United Nations

UN Agent Calls for Lifting of Iran Sanctions

July 15, 2015

Arguing that current economic sanctions on Iran have caused violations of Iranians' human rights, including to food, health, and development, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and international sanctions Idriss Jazairy has praised the Iran nuclear deal and has called for the deal to lead to the immediate removal of sanctions on the country.
UN, World Bank Push "Universal Social Protection" in Development

July 14, 2015

The UN's International Labour Organization and World Bank have issued a joint statement calling for the proposed UN Sustainable Development Goals, setting goals for global development by the year 2030, to contain targets on social protection, including "adequate cash transfers for all who need them."
WHO Calls for Stronger Measures on "Tobacco Epidemic"

July 14, 2015

The UN's World Health Organization ("WHO") has published a report on the "global tobacco epidemic" calling on countries to increase taxes on tobacco products in order to curb demand and raise revenue.
UN, NGO Test Tool on Textbook Prejudice

July 14, 2015

The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization ("UNESCO") and King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue are convening a group of education experts to test a tool they say will assist educators in writing textbooks that are "free of stereotypes and prejudices about culture, religion and gender."
UNHRC Resolution Identifies Climate Change as Human Rights Issue

July 13, 2015

The website Responding to Climate Change has published an article praising the UN Human Rights Council's ("UNHRC") adoption of a resolution identifying global warming as an issue of human rights and calling for UNHRC consideration next year how climate change affects the human rights to "physical and mental health."
Article: UN Gaza Report Omits Law of War Principles

July 13, 2015

Professor Laurie Blank writes that by failing to point out in its report on the 2014 Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza that Palestinian militants have the duty under the law of war to distinguish themselves from civilians and remove civilians from the vicinity of military objectives, the UN has given Hamas a "free pass" to use such tactics in future conflicts with Israel.
Cruz Calls for US to Withdraw from UNHRC

July 10, 2015

Following a vote in which the UN Human Rights Council ("UNHRC") criticized Israel for civilian deaths in the 2014 Gaza conflict, US Senator and presidential candidate Ted Cruz has called on the US to "stop ceding moral authority" to the UNHRC and withdraw from the institution.
UN Agent Pushes US to Lift Trade Embargo Against Cuba

July 10, 2015

Praising the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and international sanctions Idriss Jazairy has called for the US to end the "adverse social, economic and humanitarian consequences" besetting the population of Cuba by ending its trade embargo on the country.
UN Official Highlights Ambitious "Sustainability" Agenda

July 09, 2015

Opening the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, President of the UN Economic and Social Council Martin Sajdik demonstrated the ambitious nature of the proposed UN Sustainable Development Goals, which include targets focused on the rule of law and "protection of the planet."
Economist Criticizes Proliferation of UN Development Goals

July 08, 2015

Economist Bibek Debroy has expressed concern that the UN's proposed Sustainable Development Goals, which will seek to guide global development policies for the next 15 years, are too broad and vague to be implemented and would be impossible to measure.