Banjo Damilola

3 weeks ago | passblue.com | Banjo Damilola

Civil society leaders, academics and humanitarian experts gathered at the United Nations for two days this week to speed up momentum to regulate Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS), an algorithm-based war machine that requires minimal human control. As the world experiences an increased use of artificial intelligence in warfare, experts are raising heightened concerns about self-operating “killer robots” that threaten a hard-to-enforce human rights law in conflict zones.

3 weeks ago | passblue.com | Jessica Le Masurier |Banjo Damilola

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), created in February and led by “seasoned crisis operators,” will rely on US-based contractors — including one led by a former head of the CIA’s paramilitary arm — to guard aid “hubs” it plans to set up in areas of Gaza without the involvement of the Israel Defense Forces. The Israeli military will not be stationed at the “hubs” but will nevertheless be present “at a distance,” said Mike Huckabee, the US Ambassador to Israel.

1 month ago | passblue.com | Banjo Damilola

Pending a United States Senate confirmation hearing that some Democrats have promised would be brutal, Mike Waltz, the former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, is one leg toward New York City as the American ambassador to the United Nations. If confirmed, he will meet colleagues who are skeptical about his ability to deliver the vital work of diplomacy that is required at the international body.

1 month ago | passblue.com | Banjo Damilola

In an exclusive video interview, Evangelos Sekeris, Greece’s permanent representative to the United Nations, spoke to PassBlue recently on key issues shaping his country’s agenda as a new member of the Security Council. Topics covered include: why a woman should be the next leader of the UN; the value of the women, peace and security policy; and how Europe is striving toward unity amid the Trump administration’s cold-shouldering.

1 month ago | passblue.com | Banjo Damilola

As Greece assumes the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council in May, its permanent representative to the UN, Evangelos Sekeris, told PassBlue that the country’s ambition this month is to be a “bridge builder” in a sharply divided Council. “This is how we will approach our presidency,” Sekeris said in an interview with PassBlue on April 30, “bearing in mind the difficulties that exist in a multipolar system with a lot of conflicts and problems.