United Nations

UN Summit Concludes with Pledge of Climate "Rulebook"

December 06, 2016

The recent UN climate change summit in Marrakesh, Morocco, ended with governments promising to support the development of a global "rulebook" by 2018 to guide their policies in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and with nongovernmental organizations warning of insufficient redistribution of "climate finance" to poor countries.
UN Calls for Agriculture-Focused "Climate Finance"

December 06, 2016

Officials from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Bank expressed concern at the recent UN climate summit in Marrakesh, Morocco, regarding the difficulty of reaching a deal with developed countries to redistribute more financing to agricultural systems in poor countries that will adapt to the future impacts of global warming.
UN Body Seeks Lower Bar for "Customary" Law

December 05, 2016

Stefano Gennarini reports that US officials and others are warning against an attempt by the UN's International Law Commission to loosen the definition of "customary international law" to bind states to transnational legal principles that are not universally accepted or practiced.
ILO, Russia Sign Deal on Labor, "Social Protection"

December 02, 2016

The UN's International Labour Organization and the Russian government have signed a Programme of Cooperation for 2017-2020 under which Russian authorities have agreed to expand "social protection" schemes and promote global labor standards in their country.
UN Agent: Australia's Migrant Detention Violates Rights

December 02, 2016

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that UN special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Francois Crepeau, has accused Australia of "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" in violation of its international human rights obligations in taking a "punitive" approach, including detention, to unauthorized migrants reaching the country by boat.
Schaefer Lists US Priorities on International Organizations

December 02, 2016

Brett Schaefer of the Heritage Foundation has published an article listing eleven priorities with regard to the UN for the new US Administration to take in its first year, including withdrawing from the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
UN Rights Chief: Leaving ICC Is "Betrayal"

December 01, 2016

In his remarks to the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) after three states announced their withdrawal from the body, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein called on remaining countries not to "betray the victims" by avoiding "criminal accountability" from the global court.
UN Agent Finds US Rights Violations of Pipeline Protestors

December 01, 2016

UN Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai has called for a halt to some of the construction activity for the Dakota Access Pipeline based on his finding that the North Dakota National Guard and other law enforcement officials have used "unjustified force" against people protesting the project and has detained some of them in "inhuman and degrading conditions."
Countries Meet to Agree UN Climate Rules

December 01, 2016

At the opening of the UN's recent climate summit in Marrakesh, Morocco, where national and international officials negotiated rules under which they would implement the Paris climate deal and fund poor countries for climate "adaptation" efforts, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other UN officials called for more ambition among world leaders to counter global warming.
UN Uses Urban Initiatives to Advance Climate Agenda

November 30, 2016

Officials participating in the recent UN climate summit in Marrakesh, Morocco, highlighted transnational urban initiatives, such as the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy and a tool launched at the conference that observers will use to monitor cities' climate "adaptation commitments," established to fulfill the UN's "sustainability" agenda.