• About Helmut Volger

    Helmut Volger has written and edited several books about the UN, including A Concise Encyclopedia of the United Nations, of which the second revised edition was published by Brill Academic Publishers in 2010. He is also a co-founder of the German UN Research Network (www.forschungskreis-vereinte-nationen.de).

    German UN Association Turns 60

    by  • May 1, 2012 • WORLDVIEWS • 0 Comments

    German ambassador to the UN

    BERLIN — Germany’s history as a member of the United Nations was complicated from the start. Its first step as a member began in 1973 as two German nations, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic (which was the Communist state).  Their induction as separate countries under two different names happened only after [...]

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    Ban’s Second Term: It’s Time to Involve UN Diplomats

    by  • March 26, 2012 • Secretary-General, WORLDVIEWS • 1 Comment

    un secretary general

    Like his predecessors, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon started his second term, in January, by presenting a programto the General Assembly and to the public, adorned with a momentous title: The Five Year Action Agenda, “The Future We Want.” It outlines in ambitious rhetoric the key areas where Ban thinks the UN should strive [...]

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    At Security Council Workshops, Candid Talk

    by  • December 21, 2011 • Security Council • 1 Comment

    The Russian ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, with Li Baodong, China's ambassador, right before a group photo in December.  RICK BAJORNAS/UN PHOTO

    It is a big challenge for a small- or medium-size country to learn the subtleties and intricacies of the procedures and working methods of the Security Council after it has been elected as a nonpermanent member. This is particularly so if it is the country’s first or even second term on the council. Preparation time [...]

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    New Members, New Chances? Security Council Elections

    by  • October 27, 2011 • Security Council, WORLDVIEWS • 2 Comments

    Azerbaijan reacts to winning the fifth nonpermanent seat on the Security Council for a two-year term starting Jan. 1, 2012. Guatemala, Morocco, Pakistan and Togo were also elected.   PAULO FILGUEIRAS/UN PHOTO

    This month, the United Nations General Assembly elected Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco, Pakistan and Togo as nonpermanent members of the Security Council for the next two years. Three of the new members, Guatemala, Morocco and Pakistan, were elected in the first round of voting, Togo was in the third and Azerbaijan, in the seventeenth. All new [...]

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