United Nations

Official Says Israel Blocked Palestinian UN Membership

January 08, 2019

Fox News reports that, according to Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, Israel recently blocked a bid by the Palestinian Authority to become a full member of the UN, arguing that Palestine did not meet the requirements of UN membership due to its payments to terrorists.
Trump Advisor: UNGA Vote Jeopardizes Israel-Palestine Peace

January 08, 2019

Jason Greenblatt, advisor to US President Donald Trump on Israel, criticizes the UN General Assembly (UNGA) for “defending terrorism” by failing to pass a resolution condemning the indiscriminate firing of rockets by Hamas into Israeli territory and thus emboldening the terrorist group to commit further violent activities, jeopardizing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Academic: UNRWA Ensures Its Survival Through Terminology

January 08, 2019

Professor Daniel Beaudoin of Tel Aviv University writes that the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian refugees has guaranteed its ongoing political usefulness by expanding the definition of a “refugee” to ensure the insolubility of the Palestinian refugee issue, indicating that only by limiting the meaning of this term can UNRWA be adequately reformed.
US, Israel Withdraw from UNESCO

January 08, 2019

Fox News reports that the US and Israel have officially withdrawn from the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), citing UNESCO’s bias against Israel as demonstrated by resolutions downplaying and disregarding the Jewish connection to sites in Jerusalem.
Turkey Plans to Demand UN Investigation of Khashoggi Murder

January 04, 2019

Al Jazeera reports that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has announced plans to work with other countries to issue a formal demand for UN bodies to investigate the killing of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Hungarian Spokesman: UN Compact Seeks to Legalize Illegal Migration

January 04, 2019

Victoria Friedman writes that Hungarian government spokesman Zoltán Kovács recently characterized the UN’s and EU’s backing of a Global Compact on Migration as efforts to legalize illegal migration and as a mistaken attempt to recognize migration as a fundamental human right.
UNGA Approves Global Compact on Refugee Treatment

January 03, 2019

The UN General Assembly (UNGA) recently approved a Global Compact on Refugees, struck without the support of the US, that includes pledges to limit the detention of asylum seekers and seeks more discretion for UN actors to allocate refugees among UN members.
UN Agency Spotlights Use of Satellites for Environmental Goals

January 03, 2019

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization has highlighted its growing reliance on satellite technology to track land use and other social and environmental conditions by launching, in partnership with US space agency NASA, an online portal permitting users to “systematically inspect” any part of the globe through satellite data.
UN Committee Chair Laments "Distractions" from SDG Agenda

January 02, 2019

A UN press release highlights the work of the UN General Assembly’s Second Committee on achieving the UN’s comprehensive Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and records a lament from the Committee’s Chair that members are currently “distracted” from work on the ambitious SDG agenda.
Haley Warns of Ongoing Abuses Within UN System

December 26, 2018

In a recent interview, outgoing US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley warned that, despite some positive contributions of the international organization to global sanctions, “the verdict is still out” on UN bodies that are “politically unfair” to the US and that suffer continuing abuses within their decision-making processes.