Seton Hall Graduate Degree in International Affairs
Seton Hall Graduate Degree in International Affairs

BLUE SMOKE: A new monthly newsletter, from PassBlue and UNA–UK, which shines a spotlight on senior appointments at the UN

UN reform

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It is a cliché, but true, to say the United Nations is needed more — and under more duress — than ever. Overstretched and constrained, it has struggled to keep up with the scale and challenges facing humanity, from…

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This week, we focus on the rising humanitarian crises in the world as the situation in Türkiye and Syria deepens. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. The information is gathered from…

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The one fact that all countries at the United Nations agree on is that Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States cherish their veto right in the Security Council. Yet recent debates to shake up the calcified status…

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Everyone talks about reforming the United Nations Security Council but change remains elusive after decades of debates. This past year, the voices for expanding the Council became louder, yet few can agree on how to do it. And they…

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This week, the Taliban carried out their first execution, letting a man shoot the person who allegedly murdered his son. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. The information is gathered from…

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Ruchira Kamboj, India’s ambassador to the United Nations, said the Security Council could no longer afford to delay being more reflective of the diversity of the UN “wider membership” if it wants to remain relevant. The South Asian country…

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Many African leaders who spoke at the United Nations General Assembly so far seem to all want the same thing: a permanent seat at the Security Council table. “Africa has waited long enough and will not wait any longer,”…

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Within year one, the Biden administration rejoined the Paris Agreement and Human Rights Council, re-engaged with the World Health Organization, accelerated support of the Covax operation and took steps to strengthen United Nations peacekeeping and nuclear nonproliferation regimes. Equally…

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António Guterres soon will be recrowned Secretary-General after Manhattan’s five-member Electoral College, the permanent members of the Security Council, send its recommendation to the General Assembly for a ceremonial vote. In 2016, his election was an unusually transparent process…

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Donald Trump, speaking on the opening day of the United Nations’ 75th General Assembly session — the same day that the United States officially tallied a coronavirus death toll of 200,000 people — reiterated all his familiar grievances against…

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Hugh Dugan, a retired United States Foreign Service officer and former US delegate to the United Nations, has been appointed to the US National Security Council as special assistant for international organization affairs, an integral post for government relations…

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GENEVA — Like his predecessors, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has been pushing a reform program to help the organization adjust to the demands of contemporary global governance. Over nearly 75 years, the UN has innovated and adapted. At…

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As the first effects of Secretary-General António Guterres’s ambitious organizational reform plans become apparent, former and current officials of the United Nations Development Program see the future of the internationally influential agency as uncertain if not in peril. Fears…

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The United Nations has been given the green light from its 193 member nations to embark on a major overhaul of its operations, based on a trio of reform proposals put forth by Secretary-General António Guterres in the last…

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BONN, Germany — Member states of the United Nations are now negotiating reform proposals for the world body’s development system. In the latest draft resolution, they welcome the secretary-general’s proposal for “advancing common business operations” and “request” for their “implementation,”…

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Seton Hall Graduate Degree in International Affairs

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