United Nations

UN Advances SDG Education in Mediterranean Region

January 03, 2017

Fourteen national governments and five international organizations, including the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), have agreed to a Mediterranean Action Plan for Education for Sustainable Development, which seeks to integrate education on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in schools throughout the Mediterranean region.
UN, Germany Launch SDG Action Campaign Center

January 02, 2017

The UN and the German government have announced the launch of the Global Campaign Center of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Action Campaign in Bonn, Germany, as a hub aimed at driving popular support for the UN's comprehensive SDG agenda in Europe.
UNESCO Body Creates Roadmap on SDG Education

January 02, 2017

The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) Education 2030 Steering Committee has produced a two-year roadmap setting out how regional and global leaders should push national policymakers to include education on the importance of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in school systems around the world.
UNESCO Seeks "Gender Mainstreaming" in Schools

January 02, 2017

The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recently hosted a workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, on best practices for national policymakers to promote "gender mainstreaming" in schools, including by focusing on "gender-responsive teacher training and professional development."
South Korea Sets up Framework for UN Climate Pledges

January 02, 2017

The South Korean government has produced a "pangovernmental comprehensive framework" on limiting greenhouse gas emissions in the country, including inspections every five years to measure emissions progress, in line with the government's commitments under the UN climate deal agreed in Paris in 2015.
UN Agents Push Portugal on Housing, Sanitation Rights

December 30, 2016

Following a recent official visit to Portugal, two UN human rights mandate holders called on the country's officials to adopt "human rights oriented regulations and safeguards," along with national legislation, guaranteeing the recognition and fulfillment of what they identified as global rights to safe drinking water, sanitation, and adequate housing.
US Permits UN Vote on Israeli Settlements

December 23, 2016

Aided by the abstention of the Obama Administration, the UN Security Council has passed a resolution calling on Israel to "immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory" and calling such settlements a "flagrant violation" of international law.
UN Chief: Targeting of Israel Has "Foiled" UN Priorities

December 21, 2016

The Independent reports that, in recent remarks to the UN Security Council, outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated that the "disproportionate" number of resolutions, committees, and reports targeting Israel for alleged misconduct and rights violations has "foiled the ability of the UN to fulfill its role effectively."
UN Rights Chief Warns Against Israeli Settlement Bill

December 21, 2016

Referring to Israeli settlements as "the principal cause of a wide range of human rights violations inside the occupied West Bank," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein has warned that Israeli legislation under consideration in the legislature that would retroactively legalize such settlements is contrary to international law.
Academic: Reduce Discretion in Global Refugee System

December 21, 2016

In a paper following up on the UN General Assembly’s High-Level Meeting on Refugees and Migrants in September, Professor James Milner of Carleton University calls for governments to replace the current "discretionary" system of resettling refugees with a more "predictable" and "equitable" system that would require countries to share refugee responsibilities.