Taliban

• February 15, 2022

As girls are being sold in the streets of Kabul, the Norwegian government flew in the Taliban and people from Afghan civil society into Oslo to talk to one another and with Western diplomats. While United Nations agencies have warned repeatedly that 22 million Afghans face acute hunger, the Taliban regime flirts with legitimacy …

Asia, Peace and Security, WORLDVIEWS

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THIS WEEK @UN

Trending UN News: Week Ending Dec. 17

Anna Bianca Roach

• December 17, 2021

The Security Council vetoes a resolution linking conflict to climate change; Afghan girls return to middle school; the Wagner paramilitary group may deploy 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. This week, …

Africa, Asia, This Week @UN

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Rural Taliban Accept a Swedish Plan to Keep Educating Girls in Afghanistan

Barbara Crossette

• December 13, 2021

Far from Kabul in rural Afghanistan, where an economic crisis and a bitterly cold winter threaten starvation, communities with few resources have been reopening schools for girls up to grade 12. Collectively, these add up to an expansion of girls’ education in a majority of the country’s 34 provinces and suggest that all is …

Education

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WORLDVIEWS

Afghan Women Must Be Central to Decision-Making on Global Aid to the Country

Margot Wallström and Susana Malcorra

• November 4, 2021

The Taliban are back in power in Afghanistan, and the hard-won gains women have made in the country are at risk. The situation is dire for all Afghans. The country is on the brink of starvation, and in recognition of this urgent need, more than $1 billion has been pledged to provide humanitarian assistance …

Gender Violence, Human Rights, Terrorism, WORLDVIEWS

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Afghan Students Reach Kyrgyzstan After a Risky Journey

Barbara Crossette

• October 13, 2021

Nearly 200 students from Afghanistan, escaping the Taliban’s tightening grip on education, have been safely evacuated from Kabul under an ambitious plan led by the American University of Central Asia and the Kyrgyzstan government. About 60 percent of the students, undergraduates and graduates, are women, according to the university. “Yes, we have largely succeeded,” …

Asia, Education, Refugees

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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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THIS WEEK @UN

#UNGA76 Vaccination Rules; Gabon Peacekeepers Ousted; Macron Drops Out of UN Debate

Anna Bianca Roach

• September 18, 2021

Vaccine-policy confusion as delegates arrive for UNGA; Gabon’s troops repatriated from a United Nations peacekeeping mission; President Macron of France won’t participate in the UN high-level debate. 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. UNGA …

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

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THIS WEEK @UN

The UN Sticks to Afghanistan; Ireland Steers the Security Council; Preying on Mothers’ Fears

Anna Bianca Roach

• September 3, 2021

The UN’s priorities in Afghanistan for now; how certain multinational corporations feed on new-mothers’ fears amid Covid; Ireland’s envoy defends the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. 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. …

Human Rights, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, UN Agencies, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

How Tough Can Ireland Be on Protecting Afghan Women’s Rights?

Stéphanie Fillion

• September 1, 2021

The day after the Taliban took over Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason of Ireland spoke directly to Afghan women through her remarks in the United Nations Security Council, telling them: “Women of Afghanistan: we hear you and we hear your pleas to the international community at this dark time. The fear, indignation …

Human Rights, Security Council Presidency

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Afghans Who Work for the UN in Their Country Say They Fear for Their Lives [Updated]

Fiona Shukri

• August 20, 2021

United Nations staff members in Afghanistan who work for the UN political mission there say it has been failing to protect its national personnel since the Taliban’s sudden takeover of the country on Aug. 15 and as the United States evacuates tens of thousands of Americans and others from the Kabul airport amid deadly …

Asia, Gender Violence, Humanitarian Aid, Secretary-General, UN Agencies, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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TOPIC: WOMEN

This Afghan Activist Keeps Telling the Taliban to Respect the Rights of Women and Girls

Fiona Shukri

• August 18, 2021

The Taliban seized Afghanistan’s second-largest city of Kandahar just last week, marking the beginning of the quick takeover of the country. Kandahar, a city of 60,000 that borders Pakistan, is a historic center of Pashtun culture and power and was once Afghanistan’s capital. Three days later, on Sunday, the nation’s capital of Kabul was …

Gender Violence, Human Rights, Women

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Despite the Intensifying Dangers in Afghanistan, the UN Says It Is Staying Put [Updated]

Dulcie Leimbach

• August 14, 2021

As the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, on Sunday — and the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, fled the country — the United Nations continues to decline to say whether it is planning to evacuate its thousands of personnel there. Rather, the UN is emphasizing its efforts on providing food, water and other …

Asia, Gender Violence, Humanitarian Aid, Secretary-General, Security Council, UN Agencies

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GEOPOLITICS

Afghan Migrants Flee Iran as US Sanctions Damage Iran’s Economy

Sonah Lee-Lassiter

• February 18, 2019

After fleeing violence and unemployment in their home country for the relative stability of neighboring Iran, hundreds of thousands of undocumented Afghans are now returning home. The mass reverse migration is taking place just as the United States, eager to withdraw from Afghanistan, holds its most concerted peace talks with the Taliban in years. …

Asia, Geopolitics, Migration, Terrorism, US Foreign Relations

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Just About Everyone Wanted Benazir Bhutto Dead

Irwin Arieff

• January 12, 2014

Why write a whodunit when you can’t say who done it? This is the challenging task undertaken by Heraldo Muñoz, a veteran Chilean diplomat and United Nations official, in his new book, “Getting Away With Murder: Benazir Bhutto’s Assassination and the Politics of Pakistan.” In 2009, the UN asked Muñoz to head an investigation …

BOOKS

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A Blogger Exposed a UN Agency’s Wrongdoings. Its Boss Has Resigned

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Taliban

Meanwhile in Afghanistan, Women Are Suffering Needlessly This Winter

Trending UN News: Week Ending Dec. 17

Rural Taliban Accept a Swedish Plan to Keep Educating Girls in Afghanistan

Afghan Women Must Be Central to Decision-Making on Global Aid to the Country

Afghan Students Reach Kyrgyzstan After a Risky Journey

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

#UNGA76 Vaccination Rules; Gabon Peacekeepers Ousted; Macron Drops Out of UN Debate

The UN Sticks to Afghanistan; Ireland Steers the Security Council; Preying on Mothers’ Fears

How Tough Can Ireland Be on Protecting Afghan Women’s Rights?

Afghans Who Work for the UN in Their Country Say They Fear for Their Lives [Updated]

This Afghan Activist Keeps Telling the Taliban to Respect the Rights of Women and Girls

Despite the Intensifying Dangers in Afghanistan, the UN Says It Is Staying Put [Updated]

Afghan Migrants Flee Iran as US Sanctions Damage Iran’s Economy

Just About Everyone Wanted Benazir Bhutto Dead

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