Harris Gleckman and Khalil Hamdani

Harris Gleckman and Khalil Hamdani are former United Nations staff members.

Harris Gleckman and Khalil Hamdani

Harris Gleckman and Khalil Hamdani are former United Nations staff members.

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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COVID-19

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

June 10, 2020

by Barbara Crossette

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

February 23, 2020

by Barbara Crossette

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-Based Violence

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TOPIC: WOMEN

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

December 11, 2019

by Joanne Myers

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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The only talk show of its kind in the world

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

July 1, 2019

by Barbara Crossette

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

April 6, 2019

by Alexandra Bowie

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?

June 13, 2017

by Ariel Sophia Bardi

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

November 30, 2016

by Jeffrey Laurenti

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

May 16, 2016

by Barbara Crossette

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

April 19, 2016

by Laura E. Kirkpatrick

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

December 15, 2015

by Helmut Volger

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 …

BOOKS

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Saving Scholars Who Become Victimized in the Middle East

August 20, 2015

by Chris Chaky

Khalid al-Asaad, an internationally recognized Syrian scholar of antiquities, was beheaded by ISIS on Aug. 18 for refusing to disclose the location of archeological treasures apparently removed for safekeeping from Palmyra, one of the Middle East’s most important archeological landmarks and a Unesco World Heritage Site in Syria. This latest tragedy inflicted by ISIS highlights …

Education, Middle East, Unesco

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A Peruvian Paradise, Sensitive to El Niño and Other Climate Effects

August 15, 2015

by Rhona Scullion

ICA, Peru — Located in the Pisco Province of the southern Ica region of Peru, the Paracas National Reserve is a Unesco World Heritage Site because of its rare natural diversity. Rich in marine life and wildlife, its unique ecosystem is one of the most biologically productive on the planet. Encompassing the Atacama Desert, the …

Climate and Environment, Unesco

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Eastern Europe Presses Its Claim to the Secretary-General’s Office

April 13, 2015

by Barbara Crossette

In 70 years of United Nations history, Eastern Europe has been the only regional group in the organization that has never filled the position of secretary-general. Western Europe has had three secretaries-general; Asia and Africa, two each; and Latin America and the Caribbean, one. The 23 nations of the Eastern European region, determined to …

Secretary-General, Security Council, Unesco, US-UN Relations, Women

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WORLDVIEWS

Netanyahu’s Scorched-Earth Campaign Destroys US Plea for Bilateralism

March 19, 2015

by Irwin Arieff

Benjamin Netanyahu’s desperate 11th-hour election strategy has left in tatters the main United States argument for aggressively protecting Israeli interests in the Middle East peace process, a development that will most likely weaken the Obama administration’s already strained fervor for shielding Israel in international diplomatic battles. A new dynamic will surely surface in the …

WORLDVIEWS

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Harris Gleckman and Khalil Hamdani

Harris Gleckman and Khalil Hamdani

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

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

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

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

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

Nagasaki, My Grandfather and Me

Mass Tourism: Bad for Culture but Good for Women?

Sudan, the Enigma

Failing Public Schools Spur Global Boom in Private Education

Another First for Candidates for UN Secretary-General? Tweeting

What Can Save Unesco? Advice From an Insider

Saving Scholars Who Become Victimized in the Middle East

A Peruvian Paradise, Sensitive to El Niño and Other Climate Effects

Eastern Europe Presses Its Claim to the Secretary-General’s Office

Netanyahu’s Scorched-Earth Campaign Destroys US Plea for Bilateralism

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