gender inequality

• September 10, 2020

The first woman scheduled to speak at this year’s opening session of the United Nations General Assembly is 53rd on the list of about 119 heads of state — President Zuzana Caputova of Slovakia — delivering her remarks on Sept. 23. The day before, the first of the big gathering, will not feature any …

General Assembly, US-UN Relations, Women

Leave a Comment

After Resisting, the UN Redeploys Peacekeepers to Protect Dr. Mukwege, Amid Death Threats

Clair MacDougall

• September 9, 2020

Dr. Denis Mukwege sat behind a desk in a sharp suit with a red tie and his eyes framed by thick black glasses, as his image was live-streamed from eastern Congo during a human-rights meeting of the European Parliament in Brussels on Aug. 31. Dr. Mukwege spoke matter-of-factly about women who had been buried …

Africa, Gender Violence, Secretary-General

Leave a Comment

Cooperate on Climate Now or We’re Doomed, UN Secretary-General Warns

PassBlue

• September 8, 2020

The United Nations secretary-general, António Guterres, spoke extensively with Covering Climate Now, a consortium of hundreds of international media, including PassBlue. This interview, held recently with Agence France-Presse, focuses on the dangers of major countries and investors clinging to the use of fossil fuels and not moving fast enough toward renewable energy, as well …

Climate and Environment, Secretary-General

One Comment

THIS WEEK @UN

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

Dulcie Leimbach

• September 5, 2020

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

One Comment

WORLDVIEWS

Beijing, 25 Years Later: Are Women Better Off?

Ellen Chesler

• September 4, 2020

Twenty-five years ago, the United Nations hosted the largest gathering of women (and more than a few good men) in its 50-year history. Some 17,000 participants — among them, official government delegates, representatives of accredited nongovernmental organizations, international civil servants and members of the press — registered for the Fourth World Conference on Women …

Human Rights, WORLDVIEWS

Leave a Comment

TOPIC: WOMEN

Not All Human Rights Council Specialists Are Perfect: The Latest Controversy

Barbara Crossette

• August 19, 2020

To keep tabs on the lives and rights of people across the world, the United Nations Human Rights Council has the help of 44 independent monitors supposedly chosen for their expertise on a range of themes, from harsh government abuses to often-overlooked individual special needs. A dozen others are assigned specific countries to watch. …

Gender Violence, Human Trafficking, Women

3 Comments

COVID-19

Sudan May Have Banned FGM, but the Harsh Practice Continues

Rhona Scullion

• August 11, 2020

Just four months ago, Sudan took the monumental step to ban female genital mutilation, a painful, unnecessary and dangerous procedure that leaves lasting scars. Generally carried out on girls before they reach puberty, genital mutilation is now punishable in Sudan by up to three years in prison and subject to a fine. In a …

Africa, Covid-19, Gender Violence

Leave a Comment

THIS WEEK @UN

UN to the Rescue in Beirut, a Billion Children Out of School, Hiroshima Anniversary

Allison Lecce

• August 7, 2020

A major explosion rocks a Beirut port, killing at least 154 people, and the United Nations and others come to the rescue; and Secretary-General António Guterres calls for the reopening of schools worldwide, “once local transmission of Covid-19 is under control.” Facing a “global catastrophe,” more than one billion students have been physically shut …

This Week @UN

Leave a Comment

Pompeo’s New Agenda Targets the UN Rights Declaration

Barbara Crossette

• July 20, 2020

In an extraordinary report that defies reality, the Trump administration is extolling United States’ global leadership in human rights and accusing its critics of threatening democracy. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who created the US Commission on Unalienable Rights last year and ordered the report, introduced it on July 16 in Philadelphia, where the …

Human Rights, US Foreign Relations

One Comment

THIS WEEK @UN

The Security Council Meets Physically (Twice), and More Details on the UN’s Big Week in September

Allison Lecce

• July 17, 2020

As the number of Covid-19 cases skyrockets globally — and the United States remains the epicenter with nearly 3.6 million confirmed cases — the United Nations Security Council met physically on July 14 for the first time since March 12. The setting was not the Council’s usual chamber in the UN headquarters but the …

Security Council, This Week @UN

One Comment

TOPIC: WOMEN

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

Fiona Shukri

• July 13, 2020

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 Violence, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

Leave a Comment

TOPIC: WOMEN

Is the US Ready for a Feminist Foreign Policy? Absolutely, Advocates Say

Barbara Crossette

• May 26, 2020

The world of diplomacy has toyed with the concept of feminist foreign policies for years, raising some support and not a few snickers from dissenters. A new campaign led by women with strong professional qualifications and global experience in more than 50 organizations plans to change that mind-set in the United States. On May …

Security Council, US Foreign Relations, Women

Leave a Comment

COVID-19

Picturing a Post-Pandemic World Where Latin American Women Are Safe

Maurizio Guerrero

• May 14, 2020

Long before Covid-19, Latin American women suffered from a pandemic of violence. Now, amid lockdowns, domestic abuse is rising. As the region battles both the virus and domestic abuse, women’s advocates see a glimmer of hope in innovative protective measures set up by governments and women’s groups that could endure well into the future. …

Covid-19, Gender Violence

Leave a Comment

COVID-19

Where the Pandemic, the Environment and Gender Equality Meet: In Inger Andersen’s Home Office

Nate Bernard

• April 22, 2020

Inger Andersen is closing in on her first year as executive director of the United Nations Environment Program just as the Covid-19 crisis upends her agency’s work while also underscoring its critical need. “Never before have the mandate, mission and objectives of UNEP been more in focus,” she said in a recent interview, adding, …

Climate and Environment, Covid-19

One Comment

COVID-19

What the Pandemic Means for UN Peacekeeping Work

Robert Ulrich Nagel and Melanne Verveer

• April 8, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Covid-19 poses major challenges for people and governments around the world and for the United Nations. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for a global cease-fire on March 23 in recognition of the pandemic’s potentially devastating effects on people in conflict-affected nations. Less noticed in the press coverage was the important point …