OPINIONS
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Decades after soldiers in Sri Lanka’s military were accused of sexually abusing minors while some of the troops were serving as United Nations peacekeepers in Haiti, the Sri Lankan government recently acknowledged that they were tried internally by a Sri …
Despite calls by United Nations member states and far beyond that the next secretary-general must concentrate on peace and security, climate has never left the scene in the race to lead the UN. Most candidates address climate change in their …
All the candidates currently running for the job of United Nations secretary-general were asked to declare who is paying for their campaigns. None of the responses from the eight candidates provide names and numbers. The submitted campaign-financing notices of all …
The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to soon decide whether to renew the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) in Haiti, whose mandate expires on Sept. 30. The lead negotiators of the mandate in the Council are the US and Panama. …
As nominees compete to be selected as the next United Nations secretary-general and diplomats display their concerns in questioning them, the dominant issue is the organization’s role in peace and security. Each nominee is promising more vigorous use of “good …
For the second time in a generation, official development assistance — as conventionally measured by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development — is collapsing. In the 1990s, ideologically driven development assistance declined after the end of the Cold War. …
The humanitarian system cannot keep planning as if volunteers do not exist. That sounds absurd. Yet it is exactly what we do. Every major crisis tells the same story. Volunteers are the first to respond. They keep services running when …
In Montevideo recently, Latin America and the Caribbean did something the United Nations system has not seen in decades: Present a regionally diverse slate of secretary‑general candidates — including three women — participating in a debate and ready to redefine …
Donald Trump’s approach to the United Nations during his first term was generally antagonistic, yet not wholly dismissive of the body. Yes, he pursued the traditional Republican path of withdrawing from multiple UN agencies, denouncing waste and fraud in the …
The crisis of multilateralism, marked by slashed budgets and weakened political will, has been lamented by representatives, friends and critics of the world’s major institutions for years. But there has been little reflection on how multilateral bodies themselves could improve …
The United States is drawing up military options for Mali. Mali says it learned the news from the media. The exchange captures the current state of Mali’s foreign policy. Washington is openly debating whether to bomb Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin …
For progressive movements, foreign policy has emerged as a major site of contestation, increasingly swaying votes in national elections, drawing mass attention and fueling public debate. Among the most intriguing levers of the progressive foreign policy movement — which prioritizes …
Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, or DDR, is quietly returning to the center of international policy as the world grapples with how to resolve many large-scale conflicts and to support lasting peace. From Ukraine and Gaza to Sudan and Lebanon, questions …
The Geneva Digital Week opens this week with the inaugural Global Dialogue on AI Governance and the AI for Good Global Summit, where the United Nations’ new Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence will present to governments its first …
The world is witnessing the highest number of active conflicts since 1946, including the United States-Israeli war with Iran this year and Russia’s four-year-old war with Ukraine. All conflicts cause immense human suffering, including displacing millions of people, incurring countless …
