United Nations

French Minister: UN Climate Deal Must Sidestep US Congress

June 08, 2015

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has stated that a UN global climate agreement countries are negotiating this year must be worded in such a way to avoid consideration by the US Congress because he says the body will refuse to adopt such a deal.
UN Committee Grants Group with Hamas Ties Observer Status

June 05, 2015

Fox News reports that the UN Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations has granted observer status to the Palestinian Return Centre, which critics and Israeli officials say is an arm of the Palestinian group Hamas that denies the right of Israel to exist.
UN Rights Observers Criticize Secrecy of Trade Pacts

June 05, 2015

A group of UN observers have called on countries negotiating multinational trade deals - such as the US - to conduct these negotiations transparently and with participation from civil society groups, arguing that secret discussions on such trade deals could violate citizens' economic, social, and cultural rights.
UN Agent Warns on Human Rights Impact of Greek Debt Deal

June 04, 2015

The UN Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky has called on the Government of Greece, European institutions, and the International Monetary Fund to come to a deal on Greece's repayment of debt that respects the economic and social rights of the Greek people.
Report: UN Food Program Lacked Spending Safeguards

June 04, 2015

George Russell reports that the UN World Food Program's ("WFP") Office of the Inspector General has found that the WFP lacked safeguards to prevent the use of money for specifically designated projects for other purposes.
UN Agent Raises Specter of Nazism in U.K. Bill of Rights Plans

June 03, 2015

The Telegraph reports that the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants François Crépeau has warned that Britain risks following the same road as Nazi Germany in the 1930s if it withdraws from the European Convention on Human Rights following the introduction of a U.K. Bill of Rights.
NGO Raises Questions over UN Sex Abuse Response

June 03, 2015

The New York Times reports that the nongovernmental organization AIDS-Free World has published documents indicating that the UN did not follow up with French authorities regarding allegations that French soldiers on a UN peacekeeping mission sexually abused children.
UN Office Calls for Abolition of Death Penalty in U.S.

June 03, 2015

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has congratulated the U.S. State of Nebraska for abolishing the death penalty and has called for the federal government to engage with states to implement a moratorium on the punishment as a step toward its abolition.
Letter: UN Sustainability Goals Discriminate Against Elderly

June 03, 2015

A letter signed by a group of ageing specialists has warned that the proposed UN Sustainable Development Goals include health-related targets that could encourage countries to focus attention on care for younger people at the expense of people over 70 years of age.
UNSC Calls for Increased Small Arms Regulation

June 03, 2015

The UN Security Council ("UNSC") has passed a resolution calling for greater regulation and monitoring in countries around the world of the transfer and production of "small arms and light weapons."