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UN Photo/Loey Felipe

United Nations Partnerships turning Ideals into Action

United Nations Day

United Nations Day, on 24 October, marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter. For eighty years, the UN has worked to build peace, address poverty and hunger, promote and protect human rights, and create a more sustainable and equal world.

John Gilroy
October 24, 2025
UN Agora Blog
Stephen Bell / Alamy

From Deportation to Indoctrination: Destroying the Ukrainian Identity Through Children

International Day on Enforced Disappearances

The deportation of Ukrainian children by Russia is an instrument of genocidal policy that combines legal, administrative, and ideological mechanisms. The creation of commissions on minors, the involvement of regional and federal "data banks," and the practice of depriving parents of parental rights on trumped-up grounds ensure the systematic nature of the process.

Pavel Lysiansky, Vira Yastrebova, Liza Denisova
August 28, 2025
UN Agora Blog
MCA

Srebrenica, 30 Years Later: Genocide Still Lives Through Denial

30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide

Srebrenica has become synonymous with one of Europe’s most heinous atrocities: the 1995 genocide of more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim (Bosniak) men and boys by Bosnian Serb forces.

Jared O. Bell
July 11, 2025
UN Agora Blog
UN Photo/Loey Felipe

Multilateralism: Its current challenges and way forward

International Day of Multilateralism

‘Multilateral institutions rarely die; they simply fade into irrelevance’: asserted India at an open debate of the United Nations Security Council in New York on “Effective Multilateralism through the Defense of the Principles of the UN Charter” on 24 April 2023. The evidence is plain to discern, and the reasons are compelling—even if one examines the track record of multilateralism over the past five years.

Ruchira Kamboj
April 24, 2025
UN Agora Blog
UN Photo/Emmanuel Tobey

The Peacebuilding Imperative

Reflection on UN Peacebuilding Commission Support Branch

Peacekeeping mandates often prioritize short-term goals, focusing on stabilizing immediate crises through targeted peacekeeping activities. This approach frequently leaves deeper systemic issues that fuel conflicts unaddressed. The stark reality before us is that, more often than not, peacebuilding, however defined, would appear to be primarily an afterthought, an add-on, relegated to the background. Longer-term activities, i.e., peacebuilding aiming to tackle root causes, rebuild institutions, and support inclusive development, are too often viewed as a secondary phase, sometimes unnecessarily delaying the start of efforts to build sustainable peace.

Olu Arowobusoye
February 20, 2025
UN Agora Blog
ILF

Equal Access to Justice for All: A Fundamental Human Right

Human Rights Day

Over the past year, the ILF has been working with the Campaign to Decriminalize Poverty and Status, civil society organizations, and independent experts around the world to elevate this important expert meeting as an opportunity to meaningful advance Equal Access to Justice for all and to advocate that a key focus of the meeting should be on discrimination in justice systems, as a key barrier to justice.

Jennifer Smith
December 10, 2024
UN Agora Blog
UN Habitat

Adequate housing as a human right: A call to action at the World Urban Forum in Cairo

World Cities Day

The global housing crisis is exacerbated by historical disparities between average wages and housing costs—a gap that continues to grow—and by enduring poverty and inequality. Housing challenges are further deepened by wars, armed conflicts, and climate-related disasters, which force people from their homes and communities. UN data shows that the number of people affected by disasters per 100,000 people rose from 1,198 in 2005-2015 to 2,113 in the last decade.

Anacláudia Rossbach
October 31, 2024
UN Agora Blog
UN Photo/Evan Schneider

A South African case study for international dialogue and solidarity for justice and lasting peace

Nelson Mandela International Day

Despite the noises from extremists, ending Apartheid gave South Africa a chance to come together as a nation and built a peaceful and prosperous future together. The establishment of our constitutional democracy laid a solid basis for peace, progress and prosperity. Our Constitution as the supreme law of our country affirms the notion of an open and democratic society, underpinned by a set of higher, fundamental values based on human dignity, equality and freedom.

Christo van der Rheede
July 18, 2024
UN Agora Blog

On the status of parliamentarism in general and in Germany in particular

International Day of Parliamentarism

On the occasion of the United Nations International Day of Parliamentarism on June 30, I would like to take the opportunity to make some basic remarks on the status of parliamentarism in general and in Germany in particular. June 30 is no coincidence because it is the date on which the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) was founded in 1889 as a multilateral political organization to promote international cooperation and resolve conflicts through parliamentary dialogue.

Prof. Dr. Norbert Lammert
July 1, 2024
UN Agora Blog
UN Photo/Pasqual Gorriz

Multilateralism in Action: Marking the 76th International Day of UN Peacekeepers

International Day of UN Peacekeepers

Over 70,000 UN peacekeepers serve in 11 missions around the globe today. They provide life-saving services such as upholding ceasefires, clearing land mines, and protecting civilians from violence in conflict-affected areas. The International Day of UN Peacekeepers, on 29 May, pays tribute to the honourable service and sacrifice of peacekeepers and the communities they serve. To mark the 76th International Day of UN Peacekeepers, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Mr. Jean-Pierre Lacroix, shares his perspectives on peacekeeping today and tomorrow in our latest UN Agora Blog post.  

Jean-Pierre Lacroix
May 29, 2024
UN Agora Blog

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About this series

Welcome to the UN AGORA Blog of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, New York Office. Democracy, peace and security, human rights, and the rule of law are key pillars of our work around the world.

 

Join us in our monthly virtual discussions and follow the international experts whom we are inviting to contribute to our UN AGORA Blog to honor specific international UN Days or to draw attention to current topics in the realm of rule of law, international justice, and peace globally.

 

AGORA stands for the open space, the meeting ground in ancient Greek cities for citizen activities. Homer enjoyed it, and hopefully, you will too!

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KAS New York

Thomas Tödtling
Portrait Thomas Tödtling
Director KAS New York Office
thomas.toedtling@kas.de +1 646 852 6442