UN – United Nations

The Christmas Eve headline about American funding for the United Nations was a jolt: “U.S. to Make Cuts to UN Budget After Vote on Jerusalem.”  The caption implies that the U.S. was unilaterally slashing American dollars to the UN as a result of the recent UN General Assembly vote opposing U.S. policy on Jerusalem. Fortunately, the headline was wrong, and the actual story is far more complex. Let me tell you why. The two-year UN […]

Update: Read 6 Global Issues to Watch in 2019 If 2017 is any indication, 2018 will similarly be a year of uncertainty, challenge, and opportunity on matters relating to international cooperation and global development. While it is impossible to know exactly what to expect, here are seven things I’ll be watching for in 2018: 1. Reforming the UN: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres assumed his five-year term exactly one year ago, putting reform, prevention, and peace

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to block hundreds of millions of dollars in aid distributed through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). UNRWA provides schooling for Palestinian refugee children, health care for Palestinians most in need, and other public services. Cutting aid to this population would be disastrous from a humanitarian and security perspective, with the potential to destabilize the region and imperil American allies, which is one reason why the

As part of our “Americans in the UN” project to share the stories of Americans who work for the United Nations, we talked to Stephen Anderson, the World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director for Yemen, which is facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises with more than 17 million people food insecure. Anderson, who was born in Nairobi, spent part of his early childhood in Beaver, just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His family is originally from

A year ago, the Trump Administration reinstated and expanded the Global Gag Rule – a move that had damaging consequences to the health and lives of people around the world. This harmful policy – signed just days after the inauguration – prevents foreign non-governmental organizations from receiving U.S. funding if they provide information about, referrals to, or services for legal abortion, or advocate for legalized abortion, even with their own, non-U.S. funds. The policy impacts

While 2017 produced new challenges for global climate action with the U.S. announcement of planned withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement, 2018 provides opportunities for exciting new players to step up as climate leaders on a local, national, and international scale. In 2018, you’re going to hear the term ‘subnational’ thrown around a lot in the climate space. In fact, we’ll go so far as to predict it’s the word of the year on climate

Last January, Secretary-General António Guterres took the helm of the United Nations and pledged to, “reach gender parity sooner rather than later,” adding he would “respect gender parity from the start.” One year later, Secretary-General Guterres has delivered on his promise and made UN history. For the first time ever, the senior leadership of the organization is 50% female. The Secretary-General’s Senior Management Group, a high-level leadership body charged with advancing the work of the

As part of our “Americans in the UN” project to share the stories of Americans who work for the United Nations, we connected with Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Ambassador William Lacy Swing. At IOM, Director General Swing is working to address the growing needs of over 80 million people in 50 countries. Formerly a U.S. Ambassador and Under-Secretary-General for the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The 2018 Winter Olympic Games will shine a spotlight beyond top athletes to illuminate the lives of refugees. With some 65.6 million people forcibly displaced from their homes, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) are joining forces through the ‘Become the Light’ initiative to provide lights for refugees. According to UNHCR, 9 out of 10 refugees in camps have no access to light. For these 4 million men, women, and children,