United Nations

Dutch NGOs Threaten Climate Lawsuit Against Shell

February 22, 2019

Climate Liability News refers to a threat from Dutch NGOs to sue Shell over the company’s contributions to greenhouse gas emissions if it refuses to adhere to the UN’s Paris climate accord as “a new legal front in the climate battle” in which NGOs demand compensation from large energy companies to address their alleged climate impacts.
WHO Creates Standard-Setting Body for Genome Editing

February 21, 2019

The World Health Organization has formed a committee to create uniform global standards governing the editing of the human genome, including “appropriate governance mechanisms” for the practice.
UN Agencies Seek “Citizenship Education” to Promote Rule of Law

February 21, 2019

The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have published a report on how schools around the world must promote the rule of law through “global citizenship education” programs that instill the UN’s sustainable development agenda in children.
ICJ Rejects US Motion to Dismiss Iran Proceedings

February 20, 2019

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has rejected a US motion to dismiss proceedings brought by Iran to recover $2 billion in bank assets frozen by the US government during Iran’s 1979 revolution, finding that it has jurisdiction to decide the dispute.
UN Observers Criticize French Treatment of “Yellow Vests”

February 20, 2019

A group of UN human rights mandate holders has “denounced” France’s treatment of the “yellow vest” protesters opposing the government’s environmental and labor rights reforms, asserting that arrests, searches, and excessive use of force by police are threatening the right to protest in the country.
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.