Western Sahara

• October 29, 2021

A coup in Khartoum; global carbon emissions revert to pre-Covid levels; a new UN envoy is named for Myanmar. 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. This week, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres unveiled …

Africa, Myanmar, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN

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WORLDVIEWS

My Work on the Origins of Minurso, the UN Mission in Western Sahara

Joseph Alfred Grinblat

• October 27, 2021

It is now 30 years since the United Nations referendum mission for Western Sahara, known as Minurso, was created, and I was one of the original staff members. Starting in 1971, Sahrawi students in Morocco started a movement for the independence of Spanish Sahara. The Sahrawi are the Indigenous people of the western region …

Africa, Peace and Security, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping, US Foreign Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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THIS WEEK @UN

Human Rights for Western Sahara?; a Cease-Fire Comes to Central African Republic; Weapons Spending Drives Gender Inequalities

Anna Bianca Roach

• October 22, 2021

The UN boss points to rising global military spending as a source of gendered violence; the UN’s tech envoy, mired in controversy, may be exiting; the Human Rights Council rolls out a multimillion-dollar project with the Philippines. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues facing the organization. The information is …

Africa, Asia, Gender Violence, General Assembly, Human Rights, ICC, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, UN Agencies, UN Special Envoys, US-UN Relations

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US Senators Want Human-Rights Work Added to UN’s Western Sahara Mission

Maurizio Guerrero

• October 21, 2021

As abuses against Sahrawi activists and journalists mount in Western Sahara, 10 United States Republican and Democratic senators are urging the Biden administration to include a human-rights element in the work of the United Nations referendum mission in the disputed region, according to an Oct. 14 letter obtained by PassBlue. As the file holder …

Africa, Human Rights, Secretary-General, Security Council, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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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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THIS WEEK @UN

The US Envoy on Racism; ‘Apartheid’ in the Mideast; UK’s Cuts to UN Agencies

Ivana Ramirez

• April 30, 2021

Veronique Vandegans, the United Nations chief of the French Interpretation Section, working at home in Brooklyn, N.Y., with company. The photo is part of a story for the UN Department of Global Communications on remote interpretation. MANUEL ELIAS/UN PHOTO The United States ambassador goes honest on racism; an ex-Ecuadorean head of state aims to be …

Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Latin America, Secretary-General, This Week @UN, UN Agencies, UN Special Envoys, US-UN Relations

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Healing America and Restoring Its Standing in the World: An A to Z Guide

Mona Ali Khalil

• January 14, 2021

The world watched on Jan. 6, 2021, as thousands of the most extreme supporters of President Donald Trump marched on the United States Capitol after hearing his rallying cry to “fight” and “take back” the country. Inside the Capitol, Vice President Mike Pence was presiding over a joint session of Congress to certify the …

Governance, Health and Population, Human Rights, International Justice, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

Trump’s Trashing of the Rule of Law; a Christmas in Pakistan; 3 Burundian Peacekeepers Killed

Ivana Ramirez

• December 26, 2020

An A-to-Z list of Trump’s assaults on the rule of law; reactions to the US-Morocco-Western Sahara news; turmoil in the Central African Republic before elections. Happy Boxing Day! You are reading This Week @UN, a summary of the most pressing issues facing the organization. The information is gathered from the UN spokesperson’s press briefings, …

Africa, Health and Population, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

President Trump’s Attacks on the Rule of Law, From A to Z

Mona Ali Khalil

• December 21, 2020

President Trump’s attacks on the rule of law in his four years in office have ranged from blatant disregard to outright breach of everything from well-established ethical values to universally accepted international norms, from United States laws and regulations to international laws and treaties. As the Trump presidency ends, there is hope that the …

Security Council, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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THIS WEEK @UN

Still No Aid Into Tigray; Linda Thomas-Greenfield and Africa; Western Sahara Left Hanging by US

Ivana Ramirez

• December 11, 2020

A United Nations convoy was shot at in Ethiopia’s Tigray region; Southeast Asia’s progress on the women, peace and security agenda; the United States brokers a deal with Morocco in exchange for loss of Western Sahara’s sovereignty. You’re reading This Week @UN, a summary of the most-pressing issues facing the international organization. The information …

Africa, Asia, Climate Change, Governance, Health and Population, This Week @UN

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THIS WEEK @UN

Fed-Up Africans; Has Biden Forgotten the UN?; Don’t Sanction the Houthis

Dulcie Leimbach

• November 20, 2020

Africans are fed up with being sidelined in the Security Council; hey, Joe Biden, don’t overlook the UN; a mother of five competes against 12 men in the Burkina Faso presidential election. You are reading This Week @UN, highlighting the most important news on the world body. The information is drawn from the UN spokesperson’s …

Africa, Human Rights, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Secretary-General, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

An Afghan Midwife Delivers; Fighting in Ethiopia Erupts; the UN Reacts to US Election Results

Dulcie Leimbach

• November 13, 2020

An Afghan midwife saving lives in her country; the UN secretary-general congratulates US president-elect Joe Biden (sort of); a new gender group with a questionable purpose. You are reading This Week @UN, highlighting the most important news on the world body. The information is drawn from the UN spokesperson’s briefings, our original reporting and other …

Africa, Caribbean, Secretary-General, This Week @UN

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Who Could Be the 194th UN Member State?

Stéphanie Fillion

• October 26, 2020

As the United Nations turns 75 years old this month, it is worth noting that its membership has more than tripled — almost quadrupled — since its founding in 1945. From 50 signatories at the San Francisco conference that year to 193 member states and two with observer state status today, the UN has …

Africa, General Assembly, Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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WORLDVIEWS

Big Powers at the UN Are Hanging Western Sahara Out to Dry

Fatma Medhi

• November 5, 2019

A stunning policy reversal by the United States regarding Western Sahara occurred last week, but it didn’t make many headlines. What happened? When the United Nations Security Council adopted a new resolution on Western Sahara, renewing the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission —Minurso — there for another 12 months, the action meant America’s …

Africa, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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GEOPOLITICS

The US Is Driving the New Talks on Western Sahara, Involving Morocco and Algeria

Stéphanie Fillion

• December 2, 2018

Horst Koehler, a former German president who has been the United Nations special envoy for Western Sahara since last year, is bringing the parties to the longstanding conflict over that region to a roundtable meeting in Geneva soon. Koehler expressed his intent last summer to bring all the relevant players together by the end …