Transnational Bodies

OSCE Seeks Standardized Human Rights Education in Ukraine

December 30, 2016

At an event in Kiev, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe (CoE) presented to Ukrainian education officials a "Human Rights Calendar" encouraging teachers from schools across the country to include lessons on the global human rights agenda in their curricula.
OSCE Promotes "Gender Mainstreaming" Policies in Montenegro

December 30, 2016

At a recent workshop in Podgorica, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) sought input from Montenegrin local and national officials on a draft "analysis on gender mainstreaming at the local level" to further the implementation of the OSCE's Memoranda of Understanding on promotion of gender equality in the country.
EU Pushes Global Court for Investment Disputes

December 20, 2016

The European Commission has announced that, under pressure from activists for including ad hoc investment tribunals in its trade agreements, it is engaged in talks with the Canadian government and other stakeholders to establish a permanent "Multilateral Investment Court" that would decide transnational investment disputes across the globe.
Germany Prioritizes Climate, SDGs in G20 Agenda

December 19, 2016

The website Climate Home reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel has submitted an agenda for a July 2017 Group of 20 (G20) summit in Hamburg, Germany, signaling that she intends to focus on fulfilling the UN's Paris climate deal and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while her country holds the rotating G20 presidency.
EU Parliament Agrees to US Data Protection Deal

December 16, 2016

The European Parliament has voted in support of the EU-US Umbrella Agreement, a framework established to protect data transferred between the EU and the US for law enforcement purposes and which permits citizens in EU member states to seek redress in US courts in case of mishandling of their data.
China Seeks More "Equitable" Internet Governance

December 14, 2016

Signaling the rising threat of internet control by authoritarian regimes, leadership of the Communist Party of China has called for other countries to recognize "cyberspace sovereignty" - or the right of each government to control the internet within their borders - and to permit a "more fair and equitable" global governance of the internet.
China Takes "Pragmatic" Global Governance Approach

December 13, 2016

Dr. Chen Zheng of the University of Oxford writes that China's current pragmatic approach to global governance institutions, with a focus on global economic governance over human rights issues, is subject to an increasing internal debate on how much the country should engage with transnational organizations.
Local Governments Seek Control over "Climate Finance"

December 12, 2016

Megan Rowling reports that local communities in Africa are pushing for greater control over how to disburse development funding provided by "rich" countries, including through the UN's $10 billion "Green Climate Fund," to projects whose purpose is to limit the impacts of global warming.
IEA Report Casts Uncertainty on UN Climate Pledges

December 12, 2016

Robert Rapier writes that, in the 2016 installment of its World Energy Outlook, the International Energy Agency warns that the technology required to meet the ambitious pledges countries made under the UN's Paris climate deal to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions does not yet exist, given the continued rise in global demand for fossil fuel-based energy.
Warsaw Summit Explores Global Standards on NHRIs

December 12, 2016

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the Council of Europe, and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recently hosted a meeting in Warsaw on best practices in implementing standards on the independence of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) to further the global human rights agenda.