violence against women

• 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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TOPIC: WOMEN

A Surprising Leg Up for Women in War-Torn South Sudan: On the Soccer Field

Ivana Ramirez

• July 12, 2021

In times of extreme adversity, hope and light can come from unexpected places. In South Sudan — haunted by a war for independence, followed by a civil war and continued unrest in its short history — people can point to one major victory: a first-time women’s soccer league. Started just this year, it is …

Africa, Child Soldiers, Gender Violence, Poverty, Women

2 Comments

WORLDVIEWS

Feminist Wanted: Seeking the Next Leader of UN Women

Anne Marie Goetz and Joanne Sandler

• July 8, 2021

UN Women is looking for a new executive director. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, a former vice president of South Africa, is stepping down after eight years at the helm. The appointment comes as the Generation Equality Forum in Paris just ended, with historically high financial pledges by some governments. But it comes at a moment of peril …

Gender Violence, Secretary-General, UN Agencies, WORLDVIEWS

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Spirited Demands for Better Lives Dominate the Generation Equality Forum in Paris

Barbara Crossette

• June 30, 2021

The most important day of the widely anticipated United Nations-backed Generation Equality Forum’s second session ended Wednesday night in Paris. But before the dozens of speeches were heard, a gulf emerged among people who at heart all want to make the world a better, safer place for women and girls. On one side of …

Gender Violence, Health and Population, Human Rights, Women

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WORLDVIEWS

A Huge Missed Opportunity: Putting a Woman at the Top of the UN

Anna Samya Sri

• June 9, 2021

As the United Nations Security Council has just officially endorsed Secretary-General António Guterres for a second term, below, there is little regret being voiced publicly among the UN’s 193 member nations that in the organization’s 76-year history, there has never been a woman in charge. And once the General Assembly casts its vote behind …

General Assembly, Secretary-General, Security Council, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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THIS WEEK @UN

The Threats of Corruption; a Country Run by Women; Iran Loses Its UN Voting Rights

Ivana Ramirez

• June 4, 2021

Fighting global corruption; Estonia, run by women; Iran loses its voting rights at the UN; a sex-video scandal, unresolved a year later. 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. You are two clicks away from …

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

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WORLDVIEWS

Her Personal Mission: Helping to Release Yemen’s Prisoners in Its Continuing War

Laila Lutf Al-Thawr

• June 1, 2021

CAIRO — “They dug a hole in the ground, threw us in and shot at us randomly. I only survived because a body laid on top of me. Al Qaeda has my friends — please help me save them.” With those words, 13-year-old Adel barged into my office in Sana, Yemen, in 2015, and …

Gender Violence, Middle East, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

Is Combating Sexual Abuse in the UN Now a Low Priority for Guterres?

Sabrina White and Fred Carver

• May 12, 2021

LONDON — On taking his oath of office in December 2016, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres listed four priorities for his new job, the first combating sexual exploitation and sexual abuse across the UN system. In contrast, Guterres’s recent vision statement presented to the UN’s 193 member states as part of his candidacy for …

Gender Violence, UN Peacekeeping, WORLDVIEWS

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A Now-Retired UN Force Commander From Norway Double-Billed for Expenses

Dulcie Leimbach

• April 27, 2021

Maj. Gen. Kristin Lund of Norway double-billed her government and the United Nations for moving expenses, according to a new report from The Norwegian Business Daily (Dagens Naeringsliv/DN). Lund was the first woman force commander for the UN, holding the post at its peacekeeping mission in Cyprus. That stint was followed by her heading …

Middle East, Security Council, UN Careers

2 Comments

WORLDVIEWS

Tigray Can’t Wait: The UN Security Council Must Act to End Sexual Assault Now

Susana Malcorra

• April 22, 2021

As a woman who has worked for the United Nations in emergency and humanitarian operations, I am deeply shaken over what is occurring in the protracted conflict in Tigray, in northern Ethiopia, where reports of human suffering, including growing allegations of grievous gender-based violence, keep increasing. These actions are cruel and ruthless, and they …

Africa, Gender Violence, Human Rights, Security Council, WORLDVIEWS

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THIS WEEK @UN

Major Afghanistan Peace Talks; Spoilsport Russia; Wartime Sexual Abuse in the Pandemic

Ivana Ramirez

• April 16, 2021

Afghanistan mega-peace talks in Istanbul; Russia the spoiler; could a Latin American woman lead the UN down the road or sooner? 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 at PassBlue are deeply saddened by …

Gender Violence, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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TOPIC: WOMEN

This Feminist Is Putting Women at the Peace Table

Sonah Lee-Lassiter

• April 13, 2021

In 2010, Maria Victoria (Mavic) Cabrera-Balleza founded an organization to help and advocate for the rights of women and girls globally, but it was her childhood experiences that first politicized her. Martial law was declared by the dictator President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines in 1972, when she was in fourth grade. Born in …

Gender Violence, Human Rights, Peace and Security, Women

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Russia, the Current Big Spoiler in Advancing Global Gender Rights

Barbara Crossette

• April 12, 2021

Human-rights advocates around the world are assessing how much lasting damage could still be done to universal human rights after the four-year assault from the Trump administration. Although the Trump years ended with the swearing-in of President Joe Biden in January, civil society organizations and governments understand that an American turnaround could be slow …

Gender Violence, Secretary-General, Security Council, Women

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

Can Vietnam Rally the Big UN Powers to Stop More Bloodshed in Myanmar?

Stéphanie Fillion

• April 5, 2021

When Vietnam started its term as an elected member of the United Nations Security Council in January 2020, it also had to take on the role of the monthly rotating president. Back then, it sold itself as a bridge builder among the Council’s major powers. Vietnam’s second presidency, which started on April 1, is …

Asia, Gender Violence, Myanmar, Security Council Presidency

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THIS WEEK @UN

America’s Blinken ‘Visits’ the UN; Mexico’s Split Personality on Women’s Rights; New Secretary-General Applicants

Ivana Ramirez

• April 2, 2021

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken dials the UN; Mexico’s dual-personality approach to women’s rights; a deadly French airstrike on a wedding in Mali; two new applicants for secretary-general. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues facing the organization. The information is gathered from UN press briefings, PassBlue reporting …

Africa, Gender Violence, General Assembly, Human Rights, Myanmar, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, UN Special Envoys, US-UN Relations

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violence against women

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

A Surprising Leg Up for Women in War-Torn South Sudan: On the Soccer Field

Feminist Wanted: Seeking the Next Leader of UN Women

Spirited Demands for Better Lives Dominate the Generation Equality Forum in Paris

A Huge Missed Opportunity: Putting a Woman at the Top of the UN

The Threats of Corruption; a Country Run by Women; Iran Loses Its UN Voting Rights

Her Personal Mission: Helping to Release Yemen’s Prisoners in Its Continuing War

Is Combating Sexual Abuse in the UN Now a Low Priority for Guterres?

A Now-Retired UN Force Commander From Norway Double-Billed for Expenses

Tigray Can’t Wait: The UN Security Council Must Act to End Sexual Assault Now

Major Afghanistan Peace Talks; Spoilsport Russia; Wartime Sexual Abuse in the Pandemic

This Feminist Is Putting Women at the Peace Table

Russia, the Current Big Spoiler in Advancing Global Gender Rights

Can Vietnam Rally the Big UN Powers to Stop More Bloodshed in Myanmar?

America’s Blinken ‘Visits’ the UN; Mexico’s Split Personality on Women’s Rights; New Secretary-General Applicants

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