UN Security Council

• August 2, 2021

The presidency of the Security Council is always a high time for a country’s diplomacy, but for India right now, it’s more than that. In August, the country is going to try to show the world why it deserves a permanent seat in the United Nations’ most important body. According to T. S. Tirumurti, …

General Assembly, Middle East, Security Council Presidency, Terrorism, UN Diplomats, UN Peacekeeping

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UN Human-Rights Experts Raise Alarm Over the Fate of a Russian Ex-Guantánamo Detainee

Clair MacDougall

• July 20, 2021

Yusuf Mingazov met his father, Ravil, for the first time through a videocall between a Red Cross office in Nottingham, Britain, and the Guantánamo Bay detention camp in Cuba, where he had been imprisoned for more than 14 years. “It was kind of difficult to explain the emotions and everything, but it was nice …

Human Rights, Terrorism, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

Receding Ice in Iceland; UN Agencies’ Use of P.R. Firms; Lebanon on the Edge

Ivana Ramirez

• July 16, 2021

Receding glaciers in Iceland; the UN’s use of public-relations firms; South Sudan’s promising women’s soccer league; Lebanon’s “reversal.” 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 have reached two-thirds of the way to our important …

Climate and Environment, Gender Violence, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN

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The Public-Relations Industry Grabs a Foothold in the UN

Barbara Crossette

• July 14, 2021

As the final round of the Generation Equality Forum was about to open in Paris in late June, some reporters, including from PassBlue, were directed by a few United Nations agencies most involved in the event, to ask their questions to public-relations companies. Knowledgeable communications specialists in the UN system were “too busy,” reporters …

Journalists, Secretary-General, Security Council, UN Careers

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WORLDVIEWS

Thinking Outside the Box: How UN Sanctions Can Be Used to Bring More Women Into Peace Talks

Sophie Huvé and Rebecca Brubaker

• July 13, 2021

Since 2008, the United Nations Security Council has been integrating part of the women, peace and security agenda into its sanctions regimes — albeit inconsistently and with mixed results. So far, this practice has mostly focused on protecting women and girls against sexual and gender-based violence in conflicts with a twofold approach. In six …

Gender Violence, Security Council, WORLDVIEWS

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THIS WEEK @UN

Crucial Aid Into Syria; Will a Feminist Lead UN Women?; Haiti’s Downfall

Ivana Ramirez

• July 9, 2021

Crucial aid into Syria continues; will a feminist head UN Women?; the good and bad of Security Council Arria meetings; Haiti on the edge. 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 are closer …

Africa, Asia, Human Rights, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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Does the UN Security Council Have an Arria-Formula Problem?

Stéphanie Fillion

• July 6, 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought enormous changes and challenges to the United Nations Security Council. One result has been the heightened politicization and proliferation of the Arria-formula meetings, or informal sessions, of the Council that can be initiated by any member. The increasing use of these meetings has widened the splits among the big …

Peace and Security, Security Council

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WORLDVIEWS

The German Envoy Did a ‘Good Job’ Shaking Up the UN Security Council

Helmut Volger

• July 4, 2021

BERLIN — When Christoph Heusgen was appointed Germany’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York City in 2017, there were critical comments by foreign policy experts and journalists in our country. They voiced doubts about whether Heusgen, who had been serving as security and foreign policy adviser to Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2005, …

Security Council, WORLDVIEWS

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

Humanitarian Aid Is France’s Big Theme for July

Stéphanie Fillion

• July 1, 2021

France is in the diplomatic spotlight at the United Nations as it’s not only leading the Security Council for the month of July, but it is also just finishing up hosting the long-awaited Generation Equality Forum, a UN-led gathering that brings together governments, corporations and citizens groups to secure commitments for achieving gender equality. …

Africa, General Assembly, Humanitarian Aid, Security Council Presidency, UN Peacekeeping

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

Dulcie Leimbach

• 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

The IAEA Chief’s Laments; Two UN Giants Mourned; European Peacekeepers Attacked in Mali

Ivana Ramirez

• June 25, 2021

Rafael Grossi of the IAEA on Iran, gender bias and diplomacy; nuke-weapons countries just keep spending billions; European peacekeepers attacked in Gao, 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. We are nearly halfway …

Africa, LGBT, Nuclear Disarmament, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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In the Middle of the Pandemic, Nuclear-Weapons Spending Shot Up, a New Report Says

Ivana Ramirez

• June 22, 2021

In 2020, during one of the worst global pandemics in recent history, killing more than three million people that year from the Covid-19 virus, nine nuclear-armed countries spent $72.6 billion on bolstering and modernizing their arsenals, at a rate of more than $137,000 a minute. That is a $1.4 billion increase over 2019, according …

Disarmament, Gender Violence, Nuclear Disarmament

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THIS WEEK @UN

The UN Leader Is Sworn In (Again); Myanmar’s Downhill Slide; the US Envoy’s Rising Star

Ivana Ramirez

• June 18, 2021

The UN’s leader is sworn in for another term; Myanmar’s rapid instability; elevating the US ambassador’s profile. 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 are about a third of the way through our mini-fundraiser, …

General Assembly, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Myanmar, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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Turnabout in US Foreign Policy Puts UN in the Spotlight

Irwin Arieff

• 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

Major UN Elections; Guterres Crosses One Finish Line; Long Working Hours Can Kill You

Ivana Ramirez

• June 11, 2021

The Ghana delegation posing outside the United Nations General Assembly Hall, June 11, 2021, after the Assembly voted on Security Council members for the 2022-23 term. Besides Ghana, the others are Albania, Brazil, Gabon and United Arab Emirates. They succeed Estonia, Niger, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia and Vietnam. JOHN PENNEY Major United …

General Assembly, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN

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A Year Later, a Sex-Video Inquiry Tied to the UN Mission in Israel Remains a Mystery

Maurizio Guerrero

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UN Security Council

In August, India Aims to Use Its Security Council Seat to Show Why It Should Be Permanent

UN Human-Rights Experts Raise Alarm Over the Fate of a Russian Ex-Guantánamo Detainee

Receding Ice in Iceland; UN Agencies’ Use of P.R. Firms; Lebanon on the Edge

The Public-Relations Industry Grabs a Foothold in the UN

Thinking Outside the Box: How UN Sanctions Can Be Used to Bring More Women Into Peace Talks

Crucial Aid Into Syria; Will a Feminist Lead UN Women?; Haiti’s Downfall

Does the UN Security Council Have an Arria-Formula Problem?

The German Envoy Did a ‘Good Job’ Shaking Up the UN Security Council

Humanitarian Aid Is France’s Big Theme for July

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

The IAEA Chief’s Laments; Two UN Giants Mourned; European Peacekeepers Attacked in Mali

In the Middle of the Pandemic, Nuclear-Weapons Spending Shot Up, a New Report Says

The UN Leader Is Sworn In (Again); Myanmar’s Downhill Slide; the US Envoy’s Rising Star

Turnabout in US Foreign Policy Puts UN in the Spotlight

Major UN Elections; Guterres Crosses One Finish Line; Long Working Hours Can Kill You

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The UN General Assembly Must Reject Myanmar Junta’s Attempts to Grab Envoy Seat

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In August, India Aims to Use Its Security Council Seat to Show Why It Should Be Permanent

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