United Nations

Schaefer: US Congress Must Scrutinize UN Spending

January 30, 2017

Brett Schaefer of the Heritage Foundation writes that former US President Barack Obama's "spending binge" on UN programs and priorities just before he left office must teach Congress not to grant the President such broad authority on UN funding and to pass laws restricting such funding when it is not in America's interest.
New UN Chief Commits to Social, Environmental Agendas

January 30, 2017

In an address to a high-level dialogue of the UN General Assembly, the new UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, signaled the continued commitment of his office to prioritizing the UN's social and environmental agendas in its efforts toward peace by calling for a global response to conflict that "integrates peace, sustainable development and human rights."
UN Chief Prioritizes Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

January 27, 2017

Identifying the existence and movement of such weapons as the cause of violent conflicts, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has announced that his top priorities as the head of the international organization will include "achieving a world free of nuclear weapons" and globally regulating conventional weapons.
UN Agent: Sanctions on Sudan Violated Rights

January 27, 2017

The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and international sanctions Idriss Jazairy has praised the Obama Administration's decision to lift unilateral sanctions on Sudan, arguing that such sanctions had violated a wide range of economic, social, and cultural "human rights" of Sudan's citizens.
UN: Improve Sustainability Through Healthy Diets

January 27, 2017

A report from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the Pan American Health Organization that blames the high rates of obesity in Latin America and Caribbean nations on "increased consumption of ultra-processed products" calls on governments to encourage healthy diets in line with the UN's sustainable development agenda.
New UN Whistleblower Policy Faces Scrutiny

January 26, 2017

George Russell writes that an updated UN policy on the treatment of whistleblowers approved by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will be subject to the scrutiny of the US Secretary of State to determine whether it meets the US's "best practices" standard for full funding of UN operations.
ILO Calls for Inclusion of Global Standards in EU Social Policy

January 25, 2017

At a conference in Brussels, the Director-General of the UN's International Labour Organization (ILO) Guy Ryder praised the EU's development of a European Pillar of Social Rights and called for developers of the Pillar to use as a "reference point" the ILO's global labor standards.
UN Official Seeks Action on Refugee "Connectivity"

January 25, 2017

Identifying access to the internet and mobile phone networks for refugees as a "lifeline," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has published a piece calling on governments to expand refugee access to connective devices, inexpensive phone and computer contracts, and "training in digital literacy."
Rhodes: China Pushes Cynical Rights Agenda at UN

January 25, 2017

Following a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the World Economic Forum pushing for greater multilateral efforts toward global governance, Aaron Rhodes of the Forum for Religious Freedom Europe explains how China's leaders have used UN agencies and human rights bodies to advance a perverted human rights model rejecting universal civil and political freedoms.
UN Agent Seeks Worldwide "Whistleblower" Pardon

January 25, 2017

Applauding the Obama Administration's commutation of the sentence of Chelsea Manning, convicted in the US for leaking classified information, UN Independent Expert Alfred de Zayas has called on governments around the world to pardon and halt prosecutions of "whistleblowers" who leak sensitive national security and other information "in good faith."