gender inequality

• March 29, 2021

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 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

Ivana Ramirez

• March 26, 2021

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 Violence, Health and Population, Human Rights, SDGs, This Week @UN, UN Special Envoys, US-UN Relations

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TOPIC: WOMEN

The Chances for a Woman Leading the UN Soon Are Fading Fast

Sonah Lee-Lassiter

• March 24, 2021

Unless a strong candidate backed by an influential member state comes forward soon, it looks unlikely that Secretary-General António Guterres will be denied a second term and that a woman could be elected to succeed him, starting in 2022. Any challengers for the United Nations’ top leadership post will need to step up in …

Secretary-General, Security Council, US-UN Relations, Women

6 Comments

The UN’s Humanitarian Aid Agency, Ready for a New Boss and Possibly a New Management Style

Laura E. Kirkpatrick

• March 22, 2021

The United Nations’ top agency for humanitarian aid is poised for a new boss to arrive, one who could instill a management style far removed from what some of its staffers call a “neocolonial mind-set” under the outgoing head, Mark Lowcock, a Briton. As Secretary-General António Guterres decides on who will next lead the …

Humanitarian Aid, Secretary-General, UN Agencies

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THIS WEEK @UN

Biden and Harris Interact With the UN; a New Envoy for Afghanistan; Canada Meets a Secretary-General Candidate

Ivana Ramirez

• March 19, 2021

The Security Council gathers with President Biden; commercial surrogacy is legalized in New York State; Kamala Harris on women and democracy; a UN secretary-general aspirant meets with Canadian diplomats. 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 …

Climate Change, Disabilities, General Assembly, Human Rights, Human Trafficking, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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Canada’s Top UN Diplomats Met With Arora Akanksha, the Self-Nominated Candidate for Secretary-General

Stéphanie Fillion

• March 18, 2021

Arora Akanksha, the United Nations millennial staffer who launched her own campaign to run for secretary-general last month, held meetings with three high-level Canadian officials this week in New York City, including Canada’s ambassador to the UN, Bob Rae. Akanksha is a Canadian citizen who was born in India. So far, her candidacy has …

General Assembly, Secretary-General, Security Council

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TOPIC: WOMEN

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

Barbara Crossette

• March 16, 2021

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

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Surrogate Motherhood as a Business: New York State Defies a Global Trend

Barbara Crossette

• March 15, 2021

In the middle of the night on April 2, 2020, buried in a 400-page state budget, a provision to make commercial surrogacy legal in New York was adopted despite a campaign against the move by leading advocates of women’s reproductive health and rights. The law took effect on Feb. 15, and surrogate pregnancies became …

Women

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THIS WEEK @UN

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

Ivana Ramirez

• March 13, 2021

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 Violence, Migration, Myanmar, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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A Political Movement Debuts to Run ‘Global Primaries’ for the Job of UN Secretary-General

Stéphanie Fillion

• March 12, 2021

A new grass-roots campaign, called #Forward, is launching open, digital global primaries to find a “people-backed” candidate to run for United Nations secretary-general this year, for a five-year term starting in 2022. The campaign aims to make the selection process more transparent and democratic while also attracting more attention to the election itself. “When …

Secretary-General, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

The UN-Led Peace Process for Syria Has Failed. Women Must Be Part of the Next One.

Mouna Ghanem

• March 8, 2021

COPENHAGEN — In her book, “The Second Sex,” Simone de Beauvoir argued that one is not born but rather becomes a woman. De Beauvoir emphasized that destiny is not a cosmic force but a human choice, a result of circumstances and culture. It follows that circumstances and social determinants dictate a woman’s role in …

Gender Violence, Middle East, Security Council, US Foreign Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Women Gain Power in the African Union, While Rwanda’s President Strives for More Too

Barbara Crossette

• March 1, 2021

The African Union, living up to its longtime promise to improve the gender balance in its leadership, has elected the first woman as deputy chair of the organization’s operating commission. She is Monique Nsanzabaganwa, an economist who was deputy governor of the National Bank of Rwanda and earlier Rwanda’s minister of trade and industry. …

Africa, Women

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THIS WEEK @UN

The New US Envoy Begins Working; Iran’s Threatening Nuke Actions; Murders in the Congo

Ivana Ramirez

• February 26, 2021

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United States envoy to the UN, starts her job; Iran’s troubling nuclear developments; UN-convoy murders in the Congo. You are reading This Week @UN, a summary of the most pressing issues facing the organization. The information is gathered from the UN spokesperson’s press briefings, PassBlue reporting and other sources. As International Women’s …

Africa, Asia, Nuclear Disarmament, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

The UN Must Select a Woman Secretary-General Now, Not Later

Simone Filippini

• February 23, 2021

António Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general, announced early last month that he would seek a second five-year term, starting in January 2022, as the organization’s highest official, “if it would be the will of the member states.” The respective presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council have since defined the “selection and appointment …

SDGs, Secretary-General, WORLDVIEWS

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TOPIC: WOMEN

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

Barbara Crossette

• February 22, 2021

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 Violence, Women

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PassBlue Quiz: UN Security Council newbies for 2023 -2024

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WORLDVIEWS

Diplomats Without Borders: A New Niche Service Aims to Mend Our Frayed World

Kees Rade

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gender inequality

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

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

The Chances for a Woman Leading the UN Soon Are Fading Fast

The UN’s Humanitarian Aid Agency, Ready for a New Boss and Possibly a New Management Style

Biden and Harris Interact With the UN; a New Envoy for Afghanistan; Canada Meets a Secretary-General Candidate

Canada’s Top UN Diplomats Met With Arora Akanksha, the Self-Nominated Candidate for Secretary-General

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

Surrogate Motherhood as a Business: New York State Defies a Global Trend

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

A Political Movement Debuts to Run ‘Global Primaries’ for the Job of UN Secretary-General

The UN-Led Peace Process for Syria Has Failed. Women Must Be Part of the Next One.

Women Gain Power in the African Union, While Rwanda’s President Strives for More Too

The New US Envoy Begins Working; Iran’s Threatening Nuke Actions; Murders in the Congo

The UN Must Select a Woman Secretary-General Now, Not Later

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

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