With the implementation of the Iran nuclear agreement, many Gulf Cooperative Council states now openly wonder whether U.S. support can still be relied upon, given the speed with which the U.S. government has engaged Iran in negotiation and diplomacy since 2013. This incomprehension may lead to further instability in the Middle East as the Gulf States continue to take increasingly unilateral action in Yemen and other regional conflict zones, fellow for the Middle East Kristian Coates Ulrichsen writes.
The UN adopted new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the end of September 2015. Using data from the Arab Millennium Development Goals Report, research analyst Ariana Marnicio recommends the Arab world primarily focus on three SDGs to improve the lives of women
Tunisia is widely regarded as having one of the most liberal approaches to family law and women’s rights in the region. Yet for nearly 60 years of authoritarian rule — as women’s rights were championed in public discourse, in national legislation and on the international scene — the government did not hesitate to brutalize women through torture and other gross human rights violations, according to more than 15,000 testimonies recently collected by a Tunisian state commission.
The range of responses in the six Gulf states to the Iran nuclear deal illustrates both the diversity of regional approaches to Iran and the absence of any monolithic “Gulf position” on the issue.
Iran — as it has since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 — represents a challenge to U.S. foreign policy. But it is one best addressed through a combination of firm action where necessary and flexible diplomacy where possible.
With the Yemeni government in a state of transition, the time is right to propose legislation that would protect young girls from the physical, emotional and economic harms of early marriage.