Issues 2012 provides candidates for elected office the ability to quickly identify the key issues of the day and present clear policy recommendations, supported by facts, for addressing them. Read More.
Abstract: Proponents of U.S. accession to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) insist that the U.S. must join the convention in order to secure title to oil and gas resources located on the U.S. extended continental shelf (ECS). However,…
Abstract: Like a vitamin regimen that exceeds recommended daily amounts, corporate social responsibility (CSR)—once seen as a healthy thing in small doses—now poses a toxic threat to American business. CSR is an attractive-looking concoction…
The final Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in February decided that, in preparation for the July 2–27 conference in New York that will finalize the ATT, U.N. member states should by March 31 submit short statements on the provisions that they believe should define any…
Abstract: Among the many reasons why the U.S. should not accede to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is the reality that it would expose the United States to international environmental lawsuits that would harm its environmental, economic, and military…
The final Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) was held last week. The purpose of this PrepCom was to adopt rules of procedure for the U.N. Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty, which will be held in New York July 2–27. This conference is intended to…
FYI: Heritage WebMemos are now called Issue Briefs. The final Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) will be held February 13–17. The purpose of this PrepCom is to determine the rules of procedure for the U.N.…
On November 25, after four years of intensive negotiations, the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), a U.N.-based process through which participating nations adopt protocols to regulate or limit the use of conventional weapons, failed to reach an agreement on a new protocol to regulate cluster munitions. The U.S. had…
Testimony before the Subcommittee on the Constitution,Committee on the Judiciary,United States House of Representatives December 14, 2011 My name is Andrew Grossman. I am a Visiting Legal Fellow in the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation. The views I express in this testimony are…
Negotiations for a new U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) are supposed to be finalized in July 2012. Some of its supporters argue it would have no “impact on the ability of individuals within the United States to acquire and possess firearms.”[1] Even if this is true, it is…
Abstract: Agenda 21, a voluntary plan adopted at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, unabashedly calls on governments to intervene and regulate nearly every potential impact that human activity could have on the environment. However,…
Abstract: For more than 200 years, the United States has successfully preserved and protected its navigational rights and freedoms by relying on naval operations, diplomatic protests, and customary international law. U.S. membership in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)…
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold hearings this week on whether the United States should ratify the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. Twenty-five years ago, President Ronald Reagan rejected the treaty-and rightly so. Today, the convention remains a threat to American interests. Reason #1: The Treaty Will Undermine U.S. Sovereignty. President…
The idea of establishing an international court to prosecute serious international crimes--war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide--has long held a special place in the hearts of human rights activists and those hoping to hold perpetrators of terrible crimes to account. In 1998, that idea became reality when the Rome Statute of the…
There is an ongoing debate regarding the position of President Ronald Reagan in regard to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, better known as the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST). Fortunately, there are multiple sources indicating precisely what Reagan would do if presented with LOST today: He would reject it. President…
On July 11–15, the United Nations held a third meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the Arms Trade Treaty. The committee discusses the content of the treaty in advance of a meeting of the conference in 2012 to finalize the treaty and open it for ratification. This treaty is purportedly…
The United Nations General Assembly held a high-level meeting on September 22 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the adoption of The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action at the 2001 United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. The Durban commemoration (also called Durban III)…
A dozen U.S. senators sent a stern warning to the Internal Revenue Service yesterday: Don’t let politics play a role...…
Ratification of the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) would jeopardize American security, rule of...…
This week the 49th Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women is meeting at the U.N. to...…
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) recently sent a letter to the United Nations and the International Criminal Court...…
When Britain’s new Chief Secretary to the Treasury, David Laws, walked into his office last week, he found a letter...…
Senior Research Fellow in Anglo-American Relations
Bernard and Barbara Lomas Fellow
Vice President, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, and Director, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies
Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy and Chairman of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies
Jay Kingham Fellow in International Regulatory Affairs
Chief of Staff and Senior Legal Fellow