United Nations

Israel Joins US in Withdrawal from UNESCO

January 09, 2018

Noa Landau reports that Israel has announced its decision to join the US in withdrawing from the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), asserting that many of the international organization's decisions were "polluting its noble basic values with politicization and diplomatic terror that sometimes bordered on anti-Semitism."
UN Agent Blames Venezuelans' Suffering on Foreign Sanctions

January 09, 2018

UN Independent Expert Alfred de Zayas has praised the government of Venezuela for releasing some of its political prisoners and called on "all men and women of goodwill" to help relieve problems in the country "resulting in part from sanctions and boycotts against Venezuela that have only aggravated the suffering being endured by Venezuelans of all social classes."
UN Mandate Holder Criticizes Polish Judicial Changes

January 09, 2018

UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Diego García-Sayán has published a statement characterizing Poland's most recent judicial reforms - some of which give political officials the authority to remove judges - as "a vicious attempt to place the whole judicial system under the control of the executive and legislative branches."
UN Agent Cautions US Court on Implications of Privacy Case

January 09, 2018

UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy Joseph Cannataci recently submitted a brief to the US Supreme Court in a case involving the validity of a search warrant demanding information stored in an Irish data center, advising it that the Court should issue a narrow ruling to avoid "unintended but adverse implications for the protection of the right to privacy worldwide."
UN Agent Critiques Peruvian Road-Building Bill

January 08, 2018

UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples Victoria Tauli-Corpuz has warned that Peru may be threatening the "fundamental human rights of isolated indigenous peoples" through legislation promoting road-building in remote jungle areas of the country.
US Negotiates UN Budget Decrease

January 08, 2018

AP reports that the US government has taken credit for the negotiation of a decrease of more than $285 million in the UN's 2018-2019 budget.
UNESCO Reports on Promotion of "Diversity" in Culture

January 08, 2018

The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recently launched a report on its monitoring of global compliance with the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, calling for greater diversion of development funding into programs that promote "cultural expression."
UNESCO Seeks Advice on Measuring "Culture" in SDGs

January 08, 2018

The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) convened a meeting of academics and other "high-level experts" in December to determine how to measure "culture" as a component of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
UN Agencies Use Satellites to Monitor SDG Progress

January 08, 2018

The UN Office for Outer Space Affairs and the UN Development Programme have committed to a closer partnership on using space technology, including "satellite imagery and analysis," to advance the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
UN Agent Criticizes US on Economic Inequality

January 08, 2018

After an official visit to several US states, UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Philip Alston warned that the US has failed people in poverty and asserted that new policies under the Trump Administration reforming the tax and welfare systems will "shred crucial dimensions of a safety net that is already full of holes."