Coronavirus

North Korea Claims No Coronavirus Cases. Experts Detect Another Reality.

April 16, 2020

Something is missing from the statistical charts and maps of Covid-19 in East Asia: credible data on the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea. The country, North Korea as it is commonly known, has always been a singularly secretive state controlled since its founding in 1948 by a savagely brutal dynasty. It is also next …

Asia, Covid-19, Health and Population

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COVID-19

Is Kelly Craft Out of the Loop on Trump’s Pandemic Plans?

April 4, 2020

by Irwin Arieff

President Trump and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo love to label Covid-19 as the “Chinese virus” or “Wuhan virus.” But Kelly Craft, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, is calling on Washington to work hand in hand with China and end the “blame game” of trying to hold Beijing responsible for the …

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

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COVID-19

A New Tool Tracks Government Policies Responding to the Pandemic

April 1, 2020

by Dulcie Leimbach

As the novel coronavirus, Covid-19, plagues the world, a new tool to track and compare how government policies are contending with the pandemic has been introduced by the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, in England. Called the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker, it is available online at no cost and will be …

Covid-19, Health and Population

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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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COVID-19

The Security Council Goes Silent as the Secretary-General Opens Up

March 27, 2020

by Stéphanie Fillion and Kacie Candela

For the coronavirus outbreak, UN-Scripted, our podcast series, is ramping up its coverage by offering a bonus episode this week. This time, we look at how the United Nations Security Council is slowly restarting its program of work but offering few details on its operations to the media and all the countries that don’t …

Covid-19, General Assembly, Health and Population, Secretary-General, Security Council

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COVID-19

Stranded in Tunisia, an American’s Odyssey in the Times of Coronavirus

March 22, 2020

by Barbara Crossette

Jeffrey Laurenti, an American writer who specializes on the United Nations and international affairs, is a contributor to PassBlue. He was in Italy in early March when a cascade of travel restrictions were enacted in Europe and the United States, in response to the rapidly worsening coronavirus outbreak. Trapped in Rome by flight cancellations, …

Africa, Covid-19

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COVID-19

The UN in New York Shuts Physically as Most Personnel Telecommute: Updates

March 15, 2020

by Dulcie Leimbach and Stéphanie Fillion

The coronavirus has officially hit the United Nations at its New York City headquarters. On Thursday, March 12, the first reported case was confirmed by a diplomat with the Philippines mission to the UN, who said that a Filipino colleague had tested positive for Covid-19 and had notified the “UN medical director’s office.” The …

Child Soldiers, Covid-19, Health and Population, Secretary-General, Security Council

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COVID-19

A UN Diplomat From the Philippines Has the Coronavirus as It Hits New York

March 12, 2020

by Dulcie Leimbach

As the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus keeps rising in New York City this week, the United Nations remains open for business for diplomats and for staff members who are not telecommuting, while tourists were banned as of March 10. Yet as of early evening on March 12, it was revealed by …

Covid-19, General Assembly, Health and Population

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COVID-19

Amid the Coronavirus Threat, the UN Tries Out a (Cyber) Security Council Meeting

March 10, 2020

by Stéphanie Fillion

The United Nations Security Council ran a secret cybermeeting simulation on March 9 to prepare for a possible lockdown of the UN building and the rest of New York City, amid the coronavirus outbreak. So far, the UN is trying to address the epidemic at its headquarters by asking diplomats to meet offsite a …

Covid-19, Health and Population, Secretary-General

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

China Is in the Hot Seat as Covid-19 Shadows Its Diplomacy

March 5, 2020

by Stéphanie Fillion

Over the past year China’s presence at the United Nations got suddenly noticed. It may be its more outgoing ambassador, Zhang Jun, its lobbying against human rights, its accession to high-level roles or the disengagement of the United States — perhaps all of the above that has drawn attention. But just as the country …