United Nations

Professor Criticizes India’s SDG Report

August 02, 2017

Visiting Professor at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs W.P.S. Sidhu has criticized India’s recent "voluntary national report" to the UN on the country's implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), arguing that India failed to make “a convincing case of leading the world on SDGs” and should more deliberately incorporate the goals in national policy.
UNESCO Event Pushes Urban Action on SDGs

August 02, 2017

UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General Irina Bokova met with UN and Italian officials in Fabriano, Italy - one of 116 UNESCO “Creative Cities” - to highlight the role cities must play in the localized implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
African Initiative Guides National SDG Education Strategies

August 02, 2017

The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recently announced the meeting of a "Regional Coordination Group" for West and Central Africa to develop ideas and resources for implementing education targets in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the region by guiding national education planning and teacher standards.
Honduras Resists UN Pressure on Abortion Laws

August 01, 2017

The nongovernmental organization C-Fam has reported that, in the face of pressure from UN human rights mandate holders to recognize what they said are internationally recognized "sexual and reproductive health rights," the Honduran Congress ruled out a reform of the country's penal code to decriminalize certain types of abortion.
UN Agents Seek Loosening of Abortion Law in El Salvador

August 01, 2017

As part of the UN human rights apparatus's pressure in favor of "sexual and reproductive health rights," a group of UN human rights mandate holders recently called on the Congress of El Salvador to revise the country's penal code in line with "international human rights standards" to decriminalize abortion in certain circumstances.
UNESCO Body Sides Against Privatized Education

August 01, 2017

In a recent panel description, UNESCO's International Institute for Educational Planning says Stanford researcher Dr. Frank Adamson "set the record straight" on how “market-based approaches” to education financing result in poorer outcomes and greater educational inequality than publicly funded schools.
New ECOSOC Chief Prioritizes SDGs

August 01, 2017

Marie Chatardová, the newly elected President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), has announced that she will focus ECOSOC's efforts during her term on achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the international organization's comprehensive wishlist for social and environmental policy around the world.
HRW Criticizes UNESCO for Saudi NGO Forum

July 31, 2017

Adam Coogle of the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Human Rights Watch writes that the decision by the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to host its International Forum of NGOs in Saudi Arabia is a "slap in the face" of human rights activists in the country jailed for allegedly violating its extremely restrictive NGO laws.
Paper Considers Impacts of US Funding Cuts on UN

July 31, 2017

A paper from the Brookings Institution analyzes the potential budget impacts of US funding cuts for parts of the UN system and argues that the amount of future US funding for the organization depends on "how much responsibility does it want to take on in shaping the world’s new normal."
Israel Withholds Funding from UNESCO

July 31, 2017

AP reports that Israel has announced that it is withholding $1 million in funding for the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) following the adoption of a UNESCO resolution that, according to the Israeli government, diminishes the ties of the Jewish people to Jerusalem.