UN Treaty Watch

UN Special Rapporteur Warns That Counterrorism Measures Diverge from Human Rights Standards

October 20, 2021

Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, UN special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, has claimed that efforts to improve counterterrorism measures around the world are damaging human rights and the rule of law.
ECLJ Publishes Report on the Financing of UN Human Rights Experts

September 29, 2021

The European Centre for Law and Justice ("ECLJ") has published The Financing of UN Experts in the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, the goal of which is to expose the lack of transparency in the UN's system of human rights governance and the methods used by private funders to unduly influence human rights monitoring experts.
NY Post: IAEA Missing Key Iranian Nuclear Data

June 01, 2021

The NY Post reports that a confidential Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) memo was discovered by the Associated Press and found that the agency not has access to key data about Iran’s nuclear program for the last three months after Tehran began restricting international inspections of its nuclear facilities.
US Officially Rejoins Paris Climate Agreement

February 23, 2021

The U.S. officially rejoined the Paris Agreement after President Biden, on his first day of office, signed an executive order to rejoin the global accord following former President Trump’s withdrawal.
Politico: Biden Climate Plan Much Larger Than Obama

February 01, 2021

President Joe Biden is launching his climate change plan with a coalition ranging from labor unions to leaders of Wall Street, calling for trillions of dollars in new spending along with efforts to make combating global warming a prime mission for the entire executive branch.
UN Human Rights Committee Publishes Latest Draft of General Comment 37 on Right of Peaceful Assembly

February 05, 2020

The UN Human Rights Committee has released its most recent draft of General Comment 37 on the right of peaceful assembly, with oral presentations due for March and adoption by the end of 2020.
UN Human Rights Committee Opens Door to Climate Asylum Claims

February 05, 2020

Although dismissing the action of a Kiribati citizen claiming the right to migrate to New Zealand due to the impact of climate change, by considering the claim in the context of the right to life contained in Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the United Nations Human Rights Committee opened the door to similar, more meritorious, "climate asylum" claims.
U.S. Files Notice of Intention to Leave Paris Climate Agreement

November 06, 2019

Following through on President Donald Trump's decision to have the United States of America withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, the U.S. State Department has officially filed the notice of intention to withdraw with the United Nation Secretary-General, beginning the one-year withdrawal countdown.
UN Expert Warns of Privacy Concerns Over Health Data

October 30, 2019

The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy, Joseph Cannataci, has unveiled a set of international standards on how health data should be used and protected, warning of enormous threats to privacy if the industry is not regulated.
Kemileva: UN Inefficiencies Undermine Effective Handling of Individual Petitions

October 30, 2019

Kamelia Kemileva, Senior Consultant to the Geneva Human Rights Platform, has opined that, for UN treaty bodies to effectively deal with individual communications, a huge systemic change is needed, starting by the creation of a proper registry, increased staff devoted to supporting treaty body work on these communications, and creating a new section dealing with mediation.