Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

Christian Wenaweser is a legend around the United Nations. He has served as Liechtenstein's Ambassador to the United Nations since 2002 and, despite representing one of the world's smallest states, has an impressive record of diplomatic achievements. He played an instrumental role in the development of the International Criminal Court, including efforts to define the crime of aggression. He has also spearheaded several important initiatives at the General Assembly, including the creation of a mechanism to collect and preserve evidence of war crimes in Syria and the "veto initiative," under which any veto at the Security Council triggers a meeting of the General Assembly.
These may sound like fairly technical diplomatic maneuvers, but they represent something much bigger: an innovative way of thinking about how small and middle powers can work together to overcome great-power gridlock and achieve substantive goals at the United Nations.
We spoke one week after UNGA — a defining theme of which was the banding together of small states and middle powers in the face of intransigence from some of the world's great powers. This included the launch of a new Partnership for Multilateralism and a political declaration on frontier AI, both of which Liechtenstein joined.
In our conversation, Ambassador Wenaweser explains the emerging dynamics of an alliance between middle powers and small states at the UN, what they can actually accomplish, and why they these countries are suddenly asserting themselves.
Our conversation is free for all, and was produced in partnership with [Re]Group, a substack from the UN Foundation.

My guest today is Jagan Chapagain, Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the IFRC, which is calling on countries to adopt a new treaty that would set standards and rules of the road for helping people caught in natural disasters.
We spoke on the day of the massive flash floods in Nepal, which he argues underscore the need to streamline how governments and NGOs cooperate when a sudden disaster strikes.

President Trump delivered his annual address to the United Nations General Assembly, kicking off a week of speeches from presidents and prime ministers from over 100 countries. In this special edition of Global Dispatches, I am joined by Anjali Dayal, my To Save Us From Hell co-host and a professor of international relations at Fordham University, and Harshani Dharmadasa, Senior Director at the UN Foundation and a veteran of the UN system.
We kick off with an extended conversation about President Trump's speech to the United Nations, including what it says about the future of U.S. foreign policy and American engagement with the United Nations. We then turn to a number of the key themes emerging from speeches, meetings, and events around New York this week.
We wrap up with a discussion of António Guterres's legacy at the United Nations and a speech he delivered that we all agreed encapsulates his 10-year tenure as UN Secretary-General.

UN week is here. Hundreds of presidents and prime ministers are headed to New York this week for the annual opening of the United Nations General Assembly. The presence of so many world leaders all in the same place at the same time makes UNGA the most important week of the diplomatic calendar.
I'm joined today by Elizabeth Cousens, President and CEO of the United Nations Foundation who previews some of the key speeches, stories, trends and moments that will define UNGA81. We kick off discussing the leadership transition at the top of the United Nations before turning to some of the key issues she expects to drive the diplomatic agenda — including AI, Iran and and an international order teetering on the edge.

Mark here! I just wanted to talk directly to you about my comings and going this UNGA and preview for you my plans for covering the UN.  Some relevent links:
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