Transnational Bodies

Schaefer Praises Draft Orders on Multilateral Funding

February 16, 2017

Brett Schaefer of the Heritage Foundation has published an article exploring the potential positive impacts of two draft US executive orders on evaluating and reducing funding for international organizations, including an increase in efficiency at such organizations and a more appropriate balance of funding for such entities between the US and other countries.
OSCE Official Warns US on Reporter Arrests

February 03, 2017

Connecting the arrests to general "threats" from the Trump Administration toward the media, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović called on local authorities to uphold international free speech obligations when trying two reporters for "inciting a riot" during Trump inauguration protests.
Draft US Orders Target Multilateral Funding, Treaties

January 30, 2017

The New York Times reports that the Trump Administration is considering two draft executive orders that would reduce US funding toward international organizations and initiate a review of treaties involving more than two countries from which the US should withdraw.
OSCE Official Criticizes Hungary's Migrant Detention Plans

January 27, 2017

Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s human rights committee Ignacio Sanchez Amor has asserted that the Hungarian government's proposal to detain asylum seekers for the duration of their application process threatens a violation of global human rights norms.
WEF Forms Ocean "Sustainability" Partnership

January 26, 2017

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has announced a new partnership with the University of California Santa Barbara’s Marine Science Institute to engage scientists on how to contribute to "ocean change" to fulfill marine-related provisions of the UN's comprehensive Sustainable Development Goals.
WEF Panel: Go Beyond COP21 Pledges

January 26, 2017

Participants on a panel at the 2017 World Economic Forum (WEF) called for governments to go beyond their commitments from the UN climate deal agreed in Paris in 2015 (COP21) to fight climate change, including by agreeing to "retrofit for greater energy efficiency every building in every community in the world."
OSCE Report Seeks Expansive US Electoral Reforms

January 25, 2017

In its final report on the US elections in November 2016, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights called for a litany of changes to the country's electoral process to bring it in line with international standards, including by expanding representation in overseas territories and reviewing voting restrictions for those with criminal convictions.
Countries Call on OECD to Monitor Health Systems

January 25, 2017

At a recent meeting in Paris, government health ministers from countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) called on the OECD to create new methods for monitoring the performance of their health systems, in order to pave the way for the international organization to recommend reforms to their national health policies.
US Initiates Withdrawal from TPP

January 25, 2017

In a blow to the multilateral trade agreement negotiated by the Obama Administration, US President Donald Trump has directed the US Trade Representative to withdraw the country as a signatory to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement negotiated with 11 other governments.
WEF Signs Businesses to Sustainability Compact

January 25, 2017

At its recent meeting in Davos, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum (WEF) released a document for signature by all participants called The Compact for Responsive and Responsible Leadership to commit business leaders to a "corporate governance framework" embedding the UN's sustainable development agenda in company operations.