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QUNO, and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) organized an event to discuss trade measures in the context of the Treaty to end plastic pollution. The webinar provided attendees with a better understanding of: (1) the scope of international trade and plastics, including the latest numbers and figures; (2) how the World Trade Organization is addressing plastic pollution through its Dialogue on Plastic Pollution; (3) the historical dynamic and inclusion of trade provisions in multilateral environmental agreements, and the importance of trade provisions for the efficiency and implementation of control measures in the plastic treaty process. Additionally, attendees learned from our Senior Technical Advisor, Ronald Steenblik, about (4) relevant subsidies to plastic production; and (5) were updated on the status of negotiations for the treaty to end plastic pollution moving forward toward the next Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee toward a treaty to end plastic pollution. |
At a critical moment, Security Council Resolution on Gaza falls short
On Monday, November 17, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 2803 (2025) authorizing the creation of an โInternational Stabilization Forceโ and a โBoard of Peaceโ aimed at addressing the critical security, humanitarian, and reconstruction needs in Gaza. The resolution affirms the importance of enabling humanitarian aid, maintaining a ceasefire, and the goal of working towards โa horizon for peaceful and prosperous coexistence.โ However, QUNO notes with concern the resolutionโs disregard for the consent or agency of Palestinians within the mechanisms proposed by the resolution. Furthermore, the resolution fails to establish clear mechanisms for transparency, accountability, and effective humanitarian aid and reconstruction. Both observers and UN member states have pointed out that the resolutionโs unilateral approach could sideline the United Nations and risk repeating colonial actions and ideologies that lie at the heart of the conflict. ย At its core, the Security Council resolution gives UN backing to the โComprehensive Peace Plan,โ also known as the โ20-point plan,โ proposed by US President Donald Trump earlier this year. The United States proposed the resolution and lobbied strenuously to push it through the Security Council on an expedited timeline. The resolution gives a green light to main tenets of the Presidentโs plan, principally, […]






