Angela Merkel

• March 25, 2022

This week, the focus is on the humanitarian disasters from wars and violence around the world. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. The information is gathered from UN press briefings, PassBlue reporting and other sources. This week, we bring you insights from the Houthis’ attack on …

Africa, Peace and Security, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Angela Merkel Keeps a Low Profile as Russia Wages War in Ukraine

Mikaela Conley

• March 22, 2022

BERLIN — During her final visit to the United States last year as Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel was asked about her plans for when she stepped down as her country’s leader in December. “Maybe I will try to read something,” she said. “Then my eyes will start to close because I’m tired, then I’ll …

Peace and Security, Women

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THIS WEEK @UN

US Delegation to Haiti Cut Short; Risks for the UN Pension Fund?; an Ex-Guantánamo Detainee May Face Torture in Russia

Ivana Ramirez

• July 24, 2021

A US delegation to Haiti returns early; potential risks for the $87 billion UN pension fund; an ex-Guantánamo detainee may face torture in Russia. 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 inching closer …

Africa, Asia, Human Rights, SDGs, Secretary-General, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

The German Envoy Did a ‘Good Job’ Shaking Up the UN Security Council

Helmut Volger

• July 4, 2021

BERLIN — When Christoph Heusgen was appointed Germany’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York City in 2017, there were critical comments by foreign policy experts and journalists in our country. They voiced doubts about whether Heusgen, who had been serving as security and foreign policy adviser to Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2005, …

Security Council, WORLDVIEWS

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THIS WEEK @UN

A Mideast Cease-Fire; Myanmar Kills Its Own People; German Women Struggle in Politics

Ivana Ramirez

• May 21, 2021

Girls at a gated UN school in Gaza being used as a shelter amid the bombing by Israel in its fight against Hamas’s rocket fire. Thousands of families in Gaza have fled their homes since the conflict began on May 10, and dozens of children, mostly Palestinian, have been killed. A cease-fire between the …

Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Despite Merkel’s Endurance as Chancellor, German Women Still Fight for Parity in Politics

Mikaela Conley

• May 17, 2021

BERLIN — In the seating snub heard round the world, the first woman president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, was not offered a chair in April while meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and European Council President Charles Michel. Instead, she had to sit on a sofa nearby while the men talked at …

Governance, Women

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The UN’s Guterres, an Incumbent With Strong Backing by Europe, Is Bound to Win Another Term

Barbara Crossette

• May 9, 2021

It was all over in one crucial week. Barring an unforeseen hitch, António Guterres is the clear winner of a second, five-year term as secretary-general of the United Nations, beginning on Jan.1, 2022. This was not a surprise: he had no major competition and the process moved faster than expected. A three-hour question-and-answer session …

Latin America, Secretary-General, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

Military Takeover in Myanmar; a UN Feminist Dies; Aleksei Navalny’s Sentencing

Ivana Ramirez

• February 5, 2021

A coup staged in Myanmar; the UN’s first unofficial feminist dies; Aleksei Navalny’s sentencing. You are reading This Week @UN, a summary of the most pressing issues facing the organization. The information is gathered from the UN spokesperson’s press briefings, original PassBlue reporting and other sources. Sunday, Jan. 31 • Margaret C. Snyder, the …

General Assembly, Humanitarian Aid, Myanmar, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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Could Angela Merkel Save the UN? She’s Not Interested

Stéphanie Fillion

• February 4, 2021

This year marks the last stretch of Secretary-General António Guterres’s current term at the United Nations, but in January he announced his desire to seek a second five-year term, ending speculation as to whether he would run again. If many diplomats and others think it’s going to be a smooth ride for Guterres as …

Secretary-General, Security Council

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Woman of the Year? You and Me and Every One of Us

Laura E. Kirkpatrick

• December 31, 2020

How bad was 2020? So awful that Match.com made a commercial in which a woman named 2020 falls in love with the Devil and they live happily ever after. As annoying as it is that 2020 is portrayed as a woman, the ad sums up the year pretty well. The year began promisingly, at …

Gender Violence, Women

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TOPIC: WOMEN

25 Years After the Beijing Accord, Women Across the Globe Ask: Where Is the Equality?

Barbara Crossette

• October 2, 2020

The 25th anniversary of the landmark global action plan that was adopted to expand the equality and rights of women and girls was jinxed from the start. The celebratory event, long scheduled for March, was hastily postponed as the Covid-19 virus spread. When the commemoration finally took place on Oct. 1, it was virtual, with …

Gender Violence, General Assembly, Women

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

Germany Renews Its Push for Multilateralism as the Top Dog in July

Stéphanie Fillion

• July 5, 2020

Germany is anticipating two milestones between now and Dec. 31 — make that three. On July 31, its monthly rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council ends, and on Dec. 31 its two-year stint on the Council is over. Meanwhile, Angela Merkel has said she will not seek re-election as German chancellor in …

Security Council Presidency

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Women Leaders to Watch at the UN’s Big Meet

Laura E. Kirkpatrick

• September 15, 2019

Men will dominate the podium during much of the United Nations General Assembly but, as Abigail Adams urged her husband and other founding fathers of the United States in 1776, “remember the ladies.” This is advice that the UN needs to be reminded of — just as the opening session begins, on Sept. 17. Women …

Climate Change, General Assembly, Women

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Strongmen to Kick Off the UN General Assembly Session in September

Stéphanie Fillion

• August 14, 2019

Donald Trump will shake hands with Emmanuel Macron, Jair Bolsonaro and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. But will Benjamin Netanyahu; Boris Johnson and Angela Merkel be there, too? The 74th opening debate of the United Nations General Assembly, which starts on Sept.17 and ends on Sept. 30; the general debate begins on Sept. 24. With most …

Climate Change, General Assembly, US-UN Relations

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

Security Council Presidency: Two Old Friends, France and Germany, Now Share an Office

Stéphanie Fillion

• March 4, 2019

As a united front in the fight to preserve the European Union, France and Germany are about to gain a global audience. During March and April, their top United Nations ambassadors, François Delattre and Christoph Heusgen, will take turns — in alphabetical order — presiding over the Security Council, marking the first time for twin …

Climate Change, Gender Violence, Security Council Presidency

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Angela Merkel Keeps a Low Profile as Russia Wages War in Ukraine

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