United Nations

UN Agent Demands National Votes on EU Trade Deals

July 11, 2016

Alfred de Zayas, the UN Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, has asserted that the EU would violate global human rights standards if it does not grant the national parliaments of its member states a vote on any trade deals the bloc agrees with Canada and the US.
US Legislators Criticize UN for Cholera Outbreak

July 06, 2016

A letter from 158 members of the US Congress criticizes the UN for refusing to accept responsibility for a massive cholera outbreak in Haiti beginning in 2010 and calls on the US State Department to place more pressure on UN officials to implement an appropriate response to the disaster.
UNESCO Analyzes Governance of Culture

July 01, 2016

A report recently released by UNESCO at the European Parliament sets out recommendations on the governance of "cultural expressions" and analyzes how culture interacts with the UN's "sustainable development" agenda.
Group Measures Progress on "Sustainability" Education

July 01, 2016

With support from UNESCO, the International Association for the Evaluation for Educational Achievement has launched the 2019 International Civic and Citizenship Education Study to measure progress on educating students around the world about the UN's sustainable development agenda.
NGO: China Meat Policy Furthers UN Climate Agenda

June 30, 2016

The nongovernmental organization WildAid is praising a Chinese policy calling for a reduction in the country's consumption of meat products for advancing the goals of the UN climate deal agreed last year.
UN Rapporteur Backs Private Security Standards

June 30, 2016

UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns, has published a report to the UN Human Rights Council outlining steps he says governments must take to abide by the global human rights agenda in hiring private contractors for security purposes.
UN Agent Warns of "Free Market Fundamentalism"

June 30, 2016

In a report on the dangers of "fundamentalism" to the rights of peaceful assembly and association, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, in particular identifies "the belief in the infallibility of free market economic policies" as an "urgent threat."
UN Agent Promotes Adolescents' Sexual Rights

June 29, 2016

UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Dainius Puras, has released a statement calling for governments to cease their interference in the "autonomous decisions" of adolescents and to provide them with "universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services," including abortion.
Syrian Groups Critique UN Aid Delivery

June 29, 2016

As conditions worsen for civilians in the resistance-held Syrian city of Aleppo, George Russell writes that Syrian aid organizations are increasingly blaming the UN for excessively deferring to the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad in determining which areas receive humanitarian supplies.
ILO Calls for Labor Intervention in Americas

June 29, 2016

Warning of an economic slowdown in Latin America, a report from the International Labour Organization calls on countries in the region to engage in more integrated "active labour market" interventions, such as employment subsidies, to boost jobs and productivity.