this fall i had a chance to get to know kelly even better when i went to the united nations general assembly in my capacity as a united nations delegate. i represent the senate along with with senator johnson at the 69th session of the united nations general assembly. kelly not only accompanied through the trip and prepared me for all my high-level meetings, but she also became a trusted advisor. as i told her just a little while ago, as i walked through the halls of the u.n., my ego was a little bit affected because more people knew her than me. she was incredibly important to me in carrying out my responsibilities as part of the u.s. dpel gas emission gas deled nations. kelly has demonstrated to me and the entire united states senate that her foreign policy extends far beyond the asian region. my staff and i will miss her and her sense of humor and extraordinary work ethic. she has been a tremendous asset not just to my office but to the foreign relations committee and the entire snavmen senate. so, madam president, i urge my colleagues to join me in thanking kell schthanking kellyg servic

. >>> the united nations general assembly has voted in favor of referring north korea to the internationalriminal court for crimes against humanity. coming after a u.n. report released in february at the dealing a range of human rights abuses saying civilians faced unspeakable atrocities. north korea has rejected the restless loops calling it a political plot. >>> zone i picture is his facing a backlash in hollywood african selling the release of its new film the interview, it's a fictional comedy about a plot to a sass let north korea less a leader. sony's decision follows threats from hackers u.s. officials believe are tied to north korea. although north korea denies the allegations, rob reynolds reports from los angeles. >> this is the secretary of commutation for north career 56789 reaction to sony picture's decision not to release the film the interview as planned later this month was swift and negative. actor rob lowe tweeted. every caved. the hackers won. an you wanter and complete victory for them. wow. sony's decision came after hackers who had previously stolen reams of confident

in 1950, the united nations general assembly proclaimed december 10 human rights day.come back to "bottom line." what is the business case for human rights and how our how haveis -- businesses performed in 2014? >> working conditions -- business has a choice to be part of the solution or to be seen as being part of the problem. the business case for getting positively involved has gotten much more stronger. >> your group focuses on what is referred to as a number of dilemmas that businesses face on human rights. it would seem to the casual observer there should not be a dilemma. there is no gray area. it is either right or wrong. when faced with that dilemma, what exactly are you referring to? >> child labor in the supply chain, how are you go to make tree do not engage tight labor -- to make sure you do not engage child labor. when you work in a country where a woman's rights are not upheld. there are many dilemmas. the world is not a clean, safe place. people live under the worst forms of violence worldwide. many dark sides out there. >> you spoke of child labor. wha

. >> reporter: the human rights record is now exposed to the world by the united nations, general assemblynded referring pyongyang to the international court but with threat of veto they are taking no further action for now. christine with al jazeera, the united nations. >>> north korean websites are back on line after an internet outage access which is limited to elite and down for several hours and white house declined to say if the u.s. government is involved and u.s. accused them of a cyber attack on sony pictures. hong kong's richest man five years in jail for corruption and billionaire thomas was found guilty of bribing one of the city's top officials, the politician received more than $1 million in kickbacks and the scandal shocked hong kong's financial center and galvanized anger against the city elite and this case has come as a shock it does highlight that hong kong does have an independent legal system. >> this is, in fact, the very heart of some of the conundrum and some of the problems that underpin these so called umbrella movement in hong kong. and a lot of young people feel

the pope also plans to address the united nations general assembly and convene a summit of the world'smain religions in hopes of bolstering next year's crucial u.n. climate meeting in paris. last year, during his first christmas mass as head of the catholic church, pope francis called for protection of the environment from human greed. >> lord of heaven and earth, look upon our planet. frequently exploited by human greed and rapacity. help them protect all the victims of natural disasters especially the beloved people of the philippines gravely affected by the recent typhoon. >> this year, pope francis shocked cardinals, bishops and priests by using his annual christmas remarks to deliver a scathing critique of the vatican itself -- the central governing body of the catholic church. he said the vatican is plagued with "spiritual alzheimer's," "existential schizophrenia," "social exhibitionism" and a lust for power -- all of which have resulted in an "orchestra that plays out of tune." pope francis also lambasted the gossip, pettiness, and rivalry he said were infecting the church. this

united nations. the general assembly recommended referring pyongyang to the international criminal court.h a threat of a chinese veto the security council is taking no further action for now. kristen slewp i, a is looms al . >>> north korea's website is back on. the up. the white is declined say if the u.s. government involved. ' app adjunct professor of foreign study in seoul. says while the move by the u.n. security council is unprecedented it's you unlikely to change much. >> we understand that the two countries, china and russia oppose to move to submit this topic as a discussion topic at the security council. so, you know, considering china and russia being the two members of the key five, permanent five members of the security council, there is little expectation here that actually the security council itself will produce any real action that could impact north korea as a result of their discussion. while we are take this is all over development as something very important. but at the same time, the general expectation here is that we are not expecting real substantial move that wou

general ban ki-moon thanked the president as taking a very important step. >> as many of the membership of the united nations have repeat repeatedly emphasized through general assembly resolutions through many years it is time that cuba and the united states normalize their bilateral relations. >> reporter: world opinion is solidly hind the president's rapprochement with havana. the last nonbinding vote of ending the embargo was 182 to 2, only u.s. and israel voting opposite. other communist countries it accuses of human rights abuses such as china and vietnam about. >> nearly two decades ago we reestablished relations with vietnam. >> cuba will now be welcome to next year's summit of the americas in panama where in the past u.s. efforts to press for human rights reforms were often deflected by complaints about america's unpopular cuba policy. >> we pause for a greater debate. whether or not cuba has a policy for its own people and whether they will continue to get away with trampling the basic and human rights that the united states has long championed. >> and the united states bold initiative brought effusive reactions from alan gross who accused both countries of

as much as the membership of the united nations have repeatedly emphasized through a general assembly resolution for many years it is time cuba and the united states normalized their bilateral relations. in that regard i welcome today's developments. i sincerely hope that this measure on this announcement will help to extend farther the exchanges between the people who have been separated for a long time. the united nations stands ready to help both countries to cultivate their good neighboring relations. >> thank you. >> secretary-general u. said in 202015 new hope is the year to end the nightmare in syria. your representative seems to be doing crisis management for a very terrible place in syria. do you approve of the piecemeal approach that is being criticized and what makes you confident that you would presume that geneva. >> of course we would like to have a comprehensive peace and stability and development. that is basically our principle approaches. but what the special envoy has been doing is not piecemeal. he has proposed a freeze in aleppo. this is not a substitute for broad

as much as the membership in the united nations has repeatedly emphasized through the general assemblyresolutions it is time for cuba and the united states to normalize the bilateral relations. i welcome today's development and i hope that this announcement will hope to expand the exchanges between the two people who been separated quite a long time. the united nations stands ready to help both countries in the relations. you said you hope it is the year to end the nightmare in serious. the representative seems to be doing crisis management for the terrible event in syria. do you approve of the piecemeal approach and what makes you confident that you would renew the process collects >> of course we would like to have comprehensive peace and stability and development and that is basically our principal approach. in the peace arrangement. you should have all elements started from smaller things and easier things through the meetings with the president of syria. after four years of killing each other, the virus must stop regardless of what kind of argument or different opinions there may

. >>> members of the united nations want pyongyang in international court for human rights abuses. the general assembly approved a resolution denouncing north korea's rights record. it's the harshest of all attacks by japan and the european union over the past ten years. the draft says north korean officials have carrieded out wide ranging abuses, including torture and public executions and it urges the u.n. security council to refer the issue to the international criminal court to bring those responsible to justice. north korea's delegation strongly rejected the resolution. >> will not tolerate an attempt for overthrowing the social system. >> they passed by a majority vote. 20 members opposed, including china and russia. japan's representative said it should be a wake up call for pyongyang. >> north korea should take seriously the fact that the international community has showed strong concerns over the country's oppression of human rights. >> members of the u.n. security council are expected to discuss north korea's human rights situation the first time next week. >>> jordan has submitted a resoluti

nominees and block anthony to be deputy secretary of state,lessly to be the alternative to general assembly of united nationsand one foreign services list. senator, would you like to speak to this? >> yes. i want to say some things about you and danny. i'll do that when we get to amuf to sort of ease things before we begin that process. on this, look, there is concern by some of our members relative to one of the nominees. i personally feel that we are better off getting mr. blanken out of this committee and on the floor. i'm going to vote to do that today. i don't know what i'm going to do after he gets to the floor, but i think with us going through a period of time where we won't be in session, without us having someone in that position, i think we're much with better off taking this first step. my guess is there may be some members that want to vote on him individually. other than that, i think what you're proposing to do is type with me. >> so let me -- is there objection to considering the nominees in block? >> do if any of our members want to vote individually on lincoln himself this? >> all right. so

rights violations by havana, the fact that we are losing at the united nations palow i think was the only other supporter in the general assembly, that has been a black eye really against the u.s. position around the world. >> and andrea, let's not overlook that the politics in florida changed, okay. we now have back to back elections where the democrat, a pro lifting the embargo, charlie crist in 2014, essentially broke even in the cuban-american vote in florida. so the idea that it was once politically you couldn't touch it, florida is too important of a state, all of those things, the politics of this shifted politically, the country, florida, cuban-americans, much further ahead of i think where washington has been on this issue for quite some time. >> and chuck and julia, i want to play a little bit of raul castro, he spoke at the same time as the president, this is part of what he had to say. we also have a picture from the white house, from the white house photographer of the president yesterday in that historic conversation with raul castro. that's the picture of the president speaking to castro from the oval office for

following the report's release, we at the united nations have dealt with the issue in the human rights council and in the general assembly. why the general assembly has adopted multiple resolutions since 2005 on the human rights situation in the dprk, this year's resolution was unique in that it contained recommendations on the council's efforts. therefore, the councils decision to put this situation that in the dprk on its agenda is a necessary starting point for engagement. such engagement is crucial as we now understand the human rights violation in the dprk to be so systematic and widespread that they not only cause -- also pose a threat to regional and international peace and security. the council has taken necessary measures in other cases in the past where human rights violations were committed on a larger scale to constitute a threat to peace and security. likewise, the council needs to pay attention to the grave situation in the dprk. in this regard, we would like to express the conclusion that many of the violations found in the dprk amounted to crimes against humanity. it also recommended that the council play

states stabbed up stand up at the united nations and lead whether it's a budget reform initiative or any action at the security council or inside the general assemblythout u.s. leadership, the un becomes a talk fest. it is a waste of money if we do not have u.s. leadership. and really what we've seen from the obama administration over the last number of years is a withdrawal from the united nations. the obama team gives us rhetoric that the un is indispensable and that we must go through them but if you look at the iran issue, the obama team has taken the iran issue out of the security council and moved it to geneva and we're just talking about the permanent members, we're not including the entire security council. there's a reason for that. it's because susan rice when she was u.s. ambassador and now samantha powers since she's been the u.s. ambassador to the un both have been a miserable failure when it comes to standing up for the u.s. and leading at the un so the obama united states is deciding we really can't win at the un so let's take it outside of new york but continue this rhetoric that the un is indispensable. i think that they need to be

states stabbed up stand up at the united nations and lead whether it's a budget reform initiative or any action at the security council or inside the general assemblythout u.s. leadership, the un becomes a talk fest. it is a waste of money if we do not have u.s. leadership. and really what we've seen from the obama administration over the last number of years is a withdrawal from the united nations. the obama team gives us rhetoric that the un is indispensable and that we must go through them but if you look at the iran issue, the obama team has taken the iran issue out of the security council and moved it to geneva and we're just talking about the permanent members, we're not including the entire security council. there's a reason for that. it's because susan rice when she was u.s. ambassador and now samantha powers since she's been the u.s. ambassador to the un both have been a miserable failure when it comes to standing up for the u.s. and leading at the un so the obama united states is deciding we really can't win at the un so let's take it outside of new york but continue this rhetoric that the un is indispensable. i think that they need to be

so the united nations not expected to take specific actions against north korea at this point, even though that's been requested by the general assembly, they've requested referral to the international criminal court, and sanctions but the mere fact that the u.n. is taking this up and putting north korea on notice is significant here. >> kristin saloomey reporting from the united nations, thank you. sony says it still plans to distribute the mief "the interview." a lawyer -- the movie "the interview." a lawyer for the company says the distribution has been delayed and it's figuring out how to best distribute the movie. >>> russia's central bank announced today it is bailing out trust bank for about $500 million. the central bank this is seized control of the bank until it finds an investor. let's bring in cyrus sonate. recently sy russ you wrot cyrusn opinion piece. what was the basis of your arguments? >> major importer of goods if russia falls we get osee a major ripple effect through economies within the european union, the united states and that could affect growth all across the world. >> of course there are sanctions in the u.s.

united nations security council meeting on north korea and. north korea will not be attending this meeting. during a meeting last week of the entire u.s. general assembly, 116 out of 189 countries voted for a resolution to accuse north korea of crimes against vanity. the security council today will be debating whether to refer north korea to the international terminal court. as a member of the council and ally of the country, china could use it ito today. north korean leaders have been accusing the united states of a leading. live coverage is expected to start shortly here on c-span. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] >> expecting this to start any moment now. the coming together for a meeting on north korea and human rights. , the entire week general assembly voted for a resolution accusing north korea of crimes against to maddie. whether the security council will refer north korea to the international criminal court. expected to start shortly here on c-span. >> waiting for the un security counc

united nations says life in north korea is a living nightmare. samantha powers spoke monday as they took up pyongyang's human rights record. on friday the general assembly the council to refer north korea to the international criminal court for crimes against humanity. >> these crimes have been perpetrated in the dprk in a widespread and systemic matter directed by the highest level of government and in many cases constitute crimes against humanity. >> south korea's ambassador says this is especially difficult for him. >> >> i am saying this with a heavy heart because for south koreans, people in north korea are not just anybody's -- millions of south koreans still have our family members and relatives living in the north, even though we never hear from them, even though by now the pain of separation has become a cold fact of life, we can now watch video clips from north korea without flinching at every scene. we cannot listen to stories of north korean defectors without sharing in their tears, without feeling as if we are there with them experiencing the tragedies. >> monday's procedural vote exempt from vetoes is the first since 2006 when the security

following the report's release, we at the united nations has dealt with the issue in the human rights council and in the general assembly. why the general assembly has adopted multiple resolutions since 2005 on the human rights situation in the democratic people's republic of korea, this inr's resolution was unique that it contained recommendations on the council's role. therefore, the council's decision to place the situation in the democratic people's republic of korea on its agenda is a necessary turning point for further discussion and engagement. such engagement is crucial, as we now understand the human rights violations in the democratic people's republic of korea to be so systematic and widespread that they not only caused massive suffering among north koreans, but also pose a threat to regional and international peace and security. the council has taken necessary measures in other cases in the past where human rights violations were committed on a larger scale to constitute a threat to peace and security. likewise, they need to pay due attention to the great situation in the democratic people's republic of kore

following the report's release, we at the united nations have dealt with the issue in the human rights council and in the general assembly. why the general assembly has adopted multiple resolutions since 2005 on the human rights situation in the dprk, this year's resolution was unique in that it contained recommendations on the council's efforts. therefore, the councils decision to put this situation that in the dprk on its agenda is a necessary starting point for engagement. such engagement is crucial as we now understand the human rights violation in the dprk to be so systematic and widespread that they not only cause -- also pose a threat to regional and international peace and security. the council has taken necessary measures in other cases in the past where human rights violations were committed on a larger scale to constitute a threat to peace and security. likewise, the council needs to pay attention to the grave situation in the dprk. in this regard, we would like to express the conclusion that many of the violations found in the dprk amounted to crimes against humanity. it also recommended that the council play

unites nations is condemning north korea for human rights abuses after 400 page report found widespread view, including mothers forced to drown their unewborn, dogs eating human corpses. the general assembly passed a resolution to -- the resolution is nonbinding which means it doesn't do anything but urges the security council to refer north korea to the international criminal court. the security council will take it up on monday. the north korea said the shaun be investigating cia torture instead. >> cuba next and the president's big policy changes created a serious amount of buzz today. we show you the reactions around the globe, including have van newscast. work better on pain than tylenol arthritis. so why am i still thinking about this? how are ya? good. aleve. proven better on pain. >>> it's been a little more than 24 hours since the president announced the biggest shift in u.s. relations with cuba in decades and we're seeing more emotional reaction. policy changes include setting up full diplomatic relations for the first time since the 1960s. this after cuba released this american prisoner as well as a spy inch exchange she u.s. released spies who have been in prison for more than

united nations ban ki-moon. he must decide whether to accept this treaty that's been signed by mahmood abbas. it might take time to take a look at that. but he can be guided by the u.n. general assembly. and if we want to put it to a vote with we're sure they will favor that sort of vote. once he accepts the treaty that's come from mahmood abbas and that seems to be down the line of what is going to happen, then it takes 60 days. it's the first day of the first month after 60 days after it was given to ban ki-moon. this comes in to force. either the first of march or the first of april. i have to say that palestinian is covered by icc jurisdiction. it doesn't start a case, a case would have to be started by the u.n. security council they're not going to do that. the u.s. would veto by the chief prosecutor of the icc or by palestine itself. so president abbas has a second time, a second stage to this process. we can actually ask for an investigation into a specific time period. >> james bays, our diplomatic editor in london. thank you. meanwhile in the opened occupied west bank a home was set on fire. a family with young children was asleep when two attackers threw a fire bomb inside.

nation. >> the general assembly recommended referring pyongyang to the international criminal court, but with the threat of a chinese veto, the security council is taking no further action for now. al jazeera, the united states nations. >> this is the first time north korea's human rights record has been form ally discussed at the council. before this, they only focused on the threat from pyongyang's nuclear program. >> changing drugs in execution of inmates, they will make use of a three drug cocktail, the same used in several other states. oklahoma had gotten the ok to execute an inmate. the judge ruled against a group offer detective row who argued that the use of the sedative amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. that drug was used in a botched execution in april. >> a federal court threw out an abortion law that required a woman to undergo an ultra sound before the procedure. the panel said it invite violate first amendment. >> coming weather could affect your travel plans. a storm is making its way to the midwest, meaning icy roads and flight delays. >> let's go for the latest on these holiday week storms. how bad is this going to be for people? >> we'll probably start getting flight delays a

rights council as well as general assembly, as well as victims, survival and civil society organizations around the come have asked that you at the security council of the united nations take action on the report, including five referral to the international criminal courts and by adopting targeted sanctions. have seen this year, concerted actions by the international community can have a powerful effect and may begin to change the policy. i believe the security council accountability and engagement for reform. today's discussion has placed them on notice. the council should carefully monitor developments in the coming months to see where the engagement needs real change or to take further action. distinguished members of the council, the people have endured decades of suffering and cruelty. they need your protection. course of justice, peace and security in the region requires your leadership. thank you. >> i thank you. i now get the floor to the members of the council who wish to make statements. i give the floor to the representative of australia. >> thank you, the president. today's meeting is a historic step forward for the international community's effort andons

appointed by the president to be one of the two senate representatives to the united nations for the 69th united nations general assembly session. senator ron johnson of wisconsin is the other member and the two of us have visited new york together and we have talked as to how we could best represent the legislative branch of government at the u.s. mission in new york to further the objectives that the united states has within the united nations. just recently, i visited new york and had a chance to meet with helen clark who is the united nations development program director, the former prime minister of new zealand, a person who is instrumentally involved in dealing with the development programs within the united nations. i mention that because we are now at the conclusion of the 2000 millennium development goals. i want to mention that for a moment because our goal was to reduce poverty, increase stability of governments, and as the presiding officer knows, yes, these are core u.s. principles. the presiding officer has been very active in africa. he has done an incredible job in africa, in pointing out the needs for r