United Nations

China Gains from Waning US Influence at UN

February 15, 2019

Foreign Policy reports that experts on US foreign affairs view the UN Secretary-General’s appointment of a Chinese diplomat as UN envoy to the African Great Lakes region in spite of objections from US officials as an example of the potentially problematic impacts of waning US influence in the international organization.
US Congressional Body Flags Anti-Israel UNRWA Textbooks

February 13, 2019

Fox News reports that the US Congress’s Government Accountability Office has found US State Department reports to the body omitted information about the inclusion of anti-Israel propaganda in US-funded textbooks distributed by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Palestinian schools.
UN Observers: UK Violated Rights of Stansted Protesters

February 13, 2019

A group of UN human rights mandate holders has warned that UK authorities violated the rights of protesters at London Stansted Airport by prosecuting them under aviation security laws for trespassing on the airport’s tarmac and securing themselves to a plane scheduled to transport African asylum seekers to their home countries.
UN Group Calls on Belgium to Produce Action Plan on Racism

February 13, 2019

Warning of “endemic” racism in the country’s institutions, the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent has called on the Belgian government to adopt a “comprehensive national action plan against racism” and to revise its textbooks to ensure they “accurately reflect historical facts” regarding Belgium’s colonial history.
UN Observer Confirms Premeditated Nature of Khashoggi Killing

February 08, 2019

Al Jazeera reports that UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Agnes Callamard, who is leading an international investigation of the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, has determined Saudi officials perpetrated the “premeditated” killing and then undermined Turkey’s investigation of the murder.
Schaefer Calls for Changes in UN Budget Contributions

February 07, 2019

Brett Schaefer of the Heritage Foundation explains how optimism regarding a planned UN budget cut for the period of 2018 to 2019 was unfounded, as the international organization has raised the budget over previous levels with a mid-point adjustment during the current cycle, and argues the US’s proportional contribution to the UN budget should be lowered.
UN Observer Demands End to Sanctions Against Venezuela

February 06, 2019

UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of sanctions Idriss Jazairy has criticized sanctions imposed by the US against Venezuela’s national oil company as a violation of international human rights law that will “compound the grave crisis affecting the Venezuelan economy.”
UNCTAD Warns of Potential Impacts of US-China Tariffs

February 06, 2019

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has waded into the trade dispute between the US and China, warning the imposition of tariffs would not be beneficial to the domestic producers of either country.
UNESCO Trains Educators to Teach “Sustainability”

February 06, 2019

A press release from the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) describes the agency’s Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development, an initiative that seeks to train educators around the world to incorporate the global “sustainability” agenda in their curricula.
UNESCO Pushes “Sexuality” Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

February 06, 2019

A press release from the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) illustrates the agency’s expansive efforts to introduce comprehensive sexuality education into the curricula of schools in sub-Saharan Africa.