The nuclear option

Nelson Mandela, the first president of South Africa after apartheid, has a claim to being the most highly respected African leader in modern history. As well as celebrating Mandela’s legacy as a fighter for human rights, equality and social justice, the Day also promotes the fight against poverty. In this special (brief!) episode, Conor speaks to Richard Stengel, a former managing director of Time magazine, who served in the Obama White House as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, and a close collaborator with Mandela on the latter’s acclaimed autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom. They talk about the extent to which ending poverty played an important role in Mandela’s activism and political career. The UN remembers Nelson Mandela’s commitment to fight poverty and inequity: https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/07/1152116

The UN Charter says that Member States must guarantee the rights of all people, regardless of history, culture or social norms. However, around the world, people continue to face discrimination, criminalization and violence purely because of their sexual orientation and identity. Earlier this year, Secretary-General António Guterres promised that the UN “firmly stands with the LGBTIQ+ community and will continue working until human rights and dignity are a reality for all people”. But what does that mean in practical terms, and how is the UN helping this community? With Beatriz Barral from UN News, Michael Van Gelderen from the UN High Commission for Human Rights and Chris Mallouris from UNAIDS. Editor: Yanran Bao, Executive Producer - Mita Hosali The UN and LGBTIQ+ people: https://www.un.org/en/lgbtiq-people UNAIDS response to the Namibia High Court Decision: https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2024/june/20240621_namibia UNAIDS response to the end of conversion therapy in Mexico: https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2024/june/240612_mexico_conversion_therapy_ban The World Population Prospects Report: https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/07/1151971 The High-Level Political Forum programme: https://hlpf.un.org/2024/programme

What kind of future do we all want? And how will we get it? It’s a big question, and the UN is convening a major event this year to try to find some answers. On today’s show, Conor Lennon is joined by Mayra Lopes from the UN News Portuguese Unit, and Benno Schwinghammer, UN Correspondent for Deutsche Presse-Agentur, to discuss the UN’s role in building a fairer future for people and the planet, and the progress that is being made towards achieving the Global Goals for sustainable development, as we near the 2030 deadline. With special guest Michele Griffin, Policy Director, Summit of The Future. Summit of the Future: Summit of the Future website - EN | United Nations 2024 SDG report: The-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Report-2024.pdf (un.org) HLPF news article: Time running short as 2030 deadline looms for UN blueprint for a fairer future | UN News

Cannabis legalization has led to increased use and a drop in drug-related convictions, but there have been negative health consequences. On this week’s show, we dig into some of the findings in the UN World Drug Report, and also discuss the release of the UN’s recommendations on tackling fake news. With Benno Schwinghammer from Deutsche Presse-Agentur, and Angela Me from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. UN Global Principles for Information Integrity: https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/un-global-principles-for-information-integrity-en.pdf UNODC World Drug Report: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/data-and-analysis/world-drug-report-2024.html Interview with World Drug Report author Angela Me: https://news.un.org/en/interview/2024/06/1151426 International Day of the Seafarer: https://www.imo.org/en/About/Events/Pages/Day-of-the-Seafarer-2024.aspx

2024 is a bumper year for elections, affecting around two billion voters. However, elections don’t necessarily equate to democracy, and the extent to which they actually affect the way a country is run, and by whom, can vary dramatically, depending on where they’re held. On this week’s show, Conor Lennon and Sachin Gaur from UN News are joined by Yoshita Singh from Press Trust of India, to talk about democracy, misinformation, and yoga (the International Day of Yoga is on June 26)! Guests this week are Iain Walker from newDemocracy and Sarah Lister, Head of Governance at UNDP. Full interview with Sarah Lister and Iain Walker: https://news.un.org/en/audio/2024/06/1151291 UN principles on information integrity: https://www.un.org/en/information-integrity/code-of-conduct Pause campaign: https://shareverified.com/pledge-to-pause/ UNDP and democratic governance: https://www.undp.org/governance Citizen’s Assemblies: https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/07/1138292

In 2023, for the first time ever, nuclear power was mentioned as one of the low carbon energy options the world needs to turn to, if we are to lower carbon emissions and limit global temperature rises. Conor Lennon speaks to Rafael Mariano Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a UN body, about the evolving image of nuclear power, safety concerns, and its role in a net zero future. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel: https://bit.ly/4b2a8jo IAEA at COP28: Highlights | IAEA: https://bit.ly/3Vni0G9 Full interview with Rafael Grossi: https://news.un.org/en/audio/2024/06/1150801 IAEA spent fuel conference: https://www.iaea.org/events/sfm24 Atoms for food: https://bit.ly/3VjLZ1J Disability rights convention (COSP17): https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/06/1150786 International Year of Camelids: https://www.fao.org/camelids-2024/en

On this week’s episode Conor Lennon and Anton Uspenskiy from UN News discuss the UN Secretary-General’s hard-hitting climate speech, in which he called for a ban on fossil fuel advertising and promotion; the UN’s continued support for millions of desperate people in Afghanistan; how AI is being used for the benefit of all; and whether we’re on the brink of being able to talk to whales. This week’s guests are Jorge Moreira da Silva, head of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), Fred Werner, Head of Strategic Engagement at the UN digital tech agency (ITU) and Fiona Korwin-Pawloski, Chief Strategy Officer at Project CETI (the Cetaceous Translation Initiative). UN Secretary-General calls for ban on fossil fuel advertising: https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/06/1150661 Interview with Jorge Mareira da Silva, the head of UNOPS: https://news.un.org/en/audio/2024/06/1150746 How the UN is using AI to save lives: https://news.un.org/en/audio/2024/06/1150696 World Ocean Day: https://unworldoceansday.org/

‘Keep it in the ground!' is the rallying cry, when it comes to fossil fuels. However, in Dominica there is a clean, renewable, subterranean resource that the government is very keen to get out of the ground: heat. Conor Lennon and Myra Lopes find out how the small country is vying to join the select group of countries powered 100% by renewables. And Matt Wells reports from Antigua, which is hosting the Small Islands Developing States conference, where the focus is on surviving the destructive consequences of the climate crisis. Today's guest is Stéphanie Fillion, UN Correspondent for The Asahi Shimbun. What exactly are SIDS? https://www.un.org/ohrlls/content/list-sids Dominica and geothermal energy: https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/04/1149136 SIDS4 Conference: https://news.un.org/en/search/sids4

On this week’s show, Conor is joined by UN News colleague Heyi Zou and China Global TV reporter Dezhi Xu, for an animated discussion about the lowering of UN flags, China’s role in the transition to a net-zero economy and, in the week of the International Day of Tea, the merits of a good cuppa, World Economic Situation and Prospects report ICC story on UN News International Day of Tea If there are any subjects you want us to talk about, or any questions you have about the work of the UN, email us: [email protected]. Studio production was by the UNTV team. The editor was Joon Park from UN Video, the Executive Producer was Mita Hosali. UN Weekly is a UN News production.

Welcome to UN Weekly, a podcast from UN News. We will bring together journalists, experts, senior officials and influencers, for an engaging and entertaining guide to the fascinating, little-known and often misunderstood world of the United Nations. Subscribe to UN Weekly on your favourite podcast platform, including YouTube, where you can watch the full video version!