US Foreign Relations

• November 12, 2021

PassBlue probes the global body granting licenses to mine the deep seas; UN staff detained in Ethiopia; global famine rises. 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. This week, Mexico’s president proposes a plan …

Africa, Asia, Climate Change, Human Rights, Humanitarian Aid, Middle East, Migration, Myanmar, Refugees, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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US Envoys Encouraged to Voice Dissent in New Diplomacy Policies

Barbara Crossette

• November 3, 2021

It is not news that morale in the American State Department hit new lows during the Trump administration, under a president who despised and insulted the institutions and people engaged in international affairs. On Oct. 27, however, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking at the United States Foreign Service Institute to diplomats, members of …

US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

My Work on the Origins of Minurso, the UN Mission in Western Sahara

Joseph Alfred Grinblat

• October 27, 2021

It is now 30 years since the United Nations referendum mission for Western Sahara, known as Minurso, was created, and I was one of the original staff members. Starting in 1971, Sahrawi students in Morocco started a movement for the independence of Spanish Sahara. The Sahrawi are the Indigenous people of the western region …

Africa, Peace and Security, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping, US Foreign Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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US Senators Want Human-Rights Work Added to UN’s Western Sahara Mission

Maurizio Guerrero

• October 21, 2021

As abuses against Sahrawi activists and journalists mount in Western Sahara, 10 United States Republican and Democratic senators are urging the Biden administration to include a human-rights element in the work of the United Nations referendum mission in the disputed region, according to an Oct. 14 letter obtained by PassBlue. As the file holder …

Africa, Human Rights, Secretary-General, Security Council, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

2 Comments

A US Lawyer Who Has Worked With Gitmo Detainees Details Her Journey Into a ‘Kafkaesque’ World

Clair MacDougall

• October 11, 2021

As a lawyer, Beth Jacob has represented both victims of the 9/11 attacks and the men imprisoned in Guantánamo Bay suspected of committing terrorism against the United States. A New Yorker now living in Washington, D.C., her Guantánamo clients have ranged from artists who make delicately crafted model ships, like Moath al-Alwi, and writers …

International Justice, Terrorism, US Foreign Relations

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COVID-19

As UNGA Winds Down, Mali Warns of Rising Dangers in the Sahel as France Claims a Recent Success

Barbara Crossette

• September 27, 2021

On the last day of global leaders’ speeches at the opening of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, the array of countries on the roster ranged from Israel to Iceland, from Algeria to North Korea, from Canada to Guinea. Two long-scheduled countries to deliver messages — Afghanistan and Myanmar — were …

Africa, Asia, Climate Change, Covid-19, General Assembly, UNGA76, US Foreign Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

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

Irwin Arieff

• 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

9 Comments

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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How much do you know about the UN's women, peace and security (WPS) agenda?

This Week's Most Popular

WORLDVIEWS

UN Recognition of the Myanmar Junta Will Hurt the World Body’s Moral Credibility

Nang Moet Moet

TOPIC: WOMEN

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US Foreign Relations

Further Souring of Ethiopian-UN Relations; Deep-Sea Mining Dangers; Polish-Belarusian Standoff

US Envoys Encouraged to Voice Dissent in New Diplomacy Policies

My Work on the Origins of Minurso, the UN Mission in Western Sahara

US Senators Want Human-Rights Work Added to UN’s Western Sahara Mission

A US Lawyer Who Has Worked With Gitmo Detainees Details Her Journey Into a ‘Kafkaesque’ World

As UNGA Winds Down, Mali Warns of Rising Dangers in the Sahel as France Claims a Recent Success

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

This Week's Most Popular

Action to Protect Older Women’s Rights Has Stalled in the UN General Assembly

As Germany’s Parliament Grows More Diverse, Will the Trend Spread to the Rest of Europe?

Trending UN News: Week Ending Nov. 26

Gender Imbalances: Missing Girls and Vanishing Men

UN-Scripted, Passblue's UN podcast series

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