Asia

Critics Wonder If a New $10 Million UN-Philippines Human-Rights Project Will Work

• October 18, 2021

As the International Criminal Court begins an investigation into the thousands of extrajudicial killings committed by the Philippine government during its antidrug campaign, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is partnering with the country on a three-year program to hold the government accountable for its behavior. On Oct. 7, …

Asia, Gender Violence, Human Rights, International Justice

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THIS WEEK @UN

The Surreal Saga of Gitmo; US Rejoins the Human Rights Council; the Taliban Break Promises

Anna Bianca Roach

• October 15, 2021

The Taliban break promises to women in Afghanistan; Mali moving toward combatant reintegration; the Kafkaesque legal work representing Gitmo detainees. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues facing the organization. The information is gathered from UN press briefings, PassBlue reporting and other sources. This week, frozen assets and aid funding …

Africa, Asia, Middle East, Security Council, This Week @UN, UN Diplomats, UN Special Envoys, US-UN Relations

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Afghan Students Reach Kyrgyzstan After a Risky Journey

Barbara Crossette

• October 13, 2021

Nearly 200 students from Afghanistan, escaping the Taliban’s tightening grip on education, have been safely evacuated from Kabul under an ambitious plan led by the American University of Central Asia and the Kyrgyzstan government. About 60 percent of the students, undergraduates and graduates, are women, according to the university. “Yes, we have largely succeeded,” …

Asia, Education, Refugees

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THIS WEEK @UN

UN’s Guterres Strikes Back; Kenya Pilots the Security Council; a Promising Malaria Vaccine

Anna Bianca Roach

• October 8, 2021

A new vaccine for malaria; the Security Council goes to the Sahel; the Human Rights Council’s actions, criticized and praised. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues facing the organization. The information is gathered from UN press briefings, PassBlue reporting and other sources. This week, we include discussions in the …

Africa, Asia, General Assembly, Health and Population, Myanmar, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN

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Pressure Builds to Mine International Waters Amid Questions About Ecosystems and Profit-Sharing

Anna Bianca Roach

• September 29, 2021

A wealth of resources lies beneath international waters, including cobalt, copper, manganese and other minerals used to power smart phones and other technology. Safeguarding “the common heritage of mankind,” as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea terms this vast store, is a regulatory body called the International Seabed Authority, or …

Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Climate Change

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COVID-19

As UNGA Winds Down, Mali Warns of Rising Dangers in the Sahel as France Claims a Recent Success

Barbara Crossette

• September 27, 2021

On the last day of global leaders’ speeches at the opening of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, the array of countries on the roster ranged from Israel to Iceland, from Algeria to North Korea, from Canada to Guinea. Two long-scheduled countries to deliver messages — Afghanistan and Myanmar — were …

Africa, Asia, Climate Change, Covid-19, General Assembly, UNGA76, US Foreign Relations

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India and Pakistan, Next-Door Neighbors That Stand Worlds Apart at the UN

Barbara Crossette

• September 25, 2021

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India cautioned today that tolerating extremism in Afghanistan would open the way to renewed terrorism in the region. The message was aimed at Pakistan, where the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan is promoting a policy of incentives to change the Taliban’s behavior and not rely on punitive responses. …

Asia, General Assembly, UNGA76

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Venezuela’s Maduro Fires Up UNGA, While a Fight for Afghan Women’s Rights Has Big-Name Backing

Maurizio Guerrero

• September 22, 2021

The second day of world leaders’ speeches delivered at the United Nations General Assembly continued on Sept. 22, after the heavily reported appearance of United States President Joe Biden at the fabled rostrum in the Assembly Hall; a last-minute video presentation by China’s Xi Jinping; and a video by Iran’s new president, Ebrahim Raisi, …

Asia, Gender Violence, General Assembly, Human Rights, UNGA76, US-UN Relations

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What to Expect From This Year’s UN General Assembly, So Far

Stéphanie Fillion

• September 7, 2021

This year’s United Nations General Assembly could make or break the future of in-person meetings at the gathering in New York City. After a year of carefully negotiating, adapting and crafting health guidelines, UNGA organizers are hoping to avoid a repeat of last year’s first, almost entirely virtual, gathering. But the threat of the …

Africa, Asia, General Assembly, Latin America, Middle East, Secretary-General, Security Council, UNGA76, US-UN Relations

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American University in Kyrgyzstan Is Offering Afghan Women a Haven. Will the Taliban Let Them Go?

Barbara Crossette

• August 27, 2021

Fears are running high among the vulnerable women of Afghanistan — scholars, writers and other intellectuals — that they may be prime targets for retribution and abuse by the Taliban’s ideologically driven tribal misogyny. In remote Kyrgyzstan, a Muslim nation landlocked and mountainous like Afghanistan but different in many ways, the democratically elected government …

Asia, Gender Violence, Uncategorized

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Afghans Who Work for the UN in Their Country Say They Fear for Their Lives [Updated]

Fiona Shukri

• August 20, 2021

United Nations staff members in Afghanistan who work for the UN political mission there say it has been failing to protect its national personnel since the Taliban’s sudden takeover of the country on Aug. 15 and as the United States evacuates tens of thousands of Americans and others from the Kabul airport amid deadly …

Asia, Gender Violence, Humanitarian Aid, Secretary-General, UN Agencies, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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Despite the Intensifying Dangers in Afghanistan, the UN Says It Is Staying Put [Updated]

Dulcie Leimbach

• August 14, 2021

As the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, on Sunday — and the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, fled the country — the United Nations continues to decline to say whether it is planning to evacuate its thousands of personnel there. Rather, the UN is emphasizing its efforts on providing food, water and other …

Asia, Gender Violence, Humanitarian Aid, Secretary-General, Security Council, UN Agencies

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BOOKS

Overcoming Childhood Poverty and UN Bureaucracy, Noeleen Heyzer Tells Her Story

Barbara Crossette

• August 7, 2021

Noeleen Heyzer not only saved Unifem, the precursor of UN Women, from financial collapse but also turned the small grant-making agency into a powerful policy tool for boldly addressing the crushing economic and social disadvantages that silence women worldwide. She understood women in distress; echoes of her own early life resonated in what she …

Asia, BOOKS, Gender Violence

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THIS WEEK @UN

US Delegation to Haiti Cut Short; Risks for the UN Pension Fund?; an Ex-Guantánamo Detainee May Face Torture in Russia

Ivana Ramirez

• July 24, 2021

A US delegation to Haiti returns early; potential risks for the $87 billion UN pension fund; an ex-Guantánamo detainee may face torture in Russia. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues facing the organization. The information is gathered from UN press briefings, PassBlue reporting and other sources. We are inching closer …

Africa, Asia, Human Rights, SDGs, Secretary-General, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

Crucial Aid Into Syria; Will a Feminist Lead UN Women?; Haiti’s Downfall

Ivana Ramirez

• July 9, 2021

Crucial aid into Syria continues; will a feminist head UN Women?; the good and bad of Security Council Arria meetings; Haiti on the edge. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues facing the organization. The information is gathered from UN press briefings, PassBlue reporting and other sources. We are closer …

Africa, Asia, Human Rights, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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Russia’s Powerful Perch at the UN Is Crumbling

Dawn Clancy

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Asia

Critics Wonder If a New $10 Million UN-Philippines Human-Rights Project Will Work

The Surreal Saga of Gitmo; US Rejoins the Human Rights Council; the Taliban Break Promises

Afghan Students Reach Kyrgyzstan After a Risky Journey

UN’s Guterres Strikes Back; Kenya Pilots the Security Council; a Promising Malaria Vaccine

Pressure Builds to Mine International Waters Amid Questions About Ecosystems and Profit-Sharing

As UNGA Winds Down, Mali Warns of Rising Dangers in the Sahel as France Claims a Recent Success

India and Pakistan, Next-Door Neighbors That Stand Worlds Apart at the UN

Venezuela’s Maduro Fires Up UNGA, While a Fight for Afghan Women’s Rights Has Big-Name Backing

What to Expect From This Year’s UN General Assembly, So Far

American University in Kyrgyzstan Is Offering Afghan Women a Haven. Will the Taliban Let Them Go?

Afghans Who Work for the UN in Their Country Say They Fear for Their Lives [Updated]

Despite the Intensifying Dangers in Afghanistan, the UN Says It Is Staying Put [Updated]

Overcoming Childhood Poverty and UN Bureaucracy, Noeleen Heyzer Tells Her Story

US Delegation to Haiti Cut Short; Risks for the UN Pension Fund?; an Ex-Guantánamo Detainee May Face Torture in Russia

Crucial Aid Into Syria; Will a Feminist Lead UN Women?; Haiti’s Downfall

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A Blogger Exposed a UN Agency’s Wrongdoings. Its Boss Has Resigned

US Tells Russia: Stop Weaponizing Food in Your War on Ukraine

Russia Has Used Its UN Seat to Hide Atrocities Committed in the Central African Republic, Experts Say

Liechtenstein’s ‘Veto Initiative’ Wins Wide Approval at the UN. Will It Deter the Big Powers?

UN-Scripted, Passblue's UN podcast series

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