Covid-19

• July 27, 2020

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — Fernando Guillén, a 22-year-old gamer and YouTuber, switched on his computer, took a sip of water and a deep breath and thanked God for being alive, before beginning his live stream on video games from his bedroom in San Antonio, Tex. Sitting in a high-backed gaming chair and dressed in …

Covid-19, UN Peacekeeping

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COVID-19

Missing the Love at the Canada-US Border Crossings

Laura E. Kirkpatrick

• July 23, 2020

BUFFALO, N.Y. — In the middle of a recent Zoom meeting with colleagues, I commented about the presence of United Nations flags on international borders, like the ones that flew, some until recently, on certain bridge border crossings between Ontario, Canada, and New York State in the United States, over Lake Erie and the …

Covid-19, US Foreign Relations

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COVID-19

The UN’s 75th Birthday: A Critical Chance for the Globe to Save Itself

Giovanna Kuele

• July 22, 2020

As consensus was finally achieved on July 7, a final draft of the UN-75 political declaration has been approved and is expected to be adopted by world leaders on Sept. 21 at United Nations headquarters through virtual means. Given the political climate, the declaration is concise, clear, forward-looking and inspiring. But it is not …

Climate and Environment, Covid-19

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COVID-19

How to Land a Job at the UN, Even in a Pandemic

Stéphanie Fillion and Kacie Candela

• July 21, 2020

Ever wonder how to crack the door open to a prestigious United Nations position? That’s a question that Stephanie Playford, the founder of United Career Coalition, was asked over and over again when she worked for the International Atomic Energy Agency, a UN entity based in Vienna. So she left that job and created …

Covid-19, UN Careers

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Does the New US Envoy for Women’s Rights Have Anything to Do?

Fiona Shukri

• July 13, 2020

Six months into her job as the United States ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues, Kelley Currie has done little to demonstrate that she can restore American leadership on women’s rights while reporting to an ideologically driven administration known for its regressive stance on gender equality. While the ambassador’s office is charged with promoting women’s …

Covid-19, Gender Violence, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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COVID-19

Don’t Even Try to Make Sense of Lockdown Rules in the ‘United’ Kingdom

Rhona Scullion

• July 9, 2020

WHITCHURCH, England — Britain currently has the highest death toll from Covid-19 in Europe and the third-highest death rate in the world, according to the World Health Organization statistics. The central government in London is being repeatedly criticized for its handling of the crisis, while each of the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and …

Covid-19, Governance, Health and Population

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COVID-19

In the Pandemic, $3,200 Drugs for the Rich and Sanitizers Too Pricey for the Poor

Barbara Crossette

• July 6, 2020

Across the world, the rise of nationalist leaders has prompted fears that democracy and international cooperation are endangered. Now the public health systems of many countries are also being menaced by the politics of authoritarianism in the Covid-19 pandemic era. On June 29, the United States announced that it had more or less cornered …

Covid-19

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COVID-19

Coronavirus Soars, Trump Golfs, Pence Falls: Who the Hell Is in Charge of the US?

Barbara Crossette

• June 30, 2020

Deep uncertainty and unease are descending across the United States just as Americans are preparing to celebrate their most important “political” holiday, Independence Day, on July 4. Contrary to what Trump administration officials are proclaiming, the US is not containing the Covid-19 pandemic infection rate, which has suddenly surpassed its April high point, marking …

Covid-19, Human Rights, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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COVID-19

The Pandemic May Have Tested French Discipline, but Kisses on the Cheek Are Back

Léontine Gallois

• June 22, 2020

AUXERRE, France — I was in Paris when President Trump declared the travel ban for European travelers on March 12. I had just been issued my new visa for a six-month internship in New York City, which I’d been waiting on for months. I booked the last Paris-New York plane, filled up my suitcase …

Covid-19

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COVID-19

The Pandemic’s Cruelty Visits the World’s Children

Barbara Crossette

• June 18, 2020

There are about two billion young children in the world today, ranging from infancy to 14 years old, and most of them live in developing nations in the global south. That is also where the Covid-19 pandemic is spreading the fastest. Three of the top 10 countries in numbers of rapidly rising cases, as of …

Covid-19, Development, Education, Secretary-General

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COVID-19

India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico and Norway to Join the UN Security Council

Stéphanie Fillion

• June 17, 2020

An almost empty General Assembly Hall, masks of all types and colors and diplomats rejoicing to see their colleagues that they probably have seen only on their computer screens for months marked this year’s General Assembly elections at the United Nations. On June 17, Norway and Ireland won the two open seats on the …

Covid-19, General Assembly, Security Council, US-UN Relations

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COVID-19

The Human Rights Council Confronts Racism in the USA

Stéphanie Fillion

• June 16, 2020

In the 1960s, the African-American activist Malcolm X launched a lobbying campaign to “internationalize” the civil rights movement in the United States by calling on the United Nations to focus on the lives of black Americans through a human-rights lens. “When you expand the civil-rights struggle to the level of human rights,” Malcolm X …

Covid-19, Human Rights

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COVID-19

The Collateral Damage in Trump’s War on the WHO: Ending Polio for Good

Fiona Shukri

• June 15, 2020

Already struggling with a surging Covid-19 pandemic, United Nations health agencies must now face the possible abdication of the United States’ leading role in fighting polio — just as the world gets tantalizingly close to eradicating it for good. Polio-free since 1979, the US has historically made combating the infectious disease its top funding …

Covid-19, US-UN Relations

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COVID-19

In Latin America, Panama Battles the Coronavirus Between Two Oceans

Isabel Saint Malo

• June 11, 2020

PANAMA CITY, Panama — March 2 marked the beginning of the school year in Panama, when about a million students, a quarter of the population, headed for school. One week had passed when the first Covid-19 case was reported, a national emergency was declared and full lockdown began. My husband and I live with …

Covid-19, Latin America

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COVID-19

Biden’s Toughest Task: Linking Foreign Policy to a Changed America

Barbara Crossette

• June 10, 2020

With Joseph Biden taking an unassailable lead by June 7 as the Democratic Party’s choice for president of the United States, many Americans foresee a desperate, ugly political campaign for re-election by Donald Trump coming. The magnitude of his damage to America’s role in the world will be an issue for Democrats, along with …