Kofi Annan

• 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

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WORLDVIEWS

The Audacity of Change: A Specific Example of How the UN Can Still Make a Difference

Alan Doss

• March 23, 2021

GENEVA — One of the quiet pleasures of life is an early-morning cappuccino in the company of a good newspaper. That was before Covid-19 came along. The pandemic and resulting disruption of newspaper deliveries and shuttering of cafes has obliged me to suspend my habits of a lifetime. Pending the resumption of normal service, …

Development, Sustainable Development Goals, WORLDVIEWS

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THIS WEEK @UN

US Recommits to the Human Rights Council; Atrocities in Mali; a New Candidate for the UN’s Top Job

Ivana Ramirez

• February 12, 2021

The US returns to the Human Rights Council; atrocities documented in the Mali conflict; a woman declares her candidacy for UN secretary-general. 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. In …

Gender Violence, General Assembly, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, UN Peacekeeping

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A Millennial UN Staffer Who Is Daring to Run Against Secretary-General António Guterres

Stéphanie Fillion

• February 11, 2021

Arora Akanksha, a 34-year-old staff member who works as an audit coordinator for the United Nations Development Program, has announced her candidacy for the job of UN secretary-general, so far the only person to challenge António Guterres, the incumbent. Guterres announced in January that he would run for another five-year term, which begins in January …

General Assembly, Secretary-General, Security Council

12 Comments

WORLDVIEWS

Myanmar, Still Escaping the Shackles of the Past

Alan Doss

• February 9, 2021

GENEVA — In May 2016, Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary-general, received an unexpected request from a fellow Nobel peace laureate, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s civilian leader and state counselor. She asked him to lead a commission to advise the government on the stability and development of Rakhine State, a region …

Myanmar, WORLDVIEWS

One Comment

Brian Urquhart, a Revered UN Diplomat Across Decades, Dies at 101

Stephen Schlesinger

• January 3, 2021

Brian Urquhart, who spent most of his adult life in service to the United Nations, died on Saturday, Jan. 2, at his home in Tyringham, Mass., in the Berkshires, where he retired after serving as one of the most notable figures in the history of the UN. In his tenure, he embodied the very narrative …

UN Diplomats

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‘He Is Who He Is’: 4 Experts Assess the Record of the UN’s António Guterres

Barbara Crossette

• December 14, 2020

Ever since the day in 1946 when the first secretary-general of the United Nations, Trygve Lie of Norway, took office, big powers have meddled in how the job is done. Most often, the United States has been the most intrusive. Lie resigned in 1953, before the end of his second, shortened term, with his …

Gender Violence, Human Rights, Secretary-General, US-UN Relations

2 Comments

COVID-19

Sergio, Legendary UN Troubleshooter, Gets His Own Hollywood Biopic

Dali ten Hove

• April 16, 2020

The much-anticipated biopic among United Nations watchers, “Sergio,” a drama relating the tale of Sergio Vieira de Mello, opened today on Netflix. It features the actors Wagner Moura as Sergio and Ana de Armas as his partner, Carolina Larriera. Who was Sergio Vieira de Mello? And why is he the subject of a Hollywood …

Covid-19, UN Diplomats

2 Comments

BOOKS

Why This American Still Cherishes the UN

Stephen Schlesinger

• November 2, 2019

Americans should know more about the life of William vanden Heuvel, a former United States envoy to the United Nations office in Geneva in the late 1970s. His career of social and political activism has touched on the people of his country on issues ranging from prison reform to school desegregation — but especially …

BOOKS, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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As the SDGs Falter, the UN Turns to the Rich and Famous

Barbara Crossette

• July 23, 2019

The Sustainable Development Goals are in trouble. United Nations officials are concerned and say so publicly. Secretary-General António Guterres joined in raising an alarm in mid-July when he introduced the most recent official UN report. “It is abundantly clear that a much deeper, faster and more ambitious response is needed to unleash the social …

Climate and Environment, Development, Poverty, Sustainable Development Goals

3 Comments

WORLDVIEWS

When Is an Attack on UN Peacekeepers a War Crime and When Is It Not?

Mona Ali Khalil

• November 30, 2018

The recent attack by a militia on the United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in which seven peacekeepers were killed, highlighted a question that the Security Council has hesitated to confront for years. What are the consequences when UN peacekeeping missions become parties to the conflict? The Security Council responded to the latest attacks on Monusco, as …

Africa, UN Peacekeeping, WORLDVIEWS

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GEOPOLITICS

Kofi Annan’s Path to Humanitarian Intervention

David L. Phillips

• August 22, 2018

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who died on Aug. 18, in Switzerland, was deeply committed to peace and the UN Charter, as well as human rights and humanitarian action. He led a debate about harmonizing these principles and rebalancing the sovereignty of countries with the rights of people within them. During his 10 years as secretary-general, …

Africa, Geopolitics, Secretary-General

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Kofi Annan, 80, a Popular UN Secretary-General From Africa, Is Dead

Barbara Crossette

• August 18, 2018

Kofi Annan, the seventh and probably the most popular and widely respected secretary-general the United Nations has ever known, died unexpectedly in Bern, Switzerland, early on Saturday morning, Aug. 18. His death, reportedly from leukemia, followed what initial reports described only as a short illness. He led the UN for two terms, from 1997 …

Africa, Secretary-General

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TOPIC: WOMEN

A Taste of Running for Political Office Has Left This UN Retiree Ready for More

Kacie Candela

• April 10, 2018

ORANGE, Conn. — Margaret Novicki is a 22-year veteran of the United Nations, having served in various regions in Africa and as the director of strategic communications at UN headquarters in New York. Upon her retirement in 2017 at age 62 from an eventful, complicated career at the UN, Novicki, an American, ran as …

Africa, UN Careers, Women

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NIKKI HALEY WATCH

Will Trump’s Musical Chairs Leave Nikki Haley Without a Seat?

Irwin Arieff

• March 23, 2018

Nikki Haley insisted all along that she had no desire to become Donald Trump’s secretary of state. But with Mike Pompeo, the CIA director, in line to succeed Rex Tillerson as the State Department’s top dog, Haley may soon find that her thinking was a big mistake. Haley asked Trump right from the start …

Nikki Haley Watch, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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This Week's Most Popular

COVID-19

The Pandemic Reveals the Disturbing Depths of Ageism, Especially for Women

Barbara Crossette

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Kofi Annan

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

The Audacity of Change: A Specific Example of How the UN Can Still Make a Difference

US Recommits to the Human Rights Council; Atrocities in Mali; a New Candidate for the UN’s Top Job

A Millennial UN Staffer Who Is Daring to Run Against Secretary-General António Guterres

Myanmar, Still Escaping the Shackles of the Past

Brian Urquhart, a Revered UN Diplomat Across Decades, Dies at 101

‘He Is Who He Is’: 4 Experts Assess the Record of the UN’s António Guterres

Sergio, Legendary UN Troubleshooter, Gets His Own Hollywood Biopic

Why This American Still Cherishes the UN

As the SDGs Falter, the UN Turns to the Rich and Famous

When Is an Attack on UN Peacekeepers a War Crime and When Is It Not?

Kofi Annan’s Path to Humanitarian Intervention

Kofi Annan, 80, a Popular UN Secretary-General From Africa, Is Dead

A Taste of Running for Political Office Has Left This UN Retiree Ready for More

Will Trump’s Musical Chairs Leave Nikki Haley Without a Seat?

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