International Peace Institute

Terje Rod-Larsen, a Norwegian Diplomat, Quits a New York Think Tank Amid Links to Jeffrey Epstein

October 29, 2020

by Dulcie Leimbach and Barbara Crossette

Terje Rod-Larsen, the president of the prestigious International Peace Institute since 2005, resigned Thursday, according to a statement released by the Manhattan-based think tank on Oct. 29, 2020. Rod-Larsen is a renowned Norwegian diplomat, politician and former United Nations envoy. He and his wife, Mona Juul, now Norway’s ambassador to the UN, were central …

Security Council, UN Diplomats, UN-NY Relations

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GEOPOLITICS

Words Ring Hollow From the UN After Attacks on Peacekeepers

December 27, 2017

by Susan Manuel

The horrific attack on United Nations peacekeepers from Tanzania in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in early December and the ensuing hours-long battle was a severe blow to one of the UN’s more prized forces, leaving 15 soldiers dead. But the UN was already so concerned with a rise in peacekeeper fatalities — …

Africa, Asia, Geopolitics, Peace and Security, Secretary-General, UN Peacekeeping

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WORLDVIEWS

How Can CUNY and the UN Revolutionize Education for All? By Working Together

July 4, 2017

by Marianna Bonanome and Samar ElHitti

An important meeting on global education with a dozen education ministers from across the world was held at the United Nations headquarters last week. As the meeting unfolded, we were sitting in our office a few miles away, across the East River in Brooklyn, at the New York City College of Technology, part of …

Education, Sustainable Development Goals, WORLDVIEWS

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China Takes a Peacekeeping Risk in Mali

March 4, 2014

by Dulcie Leimbach

China has dipped a big toe in peacekeeping waters by sending its first-ever infantry troops to work for a United Nations mission — in this case, Mali, where a mission was set up last summer to stabilize the country after a military coup in 2012 and a French military intervention against Islamic extremists in …

Africa, Asia, Peace and Security

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GOINGS-ON

Filipino Woman to Command Its Haitian Peacekeeping Post

November 5, 2013

by Barbara Crossette

The Philippines has named its first woman to a command post in a United Nations peacekeeping mission. Capt. Luzviminda Camacho, who was also the first woman to command a Filipino Navy ship, will lead the Filipino peacekeeping contingent deployed to protect the perimeter of the UN peacekeeping force headquarters in Haiti, the Inquirer newspaper …

GOINGS-ON

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A Letter to Pope Francis, From a Jesuit Priest Who Has Vanished in Syria

August 15, 2013

by PassBlue

The Rev. Paolo Dall’Oglio, a Jesuit priest from Italy who worked in Syria for decades but was exiled by the government in June 2012 for his activism with the opposition rebels, has recently been reported missing in the country. He had been trying to broker negotiations between warring factions in northern Syria, the Kurds …

Middle East, Peace and Security

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Why UN Peacekeeping Falls Far Short of Female Soldiers

August 12, 2013

by Barbara Crossette

Since Security Council resolutions began demanding more significant attention to roles for women in conflict areas and the peace-building that follows, much of the discussion has justifiably centered on protection of civilians, because women and their children suffer most in war and dislocation. Less attention has been paid to the woeful numbers of women …

Peace and Security, Women

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The UN Security Council Chamber Reopens With a Touch of Class

April 29, 2013

by Dulcie Leimbach

The Norwegians have always influenced the direction of the United Nations either subtly or directly, starting with the world body’s first secretary-general, Trygve Lie, hailing from Norway. Now, with the reopening of the Security Council Chamber after being closed for three years, the country is once again leaving its mark. It not only paid …

Secretary-General, Security Council

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Guatemala’s Role on the Security Council, as Viewed by Its Ambassador

March 5, 2013

by Dulcie Leimbach

Gert Rosenthal does not sound like a Spanish name, but the mother of Rosenthal, the Guatemalan ambassador to the United Nations, was born there and his father was German. To complicate matters, “a little accident happened,” he said, as his parents, Florence and Ludwig, left Germany in the 1930s, and Rosenthal was born in …

ICC, Security Council, UN Diplomats

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GOINGS-ON

Ban Ki-moon’s New Team Earning Positive Reviews

August 8, 2012

by Barbara Crossette

When leaders of the world start descending on the United Nations in September for the opening of a new General Assembly session, there will two new internationally well-known figures in prominent positions at the top of the organization. In July, Jan Eliasson of Sweden became the UN’s deputy secretary-general, and in mid-August, Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal …

GOINGS-ON, Secretary-General

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Leaving Liberia, a ‘Fragile State’

March 19, 2012

by Dulcie Leimbach

Top United Nations officials generally wait until they leave their jobs before they speak candidly about the conditions they faced and the problems that remain. So Ellen Margrethe Loj, who has ended her four years as UN special envoy in Liberia, did not mince words in New York about Liberia’s painful recovery and challenging …

Africa

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At the UN Nuclear Watchdog, It’s Not Just About Iran

February 25, 2012

by Dulcie Leimbach

United Nations international atomic inspectors confirmed that Iran is moving apace on producing nuclear fuel at an underground site, but that is not what Kwaku Aning, an official from the International Atomic Energy Agency, wanted to talk about on a visit to New York. Nor did his colleague, Geoffrey Shaw, an Australian who represents …

Climate and Environment, Development

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GOINGS-ON

Where Will the News Be in 2012?

January 18, 2012

by PassBlue

Even before unforeseen events like natural disasters or outbreaks of new conflicts occur this year, as they always do, 2012 will be full of important political news, with elections not only in the United States but also around the world, some in countries that are crucial to the stability of their regions. The International …

Africa, Middle East

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Climate Change, Migrations and Few Welcome Mats

October 28, 2011

by Dulcie Leimbach

Climate change is being linked to such far-flung situations as rising seas that threaten to sink small island nations and drying up vast regions in Africa, which has spurred large upheavals of people, most recently in Somalia. This week, the complicated topic of environmental shifts and their effect on migration was tackled at a …