United Nations

UN Committee Seeks to Engage Business in Reaching SDGs

April 12, 2017

The UN Committee of Experts on Public Administration will meet 24-28 April to equip member state governments to successfully implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in partnership with businesses and civil society.
UN Secretary General Calls for Increased UNRWA Funding

April 12, 2017

UN Secretary General António Guterres has issued a “landmark report” calling on all member states to increase funding for the controversial UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) due to the integral role he believes it plays in regional peace.
UN Principals Push for “Collective Outcomes” for Development

April 12, 2017

The UN Secretary-General and nine UN Principals have signed a “Commitment to Action” with the aim of harmonizing national and local development and humanitarian projects around the world under loosely-defined “collective outcomes” in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
UNEP Releases New Report Praising ‘Green Energy’ Progress

April 12, 2017

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has released its Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2017 report which shows that record-level renewable energy capacity was added in 2016 despite spending reductions due to efficiency improvements.
UNHCR Protection Chief Calls for Joint Migration Policy

April 12, 2017

The UN Refugee Agency’s (UNHCR) protection chief has called on member states to establish a “regional mechanism” to coordinate policy on rescuing, processing, and settlement of refugees crossing the Mediterranean Sea.
Amendment to Montreal Protocol Targets Drastic HFC Cuts

April 05, 2017

As part of the UN’s comprehensive agenda to fulfill its 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Environment Programme has announced the beginning of the ratification process for an amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer that targets a global reduction in the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by over 80 percent over the next 30 years.
US Halts Funding for UNFPA

April 04, 2017

The US State Department has announced that it will end funding for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), an agency that promotes family planning and is often associated with advocating abortion services, because the US disapproves of the organization's support for a "program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization."
UN Body Reviews "Comprehensive" Approach to SDGs

April 04, 2017

The UN Committee of Experts on Public Administration has announced that it will hold a meeting in April exploring how governments must engage in a "multi-stakeholder approach to comprehensive policy integration" across local, regional, and national levels to implement the UN's comprehensive Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
UN Agent Criticizes Australia's Treatment of Indigenous People

April 03, 2017

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, has listed the high incarceration rate and crowded living conditions among indigenous people in Australia as human rights concerns facing the country's authorities.
UN Official Lists Next Steps Under Climate Deal

April 03, 2017

In a recent interview, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Patricia Espinosa outlined the next steps the international organization will take to promote adherence to the UN's Paris climate deal, including agreeing in 2018 a "rule book" on how countries must prove their contributions to emissions reductions under the agreement.