[UN: Feb. 6] The Winter Games Begin, Bachelet of Chile Joins SecGen Race & Lots More

Two minefields in Maroun al-Ras, in south Lebanon, were cleared by the Chinese engineering unit in the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, Unifil. The areas were officially handed over to the Lebanese Armed Forces on Feb. 4, 2026. Meanwhile, Israeli forces sprayed areas near the Blue Line demarcation between Israel and Lebanon this week with toxic herbicides. UNIFIL

This Week @UN: Nuke treaty to the rescue; UN candidate’s 3 Latin backers; deadbeat donors; call DT!!

Plus: Rafah crossing opens; Norwegian diplos & Epstein; Israeli threats in Lebanon; no oil for Cuba; Nigeria massacre.

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Our #1 story (again!): UN Pension Review Raises Concerns Among Staff and Retirees, op-ed by Loraine Rickard-Martin

PassBlue this week:

• The Right Way to Stop a New Nuclear Arms Race, op-ed by Melissa Parke

• Michelle Bachelet of Chile Is Running for the UN’s Top Post With Regional Backing, by Damilola Banjo

• US, Myanmar, Libya, Congo and the 37 Other Countries That Owe the UN Money, by Damilola Banjo

• Advice to UN’s Guterres: Call Trump!, op-ed Stephen Schlesinger

• We asked Spain’s mission to the UN where the office of the 100 or so UN Development Program jobs moving from New York City to Madrid this summer will be located in the capital (about 300 other UNDP jobs are transferring to Bonn, Germany). The response from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation: “Various options are currently being studied for the location of UNDP personnel to be hosted by Spain.”

Top UN news:

Monday, Feb. 2

• Spokesperson’s briefing: The UN welcomes the limited reopening of Gaza’s crucial Rafah crossing, where civilians can “leave and return voluntarily and safely [into Egypt] as international law requires,” said UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric. He added that the World Health Organization (WHO) supported the first medical evacuations from Gaza through the crossing, a first since mid-March 2025, allowing some patients and their companions to exit directly to Egypt, while others transited through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom/Kerem Abu Salem crossing. Dujarric said that although the UN is not involved in screening or administering the Rafah entrance, humanitarian supplies “must enter in sufficient quantities and with fewer restrictions through Rafah and all other crossings.”

Update, Feb. 3: Secretary-General António Guterres told the opening session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People that since the Oct. 11 US-led ceasefire agreement in Gaza, more than 500 Palestinians have been killed. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says it has received reports of [Israeli] strikes hitting densely populated areas in Gaza, including a school and several refugee camps. Among those reported killed were children and at least one medic, who was struck while trying to save lives.

• After Mette-Marit, the Crown Princess of Norway and an ex-UN goodwill ambassador; Mona Juul, a former Norwegian envoy to the UN; and Norway’s Terje Rod-Larsen, a former UN diplomat for the Mideast peace process (and Juul’s husband), were mentioned in the US Department of Justice’s latest release of files on the convicted human-trafficker and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, Dujarric said he had “no specific comment” on Rod-Larsen’s name in the documents and would not comment on Juul’s mention. “For us, the most important thing is that justice be done for the women who were abused by Jeffrey Epstein and the people around him.”

Our story in 2020 on Rod-Larsen’s resignation from the New York City-based International Peace Institute.

Tuesday, Feb. 3

• Spokesperson’s briefing: UN peacekeepers patrolling southern Lebanon “took defensive action” after a hovering drone was deemed a threat; the drone dropped a stun grenade about 50 meters away before flying south toward Israeli territory.  No injuries were reported, and the patrol continued. The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said the Israeli actions violated UN Security Resolution 1701 and international law by interfering with “peacekeepers’ Security Council-mandated tasks and puts efforts to rebuild stability along the Blue Line at risk.”

Update, Feb. 6: The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said Israeli forces spraying a “highly toxic” herbicide over areas near the Blue Line (separating Israel from Lebanon) on Feb. 1 poses a “serious humanitarian risk” to civilians there. The UN added that reports attributed to Lebanese authorities indicated that the herbicide is glyphosate and samples from the sprayed areas where there is dense vegetation showed concentrations 20 to 30 times the recommended level.

• At a press briefing, Guterres explained the role of the members of the new Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence.

• Robert van der Zee of the Netherlands is Guterres’s new representative for the investment of the assets of the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF), succeeding Pedro Antonio Guazo Alonso of Spain.

Wednesday, Feb. 4

• Spokesperson’s briefing: Guterres is “extremely concerned” about Cuba’s worsening humanitarian conditions caused by the US blocking Venezuelan and other oil shipments to the island nation, compounded by the long-running US-imposed oil embargo plus new tariffs. Guterres urged “all parties to pursue dialogue and respect for international law.” Dujarric said the UN’s 23 entities are working with the Cuban government to help alleviate the humanitarian situation as the fuel shortage pushes up food prices and creates major power cuts throughout the country.

Thursday, Feb. 5

• Spokesperson’s briefing: Guterres “strongly condemns” the Feb. 3 terrorist attack in western Nigeria’s Kwara State, killing at least 100 people. Suspected Boko Haram groups reportedly rampaged two villages throughout the night, with many victims shot at close range, women and children abducted and homes and shops set on fire, forcing people to flee into the forest. The attack was the deadliest recorded in the area in recent months amid escalating violence by armed militias in parts of the north.

The Italian mission to the UN beamed the opening ceremony of the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan/Cortina onto screens in the UN Delegates Lounge, New York City, Feb. 6, 2026. Guterres and Annalena Baerbock, president of the General Assembly, attended the opening in Milan.

Friday, Feb. 6

• No spokesperson’s briefing was held.

• Guterres attended the opening ceremonies of the 25th Winter Olympic Games, held in Cortina and Milan, Italy. His message: “The Olympics and Paralympics are a beacon of hope. A celebration of human potential – of teamwork, fair play and mutual respect. Through your dedication and perseverance, we see what a united world can be — and what humanity can achieve when we strive for our very best. That is also the spirit of Olympic Truce. It carries a simple truth: that the only struggle between nations should be on the sports field, not the battlefield. I call on all parties to conflict to honour the Olympic Truce. Let us strive together — for gold, yes, but even more so, for peace. Thank you and buona fortuna.

ICYMI:

Press Freedom: Why Press Freedom Is Not Only About the Press, statement from the Institute for Nonprofit News (of which PassBlue is a member)

Gaza: Time for effective EU Diplomacy and Action on Palestine/Israel, letter from 400+ former EU & member state ministers, ambassadors and senior officials

Gaza: Made in the USA: How American-Built Weapons Have Wrought Destruction in Gaza, news article

Timor-Leste/Myanmar: Timor-Leste Opens Unprecedented Legal Proceedings Against Myanmar Junta, Chin Human Rights Organization press release

Epstein: Understanding Epstein’s Crimes, Substack blog post by Julie K. Brown

UN: The United Nations Is Not Broke, Substack blog post by Vincent Lyn

UN: At Least 21 Peacekeeping & Associated Personnel Killed in Malicious Attacks 2025, UN Staff Union Committee news

UN: Whether the UN Faces Imminent Financial Collapse Is Up to the Secretary-General, Substack blog post by Eugene Chen

UN: The Secretary General Race Heats Up — And the Epstein Files Hit the UN, Global Dispatches podcast episode

FGM: International Day of Zero Tolerance of Female Genital Mutilation, UNFPA press release

Arthur Bassas is a researcher and writer who graduated from St. Andrews in Scotland, majoring in international relations and terrorism. He lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., and speaks English and French.

[UN: Feb. 6] The Winter Games Begin, Bachelet of Chile Joins SecGen Race & Lots More