Commission on the Status of Women

America’s Blinken ‘Visits’ the UN; Mexico’s Split Personality on Women’s Rights; New Secretary-General Applicants

April 2, 2021

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken dials the UN; Mexico’s dual-personality approach to women’s rights; a deadly French airstrike on a wedding in Mali; two new applicants for secretary-general. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues facing the organization. The information is gathered from UN press briefings, PassBlue reporting …

Africa, Gender-Based Violence, General Assembly, Human Rights, Myanmar, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, UN Special Envoys, US-UN Relations

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TOPIC: WOMEN

At the UN, Mexico Works for Women’s Rights. Back Home It’s a Different Story.

March 29, 2021

by Maurizio Guerrero

Mexico and France are hosting a United Nations forum that aims to accelerate the agenda laid out 26 years ago at the landmark Beijing women’s conference: securing equal rights and equal opportunities for half the population of the world. Beginning in Mexico City on March 29-31 and culminating in Paris in early July, the …

Gender-Based Violence, Human Rights, Women

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THIS WEEK @UN

Anti-Asian Threats; Troubles in the UN Humanitarian Aid Agency?; Yes, the UN Still Matters

March 26, 2021

by Ivana Ramirez

Anti-Asian violence; the closing window for a woman secretary-general; a UN expert threatened by Saudi Arabia; the UN’s humanitarian-aid agency cries out for changes. 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. Barbara Crossette, who …

Development, Gender-Based Violence, Health and Population, Human Rights, Sustainable Development Goals, This Week @UN, UN Special Envoys, US-UN Relations

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Democracy Depends on Women’s Empowerment, Kamala Harris Says in Her UN Debut

March 16, 2021

by Barbara Crossette

Facing a world unsettled and even shocked by what has happened to the United States in recent years and not sure what to expect of Americans now, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke today in clear, reassuring terms to a United Nations audience, tuned in globally. But she warned that democracy everywhere was in peril …

Gender-Based Violence, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations, Women

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THIS WEEK @UN

The Covid-19 Anniversary; Seeking a Woman Secretary-General; a Sad Women’s Day

March 13, 2021

by Ivana Ramirez

The Covid-19 pandemic anniversary; digitally recruiting women to run for the United Nations’ top job; International Women’s Day, a bit of a downer. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues facing the organization. The information is gathered from the UN spokesperson’s press briefings, PassBlue reporting and other sources. We encourage you …

Cities, Gender-Based Violence, Migration, Myanmar, Secretary-General, Security Council, Syria, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the New UN Envoy, Heads Into Her Job Sprinting

March 5, 2021

by Stéphanie Fillion

When she arrived in Turtle Bay the morning of Feb. 25, a day after being sworn in as United States ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield didn’t hide the tight timeline she had inherited in her new post, which includes president of the Security Council in March: “I’m not only hitting the ground …

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

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TOPIC: WOMEN

What the World Learned About Women’s Talents in a Hellish Year

February 22, 2021

by Barbara Crossette

It was a tough and discouraging year, 2020, for women around the world as they prepare for the 12-day annual session of the Commission on the Status of Women. It begins at the United Nations — mostly virtually — on March 15. Last year, it was canceled, though a large UN forum commemorating the …

Gender-Based Violence, Women

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TOPIC: WOMEN

The UN’s First Feminist, ‘Peg’ Snyder, Is Dead at 91

January 30, 2021

by Barbara Crossette

Margaret C. Snyder, the founding director of Unifem, now folded into UN Women, died on Jan. 26, 2021, after a brief illness while staying in Syracuse, N.Y., near her relatives and the city where she was born. “Peg,” as she was known, was 91, days short of her birthday on Jan. 30. Her grandniece, …

Africa, Development, Women

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TOPIC: WOMEN

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

December 31, 2020

by Laura E. Kirkpatrick

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-Based Violence, Women

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THIS WEEK @UN

Beijing+25; ICC Prosecutor Sanctioned by US; Niger Leads the Security Council

September 5, 2020

by Dulcie Leimbach

The 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing; the United States sanctions the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court; dissecting the failed ambitions of the US effort to force the UN mission in Lebanon to be more aggressive. Greetings from This Week @UN, our summary highlighting the most important news on the …

Middle East, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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Where Is Brazil as the UN Marks Its 75th Anniversary?

August 12, 2020

by Adriana Erthal Abdenur and Maiara Folly

RIO DE JANEIRO — This year marks the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. Amid the major economic and geopolitical effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is a time to reflect on the successes and failures of the UN system, Brazil’s role in its story and what needs to be done to improve the …

Climate and Environment, Governance, Human Rights, Latin America, World Bank

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TOPIC: WOMEN

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

July 13, 2020

by Fiona Shukri

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-Based Violence, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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COVID-19

The Pandemic Forces UN Women to Shelve the Feminist Forums Until 2021

April 3, 2020

by Barbara Crossette

UN Women is postponing two long-planned international meetings designed to give civil society groups a leading role in advancing gender rights 25 years after a landmark 1995 Beijing conference on women. The two sessions of the Global Equality Forum that had been planned for Mexico City in May and Paris in July will be postponed …

Covid-19, Gender-Based Violence, Health and Population, Human Rights

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COVID-19

UN Women’s Forum in Mexico City Is Under Review

March 29, 2020

by Barbara Crossette

Another highlight of the year marking the 25th anniversary of a breakthrough international conference in Beijing on women’s rights has fallen victim to the global march of the new coronavirus, Covid-19. The event is the first of two global meetings of the Generation Equality Forum, which is meant to give civil society organizations a …

Covid-19, Health and Population, Latin America

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Beijing+25 Moves to the Next Stage: Vast Uncertainty

March 16, 2020

by Barbara Crossette

This year was intended to be a celebratory time for women: the 25th anniversary of the momentous Beijing conference on women’s rights and how to advance them. It isn’t working out that way, however, as a global health crisis and disagreements among advocates for women rewrite the script. The 2020 session of the Commission …