United Nations

UN Agents Condemn Israeli Ruling on Bedouin Village

November 30, 2018

In September, UN observers on human rights issues released a statement describing the “appalling” nature of an Israel High Court decision permitting the Israeli government to demolish a Palestinian Bedouin village, arguing the decision contravenes international human rights law and amounts to a “war crime.”
UN Observers Warn of "Regression" on Abortion Rights

November 30, 2018

In September, a group of UN human rights mandate holders called on national governments to respect “international human rights norms” by allowing access to “safe and legal abortion” to protect women from a wide range of human rights abuses - including the violation of women’s rights against “torture and ill treatment.”
US Official Discusses Rights Engagement After UNHRC Withdrawal

November 30, 2018

In remarks at the Heritage Foundation, Senior Advisor of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the US State Department Michael Kozak discusses the Department’s plans, following the US withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), to engage with countries and in international fora on pressing global human rights issues.
Experts Applaud US Defunding of UNRWA

November 30, 2018

Brett Schaefer and James Phillips of the Heritage Foundation write that the Trump Administration’s decision to end funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian refugees was justified in light of UNRWA’s flaws, including its broad definition of “refugee” and evidence that it has contributed to violent extremism.
Haley: UNHRC Provides Cover to Rights Violators

November 29, 2018

In remarks at the Heritage Foundation in September, US Permanent Representative to the UN Nikki Haley explained at length the reasons behind the US’s withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), citing the loose membership requirements, its disproportionate focus on Israel, and its status as a “bully pulpit for human rights violators.”
UN Official Says Paris Deal Climate Pledges Are Not Enough

November 29, 2018

Underscoring the massive level of action needed to meet the global pledges set out in the UN’s Paris climate deal in 2015, the UN’s top climate official Patricia Espinosa has warned that governments are still not on track - even with their current commitments under the deal - to tackle the threats posed by global warming by the end of this century.
UN Rights Observer Criticizes UK Benefits Cuts

November 20, 2018

UN Special Rapporteur for extreme poverty and human rights Philip Alston has concluded after a recent visit to the UK that government welfare and social services cuts over the last eight years are “entrenching” poverty in the country and threatening the economic and social human rights of the poor.
UN Agent Blames Government “Cruelty” for US Homelessness

November 14, 2018

Business Insider reports that UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing Leilana Farha has declared that government “cruelty” to the homeless population in San Francisco is “unsurpassed” and “annihilates” the humanity of its victims.
Countries Follow US out of UN Migration Compact

November 07, 2018

EUobserver reports that Prime Minister Andrej Babis of the Czech Republic is proposing his government follow Austria, Hungary, and the US in announcing withdrawal from the UN’s Global Compact for Migration, asserting that the international rules contained in the accord does not sufficiently distinguish between legal and illegal migration.
Schaefer: US Should Use Foreign Aid as Leverage at UN

October 31, 2018

In a recent article, Brett Schaefer of the Heritage Foundation calls for the US government to take more seriously the need to use foreign aid as leverage in pushing countries to back American priorities at the UN General Assembly.