United Nations

Academic Calls for UN Ocean Biodiversity Treaty

May 05, 2016

Jessica Green of New York University writes that ocean biodiversity preservation requires that countries agree to a wide-ranging, binding UN treaty creating marine protected areas and requiring environmental impact assessments for commercial activity on the high seas, and potentially requiring the sharing of benefits of "marine genetic resources" among all countries.
UN Agents Scrutinize Access to Water in Michigan

May 04, 2016

AP reports that a group of UN human rights officials who visited Flint, Michigan, to investigate the city's water crisis have warned of potential violations of the human right to water and have alleged that racism played a role in the failure to quickly resolve the crisis.
UN Rights Chief, FRA Highlight Shared Program

May 04, 2016

During a visit by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, representatives of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights ("FRA") described how the FRA seeks to square its work with the UN's expansive human rights agenda, including by implementing the UN's disability rights convention and influencing legislative proposals on migration.
ILO Calls for Action on "Workplace Stress"

May 04, 2016

The UN's International Labour Organization ("ILO") has released a report calling for national policies and other actions to reduce stress in the workplace and linking the "mental and psychological wellbeing" of workers with government pledges under the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
UN Agent Seeks New Food Framework in Poland

May 04, 2016

UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food Hilal Elver has called on Poland to revamp its "legislative framework" to uphold the human right to food, reduce childhood obesity, counter climate change, and support "small holders and family farming."
Regional UN Committee Furthers Ocean Governance

May 04, 2016

The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization ("UNESCO") recently hosted a regional meeting whose aim was, through a 2016-2018 work plan, to "revitalize" collaboration on science, governance, and climate change among governments with regard to the Central Indian Ocean.
Resolutions Seek Expansive UN Peacekeeping Role

May 02, 2016

The UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly have adopted concurrent resolutions that call for a more comprehensive UN role in peacekeeping, including by encouraging more robust UN efforts in the conflict prevention process and pushing UN officials to work with a wider range of agencies and nongovernmental organizations in peacekeeping operations around the world.
UN Adopts New Framework on "Global Drug Control System"

May 02, 2016

At the recent UN General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem, the 193-member body adopted a new framework on combating drug-related problems that claimed as its central purpose to promote health and human rights in drug policy, balancing out a criminal justice approach.
China Touts "Green Finance" to Achieve UN Commitments

May 02, 2016

China's official press agency Xinhua has reported that the Chinese Government is seeking to implement the commitments it made under the UN climate agreement it signed in April in part by developing a wide-ranging system of "green finance," through bonds and development funds, to fund the country's transition to a low-carbon economy.
World Bank, IMF Pressure Governments on Carbon Tax

May 02, 2016

The New York Times reports that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund ("IMF"), using "economic leverage" and the World Bank's Carbon Finance Unit for support, are pushing governments to adopt taxes on businesses for their greenhouse gas emissions in order to counter climate change.