United Nations

UNHRC Prioritizes "Right to Development" Through SDGs

April 11, 2018

Maria Smirnova of the University of Manchester outlines how the apparatus of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is pushing for the "mainstreaming" of the human rights agenda in the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), based on a growing institutional prioritization of the "human right to development."
German Official Calls for Bolstered UN Role

April 09, 2018

Deutsche Welle reports on statements from German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas as his government lobbies for a seat on the UN Security Council (UNSC), calling for "more United Nations" as the world deals with dangerous crises and telling Caribbean representatives that a major German priority on the UNSC will be limiting climate change.
US Plans Limits to UN Peacekeeping Contributions

April 09, 2018

AP reports that US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has informed the UN Security Council the US will no longer pay more than 25% of the UN peacekeeping budget, pushing for all other countries to help shoulder the burden of the international organization's peacekeeping responsibilities.
UN Chief Prioritizes Climate as "Most Systemic" Global Threat

April 03, 2018

The New York Times reports that, in recent remarks, UN Secretary-General António Guterres identified climate change as "the most systemic threat to humankind" and referred to plans to host a 2019 summit to press governments to raise the emissions reduction targets they pledged in the 2015 UN Paris climate accord.
Australia Pledges to Improve Rights Situation

March 30, 2018

The Guardian reports that, upon taking its seat at the UN Human Rights Council, the Government of Australia pledged to improve its human rights situation "in a spirit of self-reflection" in light of a litany of criticisms from UN rights observers over Australia's refugee-processing policies and treatment of Indigenous peoples.
UN Rights Chief Wades into Political Dispute with Hungarian PM

March 30, 2018

AP reports that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein has entered into a public dispute with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, accusing the national leader of "stoking hatred for political profit" and employing "increasingly delusional" racial speech.
Global Narcotics Board Calls for Treatment-focused Drug Policy

March 30, 2018

The UN-backed International Narcotics Control Board has issued a report calling on national governments to focus on drug treatment and rehabilitation rather than prevention in their fight against harmful drugs, asserting that governments have an obligation to provide access to treatment as part of their citizens' right to physical and mental health.
UN Chief: SDGs Contribute to "Fair" Globalization

March 30, 2018

In a speech in Seoul, South Korea, UN Secretary-General António Guterres presented the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the blueprint for a "fair" globalization that combats economic inequality around the world and implements the UN's agenda on climate change.
EC Reports on Urban Development Efforts

March 30, 2018

The European Commission (EC) issued a report at the UN's World Urban Forum detailing their progress in meeting their sustainable urban development goals, including developing action plans to enact priorities from the UN agendas on climate and development.
UN Program Launches All-Encompassing Anti-Discrimination Campaign

March 29, 2018

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS marked "Zero Discrimination Day" with a global campaign seeking to stamp out all forms of public and private discrimination based on "HIV status, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, race, ethnicity, language, geographical location or migrant status," or any other characteristic.