United Nations

Observers: UNHRC Candidacies Signal Credibility Gap

November 04, 2016

Javier El-Hage and Roberto González of the Human Rights Foundation write that the recent candidacies of authoritarian regimes such as Saudi Arabia and China for seats on the UN Human Rights Council signal the same fatal credibility flaws that plagued the UN Commission on Human Rights before it was disbanded in 2006.
UN Agent: Israel Blocks Palestinian Development

November 04, 2016

UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Michael Lynk, has called on Israel to end its 50-year "occupation" of Palestinian land and has decried Israel's violation of the "inalienable right to equitable and just economic and social development" of the people in the region.
Rubin Calls on Governments to Disband UNESCO

November 01, 2016

Michael Rubin of the American Enterprise Institute argues that the adoption by the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization of a resolution denying Jewish ties to religious landmarks in Jerusalem shows it is time to disband UNESCO and replace it with a new organization, outside the UN, that is "less beholden to politics."
UN Committee Supports Nuclear Weapons Ban

November 01, 2016

The New York Times reports that, over the objection of nuclear-armed powers, the UN General Assembly's disarmament and international security committee has adopted a resolution, which will now go to the full General Assembly, seeking negotiation of a "legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination."
UN Conference Results in "New Urban Agenda"

November 01, 2016

The UN "Habitat III" Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development produced a document called the New Urban Agenda under which participating governments committed to advancing the UN's social and environmental agenda in cities around the world, including through renewable energy, "greener" public transport, migrant rights, and "an end to discrimination."
UN Observer Criticizes US for UN Cholera Silence

November 01, 2016

In a report to the UN General Assembly, UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, blamed the US government for playing a role in the UN Office of Legal Affairs' refusal to admit responsibility for peacekeepers' introduction of cholera in Haiti in 2010.
UN Agent Stresses Action on "Right to Health" in SDGs

November 01, 2016

The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Dainius Pūras, has called on governments to adopt measures conducive to the human right to health, including by establishing systems of universal health coverage, as part of their implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
UN Agent Takes Broad View on Data Privacy Rights

October 31, 2016

In a report to the UN General Assembly, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy, Joseph Cannataci, warned of expanded attempts by governments to resort to "permanent mass surveillance" and indicated his opposition to the access by law enforcement to the data on one's personal smartphone data, even with a judicial warrant.
Contact Group Discusses Citizenship Education Efforts

October 31, 2016

At the annual meeting of the International Contact Group on Citizenship and Human Rights Education, held in Budapest, the participants - including the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization - described their recent progress in advancing the "Global Citizenship Education" agenda and called for a broader membership to promote their goals.
UN Observers Seek Bolstered Migration Rights

October 31, 2016

Two UN human rights mandate holders have characterized upcoming negotiations on an international compact for the global governance of migration as an opportunity to establish an "Agenda 2033 for Facilitating Human Mobility," which would provide for expanded access of migrants around the world to safe "mobility channels."