My PoA Top Ten

The Ten Dumbest Things I Heard About Guns at the United Nations, Forbes, June 28, 2018. "In theory, the purpose of the PoA — which is a political instrument, not a treaty — is to encourage cooperation on the illicit international trade in small arms. If the PoA stuck to this, it might be modestly useful. It can only be modestly useful because far too many nations at the U.N. don’t right now have the ability, or the desire, to do the basic things they have repeatedly committed to do."

Yes, Get Out of the Human Rights Council

U.S Right to Quit Human Rights Panel, Newsday, June 24, 2018. "The UN Human Rights Council is a disgrace. No democracy should listen to the council, much less participate in it. The Trump administration’s decision to quit this rotten body was not merely right. It embodies the way we should treat failed international institutions."

What A Waste of Time

I’m Sitting Through One of the UN’s Most Useless Conferences. Here’s What’s Happening, Daily Signal, June 23, 2018. "or this week and the next, the United Nations is hosting a conference of its Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects—fortunately abbreviated as the PoA. Like the U.N. Human Rights Council, the PoA is a classic U.N. institution: It’s a good idea in theory, but a terrible failure in practice."

Brexit Becomes Law

Yes, Brexit Will Happen. And It Will Work, Daily Signal, June 22, 2018. "The past week has seen big, and potentially confusing, events in Great Britain’s struggle to Brexit—to regain its national independence from the European Union. As we reach the second anniversary of the Brexit referendum, which took place on June 23, 2016, here’s what has happened."

Weaponizing Interpol

Palestinians Use Interpol As A Weapon of War, Fox News, June 16, 2018. "Should the Palestinian Authority (PA) be able to use an international organization like Interpol as a weapon in its internal fights between factions? The question seems absurd. Yet it is exactly what the PA and its bombastic president, Mahmoud Abbas, are now trying to do."

Testing, Testing, One, Two, Three . . .

Do You Want Your Voice In Interpol’s Database?, Forbes, June 13, 2018. "In my last post, I pointed out that one lesson of Bill Browder's arrest in Spain last month is that the little-known system of Interpol alerts known as "diffusions" is badly in need of reform. But it’s not just the diffusion system that needs reform. We badly need a way to protect Americans — and others — from the abusive use of the Interpol system. My latest paper on Interpol proposes creating a “white list” of victims of abuse. Browder is certainly one such victim."

Answering Questions on the Browder Arrest

How Could Bill Browder Be Arrested?, Forbes, June 13, 2018. "Late last month, I analyzed Bill Browder’s brief arrest in Spain, arguing that it was likely the result of a Spanish bungle, not a new Interpol action taken at Russia’s request. This assessment has since been supported by journalists and by former Secretary-General of Interpol Ron Noble (in a tweet that Mr. Noble later deleted, perhaps after recalling that I have been one of his more severe critics). But precisely because it seems to — indeed, does — point to larger problems, the arrest has occasioned a lot of subtle politicking, which I want to call out for the sake of the unwary."

It's Expired and Gone to Meet Its Maker

Will Italy Be The Next European Domino?, Newsday, June 10, 2018. "Eight years ago, the euro and the European Union were rocked by the near-collapse of Greek finances. Since then, migrants and Russia have crowded Europe’s banks from the headlines. But as events in Italy over the past two weeks have shown, the European peril is not dead. It is only resting."

LOST at Sea

7 Reasons U.S. Should Not Ratify UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, with Brett Schaeffer and James Carafano, Heritage Foundation Commentary, June 4, 2018. "U.S. accession would provide no benefits not already available to the U.S., while creating unnecessary burdens and risks. Heritage Foundation research linked below addresses these points clearly and unequivocally."