Guest Commentary

Russia is about to formally enter the World Trade Organization. The State Duma and the Federation Council have both approved ratification documents, which were signed by the president of the Russian Federation on July 21, 2012. In August our country will become a full-fledged member of the WTO.

The Russian and Chinese veto of the United Nations Security Council draft resolution that would have declared the situation in Syria a threat to international peace and security, extended the UN diplomatic mission headed by Kofi Annan, and set the stage for new sanctions and possibly UN-authorized military action was hardly surprising. More important, it is not all that significant.

When UN chief Ban Ki-moon visits Bosnia this week, the specter of the UN’s 1995 failure in Srebrenica will rear up for not only the world body, but also Kofi Annan, the UN and Arab League envoy to Syria.

The effort to create an international Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) that would close loopholes terrorists use to arm themselves and kill our troops has been getting some attention recently in the blogosphere and on various mainstream news outlets. Sadly, some of that attention has resulted from misinformation and distortions from the gun lobby about what the ATT would and would not do.

The United States is one of Chile’s most important trading partners. The countries have formed a productive and mutually beneficial economic partnership, made possible by the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement enacted nine years ago. Today the United States is the No. 3 destination for total Chilean exports and the main destination for non-traditional exports, totaling $4.2 billion in 2011.

Revolutions are inherently chaotic, and their precise outcome is impossible to predict. Made up of a quick and inevitably violent succession of events, they result in radical and sweeping changes — hopefully for the better.

Congress appears ready to take long-overdue action to graduate Russia from the provisions of the Jackson-Vanik amendment. At the same time, both the Senate and House seem intent on coupling that with passage of the Magnitsky human-rights bill, which would sanction Russian officials involved in the 2009 death of Sergei Magnitsky in a Moscow prison. 

Unfortunately, by linking these measures, Congress will obscure the message that it seeks to send the Russian government. The two measures should be decoupled.

This week, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee is considering the first bid for a World Heritage site in the Palestinian territories at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, which marks the birthplace of Jesus Christ and hosts some of the most sacred Christmas masses in the world. 

Inclusion of the church, revered by all believers, and its surrounding pilgrimage route on the prestigious list would ensure protection of the holy site and preserve a key element of Palestine’s cultural and historical identity. But even as this happy deliberation occurs, a new resolution in the U.S. Congress, and the continued failure to achieve a workable peace in our region, threatens our very identity as a people.

The world drug problem is a challenge of global reach that adversely affects the health, safety and welfare of all mankind. It weakens the foundations of sustainable development, legal systems, political and economic stability and democratic institutions - and thus constitutes a threat to security, governance and the rule of law.

The recent political turmoil in Egypt is leading to widespread pessimism about the country’s future. Putting all the focus on the political process, however, makes the mistake of viewing elections and legislatures as the most important part of a renewed Middle East. While those institutions are important, it is impossible to imagine a path forward for the Arab Spring that does not also involve a strategy for real economic growth.