UN/Treaties

Advocacy groups are worried about the first draft of the treaty has too many loopholes; deadline for approval is Friday

Home-schooling advocates, including Rick Santorum, say they are worried about “international bureaucrats” telling them how to raise their children.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice on Thursday condemned China and Russia for their veto of a U.N. Security Council resolution that threatened sanctions on Syrian President Bashar Assad, saying they prevented a peaceful solution.

Your morning global affairs speed-read

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has indefinitely postponed a markup of a United Nations treaty on the rights of people with disabilities after Republicans on the panel held it over, just two days after announcing it. The delay comes as U.S. home-schooling advocates, including former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, have been raising concerns about the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which they say would impinge on parental rights.

The treaty has several Republican champions, including Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) — they argue it would merely apply U.S. standards to the rest of the world and protect Americans with disabilities abroad — but the conservative Heritage Foundation and a handful of Senate Republicans are opposed. The delay will make it difficult for committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) to meet his goal of having the Senate pass the treaty by July 26, the 22nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Showdown at the UN: The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote today on a U.S.-backed resolution to renew the U.N. observer mission to Syria, which expires Friday. President Obama on Wednesday called Russia's President Vladimir Putin to ask for his support for the resolution, which calls for sanctions on President Bashar Assad's government if the violence continues, but Russia is seen as likely to veto the measure, which it has called "blackmail." The Hill's DEFCON Hill blog has the latest here.

Busy, busy: The House Foreign Affairs Committee has a busy day, with no fewer than three hearings. The subcommittee on terrorism hears from a panel of experts this afternoon on “the challenge of securing lethal weapons” when regimes fall, a timely discussion as Assad's government teeters in Syria.

In the morning, the full committee examines “unfair trading practices against the U.S.," such as intellectual property rights infringement, property expropriations and other barriers. In the afternoon, the global health panel examines U.S. mine pollution in Peru.

The Senate champion of the United Nations's maritime convention declared himself unfazed Monday by reports that opponents have garnered enough Republican opponents to kill the Law of the Sea Treaty if it ever comes up for a vote on the floor.

The conservative Heritage Foundation, which is leading the fight against the treaty on the grounds that it would violate U.S. sovereignty, declared victory after 34 Republicans vowed to oppose it, depriving Democrats of the two-thirds majority needed to pass a treaty.

But Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) vowed to continue pushing the treaty and hold a vote after the November election, predicting that Republicans would cave to industry groups and the Navy, who back treaty provisions.

"Senator Kerry has been here long enough to know that vote counts and letters are just a snapshot of where our politics are in this instant, and it's not news to anyone that right now we're in the middle of a white hot political campaign season where ideology is running in overdrive,” Kerry spokeswoman Jodi Seth said in a statement. “That's why Senator Kerry made it clear there wouldn't be a vote before the election and until everyone's had the chance to evaluate the treaty on the facts and the merits away from the politics of the moment.”

The State Department on Monday released its annual digest of U.S. views on international law for the year 2011, which covers the raid against Osama bin Laden and the NATO intervention in Libya.

The digest, unsurprisingly, concludes that the May 1, 2011, raid in Pakistan was “lawful.” While most of the administration's legal justifications are well known, the report does offer some insights into the disagreements with some U.S. allies about the geographic scope of the conflict against al Qaeda — the administration thinks it extends beyond “hot” battlefields like Afghanistan — while providing new details about the U.S. reaction to the so-called Arab Spring.

“The Arab Awakening presented a variety of challenges for the practice of international law in 2011,” reads the introduction to the 2011 Digest of United States Practice in International Law. “In addressing events in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, and elsewhere, the United States government carefully applied what Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has called 'smart power,' utilizing a wide array of foreign policy tools to fit the needs of the particular circumstance.”

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Opponents of the controversial Law of the Sea Treaty have secured the 34 votes needed to block ratification.

Comments from senators Thursday signal the fate of the treaty in the Senate might remain more up in the air.

Nebraska Republican Sen. Mike Johanns's decision on Thursday to oppose ratification of the controversial Law of the Sea Treaty has brought opponents of the international pact three votes away from scuttling the White House-backed deal. 

Johanns was the 31st senator to sign a letter against ratification of the global maritime deal sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) earlier this year. 

Your morning global affairs speed-read

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee this morning weighs U.S. ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which the advocacy community hopes can be passed in the Senate this month. The treaty covers rights such as equal treatment and non-discrimination in access to justice, health, education, employment and rehabilitation.

Advocates argue it wouldn't create substantial new burdens for the United States but rather would reaffirm the nation's commitment to the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) while expanding its protections and opportunities worldwide. “Increasing access in the global community for people with disabilities is particularly important because of the increasingly global marketplace in which workers must compete,” the United Spinal Association said in calling for Senate passage in time for the ADA's anniversary on July 26. “Without international commitment to equal access, wheelchair users, disabled veterans and other U.S. citizens with disabilities may be unable to travel, live, work or study abroad.”

The treaty has bipartisan support. Later in the morning, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) will hold a press conference with advocates for people with disabilities to urge ratification. The two senators will also testify before the Senate panel, along with officials from the departments of State and Justice and several others.

Spotlight on Africa: U.S. policy in Africa comes under the microscope in the Senate today as the Foreign Relations panel considers four of President Obama's nominees for ambassadorships.