The United Nations has a structural absurdity problem, and it is no longer possible to dismiss it as an anomaly. Iran — the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, a country that executed 65 women in 2025 alone and enforces a system its own UN Special Rapporteur has called “gender apartheid” — now sits on UN bodies shaping policy on women’s rights, nuclear nonproliferation, and terrorism prevention. Rep. Brian Mast and the House Foreign Affairs Committee are not wrong to ask whether this is satire.

The recent confirmation of Zeina Jallad to a six-year term as a United Nations human rights expert marks a troubling moment for the integrity of international institutional oversight. During the 61st session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Jallad was appointed as the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures, a role intended to provide objective analysis on the humanitarian effects of international sanctions. However, the process by which she attained this mandate, and the controversial history she brings to it, suggests a significant breakdown in the vetting standards expected of the world’s primary human rights body.

A moment that would normally unfold with solemn rhythm instead broke into something abrupt and dissonant in the heart of Jerusalem. On Palm Sunday, March 29, 2026, access to one of Christianity’s most sacred spaces—the Church of the Holy Sepulchre—was denied not to crowds, but to the very figures entrusted with its spiritual stewardship. According to a joint statement by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Fr.

World Refugee Day is a significant occasion to acknowledge the diverse groups of people who have endured persecution and displacement throughout history. Among these groups are the Jewish refugees who were expelled from Arab countries in the mid-20th century. According to various estimates, over 850,000 Jews were forced to leave their homes in countries such as Iraq, Egypt, Yemen, and Libya, where they had lived for centuries, contributing substantially to the social, cultural, and economic life of their societies.