United Nations

UNGA Adopts Sustainable Development Goals

September 28, 2015

The UN General Assembly ("UNGA") has voted to adopt the international organization's Sustainable Development Goals, a comprehensive and wide-ranging set of targets for countries "to wipe out poverty, fight inequality and tackle climate change" by the year 2030.
CFR Explains Sustainable Development Goals, Critiques

September 25, 2015

The Council on Foreign Relations ("CFR") has released a backgrounder describing the comprehensive and ambitious agenda of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ("SDGs"), to be adopted by countries in late September, and explaining the arguments of critics who say the unrealistic and voluminous nature of the goals will hamper their fulfillment.
Article Warns of UN Body's "Dangerous" Vision for Internet

September 25, 2015

Caitlin Dewey of The Washington Post writes that a report from the UN's Broadband Commission for Digital Development seeks a "dangerous" and "radical" new direction for the internet in which governments reduce online harassment by only agreeing to "license" social networks that pledge to proactively police posts from users.
Murray: UN Should Adopt "Proven" Development Strategies

September 23, 2015

Highlighting the "ambitious" and counterproductive agenda of the current UN Sustainable Development Goals, Iain Murray of the Competitive Enterprise Institute argues for the adoption of "realistic" goals that offer a "proven path to prosperity," such as protecting property rights and advancing the rule of law.
Groves: US Senate Must Have Say on UN Climate Agreement

September 23, 2015

Steven Groves of the Heritage Foundation writes that under the US Constitution's treaty clause, the President must submit to the Senate any protocol on countering climate change to which the US agrees at a UN conference in Paris later this year, given any such agreement's wide-ranging domestic implications.
UN Agent Assesses "Human Rights" Impact of Sanctions

September 23, 2015

UN Independent Expert on human rights and international sanctions Idriss Jazairy has called for an assessment of the effects of international sanctions on the enjoyment of "human rights" - a term often used by the UN to refer to economic, social, and cultural rights - of people living under the targeted regimes.
UN Appointee: Trade Agreements Conflict with Human Rights Law

September 23, 2015

In a recent report, UN Independent Expert Alfred de Zayas calls for national leaders to perform human rights impact assessments before and after adopting multilateral investment treaties and pushes for a UN conference to amend these treaties to take into account international human rights law.
US Defunds UN Agency over Whistleblower Issues

September 23, 2015

George Russell writes that the US State Department has removed its funding from the World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO") over allegations that the leadership of the UN agency has retaliated against whistleblowers and has failed to meet ethical standards.
Saudi Appointment to UNHRC Post Draws Condemnation

September 21, 2015

The nongovernmental organization UN Watch has criticized the selection by the Asian regional group at the UN Human Rights Council ("UNHRC") of a diplomat from Saudi Arabia, a country often criticized for its human rights violations, to head up the UNHRC's Consultative Group, which recommends appointments of human rights investigators.
US Adopts Term "Sexual Rights" for Use at UN

September 18, 2015

While cautioning that the US does not recognize the term as a concept enshrined in international human rights law, Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Richard Erdman recently announced at a meeting of UN Women that the US will adopt the term "sexual rights" - often interpreted in the international community to include abortion - in discussions on rights and development.