United Nations

Uncertainty on US Clouds UN Climate Meeting

May 10, 2017

AFP reports that uncertainty regarding future US participation in a global climate change deal agreed in Paris in 2017 has dampened enthusiasm at the opening of an ongoing UN meeting in Bonn aimed at working out a worldwide "rulebook" for the Paris agreement that would bind signatories closer to global climate policy.
UN Agent Pressures Indonesia on "Right to Health"

May 08, 2017

The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health Dainius Pūras has called on Indonesia to invest more in its efforts to achieve an "equitable and sustainable healthcare system based on universal health coverage" and called for the government to strengthen "sexual and reproductive health rights," often interpreted to include a right to abortion.
UN Rights Observer Objects to Obamacare Repeal

May 03, 2017

The Hill reports that a private letter from the UN human rights office to the US State Department voices the concerns of UN Special Rapporteur Dainius Puras that the repeal of the Obama Administration's signature health law could violate the human rights of almost 30 million Americans to health and social security.
UN Forum Calls for Global Financial System to Align with SDGs

April 26, 2017

At a recent UN event on funding for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UN officials expressed their desire for “bold measures to overhaul global finance practices” to ensure funding for the SDGs and take advantage of public and private sources, including “pension funds and the insurance sector.”
UN and World Bank Sign Compact for Greater Collaboration

April 26, 2017

The UN and the World Bank have agreed to a new framework to increase collaboration—especially in relation to conflict prevention and management—between the two international organizations by aligning activities and resources.
UN Chief Calls for More Spending on Conflict Prevention

April 26, 2017

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has argued for increased international investment toward conflict-prevention by strengthening States, institutions, and civil society due to failures in “traditional” development aid to sufficiently address the fragility that leads to conflict.
UN Envoy Urges More Global Child Intervention

April 26, 2017

UN Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown has called for greater protections for vulnerable children in conflict zones and developing nations via increased international law protections for children and by increased funding for the UN-backed International Finance Facility for Education.
ILO Workers: Governments Should Protect Rights in ‘Gig Economy’

April 19, 2017

Janine Berg and Valerio De Stefano of the UN’s International Labour Organisation have argued that traditional government labour protections should be applied to workers who obtain platform-based work such as that found via mobile phone apps like Uber.
UNESCO Analysis Shows SDG Impact on School Policies

April 19, 2017

UNESCO has released an analysis of national education practices showing significant progress in the incorporation of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on Education into national education policies to promote “international understanding” and “human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
UN Report Urges Increased Funding to Reach SDGs for Water

April 19, 2017

A new UN report has called on countries to “‘radically’ increase investments in water and sanitation infrastructure” in order to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include “universal access to safely managed water and sanitation services by 2030.”