Transnational Bodies

Chinese Body Joins WEF Environment Initiative

February 23, 2017

As part of the World Economic Forum's (WEF) global Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy, WEF and an advisory body to the Chinese government have signed a memorandum of understanding on promoting the "circular economy" and resource efficiency in China with the aim of fulfilling the global "sustainable development" agenda.
Kahler Warns of "Fracturing" of Global Governance

February 21, 2017

In a recent paper, Miles Kahler of the Council on Foreign Relations explores the increasing relevance of regional organizations in global governance and calls for a more effective "division of labor" between global and regional organizations to prevent a "fragmented global order" and encourage what he perceives to be the benefits of global institutions.
OECD Pushes Sweden on "Inclusive," "Green" Growth

February 21, 2017

In a recent report on the economic situation in Sweden, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has called on authorities to adopt more "inclusive" measures to reduce income inequality in the country, create a more permissive immigration system, and promote environmentally friendly economic growth.
EU Warns of WTO Complaint on US Tax Proposal

February 21, 2017

The Irish Times reports that EU officials and lawyers from other US trading partners are prepared to launch a World Trade Organization (WTO) complaint against a proposal in the US House of Representatives to impose a corporate tax on imports into the US while exempting exports from taxes to remedy what some see as a global trade imbalance.
Schaefer Praises Draft Orders on Multilateral Funding

February 16, 2017

Brett Schaefer of the Heritage Foundation has published an article exploring the potential positive impacts of two draft US executive orders on evaluating and reducing funding for international organizations, including an increase in efficiency at such organizations and a more appropriate balance of funding for such entities between the US and other countries.
OSCE Official Warns US on Reporter Arrests

February 03, 2017

Connecting the arrests to general "threats" from the Trump Administration toward the media, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović called on local authorities to uphold international free speech obligations when trying two reporters for "inciting a riot" during Trump inauguration protests.
Draft US Orders Target Multilateral Funding, Treaties

January 30, 2017

The New York Times reports that the Trump Administration is considering two draft executive orders that would reduce US funding toward international organizations and initiate a review of treaties involving more than two countries from which the US should withdraw.
OSCE Official Criticizes Hungary's Migrant Detention Plans

January 27, 2017

Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s human rights committee Ignacio Sanchez Amor has asserted that the Hungarian government's proposal to detain asylum seekers for the duration of their application process threatens a violation of global human rights norms.
WEF Forms Ocean "Sustainability" Partnership

January 26, 2017

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has announced a new partnership with the University of California Santa Barbara’s Marine Science Institute to engage scientists on how to contribute to "ocean change" to fulfill marine-related provisions of the UN's comprehensive Sustainable Development Goals.
WEF Panel: Go Beyond COP21 Pledges

January 26, 2017

Participants on a panel at the 2017 World Economic Forum (WEF) called for governments to go beyond their commitments from the UN climate deal agreed in Paris in 2015 (COP21) to fight climate change, including by agreeing to "retrofit for greater energy efficiency every building in every community in the world."