This paper charts the milestones in the oft demanded structural and functional reforms of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). A body originally conceived as the guardian of international ...political stability, more than half century later, “the UNSC (still) remains the most authoritative institution on international peace and security issues”. The clarion calls for reform, since the last century, underscore the importance of the UNSC for the sustenance and legitimacy of rule-based international order. The 2005 World Summit outcome document states that, through reform the Council can be made “broadly representative, efficient and transparent and thus to enhance its effectiveness and the legitimacy and implementation of its decisions”.
Uranium mono-nitride (UN) microspheres are expected to play an important role in various miniaturization module reactors. The combination of UN core and tri-structural-isotropic (TRISO) coatings will ...bring improved efficiency and safety. Carbon-containing gel microspheres were prepared by external gelation, followed by carbothermal reduction and nitridation to synthesize UN. The effects of C/U molar ratios and heat-treatment schemes on the composition and microstructures of UN microspheres were studied. The results indicated that the external gelation could be used to prepare UN microspheres, with the highest UN content of 93 wt%.
Human Rights at Risk Hafner-Burton, Emilie M; ten Napel, Hans-Martien; Davis, Jeffrey ...
2022, 2022-06-17
eBook
Human Rights at Risk brings together social scientists, legal scholars, and humanities scholars to analyze the policy challenges of human rights protection in the twenty-first century. The volume is ...organized based on three overarching themes that highlight the challenges and risks in international human rights: international institutions and global governance of human rights; thematic blind spots in human rights protection; and the human rights challenges of the United States as a global and domestic actor amidst the contemporary global shifts to authoritarianism and illiberal populism. One of the very few books that offer new perspectives that envision the future of transnational human rights norms and human dignity from a multidisciplinary perspective, Human Rights at Risk comprehensively examines the causes and consequences of the challenges faced by international human rights. Scholars, students, and policy practitioners who are interested in the challenges and reform prospects of the international human rights regime, United States foreign policy, and international institutions will find this multidisciplinary volume an invaluable guide to the state of global politics in the twenty-first century.
The expansion of irrigated agriculture is of paramount importance to feed the burgeoning global population. However, without proper management, this expansion can result in environmental problems of ...irrigation-induced soil salinization. A recent FAO estimate reported that a large portion of total global soil resources are degraded and this problem is persistently expanding. Many irrigated areas of the world are facing the twin problems of soil salinization and waterlogging and presently over 20% of the total global irrigated area is negatively affected by these problems. And, if left unattended, this problem could expand to over 50% of the total global irrigated areas by 2050. The proper management of the aforementioned soil salinization is imperative for achieving most of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. For example, soil salinization management is vital for achieving the ‘Zero Hunger’ (SDG2) and ‘Life on Land’ (SDG15) among other SDGs. This paper provides a comprehensive review of different measures used for managing the environmental problems of soil salinization. All the possible sources of related and up to date literature have been accessed and over 250 publications were collected and thoroughly analyzed for this review. The centrality of the environmental problems is provided. The background of the problems, managing rising water table to control soil salinization, the role of drainage frameworks, the conjunctive use of diverse water sources, utilization of numerical models, and the use of remote sensing and GIS systems are described. And the application of the aforementioned techniques and methods in various case study regions across the globe are discussed which is followed by discussion and research gaps. Derived from the literature analysis and based on the identified research gaps, some key recommendations for future research have been made which could be useful for the stakeholders. The literature analysis revealed that an all-inclusive approach for dealing with the aforesaid environmental problems has been barely considered in the previous studies. Similarly, the continuing impacts of growing salt-tolerant plants on soil characteristics and the environment in total have not been widely considered in the previous investigations. Likewise, better irrigation practices and improved cropping systems along with the long-term environmental impacts of a particular approach has not been extensively covered in these studies. Also, previous studies have scarcely incorporated economic, social, and environmental aspects of the salinization problem altogether in their analysis. The analysis suggested that an inclusive feedback-supported simulation model for managing soil salinization should be considered in future research as the existing models scarcely considered some vital aspects of the problem. It is also suggested to enhance the sensing methods besides retrieval systems to facilitate direct detection of salinization and waterlogging parameters at large-scales. The existing time-lag between occurrence and recording of various data is also suggested to improve in the future scenario by the usage of information from multiple satellites that lessens the problems of spatial resolution by increasing the system efficiency.
Display omitted
•Diverse measures for soil salinization management to achieve UN’ SDGs are provided.•Backdrop and rationale of soil salinization and rising watertable issues are given.•Use of numerical models and remote sensing and GIS in managing salinity are given.•Use of diverse measures in numerous case study areas across the globe is described.•Knowledge gaps are recognized and suggestions for future research have been made.
Abstract
In international politics, governments may tend to favor countries with which they share some degree of cultural affinity. Moreover, international organizations can strengthen solidarity ...among their members. Not surprisingly, Muslim countries, which came together under the umbrella of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), frequently state that they pursue Muslim solidarity in international politics. By looking at voting preferences of OIC member Muslim countries in the UN General Assembly about the selection of nonpermanent UN Security Council members, this article aims to understand Muslim solidarity in international politics. For this, the article uses newspaper reports, political statements, secret intelligence reports, and interviews regarding the votes of Muslim countries in contested elections in which a Muslim country competed with its non-Muslim rival for the same Security Council seat.
A brief history, an overview of the workplan, some caveats and several concerns and risks of the Decade are presented together with what WPHNA thinks needs change for the remainng years of the Decade.
Existing research on the legitimacy of the UN Security Council is conceptual or theoretical, for the most part, as scholars tend to make legitimacy assessments with reference to objective standards. ...Whether UN member states perceive the Security Council as legitimate or illegitimate has yet to be investigated systematically; nor do we know whether states care primarily about the Council's compliance with its legal mandate, its procedures, or its effectiveness. To address this gap, our article analyzes evaluative statements made by states in UN General Assembly debates on the Security Council, for the period 1991-2009. In making such statements, states confer legitimacy on the Council or withhold legitimacy from it. We conclude the following: First, the Security Council suffers from a legitimacy deficit because negative evaluations of the Council by UN member states far outweigh positive ones. Nevertheless, the Council does not find itself in an intractable legitimacy crisis because it still enjoys a rudimentary degree of legitimacy. Second, the Council's legitimacy deficit results primarily from states' concerns regarding the body's procedural shortcomings. Misgivings as regards shortcomings in performance rank second. Whether or not the Council complies with its legal mandate has failed to attract much attention at all.
•Microplastics (MPs) ‒ PET, PVC, and PS ‒ disrupt microalgal metabolism.•MPs affect microalgal carbon allocation thereby impacting bioeconomy.•MPs pollution is linked so far typically to UN SDG 14 ...(Life Below Water).•Microalgae–MPs interactions significantly impact additional five SDGs.•Understanding microalgae–MPs interactions aids sustainable future strategies.
Microplastics (MPs) are one of the emerging pollutants, causing potential harm to aquatic ecosystems and serious concern in achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Realizing the occurrence of varying concentrations of MPs in the environment, this investigation presents multi-dimensional insights into the ecological and bioeconomic implications at environmentally relevant concentrations. We pursued a multi-step approach to gain a comprehensive understanding on the effects of microalgae‒MPs interactions and their expansive implications toward SDGs. Baseline data generated using a model microalga, Raphidocelis subcapitata, and three MPs (polyethylene terephthalate, PET; polyvinyl chloride, PVC; and polystyrene, PS) indicated 10‒15% reduction in microalgal growth rate relative to the control, pointing to a heightened energy demand. The biochemical impacts displayed concentration-dependent variability. Using the baseline data, we developed a linear regression model to dissect the interaction effects around the primary dimensions of Ecology and Bioeconomy. Notably, a correlation matrix for carbon allocation pinpointed PET as having a more pronounced impact compared to PVC and PS, with the model accounting for 33.72% of the observed variance. Extending our insights from the model, we adopted an evidence-based methodology to outline the broader implications across the Ecology and Bioeconomy domains, and subsequently identified their associations with specific SDGs. Further probing into microalgae‒MPs interaction effects at environmentally relevant concentration, our model revealed that the selected MPs perturbed the ecological variables. Interestingly, when carbon allocation was assessed to study bioeconomic implications, there were contrasting effects on starch synthesis (beneficially) and lipid synthesis (detrimentally). The present combined analysis revealed that MPs, beyond their traditional association with SDG 14 (Life Below Water), directly and indirectly affect five other SDGs through their interactions with microalgae. This study thus underscores the complex and interconnected nature of MPs pollution at environmentally relevant concentrations and their impacts on ecological and bioeconomic aspects of SDGs, thereby highlighting the urgent need for additional research and effective mitigation strategies.
Display omitted
