Reducing inequality within and among countries is a Sustainable Development Goal that is not progressing, as evidenced in demonstrations that erupted in many parts of the United States and abroad this year. Here, a protest in New York City, June 2020. JOHN PENNEY
Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, addressing the Security Council in its first physical meeting at New York City headquarters since March 12. It is unclear when the Council will meet again in the UN building.
As the number of Covid-19 cases skyrockets globally — and the United States remains the epicenter with nearly 3.6 million confirmed cases — the United Nations Security Council met physically on July 14 for the first time since March 12.
President Trump boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md. July 10, 2020, en route to Miami. The administration notified the UN on July 6 that the US was withdrawing from the World Health Organization, effective exactly one year later. TIA DUFOUR/WHITE HOUSE
In a final straw to the current troubles between the World Health Organization and the United States, the Trump administration notified United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on July 6 of its withdrawal from the agency, effective July 6, 2021.
A view of Panama City from the apartment of the author, a former vice president and foreign minister of Panama. The country is slowly reopening after months of lockdown, although the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases keeps rising. ISABEL SAINT MALO
The Chamberí District, Madrid, April 27, 2020. The author, a former Argentine foreign minister who is living and working in Madrid, notes the “solitude” of the city at the end of the day, but says that the country has been responding to the pandemic with “solidarity.” SUSANA MALCORRA
Secretary-General António Guterres holds a virtual press briefing to appeal for a global cease-fire during the coronavirus pandemic, March 23, 2020. So far, his call has been heard in Cameroon, Philippines, Yemen and parts of Syria. ESKINDER DEBEBE/UN PHOTO
A participant at the 2019 annual women’s rights meeting at the UN in New York. This year’s preparations for the gathering, held in early March, have already forced diplomats working on a political declaration to take sides in promoting or excluding certain rights. AMANDA VOISARD/UN WOMEN
Fannie Munlin, the chair of the NGO Executive Committee, the liaison between the civil society world and the UN. She manages the needs and demands of 1,600 nongovernmental organizations, including their egos. It seems to come easily to her. DULCIE LEIMBACH
A UN Development Program workshop on gender and disaster-risk reduction related to climate change, Cambodia, August 2019. In an essay, an expert on the UN development system says it “cries out for reform” but is stuck in inertia. MANUTH BUTH/UNDP CAMBODIA
A refugee with the documents he needs to go from Greece into what is now called North Macedonia, 2015. Over the next two years, scores of countries will conduct censuses, and they will need to include migration data. That collection of information will be difficult but essential for societies to function optimally. STEVE EVANS/CREATIVE COMMONS
