US-UN Relations

• August 22, 2020

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’

Irwin Arieff

• August 18, 2020

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 Gamble to Extend the Iran Arms Ban Fails. What’s Next?

Evelyn Leopold

• August 14, 2020

Doomed from the start, the United States asked the 14 other United Nations Security Council members to approve a resolution to extend an arms embargo on Iran that expires on Oct. 18. The embargo is part of the Security Council resolution adopted in 2015 that endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), to …

Middle East, Nuclear Disarmament, US-UN Relations

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

Dulcie Leimbach

• August 6, 2020

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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THIS WEEK @UN

Climate Change Risks, Israel-Palestine Covid-19 Crisis, UN’s Partial Reopening

Allison Lecce

• July 24, 2020

The Security Council held a climate change and security debate, led by Germany, nearly 10 years since the first and last time the Council met on this specific issue and agreed to a presidential statement on it. The Dominican Republic also led a meeting on climate change in January 2019. Although no resolution was …

Climate and Environment, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Does the New US Envoy for Women’s Rights Have Anything to Do?

Fiona Shukri

• July 13, 2020

Six months into her job as the United States ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues, Kelley Currie has done little to demonstrate that she can restore American leadership on women’s rights while reporting to an ideologically driven administration known for its regressive stance on gender equality. While the ambassador’s office is charged with promoting women’s …

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

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THIS WEEK @UN

US Severs Ties to the WHO, Security Council Vetoes, Counterterrorism Week

Allison Lecce

• July 10, 2020

In a final straw to the current troubles between the World Health Organization and the United States, the Trump administration notified United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on July 6 of its withdrawal from the agency, effective July 6, 2021. But the story may not be over, as Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, tweeted: …

Climate and Environment, General Assembly, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

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

Kseniya Oksamytna and Vincenzo Bove and Magnus Lundgren

• July 7, 2020

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

Coronavirus Soars, Trump Golfs, Pence Falls: Who the Hell Is in Charge of the US?

Barbara Crossette

• June 30, 2020

Deep uncertainty and unease are descending across the United States just as Americans are preparing to celebrate their most important “political” holiday, Independence Day, on July 4. Contrary to what Trump administration officials are proclaiming, the US is not containing the Covid-19 pandemic infection rate, which has suddenly surpassed its April high point, marking …

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

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COVID-19

India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico and Norway to Join the UN Security Council

Stéphanie Fillion

• June 17, 2020

An almost empty General Assembly Hall, masks of all types and colors and diplomats rejoicing to see their colleagues that they probably have seen only on their computer screens for months marked this year’s General Assembly elections at the United Nations. On June 17, Norway and Ireland won the two open seats on the …

Covid-19, General Assembly, Security Council, US-UN Relations

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COVID-19

The Collateral Damage in Trump’s War on the WHO: Ending Polio for Good

Fiona Shukri

• June 15, 2020

Already struggling with a surging Covid-19 pandemic, United Nations health agencies must now face the possible abdication of the United States’ leading role in fighting polio — just as the world gets tantalizingly close to eradicating it for good. Polio-free since 1979, the US has historically made combating the infectious disease its top funding …

Covid-19, US-UN Relations

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COVID-19

Biden’s Toughest Task: Linking Foreign Policy to a Changed America

Barbara Crossette

• June 10, 2020

With Joseph Biden taking an unassailable lead by June 7 as the Democratic Party’s choice for president of the United States, many Americans foresee a desperate, ugly political campaign for re-election by Donald Trump coming. The magnitude of his damage to America’s role in the world will be an issue for Democrats, along with …

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

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COVID-19

The IAEA Voices ‘Serious Concern’ Over Blocked Access to Certain Iranian Sites

Stephanie Liechtenstein

• June 8, 2020

VIENNA — The International Atomic Energy Agency issued an alarming report on June 5, voicing “serious concern” over Iran’s refusal to allow the agency’s inspectors to investigate two sites where the country is suspected of having conducted undeclared nuclear activities in the past. The report is unrelated to the agency’s quarterly updates on Iran’s …

Covid-19, Nuclear Disarmament, Security Council, US-UN Relations

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UN75

Will the UN Make It to 100?

Thomas G. Weiss

• June 2, 2020

Seventy-five years ago this month, delegates in San Francisco signed the United Nations Charter. Anniversary events were supposed to culminate in the commemoration of the entry into force of the world organization’s constitution on Oct. 24. That, of course, was before Covid-19 turned the world upside-down. Like school and university commencements, the UN’s celebration …

UN75, US-UN Relations

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

France’s Printemps Européen on the Security Council

Stéphanie Fillion

• June 1, 2020

Even if Belgium’s presidency took place in February and Estonia’s, in May, is over, the European Union just held a virtual press conference from its mission in New York City to say that this spring was a European one in the United Nations Security Council. The goal of the briefing, on May 29, was …