United Nations

UN Committee Blames Israeli Settlements for Violence

August 12, 2015

A UN Special Committee charged with investigating Israeli practices affecting Palestinians has found that Israeli settlement practices are the "primary driver" of rising levels of violence in the region.
British MP Calls for UN Registration of Calais Migrants

August 11, 2015

British Member of Parliament ("MP") Yvette Cooper has called on Prime Minister David Cameron to invite the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to register people describing themselves as refugees who are attempting to gain access to a tunnel near Calais, France, to the UK and to place them in the asylum-seeking process.
Russia Submits North Pole Claim to UN Body

August 11, 2015

Based on what it says is scientific evidence of conditions under which it can gain exclusive control of the territory under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea ("UNCLOS"), the Russian government has submitted a petition claiming control of new territory, including the North Pole, to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.
SDGs Test US Role in Global Governance

August 06, 2015

Michael Igoe writes that once they garner more attention from the media and politicians, including US presidential candidates, the UN's Sustainable Development Goals ("SDGs"), which include targets in areas such as economic inequality and the climate, may produce a high-profile debate about the US role in supporting the SDGs and global governance.
UN Official Seeks Greater Integration of Rights in SDGs

August 05, 2015

A letter from UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein calls for governments to do more in the UN Sustainable Development Goals ("SDGs"), which set out targets for development to be achieved by 2030, to promote "economic, social, and cultural human rights" and to monitor the treatment of these rights.
UN Head Praises US President for Climate Measures

August 05, 2015

The office of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has praised US President Barack Obama for his "visionary leadership" in seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through measures that have produced controversy by sidestepping congressional approval.
UN Agency Analyzes "Big Data" from Smartphones

August 05, 2015

The UN Environment Programme ("UNEP") has announced the launch of a resource center called UNEP Live that will, among other things, analyze "big data" gathered from smartphones with satellite data to support government efforts to combat global warming and reduce air pollution.
Bolton: Iran Deal Undermines UNSC Veto

August 05, 2015

Former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton writes that the Iran nuclear deal subtly undermines the principle of the UN Security Council ("UNSC") veto, available to permanent members to block resolutions, by permitting a "snapback" in sanctions without a vote by the UNSC.
Activist Calls for Powerful UN System

August 05, 2015

Author and activist Tad Daley praises a report from the nongovernmental Commission on Global Security, Justice, and Governance for seeking to "reinvent" the UN system, but calls for further action to eliminate the veto on the use of UN Security Council power, to build a more popularly representative UN assembly, and to create a UN military force.
UN Agent Outlines "Human Right" to Environmental Protection

August 05, 2015

UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment John Knox writes that governments have "substantive obligations" to build legal frameworks to protect people against infringement of their "human right" to a healthy environment, and calls for countries to take human rights into account in negotiating a new UN climate accord later in 2015.