Seton Hall Graduate Degree in International Affairs
Seton Hall Graduate Degree in International Affairs

BLUE SMOKE: A new monthly newsletter, from PassBlue and UNA–UK, which shines a spotlight on senior appointments at the UN

General Assembly

This week, we focus on countries with enduring humanitarian disasters, plus big news from the International Criminal Court on Russia. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. The information is gathered from…
 
On the eve of the first anniversary of Russia’s full-scale brutal war in Ukraine, the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution demanding that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally” withdraw its military forces from Ukraine; called for a “cessation…
 
Inaction on climate. The grossly unequal response to Covid-19. Bailing out banks instead of helping the least-developed countries. The different and disproportionate approaches to conflicts in Africa and the Middle East. The failure to prevent atrocities in Palestine, Myanmar,…
 
A grass-roots coalition of Syrian families and advocacy groups has been lobbying United Nations member states and Secretary-General António Guterres to create an international system to help families across Syria learn the status of their missing relatives who have…
 
As the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is fast approaching, a draft resolution is circulating among the United Nations’ 193 countries emphasizing the need for a “just and lasting peace” for Ukraine, while Western diplomats are…
 
Everyone talks about reforming the United Nations Security Council but change remains elusive after decades of debates. This past year, the voices for expanding the Council became louder, yet few can agree on how to do it. And they…
 
This week, we focus on the crises in Yemen and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as the United Nations intensifies peacekeeping and humanitarian remediation in the first weeks of 2023. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the…
 
Hans Corell knows how to establish war crime tribunals. The Swede is a former top legal expert for the United Nations who served under Secretaries-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Kofi Annan and, on behalf of the institution, was instrumental in…
 
Ukraine is dropping its “peace formula summit” that it wanted to hold at the United Nations to mark the yearlong anniversary, on Feb. 24, of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, a Western source familiar with the decision told PassBlue….
 
First, happy new year to all our readers! This is the first summary for 2023, and we are excited to bring you all the bits and intrigues from inside the United Nations. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing…
 
For months, Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations, alongside Christian Wenaweser, Liechtenstein’s envoy, have been leading an effort at the UN to produce a draft resolution to support the notion of establishing an international tribunal to prosecute…
 
This week, we focus on the issues of intensifying violence in the Mideast raised separately by UN special envoys in the Security Council. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. The information…
 
This week, we focus on climate commitments made at the just-concluded COP27 as well as the UN Environment Program honoring activists. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. The information is gathered…
 
Navi Pillay, who leads the United Nations Human Rights Council’s commission of inquiry on Palestine and Israel, has written to the president of the General Assembly about a “matter of significant concern” involving the Israeli ambassador at a public…
 
Leaders of major democracies are intensifying their denunciations of the Iranian government for its continued brutal crackdown on the protests in the country, which are moving into their third month as Iran has issued four death sentences so far…
 
The Women's History Month Quiz from PassBlue: A quiz about women and the UN
Seton Hall Graduate Degree in International Affairs

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