Navigating the UN Charter
It's Wednesday at 8:29 AM. What does it mean to navigate the UN Charter? Well, there are two ways to think about this. For example, what does it mean to navigate the ocean, and what does it mean to navigate the USS Ocean? It's my job to navigate the Discerning Hermit blog through the waters of UN Charter implementation and reform. What did I last write of high-level importance on this issue? That would probably be Exploring My Doubt, Reason, and Faith in a Reforming UN Charter, which I published on 14 May 2025 (also a Wednesday morning, but I don't want to fall into the trap of generalizing a Wednesday morning UN Charter review session into the rest of my summer quarter calendar as a consequence of the coincidence. I've made that kind of mistake in the past. What is apophenia and what is sound inductive reasoning? It can be hard for me to tell).
Now it's 8:48 AM. I want to review everything I have thus far blogged about UN Charter navigation, and relabel all of it, but that is a backlog issue, and it will take more time than I feel like I have this morning. Instead, I will move on to a review of the UN Web TV schedule, and then the UN News landing page, and see where things stand after that.
Okay, the first thing I notice is a UN Security Council meeting at 3 PM that I feel I need to observe in real-time: The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question - Security Council, 9959th meeting | UN Web TV. So much for the self-care!
Then I absorb all the images and headlines at UN News | Global perspective Human stories for about ten minutes before clicking on one story to read in depth.
In general, I think the 2030 SDGs should have been simpler (7 or 11 goals in all) and more coherent. But that is water under the bridge. What is the SDG plan for 2045 and/or 2050? New goals or the same goals? I don't think we know yet. China has a 2049 Dream (cf. Chinese Dream | Wikipedia) and a 2060 Net Zero Plan (cf. China | Climate Action Tracker). In America, the Democrats have a 2050 Net Zero Plan (cf. Climate Crisis | United States Department of State and USA | Climate Action Tracker). Republicans deny the existence of a climate crisis and have a relatively weak 2050 nuclear energy plan, perhaps as a result (Trump aims for 400 GW of nuclear by 2050, 10 large reactors under construction by 2030 | Utility Dive).
Does the USA have a binding net zero 2050 greenhouse gas emissions commitment, under domestic and international law? On the domestic front, no. Congress has not passed a 2050 net zero commitment, unlike the UK and France, both of which have enacted legally binding net zero 2050 targets. Russia and China have both voiced international pledges to reach net zero by 2060, but they have not enshrined these targets into domestic law. As far as international law is concerned, we are expecting the International Court of Justice to release what could be a landmark advisory opinion about climate change and states' obligations next Wednesday 23 July 2025 at 9 AM Eastern Time, 3 PM CEST (cf. Expert Availability: World Court to Deliver Landmark Ruling on Climate Change and States' Obligations | Center for International Environmental Law).
On the Iran file, I note with approval Iran faces snapback sanctions if no nuclear deal by August by Barak Ravid at Axios. It looks like there is an escalation between Israel and Syria underway, but I don't have time to consider that just yet.
Turning to Ukraine, I note with regret the logical necessity of Trump to supply missiles to Ukraine, gives Russia 50-day ultimatum. Russia seems to be concerned about the potential for a full-scale invasion by Europe: Prospects for resuming Russia-Europe dialogue exist | TASS. Is that how the Russia-Ukraine War will end?
Alright, it's 11:54 AM and I need to wrap up for lunch and a nap before I turn my attention specifically to the Times of Israel at 2 PM and then the UN Security Council meeting at 3 PM. There is a chance, however, that I will skip the nap and listen to some YouTube briefings instead. I promise to keep you posted if that happens.
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