US State Department

• 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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UN Probe Details Atrocities in Mali and Civilian Deaths From French Airstrikes

Clair MacDougall

• February 8, 2021

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — A recent United Nations investigation has documented years of grave human-rights violations, including war crimes and other atrocities, in Mali that have gone unpunished as the UN peacekeeping mission there struggles to stabilize the troubled West African nation. A highly detailed, 336-page report on the abuses, obtained in full by …

Africa, Gender Violence, Secretary-General, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping, US Foreign Relations

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US Ambassador Kelly Craft Resumes Campaign Donations with a Big Gift to Trump

Irwin Arieff

• February 26, 2020

Kelly Craft has taken a big step toward helping to ensure her political future, lavishing a campaign contribution of $360,600 on the re-election of her boss, President Donald Trump. The gift is the first that Craft, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, has dished out since joining the diplomatic corps as ambassador …

Security Council, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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NIKKI HALEY WATCH

Nikki Haley’s Chief of Staff Is Leaving New York to Work for Her in D.C.

Dulcie Leimbach

• June 4, 2018

David Glaccum, the chief of staff for Nikki Haley, America’s envoy to the United Nations, is leaving the New York office to move to Washington, D.C., where he will apparently continue working for Haley as a senior adviser based in the State Department. His move will allow him to be closer to his family, …

Nikki Haley Watch, Security Council, US-UN Relations

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NIKKI HALEY WATCH

What a Stripped-Down State Department Bodes for the UN and Nikki Haley

Barbara Crossette

• November 26, 2017

In Washington, there is no question that the State Department is in a weakened position, a situation that the Trump White House — and the Trump family — seem to relish. To some in the understaffed, stripped-down Foreign Service and to commentators on United States foreign policy, this is a disgrace linked directly to …

Middle East, Nikki Haley Watch, Nuclear Disarmament, US Foreign Relations

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NIKKI HALEY WATCH

Dear Ambassador Haley: Diplomacy Is a Team Sport

Irwin Arieff

• November 7, 2017

When working on sticky world problems, should the United States use the United Nations as a forum to try to drum up global support for its policies, reasoning that it gains strength by linking its interests to as many other countries as possible? Or should it stand alone in a blind embrace of President …

Africa, Nikki Haley Watch, Refugees, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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TOPIC: WOMEN

The US Tightens Rules on NGOs in Global Health, Hurting Poor Women

Barbara Crossette

• May 16, 2017

While trying to make the case that the United States remains committed to global health programs, the Trump administration has issued orders to nongovernmental organizations and others working in women’s health that could cripple some of their international operations by demanding contractual compliance with US anti-abortion policies. The new rules have been written under …

Humanitarian Aid, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations, Women

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A Less Peaceful World, Marginally

A. Edward Elmendorf

• June 25, 2013

Over the last year, the world has become a less peaceful place, and although the rate of decline was not tremendous, the deterioration has been steady since 2008, says a new report, the Global Peace Index. The factors behind the negative trend include a rise in the number of internal conflicts, a widening gap …

Peace and Security

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WORLDVIEWS

Take Two: Arms Trade Treaty Talks Resume

Allison Pytlak

• March 19, 2013

The second act of the Arms Trade Treaty negotiations has opened at the United Nations this week. Like any good drama, these talks, which began on March 18, are sure to feature tense moments and plenty of controversy, although many people involved in the process are optimistic that this act will deliver a final …

Disarmament, General Assembly, WORLDVIEWS

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The Masterminds Behind Security Council Resolutions

Amy Lieberman

• March 14, 2013

The United Nations Security Council bases its resolutions on agenda items as varied as the renewal of a peacekeeping force mandate in Haiti to responding to a missile launching in North Korea. With resolutions’ language often dense legalese that recalls, recognizes, emphasizes, demands and, at times, condemns and deplores the issue at hand, the …