gender inequality

• December 17, 2021

The Security Council vetoes a resolution linking conflict to climate change; Afghan girls return to middle school; the Wagner paramilitary group may deploy in Mali. 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. This week, …

Africa, Asia, This Week @UN

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Rural Taliban Accept a Swedish Plan to Keep Educating Girls in Afghanistan

Barbara Crossette

• December 13, 2021

Far from Kabul in rural Afghanistan, where an economic crisis and a bitterly cold winter threaten starvation, communities with few resources have been reopening schools for girls up to grade 12. Collectively, these add up to an expansion of girls’ education in a majority of the country’s 34 provinces and suggest that all is …

Education

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THIS WEEK @UN

Trending UN News: Week Ending Dec. 10

Anna Bianca Roach

• December 10, 2021

UN human rights chief reiterates calls to end arbitrary detentions in Myanmar; seven peacekeepers killed in Mali; how is reform of the UN development system going? 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. This …

This Week @UN

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Weeks After a Cease-Fire Agreement, the Central African Republic Hangs By a Thread

Yujie Zhou

• December 9, 2021

The Central African Republic has long suffered from internal strife and human-rights abuses, but the situation now is perhaps the worst it has ever been and could grow more dire. The central government controls only a small portion of this landlocked country, which is just under the size of Texas. Much of the rest …

Africa, Human Rights, Humanitarian Aid, US Foreign Relations

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Gender Bonds Haven’t Been a Big Hit Globally, but a Japanese Bank May Change That

Catherine Morrison

• December 6, 2021

Gender financial bonds to support women have been sold since 2013, but they haven’t exactly taken off like wildfire. Now the Japan International Cooperation Agency is one of the first public development banks to issue a gender bond, supporting efforts for women to have equal access to such crucial areas as education, employment and …

Gender Violence, Women

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THIS WEEK @UN

Trending UN News: Week Ending Dec. 3

Anna Bianca Roach

• December 3, 2021

Man wields shotgun in front of the UN headquarters; Omicron variant leads to ostracizing southern Africa; French forces shoot protesters in Niger. 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. This week, learn about President …

This Week @UN

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Biden Nominates an Envoy for Global Women’s Issues, but How Soon Will the US Senate Act on It?

Anna Bianca Roach

• November 30, 2021

President Joe Biden has nominated Geeta Rao Gupta as the next ambassador at large for global women’s issues at the United States State Department. Gupta is a senior fellow at the United Nations Foundation, a nonprofit group based in Washington, D.C., that promotes the UN. The ambassador post leads the Secretary’s Office of Global …

US Foreign Relations, Women

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THIS WEEK @UN

Trending UN News: Week Ending Nov. 26

Anna Bianca Roach

• November 26, 2021

UN envoy for Libya resigns; older women’s rights forgotten by the General Assembly; UN staff’s dependents to leave Ethiopia. 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. UN headquarters was closed on Nov. 25 for …

Gender Violence, Libya, This Week @UN, UN Special Envoys

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Action to Protect Older Women’s Rights Has Stalled in the UN General Assembly

Barbara Crossette

• November 23, 2021

The images are stark: In India, Hindu widows who are considered burdens by their families are being abandoned at temples on the banks of sacred rivers. In Ethiopia, homeless older women evicted by their relatives sleep on the steps of a cathedral; many others shelter on the doorsteps of places of worship of all …

Women

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TOPIC: WOMEN

As Germany’s Parliament Grows More Diverse, Will the Trend Spread to the Rest of Europe?

Mikaela Conley

• November 22, 2021

BERLIN — As the daughter of Iraqi political refugees, Reem Alabali-Radovan has always felt that she would go into politics, though she imagined herself playing a background role. That thinking changed two years ago, when a far-right extremist killed nine people with migrant backgrounds at several locations in Hanau, Germany. “The people he killed …

Governance

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THIS WEEK @UN

Trending UN News: Week Ending Nov. 19

Anna Bianca Roach

• November 19, 2021

COP26 ends on a teary note; an Indigenous activist expounds on Colombia’s failing peace; UN personnel released from detention in Ethiopia. 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. This week, PassBlue’s investigation into the …

Climate Change, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

Further Souring of Ethiopian-UN Relations; Deep-Sea Mining Dangers; Polish-Belarusian Standoff

Anna Bianca Roach

• November 12, 2021

PassBlue probes the global body granting licenses to mine the deep seas; UN staff detained in Ethiopia; global famine rises. 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. This week, Mexico’s president proposes a plan …

Africa, Asia, Climate Change, Human Rights, Humanitarian Aid, Middle East, Migration, Myanmar, Refugees, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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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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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

Mexico Puts Small-Arms Control on the Security Council Agenda

Stéphanie Fillion

• November 2, 2021

Mexico has only one chance in its two-year term to shine as president of the Security Council, and it’s this month. While all eyes are now focusing on Glasgow, Scotland, and the United Nations-led COP26 meeting on climate change, Mexico aims to bring at least one national issue to the attention of the Security …

Caribbean, Latin America, Migration, Refugees, Security Council Presidency

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Noeleen Heyzer of Singapore Is Named the UN’s New Envoy for Myanmar

Barbara Crossette

• October 26, 2021

Noeleen Heyzer, an expert in conflict resolution, economic development and women’s rights, has been named the next United Nations special envoy for Myanmar/Burma. Heyzer, from Singapore, was the first women to head the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, from 2007 to 2014. Under her leadership, the Bangkok-based Commission focused …