Both the Bush and Obama administrations have concluded that the use of drones to kill al-Qaeda leaders is permissible under both U.S. domestic law and international law.

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President Barack Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-hye issued this joint declaration on May 7, 2013. The statement confirms both nations' commitment to the U.S.-Republic of Korea (ROK) Mutual Defense Treaty, U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, Joint Vision for the U.S.-ROK Alliance, and Six Party Talks with North Korea.

Stewart Patrick and Alexandra Kerr make recommendations to improve the counterterrorism efforts of the United States and its allies, in conjunction with CFR's Global Governance Report Card, published by the International Institutions and Global Governance program.

The UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) was passed on March 28, 2013, and seeks to regulate and limit trade in arms in circumstances of human rights violations. Unfortunately, it will have minimal effect on the Syrian conflict. Syria's own vote against the treaty, along with Iran's and North Korea's, sounded the death knell for a universally applicable treaty to limit small arms, ammunition, and conventional weapons technology.

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Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah gave this statement at the end of the twenty-second Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, on April 24 to 25, 2013. The theme of the conference was "Our People, Our Future Together."

The United States tried to convince Israel to join the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) when the treaty was first introduced and before it was widely believed that Israel had nuclear weapons. The NPT's objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology and further the goal of universal disarmament.

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In conjunction with the release of CFR's first Global Governance Report Card and Earth Day, Stewart Patrick asks, "When it comes to addressing the world's gravest ills, how are we doing?"

Yingluck Shinawatra was elected prime minister of Thailand in July 2011. She has so far achieved the most important thing in Thailand today, which is preserving a fragile peace between different interest groups and political sides.

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The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, are five nuclear-weapon states that have signed the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). As the P5, they meet regularly to work toward nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation.

Helen Clark discusses the 2013 Human Development Report, The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World. The report identifies more than forty developing countries that have done better than expected in human development in recent decades, with their progress accelerating markedly over the past ten years.

Helen Clark discusses the 2013 Human Development Report, The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World. The report identifies more than forty developing countries that have done better than expected in human development in recent decades, with their progress accelerating markedly over the past ten years.

Since 1945, some major figures have been brought before domestic and international courts to answer to charges including genocide, corruption, and crimes against humanity. This timeline looks at global efforts to hold such leaders accountable and enforce the rule of law.

Grounded in a realistic assessment of technology, Matthew C. Waxman and Kenneth Anderson outline a practical alternative with which to evaluate the use of autonomous weaponry that incorporates codes of conduct based on traditional legal and ethical principles governing weapons and warfare.

The G8 Foreign Ministers released this joint statement on April 11, 2013, which outlines their commitments to addressing topics such as sexual violence in conflict, nonproliferation and disarmament in Iran and North Korea, and political reform in Burma.

Thomas Bollyky writes about how national patent laws are affecting pharmaceutical cost differentials around the world.

New Approaches to News & Documentary Programming: Current News Coverage

The UNSC is unlikely to be altered any time soon. Any resolution to expand the UNSC would need to garner the support of two-thirds of the 193 members of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), or 129 votes, as well as endorsement by the five permanent members to succeed.

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David Lipton discusses the evolution of the IMF in the global financial system.

Ray Takeyh warns that the West is falling into a diplomacy trap set by Iranian clerics regarding the nuclear Non-Prolifieration Treaty (NPT).

In 2009 the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Center of Excellence (NATO CCD COE) asked a panel of international law experts to "apply standards of international law to a virtual battlefield." The panel released this report on March 28, 2013, as "an expression of opinions of a group of independent experts acting solely in their personal capacity."