UN Peacekeeping

US Recommits to the Human Rights Council; Atrocities in Mali; a New Candidate for the UN’s Top Job

February 12, 2021

The US returns to the Human Rights Council; atrocities documented in the Mali conflict; a woman declares her candidacy for UN secretary-general. You are reading This Week @UN, a summary of the most pressing issues facing the organization. The information is gathered from the UN spokesperson’s press briefings, PassBlue reporting and other sources. In …

Gender-Based Violence, General Assembly, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, UN Peacekeeping

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UN Probe Details Atrocities in Mali and Civilian Deaths From French Airstrikes

February 8, 2021

by Clair MacDougall

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — A recent United Nations investigation has documented years of grave human-rights violations, including war crimes and other atrocities, in Mali that have gone unpunished as the UN peacekeeping mission there struggles to stabilize the troubled West African nation. A highly detailed, 336-page report on the abuses, obtained in full by …

Africa, Gender-Based Violence, Secretary-General, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping, US Foreign Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

Danger Still Lurks in Jammu and Kashmir

February 2, 2021

by Munir Akram

The Jammu and Kashmir dispute is one of the oldest unresolved issues on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council. At the heart of the dispute is India’s illegal occupation and persistent refusal to allow the people of Kashmir to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination. Several resolutions of the Security Council have …

Asia, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping, WORLDVIEWS

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THIS WEEK @UN

Worsening Strife in the Sahel; Biden Sworn In; Nuclear Ban Treaty Takes Effect

January 23, 2021

by Ivana Ramirez

The Sahel humanitarian crisis grows; Biden is sworn in as the 46th United States president; the nuclear ban treaty enters into force. You are reading This Week @UN, a summary of the most pressing issues facing the international organization. The information is gathered from the United Nations spokesperson’s press briefings, original PassBlue reporting and other sources. …

Africa, Nuclear Disarmament, Secretary-General, This Week @UN, UN Peacekeeping, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

The Congo, Afghanistan and the Limits of Outside Intervention

January 18, 2021

by Alan Doss

This year, two expansive — and expensive — international peace and security entities will pass a significant milestone. The United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the NATO operation in Afghanistan have been deployed for two decades. Although these missions differ in many respects, notably in the scale and …

Africa, Asia, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping, WORLDVIEWS

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Five Months Before UN Security Council Resolution 1325, the Seminar That Set the Scene

October 8, 2020

by Barbara Crossette

In a year of anniversaries at the United Nations, one stands out of special interest to women in peacekeeping and humanitarian work in conflict zones and other arenas of crisis where civilian rights are trampled on and families and societies severely disrupted. On October 31, 2000, the Security Council passed a breakthrough resolution 1325 …

UN Peacekeeping, Women

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WORLDVIEWS

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

September 3, 2020

by Karim Makdisi

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

August 17, 2020

by Stéphanie Fillion and Kacie Candela

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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COVID-19

En‌ ‌Malí,‌ ‌la‌ ‌Primera‌ ‌Muerte‌ ‌de‌ ‌un ‌Pacificador‌ ‌de‌ ‌la‌ ‌ONU‌ ‌por‌ ‌Covid-19‌ ‌Mantiene‌ ‌a‌ ‌Su‌ ‌Familia‌ ‌Adivinando‌ ‌

August 5, 2020

by Clair MacDougall

OUAGADOUGOU,‌ ‌Burkina‌ ‌Faso‌ ‌–‌ ‌Fernando‌ ‌Guillén,‌ ‌un‌ ‌jugador‌ ‌de‌ ‌22‌ ‌años‌ ‌y‌ ‌YouTuber,‌ ‌encendió‌ ‌su‌ ‌computadora,‌ ‌tomó‌ ‌un‌ ‌sorbo‌ ‌de‌ ‌agua, y ‌respiró‌ ‌hondo‌ ‌y‌ ‌agradeció‌ ‌a‌ ‌Dios‌ ‌por‌ ‌estar‌ ‌vivo ‌antes‌ ‌de‌ ‌comenzar‌ ‌su‌ ‌transmisión‌ ‌en‌ ‌vivo‌ ‌a través de‌ ‌videojuegos‌ ‌desde‌ ‌su‌ ‌habitación‌ ‌en‌ ‌San‌ ‌Antonio,‌ ‌Texas. ‌Sentado‌ ‌en‌ ‌una‌ ‌silla‌ ‌de‌ ‌juego‌ ‌de‌ ‌respaldo‌ …

Africa, Covid-19, UN Peacekeeping

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COVID-19

In Mali, the First Death of a UN Peacekeeper From Covid-19 Keeps His Family Guessing

July 27, 2020

by Clair MacDougall

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — Fernando Guillén, a 22-year-old gamer and YouTuber, switched on his computer, took a sip of water and a deep breath and thanked God for being alive, before beginning his live stream on video games from his bedroom in San Antonio, Tex. Sitting in a high-backed gaming chair and dressed in …

Covid-19, UN Peacekeeping

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WORLDVIEWS

Peacekeeping Bosses Should Be Chosen by the UN and Not the Paymasters

July 7, 2020

by Kseniya Oksamytna and Vincenzo Bove and Magnus Lundgren

Leaders of United Nations peacekeeping operations comprise an important and unique category of high-level officials in the world body. They have a difficult and often thankless job of trying to manage “Christmas tree” mandates handed down by the Security Council while keeping great powers and national authorities happy. Along the way, these leaders enjoy …

Peace and Security, UN Peacekeeping, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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COVID-19

Pulling Peacekeepers From Darfur Will Be a Murderous Mistake

May 27, 2020

by Niemat Ahmadi

The world plans to withdraw peacekeepers from Darfur by the end of this year. Without an alternative in place, this premature departure is a disaster in the making for the millions of Darfuris it will leave behind. While the West weighs the best ways to protect civilians going forward, I and millions of Darfuris …

Africa, Covid-19, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping

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COVID-19

E-Learning Is Nothing New for UN Peacekeepers, but Demand Is Up

May 5, 2020

by Susan Manuel

Covid-19 has forced educators from preschools to universities to create digital classrooms overnight. But at least one global community has been using e-learning for more than a decade. Tens of thousands of United Nations peacekeepers from Chile to Bangladesh to South Africa have long been using online courses to prepare for deployment to the …

Covid-19, UN Peacekeeping

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COVID-19

What the Pandemic Means for UN Peacekeeping Work

April 8, 2020

by Robert Ulrich Nagel and Melanne Verveer

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Covid-19 poses major challenges for people and governments around the world and for the United Nations. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for a global cease-fire on March 23 in recognition of the pandemic’s potentially devastating effects on people in conflict-affected nations. Less noticed in the press coverage was the important point …

Covid-19, UN Peacekeeping

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TOPIC: WOMEN

In Haiti, a Result of Peacekeepers Who Abuse Their Power: ‘Petits Minustahs’

January 16, 2020

by Susan A. Bartels

In Haiti, a young woman I’ll call Marie became involved with a United Nations peacekeeper from Brazil when she was 14 years old. She became pregnant. He was sent back to Brazil; she was ostracized by her family. In 2017, when our research team met with Marie, she said that she and her son, …