Margot Wallstrom Archives

Russia in Africa and Frank Talk on Feminist Foreign Policies: Our Latest Podcast Episode

November 20, 2019 by Stéphanie Fillion and Kacie Candela

African summits may be in vogue worldwide, and Russia’s recent summit in Sochi in late October was no exception. A PassBlue correspondent, Joe Penney, traveled to the Black Sea resort to report on President Vladimir Putin’s pitch to African leaders, as he promoted a second African independence, this time a financial one, with offers of … Read more Russia in Africa and Frank Talk on Feminist Foreign Policies: Our Latest Podcast Episode

Margot Wallstrom’s Feminist Foreign Policy for Sweden Catches On Globally, She Says

November 4, 2019November 4, 2019 by Barbara Crossette

Margot Wallstrom, as Sweden’s newly appointed foreign minister, announced in 2014 that her priority would be the creation of the world’s first feminist foreign policy. The concept left some in her diplomatic corps “gasping for air,” she said. Now, having recently completed a hectic five years in office despite numerous global crises, she is confident … Read more Margot Wallstrom’s Feminist Foreign Policy for Sweden Catches On Globally, She Says

UN Sanctions for Sexual Violence in Libya Approved, but Russia Resisted

January 17, 2019November 11, 2018 by Dulcie Leimbach

A decision by the United Nations Security Council to add sanctions against perpetrators of sexual violence should have gone smoothly. The proposal, led by the Netherlands and Sweden, was meant to deter such violence in conflict zones and other hot spots. Weeks earlier, diplomats turned out in hordes to mark the 18th anniversary of a landmark … Read more UN Sanctions for Sexual Violence in Libya Approved, but Russia Resisted

Sweden’s Priorities in the Security Council: Being Prepared, Including for the World Cup

July 31, 2018July 5, 2018 by Stéphanie Fillion

Welcome to our new column, Security Council Presidency, providing insight into the United Nations Security Council member sitting in the rotating seat of the president every month, starting in July with Sweden and its ambassador, Olof Skoog. The column is meant to be an informative capsule of not only the country’s ambassador but also the … Read more Sweden’s Priorities in the Security Council: Being Prepared, Including for the World Cup

As Sweden and Canada Push a ‘Feminist Foreign Policy,’ Others Resist the Label

February 21, 2018February 12, 2018 by Stéphanie Fillion

After years of civil war, Somalia is beginning to build democratic institutions with support from the West, even as horrific violence repeatedly strikes the capital, Mogadishu. Help from foreign countries and regional groups — such as the European Union, Italy and the United States — was provided in Somalia’s 2016 election, where electoral processes and … Read more As Sweden and Canada Push a ‘Feminist Foreign Policy,’ Others Resist the Label

UN Names Two Women to Highly Visible Envoy Posts

May 7, 2017April 30, 2017 by Kacie Candela

Two women have been named to highly visible posts at the United Nations: Pramila Patten of Mauritius is the new special envoy on sexual violence in conflict and begins in mid-June; and Virginia Gamba, an Argentine, is special envoy on children in armed conflict, beginning May 1. The latter is arguably the more controversial job because through … Read more UN Names Two Women to Highly Visible Envoy Posts

What, Exactly, Is a Feminist Foreign Policy? A New Website Explores the Subject

November 4, 2016 by Dulcie Leimbach

Two young women in London are taking on what they call the elitist nature of foreign policy and turning it toward a more feminist approach that could play out in many different pathways, said Marissa Conway, a founder of a new blog, Feminist Foreign Policy, in a phone call recently. “We want to provide a … Read more What, Exactly, Is a Feminist Foreign Policy? A New Website Explores the Subject

A Sierra Leonean Named to Sexual Violence in Conflict Post

January 3, 2015July 30, 2012 by Mavic Cabrera-Balleza

Zainab Hawa Bangura, the minister of health and sanitation in Sierra Leone, a country that not long ago rose from a brutal civil war, will take over in September as the United Nations special representative on sexual violence in conflict. Bangura, 52, who replaces Margot Wallstrom, 57, of Sweden, has also been the country’s minister … Read more A Sierra Leonean Named to Sexual Violence in Conflict Post

Top New UN Assignments, and Syria Deputy Envoy Leaving

November 9, 2014July 18, 2012 by PassBlue

Adama Dieng, the registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, has been named the United Nations secretary-general’s special adviser on the prevention of genocide. Dieng, a Senegalese, replaces Francis Deng of Sudan, who has been in the post since 2007 as an under secretary-general and is a nonresident senior fellow at Brookings Institution in … Read more Top New UN Assignments, and Syria Deputy Envoy Leaving