Online Program Enrolling Now - Seton Hall - United Nations Institute for Training and Research
Online Program Enrolling Now - Seton Hall - United Nations Institute for Training and Research

BLUE SMOKE: A monthly column, from PassBlue and UNA–UK, spotlighting senior appointments at the UN

gender inequality

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As we celebrate Women’s Equality Day, on Aug. 26, Afghanistan sits in stark contrast to much progress elsewhere in the world. It’s clear that the country is going backward and that the prospects for equality for Afghan women and…

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LAGOS — When Hilda Bassey broke the Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual, she had no real professional cooking experience. Though steeped in Nigerian food culture, she had not gone to cooking school. Her…

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Fatima Gailani comes from a prominent Afghan family who has been working to improve life in her country since the 1980s. But under the Taliban rule since August 2021, women’s rights in Afghanistan have been particularly battered if not…

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For the disarmament agenda to progress, its machinery needs to be revisited. Current efforts by the Conference on Disarmament — the United Nations body tasked with negotiating treaties on weapons control — have stalled for almost 30 years because…

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The coup in Niger in late July sent shockwaves in West Africa and far beyond. Besides enormous consequences from the crisis in the region, it could also have a “negative impact” on the current withdrawal of the UN peacekeeping…

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This week, the UN secretary-general castigates Russia for its murderous attacks on children in Ukraine; and countries move to save marine biodiversity in a new treaty. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization….

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The phrase “gender apartheid” is used in a new United Nations report describing the continuing grave violations of the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. The goal of using the term, the experts who wrote the report say,…

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In September 2024 — 15 months from now — the United Nations’ 193 member states are expected to convene a Summit of the Future during the General Assembly’s annual high-level week in New York City. In addition to helping…

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This week, the UN secretary-general introduced his policy agendas on peace, AI and the “integrity” of digital platforms, while in the Security Council, Mali told the UN to withdraw its peacekeeping mission from the country immediately. You are reading This…

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Thankfully, many women judges have escaped Afghanistan with the help of the International Association of Women Judges and other organizations and governments. Sixty-eight women judges still desperately need sanctuary. I am deeply concerned for the safety of women who,…

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BUFFALO, N.Y. — On Mother’s Day weekend in the United States, families across Buffalo were commemorating a mass shooting of exactly one year ago. Occurring at the only supermarket in the city’s Masten District, the massacre killed 10 people…

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This week, the UN’s humanitarian arm jumped in to help mitigate the disaster at Ukraine’s Kakhovka dam, while back in New York City, the UN secretary-general tweeted on June 7, as daylight darkened ominously: “At our @UN Headquarters in…

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A new review of the United Nations’ gender architecture appears ready to weaken the organization’s ability to achieve gender equality, particularly at the country level. Conversations with former UN staff, UN Women personnel and gender equality advocates have informed…

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This week, people of African descent carry out a four-day permanent forum on all aspects of their human rights, while bicycles steal the spotlight on Friday. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization….

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When Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, Natalia Karbowska sprang into action. She has since been working in overdrive to provide funding and humanitarian assistance to thousands of Ukrainian women whose lives have been destroyed by the Russian invasion,…

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UNGA78: A quiz from PassBlue
Online Program Enrolling Now - Seton Hall - United Nations Institute for Training and Research

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