United Nations

Singapore, World Bank Use Geospatial Data to Fulfill SDGs

July 30, 2018

The Singapore Land Authority has signed a memorandum of understanding agreeing to provide expertise to the World Bank to develop “geospatial data infrastructure” in the Asia-Pacific region with the aim of fulfilling city-related targets in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Kontorovich: US Must Cease Funding UN Bodies with PA as Member

July 30, 2018

Professor Eugene Kontorovich of Northwestern University School of Law writes that the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) acceptance in four UN-affiliated organizations in the past two years means US law prohibits these organizations from receiving federal funding.
UNHCR Criticizes Migrant Family Separation in Australia

July 30, 2018

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has criticized the decision by Australian authorities to deport the husband of a recognized refugee to his home country of Sri Lanka, warning that the deportation “contravenes the basic right of family unity” and was not in the best interest of their 11-month-old child.
Draft UN Global Migration Compact Promotes Migratory Rights

July 30, 2018

The New York Times reports that negotiations at the UN for a Global Compact on Migration have concluded with a draft deal under which countries would agree to 23 objectives, including “providing basic services for migrants,” only detaining them “as a measure of last resort,” and prohibiting blanket policies for turning back migrants at the border.
UN Official Seeks Security Council Focus on Global Warming

July 30, 2018

The Financial Express reports that UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed recently warned the UN Security Council about the need for countries to step up their efforts in combating climate change to address “some of the most pressing security challenges of our time,” amplified by “exacerbated competition over scant resources.”
At Forum, Academic Seeks Global Tax Rise to Achieve SDGs

July 27, 2018

Addressing the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, which seeks to hold governments to account for their contributions to fulfilling the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University called on countries to raise taxes on their citizens to achieve the SDGs and increase happiness.
UN Agency Calls for End of Libyan Migrant Detention

July 27, 2018

The UN’s International Organization for Migration has called on the Libyan government to cease its practice of detaining migrants returned to the country after attempting to cross the Mediterranean and enter Europe, pushing instead for Libya to “speed up repatriation,” including voluntary returns, of such migrants.
OHCHR Criticizes Israeli Court Ruling on Bedouin Homes

July 27, 2018

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has criticized a ruling of the Israeli High Court permitting the “discriminatory” destruction of unlicensed Palestinian Bedouin houses in the West Bank, calling the demolition plans a violation of international humanitarian law.
UN Agent Conveys “Bleak” Picture of Palestinian Rights

July 27, 2018

Following recent meetings with nongovernmental organizations in Amman, Jordan, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the “Occupied Palestinian Territory” Michael Lynk described the reports he received on the Palestinian human rights situation as “the bleakest picture yet” and called on Israel to restore Palestinians’ “most basic rights.”
ILO Calls on States to Address “Global Care Crisis”

July 27, 2018

A report from the UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO) calls on national governments to play a larger role in addressing the imbalance between men and women in the unpaid “care economy” while also warning that current family and employment structures will soon produce a “severe and unsustainable global care crisis.”