Security Council

• December 21, 2020

President Trump’s attacks on the rule of law in his four years in office have ranged from blatant disregard to outright breach of everything from well-established ethical values to universally accepted international norms, from United States laws and regulations to international laws and treaties. As the Trump presidency ends, there is hope that the …

Security Council, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

How Far Will Biden Go With the UN?

Stephen Schlesinger

• December 16, 2020

As President-elect Joe Biden finds his footing in foreign affairs, one of his foremost challenges will be re-engaging with the United Nations. So far, he has said little about the organization, but he has just appointed a new UN envoy-in-waiting, an experienced and articulate diplomat, former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and …

Security Council, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

Southeast Asia, Forging Ahead on Women, Peace and Security

Noeleen Heyzer

• December 8, 2020

SINGAPORE — With two Asean members, Vietnam and Indonesia, currently sitting in the United Nations Security Council, the region has advanced Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. This is the first global framework that addresses the changing nature of conflicts, the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, the issues of …

Asia, Gender Violence, Security Council, WORLDVIEWS

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US Envoy-Designate to the UN Turns the Long-Awaited Spotlight on Africa

Barbara Crossette

• December 7, 2020

When President-elect Joe Biden nominated Linda Thomas-Greenfield to be the next ambassador to the United Nations, he was signaling that American diplomacy would face big changes. If she is confirmed by the Senate in the new year, the UN will have a seasoned, top-rank diplomat in the United States’ Security Council seat, a break …

Africa, Security Council, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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Sidelining Africans, the US Imposes Its Own Choice for UN Envoy to Libya

Maurizio Guerrero

• November 16, 2020

Ignoring two proposals from Africa to fill the United Nations special envoy post for Libya, the United States demanded that the secretary-general, António Guterres, accept its own choice, several diplomats have told PassBlue. The maneuver could leave Africa with only a minimal voice in the mediation of a war in its own continent, spurred …

Africa, Gender Violence, Libya, Secretary-General, Security Council, UN Special Envoys

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THIS WEEK @UN

The US Waits and Waits for Final Voting Results; Election Mayhem in Côte d’Ivoire; a Tiny State Runs the Security Council

Dulcie Leimbach

• November 6, 2020

Are we there yet? The United States still awaits final presidential election results; one of the United Nations’ smallest countries leads the Security Council; and presidential election violence in Côte d’Ivoire. You are reading This Week @UN, highlighting the most important news on the world body. The information is drawn from the UN spokesperson’s briefings, …

Africa, Caribbean, Governance, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

A Norwegian Diplomat Disgraced; Covid Strikes the UN Security Council; Russia Fails to Promote Women’s Rights

Dulcie Leimbach

• October 31, 2020

A scandal involving a Norwegian diplomat erupts; Covid-19 rears its head at the United Nations; and who could become its 194th member state? Greetings from This Week @UN, highlights of the most important news on the world body. The information is drawn from the UN spokesperson’s briefings, our original reporting and other sources. Scoop: In …

General Assembly, Health and Population, Human Rights, Nuclear Disarmament, Security Council, This Week @UN

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Terje Rod-Larsen, a Norwegian Diplomat, Quits a New York Think Tank Amid Links to Jeffrey Epstein

Dulcie Leimbach and Barbara Crossette

• October 29, 2020

Terje Rod-Larsen, the president of the prestigious International Peace Institute since 2005, resigned Thursday, according to a statement released by the Manhattan-based think tank on Oct. 29, 2020. Rod-Larsen is a renowned Norwegian diplomat, politician and former United Nations envoy. He and his wife, Mona Juul, now Norway’s ambassador to the UN, were central …

Security Council, UN Diplomats, UN-NY Relations

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COVID-19

The Path to Ending Our Global Chaos Is Through the UN

Mona Ali Khalil

• October 22, 2020

By all accounts, 2020 has been a terrible year so far — but is it worse than 1920? In 1920, World War I, which killed 16 million people, had just ended. The two-year influenza pandemic that followed killed 50 million more. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has already killed more than one million people …

General Assembly, Health and Population, Secretary-General, Security Council, WORLDVIEWS

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The Iran Nuclear Deal: What’s the US Going to Do Next?

Evelyn Leopold

• September 15, 2020

The Trump administration has attempted to trigger a 30-day-clock on extending an arms embargo on Iran that expires on Oct. 18. But the United States position, aimed at mandating all United Nations members to follow its lead, is opposed by most of the world. The embargo is part of Security Council Resolution 2231, adopted …

Nuclear Disarmament, Security Council

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As Iran Allows the UN Access to Suspected Nuclear Sites, Its Uranium Stockpile Is Growing

Stephanie Liechtenstein

• September 7, 2020

VIENNA — The International Atomic Energy Agency has just reported that Iran’s stockpile of low-enriched uranium continues to grow. The stockpile now exceeds the limit set in the 2015 nuclear deal tenfold. According to the confidential quarterly IAEA report, distributed to member states on Sept. 4 and seen by PassBlue, as of Aug. 25, …

Middle East, Nuclear Disarmament, Security Council

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

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WORLDVIEWS

The Unifil Peacekeeping Mandate: Kicking the Southern Lebanon Can Down the Road

Karim Makdisi

• September 3, 2020

On Aug. 28, the United Nations Security Council unanimously voted to renew its peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, called Unifil, for another year. This unanimity, however, masked what had been a series of heated informal discussions on the nature of Unifil and the interpretation of its mandate. The United States, essentially representing Israel, threatened …

Middle East, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping, WORLDVIEWS

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COVID-19

Lebanon’s Crisis on Top of a Crisis: Our Latest Podcast Episode

Stéphanie Fillion and Kacie Candela

• August 17, 2020

The devastating series of explosions that rocked Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, on Aug. 4, killed nearly 200 people, injured thousands of others, destroyed most of the city’s port, flattened surrounding neighborhoods, damaged six hospitals and more than 20 health clinics and wiped out 120 schools. Five days later, on Aug. 9, the international …

Covid-19, Middle East, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

Indonesia’s Legacy in the Security Council: Daring to Save Lives

Stéphanie Fillion

• August 3, 2020

A big power in Southeast Asia and a middle power globally, Indonesia plays a “bridge builder” role in the United Nations Security Council, it says. It’s a strategy that is getting harder and harder to embody, however, with rising tensions among the five big powers in the Council: Britain, China, France, Russia and the …