US Foreign Relations

Rights Advocates Rejoice as the New Biden Team Is Assembled

November 23, 2020

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 …

Development, Gender-Based Violence, Human Trafficking, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations, Women

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UN75

Among World Leaders at UN’s 75th Commemoration, Trump Is a No-Show

September 21, 2020

by Evelyn Leopold

President Trump failed to deliver an expected video speech for the United Nations’ 75th anniversary commemoration. Instead, the acting deputy United States ambassador addressed the ceremony live from UN headquarters. From Washington, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced new sanctions against Iran during the UN anniversary remembrance, flanked by the US ambassador to the UN, …

General Assembly, Nuclear Disarmament, UN75, US Foreign Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

UN-Watchers Expect the Worst From Trump at General Assembly Next Week

September 16, 2020

by Harris Gleckman and Khalil Hamdani

The General Assembly is surely going to be a very interesting place this month — even if world leaders are staying home for the annual opening debate because of the pandemic. On Monday, Sept. 21, the General Assembly is hosting a special session to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. For this …

General Assembly, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

Trump’s Mysterious Relationship With Putin

September 14, 2020

by Stephen Schlesinger

After President Trump’s nearly four years in office, we still do not have a good answer as to why the president has repeatedly deferred to Vladimir Putin on major issues. This is a central question that we face as a country, especially its consequences for American policies on Ukrainian sanctions, on the issue of …

US Foreign Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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THIS WEEK @UN

India’s Reliance on Fossil Fuels, Casting Light on UN Counterterrorism Ops, US Asylum Seekers Stuck in Mexico

August 29, 2020

by Allison Lecce

US asylum seekers pushed back into Mexico in unprecedented numbers amid Covid-19; an investigation into the mysterious work of the richly financed UN counterterrorism operations; chastising India for its support of fossil fuels; and a UN envoy’s assessment of the new United Arab Emirates-Israeli pact. Greetings from This Week @UN, our summary highlighting the most …

Climate and Environment, Middle East, Refugees, Terrorism, This Week @UN, US Foreign Relations

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COVID-19

In Mexico, the UN Refugee Agency Alleviates a Crisis Created by the Trump Administration

August 26, 2020

by Maurizio Guerrero

“Yes, there’s always the fear of being kidnapped,” said Óscar, a 30-year old asylum seeker who fled political persecution in Cuba in May 2019 and landed in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juárez, where violent crime and gang activity are common. Óscar, who used a pseudonym to protect his privacy, knew of asylum …

Covid-19, Human Rights, Refugees, US Foreign Relations

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COVID-19

Nikki Haley Didn’t Get on Trump’s Re-Election Ticket, but 2024 Is Around the Bend

August 25, 2020

by Laura E. Kirkpatrick

If pundits were to be believed earlier in August, there was a chance for a historic vice-presidential debate in 2020: two women of color facing off for the second-highest position in the United States. The speculation was that Nikki Haley, a former US envoy to the United Nations and a South Carolina governor, would …

Covid-19, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

Mali’s Coup, Belarus’s Protests, Pompeo’s Brief Appearance at the UN

August 22, 2020

by Allison Lecce

A military coup in Mali; massive protests in Belarus over the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko; more than a million people displaced in Burkina Faso; and the United States takes its next step to extend the Iran arms embargo through the United Nations Security Council, as most of its members still push back. Greetings from This …

Africa, Middle East, This Week @UN, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

All Fuss and No Substance on the Middle East ‘Breakthrough’

August 18, 2020

by Irwin Arieff

Talking heads are showering Donald Trump with praise over his surprise unveiling of an agreement that he said would alter the Middle East landscape by building a diplomatic bridge between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. If completed as advertised, the deal would indeed, as Trump tweeted, be a “huge breakthrough,” as it would …

Middle East, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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The US Envoy for Iran Leaves Just as the US Pushes for a UN Vote on Its Weapons Ban

August 6, 2020

by Dulcie Leimbach

Only days before the United States said it would submit a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council to extend an Iran arms embargo, the American envoy for Iran has resigned. Brian Hook, who also held the post as senior policy adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, was described by his boss as …

Disarmament, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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COVID-19

Missing the Love at the Canada-US Border Crossings

July 23, 2020

by Laura E. Kirkpatrick

BUFFALO, N.Y. — In the middle of a recent Zoom meeting with colleagues, I commented about the presence of United Nations flags on international borders, like the ones that flew, some until recently, on certain bridge border crossings between Ontario, Canada, and New York State in the United States, over Lake Erie and the …

Covid-19, US Foreign Relations

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US Foreign Relations

Rights Advocates Rejoice as the New Biden Team Is Assembled

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

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

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

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

Among World Leaders at UN’s 75th Commemoration, Trump Is a No-Show

UN-Watchers Expect the Worst From Trump at General Assembly Next Week

Trump’s Mysterious Relationship With Putin

India’s Reliance on Fossil Fuels, Casting Light on UN Counterterrorism Ops, US Asylum Seekers Stuck in Mexico

In Mexico, the UN Refugee Agency Alleviates a Crisis Created by the Trump Administration

Nikki Haley Didn’t Get on Trump’s Re-Election Ticket, but 2024 Is Around the Bend

Mali’s Coup, Belarus’s Protests, Pompeo’s Brief Appearance at the UN

All Fuss and No Substance on the Middle East ‘Breakthrough’

The US Envoy for Iran Leaves Just as the US Pushes for a UN Vote on Its Weapons Ban

Missing the Love at the Canada-US Border Crossings

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