United Nations

FIFA, UN Agree Gender Equality Partnership

June 10, 2019

UN Women and the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) have signed a memorandum of understanding in which they agree to work together to ease access to soccer for women, to use sporting events to combat discrimination, and “to disseminate diverse sports content to promote gender equality.”
UN Official Labels US Abortion Restrictions “Torture”

June 05, 2019

In a recent interview, the UN’s Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kate Gilmore referred to new state restrictions on abortion in the US as “torture” and “gender-based violence against women.”
UN Commission Pushes Asia on SDG Contributions

June 05, 2019

The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, which the UN “informally” refers to as a “regional parliament,” focused its recent conference on the vast region’s contributions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and responses to the global “climate emergency.”
US Protests Venezuelan Leadership of UN Body

June 05, 2019

Fox News reports that US delegates recently left a meeting of the UN Conference on Disarmament to protest the assumption of the presidency of the body by Venezuela’s Maduro regime, arguing that “there is something fundamentally wrong” with conference procedures that allow such rights-violating governments to preside over UN business.
Schaefer Warns of Impact of US Bill on UN Funding

June 04, 2019

Brett Schaefer of the Heritage Foundation warns that a funding bill under consideration in the US Congress that, among other policies, overrides a cap on US payments for UN peacekeeping operations will undermine attempts by lawmakers and executive officials to reduce the US share of UN spending and save taxpayer dollars.
UNESCO: Digital Voice Assistants Highlight Tech Bias Against Women

June 03, 2019

A recent publication from the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) argues that the “gendered submissiveness and servility” of digital voice assistants with female voices illustrates bias in the tech industry and calls for, among other changes, discouragement by such “assistants” of “gender-based insults and abusive language.”
US Prompts UNSC Change in Sexual Violence Resolution

May 30, 2019

Stefano Gennarini of the Center for Family & Human Rights reports on the recent US veto threat at the UN Security Council (UNSC) that prompted the removal from a resolution on sexual violence in conflict of references to abortion and “sexual and reproductive health” rights.
UN Launches Youth Alliance to Further Environmental Agenda

May 30, 2019

The UN Environment Programme has launched a Youth and Education Alliance (YEA!) that includes an initiative “to integrate environmental education into university curricula around the world” and to work with “youth movements” to inculcate environmentally friendly values in children.
Luxembourg Supports UN Network on SDG Finance

May 30, 2019

The Government of Luxembourg has agreed with the UN Environment Programme to fund an International Network of Financial Centres for Sustainability that seeks to funnel investments into projects aimed at achieving the comprehensive UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Corporations Participate in NGO Labor Reporting Initiative

May 30, 2019

The nongovernmental organization ShareAction, through its Workforce Disclosure Initiative, has analyzed data reported from 90 companies on their labor forces and supply chains in a push for investors to consider social impacts when deciding where to place their money.