Covid-19

Trump, Following Up on His Earlier Threat, to Withhold Funding to WHO

April 14, 2020

Donald Trump, the president of the United States, announced from the Rose Garden of the White House on April 14 that he was withholding funding to the World Health Organization, pending a “60 to 90 day” review of its handling of the coronavirus crisis and seeming bias toward China, where the Covid-19 outbreak originated in …

Covid-19, Health and Population, US-UN Relations

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COVID-19

Africans Struggle to Be a Unified Force in the UN Security Council, Complicated by the Coronavirus

April 13, 2020

by Maurizio Guerrero

The three elected members that represent Africa on the United Nations Security Council generally present a unified front on the continent’s numerous challenges — many involving foreign intervention — that land on the Council’s agenda. The problem for Africans is that the big world powers routinely ignore them. The other problem is that Africans …

Africa, Covid-19, Security Council

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COVID-19

Living Through the Pandemic in the World’s Most Livable City

April 9, 2020

by Mona Ali Khalil

VIENNA — Since moving to Austria in 2018, I have enjoyed the comparably high standard of living and relatively low cost of living that the city offers. As a foreigner, I feel at home in this beautiful city, which is also home to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the International Atomic …

Covid-19, General Assembly, Health and Population, Security Council

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COVID-19

What the Pandemic Means for UN Peacekeeping Work

April 8, 2020

by Robert Ulrich Nagel and Melanne Verveer

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Covid-19 poses major challenges for people and governments around the world and for the United Nations. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for a global cease-fire on March 23 in recognition of the pandemic’s potentially devastating effects on people in conflict-affected nations. Less noticed in the press coverage was the important point …

Covid-19, UN Peacekeeping

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COVID-19

Was China a Less-Than-Ideal President to Lead the UN Security Council in a Crisis?

April 7, 2020

by Stéphanie Fillion

In early March, China appeared to be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel back home in containing the coronavirus spread, while in New York City, the country was preparing to take over the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council. Ambassador Zhang Jun of China told the media that one …

Covid-19, Security Council, US-UN Relations

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COVID-19

Across the Globe, Domestic Violence Rises as the Coronavirus Rages

April 6, 2020

by Barbara Crossette

For many women worldwide, the fear and suffering caused by the catastrophic viral pandemic is made even more unbearable and frightening by gender violence, as orders to “stay at home” heighten domestic tensions. Reports are accumulating from virtually every global region, according to independent advocacy groups and United Nations agencies. “Over the past weeks …

Covid-19, Gender-Based Violence, Health and Population

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COVID-19

Is Kelly Craft Out of the Loop on Trump’s Pandemic Plans?

April 4, 2020

by Irwin Arieff

President Trump and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo love to label Covid-19 as the “Chinese virus” or “Wuhan virus.” But Kelly Craft, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, is calling on Washington to work hand in hand with China and end the “blame game” of trying to hold Beijing responsible for the …

Covid-19, Security Council, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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COVID-19

The Pandemic Forces UN Women to Shelve the Feminist Forums Until 2021

April 3, 2020

by Barbara Crossette

UN Women is postponing two long-planned international meetings designed to give civil society groups a leading role in advancing gender rights 25 years after a landmark 1995 Beijing conference on women. The two sessions of the Global Equality Forum that had been planned for Mexico City in May and Paris in July will be postponed …

Covid-19, Gender-Based Violence, Health and Population, Human Rights

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COVID-19

A New Tool Tracks Government Policies Responding to the Pandemic

April 1, 2020

by Dulcie Leimbach

As the novel coronavirus, Covid-19, plagues the world, a new tool to track and compare how government policies are contending with the pandemic has been introduced by the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, in England. Called the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker, it is available online at no cost and will be …

Covid-19, Health and Population

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COVID-19

Gender Imbalances: Missing Girls and Vanishing Men

March 31, 2020

by Joseph Chamie

Normally, the numbers of males and females in a human population are about the same across all such populations. However, pregnancy interventions by couples and unhealthy lifestyles among young men have produced gender imbalances, giving rise to “missing girls” in some populations and “disappearing men” in others. The coronavirus pandemic will have lasting impacts …

Covid-19, Gender-Based Violence, Health and Population

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COVID-19

UN Women’s Forum in Mexico City Is Under Review

March 29, 2020

by Barbara Crossette

Another highlight of the year marking the 25th anniversary of a breakthrough international conference in Beijing on women’s rights has fallen victim to the global march of the new coronavirus, Covid-19. The event is the first of two global meetings of the Generation Equality Forum, which is meant to give civil society organizations a …

Covid-19, Health and Population, Latin America

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COVID-19

The Security Council Goes Silent as the Secretary-General Opens Up

March 27, 2020

by Stéphanie Fillion and Kacie Candela

For the coronavirus outbreak, UN-Scripted, our podcast series, is ramping up its coverage by offering a bonus episode this week. This time, we look at how the United Nations Security Council is slowly restarting its program of work but offering few details on its operations to the media and all the countries that don’t …

Covid-19, General Assembly, Health and Population, Secretary-General, Security Council

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COVID-19

The UN’s War Plan Against the Coronavirus as It Attacks the Globe

March 26, 2020

by Dulcie Leimbach and Stéphanie Fillion

The coronavirus officially hit the United Nations at its New York City headquarters on March 12, when the first reported case was announced by the Philippines mission to the UN that one of its diplomats had Covid-19 and was recovering. Twenty-four hours later, the UN announced that its personnel in New York — with …

Covid-19, General Assembly, Humanitarian Aid, Secretary-General, Security Council

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COVID-19

The UN Security Council Is MIA as the Coronavirus Ravages the World

March 24, 2020

by Mona Ali Khalil

Although much of the world is closing temporarily due to the rapid spread of Covid-19, the United Nations Security Council must stay open — meeting physically if possible and virtually if not — in order to fulfill its Charter responsibilities not only to address the threats posed by the pandemic but also to respond …

Covid-19, Health and Population, Security Council

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COVID-19

In a Crisis, Does the UN Have a Leadership Succession Plan?

March 23, 2020

by Laura E. Kirkpatrick

António Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general, continues to go into the UN headquarters building in New York City to work — even as Covid-19 races throughout the region. “Right now, Guterres is probably the safest man on the planet,” said a former UN official familiar with the security protocol. “He’s working at an empty …

Covid-19, Health and Population, Secretary-General

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Covid-19

Trump, Following Up on His Earlier Threat, to Withhold Funding to WHO

Africans Struggle to Be a Unified Force in the UN Security Council, Complicated by the Coronavirus

Living Through the Pandemic in the World’s Most Livable City

What the Pandemic Means for UN Peacekeeping Work

Was China a Less-Than-Ideal President to Lead the UN Security Council in a Crisis?

Across the Globe, Domestic Violence Rises as the Coronavirus Rages

Is Kelly Craft Out of the Loop on Trump’s Pandemic Plans?

The Pandemic Forces UN Women to Shelve the Feminist Forums Until 2021

A New Tool Tracks Government Policies Responding to the Pandemic

Gender Imbalances: Missing Girls and Vanishing Men

UN Women’s Forum in Mexico City Is Under Review

The Security Council Goes Silent as the Secretary-General Opens Up

The UN’s War Plan Against the Coronavirus as It Attacks the Globe

The UN Security Council Is MIA as the Coronavirus Ravages the World

In a Crisis, Does the UN Have a Leadership Succession Plan?

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