United Nations

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."
US Delivers $500 Million to UN Climate Fund

January 25, 2017

The Washington Post reports that, three days prior to President Donald Trump's inauguration last week, the Obama Administration delivered $500 million of its $3 billion commitment to the UN Green Climate Fund, which finances projects in poor countries aimed at reducing the impacts of global warming.
UNESCO Takes on Worldwide School Bullying

January 24, 2017

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has published a "global status report" analyzing data on school bullying in countries around the world and calling on governments to take action on the issue to ensure respect for the "fundamental right to education."
NGO Spotlights Roles of Repressive Regimes at UN

January 23, 2017

The nongovernmental organization UN Watch has published a 2017 update highlighting major human rights and other positions at the UN held by governments widely considered by experts to be human rights abusers, including Iran, China, Syria, Sudan, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela.
Op-ed Outlines UN's Plans for Israel, Palestine

January 23, 2017

An opinion piece by Uri Savir on news website Al-Monitor outlines the views of a UN source on how the organization's new Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will propose to develop a diplomatic plan for a two-state Israel-Palestine solution with or without the support of Israel and labels Israel's moves to withdraw from such efforts "fundamentally mistaken."