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UN Rights Chief Warns Against Israeli Settlement Bill
December 21, 2016
Referring to Israeli settlements as "the principal cause of a wide range of human rights violations inside the occupied West Bank," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein has warned that Israeli legislation under consideration in the legislature that would retroactively legalize such settlements is contrary to international law.
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Academic: Reduce Discretion in Global Refugee System
December 21, 2016
In a paper following up on the UN General Assembly’s High-Level Meeting on Refugees and Migrants in September, Professor James Milner of Carleton University calls for governments to replace the current "discretionary" system of resettling refugees with a more "predictable" and "equitable" system that would require countries to share refugee responsibilities.
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EU Pushes Global Court for Investment Disputes
December 20, 2016
The European Commission has announced that, under pressure from activists for including ad hoc investment tribunals in its trade agreements, it is engaged in talks with the Canadian government and other stakeholders to establish a permanent "Multilateral Investment Court" that would decide transnational investment disputes across the globe.
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WHO Advances Campaign on "Universal Health Coverage"
December 20, 2016
As part of its campaign pressuring governments to provide "universal health coverage," and in line with health pledges set under the UN's comprehensive Sustainable Development Goals, the UN's World Health Organization has launched a global data portal through which it will provide information on access to healthcare.
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UNESCO Releases Military Manual on "Cultural Objects"
December 20, 2016
A recent high-level panel hosted by the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) resulted in the launch of a Military Manual on Protection of Cultural Property, containing global standards for armed forces "on identifying, moving and preserving cultural objects during military operations."