US Foreign Relations

• September 9, 2021

The chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan has weakened the Biden administration’s campaign to restore multilateralism as the touchstone of United States foreign policy, eroding international support for US global leadership. Incidentally, Biden also came out sounding at times a lot more like Donald Trump than a bold campaigner for international cooperation. Amid the botched evacuations as …

US Foreign 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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Afghans Who Work for the UN in Their Country Say They Fear for Their Lives [Updated]

Fiona Shukri

• August 20, 2021

United Nations staff members in Afghanistan who work for the UN political mission there say it has been failing to protect its national personnel since the Taliban’s sudden takeover of the country on Aug. 15 and as the United States evacuates tens of thousands of Americans and others from the Kabul airport amid deadly …

Asia, Gender Violence, Humanitarian Aid, Secretary-General, UN Agencies, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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TOPIC: WOMEN

US Congress Takes Up Sweeping Changes on Global Health Policies, but Will They Materialize?

Barbara Crossette

• August 19, 2021

The Biden administration’s budget proposals for 2022 could erase many of the constrictions on global health aid imposed during the Trump years or earlier Republican administrations. But the sweeping developments depend on what happens in the Congressional debate on federal spending, beginning in September. Among the proposed changes: a doubling of contributions to the United …

UN Agencies, US Foreign Relations, Women

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The UN Refugee Agency’s Bold Plan to Manage the Crisis of Climate Migrants

Dali ten Hove

• August 1, 2021

As the world inches closer to catastrophic global heating and vulnerable communities from Mali to Myanmar are already suffering the consequences, the United Nations Refugee Agency has been grappling with the growing role of climate change as a driver of displacement. In a first for the agency, it has begun considering whether international refugee …

Human Rights, Refugees, US Foreign Relations

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‘We Are on a Ventilator’: IAEA Chief Laments Reduced Access to Iran’s Nuclear Sites

Stephanie Liechtenstein

• June 20, 2021

VIENNA — In an interview here with Rafael Grossi, the 60-year-old director-general of the United Nations nuclear watchdog — the International Atomic Energy Agency — he revealed that he has not had a reply yet from Iran on a possible extension of the agency’s current inspections agreement of the country’s nuclear facilities, which runs out …

Nuclear Disarmament, UN Diplomats, US Foreign 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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Turnabout in US Foreign Policy Puts UN in the Spotlight

Irwin Arieff

• June 15, 2021

After four years of wandering lost in the desert, diplomacy is finding its way back to Washington. With Joe Biden in the Oval Office, “America First” is out and “multilateralism,” “cooperation” and “alliance” are no longer dirty words. Washington is once again embracing longtime allies, blowing kisses at the United Nations, touting NATO and …

Security Council, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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UN Security Council Members Say to Israel and Hamas: Stop Killing Children

Dulcie Leimbach

• May 16, 2021

Across seven straight days of sudden, staggering violence between Israel and Hamas and rising death tolls of civilians, all 15 members of the Security Council aired their views publicly at the United Nations on Sunday, after the Council held two closed meetings last week on the continuing destruction in Israel and Palestine. Officials from …

Israeli-Palestinian conflict, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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On the Campaign Trail for the World’s ‘Most Impossible’ Job

Dali ten Hove

• May 3, 2021

The job of United Nations secretary-general is the “most impossible on earth,” as the first postholder, Trygve Lie, famously told his successor, Dag Hammarskjold. Though Lie spoke partly in jest to amuse the assembled reporters, the remark has stuck with UN observers for its eerie insightfulness. After all, the UN chief is charged with …

General Assembly, Secretary-General, Security Council, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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A Tale of Two US Ambassadors on Racism

Irwin Arieff

• April 26, 2021

Should the United States acknowledge and openly lament the fact that white supremacy played a significant role in the country’s founding? Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Joe Biden’s pick as the US ambassador to the United Nations, thinks so. So does Biden himself. Both have spoken openly of their conviction that racism was woven into the fabric …

US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

Major Afghanistan Peace Talks; Spoilsport Russia; Wartime Sexual Abuse in the Pandemic

Ivana Ramirez

• April 16, 2021

Afghanistan mega-peace talks in Istanbul; Russia the spoiler; could a Latin American woman lead the UN down the road or sooner? 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 at PassBlue are deeply saddened by …

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

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WORLDVIEWS

America’s Forbidding Legacy on the Southern Border

Stephen Schlesinger

• April 11, 2021

While the United Nations focuses fitfully on its own long string of refugee problems, President Joe Biden has tapped Vice President Kamala Harris to resolve the problems of migration at the United States-Mexico border. There are legitimate reasons for Americans to be concerned about the flood of migrants, mostly coming from Central America. But …

Human Rights, US Foreign Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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THIS WEEK @UN

Biden and Harris Interact With the UN; a New Envoy for Afghanistan; Canada Meets a Secretary-General Candidate

Ivana Ramirez

• March 19, 2021

The Security Council gathers with President Biden; commercial surrogacy is legalized in New York State; Kamala Harris on women and democracy; a UN secretary-general aspirant meets with Canadian diplomats. 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 …

Climate and Environment, Disabilities, General Assembly, Human Rights, Human Trafficking, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Democracy Depends on Women’s Empowerment, Kamala Harris Says in Her UN Debut

Barbara Crossette

• March 16, 2021

Facing a world unsettled and even shocked by what has happened to the United States in recent years and not sure what to expect of Americans now, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke today in clear, reassuring terms to a United Nations audience, tuned in globally. But she warned that democracy everywhere was in peril …

Gender Violence, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations, Women

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

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US Foreign Relations

The Mess in Afghanistan Weakens Biden’s Push for Renewed US Leadership

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

Afghans Who Work for the UN in Their Country Say They Fear for Their Lives [Updated]

US Congress Takes Up Sweeping Changes on Global Health Policies, but Will They Materialize?

The UN Refugee Agency’s Bold Plan to Manage the Crisis of Climate Migrants

‘We Are on a Ventilator’: IAEA Chief Laments Reduced Access to Iran’s Nuclear Sites

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

Turnabout in US Foreign Policy Puts UN in the Spotlight

UN Security Council Members Say to Israel and Hamas: Stop Killing Children

On the Campaign Trail for the World’s ‘Most Impossible’ Job

A Tale of Two US Ambassadors on Racism

Major Afghanistan Peace Talks; Spoilsport Russia; Wartime Sexual Abuse in the Pandemic

America’s Forbidding Legacy on the Southern Border

Biden and Harris Interact With the UN; a New Envoy for Afghanistan; Canada Meets a Secretary-General Candidate

Democracy Depends on Women’s Empowerment, Kamala Harris Says in Her UN Debut

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