United Nations

UN Chief Combats Trend Toward "National Sovereignty Agenda"

August 07, 2017

In a speech in London in May, the UN's new Secretary-General António Guterres spotlighted factors including ecological and economic inequality issues as drivers of global conflict and warned that the global human rights agenda is ceding ground to the "national sovereignty agenda."
WHO Issues Global Guidance on Traffic Speed

August 04, 2017

In line with the UN agency's shift in focus from managing contagious diseases that cross national borders to giving guidance on an array of domestic policies, the World Health Organization (WHO) has published a report calling on governments to limit "excessive or inappropriate speed" on roadways to prevent traffic accidents and make cities more "liveable."
UN Institute Launches Course on Sustainable Energy

August 04, 2017

As part of the international organization's work toward advancing education on its comprehensive "sustainable development" agenda, the UN Institute for Training and Research has announced its launch of an online course on how developing countries can use renewable energy to further global sustainability targets.
UNESCO Supports Global Campaign on "Cyberbullying"

August 04, 2017

The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is supporting a "global campaign to address cyberbullying," defined as "mean, unwanted or embarrassing text messages, emails, pictures or videos" or "more subtle forms such as exclusion," to supplement its current work toward achieving the education targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
UN Launches Policy Guidance Body for Wetlands

August 04, 2017

The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recently announced the establishment of a "Global Blue Carbon Data Network" consisting of a network of regional centers created to share data on carbon emissions in wetland areas and to support integrating "blue carbon" policy into "local to national to international ocean and climate policy."
UN Official Enlists Cities in Climate Agenda

August 04, 2017

Reuters reports that Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Patricia Espinosa, citing the catastrophic future impacts of global warming on urban areas, has called on cities to be the main drivers of the UN's climate and "sustainable development" agendas.
UN Forestry Advice Aids SDG Alignment

August 03, 2017

New guidelines from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization press national governments to develop a "strong mechanism" for monitoring their forest resources to fight global warming and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
WHO Promotes Breastfeeding as Key to SDGs

August 03, 2017

The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling on national governments to increase investment in breastfeeding promotion programs in part to reach the targets under the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to nutrition, disease prevention, and cognitive development.
UN Event Touts Youth, Elderly Role in SDGs

August 03, 2017

The UN recently held an event highlighting the universal nature of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by pushing for "solidarity across generations" in involving people of all ages in implementing the comprehensive social and environmental agenda.
Report Spotlights UN Inability to Curb Sex Abuse

August 02, 2017

George Russell writes that a report from the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services reveals, years after reports of child sex abuse in the country rocked the UN system, the continued inability of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic to effectively monitor, record, or investigate allegations of sexual abuse by its peacekeepers.