Secretary-General

• 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, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

US Severs Ties to the WHO, Security Council Vetoes, Counterterrorism Week

Allison Lecce

• July 10, 2020

In a final straw to the current troubles between the World Health Organization and the United States, the Trump administration notified United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on July 6 of its withdrawal from the agency, effective July 6, 2021. But the story may not be over, as Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, tweeted: …

Climate and Environment, General Assembly, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

The UN Charter’s Birthday, Guterres ‘Meets’ the Press, Israel’s Annexation Plans

Allison Lecce

• June 26, 2020

Starting in June, a summary of the most important news on the United Nations’ work in New York City and worldwide will be highlighted weekly. The news will be drawn from the UN spokesperson’s briefings, our original reporting and other sources. We welcome your feedback on the new series, called This Week @UN. This …

General Assembly, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN

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UN75

75 Years In, Does the UN Still Matter? Our New Podcast Episode

Stéphanie Fillion and Kacie Candela

• June 25, 2020

On June 26, 1945, delegates from 50 nations who had gathered in San Francisco over two months to attend the United Nations Conference on International Organization signed the United Nations Charter, forging a new world order. Seventy-five years in and a whole different world later, the UN is celebrating its past, present and future, …

Secretary-General, Security Council, UN75

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UN75

The UN-75 Declaration, a Daring Commitment for a More Perfect World

Richard Ponzio and Cristina Petcu

• June 23, 2020

On the heels of the 1930s Great Depression and in the midst of global turmoil — World War II — leaders from the Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the United States and the United Kingdom gathered in 1944 at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C., to consider a new postwar international architecture to succeed …

Climate and Environment, Governance, Secretary-General, UN75

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COVID-19

The Pandemic’s Cruelty Visits the World’s Children

Barbara Crossette

• June 18, 2020

There are about two billion young children in the world today, ranging from infancy to 14 years old, and most of them live in developing nations in the global south. That is also where the Covid-19 pandemic is spreading the fastest. Three of the top 10 countries in numbers of rapidly rising cases, as of …

Covid-19, Development, Education, Secretary-General

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COVID-19

The UN Must March for Justice and Racial Equality

Mona Ali Khalil

• June 9, 2020

As the world knows, George Floyd, a black man suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a store in Minneapolis, Minn., was killed on May 25 by Derek Chauvin, a white police officer. Chauvin had pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, despite Floyd being handcuffed and on …

Covid-19, Human Rights, Secretary-General

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COVID-19

As Protests Sweep the US, the UN Tweets Platitudes

Dulcie Leimbach

• June 3, 2020

In New York City, protesters swarm the roadway portion of the Brooklyn Bridge, heading from the City Hall area of lower Manhattan into Brooklyn. The crowd stopped incoming traffic, but there was no violence, May 30, 2020. JOHN PENNEY Amid curfews in New York City, constant marches and protests, sirens from the streets and …

Covid-19, General Assembly, Human Rights, Secretary-General, Security Council

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COVID-19

The UN Is Hunting for a New Medical Director, Based in New York City

Stéphanie Fillion

• May 12, 2020

“Are you a senior medical executive with expertise in healthcare management with oversight of clinical services and occupational health at a facility, state, national or international level? The United Nations Secretariat is seeking a Medical Director at the D-2 level in the Department of Operational Support,” an ad posting on the UN’s job portal …

Covid-19, Secretary-General

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COVID-19

Trump Disses the UN’s 75th Birthday

Stephen Schlesinger

• May 6, 2020

This fall, the United Nations will celebrate its 75th anniversary. This is a notable occasion. Most global security bodies have had short shelf lives. But the UN has shown an extraordinary durability — a tribute to how this body was conceived and fashioned during World War II by one of America’s great presidents, Franklin …

Child Soldiers, Covid-19, Secretary-General, Security Council, US-UN Relations

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COVID-19

UN at 75: The Security Council Must Remember Why It Exists

Mona Ali Khalil and Fred Carver

• April 21, 2020

The United Nations is turning 75 this year. While the UN has so far successfully averted a third world war, the aggressions in Iraq, Ukraine and Syria remind us that interstate conflicts remain a real and present danger. The Security Council’s failure to resolve intrastate conflicts, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to …

Covid-19, Secretary-General, Security Council, UN75

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COVID-19

Covid-19 Could Shake Up Global Sanctions Regimes, UN Expert Says

Stéphanie Fillion and Kacie Candela

• April 20, 2020

During the last week of March, Hilal Elver, the United Nations special rapporteur on the right to food, was one of three high-level UN representatives to call for an easing of some sanctions to help alleviate the impact of the coronavirus. UN Secretary-General António Guterres sent a letter to G-20 countries asking them to …

Covid-19, Secretary-General, Security Council

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COVID-19

A Plea for Multilateralism From the Windy City

Thomas G. Weiss

• April 15, 2020

CHICAGO — American cities have an intimate association with the United Nations. That relationship started in San Francisco 75 years ago later this month and continues today and, one hopes, tomorrow in the New York and Washington headquarters for the UN and the Bretton Woods institutions. Chicago is my sabbatical base and an intriguing …

Covid-19, Secretary-General, US-UN Relations

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COVID-19

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

Stéphanie Fillion and Kacie Candela

• March 27, 2020

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

Dulcie Leimbach and Stéphanie Fillion

• March 26, 2020

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 …