UN International Court rules in favor of Kosovo

Source: Al Jazeera

Departing UN official critizes Ban Ki-moon’s leadership

Source: The Washington Post | By Colum Lynch

The outgoing chief of a U.N. office charged with combating corruption at the United Nations has issued a stinging rebuke of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, accusing him of undermining her efforts and leading the global institution into an era of decline, according to a confidential end-of-assignment report.

International Focus: the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

In an attempt to answer our readers, the Gstaad Project is launching INTERNATIONAL FOCUS, a new series created to have the public familiarize with international organizations, intergovernmental and non-governmental entities, and job opportunities in the field of humanitarian assistance, diplomacy, and international relations.

The first issue of International Focus is devoted to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Founded in 1863, the ICRC has been working to protect and assist the victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence. It initially focused on wounded soldiers but over time it extended its activities to cover all victims of these events.

Washington Post interviews former UN climate chief

Source: Washington Post | by Juliet Eilperin

Until this month, Yvo de Boer served as executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, the body that oversees international climate negotiations. After supervising the Copenhagen climate talks last year, a process he has called frustrating, de Boer suddenly announced in February that he would be stepping down. After nearly four years on the U.N. job (he describes it as “three years and 11 months,” but who’s counting?), he just started work as an adviser on climate change and sustainability at KPMG International in London. The Washington Post’s national environmental reporter Juliet Eilperin spoke with de Boer last week about leaving the United Nations, why he never kept Al Gore out in the cold and how President Obama has his brain in the right place.

New UN Women Agency Needs Strong Leader

Source: Voice of America | by Joe DeCapua

On July 2nd, the U.N. General Assembly voted unanimously to create a new agency dedicated to promoting the rights and needs of women and girls around the world. The U.N. Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women is more commonly known as UN Women. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called it a “major step forward.”

A quiet diplomacy on the Mideast peace path

Source: Washington Post | by Martin Indyk*

The current sturm und drang in U.S.-Israel relations cloaks a surprising development: President Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu are beginning to develop a constructive working relationship sensitive to the legitimate concerns of the other.