United Nations

WHO Advances Campaign on "Universal Health Coverage"

December 20, 2016

As part of its campaign pressuring governments to provide "universal health coverage," and in line with health pledges set under the UN's comprehensive Sustainable Development Goals, the UN's World Health Organization has launched a global data portal through which it will provide information on access to healthcare.
UNESCO Releases Military Manual on "Cultural Objects"

December 20, 2016

A recent high-level panel hosted by the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) resulted in the launch of a Military Manual on Protection of Cultural Property, containing global standards for armed forces "on identifying, moving and preserving cultural objects during military operations."
UN Agency Issues Call to "Formalize" Domestic Labor

December 19, 2016

The UN's International Labour Organization has published a report pushing governments to "formalize" domestic labor to ease its regulation through such measures as developing standard contracts, "professionalizing" the sector with training and certification procedures, and ensuring the access of domestic workers to social benefits.
UNESCO Seeks Comments on Climate Ethics Report

December 19, 2016

The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is calling for governments to comment on a draft document developed at an "experts" meeting in Rabat, Morocco, containing a "non-binding declaration on ethical principles in relation to climate change" for use in the UN's continuing efforts to implement its agenda on global warming.
UNESCO Releases Global Encryption Guidelines

December 19, 2016

The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has commissioned a report containing recommendations for governments and other stakeholders on "best practices" in their implementation of the global human rights agenda in online encryption policies.
UN Agent Warns Croatia on Health, Abortion Rights

December 16, 2016

The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Dainius Pūras, has warned the Croatian government not to "slide back" on its protection of the universal "right to health" in the country and criticized "retrogressive measures preventing access to safe abortion."
UN Agents: Fulfill Human Rights Through SDGs

December 16, 2016

A group of UN human rights mandate holders has issued a statement calling for governments to fulfill their "political and financial commitments" to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to ensure that development benefits are "fairly distributed" around the world and to halt the deprivation of "economic, social, political, civil and cultural rights."
UN Cholera Apology Meets Mixed Response

December 16, 2016

George Russell writes that UN mandate holder Philip Alston and other human rights advocates are asserting that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's apology for not taking sufficient steps to contain the recent cholera outbreak in Haiti, without taking responsibility for causing the outbreak, is not sufficient to remedy the suffering of the Haitian people during the disease's spread.
UN Agency Pushes Asian Officials on "Decent" Work

December 16, 2016

The UN's International Labour Organization recently convened its 16th Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting to place pressure on government officials from Asia, the Pacific, and the Middle East to implement the UN's "sustainable development" agenda by agreeing to promote "equity and decent work."
UNHRC Delegates Pay Respects to Castro

December 15, 2016

Patrick Goodenough writes that delegates to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), including the representative from UNHRC-member Cuba, stood for a minute of silence to honor former Cuban dictator Fidel Castro at a recent meeting.