WHO

Military Takeover in Myanmar; a UN Feminist Dies; Aleksei Navalny’s Sentencing

February 5, 2021

A coup staged in Myanmar; the UN’s first unofficial feminist dies; Aleksei Navalny’s sentencing. 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, original PassBlue reporting and other sources. Sunday, Jan. 31 • Margaret C. Snyder, the …

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

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Biden’s UN Nominee Fends Off Questions About Being Soft on China

January 27, 2021

by Barbara Crossette

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, appearing before a Senate committee confirmation hearing on Jan. 27 for her nomination as United States envoy to the United Nations, handled a barrage of Republican accusations that the new Biden administration and she were not tough enough on China. The rhetoric from the Republican camp reached a crescendo when Senator Ted …

Africa, General Assembly, Human Rights, Nuclear Disarmament, Security Council, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

UN Agencies Are Not Exactly Zooming Toward Open Meetings

January 25, 2021

by Toby McIntosh

WASHINGTON — With United Nations entities meeting mostly virtually in the Covid-19 pandemic, it is a good time for more of them to hold open sessions. But no transparency trend has materialized in the nearly yearlong pandemic so far. Having surveyed 27 core UN organizations to learn whether they conduct open meetings and issue …

UN Agencies, WORLDVIEWS

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Biden Is Sworn in as 46th US President, Marking a New Era for the Globe

January 20, 2021

by Dulcie Leimbach

Capping the most tumultuous and dangerous 14 days in American politics, Joseph R. Biden Jr. was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States just before noon today. Only two weeks ago, on Jan. 6, a pro-Trump mob swarmed the US Capitol demanding that Biden’s election be overturned, sending legislators, fearing for …

Secretary-General, Security Council, UN Diplomats, US-UN Relations

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

January 14, 2021

by Mona Ali Khalil

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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WORLDVIEWS

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

December 21, 2020

by Mona Ali Khalil

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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WORLDVIEWS

How Far Will Biden Go With the UN?

December 16, 2020

by Stephen Schlesinger

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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THIS WEEK @UN

The US Likes the UN Again; Warnings to Ethiopia; Biden’s Pick for UN Envoy

November 27, 2020

by Dulcie Leimbach

The United States embraces diplomacy again; human-rights warnings in Ethiopia; who is the US nominee for UN ambassador? 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 sources. We know from diplomats and many other …

Africa, Climate and Environment, Governance, Secretary-General, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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The Lingering Side-Effects of Trump’s Assault on Global Health

November 24, 2020

by Irwin Arieff

President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to move quickly once he is in office to reverse Donald Trump’s ill-founded pledge to cut ties to the World Health Organization during a deadly worldwide plague. But it will not be easy for Biden to erase the damage, which will weigh on Washington’s standing in the international health …

Health and Population, US-UN Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

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

November 20, 2020

by Dulcie Leimbach

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

November 17, 2020

by Stéphanie Fillion

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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COVID-19

The Path to Ending Our Global Chaos Is Through the UN

October 22, 2020

by Mona Ali Khalil

By all accounts, 2020 has been a terrible year so far — but is it worse than 1920? In 1920, World War I, which killed 16 million people, had just ended. The two-year influenza pandemic that followed killed 50 million more. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has already killed more than one million people …

General Assembly, Health and Population, Secretary-General, Security Council, WORLDVIEWS

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UN75

At the UN: US Condemns China; France Lectures; China Plays Sage; Turkey Is Gifted

September 22, 2020

by Barbara Crossette

Donald Trump, speaking on the opening day of the United Nations’ 75th General Assembly session — the same day that the United States officially tallied a coronavirus death toll of 200,000 people — reiterated all his familiar grievances against China and added a few. He blamed the Chinese not only for spreading Covid-19 across …

General Assembly, UN75

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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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THIS WEEK @UN

Climate Change Risks, Israel-Palestine Covid-19 Crisis, UN’s Partial Reopening

July 24, 2020

by Allison Lecce

The Security Council held a climate change and security debate, led by Germany, nearly 10 years since the first and last time the Council met on this specific issue and agreed to a presidential statement on it. The Dominican Republic also led a meeting on climate change in January 2019. Although no resolution was …