United Nations

ITU Chief Calls for "Big Data" Monitoring to Achieve SDGs

August 07, 2017

The Secretary-General of the UN's International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Houlin Zhao has pushed for the UN system to use "big data," ranging from satellite images to mobile phone data, to permit "evidence-based decision-making at national, regional and international levels" to support the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
UN Agent Targets Israel over Detention Policies

August 07, 2017

The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Palestinians in "occupied" territories, Michael Lynk, has warned Israel that its use of "administrative detention" violates international humanitarian and human rights law and that the government's force-feeding of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike "could amount to torture."
UN Office Hosts Regional Meeting on SDG Efforts

August 07, 2017

A meeting in May hosted by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific worked toward developing a "Regional Road Map for Implementing the 2030 Agenda," including by pushing government participants to cooperate on "sustainable energy," and toward establishing a "regional resource facility" on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
World Bank Launches Climate Forum for Finance Officials

August 07, 2017

In April, the World Bank held the first meeting of its Climate Action Peer Exchange, a forum in which international organizations and academics seek to persuade national finance ministers to adopt "climate-smart macroeconomic policies," such as imposing taxes on carbon emissions and eliminating fossil fuel subsidies, and to channel funding into climate-friendly projects.
UN Agents Demand Broad Policies for Transgender Minors

August 07, 2017

On the occasion of the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, a group of UN mandate holders issued a call for countries to protect the human rights of "trans and gender diverse" minors through such broad measures as creating "safe and affirming spaces," "depathologizing" such identities, and embracing "human diversity."
World Bank Funds Pacific Climate Change "Resilience"

August 07, 2017

As part of the global development bank's "Pacific Resilience Plan," under which it will fund "a broad range of climate resilient initiatives and investments" to Pacific Ocean countries, the World Bank has announced its approval of a grant to the Marshall Islands to improve the country's adaptation efforts to the future, catastrophic effects of global warming.
Schaefer: UN Produces Inadequate Whistleblower Policy

August 07, 2017

Brett Schaefer of the Heritage Foundation writes that UN Secretary-General António Guterres's whistleblower policy, announced earlier this year, fails to provide adequate protection for whistleblowers in the UN system because it does not refer to the possibility of external arbitration in cases of alleged retaliation against employees who point out improper conduct.
Schaefer: Enforce US Caps on UN Peacekeeping Funds

August 07, 2017

Brett Schaefer of the Heritage Foundation writes that the Trump Administration must enforce legal caps imposed by the US Congress in the 1990s on UN peacekeeping operations to help remedy its disproportionate contributions to the UN budget and to give other countries the incentive to provide stricter oversight of peacekeeping efforts.
UN Chief: Embed SDGs in "One Belt, One Road" Project

August 07, 2017

At a recent forum in Beijing, UN Secretary-General António Guterres sought to persuade officials from countries that are participating in China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative to embed the social and environmental principles from the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their work on the massive infrastructure project intended to connect Eurasia.
UN Agency Issues Climate Planning Guide for Agriculture

August 07, 2017

The UN Food and Agricultural Organization has released global guidelines on how governments should balance the nutritional and occupational needs of their citizens against the need to limit and adapt to global warming as they seek to fulfill their obligations under the UN's Paris climate agreement.