Boutros Boutros-Ghali

• October 28, 2021

The Taliban’s dramatic takeover of Afghanistan in August sparked a predictable outpouring of angst and argument as to why it happened despite the massive, two-decade effort to prevent that result. Much of the commentary focused on the supposed failures of nation- and state-building. It is important now to take stock of these concepts and …

Asia, Peace and Security, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

What Now, António?

Thomas G. Weiss

• June 16, 2021

António Guterres soon will be recrowned Secretary-General after Manhattan’s five-member Electoral College, the permanent members of the Security Council, send its recommendation to the General Assembly for a ceremonial vote. In 2016, his election was an unusually transparent process — at least by United Nations standards — with contenders vetted by the General Assembly; …

SDGs, Secretary-General, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

The Job of the World’s Top Humanitarian Official Is Open. Will a Briton Get the Post Again?

Ian Martin

• March 3, 2021

LONDON — Should the world’s top humanitarian official be chosen through a meritocratic selection process open to candidates from any country, or should the choice be restricted to a single nationality and nomination by that government? The answer is obvious — but may be the opposite of what is about to happen again during …

Humanitarian Aid, WORLDVIEWS

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‘He Is Who He Is’: 4 Experts Assess the Record of the UN’s António Guterres

Barbara Crossette

• December 14, 2020

Ever since the day in 1946 when the first secretary-general of the United Nations, Trygve Lie of Norway, took office, big powers have meddled in how the job is done. Most often, the United States has been the most intrusive. Lie resigned in 1953, before the end of his second, shortened term, with his …

Gender Violence, Human Rights, Secretary-General, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

The UN Is Under Siege, So Where Is the Secretary-General?

Thomas G. Weiss

• September 18, 2018

Was it only two years ago that so many people were elated by the appointment of António Guterres as secretary-general of the United Nations? After public debates organized by the president of the General Assembly and informal ones by the 1-for-7-Billion “Find the Best UN Leader” coalition, he emerged as the top candidate in …

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

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Where Are the Female Leaders at the UN? Gender Bias Persists

Ingvild Bode

• August 28, 2017

The exhibition “HERStory: A Celebration of Leading Women in the United Nations” was held at the Unesco headquarters in Paris this summer, after it made its debut in New York last year. Designed to showcase the contributions of female leaders throughout the UN’s history, it featured such high-profile personalities as Margaret Anstee, the first …

Secretary-General, Women

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WORLDVIEWS

Ban Ki-moon’s Travels: Escape Hatch or Act of Diplomacy?

Helmut Volger

• July 1, 2015

BERLIN — If you take a close look at the public schedule of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, it becomes evident that he travels a lot to member states, even more than his charismatic and most active predecessor Kofi Annan. Why does Ban travel so often? Some critics suggest that Ban wants to distract …

WORLDVIEWS

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Pope Francis and Peacemaking

Andrea Bartoli

• December 21, 2014

The Roman Catholic Church has always been diverse. The New Testament reveals that differences of opinion, practices and orientations have been part of Christianity’s experience since its beginning. The billion-plus Catholics today are not the same as the few hundred Jewish disciples that were contemporaries of Jesus of Nazareth. Yet the tension between innovation …

WORLDVIEWS

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GOINGS-ON

A Haitian-Canadian to Lead Global French-Speaking Group

Dulcie Leimbach

• December 16, 2014

Michaëlle Jean, a former governor-general of Canada and chancellor of the University of Ottawa, has been named the first Canadian and the first woman to lead the Francophonie, an association of countries where French is a national language or is widely spoken. Canadian media reported that Jean was supported actively for the position by …

GOINGS-ON

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WORLDVIEWS

Next Best in 2016? The UN Secretary-General Must Be a Reformer

Stephen Browne and Thomas G. Weiss

• December 9, 2014

GENEVA — For only the second time — the first was in 1996 — the electoral campaigns for the American president and the United Nations secretary-general are running in parallel. Both promise to be long and protracted. Each already has a growing slate of presumptive candidates pounding flesh and employing lobbyists. But the next …

SDGs, WORLDVIEWS

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Lonely at the Top: What It’s Like to Be the UN Secretary-General

Barbara Crossette

• April 17, 2014

There have been eight secretaries-general of the United Nations in the 68 years since the first of them, Trygve Lie of Norway, took on this unique global position. All eight — all men — have been very different in character and personality, in their cultural and political backgrounds and in their views of how …

BOOKS

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Jan Eliasson Explains His Role as No. 2 at the UN

A. Edward Elmendorf

• January 19, 2014

Jan Eliasson has been the deputy secretary-general of the United Nations since July 2012, the second in command after Ban Ki-moon. Eliasson, 73, is a former Swedish foreign minister and was ambassador to the United States twice, among other foreign postings. He was also president of the UN General Assembly and a key UN …

Development, Peace and Security

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The Woman Who Opened Syria for UN Inspectors

Barbara Crossette

• October 16, 2013

Angela Kane has covered a lot of territory for the United Nations, but one of her toughest jobs in a career spanning more than three decades may be negotiating with Syria to begin the still-uncertain process of destroying the chemical weapons that President Bashar al-Assad only recently denied he had. “It wasn’t easy,” Kane …

Disarmament, Middle East, Women

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The Failure of Mainstream Media to Cover the UN: Who’s to Blame?

Barbara Crossette

• October 3, 2013

As media coverage of the United Nations dwindles and becomes more hyperfocused on geopolitics, the public learns less and less about the UN itself and how it operates. Who is to blame for the decreasing, narrow coverage — the press, a disinterested public or the UN itself? Barbara Crossette spoke on the subject at …

US-UN Relations

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Why UN Peacekeeping Falls Far Short of Female Soldiers

Barbara Crossette

• August 12, 2013

Since Security Council resolutions began demanding more significant attention to roles for women in conflict areas and the peace-building that follows, much of the discussion has justifiably centered on protection of civilians, because women and their children suffer most in war and dislocation. Less attention has been paid to the woeful numbers of women …