The World
• October 10, 2022
Marat Gabidullin is throwing open the door on the notorious Wagner Group, the Russian quasi-private army that operates in the shadows and doesn’t exist on paper. When he released his memoir in April in French, describing his time as a Wagner fighter and a commander, Gabidullin, 55, became the first operative to go on …
• October 7, 2022
This week, we bring you good news from Sierra Leone, one of the first countries in West Africa to roll out the human papilloma virus vaccine as part of routine immunization for girls. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. The information is gathered from UN press …
• October 5, 2022
Naturally enough, Gabon is focusing on Africa as the country leads the United Nations Security Council this month. Gabon’s UN ambassador, Michel Xavier Biang, detailed his country’s plans for the rotating presidency, elaborating on a climate change agenda as well as counterterrorism, alignment of UN and African Union interests plus strengthening women’s resilience in …
• September 24, 2022
On the next-to-last day of the globe’s largest talkfest by world leaders, Sept. 24, the United Nations may have been quiet and most of the police barricades may have been dismantled outside, but inside the Assembly Hall, two powerful, stern foreign ministers — Wang Yi of China and Sergey Lavrov of Russia — dispelled …
• September 23, 2022
As the speeches by world leaders in the General Assembly begin to wind down, the focus stays on the devastating war in Ukraine and its rippling effects across the globe, the warming Earth and other serious crises that continue to hurt people everywhere. Some of the world’s smallest countries, however, took the rostrum to …
• September 22, 2022
Many African leaders who spoke at the United Nations General Assembly so far seem to all want the same thing: a permanent seat at the Security Council table. “Africa has waited long enough and will not wait any longer,” Ali Bongo Ondimba, Gabon’s president, said to the gathering on Sept. 21. The continent of …
• September 20, 2022
On the first day of the “high-level” week of the United Nations General Assembly, attracting approximately 150 world leaders in person to the world body for the first time since 2019, Secretary-General António Guterres, facing criticism for acting too little, too late in trying to prevent or stop Russia’s war in Ukraine, dived into …
• September 4, 2022
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo is in trouble. Some of its problems are chronic, some are acute, but at its heart is a breakdown in trust between the mission and the community with which it operates. What is needed now more than ever is a genuine people-centered approach …
• August 23, 2022
LAGOS — A mere 17 women were appointed or elected to parliaments, ministerial or electoral offices in the West Africa/Sahel region out of 134 available positions from December 2021 to June 2022. While the paltry figures have long raised concerns among the region’s women’s-rights advocates, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres also chimed in …
• August 14, 2022
Today marks a dark anniversary — one year since Kabul fell to the Taliban. As Ireland’s ambassador to the United Nations, I have always said I will judge the Taliban by their actions, not by their words. Their actions in the last year speak of absolute contempt for the rights of the Afghan people, …
• July 18, 2022
When Kimba Abdou went to a local store a year ago to buy a 100-kilogram bag of millet, a staple grain for Nigeriens, he parted with 20,000 West African francs, known as CFA, or about $31. The last time he checked, the price had gone up by more than 50 percent — with a …
• June 27, 2022
Britain’s new five-year asylum partnership arrangement with Rwanda is showing the rest of Europe how countries can possibly lock refugees out of their borders. And Filippo Grandi, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, is worried about this precedent. In the wake of the refugee crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in which …
• June 24, 2022
This week, we focus on two crises in Africa: never-ending deadly setbacks of peacekeeping and the humanitarian needs on the continent. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. The information is gathered from UN press briefings, PassBlue reporting and other sources. This week, we look at the …
• June 19, 2022
Among governments and international organizations worldwide there is a refrain that the catastrophic collapse of Myanmar is a regional problem to be solved primarily by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The 10-member group, known as Asean, remains deeply split, however, and the fissure seems to be hardening. On one side of the arguments …
• June 17, 2022
This week, our focus is on the failure of the decades-old women, peace and security agenda and Britain’s stalled plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. The information is gathered from UN press briefings, PassBlue reporting and other sources. This …
