UN Security Council

The UN’s 75th Birthday Is Here; Trump’s Not Coming to UNGA; What He Might Say Virtually

September 18, 2020

The most important week of the year at the United Nations has arrived, though expectations are low, given that the annual opening debate of the General Assembly is being held virtually because of Covid-19. No global leaders are coming to the debate; no wine-laden luncheons or “bilateral” meetings for them are scheduled; and no …

This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

UN-Watchers Expect the Worst From Trump at General Assembly Next Week

September 16, 2020

by Harris Gleckman and Khalil Hamdani

The General Assembly is surely going to be a very interesting place this month — even if world leaders are staying home for the annual opening debate because of the pandemic. On Monday, Sept. 21, the General Assembly is hosting a special session to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. For this …

General Assembly, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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THIS WEEK @UN

Protecting a Nobelist, Dr. Mukwege; Climate Chaos; Where Are the Women at #UNGA75?

September 12, 2020

by Dulcie Leimbach

Iran continues to enrich low-grade uranium; the United Nations finally sent peacekeepers to protect Dr. Denis Mukwege, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, after he received more death threats; and the major General Assembly session of world leaders, starting Sept. 22, features only 11 women so far, and the first one to speak is No. …

Africa, Climate and Environment, Education, General Assembly, Human Rights, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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After Resisting, the UN Redeploys Peacekeepers to Protect Dr. Mukwege, Amid Death Threats

September 9, 2020

by Clair MacDougall

Dr. Denis Mukwege sat behind a desk in a sharp suit with a red tie and his eyes framed by thick black glasses, as his image was live-streamed from eastern Congo during a human-rights meeting of the European Parliament in Brussels on Aug. 31. Dr. Mukwege spoke matter-of-factly about women who had been buried …

Africa, Gender-Based Violence, Secretary-General

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The only talk show of its kind in the world

As Iran Allows the UN Access to Suspected Nuclear Sites, Its Uranium Stockpile Is Growing

September 7, 2020

by Stephanie Liechtenstein

VIENNA — The International Atomic Energy Agency has just reported that Iran’s stockpile of low-enriched uranium continues to grow. The stockpile now exceeds the limit set in the 2015 nuclear deal tenfold. According to the confidential quarterly IAEA report, distributed to member states on Sept. 4 and seen by PassBlue, as of Aug. 25, …

Middle East, Nuclear Disarmament, Security Council

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THIS WEEK @UN

Beijing+25; ICC Prosecutor Sanctioned by US; Niger Leads the Security Council

September 5, 2020

by Dulcie Leimbach

The 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing; the United States sanctions the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court; dissecting the failed ambitions of the US effort to force the UN mission in Lebanon to be more aggressive. Greetings from This Week @UN, our summary highlighting the most important news on the …

Middle East, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

The Unifil Peacekeeping Mandate: Kicking the Southern Lebanon Can Down the Road

September 3, 2020

by Karim Makdisi

On Aug. 28, the United Nations Security Council unanimously voted to renew its peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, called Unifil, for another year. This unanimity, however, masked what had been a series of heated informal discussions on the nature of Unifil and the interpretation of its mandate. The United States, essentially representing Israel, threatened …

Middle East, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping, WORLDVIEWS

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

Niger Brings the Voice of the Sahel Into the UN Security Council

September 1, 2020

by Stéphanie Fillion

Niger hasn’t been a member of the Security Council for almost 40 years, and now that it has a voice on one of the world’s most visible platforms, it intends to use it to build more alliances with influential world powers while furthering a regional agenda. September will require Niger, a landlocked country in …

Africa, Security Council Presidency

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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

August 29, 2020

by Allison Lecce

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 …

Climate and Environment, Middle East, Refugees, Terrorism, This Week @UN, US Foreign Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

Mali’s Coup, Belarus’s Protests, Pompeo’s Brief Appearance at the UN

August 22, 2020

by Allison Lecce

A military coup in Mali; massive protests in Belarus over the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko; more than a million people displaced in Burkina Faso; and the United States takes its next step to extend the Iran arms embargo through the United Nations Security Council, as most of its members still push back. Greetings from This …

Africa, Middle East, This Week @UN, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

All Fuss and No Substance on the Middle East ‘Breakthrough’

August 18, 2020

by Irwin Arieff

Talking heads are showering Donald Trump with praise over his surprise unveiling of an agreement that he said would alter the Middle East landscape by building a diplomatic bridge between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. If completed as advertised, the deal would indeed, as Trump tweeted, be a “huge breakthrough,” as it would …

Middle East, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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COVID-19

Lebanon’s Crisis on Top of a Crisis: Our Latest Podcast Episode

August 17, 2020

by Stéphanie Fillion and Kacie Candela

The devastating series of explosions that rocked Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, on Aug. 4, killed nearly 200 people, injured thousands of others, destroyed most of the city’s port, flattened surrounding neighborhoods, damaged six hospitals and more than 20 health clinics and wiped out 120 schools. Five days later, on Aug. 9, the international …

Covid-19, Middle East, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping

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THIS WEEK @UN

The Struggling SDGs, Money for Beirut, Resuming Vaccinations in Pakistan and Afghanistan

August 15, 2020

by Allison Lecce

The tremendous fallout from the explosion in Beirut on Aug. 4 continues as the United Nations offers direct aid, including providing a mobile health clinic and vaccines for children, while a new $565 million appeal to help the Lebanese recover has begun. And in a stunning rejection, a United States draft resolution submitted to …

This Week @UN

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The US Gamble to Extend the Iran Arms Ban Fails. What’s Next?

August 14, 2020

by Evelyn Leopold

Doomed from the start, the United States asked the 14 other United Nations Security Council members to approve a resolution to extend an arms embargo on Iran that expires on Oct. 18. The embargo is part of the Security Council resolution adopted in 2015 that endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), to …

Middle East, Nuclear Disarmament, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

UN to the Rescue in Beirut, a Billion Children Out of School, Hiroshima Anniversary

August 7, 2020

by Allison Lecce

A major explosion rocks a Beirut port, killing at least 154 people, and the United Nations and others come to the rescue; and Secretary-General António Guterres calls for the reopening of schools worldwide, “once local transmission of Covid-19 is under control.” Facing a “global catastrophe,” more than one billion students have been physically shut …

This Week @UN

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UN Security Council

The UN’s 75th Birthday Is Here; Trump’s Not Coming to UNGA; What He Might Say Virtually

UN-Watchers Expect the Worst From Trump at General Assembly Next Week

Protecting a Nobelist, Dr. Mukwege; Climate Chaos; Where Are the Women at #UNGA75?

After Resisting, the UN Redeploys Peacekeepers to Protect Dr. Mukwege, Amid Death Threats

As Iran Allows the UN Access to Suspected Nuclear Sites, Its Uranium Stockpile Is Growing

Beijing+25; ICC Prosecutor Sanctioned by US; Niger Leads the Security Council

The Unifil Peacekeeping Mandate: Kicking the Southern Lebanon Can Down the Road

Niger Brings the Voice of the Sahel Into the UN Security Council

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

Mali’s Coup, Belarus’s Protests, Pompeo’s Brief Appearance at the UN

All Fuss and No Substance on the Middle East ‘Breakthrough’

Lebanon’s Crisis on Top of a Crisis: Our Latest Podcast Episode

The Struggling SDGs, Money for Beirut, Resuming Vaccinations in Pakistan and Afghanistan

The US Gamble to Extend the Iran Arms Ban Fails. What’s Next?

UN to the Rescue in Beirut, a Billion Children Out of School, Hiroshima Anniversary

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