US Foreign Relations

The UN-Led Peace Process for Syria Has Failed. Women Must Be Part of the Next One.

March 8, 2021

COPENHAGEN — In her book, “The Second Sex,” Simone de Beauvoir argued that one is not born but rather becomes a woman. De Beauvoir emphasized that destiny is not a cosmic force but a human choice, a result of circumstances and culture. It follows that circumstances and social determinants dictate a woman’s role in …

Gender-Based Violence, Middle East, Security Council, US Foreign Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the New UN Envoy, Heads Into Her Job Sprinting

March 5, 2021

by Stéphanie Fillion

When she arrived in Turtle Bay the morning of Feb. 25, a day after being sworn in as United States ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield didn’t hide the tight timeline she had inherited in her new post, which includes president of the Security Council in March: “I’m not only hitting the ground …

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

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BOOKS

Ban Ki-moon Tells All: He Was Miserable Watching Trump Run Wild

March 2, 2021

by Irwin Arieff

Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a memoir due out in June, is done concealing his anger over Donald Trump’s bad behavior on the international stage. The UN has always tried hard to maintain strong ties with the United States, its biggest dues-payer and the world’s leading superpower. And Ban, it seems, was …

BOOKS, Nuclear Disarmament, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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The UN Nuclear Watchdog Reaches a Temporary Inspection Plan With Iran

February 21, 2021

by Stephanie Liechtenstein

VIENNA — Iran has told the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, that it will significantly limit inspections of its nuclear facilities as of Feb. 23. Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director-general of the Vienna-based agency, traveled to Tehran over the weekend to meet with Iranian officials to try to preserve at …

Middle East, Nuclear Disarmament, Security Council, US Foreign Relations

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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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Biden’s UN Nominee Fends Off Questions About Being Soft on China

January 27, 2021

by Barbara Crossette

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, appearing before a Senate committee confirmation hearing on Jan. 27 for her nomination as United States envoy to the United Nations, handled a barrage of Republican accusations that the new Biden administration and she were not tough enough on China. The rhetoric from the Republican camp reached a crescendo when Senator Ted …

Africa, General Assembly, Human Rights, Nuclear Disarmament, Security Council, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

Trump’s UN Team: Gone Today, Sadly Still Here Tomorrow

January 21, 2021

by Irwin Arieff

Donald Trump may be out, along with his disastrously incompetent foreign policy advisers, but don’t expect them to sit quietly on the sidelines while a new team struggles to clean up the mess they left behind. Just days before Joe Biden’s inauguration, Nikki Haley, Trump’s first United Nations ambassador, declared that she was forming …

US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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Healing America and Restoring Its Standing in the World: An A to Z Guide

January 14, 2021

by Mona Ali Khalil

The world watched on Jan. 6, 2021, as thousands of the most extreme supporters of President Donald Trump marched on the United States Capitol after hearing his rallying cry to “fight” and “take back” the country. Inside the Capitol, Vice President Mike Pence was presiding over a joint session of Congress to certify the …

Governance, Health and Population, Human Rights, International Justice, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

President Trump’s Attacks on the Rule of Law, From A to Z

December 21, 2020

by Mona Ali Khalil

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

December 7, 2020

by Barbara Crossette

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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Rights Advocates Rejoice as the New Biden Team Is Assembled

November 23, 2020

by Barbara Crossette

Advice is pouring into President-elect Joe Biden from around the United States and across the world on how to turn around the damage the Trump administration has inflicted in key policy areas. Advocates for public health, women’s rights and a semblance of restored American leadership are among those hoping for quick action starting the …

Africa, Climate and Environment, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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Hey, Biden-Harris Team, What About the UN?

November 17, 2020

by Stéphanie Fillion

President-elect Joe Biden’s first message to fellow world leaders was clear: America is back. But there’s a glaring omission in his foreign policy plan: the United Nations. After four years of the Trump administration’s defunding and leaving UN organizations and agreements, the United States’ relationship with the UN is ripe for revival. But what, …

UN Agencies, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

A Letter to the USA: Why Your Vote on Nov. 3 Matters for the World

October 27, 2020

by Alan Doss

GENEVA — The first time I set foot in the United States was just before the 1968 presidential election, when I joined the United Nations in New York City as a young staffer in the development aid program. I arrived in a country painfully scarred by the assassinations of the Rev. Martin Luther King …

Governance, US Foreign Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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THIS WEEK @UN

The Rough Road to Gender Equality; a Major Message on Hunger; No Saudis on the Human Rights Council

October 17, 2020

by Dulcie Leimbach

For once, two pieces of good news from the United Nations: The World Food Program receives the Nobel Peace Prize and the Security Council begins meeting physically again in its chamber. But some reality-checking: 25 years after the Beijing conference on women, the road to gender equality is still being dug. Greetings from This Week …

Africa, Health and Population, Human Rights, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, This Week @UN, US Foreign Relations

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Women’s Rights Are Human Rights: How Equality Became a US Foreign Policy Priority

October 14, 2020

by Rebecca Turkington and Melanne Verveer

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Twenty-five years ago this month, tens of thousands of women (and some men) gathered in Beijing for the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women. It was a profound moment in the history of women’s rights, convening 5,000 official delegates from nearly every country in the world and more than 30,000 …