Myanmar

Myanmar’s Coup Crisis Persists; Global Bias Against Older People; Vietnam Is in Charge

April 9, 2021

The Myanmar crisis isn’t going away; global bias against older people; Vietnam leads the Security Council; Chadian peacekeepers killed and wounded in Mali. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues facing the organization. The information is gathered from UN press briefings, PassBlue reporting and other sources. A huge thank you to …

General Assembly, Health and Population, Human Rights, Myanmar, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

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

April 5, 2021

by Stéphanie Fillion

When Vietnam started its term as an elected member of the United Nations Security Council in January 2020, it also had to take on the role of the monthly rotating president. Back then, it sold itself as a bridge builder among the Council’s major powers. Vietnam’s second presidency, which started on April 1, is …

Asia, Gender-Based Violence, Myanmar, Security Council Presidency

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THIS WEEK @UN

The Covid-19 Anniversary; Seeking a Woman Secretary-General; a Sad Women’s Day

March 13, 2021

by Ivana Ramirez

The Covid-19 pandemic anniversary; digitally recruiting women to run for the United Nations’ top job; International Women’s Day, a bit of a downer. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues facing the organization. The information is gathered from the UN spokesperson’s press briefings, PassBlue reporting and other sources. We encourage you …

Cities, Gender-Based Violence, Migration, Myanmar, Secretary-General, Security Council, Syria, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

Regional Nations Should Mediate the Crisis in Myanmar, a Leading Analyst Says

March 9, 2021

by Noeleen Heyzer

SINGAPORE — The situation in Myanmar is growing more violent and polarized. If the situation continues without urgent intervention, the safety and security of civilians will deteriorate rapidly and a window for dialogue between the military and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy and its supporters will close further. If this …

Myanmar, Responsibility to Protect, US Foreign Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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THIS WEEK @UN

Growing Crises in Myanmar and Tigray; Getting to Know the US Envoy; Will the UN’s Top Humanitarian Job Go to the UK Again?

March 6, 2021

by Ivana Ramirez

Continuing crises in Myanmar and Ethiopia; the US envoy to the UN’s first week; why Britain has held the top humanitarian job for so long; and women’s gains in the African Union. You are reading This Week @UN, a summary of the most pressing issues facing the organization. The information is gathered from the UN …

Africa, Asia, Human Rights, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the New UN Envoy, Heads Into Her Job Sprinting

March 5, 2021

by Stéphanie Fillion

When she arrived in Turtle Bay the morning of Feb. 25, a day after being sworn in as United States ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield didn’t hide the tight timeline she had inherited in her new post, which includes president of the Security Council in March: “I’m not only hitting the ground …

Security Council Presidency, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

The New US Envoy Begins Working; Iran’s Threatening Nuke Actions; Murders in the Congo

February 26, 2021

by Ivana Ramirez

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United States envoy to the UN, starts her job; Iran’s troubling nuclear developments; UN-convoy murders in the Congo. 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. As International Women’s …

Africa, Asia, Nuclear Disarmament, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

Will 2021 Determine the Future of ‘Global Britain’?

February 1, 2021

by Stéphanie Fillion

February marks the beginning of a yearlong period that could make or break Britain’s post-Brexit foreign policy, also known as “Global Britain.” This month, Britain presides over the United Nations Security Council, then the Group of 7 meeting, in Cornwall in June, and in November, the UN Climate Change Conference, or COP26, in Glasgow. “I …

Security Council Presidency, UN Diplomats

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UNGA72

Trump on the UN: ‘I Saw Great Potential Right Across the Street’

September 18, 2017

by Kacie Candela

In a much-anticipated gathering, the United States led a high-level meeting on United Nations reform on Sept. 18, with President Donald Trump and UN Secretary-General António Guterres speaking to the assembled world leaders. Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, also spoke briefly; in Trump’s entourage was his chief of staff, John Kelly, …

UNGA72, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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Vijay Nambiar, UN Envoy, Untangles the Problems Plaguing Myanmar

May 19, 2014

by Barbara Crossette

The surprising move in 2010 by a repressive Burmese military regime to begin ceding power to the nation’s people was just the beginning of a tangled story. The new democracy held its first credible election less than two years later — an election that catapulted Aung San Suu Kyi, barely 18 months free of …

Asia, Development, Myanmar

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As US Warms Up to Burma, Burmese Respond in Kind

May 24, 2013

by Dulcie Leimbach

Burma’s major moves toward liberalization and release from the vise of its military grip signal huge strides toward democracy, yet nothing in this long-isolated, mineral-endowed country is assured. Even as the nation branches out from its dependence on China and advances cordial relations with the United States — including a visit by President Thein …

Asia, Development, Human Rights

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Burma, a Short History

April 15, 2013

by Barbara Crossette

When Burma won independence from Britain in 1948, it was a devastated country tormented by multiple crises. Geographical misfortune had placed this otherworldly Buddhist nation in the path of powerful armies in World War II as Japan battled Western allies for control of the strategically placed country. Its capital city, Rangoon, was heavily damaged; …