United Nations

UN Chief Seeks Trillions in Funding for SDGs

April 21, 2016

At a recent UN forum on development finance in New York, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for the mobilization of trillions of dollars annually, using the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on development as a "starting point," to fund the UN's comprehensive Sustainable Development Goals ("SDGs") for the year 2030.
UN Official Forms Coalition on Gender Pay Issues

April 21, 2016

In a press release, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka states that she is working to develop an international coalition that will press governments around the world to enact measures that close the "gender pay gap" through policies that provide pay for domestic work and the establishment of a "universal, free childcare system."
UN Agent: ISDS "Undermines" Democracy

April 21, 2016

UN Independent Expert Alfred de Zayas has called on countries to phase out the use of any "privatized or semi-privatized" dispute settlement, including the investor-state dispute settlement ("ISDS") system, in current and future trade agreements, asserting that these systems permit "predatory" investors and companies to "undermine" democracy and human rights.
US, China Push for Early Action on UN Climate Deal

April 20, 2016

The Guardian reports that, due to a late change to provisions in the UN climate deal negotiated in December that some of its parties did not notice, officials in the US and China are indicating that they plan to bring into force the agreement, which provides for restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions, as early as this year.
Resolution Seeks US Veto of UN Action on Palestine

April 20, 2016

Asserting that the UN "cannot be a truly neutral arbiter" of the conflict, a bipartisan resolution introduced in the US House of Representatives calls for the President to continue the longstanding practice of vetoing any UN Security Council resolution that seeks to impose a solution or timeline on the Israel-Palestine peace process.
Experts Urge Financial Pressure on UN to Counter Sex Abuse

April 20, 2016

George Russell writes that, as new reports of sex abuse by UN peacekeeping forces continue to come to light, some experts argued at a subcommittee hearing in the US House of Representatives that Congress must threaten to withhold funding until the UN approves a proper, independent investigation of the scandal.
UN Chief Sparks Criticism by Scrapping Reproductive Report

April 20, 2016

An article from C-Fam asserts that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's recent decision not to issue a "reproductive health" report will make it more difficult for observers to track UN spending on reproductive health efforts in the context of the UN's increased support for "sexual and reproductive health rights," often interpreted to include family planning and abortion.
UN Agents Call for Rights-based Drug Regime

April 20, 2016

On the eve of the UN General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem, a group of UN human rights observers have called on governments to adopt a more human rights-focused approach to drugs and to abandon drug policies that rely on enforcement through criminalization or embrace "the harmful concept of a 'drug-free world.'"
UN Rights Chief Warns of "Ugly" US Election Rhetoric

April 19, 2016

In recent remarks at Case Western Reserve University Law School, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein warned that the current US election campaign had conjured the “ugly phantom of racial and religious division” and indicated that the world would be closely monitoring the Republican Party's choice of candidate.
Newman: UN Sex Abuse Problem Lies in Contributing Countries

April 19, 2016

News presenter Cathy Newman writes that the UN cannot expect to solve the sex abuse scandal in its peacekeeping forces as long as it continues to accept troops from countries whose armies are guilty of "appalling" human rights abuses.