Security Council

• May 27, 2022

This week, UN peacekeepers are commemorated, an ex-UN staff member is convicted for assault and lying to the FBI and the war in Ukraine enters its third month. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. The information is gathered from UN press briefings, PassBlue reporting and other …

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

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WORLDVIEWS

What Russia’s Lavrov Left Behind: Those Golden UN Years

Irwin Arieff

• May 23, 2022

Can we shed a tear for Sergey Lavrov? Who could have foreseen, a few years back, the huge mess he now finds himself in? Spanning five decades of service in Moscow’s foreign policy hierarchy, the veteran envoy has worked his way up to the very highest levels of international diplomacy after starting out in …

Peace and Security, Security Council, UN Diplomats, WORLDVIEWS

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US Tells Russia: Stop Weaponizing Food in Your War on Ukraine

Damilola Banjo

• May 19, 2022

Antony Blinken, the United States Secretary of State, accused Russia of weaponizing food in its fight against Ukraine and creating a hunger crisis in many parts of the world as a result. Blinken made the remarks at an open debate on conflict as a driver of food insecurity in the United Nations Security Council …

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

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Russia’s Powerful Perch at the UN Is Crumbling

Dawn Clancy

• May 16, 2022

In October, the United States and Russia will square off in a high-stakes election to decide who will be the next secretary-general of the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union (ITU) — helping to determine the future of Internet communications for five billion users worldwide. The Geneva-based ITU develops standards and practices that make possible …

Peace and Security, Security Council

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THIS WEEK @UN

Trending UN News: Week Ending May 13

Damilola Banjo

• May 13, 2022

This week, we focus on how the UN is further rallying support to combat the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and the widespread condemnation against the killing of Al Jazeera’s reporter in Palestine. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. The information is gathered from UN press briefings, …

General Assembly, Human Rights, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN

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Russia Has Used Its UN Seat to Hide Atrocities Committed in the Central African Republic, Experts Say

Anastasiia Carrier

• May 9, 2022

The presence of the Russian state-linked Wagner Group mercenaries in the diamond-rich Central African Republic has been bloody. Now it seems that Russia has used its power in the United Nations Security Council to protect its exploits and geostrategic interests in the African country, a nation hanging on by a thread. Given international outcry …

Africa, Human Rights, Security Council

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THIS WEEK @UN

Trending UN News: Week Ending April 29

Damilola Banjo

• April 29, 2022

This week, reporting on the UN’s efforts to help evacuate people still trapped in Mariupol as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine heads into its 10th week. So far, the UN hasn’t revealed any progress on its humanitarian corridor goal as the mayor of Mariupol pleads desperately for the city to be rescued. You are reading …

Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN

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THIS WEEK @UN

Trending UN News: Week Ending April 22

Damilola Banjo

• April 22, 2022

This week, the focus stays glued to Ukraine while a flicker of hope emerges in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, where children are getting new malaria vaccines. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. The information is gathered from UN press briefings, PassBlue reporting and other sources. This …

Climate Change, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN

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WORLDVIEWS

Handling Zelensky: The UN’s Dilemma

Stephen Schlesinger

• April 18, 2022

The United Nations has been widely criticized for failing to stop the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Critics point out that Russia has vetoed every action in the Security Council to stymie or end the Russian attack. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky even told the Council earlier this month that given its many standoffs, it might …

Peace and Security, Secretary-General, Security Council, WORLDVIEWS

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Ukraine’s UN Envoy on Russia’s War and the Significance of ‘Swan Lake’

Dawn Clancy

• April 11, 2022

When he needs to unwind amid Russia’s disastrous invasion of his country, Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations, takes long bike rides in Manhattan with his dog, Dezi (Dez, for short), a sprightly Jack Russell terrier. Her name is a riff on the title of Max Ehrmann’s poem “Desiderata,” which means something …

Peace and Security, Refugees, Security Council

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Trending UN News: Week Ending April 8

Damilola Banjo

• April 8, 2022

This week, we see how all the crises around the world have huge consequences on civilians, but we are also reminded of the resilient power of people who choose peace after a long, brutal war. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. The information is gathered from …

Africa, Human Rights, Peace and Security, Secretary-General, Security Council

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WORLDVIEWS

Russia’s Aggression Against Ukraine Has Major Implications Throughout East Asia

Yasuhiro Ueki

• April 4, 2022

Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military attack on Ukraine has not only undermined the basic norms and tenets of the international order based on the United Nations Charter but it has also provoked strategic recalculations of international relations in the rest of the world, including in East Asia. The Russian invasion has pushed Japan firmly …

Asia, Nuclear Disarmament, Peace and Security, Security Council, WORLDVIEWS

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WOMEN AS CHANGEMAKERS

Meet Comfort Ero, the First Black Woman to Lead the International Crisis Group

Damilola Banjo

• April 3, 2022

Comfort Ero knew that her appointment as the president and chief executive of the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank working to prevent wars, would be arduous. But taking up the role in December, two months before Russia invaded Ukraine, is not exactly what she envisaged. “It is a reminder of what it …

Africa, General Assembly, Peace and Security, Security Council, Women as Changemakers

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THIS WEEK @UN

Trending UN News: Week Ending April 1

Damilola Banjo

• April 1, 2022

This week, the spotlight remains on the desperate plight of millions of people around the world. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. This week, we bring you an analysis of President Putin’s mind-set, a look at Canada’s provocative envoy at the UN and the announcement of a …

Peace and Security, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN

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Canada’s Blunt Talk to Russia at the UN, Spilling With Outrage

Susanne Courtney

• March 28, 2022

TORONTO — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has seriously rattled Europe and the rest of the world and upset the normally sedate discourse of diplomats at the United Nations as well. The public remarks of Canada’s UN ambassador about the war have stood out for their vehemence against Russia and President Vladimir Putin’s claims for …