United Nations

UN Seeks Global Response Framework for Disasters

March 18, 2015

Participants at a UN conference in Sendai, Japan are calling for an increase in the commitment of countries around the world to provide financing for a framework for a global response to natural disasters.
NGOs Seek UN Monitor on Privacy

March 18, 2015

A group of nongovernmental organizations ("NGOs") have called on the UN Human Rights Council to create a new "special rapporteur" position charged with monitoring the right to privacy around the world.
Schaefer and Groves Warn Against UN Strategy for Iran Deal

March 13, 2015

Brett Schaefer and Steven Groves of the Heritage Foundation write that a reported strategy of the U.S. President to bypass Congress on an Iran nuclear deal by going through the UN Security Council would be "spectacularly naïve."
UNHRC Pushes Discussion on Human Rights and Climate Change

March 11, 2015

The UN Human Rights Council ("UNHRC") recently hosted a full-day event featuring UN officials, national government representatives, and activists seeking recognition that global warming violates human rights, particularly economic, social, and cultural rights, around the world.
Wirth Argues for Circumventing U.S. Congress on Climate Deal

March 11, 2015

Professor David Wirth of Boston College Law School has released a draft paper detailing how he asserts the U.S. President could implement a binding international climate agreement, to be negotiated at a UN conference in December 2015, without the approval of Congress.
UN Official: Climate Change Violates Human Rights

March 11, 2015

In recent remarks at the UN Human Rights Council, UN Deputy Commissioner for Human Rights Flavia Pansieri asserted that global warming violates economic, social, and cultural human rights such as "the rights to health, to food, to water and sanitation" and "to adequate housing."
UN Blames Climate Change for 87 Percent of Disasters

March 11, 2015

Ahead of the UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction Margareta Wahlström has claimed that climate change has caused 87 percent of deadly disasters that have occurred around the world over the past decade.
UN Continues Criticism of Gaza Blockade

March 11, 2015

Following the 2014 Gaza conflict, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has continued its criticism of Israel's blockade of the area, arguing that the blockade has "undermined" the future prospects of Palestinian recovery.
WHO Champions Policies Against Sugar Intake

March 11, 2015

The UN World Health Organization ("WHO") has called for countries around the world to implement policies aimed at reducing the consumption of "free sugars" in order to prevent obesity and tooth decay.
Groves: U.S. Should Oppose UN Autonomous Weapons Ban

March 11, 2015

Steven Groves of the Heritage Foundation writes that the U.S. Government should counter attempts of activists and UN officials to restrict development of "lethal autonomous weapons systems," which engage targets without human input, in order to maintain its lead in the creation of military technology.