iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 08/01/2026

This draws from a piece I wrote back in July on the Trump administration's policy towards the UN, which accurately predicted what the outcome of the 180-day review would be and what we're likely to see going forward. casquebleu.substack.com/p/the-emergi...

Quote card from the linked Substack article

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 17/07/2025

Geopolitics are not the only reason why UN peace operations struggle today. My latest piece looks at what can be done to ensure that the peace ops review and #UN80 actually take a critical look at whether existing approaches and structures remain fit for purpose. open.substack.com/pub/casquebl...

A title card reading "Lessons from HIPPO, ten years on" over a background image of a cartoon hippo wearing a UN peacekeeper helmet.

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 30/05/2025

The Security Council has not been able to reach agreement on financing #AUSSOM using UN assessed funding (i.e., the “hybrid” implementation of UNSCR 2719). As such, UN support to the AU in #Somalia will continue under existing arrangements through #UNSOS. undocs.org/en/S/2025/322

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 16/04/2025

Here is the relevant section from my prepared remarks on the implementation of Security Council resolution 2719 to the Security Council Ad Hoc Working Group on Conflict Prevention in Africa almost a year ago, on 30 April 2024.

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 16/04/2025

Last April, I warned Security Council members that failure to raise the 25% for AU missions while giving access to liquidity measures would harm all current and future UN peacekeeping ops. Now w/U.S. assessments in doubt, it’s time to be realistic about the practicality of moving forward with 2719.

Eugene Chen delivering a briefing to the Security Council Ad Hoc Working Group on Conflict Prevention in Africa on 30 April 2024.

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 25/02/2025

The budget for the #UNAMI transition is now available. It provides details on how the #UN intends to draw down the mission while continuing the implementation of activities through the end of the mandate on 31 December. #Iraq undocs.org/en/a/79/6(se...

Table presenting the phased drawdown of UNAMI personnel over the course of 2025.

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 05/02/2025

The cost estimates for the human rights section of the 2025 programme (regular) budget are reflected in this table; the U.S. share of the regular budget is 22%.

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 05/02/2025

Yes, the EO specifies that the proportion of the US assessment for the 2025 #UN regular budget corresponding to the US share of UNHRC costs will be withheld.

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 05/02/2025

If the US decides to leave UNESCO, the earliest that this could take place would be the end of 2026. Under Article II, Section 6 of the UNESCO Constitution, any Member State may withdraw by giving written notice; the withdrawal takes effect on 31 December of the year after notification. [5/5]

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 05/02/2025

As such, the 90-day review of US membership in UNESCO will be a test to see which is more important to US foreign policy (and US posture at the UN) under Trump 2.0: anti-Israel sentiment or countering Chinese influence. [4/5]

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 05/02/2025

The US is prohibited by law from providing funding to UN orgs that recognize #Palestine. UNESCO admitted Palestine in 2011, leading to a loss of US funding and the consequent loss of US vote in the UNESCO General Conference in 2013. [2/5]

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 28/01/2025

TFW DeepSeek starts generating a really solid response to a question about Taiwan but then self-censors and replaces it with this:

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 23/12/2024

The Constitution of the World Health Organization doesn’t actually contain provisions for withdrawal of membership. The U.S., however, joined the WHO under the condition of having the right to withdraw. Congress codified this reservation in law under what is currently 22 USC §290c. [2/3]

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 25/11/2024

The WSJ editorial written by Musk and Ramaswamy last week outlining their plans for DOGE actually included a reference to int’l orgs. It’s not immediately clear what the $1.5 billion refers to, but the mention in a vision statement for cost-cutting is notable in itself. www.wsj.com/opinion/musk...

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 08/10/2024

UN peace operations are in a period of retrenchment. My latest paper examines how we got here, identifies the shortcomings and tensions in current mission models. It articulates a new approach that can help restore relevance and maximize effectiveness of peace ops. [1/5] cic.nyu.edu/resources/a-...

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 13/09/2024

Ireland is always seated beside Israel in the UN General Assembly because the seating arrangement follows alphabetical order.

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 24/08/2024

It’s not so bad if you know what you’re looking for and have a handle on document symbols. Here’s a handy guide I whipped up a while back: casquebleu.org/index.php?ti... The UN Archives search though? The results it spits out seem totally random every time.

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