A new year. A new United Nations. In this 2025 debut episode of To Save Us From Hell, Anjali Dayal and I discuss what to expect in the year ahead at the United Nations. We cover a lot of ground—from the new composition of the UN Security Council to China’s new status as a major funder of the UN system, the chaos Trump is likely to bring, and much, much more.

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It’s a new day in Damascus. But what about New York? For the last 14 years, the United Nations’ role in Syria has been relegated to the circumscribed (but vital) task of supporting the humanitarian needs of Syrians. Now, there is an opportunity for the UN and the broader international community to support Syria’s political transition, post-conflict reco…

We cover a lot of ground in this week’s free episode. Just hours before we recorded our conversation, the ICC issued formal arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Anjali Dayal and Mark Leon Goldberg explain what this means for the UN. We then travel to Baku for an update on COP29 before heading back to UN headquarters to discuss the latest US veto of a Gaza ceasefire resolution. Finally, we check in on the new UN Humanitarian Chief, Tom Fletcher, who started his role this week.

In this special post-election edition of To Save Us From Hell, Mark Leon Goldberg and Anjali Dayal explain what to expect — and what not to expect — from Donald Trump’s approach to the United Nations during the next four years. Will he burn Turtle Bay to the ground? Mostly ignore the UN? Cozy up to Russia at the Security Council? And will the next UN Ambassador be Anjali’s old Middle School classmate? We discuss all this and more!

UNRWA is a unique humanitarian agency. It is both a humanitarian relief provider for millions of Palestinians across several countries, and in many places, it functions as a de facto municipal government, providing services like schools, healthcare, and trash collection. Together, UNRWA provides a social safety net for 2.5 million people in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza.

And now, all of that might end.

Earlier this week, the Knesset passed a bill that would effectively force UNRWA to cease operations in the Occupied Territories and Gaza. The bill establishes bureaucratic barriers that prevent the Israeli government from cooperating with UNRWA, effectively dismantling it by making it impossible for UNRWA to operate in the West Bank and East Jerusalem without Israeli consent. In Gaza, it technically could continue its operations, but practically, UNRWA would not be able to function. It would lack the ability to coordinate with the Israeli government to ensure the safe passage of humanitarian goods or interact with Israeli inspectors who vet all goods entering the Gaza Strip. UNRWA is the single most important humanitarian agency still operating in Gaza, and when this bill comes into force, it will simply be unable to function in that capacity.

On this special episode of To Save Us From Hell, Anjali Dayal and I take a deep dive into the implications of Israel’s decision to evict UNRWA. We discuss UNRWA’s unique history as a UN agency, its singular role in Palestinian life, and explain why a wildly diverse set of countries — from Cuba to the United States — has condemned Israel’s actions against UNRWA.

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UNRWA is a unique humanitarian agency. It is both a humanitarian relief provider for millions of Palestinians across several countries, and in many places, it functions as a de facto municipal government, providing services like schools, healthcare, and trash collection. Together, UNRWA provides a social safety net for 2.5 million people in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza.

And now, all of that might end.

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The Israeli Defense Forces have continued their deliberate attacks on UN peacekeeping positions in southern Lebanon, including an incident in which UNIFIL Blue Helmets were injured by white phosphorus, an incendiary chemical agent used by the Israeli army. Why does this keep happening, and what can make it stop? Meanwhile, António Guterres finds himself in hot water with the Ukrainians for his attendance at the BRICS Summit in Russia, and a major UN conference on biodiversity is underway in Colombia.

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Over the last week, Israel has directly targeted the positions of UN Peacekeepers in Lebanon. Several peacekeepers have been injured, but none killed—yet. The real tragedy of these ongoing attacks against UNIFIL is that they are undermining the one entity that can provide an off-ramp to further escalation in Lebanon and throughout the region. The path to de-escalation runs through UNIFIL. But for the moment, UNIFIL is, very literally, in the path of Israeli tanks.

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The UN Human Rights Council consists of 47 member states that serve three-year terms. They are elected to their seats by a vote in the General Assembly. Unlike most General Assembly votes, this one is done by secret ballot. On October 9, the UN General Assembly considered 19 candidates for 18 open seats on the Human Rights Council. The loser? Saudi Arabia. (Phew.)

In this week’s episode of To Save Us From Hell, we take a deep dive into the UN Human Rights Council — how it works, some of its big accomplishments, some of its deficiencies, and why countries with questionable human rights records are sometimes elected to it. (Though not Saudi Arabia, this time around.) Co-host Anjali Dayal and I then make our 2024 Nobel Peace Prize predictions!

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In the 79 years of the United Nations, no country has ever declared a UN Secretary General Persona Non-Grata—until now. On Wednesday, Israel made history when it PNG’d Antonio Guterres, saying he was no longer welcome to set foot on Israeli soil. The reason? In a statement condemning Iran’s attack on Israel, he apparently didn’t condemn it enough. Meanwhile, can the UN stop the escalating war between Israel, Hezbollah and Iran? And finally, we are down to two candidates to be the next Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs. We discuss all this and more! https://www.globaldispatches.org/