Secretary-General

The UN’s Emphasis on Prevention Could Use Lessons From the Case of Guinea

June 18, 2018

Historically neglected, gender-based violence is now becoming broadly recognized as a legitimate and urgent agenda item among the United Nations member nations, notably in the UN’s most powerful forum, the Security Council. But the future of the agenda is uncertain, as priorities remain unclear and inadequate methods for preventing sexual violence against women keep …

Africa, Gender-Based Violence, Responsibility to Protect, Secretary-General, Security Council, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

The UN and #MeToo: All Forms of Abuse Must End Now

May 9, 2018

by Loraine Rickard-Martin

For many years now, media attention on sexual abuse and exploitation by United Nations peacekeepers cornered the UN and pushed it toward reform. Now, the #MeToo movement has put the organization — and many other major institutions across the world — on red alert. But UN insiders and supporters are wondering if the leadership’s …

Gender-Based Violence, Secretary-General, WORLDVIEWS

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GEOPOLITICS

Confronting Possible Gas Attacks in Syria, the UN Security Council Succumbs to Chaos

April 13, 2018

by Dulcie Leimbach

In a week of reversals, semireversals and blatant backtracking by some of the most powerful countries on earth, diplomacy showed its head-spinning underside in the United Nations Security Council, as three Western allies — Britain, France and the United States — conveyed their outrage against Russia for its perceived role in allowing the Syrian …

Disarmament, Geopolitics, Middle East, Peace and Security, Secretary-General, Security Council, US Foreign Relations

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As the UN Strives to Modernize Peacekeeping, the US Still Vows to Cut Funding

April 2, 2018

by Dulcie Leimbach

As peacekeepers sweat and toil and risk their lives in some of the world’s most lethal settings — South Sudan, Mali, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo — it is incumbent on the United Nations and its 193 members to alleviate the suffering and deaths of troops as fatalities keep rising. In …

Africa, Peace and Security, Secretary-General, UN Peacekeeping, US-UN Relations

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UN-Scripted: PassBlue's exclusive podcast series

Master of Science in Humanitarian Studies at Fordham University

In Newark’s Portuguese Community, UN Secretary-General António Guterres Is Unknown

March 21, 2018

by Dulcie Leimbach

NEWARK, N.J. — In the Portuguese-speaking section of New Jersey’s most populous city, virtually no one, when asked, had heard of António Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations and a one-time prime minister of Portugal. At a popular restaurant on Ferry Street, the main drag nicknamed Portugal Street, one person eating his platter …

Secretary-General, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

Who Says the UN Is Boring? Intrigue Always Abounds in Its Inner Core

March 20, 2018

by Herman T. Salton

Bureaucracies do not have a great reputation, and the United Nations bureaucracy is no exception. They are seen as inefficient, cumbersome and rigid, adjectives that are also routinely associated with the UN Secretariat. At best considered a “necessary evil,” bureaucracies tend to attract scorn rather than analysis. The UN Secretariat, however, is different. Although …

Secretary-General, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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In an Unusual Move, the UN Security Council Is Heading to Sweden for a Retreat

March 19, 2018

by Dulcie Leimbach

The United Nations Security Council, perhaps needing a change of scenery from its chamber overlooking the East River in New York, is traveling to the southern Swedish coast in April for an annual retreat whose theme this year is “a new narrative on peace operations.” The retreat will be held in a newly renovated …

Peace and Security, Secretary-General, Security Council

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The UN Secretary-General Pushes Ahead on Peacekeeping Reform

March 16, 2018

by Barbara Crossette

Responding to a December request from the General Assembly for details on how he proposes to staff and pay for sweeping changes in political affairs and peacekeeping at the United Nations, Secretary-General António Guterres has drafted a 50-page explanation for member states to consider. The General Assembly had agreed in principle to his original …

Peace and Security, Secretary-General, UN Peacekeeping, US-UN Relations

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Women Descend on the UN, Riding on the Heels of #TimesUp

March 12, 2018

by Dulcie Leimbach

As women across the world battle systemic harassment and worse abuses for merely being female, the United Nations has opened its annual gathering of women in one of its biggest conferences of the year. This time, the 12-day meeting focuses on the status of rural women, but since it follows closely on the heels …

Gender-Based Violence, Human Rights, Secretary-General, Women

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A Sexual Assault Claim at Unaids Suggests a Cover-Up by Its Management

February 14, 2018

by Dulcie Leimbach

As allegations of sexual abuse and harassment in the offices, field operations and peacekeeping missions continue to plague the United Nations, a case that has recently come to light reveals that in 2016 a woman who worked for Unaids accused a high-level official of the entity of sexual assault. The woman’s claim has been …

Gender-Based Violence, Secretary-General

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NIKKI HALEY WATCH

How Stormy Was It? The First Year of Trump, Haley and Guterres at the UN

January 28, 2018

by Fred Carver

LONDON — President Donald Trump marked a year at the helm of the United States on Jan. 20. Secretary-General António Guterres marked a year at the helm of the United Nations on Jan. 1. How has their first year gone relative to the UN? The short answer is: not as badly as you might …

Nikki Haley Watch, Nuclear Disarmament, Secretary-General, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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GEOPOLITICS

Words Ring Hollow From the UN After Attacks on Peacekeepers

December 27, 2017

by Susan Manuel

The horrific attack on United Nations peacekeepers from Tanzania in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in early December and the ensuing hours-long battle was a severe blow to one of the UN’s more prized forces, leaving 15 soldiers dead. But the UN was already so concerned with a rise in peacekeeper fatalities — …

Africa, Asia, Geopolitics, Peace and Security, Secretary-General, UN Peacekeeping

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Sexual Harassment at the UN Is Alive and Persistent

December 22, 2017

by Laura E. Kirkpatrick

As its people of the year, Time magazine recently named the Silence Breakers — people who have spoken against sexual harassment and launched the hashtag #MeToo into an international phenomenon with more than seven million hits on social media. Just before the announcement, more than 230 women who work in national security for the …

Gender-Based Violence, Human Rights, Secretary-General, UN Diplomats, Women

4 Comments

WORLDVIEWS

The UN Secretary-General’s Disappointing Peace-Building Proposal

December 11, 2017

by Graciana del Castillo

Since the end of the Cold War, a diverse group of countries at low levels of development emerged from intrastate conflicts and embarked on a complex transition to peace, stability and prosperity. All aspects of such transitions are closely interrelated and reinforce each other. Simultaneous security, political, social and economic activities compete for scarce …

Peace and Security, Secretary-General, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

António Guterres, Please Reform the UN’s Human Rights Tools

November 20, 2017

by Vincent Ploton

When recently asked what keeps him up at night, António Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general, gave a straight answer: bureaucracy as well as “fragmented structures, byzantine procedures, endless red tape.” Such flaws also apply to UN human-rights mechanisms, and Guterres should ensure that his UN-wide reform agenda prioritizes strengthening such tools, which can be …

Human Rights, Secretary-General, WORLDVIEWS

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Secretary-General

The UN’s Emphasis on Prevention Could Use Lessons From the Case of Guinea

The UN and #MeToo: All Forms of Abuse Must End Now

Confronting Possible Gas Attacks in Syria, the UN Security Council Succumbs to Chaos

As the UN Strives to Modernize Peacekeeping, the US Still Vows to Cut Funding

In Newark’s Portuguese Community, UN Secretary-General António Guterres Is Unknown

Who Says the UN Is Boring? Intrigue Always Abounds in Its Inner Core

In an Unusual Move, the UN Security Council Is Heading to Sweden for a Retreat

The UN Secretary-General Pushes Ahead on Peacekeeping Reform

Women Descend on the UN, Riding on the Heels of #TimesUp

A Sexual Assault Claim at Unaids Suggests a Cover-Up by Its Management

How Stormy Was It? The First Year of Trump, Haley and Guterres at the UN

Words Ring Hollow From the UN After Attacks on Peacekeepers

Sexual Harassment at the UN Is Alive and Persistent

The UN Secretary-General’s Disappointing Peace-Building Proposal

António Guterres, Please Reform the UN’s Human Rights Tools

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