Justin Trudeau

India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico and Norway to Join the UN Security Council

June 17, 2020

An almost empty General Assembly Hall, masks of all types and colors and diplomats rejoicing to see their colleagues that they probably have seen only on their computer screens for months marked this year’s General Assembly elections at the United Nations. On June 17, Norway and Ireland won the two open seats on the …

Covid-19, General Assembly, Security Council, US-UN Relations

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COVID-19

Canada, Ireland and Norway Wrap Up Their Campaigns for Security Council Seats as New Voting Methods Are Proposed

May 4, 2020

by Stéphanie Fillion

CHICOUTIMI, Canada — The Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, Marc-André Blanchard, told a Canadian newspaper in March “now is not the time to campaign for a Security Council seat,” as world diplomacy is being disrupted by the coronavirus and the United Nations headquarters remains physically closed for now. But the reality is there …

Covid-19, General Assembly, Security Council

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O, Canada, Where Are You at the #UNGA?

September 25, 2019

by Stéphanie Fillion

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made a point of bringing Canada back to the international stage at the United Nations to win a coveted nonpermanent seat on the Security Council for the 2021-22 term. But amid Trudeau’s re-election campaign and an international scandal around his use of blackface, Canada has sent a low-level delegation …

General Assembly, Security Council

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Strongmen to Kick Off the UN General Assembly Session in September

August 14, 2019

by Stéphanie Fillion

Donald Trump will shake hands with Emmanuel Macron, Jair Bolsonaro and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. But will Benjamin Netanyahu; Boris Johnson and Angela Merkel be there, too? The 74th opening debate of the United Nations General Assembly, which starts on Sept.17 and ends on Sept. 30; the general debate begins on Sept. 24. With most …

Climate and Environment, General Assembly, US-UN Relations

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GEOPOLITICS

Why Isn’t Canada’s Trudeau Speaking at the Main UN Forum This Year?

September 23, 2018

by Stéphanie Fillion

MONTREAL — When he took office in 2015, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised, among other things, to bring Canada back as a leader on the world’s stage. “Canada is back,” he said after signing the Paris accord on climate change, in 2016. He addressed the last two United Nations General Assembly since then, but …

General Assembly, Geopolitics

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The Vancouver Principles, New Steps to Help UN Peacekeepers Stop Child-Soldier Use

November 13, 2017

by Julie Vanderperre

The one sure announcement to emerge from the annual United Nations peacekeeping defense ministerial conference this week will be the adoption of the Vancouver Principles, a set of rules aimed primarily at preventing the recruitment and use of child soldiers. The conference, being held Nov. 14-15 in Vancouver, British Columbia, will feature more than …

Child Soldiers, UN Peacekeeping

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UNGA72

To Cuff or Not to Cuff: Male Leaders Strut Some Style at the UN

September 2, 2017

by Laura E. Kirkpatrick

The lazy days of late summer are not that idle in Turtle Bay, as the United Nations prepares for this month’s opening debate of the 72nd United Nations General Assembly in New York. Before the swarm of world leaders descends on or about Sept. 18 and the news cycle hits hyperactive, now is the right …

UN Diplomats, UNGA72

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GEOPOLITICS

Canada Is Still Wavering in Its Pledge to UN Peacekeeping

April 20, 2017

by Julie Vanderperre

Although Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged in a splashy way right after his 2015 election to “renew Canada’s commitment to United Nations peace operations,” the country’s contribution to peacekeeping remains at an all-time low. Since Trudeau’s seemingly impetuous campaign promise a year and a half ago, allies and UN member states have anticipated a …

Africa, Geopolitics, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping, US-UN Relations

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GEOPOLITICS

Can António Guterres Fend Off Trump’s War on the UN?

April 10, 2017

by Dulcie Leimbach

When António Guterres was chosen by the United Nations Security Council in October to become the next leader of the UN, neither he nor anyone else could have predicted precisely who would be commanding the Oval Office of the White House in January 2017, just as Guterres’s term opened. Now that Donald Trump has …

Geopolitics, Secretary-General, Security Council, Syria, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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UN Puts on Big To-Do, Amid Tight Security, for Signing of New Climate Agreement

April 22, 2016

by Dulcie Leimbach

The United Nations threw a large and lavish party at its headquarters in New York on Earth Day, the opening day of the signing ceremony for the world’s new climate agreement. About 170 heads of state and government representatives came to inscribe their names, in alphabetical order by country, in the General Assembly Hall, …

Climate and Environment, Secretary-General

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Justin Trudeau, Self-Described Feminist, Wows the UN Crowd

March 17, 2016

by Laura E. Kirkpatrick

“Because it’s 2015,” Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada and self-proclaimed feminist, said simply, using the vernacular of his generation to reinforce his position on gender equality as he spoke at the United Nations recently during an “armchair conversation.” Trudeau, who is 44, was addressing a large audience at an event presented as …