SDGs

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 global goals designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.” Set up by the UNGA in 2015, the SDGs are included in Agenda 2030.

• September 6, 2021

Sima Sami Bahous, until recently Jordan’s ambassador to the United Nations since 2016, has been chosen as the next executive director of UN Women. Her appointment may be announced as soon as Tuesday, Sept. 7, according to numerous people who have been closely following the search for a successor to Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka of South …

Gender Violence, SDGs, Secretary-General, UN Agencies, Women

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THIS WEEK @UN

US Delegation to Haiti Cut Short; Risks for the UN Pension Fund?; an Ex-Guantánamo Detainee May Face Torture in Russia

Ivana Ramirez

• July 24, 2021

A US delegation to Haiti returns early; potential risks for the $87 billion UN pension fund; an ex-Guantánamo detainee may face torture in Russia. 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. We are inching closer …

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

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WORLDVIEWS

What Now, António?

Thomas G. Weiss

• June 16, 2021

António Guterres soon will be recrowned Secretary-General after Manhattan’s five-member Electoral College, the permanent members of the Security Council, send its recommendation to the General Assembly for a ceremonial vote. In 2016, his election was an unusually transparent process — at least by United Nations standards — with contenders vetted by the General Assembly; …

SDGs, Secretary-General, WORLDVIEWS

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THIS WEEK @UN

Mass Rapes in Tigray; Burma Sinks Further; Climate, Climate, Climate

Ivana Ramirez

• April 23, 2021

The Joe Biden climate-fest; rape as a weapon of war in Tigray; Burma slides further downhill. 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. Laura Kirkpatrick, who manages our Facebook page, created an informal poll based …

Climate Change, General Assembly, Middle East, Myanmar, SDGs, 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

Barbara Crossette

• April 6, 2021

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 Violence, Health and Population, Human Rights, SDGs

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THIS WEEK @UN

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

Ivana Ramirez

• March 26, 2021

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 Violence, Health and Population, Human Rights, SDGs, This Week @UN, UN Special Envoys, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

The Audacity of Change: A Specific Example of How the UN Can Still Make a Difference

Alan Doss

• March 23, 2021

GENEVA — One of the quiet pleasures of life is an early-morning cappuccino in the company of a good newspaper. That was before Covid-19 came along. The pandemic and resulting disruption of newspaper deliveries and shuttering of cafes has obliged me to suspend my habits of a lifetime. Pending the resumption of normal service, …

Development, SDGs, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

The UN Should Adopt a Seventh Official Language, for the Deaf

Vera Dimoplon

• March 12, 2021

While recently attending a virtual tour of the United Nations Office at Vienna, I was astonished to learn that the translation services did not include sign language interpreters. There are six official UN languages — Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish — that provide “clear and concise communication on issues of global importance,” according …

Disabilities, SDGs, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

The UN Must Select a Woman Secretary-General Now, Not Later

Simone Filippini

• February 23, 2021

António Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general, announced early last month that he would seek a second five-year term, starting in January 2022, as the organization’s highest official, “if it would be the will of the member states.” The respective presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council have since defined the “selection and appointment …

SDGs, Secretary-General, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

A Global Forest Treaty Is Needed Now

Adriana Erthal Abdenur

• December 10, 2020

RIO DE JANEIRO — Illegal deforestation has become a defining problem of our time, but its place in global governance remains piecemeal. Just a few months ago, the idea of an international agreement on forests would have been unthinkable because of the spread of climate denialism and nationalist populism. But the winds of geopolitical …

Climate Change, Latin America, SDGs, WORLDVIEWS

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UN-75: The Moment to Build a More Inclusive World Order Is Here

María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés and Tijjani Muhammad-Bande

• October 24, 2020

Since its founding 75 years ago, the United Nations has proven, with the support of its member countries and other partners, its worth in complex problem-solving. That includes preventing great-power wars, remedying humanitarian emergencies, safeguarding human rights and reducing extreme poverty. But as we commemorate UN Day, with world leaders having marked the world …

Development, Disarmament, Governance, Health and Population, Human Rights, SDGs

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UN75

Finally, a Woman Leader Speaks at the UN General Assembly Debate: Slovakia

Sonah Lee-Lassiter

• September 23, 2020

A pre-recorded statement from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s President Sefik Dzaferovic kicked off Day 2 of the 75th General Assembly, and like many other world leaders, he called for heightened multilateralism amid today’s pandemic and global conflicts. Simultaneously, for the first hour of the day, a Unicef-sponsored virtual event about protecting future generations from the …

General Assembly, SDGs, UN75

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THIS WEEK @UN

The UN’s 75th Birthday Is Here; Trump’s Not Coming to UNGA; What He Might Say Virtually

Dulcie Leimbach

• September 18, 2020

The most important week of the year at the United Nations has arrived, though expectations are low, given that the annual opening debate of the General Assembly is being held virtually because of Covid-19. No global leaders are coming to the debate; no wine-laden luncheons or “bilateral” meetings for them are scheduled; and no …

SDGs, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

Beijing+25; ICC Prosecutor Sanctioned by US; Niger Leads the Security Council

Dulcie Leimbach

• September 5, 2020

The 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing; the United States sanctions the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court; dissecting the failed ambitions of the US effort to force the UN mission in Lebanon to be more aggressive. Greetings from This Week @UN, our summary highlighting the most important news on the …

Middle East, SDGs, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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COVID-19

Wanted: Small Investors to Boost Development Money Beyond Banks

Barbara Crossette

• August 31, 2020

For nearly two years, an international group of 17 specialists on the finance frontier have been connecting digital technologies to new sources of money for the faltering Sustainable Development Goals. On Aug. 26, they unveiled an ambitious report on what can be done when traditional pools of capital are broadened and deepened by including …