Online Program Enrolling Now - Seton Hall - United Nations Institute for Training and Research
Online Program Enrolling Now - Seton Hall - United Nations Institute for Training and Research

BLUE SMOKE: A monthly column, from PassBlue and UNA–UK, spotlighting senior appointments at the UN

Middle East

LEAVE A COMMENT
Syrians who have spent years agonizing over the whereabouts of their jailed or disappeared relatives are one crucial step closer to clarifying the fate and whereabouts of their missing loved ones, as the United Nations General Assembly approved a…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
This week, the UN’s humanitarian arm jumped in to help mitigate the disaster at Ukraine’s Kakhovka dam, while back in New York City, the UN secretary-general tweeted on June 7, as daylight darkened ominously: “At our @UN Headquarters in…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
The world needs the United Arab Emirates’ oil moguls to get involved in striving for “peace and security,” in a globe where climate change is creating conflict flash points, said Mira Al Hussein, a fellow at the University of…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
After many delays brought on by a devastating earthquake, shifting geopolitical alliances and paralyzing indecision among United Nations member states, the General Assembly met on Tuesday to debate the creation of an institution to help Syrian families learn the…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
This week, we report on Russia getting its first hint that it might someday be held accountable for its territorial assault on Ukraine. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. The information…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
This week, we focus on UN reform (no joke!); visits by the UN peacekeeping boss to Lebanon, Syria and Israel; and glimmers of hope for Iraq. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
This week, opinion seemed divided on the decision to expel Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. The information is gathered from…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
Guy Ryder, 66, immediate past director-general of the International Labor Organization for 10 years, begins his new role in New York City as the UN under secretary-general for policy, about 10 days into a World Cup rocked by accusations…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
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…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
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…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
  Iran’s new ambassador to the United Nations stunned journalists recently when he read a contentious statement to them in response to an informal Security Council meeting on the current protests in Iran. The envoy delivered his remarks to…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
This week, we focus on the progress in discussions about elections in Libya and the drastic call for help in Afghanistan after the recent earthquake. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization….

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
The last time the United Arab Emirates was elected to the Security Council, in 1986, the country was only 15 years old, and Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, the current UAE ambassador to the United Nations, was just 7. Since then…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
PassBlue probes the global body granting licenses to mine the deep seas; UN staff detained in Ethiopia; global famine rises. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues facing the organization. The information is gathered from…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
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…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
UNGA78: A quiz from PassBlue
Online Program Enrolling Now - Seton Hall - United Nations Institute for Training and Research

THIS WEEK'S MOST POPULAR

Don't Miss a Story:

Subscribe to PassBlue

Sign up to get the smartest news on the UN by email, joining readers across the globe.​

We respect your privacy and take protecting it seriously​