Human Rights

Myanmar’s Coup Crisis Persists; Global Bias Against Older People; Vietnam Is in Charge

April 9, 2021

The Myanmar crisis isn’t going away; global bias against older people; Vietnam leads the Security Council; Chadian peacekeepers killed and wounded in Mali. 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. A huge thank you to …

General Assembly, Health and Population, Human Rights, Myanmar, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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COVID-19

The Pandemic Reveals the Disturbing Depths of Ageism, Especially for Women

April 6, 2021

by Barbara Crossette

During more than a year of tracking the parameters of Covid-19, medical science has made one thing clear: the virus hits the elderly hardest. Yet their vulnerability is often taken as fate. A new international study disagrees. Prejudice, institutional bias and societal discrimination against older people in both rich and poor countries, it says, …

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

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THIS WEEK @UN

America’s Blinken ‘Visits’ the UN; Mexico’s Split Personality on Women’s Rights; New Secretary-General Applicants

April 2, 2021

by Ivana Ramirez

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken dials the UN; Mexico’s dual-personality approach to women’s rights; a deadly French airstrike on a wedding in Mali; two new applicants for secretary-general. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues facing the organization. The information is gathered from UN press briefings, PassBlue reporting …

Africa, Gender-Based Violence, General Assembly, Human Rights, Myanmar, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, UN Special Envoys, US-UN Relations

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A Wedding Party Hit By French Forces in Mali Killed Mostly Civilians, UN Report Says

March 31, 2021

by Clair MacDougall

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — From above, the photographs show a stretch of charred land in the middle of the desert and a mass grave covered in dried tree branches, where people living around Bounti, a village in central Mali, said those who had been killed by French airstrikes were buried. On the ground were …

Africa, Human Rights, Peace and Security, Secretary-General, Security Council

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TOPIC: WOMEN

At the UN, Mexico Works for Women’s Rights. Back Home It’s a Different Story.

March 29, 2021

by Maurizio Guerrero

Mexico and France are hosting a United Nations forum that aims to accelerate the agenda laid out 26 years ago at the landmark Beijing women’s conference: securing equal rights and equal opportunities for half the population of the world. Beginning in Mexico City on March 29-31 and culminating in Paris in early July, the …

Gender-Based Violence, Human Rights, Women

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THIS WEEK @UN

Anti-Asian Threats; Troubles in the UN Humanitarian Aid Agency?; Yes, the UN Still Matters

March 26, 2021

by Ivana Ramirez

Anti-Asian violence; the closing window for a woman secretary-general; a UN expert threatened by Saudi Arabia; the UN’s humanitarian-aid agency cries out for changes. 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. Barbara Crossette, who …

Development, Gender-Based Violence, Health and Population, Human Rights, Sustainable Development Goals, This Week @UN, UN Special Envoys, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

Biden and Harris Interact With the UN; a New Envoy for Afghanistan; Canada Meets a Secretary-General Candidate

March 19, 2021

by Ivana Ramirez

The Security Council gathers with President Biden; commercial surrogacy is legalized in New York State; Kamala Harris on women and democracy; a UN secretary-general aspirant meets with Canadian diplomats. 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 …

Climate and Environment, Disabilities, General Assembly, Human Rights, Human Trafficking, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

Advice for America’s Return to the Human Rights Council, Starting With the Issue of Racism

March 17, 2021

by Peter Splinter

GENEVA — The United States’ decision to re-engage with the United Nations Human Rights Council, announced last month, has been welcomed in many quarters. The news offered a sense of the priorities the US would have in returning to the Council under the Biden administration, after the country left the body in 2018. Now …

Africa, Human Rights, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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THIS WEEK @UN

Growing Crises in Myanmar and Tigray; Getting to Know the US Envoy; Will the UN’s Top Humanitarian Job Go to the UK Again?

March 6, 2021

by Ivana Ramirez

Continuing crises in Myanmar and Ethiopia; the US envoy to the UN’s first week; why Britain has held the top humanitarian job for so long; and women’s gains in the African Union. You are reading This Week @UN, a summary of the most pressing issues facing the organization. The information is gathered from the UN …

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

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A Norwegian Diplomat, Now a UN Envoy, Praised a Notorious Israeli Businessman Accused of Corruption

February 16, 2021

by Dulcie Leimbach

A controversial letter written in 2019 by a Norwegian diplomat who is now a leading United Nations envoy in the Middle East, vouching for an Israeli billionaire’s role in the release of a Norwegian-British citizen sentenced to death in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was recently published by The Norwegian Business Daily (Dagens …

Africa, Human Rights, Secretary-General, Security Council, UN Diplomats

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TOPIC: WOMEN

US Aid Returns to UNFPA Amid Efforts to End Global Gag Rule Permanently

January 31, 2021

by Barbara Crossette

Fulfilling promises that he made in his 2020 election campaign, President Joe Biden restored United States contributions to the United Nations Population Fund on Jan. 28. Through another executive order, he also overturned crippling US aid restrictions worldwide that had been demanded by anti-abortion lobbies. The Mexico City policy restrictions — also known as …

Gender-Based Violence, Health and Population, Human Rights, US-UN Relations, Women

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THIS WEEK @UN

US Nominee Grilled on China; Guterres’s Top Goals for 2021; UN Tech Envoy Put on Leave

January 29, 2021

by Ivana Ramirez

Biden’s nominee for UN envoy faces the Senate; Guterres’s main focus in 2021; the UN’s brand-new tech envoy accused of harassment. You are reading This Week @UN, a summary of the most pressing issues facing the international organization. The information is gathered from the UN spokesperson’s press briefings, original PassBlue reporting and other sources. …

Gender-Based Violence, Health and Population, Human Rights, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, UN Agencies, US-UN Relations

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The New UN Tech Envoy Is Put on Leave, Pending an Investigation

January 27, 2021

by Laura E. Kirkpatrick

Fabrizio Hochschild Drummond has just been named as the United Nations first-ever technology envoy. Hochschild, a Chilean national who has been with the UN since 1988, has served the organization in numerous jobs in the field, starting in Sudan, and at headquarters in Geneva and New York City. Hochschild, 57, was most recently the …

Gender-Based Violence, General Assembly, Human Rights

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Biden’s UN Nominee Fends Off Questions About Being Soft on China

January 27, 2021

by Barbara Crossette

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, appearing before a Senate committee confirmation hearing on Jan. 27 for her nomination as United States envoy to the United Nations, handled a barrage of Republican accusations that the new Biden administration and she were not tough enough on China. The rhetoric from the Republican camp reached a crescendo when Senator Ted …

Africa, General Assembly, Human Rights, Nuclear Disarmament, Security Council, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

6 African Peacekeepers Killed; UN Chief Pursues a Second Term; US Sanctions Houthis in Yemen

January 15, 2021

by Ivana Ramirez

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres pursues a second term; a total of six peacekeepers were killed in Mali and the Central African Republic; Britain helps raise $1 billion for the UN’s Covax vaccine program. You are reading This Week @UN, a summary of the most pressing issues facing the organization. The information is gathered …

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

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

Can Vietnam Rally the Big UN Powers to Stop More Bloodshed in Myanmar?

Stéphanie Fillion

COVID-19

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Human Rights

Myanmar’s Coup Crisis Persists; Global Bias Against Older People; Vietnam Is in Charge

The Pandemic Reveals the Disturbing Depths of Ageism, Especially for Women

America’s Blinken ‘Visits’ the UN; Mexico’s Split Personality on Women’s Rights; New Secretary-General Applicants

A Wedding Party Hit By French Forces in Mali Killed Mostly Civilians, UN Report Says

At the UN, Mexico Works for Women’s Rights. Back Home It’s a Different Story.

Anti-Asian Threats; Troubles in the UN Humanitarian Aid Agency?; Yes, the UN Still Matters

Biden and Harris Interact With the UN; a New Envoy for Afghanistan; Canada Meets a Secretary-General Candidate

Advice for America’s Return to the Human Rights Council, Starting With the Issue of Racism

Growing Crises in Myanmar and Tigray; Getting to Know the US Envoy; Will the UN’s Top Humanitarian Job Go to the UK Again?

A Norwegian Diplomat, Now a UN Envoy, Praised a Notorious Israeli Businessman Accused of Corruption

US Aid Returns to UNFPA Amid Efforts to End Global Gag Rule Permanently

US Nominee Grilled on China; Guterres’s Top Goals for 2021; UN Tech Envoy Put on Leave

The New UN Tech Envoy Is Put on Leave, Pending an Investigation

Biden’s UN Nominee Fends Off Questions About Being Soft on China

6 African Peacekeepers Killed; UN Chief Pursues a Second Term; US Sanctions Houthis in Yemen

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The Pandemic Reveals the Disturbing Depths of Ageism, Especially for Women

The Boss of the UN’s Environment Agency Has Been Away for a Year From Its Nairobi HQ. Does It Matter?

A Latin American Pact on the Environment Is Picking Up Speed, but Brazil and Others Need to Ratify It

Schools Fail the Youngest Where Population Grows the Fastest

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