Security Council

• September 18, 2021

Vaccine-policy confusion as delegates arrive for UNGA; Gabon’s troops repatriated from a United Nations peacekeeping mission; President Macron of France won’t participate in the UN high-level debate. 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. UNGA …

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

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THIS WEEK @UN

#UNGA76 Is Here; Women on Edge in Afghanistan; Biden’s Hit-and-Miss With Allies

Anna Bianca Roach

• September 10, 2021

Calling all world leaders to the General Assembly; the Taliban shun women; Biden’s confounding foreign policy. 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. Scoop: Incoming members of the obscure but influential UN General Assembly Credentials …

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

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What to Expect From This Year’s UN General Assembly, So Far

Stéphanie Fillion

• September 7, 2021

This year’s United Nations General Assembly could make or break the future of in-person meetings at the gathering in New York City. After a year of carefully negotiating, adapting and crafting health guidelines, UNGA organizers are hoping to avoid a repeat of last year’s first, almost entirely virtual, gathering. But the threat of the …

Africa, Asia, General Assembly, Latin America, Middle East, Secretary-General, Security Council, UNGA76, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

The UN Sticks to Afghanistan; Ireland Steers the Security Council; Preying on Mothers’ Fears

Anna Bianca Roach

• September 3, 2021

The UN’s priorities in Afghanistan for now; how certain multinational corporations feed on new-mothers’ fears amid Covid; Ireland’s envoy defends the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. 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. …

Human Rights, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, UN Agencies, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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How Arria-Formula Meetings Got Their Name and Changed the Way the UN Security Council Works

Stéphanie Fillion

• August 17, 2021

Diego Arria, a former Venezuelan diplomat and political figure, is a moving target. But he took the time recently to speak with PassBlue — and explain how, in the 1990s, informal coffees in one of the United Nations headquarters most-famous lounges created what are now called Arria-formula meetings. These have changed how the UN Security …

Security Council, UN Diplomats

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Despite the Intensifying Dangers in Afghanistan, the UN Says It Is Staying Put [Updated]

Dulcie Leimbach

• August 14, 2021

As the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, on Sunday — and the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, fled the country — the United Nations continues to decline to say whether it is planning to evacuate its thousands of personnel there. Rather, the UN is emphasizing its efforts on providing food, water and other …

Asia, Gender Violence, Humanitarian Aid, Secretary-General, Security Council, UN Agencies

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THIS WEEK @UN

Receding Ice in Iceland; UN Agencies’ Use of P.R. Firms; Lebanon on the Edge

Ivana Ramirez

• July 16, 2021

Receding glaciers in Iceland; the UN’s use of public-relations firms; South Sudan’s promising women’s soccer league; Lebanon’s “reversal.” 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 have reached two-thirds of the way to our important …

Climate and Environment, Gender Violence, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN

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The Public-Relations Industry Grabs a Foothold in the UN

Barbara Crossette

• July 14, 2021

As the final round of the Generation Equality Forum was about to open in Paris in late June, some reporters, including from PassBlue, were directed by a few United Nations agencies most involved in the event, to ask their questions to public-relations companies. Knowledgeable communications specialists in the UN system were “too busy,” reporters …

Journalists, Secretary-General, Security Council, UN Careers

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WORLDVIEWS

Thinking Outside the Box: How UN Sanctions Can Be Used to Bring More Women Into Peace Talks

Sophie Huvé and Rebecca Brubaker

• July 13, 2021

Since 2008, the United Nations Security Council has been integrating part of the women, peace and security agenda into its sanctions regimes — albeit inconsistently and with mixed results. So far, this practice has mostly focused on protecting women and girls against sexual and gender-based violence in conflicts with a twofold approach. In six …

Gender Violence, Security Council, WORLDVIEWS

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THIS WEEK @UN

Crucial Aid Into Syria; Will a Feminist Lead UN Women?; Haiti’s Downfall

Ivana Ramirez

• July 9, 2021

Crucial aid into Syria continues; will a feminist head UN Women?; the good and bad of Security Council Arria meetings; Haiti on the edge. 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 closer …

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

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Does the UN Security Council Have an Arria-Formula Problem?

Stéphanie Fillion

• July 6, 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought enormous changes and challenges to the United Nations Security Council. One result has been the heightened politicization and proliferation of the Arria-formula meetings, or informal sessions, of the Council that can be initiated by any member. The increasing use of these meetings has widened the splits among the big …

Peace and Security, Security Council

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WORLDVIEWS

The German Envoy Did a ‘Good Job’ Shaking Up the UN Security Council

Helmut Volger

• July 4, 2021

BERLIN — When Christoph Heusgen was appointed Germany’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York City in 2017, there were critical comments by foreign policy experts and journalists in our country. They voiced doubts about whether Heusgen, who had been serving as security and foreign policy adviser to Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2005, …

Security Council, WORLDVIEWS

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THIS WEEK @UN

Seeking Racial Justice; $6 Billion for Peace Ops; Gender Equality on the Front Burner, for Now

Ivana Ramirez

• July 2, 2021

Ending racism across the world; UN peacekeeping’s $6 billion annual budget O.K.’d; Norway’s diplomatic troubles; gender equality on the front burner (for now). 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 halfway through …

Africa, Human Rights, Humanitarian Aid, Myanmar, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, UN Peacekeeping

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THIS WEEK @UN

The IAEA Chief’s Laments; Two UN Giants Mourned; European Peacekeepers Attacked in Mali

Ivana Ramirez

• June 25, 2021

Rafael Grossi of the IAEA on Iran, gender bias and diplomacy; nuke-weapons countries just keep spending billions; European peacekeepers attacked in Gao, 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. We are nearly halfway …

Africa, LGBT, Nuclear Disarmament, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

The UN Leader Is Sworn In (Again); Myanmar’s Downhill Slide; the US Envoy’s Rising Star

Ivana Ramirez

• June 18, 2021

The UN’s leader is sworn in for another term; Myanmar’s rapid instability; elevating the US ambassador’s profile. 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 about a third of the way through our mini-fundraiser, …

General Assembly, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Myanmar, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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What to Expect From This Year’s UN General Assembly, So Far

Stéphanie Fillion

TOPIC: WOMEN

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Security Council

#UNGA76 Vaccination Rules; Gabon Peacekeepers Ousted; Macron Drops Out of UN Debate

#UNGA76 Is Here; Women on Edge in Afghanistan; Biden’s Hit-and-Miss With Allies

What to Expect From This Year’s UN General Assembly, So Far

The UN Sticks to Afghanistan; Ireland Steers the Security Council; Preying on Mothers’ Fears

How Arria-Formula Meetings Got Their Name and Changed the Way the UN Security Council Works

Despite the Intensifying Dangers in Afghanistan, the UN Says It Is Staying Put [Updated]

Receding Ice in Iceland; UN Agencies’ Use of P.R. Firms; Lebanon on the Edge

The Public-Relations Industry Grabs a Foothold in the UN

Thinking Outside the Box: How UN Sanctions Can Be Used to Bring More Women Into Peace Talks

Crucial Aid Into Syria; Will a Feminist Lead UN Women?; Haiti’s Downfall

Does the UN Security Council Have an Arria-Formula Problem?

The German Envoy Did a ‘Good Job’ Shaking Up the UN Security Council

Seeking Racial Justice; $6 Billion for Peace Ops; Gender Equality on the Front Burner, for Now

The IAEA Chief’s Laments; Two UN Giants Mourned; European Peacekeepers Attacked in Mali

The UN Leader Is Sworn In (Again); Myanmar’s Downhill Slide; the US Envoy’s Rising Star

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A Jordanian Diplomat With Development Expertise Will Lead UN Women

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Myanmar’s Credentials at the UN

UNGA76: Who’s Coming and Going at New York City’s Annual Jubilee: Our Latest Podcast Episode

UN-Scripted, Passblue's UN podcast series

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