Tor Wennesland

Two High-Profile Norwegian Diplomats Are Criticized in a Government Audit

• June 29, 2021

The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs lost control over how the International Peace Institute, a New York City think tank formerly financed by Norway, spent the money, an investigation by the country’s Office of the Auditor General found. The news was first reported in the Oslo business daily Dagens Naeringsliv. The audit also said …

Human Trafficking, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, UN Diplomats, UN Special Envoys

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THIS WEEK @UN

A Peacemaker Revolts; Gaza in Ashes; the UN Security Council Moves Back Home

Ivana Ramirez

• May 28, 2021

Grass-roots activists know peace-building best; Gaza reconstruction goals begin; the UN Security Council returns home. 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. Scoop from Stéphanie Fillion: A new candidate, Patrick U. Petit, an international mediator living …

Africa, Climate and Environment, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Latin America, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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UN Security Council Members Say to Israel and Hamas: Stop Killing Children

Dulcie Leimbach

• May 16, 2021

Across seven straight days of sudden, staggering violence between Israel and Hamas and rising death tolls of civilians, all 15 members of the Security Council aired their views publicly at the United Nations on Sunday, after the Council held two closed meetings last week on the continuing destruction in Israel and Palestine. Officials from …

Israeli-Palestinian conflict, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

The US Rejoins the Paris Agreement; Climate-Related Conflicts; Intrigue With a UN Envoy

Ivana Ramirez

• February 19, 2021

The United States jumps back into the Paris Agreement; the Security Council tackles climate-security risks (for now); a new UN envoy’s letter from the past returns to haunt him. 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, Climate and Environment, General Assembly, Middle East, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN

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A Norwegian Diplomat, Now a UN Envoy, Praised a Notorious Israeli Businessman Accused of Corruption

Dulcie Leimbach

• February 16, 2021

A controversial letter written in 2019 by a Norwegian diplomat who is now a leading United Nations envoy in the Middle East, vouching for an Israeli billionaire’s role in the release of a Norwegian-British citizen sentenced to death in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was recently published by The Norwegian Business Daily (Dagens …