United Nations

UNGA Expands Recognition of Palestinian Procedural Rights

December 05, 2018

Voice of America reports that, in October, the UN General Assembly voted to allow Palestine to operate more like a member state on procedural matters in the body beginning in 2019, raising pressure among US institutions to respond to the UN’s divergence from US policy opposing recognition of a Palestinian state.
Experts Call for US Aid Allocation on Basis of UN Voting Records

December 04, 2018

Brett Schaefer and Anthony Kim of the Heritage Foundation call on the US Congress to pass legislation requiring the US government to consider whether countries are voting with or against the US in the UN General Assembly as a key factor in allocating foreign aid.
UN Climate Report Indicates Strict Deadlines for Carbon Neutrality

December 04, 2018

The UN Inter-governmental Panel for Climate Change published a report in September indicating that, in order to achieve the targets set out in the UN’s Paris climate accord, the world must become carbon neutral by the year 2050, with a peak in carbon emissions in 2020.
UNESCO Launches Global Exhibition on Sexuality Education

December 04, 2018

In September, the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) launched a new campaign promoting “comprehensive sexuality education” for children across the globe, including a Foundation for Life and Love exhibition seeking to show how children must learn about “sexual and reproductive health issues” in an educational setting.
UN, Boston College Seek to "Mobilize Society" with Pollution Observatory

December 03, 2018

The UN Environment Programme and Boston College have jointly established a Global Observatory on Pollution and Health to report on public policy related to pollution and “mobilize society to see pollution as a serious threat.”
UN Agency Blames Worsening Hunger on Climate Change

December 03, 2018

In September, the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization published a report asserting that global warming has become one of the leading causes of increasing hunger around the world and calling for coordinated international action to stem the phenomenon’s ongoing catastrophic impacts.
UN Agent: Blockades Violate Human Rights

December 03, 2018

UN Special Rapporteur on the effect of sanctions on human rights Idriss Jazairy recently warned that blockades of countries and regions violate rights, as they represent a form of “collective punishment” of civilians, and cited Iran, Syria, Gaza, and potentially Venezuela as possible victim countries of such blockades.
UN Works Toward Global Treaty on Marine Protection

November 30, 2018

Scientific American reports on efforts by the UN to extend its Convention on the Law of the Sea to provide global, legally binding protections for marine life from overfishing and to expand marine protected areas.
UN Agents Condemn Israeli Ruling on Bedouin Village

November 30, 2018

In September, UN observers on human rights issues released a statement describing the “appalling” nature of an Israel High Court decision permitting the Israeli government to demolish a Palestinian Bedouin village, arguing the decision contravenes international human rights law and amounts to a “war crime.”
UN Observers Warn of "Regression" on Abortion Rights

November 30, 2018

In September, a group of UN human rights mandate holders called on national governments to respect “international human rights norms” by allowing access to “safe and legal abortion” to protect women from a wide range of human rights abuses - including the violation of women’s rights against “torture and ill treatment.”