Margot Wallstrom

• March 9, 2022

Mothers appeal to mothers. Who doesn’t understand the power of women speaking to women about fear for their children? We listen as young women — parliamentarians, government ministers — who are staying to defend their country and denounce the insufficiencies of allies’ support. Who doesn’t perceive that their authority is enhanced because their decision …

Gender Violence, Peace and Security, WORLDVIEWS

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Feminist Foreign Policies Increase in Number. Do They Matter?

Mikaela Conley

• February 14, 2022

BERLIN — The number of countries declaring they are carrying out a feminist foreign policy is quickly increasing throughout the world, with Spain, France, Canada, Mexico, Luxembourg, Libya and now Germany joining Sweden’s pioneering concept, declaring that the countries’ diplomacies will place girls and women at the center of their work. In a speech …

Geopolitics, Women

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WOMEN AS CHANGEMAKERS

An American Feminist, Honored by France, Carries On a Tireless Global Fight for Women’s Rights

Barbara Crossette

• October 6, 2021

Jessica Neuwirth, a pivotal force in promoting and supporting the rights of women and girls worldwide, was appointed to the rank of chevalier in the French Legion of Honor by the French government in a ceremony in New York City on Oct. 5. The citation said: “This high distinction expresses the gratitude of the …

Gender Violence, Human Rights, Women as Changemakers

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Venezuela’s Maduro Fires Up UNGA, While a Fight for Afghan Women’s Rights Has Big-Name Backing

Maurizio Guerrero

• September 22, 2021

The second day of world leaders’ speeches delivered at the United Nations General Assembly continued on Sept. 22, after the heavily reported appearance of United States President Joe Biden at the fabled rostrum in the Assembly Hall; a last-minute video presentation by China’s Xi Jinping; and a video by Iran’s new president, Ebrahim Raisi, …

Asia, Gender Violence, General Assembly, Human Rights, UNGA76, US-UN Relations

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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

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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

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GEOPOLITICS

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

Stéphanie Fillion and Kacie Candela

• November 20, 2019

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 …

Africa, Gender Violence, Geopolitics, US Foreign Relations

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TOPIC: WOMEN

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

Barbara Crossette

• November 4, 2019

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 …

Gender Violence, Human Trafficking, US Foreign Relations, Women

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

Dulcie Leimbach

• November 11, 2018

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 …

Gender Violence, Libya, Security Council

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

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

Stéphanie Fillion

• July 5, 2018

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 …

Climate Change, Security Council, Security Council Presidency

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TOPIC: WOMEN

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

Stéphanie Fillion

• February 12, 2018

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 …

Caribbean, Governance, Latin America, Women

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TOPIC: WOMEN

UN Names Two Women to Highly Visible Envoy Posts

Kacie Candela

• April 30, 2017

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 …

Child Soldiers, Gender Violence, UN Special Envoys, Women

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TOPIC: WOMEN

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

Dulcie Leimbach

• November 4, 2016

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 …

Gender Violence, Peace and Security, Women

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A Sierra Leonean Named to Sexual Violence in Conflict Post

Mavic Cabrera-Balleza

• July 30, 2012

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 …

GOINGS-ON, Women

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Top New UN Assignments, and Syria Deputy Envoy Leaving

PassBlue

• July 18, 2012

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 …