United Nations

Schaefer: U.S. Should Remain Outside UNIDO

November 05, 2014

Calling it "an ineffective organization without a clear, distinct mission," Brett Schaefer of the Heritage Foundation writes that the U.S. should not consider rejoining the UN Industrial Development Organization ("UNIDO").
UN Agent Condemns U.K. Search and Rescue Policy

November 05, 2014

UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants François Crépeau has called for a reversal of what he called the "appalling" policy of the U.K. to cease support for search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea out of concern that such missions encourage unsafe sea crossing attempts.
UN Report Predicts "Irreversible" Global Warming Impacts

November 05, 2014

A new report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns of "severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts" on the planet if governments do not begin transitioning to an economy of zero greenhouse gas emissions.
UNESCO Seeks Primary School Sex Education

November 05, 2014

The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Education ("UNESCO") has published an article calling for "comprehensive sexuality education" of children, including children in primary school who are 10-14 years old.
UN Pushes Binding Global Climate Agreement

November 05, 2014

The Hill reports that Director of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Christiana Figueres argues that the global climate accord to be negotiated at a conference in Paris next year should contain provisions that are internationally binding.
WHO Seeks Increased Tobacco Taxes

October 29, 2014

At a conference of parties to the World Health Organization's ("WHO") Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the WHO adopted a set of guidelines calling for countries around the world to increase their taxes on tobacco in order to discourage smoking.
Experts: U.S. Should Discourage Palestine UN Membership

October 29, 2014

In response to the renewal of Palestine's threat to apply for membership to 522 international organizations and statutes, Brett Schaefer and James Phillips of the Heritage Foundation write that the U.S. should maintain legal requirements de-funding any organization that accepts Palestine as a member state.
UN Agent Expresses Alarm Regarding Domestic Drone Use

October 29, 2014

UN Special Rapporteur Christof Heynes has criticized the use of armed drones by authorities in domestic law enforcement as a potential violation of citizens' human rights.
UN Human Rights Chief Calls for Increase in Budget

October 22, 2014

As the UN continues its expansion of the international human rights agenda, the UN's new High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein has bemoaned the limitations of his office's $250 million annual budget.
UN Agents Demand Restoration of Access to Water in Detroit

October 22, 2014

Two UN rapporteurs investigating whether the City of Detroit engaged in human rights violations in shutting off the water of customers who did not pay their bills have stated that the city must restore access to water in order to uphold these customers' "most basic human rights."