Minurso

Trump’s Trashing of the Rule of Law; a Christmas in Pakistan; 3 Burundian Peacekeepers Killed

December 26, 2020

An A-to-Z list of Trump’s assaults on the rule of law; reactions to the US-Morocco-Western Sahara news; turmoil in the Central African Republic before elections. Happy Boxing Day! 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, …

Africa, Health and Population, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

One Comment

THIS WEEK @UN

An Afghan Midwife Delivers; Fighting in Ethiopia Erupts; the UN Reacts to US Election Results

November 13, 2020

by Dulcie Leimbach

An Afghan midwife saving lives in her country; the UN secretary-general congratulates US president-elect Joe Biden (sort of); a new gender group with a questionable purpose. You are reading This Week @UN, highlighting the most important news on the world body. The information is drawn from the UN spokesperson’s briefings, our original reporting and other …

Africa, Caribbean, Secretary-General, This Week @UN

Leave a Comment

Who Could Be the 194th UN Member State?

October 26, 2020

by Stéphanie Fillion

As the United Nations turns 75 years old this month, it is worth noting that its membership has more than tripled — almost quadrupled — since its founding in 1945. From 50 signatories at the San Francisco conference that year to 193 member states and two with observer state status today, the UN has …

Africa, General Assembly, Israeli-Palestinian conflict

6 Comments

WORLDVIEWS

Big Powers at the UN Are Hanging Western Sahara Out to Dry

November 5, 2019

by Fatma Medhi

A stunning policy reversal by the United States regarding Western Sahara occurred last week, but it didn’t make many headlines. What happened? When the United Nations Security Council adopted a new resolution on Western Sahara, renewing the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission —Minurso — there for another 12 months, the action meant America’s …

Africa, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

One Comment

GEOPOLITICS

The US Is Driving the New Talks on Western Sahara, Involving Morocco and Algeria

December 2, 2018

by Stéphanie Fillion

Horst Koehler, a former German president who has been the United Nations special envoy for Western Sahara since last year, is bringing the parties to the longstanding conflict over that region to a roundtable meeting in Geneva soon. Koehler expressed his intent last summer to bring all the relevant players together by the end …

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

Leave a Comment

GEOPOLITICS

John Bolton Cracks the Whip on the UN Mission in Western Sahara

May 15, 2018

by Dulcie Leimbach

The message was blunt and judgmental as the United States delivered its ultimatum on the future of the United Nations mission in Western Sahara: “MINURSO is a peacekeeping mission that should have finished its job a long time ago. This is a mission that began 27 years ago almost to the day. This was …

Africa, Geopolitics, Middle East, Security Council, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

One Comment

BOOKS

UN Peacekeeping: A Portrait of More Than 50 Years

December 28, 2015

by Helmut Volger

For many people in the world, the United Nations is often associated with peacekeeping, one of the most visible activities of the world body in its efforts to maintain international peace and security. Peacekeeping was created in the late 1940s and developed over decades into an ambitious instrument to contain severe political and military …

BOOKS

Leave a Comment

Mostly, Sahrawi Women Just Want to Go Home

March 5, 2015

by Johanna Higgs

NEAR TINDOUF, Algeria — Our goal was to understand the dynamics of women who live in the refugee camps here in the Sahara Desert, where tens of thousands of Sahrawi people reside in tents and mud-brick buildings, having fled their homeland up to decades ago. The camps originated in 1975-1976, when the Sahrawis first …

Africa, Refugees, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping, Women

Leave a Comment

Western Sahara: A Chance for Change or to Stay Stuck in Time

April 10, 2013

by Dulcie Leimbach

The saga of Western Sahara, a disputed territory that has been stuck in limbo in North Africa for decades, will receive its annual nod this month by the United Nations Security Council, but this time actual changes may be afoot if the council acts more decisively, particularly on human-rights matters. Christopher Ross, the UN …

Africa, Human Rights, Peace and Security, Refugees, Security Council

Leave a Comment

GOINGS-ON

A German to Manage UN Mission in Western Sahara

July 16, 2012

by Dulcie Leimbach

Wolfgang Weisbrod-Weber, a German diplomat, is the new special envoy to head the United Nations referendum mission in Western Sahara, known as Minurso. The mission was set up in 1991, after a cease-fire was brokered between Morocco and a longtime rebel group, Frente Popular para la Liberación de Saguia el-Hamra y de Río de …

Africa, GOINGS-ON

5 Comments

This Week's Most Popular

SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

Can Vietnam Rally the Big UN Powers to Stop More Bloodshed in Myanmar?

Stéphanie Fillion

COVID-19

Support Independent Journalism - Support PassBlue - Find out how →

Minurso

Trump’s Trashing of the Rule of Law; a Christmas in Pakistan; 3 Burundian Peacekeepers Killed

An Afghan Midwife Delivers; Fighting in Ethiopia Erupts; the UN Reacts to US Election Results

Who Could Be the 194th UN Member State?

Big Powers at the UN Are Hanging Western Sahara Out to Dry

The US Is Driving the New Talks on Western Sahara, Involving Morocco and Algeria

John Bolton Cracks the Whip on the UN Mission in Western Sahara

UN Peacekeeping: A Portrait of More Than 50 Years

Mostly, Sahrawi Women Just Want to Go Home

Western Sahara: A Chance for Change or to Stay Stuck in Time

A German to Manage UN Mission in Western Sahara

This Week's Most Popular

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

A Latin American Pact on the Environment Is Picking Up Speed, but Brazil and Others Need to Ratify It

Schools Fail the Youngest Where Population Grows the Fastest

The Boss of the UN’s Environment Agency Has Been Away for a Year From Its Nairobi HQ. Does It Matter?

UN-Scripted, Passblue's UN podcast series

PassBlue is a partner with the New School - Julien J. Studley Graduate Program in International Affairs