslims made a notable early appearance, but their overall presence has been low-key. Arab-American party activists, who form a larger presence at the convention, say they believe a second Bush administration would address civil liberty issues at home and press Middle East peace.

• September 01, 2004

  U.S.: Former Rights Official Discusses Challenges In Central Asia, Iraq

  The U.S. State Department's former top human rights official, Lorne Craner, spent much of the past three years grappling with the challenge of pressing reforms with new U.S. allies in the war on terror. During his final few months in office this year, the State Department de-certified Uzbekistan for economic aid and helped censure Turkmenistan in the UN Human Rights Commission. Craner says such actions demonstrate that, despite accusations to the contrary, the Bush administration has maintained human rights as a foreign policy priority. Craner talked with RFE/RL on the sidelines of the Republican Party convention in New York.

• August 31, 2004

  U.S.: Bush Hailed For Wartime Leadership At Party Convention

  U.S. President George W. Bush (file photo) Top officials of the Republican Party have kicked off their four-day convention by saluting U.S. President George W. Bush as an unwavering wartime leader. Two featured speakers -- Arizona Senator John McCain and former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani -- defended Bush's counterterrorism policies and the decision to go to war to topple Saddam Hussein. There were frequent references to the terrorist attacks that struck the host city three years ago.

• August 30, 2004

  Sudan: Darfur Crisis Highlights Struggle Over Genocide, Intervention

  Ten years after the Rwanda genocide, human rights watchdogs are concerned that history is repeating itself in Sudan. Despite months of reports about atrocities committed against civilians in the western region of Darfur, the UN Security Council has so far been unwilling to authorize an intervention to stop the violence, responsible for the world's worst current humanitarian crisis. This is in part because of a lack of consensus over whether genocide is occurring. Rights experts say international action is needed, regardless of how the situation is defined.

• August 27, 2004

  U.S.: Republicans Prepare To Nominate Bush In Nervous New York

  George W. Bush (file photo) The Republican Party begins its four-day convention in New York on 30 August, aiming to boost U.S. President George W. Bush in his tight race against Democratic challenger John Kerry. Foreign policy and national security issues will dominate the event, similar to the Democratic Party convention in Boston. But the streets of the city are expected to be far noisier, with demonstrations led by anti-Bush activists.

• August 26, 2004

  Pakistan: Islamabad Says UN Calls for More Border Security 'Unfair'

  The UN's chief envoy in Afghanistan has called for greater security to safeguard Afghanistan's upcoming elections. But Jean Arnault's appeal prompted a strong reaction from Pakistan, which said it is already making considerable efforts to secure its border. Pakistan's UN ambassador told a UN Security Council briefing yesterday that most of Afghanistan's security problems are internal and that the international community needs to provide greater assistance to protect against interference in the October presidential polls.

• August 25, 2004

  U.S./Iraq: Panel Finds No Evidence Pentagon Condoned Abuse At Abu Ghurayb

  An independent panel has found no evidence that top U.S. defense officials allowed or encouraged the abuse of inmates by U.S. guards at Iraq's Abu Ghurayb prison. The panel yesterday said blame rests primarily with military commanders at the scene. But as RFE/RL reports, the investigation, commissioned by the Pentagon, faults officials in Washington for failing to correct problems that contributed to the abusive atmosphere at the prison.

• August 24, 2004

  U.S.: Washington Denies Policy Shift On Israeli Settlement Activity

  The U.S. State Department says the Bush administration remains committed to a freeze of all settlement activity in Israel's occupied territories, a crucial part of the dormant Middle East peace plan. A department official reiterated U.S. policy in response to new Israeli settlement plans that appeared to gain Washington's approval. Palestinian officials expressed concern that a shift in U.S. policy on settlement activity would shatter remaining hopes for the peace process.

• August 19, 2004

  U.S.: New Poll Shows Iraq, National Security Key To Presidential Race

  Is George W. Bush viewed as stronger on foreign policy than John Kerry? Ten weeks before the U.S. presidential elections, dissatisfaction with events in Iraq remains high and foreign policy and security issues dominate U.S. voters' concerns more than during any election year since the height of the Vietnam War in 1972. But it's not clear whether President George W. Bush or Senator John Kerry -- his Democratic rival for the White House -- will benefit the most from these attitudes. That's the finding of a major new public opinion poll that also found strong support for tough antiterrorism measures as well as a growing divide between members of the two main political parties on foreign policy.

• August 13, 2004

  Kosovo: Under Mounting Criticism, UN Considers Changes To Policy

  Can the UN prevent further outbreaks of ethnic violence? (file photo) The United Nations is facing some of its most intense scrutiny over the administration of Kosovo. Serbs and ethnic Albanian leaders -- barely in dialogue with each other -- see the UN as unfit to run the province. UN Security Council members are pressing for policy changes to maintain their goal of a multi-ethnic entity. A number of outside experts, meanwhile, regard the Security Council's mandate for Kosovo as an inherent contradiction that must be revised soon.

• August 12, 2004

  Iraq: Laws Of War Tested Amid Battle Near Al-Najaf Holy Sites

  Al-Sadr's insurgents Under the international laws concerning war and cultural heritage property, U.S. forces would appear to have the right to attack holy sites used by Shi'a fighters in Al-Najaf. A global convention says cultural property that has been converted to military usage by one side in a conflict -- which U.S. officials say has happened at the Imam Ali Mosque -- may become the target of military action by the other side. But U.S. forces remain wary of the consequences of a major attack on the mosque.

• August 10, 2004

  Iraq: UN Panel Says Oil-For-Food Probe To Take Much Longer Than Expected

  UN Security Council (file photo) The head of an independent panel investigating corruption in the United Nations' "oil-for-food" program for Iraq says it may take another year to produce its main findings. Paul Volcker, former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, told reporters it is too early to make any conclusions about abuses of the program because of the vast amount of data his team must sort through. Volcker also rejected charges that UN officials were trying to block the investigation and said he has received full cooperation from Iraqi officials.

• August 05, 2004

  UN: Security Council Members Press Belgrade To Support Kosovo Polls

  UN Security Council Representatives of the United States and key European states on the UN Security Council today urged leaders of Serbia and Montenegro to drop a call for a boycott of local elections in Kosovo in October. The Security Council members stressed that minority Kosovar Serbs can only play a role in shaping local government in the province by participating in the polls. As RFE/RL reports, their failure to participate in the 23 October elections would be a setback to the international community's efforts to build a multiethnic society in Kosovo.

• August 05, 2004

  Iraq: Lacking Special Force, UN To Rely On U.S.-Led Troops

  Will the new UN envoy to Iraq be in the same danger as the last one? United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says no countries have yet committed troops to a special protection force envisioned for UN experts guiding Iraq's democratic reform process. That will force UN officials to rely on the U.S.-led multinational force for protection, possibly compromising its ability to be seen as an independent actor in Iraq's postconflict rebuilding efforts. Annan's new envoy is to arrive in the country almost exactly one year after the UN suffered its worst-ever attack there.

• August 03, 2004

  UN: Annan Expresses Concern About Minority Rights In Kosovo

  UN leader Annan United Nations, 3 August 2004 (RFE/RL) -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has expressed renewed concern about a lack of progress on reforms in Kosovo and appealed to ethnic Albanian leaders to improve conditions for minorities. Annan devotes much of a new 16-page report to urging improvements for minorities, including freedom of movement, employment opportunities and media treatment.

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