I just returned from a trip to Liberia, where I witnessed the end of the Liberia peacekeeping mission after 15 years of service. Liberia has a tumultuous past of violence, children forced to be soldiers, and the systematic use of rape as a weapon of war, but what I saw in the present was heartening and hopeful. In fact, for the past 10 years, Liberia has been relatively peaceful under the leadership of then-President Ellen […]

One in three women worldwide suffer violence in their lifetimes. This staggering global data point makes clear that violence against girls and women is pervasive and a major obstacle to the fulfillment of girls’ and women’s human rights. Violence keeps girls and women from living life as they choose and prevents them from fully participating in society. Consider the millions of girls and women forced into child marriage, sold into human trafficking, and subjected to

In the heart of what many consider the world’s largest refugee camp, four midwives stand ready to spring into action. “We are here 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Jhumur Rani Saha proudly told me as I toured the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) clinic in Cox’s Bazar where she and her team work, a humble four room bamboo structure encircled by a dense thicket of makeshift shelters and tents. “At any time, a

In recent weeks, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has appeared across international headlines, as inspectors from the OPCW have been deployed to Syria to establish the facts around the allegations of chemical weapons attack in Douma, Syria. So, what exactly is the OPCW and what does it do? The OPCW’s Creation and Mission The OPCW’s mission is to implement the Chemical Weapons Convention, the international agreement that bans chemical weapons, which

Although we may think about specific global issues like health, conflict, finance, and the environment as separate – and perhaps unrelated – challenges to be tackled independently, the reality is far from it. They are actually deeply connected, and our understanding, appreciation, and responses should be shaped accordingly. The fundamental linkages among climate, development, and humanitarian action are apparent this week as the United Nations convenes multiple moments for global progress: the Financing for Development

As part of our “Americans in the UN” project to share the stories of Americans who work for the United Nations, we connected with Mary Alice Hayward, the Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Management for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN agency working for the safe, secure, and peaceful use of nuclear technologies. Prior to joining the UN, Hayward was Vice President for Strategy, Government Affairs, and Advocacy for

Four years ago, the deadly Ebola virus surged through the West African countries of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, killing more than 11,000 people in the region and devastating the economies of these countries. At the time, there were concerns over the spread of Ebola as the news reported that two American health care workers in Liberia had contracted the disease and were being airlifted to the U.S. for treatment. Fast-forward four years, and I

Women represent $28 trillion in consumer spending and make up to 80% of consumer decisions worldwide; however, they continue to be under-served in the global financial system. While the number of people with bank accounts has increased dramatically, there is still a 7% gap globally between women and men in access to financial services. At the World Bank Spring Meetings, Mayra Buvinic, a Senior Fellow at Data2X, an alliance housed at the UN Foundation, discussed

As part of our “Americans in the UN” project to share the stories of Americans who work for the United Nations, we connected with Sandra Mitchell, who is the Assistant Secretary-General for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). Prior to joining the UN system, Mitchell worked in the legal field where she held senior roles with the American Bar Association and the International Human Rights Law Group. Originally from Seattle, Mitchell