PassBlue

10/13/2026

Pictured: Ambassador Aglaia Balta of Greece to the UN speaking to reporters, Oct. 1, 2026.
As rotating president of the Security Council in October, Greece is planning to draw attention to a topic close to Athens’ heart: Artificial intelligence and maritime security. Latvia, which holds the Council presidency of the 15-member body in November, is also expected to highlight artificial intelligence in a broad thematic discussion on emerging technologies.

https://passblue.com/2026/10/12/europe-seeks-a-lasting-un-security-council-role-on-ai/

10/12/2026

Pictured: Rohingya women and a child living in a displaced persons camp, Rakhine State, Myanmar, January 2026.

The UN Refugee Agency, which operates worldwide, including in Myanmar, is battered by drops in voluntary funding and the US dismantling the international refugee convention. Can the agency and its high commissioner, Barham Salih, “adapt and change,” as he says?

https://passblue.com/2026/10/11/the-un-refugee-agency-is-reckoning-with-an-unprecedented-weakness/

10/11/2026

A new podcast from PassBlue explores the cost of switching to renewable energy from volatile fuels into energy sources that cannot be cut off or restricted by conflict. Reported from the storefronts of a market in Lagos, Nigeria.
https://passblue.com/2026/10/10/podcast-a-just-transition-for-two-market-stalls-in-nigeria/

10/11/2026

New Column!
Replacing This Week At UN, Editor's Picks will provide a curated selection featuring our stories of the week and other must-read news at the UN as well as an ICYMI category, or In Case You Missed It, from PassBlue's top editor.
Read now -> https://passblue.com/2026/10/09/un-oct-9-editors-picks/

10/10/2026

Newly reformatted, This Week at The UN is now - a round up of tops stories on the UN.

Read here: https://passblue.com/2026/10/09/un-oct-9-editors-picks/

[UN: Oct. 9] Editors' Picks - PassBlue

10/09/2026

Our 2022 article on Navi Pillay and the slurs lobbed against her when she led a human rights commission on Palestine/Israel

Navi Pillay, who leads the United Nations Human Rights Council's commission of inquiry on Palestine and Israel, has written to the president of the General Assembly about a "matter of significant concern" involving the Israeli ambassador at a public meeting in October at the UN. The letter, dated No...

10/09/2026

Navi Pillay, recipient of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, at a press briefing by the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel following the presentation of its reports to UN on October 27, 2022. Ms. Pillay was chair of the commission at that time.

Credit: John Penney/PassBlue

10/09/2026

full report: https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/10/1168551

10/08/2026

Jeff Bartos, US envoy to the UN on management and reform, far right, with fellow American diplomats, leaving the UN Security Council closed-door meeting to vote in the latest straw poll in the process to choose the next secretary-general, Oct. 7, 2026. The fifth poll once again revealed no consensus on a candidate.

Big Shakeup in Latest Security Council Votes on UN SecGen Race - PassBlue

10/08/2026

Despite an ever-shrinking window to name a new Secretary-General, the fifth straw poll of the United Nations Security Council, conducted on Oct. 7, reveals no apparent candidate to lead the organization for the next five years, starting on Jan. 1, 2027.
Read more about what this means for the SG race and the organization -> https://passblue.com/2026/10/07/big-shakeup-in-latest-security-council-votes-on-un-secgen-race/