UNESCO

US Delegation to Haiti Cut Short; Risks for the UN Pension Fund?; an Ex-Guantánamo Detainee May Face Torture in Russia

• July 24, 2021

A US delegation to Haiti returns early; potential risks for the $87 billion UN pension fund; an ex-Guantánamo detainee may face torture in Russia. 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 inching closer …

Africa, Asia, Human Rights, Secretary-General, This Week @UN, Unesco, 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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WORLDVIEWS

How Far Will Biden Go With the UN?

Stephen Schlesinger

• December 16, 2020

As President-elect Joe Biden finds his footing in foreign affairs, one of his foremost challenges will be re-engaging with the United Nations. So far, he has said little about the organization, but he has just appointed a new UN envoy-in-waiting, an experienced and articulate diplomat, former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and …

Security Council, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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Hey, Biden-Harris Team, What About the UN?

Stéphanie Fillion

• November 17, 2020

President-elect Joe Biden’s first message to fellow world leaders was clear: America is back. But there’s a glaring omission in his foreign policy plan: the United Nations. After four years of the Trump administration’s defunding and leaving UN organizations and agreements, the United States’ relationship with the UN is ripe for revival. But what, …

UN Agencies, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

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

Harris Gleckman and Khalil Hamdani

• September 16, 2020

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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COVID-19

Biden’s Toughest Task: Linking Foreign Policy to a Changed America

Barbara Crossette

• June 10, 2020

With Joseph Biden taking an unassailable lead by June 7 as the Democratic Party’s choice for president of the United States, many Americans foresee a desperate, ugly political campaign for re-election by Donald Trump coming. The magnitude of his damage to America’s role in the world will be an issue for Democrats, along with …

Covid-19, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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Silencing the Media: Attacks Grow More Open, With Women as Particular Targets

Barbara Crossette

• February 23, 2020

When Reporters Without Borders recently tallied the murders of journalists across the globe in 2019, the organization found that the confirmed death toll, 49, was the lowest since 2003. That was the good news. The rest of the findings from this and other media groups are less reassuring. Journalists are being targeted virtually everywhere, not …

Gender Violence

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Rosemary DiCarlo, the Top-Ranking American at the UN, Describes Her Work Crisscrossing the World

Joanne Myers

• December 11, 2019

On a busy day of a busy week and year, Rosemary DiCarlo, the United Nations under secretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, spoke frankly in an interview about her role as the first woman to be appointed to this position and as the highest-ranking American now serving the UN. DiCarlo discussed the challenges and …

US-UN Relations, Women

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Unesco: Teach Children How to Understand Migrants’ Lives, Before It’s Too Late

Barbara Crossette

• July 1, 2019

As outrage and horror build around stories of refugee children, some still in diapers, seized from their parents and suffering neglect and abuse along the United States border with Mexico, Unesco, the United Nations organization with education in its mandate, is looking ahead. A new generation of children in countries receiving migrants needs to …

Education, Migration, Unesco, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

Nagasaki, My Grandfather and Me

Alexandra Bowie

• April 6, 2019

NAGASAKI, Japan — The live fish of the day, taken from a tank that occupied half the restaurant’s floor space, was squid. Its translucent flesh, cut into neat strips draped carefully over its body, twitched gently as the man explored it with his chopsticks. “When you’re done, we’ll cook the rest of it,” the …

Unesco, WORLDVIEWS

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Mass Tourism: Bad for Culture but Good for Women?

Ariel Sophia Bardi

• June 13, 2017

FLORENCE, Italy — This month, Italy’s tourism season kicks into high gear. Florence, which receives more than 16 million tourists a year, is one of many cities to be marred by mass travel. In the famously picturesque Piazza della Signoria, groups plod through the cobblestoned square, shepherded by flag-waving guides. Vendors peddle selfie-sticks in …

Africa, Asia, Development, Human Rights, Unesco, Women

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Sudan, the Enigma

Jeffrey Laurenti

• November 30, 2016

KHARTOUM, Sudan — Arriving at the Khartoum airport near midnight, as I did a few weeks before the American presidential election, one is struck by the lineup of aircraft parked near the terminal. There is not a single Western airline among them, though one sees several from across the Arab world and parts of …

Africa, Unesco

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Failing Public Schools Spur Global Boom in Private Education

Barbara Crossette

• May 16, 2016

While governments bask in data showing that the development goal of universal access to primary education has largely been achieved, attention is turning to what that really means in the classroom. Educators and human-rights advocates question whether acceptable standards are being met in many schools, as evidence mounts of the proliferation of private education …

Education, India, Sustainable Development Goals, Unesco

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Another First for Candidates for UN Secretary-General? Tweeting

Laura E. Kirkpatrick

• April 19, 2016

This is not your grandfather’s election cycle. Will this be the year a woman is elected to one of the highest political positions in the world? What’s up with the surprise candidate gaining unexpected momentum? Can any candidate truly blend the need for the best-qualified administration with gender parity? It is unequivocal that this …

Secretary-General

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BOOKS

What Can Save Unesco? Advice From an Insider

Helmut Volger

• December 15, 2015

Founded in 1946 with noble goals, namely “to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among the nations through education, science and culture,” the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) has in fact achieved considerable progress, above all in assisting its member nations in providing quality basic education for children, youth …