• Ban Ki-moon

     

    The UN Security Council Chamber Reopens With a Touch of Class

    by  • April 29, 2013 • Secretary-General, Security Council • 

    UN Security Council Chamber reopening

    The Norwegians have always influenced the direction of the United Nations either subtly or directly, starting with the world body’s first secretary-general, Trygve Lie, hailing from Norway. Now, with the reopening of the Security Council Chamber after being closed for three years, the country is once again leaving its mark. It not only paid for [...]

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    Ban Ki-moon Backs Emergency Steps for Women Raped in Conflict

    by  • April 19, 2013 • Africa, Secretary-General, Uncategorized, Women's Issues • 2 Comments

    Congo women exhibition

    With the issues of emergency contraception — the “morning after” pill — and abortion still topics of tremendous controversy among United Nations members, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has recommended that both should be offered as part of an international response to the rape of women in conflict situations. Writing in his first report on the subject [...]

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    The UN Approves a New Peacekeeping Force to Fix Mali

    by  • April 25, 2013 • Africa, Peace and Security, Security Council • 

    Displaced Malians

    The United Nations Security Council has authorized a new, ambitious stabilization mission to be deployed in Mali, consisting of nearly 13,000 military and police personnel who will begin operating on July 1 with a mandate of one year to provide security to “key population centers.” The mission, called Minusma (for Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in [...]

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    Western Sahara: A Chance for Change or to Stay Stuck in Time

    by  • April 10, 2013 • Africa, Human Rights, Peace and Security, Refugees, Security Council • 

    MINURSO Monitors Ceasefire in Western Sahara

    The saga of Western Sahara, a disputed territory that has been stuck in limbo in North Africa for decades, will receive its annual nod this month by the United Nations Security Council, but this time actual changes may be afoot if the council acts more decisively, particularly on human-rights matters. Christopher Ross, the UN secretary-general’s [...]

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    A New UN Brigade Will Make Combat Moves in Congo

    by  • April 11, 2013 • Africa, Peace and Security, Security Council • 

    Nyanzale refugee camp children

      For the first time, the United Nations Security Council has passed a resolution allowing UN troops to go on the offensive in a mission against armed rebels. The combat intervention brigade will operate as part of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Monusco). The [...]

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    GOINGS-ON  

    Michelle Bachelet, UN Women Chief, Resigns

    by  • March 16, 2013 • GOINGS-ON, Women's Issues • 2 Comments

    Michelle Bachelet, the UN Women chief, has resigned. She is returning to Chile, her home country, to most likely run for president.

    Michelle Bachelet, the head of the United Nations agency promoting the rights of women and gender equality, has told Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that she is stepping down after two years in the job. Bachelet, a former Chilean president, is likely to run for president of her country again in elections this fall. She made the announcement about [...]

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    The International Court Judge’s Fight for Justice

    by  • February 21, 2013 • ICC, International Justice, Security Council • 2 Comments

    Judge Song of the ICC

      The president of the International Criminal Court, Judge Sang-Hyun Song, told a Columbia University audience recently that a major challenge facing the court is what he called a steady lack of political support from the United Nations Security Council and UN member states. “We need a far more consistent and vigilant approach by the [...]

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    WORLDVIEWS  

    The Arctic, a Chance for Land Grabs or a New Treaty?

    by  • February 19, 2013 • Climate and Environment, Secretary-General, WORLDVIEWS • 

    Arctic Circle visit by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

    No country owns the North Pole or the expanse of the Arctic Ocean surrounding it. The Arctic region has a population of about 4 million, including more than 30 distinct groups of indigenous people using dozens of languages; they have lived there for more than 10,000 years. The area also has a unique and diverse [...]

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    UN and US Congress Act to Curtail Female Cutting Globally

    by  • December 23, 2012 • Africa, General Assembly, Health and Population, Human Rights, Middle East, Women's Issues • 2 Comments

    Young girls in Sierra Leone about to be circumcised

    Only four days before Christmas, when many minds were fixated on the year-end holidays, two important steps were taken almost unnoticed to combat female genital mutilation globally, raising hopes that millions of girls might be spared the excruciatingly painful and harmful yet persistent practice. In what Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called “historic” UN action, the General [...]

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    Gender Parity in Upper-Level UN Jobs Remains Elusive

    by  • December 14, 2012 • General Assembly, Secretary-General, Women's Issues • 4 Comments

    Ban Ki-moon of the UN

    This year, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has so far appointed 55 people to high-level positions. Twelve of the appointees, nearly 22 percent, are women, filling roles like the special representative for children and armed conflict and the executive director of the World Food Program. Some of the people Ban appointed include Zainab Hawa Bangura [...]

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