Nikki Haley

Turnabout in US Foreign Policy Puts UN in the Spotlight

• June 15, 2021

After four years of wandering lost in the desert, diplomacy is finding its way back to Washington. With Joe Biden in the Oval Office, “America First” is out and “multilateralism,” “cooperation” and “alliance” are no longer dirty words. Washington is once again embracing longtime allies, blowing kisses at the United Nations, touting NATO and …

Security Council, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

The US Envoy on Racism; ‘Apartheid’ in the Mideast; UK’s Cuts to UN Agencies

Ivana Ramirez

• April 30, 2021

Veronique Vandegans, the United Nations chief of the French Interpretation Section, working at home in Brooklyn, N.Y., with company. The photo is part of a story for the UN Department of Global Communications on remote interpretation. MANUEL ELIAS/UN PHOTO The United States ambassador goes honest on racism; an ex-Ecuadorean head of state aims to be …

Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Latin America, Secretary-General, This Week @UN, UN Agencies, UN Special Envoys, US-UN Relations

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A Tale of Two US Ambassadors on Racism

Irwin Arieff

• April 26, 2021

Should the United States acknowledge and openly lament the fact that white supremacy played a significant role in the country’s founding? Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Joe Biden’s pick as the US ambassador to the United Nations, thinks so. So does Biden himself. Both have spoken openly of their conviction that racism was woven into the fabric …

US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

Major Afghanistan Peace Talks; Spoilsport Russia; Wartime Sexual Abuse in the Pandemic

Ivana Ramirez

• April 16, 2021

Afghanistan mega-peace talks in Istanbul; Russia the spoiler; could a Latin American woman lead the UN down the road or sooner? 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. We at PassBlue are deeply saddened by …

Gender Violence, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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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?

Ivana Ramirez

• March 6, 2021

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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BOOKS

Ban Ki-moon Tells All: He Was Miserable Watching Trump Run Wild

Irwin Arieff

• March 2, 2021

Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a memoir due out in June, is done concealing his anger over Donald Trump’s bad behavior on the international stage. The UN has always tried hard to maintain strong ties with the United States, its biggest dues-payer and the world’s leading superpower. And Ban, it seems, was …

BOOKS, Nuclear Disarmament, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

Worsening Strife in the Sahel; Biden Sworn In; Nuclear Ban Treaty Takes Effect

Ivana Ramirez

• January 23, 2021

The Sahel humanitarian crisis grows; Biden is sworn in as the 46th United States president; the nuclear ban treaty enters into force. You are reading This Week @UN, a summary of the most pressing issues facing the international organization. The information is gathered from the United Nations spokesperson’s press briefings, original PassBlue reporting and other sources. …

Africa, Nuclear Disarmament, Secretary-General, This Week @UN, UN Peacekeeping, US-UN Relations

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The Nuclear Ban Treaty Enters Into Force, 75 Years After Hiroshima

Dali ten Hove

• January 22, 2021

THE HAGUE — An international agreement that bans nuclear weapons became operational on Jan. 22, more than 75 years after the detonations at Hiroshima and Nagasaki heralded the atomic age. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, or Nuclear Ban Treaty for short, was negotiated in 2017 and reached enough ratifications on Oct. …

Disarmament, Nuclear Disarmament, Peace and Security, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

Trump’s UN Team: Gone Today, Sadly Still Here Tomorrow

Irwin Arieff

• January 21, 2021

Donald Trump may be out, along with his disastrously incompetent foreign policy advisers, but don’t expect them to sit quietly on the sidelines while a new team struggles to clean up the mess they left behind. Just days before Joe Biden’s inauguration, Nikki Haley, Trump’s first United Nations ambassador, declared that she was forming …

US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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Biden Is Sworn in as 46th US President, Marking a New Era for the Globe

Dulcie Leimbach

• January 20, 2021

Capping the most tumultuous and dangerous 14 days in American politics, Joseph R. Biden Jr. was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States just before noon today. Only two weeks ago, on Jan. 6, a pro-Trump mob swarmed the US Capitol demanding that Biden’s election be overturned, sending legislators, fearing for …

Secretary-General, Security Council, UN Diplomats, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

Still No Aid Into Tigray; Linda Thomas-Greenfield and Africa; Western Sahara Left Hanging by US

Ivana Ramirez

• December 11, 2020

A United Nations convoy was shot at in Ethiopia’s Tigray region; Southeast Asia’s progress on the women, peace and security agenda; the United States brokers a deal with Morocco in exchange for loss of Western Sahara’s sovereignty. You’re reading This Week @UN, a summary of the most-pressing issues facing the international organization. The information …

Africa, Asia, Climate and Environment, Governance, Health and Population, This Week @UN

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US Envoy-Designate to the UN Turns the Long-Awaited Spotlight on Africa

Barbara Crossette

• December 7, 2020

When President-elect Joe Biden nominated Linda Thomas-Greenfield to be the next ambassador to the United Nations, he was signaling that American diplomacy would face big changes. If she is confirmed by the Senate in the new year, the UN will have a seasoned, top-rank diplomat in the United States’ Security Council seat, a break …

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

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China and Russia Win Human Rights Council Seats, but the Saudis Get Rejected

Dulcie Leimbach

• October 13, 2020

Nearly two and a half years after the United States withdrew from the Human Rights Council, China and Russia have just won elected seats in the body. Both countries suffer from human-rights abuses against their own populations. China and Russia join 13 others as Council members for three-year terms starting on Jan. 1, 2021, …

Human Rights, US-UN Relations

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As the Nobel Peace Prize Is Awarded to the World Food Program, Famines Loom

Clair MacDougall

• October 10, 2020

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — David Beasley, the head of the World Food Program, this year’s just-announced Nobel Peace Prize winner, has warned that the number of people facing starvation could double next year, to 270 million, if the agency is unable to raise enough money to cope with the crisis. “2021 is going to be …

Humanitarian Aid, UN Agencies, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

India’s Reliance on Fossil Fuels, Casting Light on UN Counterterrorism Ops, US Asylum Seekers Stuck in Mexico

Allison Lecce

• August 29, 2020

US asylum seekers pushed back into Mexico in unprecedented numbers amid Covid-19; an investigation into the mysterious work of the richly financed UN counterterrorism operations; chastising India for its support of fossil fuels; and a UN envoy’s assessment of the new United Arab Emirates-Israeli pact. Greetings from This Week @UN, our summary highlighting the most …