United Nations

UNESCO Seeks "Indicator" for Education Monitoring

March 30, 2017

The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has published an article calling for the development of a global "flagship indicator" permitting international observers to determine whether countries are on track to fulfill provisions of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to education.
UN, EU Issue "Roadmap" on Global Maritime Planning

March 30, 2017

UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the European Commission's maritime and fisheries agency have issued a "joint roadmap" promoting worldwide use of the practice of "maritime spatial planning" as a tool of global governance of maritime areas.
UNESCO Seeks "Community-Based" Sustainability Learning

March 30, 2017

The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning has published a policy brief to guide local and national governments on how to use "community-based learning" strategies to promote the UN's "sustainable development" agenda.
NATO Commander Knocks Proposed UN Nuclear Weapons Ban

March 30, 2017

In recent congressional testimony, US Army General and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Curtis Scaparrotti called a proposed UN treaty banning nuclear weapons “not realistic” amid threats from North Korea and Russia, a day after the US and other nations announced they would not participate in treaty negotiations.
UN Agent Pushes Global Funding for “Water Rights”

March 30, 2017

UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to water and sanitation Léo Heller called on governments to direct sufficient funding toward development cooperation in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to ensure that all citizens enjoy the human rights to “safe drinking water and sanitation.”
UN Rights Adviser Predicts Downfall of Trump

March 29, 2017

In a recent interview, member of the Advisory Committee to the UN Human Rights Council Jean Ziegler asserted that US President Donald Trump will not serve a full term in office, due either to "psychiatric problems" or a "moral insurrection" of the American people that will place too much pressure on the Administration to continue to govern.
US Pressures UN Commission on "Sexual Rights"

March 29, 2017

The Center for Family & Human Rights (C-Fam) reports that, under pressure from the US delegation, the UN Commission on the Status of Women removed references within its "Agreed Conclusions" to a right to abortion and qualified all appearances of the term "sexual and reproductive health" to make clear it does not refer to abortion practices.
UN Women's Commission Asserts Need for "Empowerment"

March 29, 2017

The "Agreed Conclusions" of a recent meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women call on governments to enforce a wide array of rights, including to social protection and "equal pay," intended to promote the broad principle of "women’s empowerment" and help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
UN Hosts Talks on Global Nuclear Weapons Ban

March 28, 2017

AFP reports that over 100 UN member countries have launched the first-ever UN talks on imposing a global treaty ban on nuclear weapons, amid concerns that negotiations over the treaty would hamper cooperation to respond to nuclear threats and stall progress toward ongoing disarmament efforts.
US Qualifies Position on Environmental Rights at UNHRC

March 28, 2017

At a recent UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) discussion on "human rights and the environment," the US delegation to the UNHRC agreed with a consensus of states on the importance of protecting the environment but expressed concerns about the inclusion of environmental protection and development in the human rights context.