United Nations

AI Seeks UN Global Governance on Conflict, Human Rights

February 25, 2015

Secretary General of Amnesty International ("AI") Salil Shetty writes that governments should cooperate to "unshackle" the UN by giving the organization the authority to more easily intervene in armed conflicts and in human rights violations around the world.
Ban Calls for Strengthened UN Mandate on "Transnational" Issues

February 25, 2015

Emphasizing that the UN Charter is a "living document," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for global cooperation on "transnational" issues including public health and climate change and has argued that UN pressure on countries' human rights issues has strengthened their sovereignty.
Mariaschin Criticizes UN's Heavy Focus on Israel

February 25, 2015

Daniel Mariaschin of B'nai B'rith International writes that the disproportionate focus of the UN General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council on Israel "marginalizes the United Nations as a reliable venue for conflict resolution" and is evidence of a "failed system."
HRW Criticizes World Bank Involvement in Ethiopia Project

February 25, 2015

Human Rights Watch ("HRW") has criticized the World Bank for what it deems to be an insufficient response to an internal investigation finding that a development project of the bank in Ethiopia resulted in the forced relocation of villagers.
UN Event Emphasizes Global Warming-Human Rights Link

February 19, 2015

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Mary Robinson Foundation recently hosted a "Climate Justice Dialogue" in which participants discussed how to push action countering global warming by emphasizing its effects on economic, social, and cultural rights.
UN Conference Produces Negotiating Text on Global Warming

February 18, 2015

A recent UN conference in Geneva concluded with an agreed-upon negotiating text for a binding international treaty seeking to counter climate change to be discussed at a Paris conference in late 2015.
UN Official Criticizes EU Search-and-Rescue Efforts

February 18, 2015

Following the death of at least 300 migrants attempting to reach Europe from Libya by boat, UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres warned that current search-and-rescue efforts by the EU are inadequate and called on the bloc to conduct more robust operations in the Mediterranean Sea.
UN Agencies Launch Health Reform Collaboration with China

February 18, 2015

The UN's World Bank Group and World Health Organization have announced cooperation with the Chinese Government to "deepen" system-wide health care reforms in China and "develop new models of health service delivery" in the country.
UN Agent Criticizes Pro-Private Education Policies

February 13, 2015

UN Special Rapporteur Kishore Singh has warned that African governments considering expanding private basic education systems in their countries would be endangering children's basic human rights by delegating education to the private sector.
Lawyer Resigns from UN Gaza Commission

February 11, 2015

Anne Bayefsky writes that the resignation, due to lack of impartiality, of international human rights lawyer William Schabas from a commission established to investigate "war crimes" allegedly instigated by Israel in Gaza "disgraces" the UN Human Rights Council apparatus.