United Nations

Observer Criticizes Lack of UN Remedy for Refugee Poisoning

March 14, 2019

Highlighting a pattern of UN inertia preventing or delaying remedies for alleged harm caused by peacekeeping operations, the UN Special Rapporteur on hazardous substances and wastes Baskut Tuncak has criticized the international organization for failing to compensate ethnic Roma victims for illness caused by polluted water in UN-built refugee camps in Kosovo.
UN Report: Environmental Status Quo Will Kill Millions

March 14, 2019

The Washington Post reports that the UN Environment Programme’s Global Environment Outlook calls for “unprecedented action” to halt environmental degradation and save millions of lives from air and water pollution through such measures as “mainstreaming” environmental factors in a vast array of social and economic decisions.
WHO Reforms Target Action on Broad Range of Health Policies

March 14, 2019

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a set of far-reaching reforms geared toward helping the UN agency, in part, target health issues traditionally reserved for governments and society, such as the implementation of “universal health coverage” and the enjoyment of “better health and well-being.”
UN Fund Pays Brazil $96 Million to Reward Climate Action

March 07, 2019

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) Green Climate Fund has approved a $96 million payout to Brazil for reducing deforestation within its territory as part of a “REDD-plus” results-based payments system aimed at redistributing funds to reward countries for complying with the UNFCCC’s agenda on combating climate change.
UNESCO Initiative Promotes Policies on “Positive Masculinities”

March 06, 2019

A UNESCO-convened group representing Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean recently approved an Interregional Roadmap for the UNESCO Global Initiative on Masculinities, with the ultimate goal of producing global recommendations for public policy promoting “positive masculinities” to achieve gender equality.
Mchangama: UN Chief Is Misguided on “Hate Speech” Plan

March 05, 2019

Jacob Mchangama of the think tank Justitia warns that the UN Secretary-General’s preparations for a “global plan of action” on countering hate speech could encourage a vigorous suppression of political speech by authoritarian and other governments and lead to a “less safe, tolerant, and free” world.
Israel Criticizes UN Report on Palestinian Deaths

March 05, 2019

Ben Evansky reports that the Israeli government has criticized as biased and a waste of resources a report from a UN Independent Commission of Inquiry calling for investigations by international justice mechanisms into alleged “war crimes” committed by Israeli forces against Palestinian demonstrators in 2018.
UN Conference Seeks to Combine Climate, SDG Agendas

March 05, 2019

The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs will host a conference in Copenhagen to determine how best to align action to achieve the UN’s comprehensive social and environmental program set out in its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the UN’s Paris climate deal to prevent the worst impacts of global warming.
Swiss UN Resolution Seeks Global Governance of Geoengineering

March 04, 2019

The website Climate Home News reports that the Swiss government plans to introduce a resolution at the UN Environment Assembly in March seeking global governance of geoengineering techniques aimed at reducing the negative impacts of climate change.
UN Chief Urges Lawmakers to Bolster SDG Effort

March 04, 2019

In remarks to lawmakers from the Inter-Parliamentary Union, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for legislative action across the globe to achieve the UN’s comprehensive social and environmental targets contained in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).