United Nations

UN Agent: Brexit Threatens UK Environment

February 03, 2017

Following the completion of his two-week mission to the UK, UN Special Rapporteur Baskut Tuncak has argued that the British Government is not fulfilling its global human rights obligations on limiting air pollution and warned that Brexit will threaten environmental protection in the country.
UN Chief Speaks Against Trump Migration Order

February 01, 2017

Disagreeing with US President Donald Trump's executive order subjecting migrants from seven countries to substantial barriers to entry, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that raising barriers to migration on the basis of factors including nationality "is against the fundamental principles and values on which our societies are based."
UN Official Consults on "Women's Empowerment" Agenda

January 31, 2017

At a consultation preparing for a session of the UN's Commission on Status of Women, Lakshmi Puri of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women discussed the best methods for the Commission to prepare global recommendations on "women's economic empowerment" in line with the UN's comprehensive sustainable development agenda.
Article Warns of Impacts of Defunding UN

January 30, 2017

In response to growing calls in the US Congress and White House for a reduction in the US funding of and engagement in the UN, former UN Security Council official Howard Stoffer writes that, while the UN is "overdue for serious internal changes," such a US withdrawal would have a destabilizing impact and would not be in the interest of the American people.
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.