United Nations

UN Observers Criticize EU Migrant Recommendations

March 20, 2017

A group of UN human rights mandate holders has published a statement targeting the recommendations of EU institutions that member states speed up returns of migrants to their countries of origin and detain those who illegally cross their borders as threats to migrants' human rights.
UN Agent Criticizes Western Countries on Surveillance

March 20, 2017

In a recent report to the UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy Joseph Cannataci warns of the threat of government surveillance around the world to privacy and singles out France, Germany, the UK, and the US for "extremely intrusive measures" introduced under these countries' surveillance laws.
Rhodes Calls for Renewed US Focus on Rights

March 17, 2017

Aaron Rhodes of the Forum for Religious Freedom—Europe calls on the Trump Administration to focus on reforming the UN human rights infrastructure by championing the concept of "human rights" as universal civil and political freedoms, as spelled out in documents like the US Constitution, rather than vague and ever-changing "economic and social rights."
UN Rights Chief Issues Broad Criticism of US Policies

March 17, 2017

The Independent reports that, in a recent address to the UN Human Rights Council, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein criticized US President Donald Trump for policies ranging from barriers to the entry of migrants from a designated group of countries, to plans to deport illegal migrants from the US, to criticism of the media and judges.
UN Official Decries "Reproductive Rights" Obstacles

March 17, 2017

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein devoted a substantial portion of his statement for International Women's Day to criticism of government policies he says violate women's "sexual and reproductive health rights" by limiting their access to abortion.
UN Seeks Continued Input on US Refugee Policy

March 17, 2017

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi warned that US President Donald Trump’s latest executive order on refugee resettlement and foreign travel would "compound the anguish" of refugees and signaled his desire for continued UN input on resettlement under a future US refugee policy.
UNESCO Pushes Global Sustainability Education

March 16, 2017

The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recently held a conference in Ottawa, Canada, to train teachers to integrate UNESCO's Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship Education programs into their education systems and to release its publication on learning objectives for the UN's "sustainable development" agenda.
UNICEF: EU Migrant Return Policy May Violate Rights

March 16, 2017

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has warned the EU that its Recommendation and Renewed Action Plan on migration, encouraging EU members to provide for the "swift return" of some illegal migrants to their countries of origin, risks violating the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
UNICEF Collects "Big Data" for Disaster Relief

March 16, 2017

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has announced a "big data" partnership with European telecommunication company Telefonica as part of its "Magic Box" initiative to collect and analyze "real-time anonymized data such as mobile phone usage from private sector companies to better understand human activity."
EU Officials Agree to Ramp up Climate Outreach

March 16, 2017

Reuters reports that foreign ministers of EU member states have agreed to respond to a potential US decision to withdraw from the UN's Paris climate deal agreed in 2015 by devoting their diplomatic institutions to "aggressive outreach" in helping to preserve the deal and ensuring funding for "climate adaptation" efforts in poor countries.