Month: January 2015

Becoming Moses

Prologue: The Crazy File In the spring of 1997, shortly after Israel pulled out of its settlements in Hebron, Michael Freund was working at the communications bureau of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was then serving his first stint in that office. The Diaspora Affairs adviser at the time worked across the hall, where mail… Continue reading Becoming Moses

Colombia:

The Embera people ( IDP's) are an indigenous people that live in the Choco rain-forest on the Caribbean coast of Columbia. These people deal with the conflict of armed militants in the area increasingly unable to to go about their daily lives. Indigenous community ÒUni—n EmberaÓ in Salaqui River Basin (river)

The United Nations’ work is organized around peace and security, development and human rights. Peace and Development Advisers (PDAs) balance on those three pillars in roles that are relatively new but increasingly popular in responding to political tensions in countries around the world.    Jared Kotler arrived in Bogotá, Colombia, about nine months ago amid… Continue reading Colombia:

Lebanon: Interview with outgoing Special Coordinator Derek Plumbly

Press Encounter with Mr. Derek Plumbly, Special Coordinator of the Secretary-General for Lebanon, is expected to address press at the Security Council Stakeout.

Lebanon has seen a measure of stability over the last few years, but the current presidential vacuum is having a negative impact, Derek Plumbly told Politically Speaking in a final interview as United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL).  On 16 January 2015, Mr. Plumbly stepped down from the position he held since… Continue reading Lebanon: Interview with outgoing Special Coordinator Derek Plumbly

Global Los Angeles

PEOPLE Who lives in Los Angeles? If the United States is a nation of immigrants, Los Angeles is a city of immigrants, and especially one of recent immigrants: 36 percent of the residents of Los Angeles were born abroad. Among major metropolitan areas, only Miami has a higher percentage of foreign-born residents than Los Angeles.… Continue reading Global Los Angeles

Libyan Political Dialogue:

This week, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) hosted a new round of talks in Geneva that has renewed hopes of helping the Libyan parties reach agreement on overcoming the political and institutional crises engulfing the country. Why are these talks important? Libya risks falling more deeply into chaos as rival groups grapple… Continue reading Libyan Political Dialogue:

Francesc Vendrell:

Bled, Hotel Golf. Strateski forum Bled 2011 z naslovom Moc prihodnosti. Panel C na temo Obnova Afganistana. Nekdanji posebni odposlanec EU za Afganistan Francesc Vendrell. Foto: Stanko Gruden/STA

“If you wait for the parties [in conflict] to come and say ‘please mediate’, it would happen very rarely.” This is how United Nations Mediator-in-Residence Francesc Vendrell summed up to Politically Speaking a major lesson of a 34-year career shepherding peace negotiations on behalf of Secretaries-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Kofi Annan. In… Continue reading Francesc Vendrell:

Security Council in numbers:

Security Council vote on the status of the sate of Israel Abstain 5 Nigeria Lithuania UK Rwanda Korea

“The world has just come through a year of discord, disease and disruption”, the Secretary-General said in his December press conference – a sentiment reflected in the latest figures from the Department of Political Affairs. Last year, the Security Council met 263 times, an increase of 36 per cent over the previous year. This is… Continue reading Security Council in numbers:

Secretary-General: 2015 to be challenging, but also promising

Informal Meeting of the Plenary of the General Assembly to Hear a Briefing by the Secretary-General on His Priorities for 2015.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed the 193-Member General Assembly on 8 January to outline his priorities for 2015, the 70th anniversary of the United Nations, in the areas of development, peace, and human rights. “With vision and solidarity, we can make this year a turning point in serving ‘We the peoples’ and ensuring human dignity for… Continue reading Secretary-General: 2015 to be challenging, but also promising