Antony Blinken

• June 10, 2022

This week, our focus is on rising food crises worldwide as a result of several converging factors, including Russia’s war on Ukraine. 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 look at …

General Assembly, Peace and Security, Security Council, This Week @UN

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WORLDVIEWS

US Secretary of State Blinken’s Homage to the UN

Stephen Schlesinger

• June 7, 2022

If there is a mantra for United States foreign policy under the Biden administration, it is the idea of a “rules-based international order.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a major speech delivered at the Asia Society on May 26 on US-China relations, cited the phrase or variations of it 16 times in his …

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

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THIS WEEK @UN

Trending UN News: Week Ending May 20

Damilola Banjo

• May 20, 2022

This week, enduring efforts to save lives in Ukraine, crippling droughts and Mexico’s disappeared. 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, the United States links desperate hunger across the world to Russia’s …

Africa, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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US Tells Russia: Stop Weaponizing Food in Your War on Ukraine

Damilola Banjo

• May 19, 2022

Antony Blinken, the United States Secretary of State, accused Russia of weaponizing food in its fight against Ukraine and creating a hunger crisis in many parts of the world as a result. Blinken made the remarks at an open debate on conflict as a driver of food insecurity in the United Nations Security Council …

Africa, Peace and Security, Secretary-General, Security Council, US-UN Relations

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

US to Address Soaring Global Food Prices as Chair of the Security Council

Damilola Banjo

• May 8, 2022

The United States is making the tackling soaring prices of food commodities the main focus of its presidency of the United Nations Security Council in May. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the country’s permanent representative to the UN, elaborated on the topic at a press conference to mark the start of the rotating presidency. “You may …

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

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At the UN, the US Lays Out Russia’s Scenario to Invade Ukraine

Dulcie Leimbach

• February 17, 2022

In last-minute change of plans, America’s top envoy, Antony Blinken, flew to New York City to attend a long-scheduled United Nations Security Council meeting this morning to speak about the possible war threats to Ukraine. The session, led by Russia, was meant to mark the anniversary of the Minsk agreements to end the war …

Peace and Security, Security Council

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THIS WEEK @UN

Spoilers of Peace in Yemen; COP26’s First Week; Morale Boosting by Blinken

Anna Bianca Roach

• November 5, 2021

COP26 opens with a foreboding announcement from the UN secretary-general; peacekeepers shot by the presidential guard in the Central African Republic; Mexico’s agenda on the Security Council. 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. …

Africa, Asia, Climate Change, General Assembly, Humanitarian Aid, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, UN Agencies, US-UN Relations

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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

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From Tiny Barbados, a Scolding to the World: ‘We Have Not Moved the Needle!’

Anna Bianca Roach

• September 24, 2021

The fourth day of the United Nations General Assembly debate soldiered on, with pointed speeches by, among others, the Caribbean island nation of Barbados, whose prime minister, Mia Amor Mottley, asked the General Assembly Hall, “How many crises and natural disasters need to hit before we see that old conventions of aid mean that …

Climate Change, General Assembly, Health and Population, UNGA76, US-UN Relations

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In Biden’s UN Debut as President, He Says America Is Ready for Diplomacy

Barbara Crossette

• September 21, 2021

Joe Biden, speaking at the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 21 for the first time as president of the United States, did not say again to the world that America was back. His message was that it never left and that his administration was looking to more productive engagement with nations in “this …

General Assembly, UNGA76

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The US’ Humble Approach to Running for a Human Rights Council Seat, Albeit on a Clean Slate

Lucas Dias Rodrigues dos Santos

• August 5, 2021

GENEVA — The United States is campaigning for election to the Human Rights Council in October for the 2022-24 term, starting a new chapter in its volatile relationship with the Geneva-based body. Its current re-engagement, including more acceptance of criticism about its own country, has been praised by Council members and experts, but its …

Human Rights, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

A Peacemaker Revolts; Gaza in Ashes; the UN Security Council Moves Back Home

Ivana Ramirez

• May 28, 2021

Grass-roots activists know peace-building best; Gaza reconstruction goals begin; the UN Security Council returns home. 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. Scoop from Stéphanie Fillion: A new candidate, Patrick U. Petit, an international mediator living …

Africa, Climate Change, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Latin America, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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Nomination to Lead the UN’s Trade Agency Provokes a Power Play

Maurizio Guerrero

• May 27, 2021

The proposed selection of Rebeca Grynspan, a Costa Rican economist and former vice president of her country, to head the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was made without consulting the core of the agency — the Group of 77 and China, comprised of 134 countries from the Global South. The nomination for …

Development, UN Agencies, US-UN Relations

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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

China in the Hot Seat; Goodbye Multilateralism?; Guterres’s Vision for 5 More Years

Ivana Ramirez

• May 7, 2021

China in the United Nations’ hot seat; Guterres’s vision for another five years; the future of global cooperation; who was Anne Dragon Nezeriotis? 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. Our latest UN-Scripted podcast episode …