This Week @UN: Latvia prioritizes gender equality; US pushback on women’s rights; UN’s failed mediation in Syria; South Africa’s golf envoy?; a Serbian SecGen?
Plus: Yemen; Cyprus; Gaza/Israel; Ukraine; US.
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• Our #1 story this week: US Plays Spoiler at Annual Gathering on Women’s Rights, by Damilola Banjo
• #1 this month: In Stunning Move, US and Russia Align Against Ukraine in the Security Council, by Damilola Banjo
• The process of appointing a UN special envoy for preventing genocide slogs ahead with interviews after the job vacancy posting closed this week. The candidate will succeed Alice Wairimu Nderitu of Kenya, whose contract was not renewed by Secretary-General António Guterres in November 2024.
• Dept. of Outrage (DOO): The Sudanese Red Cross reportedly found women’s bodies buried in a septic tank in Khartoum (see photo below) in an area reportedly under Rapid Support Forces’ control until recently.
• A Russian diplomat has proposed to the General Assembly budget committee that to counter the current liquidity crisis of the UN (reportedly because of late mandated dues payments by the US and China), that it “temporarily withhold 10% of the salaries of general service and professional employees at levels P-1–P-4, and 20% of the salaries of employees at level P-5 and above for a period of up to six months.” Other steps were also suggested.
From PassBlue this week:
For Latvia, Gender Equality Is the Path to Prosperity, by Dulcie Leimbach
US Plays Spoiler at Annual Gathering on Women’s Rights, by Damilola Banjo
The UN’s Mediation Role in Syria Has Become Irrelevant, op-ed by Hasmik Egian
Could South Africa’s Next US Envoy Be a Golfer?, by Anton Ferreira
This Serbian May Run for UN Secretary-General Again, Experts Say, by Dulcie Leimbach
Top UN news:
Monday, March 17
• Spokesperson’s briefing: The UN “expressed concern” at the US’ “multiple strikes on Houthi-controlled areas” in Yemen, resulting in 53 deaths, including civilians, as well as disrupting power supplies. Regarding the Houthis rebels’ continued threats to resume attacks on ships in the Red Sea, the UN called for the “utmost restraint and a cessation of all military activities” and the application of international law from all parties, per Security Council Resolution 2768.
Tuesday, March 18
• Spokesperson’s briefing: After an “informal meeting” between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders in Geneva with the guarantor powers of Greece, Türkiye and the UK regarding the frozen conflict in Cyprus, Guterres said an agreement was made on trust-building steps, such as: opening four crossing points on the Mediterranean island; demining; installing solar energy in the buffer zone; and restoring cemeteries. Guterres said another meeting will be held at the end of July and he will appoint a new personal envoy.
Wednesday, March 19
• Spokesperson’s briefing: Guterres was “deeply saddened and shocked” by the death of a UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) staff member from an “explosive ordnance” inside two UN guesthouses in Gaza. The attack, one of the deadliest since the early days of the conflict that began on Oct. 7, 2023, killed “hundreds, including many children” and brought the total number of UN colleagues killed in Israel’s war in the enclave to at least 280. “The locations of all UN premises are known to the parties to the conflict, who are bound by international law to protect them and maintain their absolute inviolability,” said the UN deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq, who told reporters that the source of the explosion was being investigated by the UN and that it expects “full support” from Israel in the probe. The explosion happened a day after Israel launched airstrikes across Gaza, using US bombs and killing hundreds of Palestinians, ending the ceasefire in place since Jan. 15.
[Update, March 21: UNRWA confirmed that five staff members — teachers, doctors and nurses who were “serving the most vulnerable” in Gaza — were killed this week. Additionally, Marin Valev Marinov, 51, from Bulgaria, was identified as the UNOPS staffer killed on March 19; three others were injured, all working with the UN Mine Action Service, UNMAS]
Thursday, March 20
• Spokesperson’s briefing: Guterres “welcomed” the news that both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to a US-brokered partial ceasefire on energy infrastructure in Ukraine, which could be expanded to the “safety of navigation in the Black Sea.” Guterres called these developments “important confidence-building measures” toward de-escalation of the war.
Friday, March 21
• Spokesperson’s briefing: Just days after Putin and Zelensky informally agreed to pause attacks on infrastructure, Ukrainian officials and humanitarian groups there reported hostilities [from Russia] that killed a dozen civilians, mostly in the eastern Donetsk region, plus injuries to “many more” people, including children. In addition, a large-scale drone attack in Odesa damaged shops, warehouses and vehicles as assaults in Kharkiv disrupted electricity. Russian and Ukrainian officials are scheduled to hold technical talks in Saudi Arabia this weekend to discuss a 30-day truce on strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure.
• A reporter asked the deputy spokesperson: “Do you see that there is an implication for free speech in the United States, especially when we see the Columbia [University] protest and other university protests last year? Does the UN have an opinion or a standpoint if pro-Palestinian protests are also antisemitic protests at the same time? This is how the US Government obviously portrays it right now.” Reply: “Well, certainly for us, it’s important that freedom of speech and freedom of peaceful assembly be protected. So, obviously, if there are expressions of racial hatred, of actual antisemitism, those are things that authorities need to respond to. But, that shouldn’t impede the rights of people to conduct peaceful protest.”
ICYMI:
• Elise Stefanik, US ambassador-designate to the UN, is scheduled to finish her Senate hearing on April 2
• The African Union adopts its first convention on ending violence against women and girls
We welcome your comments on this article. What are your thoughts on a possible truce between Ukraine and Russia?
Arthur Bassas is a researcher and writer who graduated from St. Andrews in Scotland, majoring in international relations and terrorism. He lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., and speaks English and French.
