United Nations

OECD, ILO Promote Principles of Migrant Integration

February 01, 2018

A report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) calls for governments of developing countries to implement policies that increase the positive impact of migrants on public revenue and the economy by promoting integration and "providing more legal pathways to labour migrants."
Schaefer: US Must Keep up Pressure on UN Budget

January 31, 2018

Brett Schaefer of the Heritage Foundation offers recommendations to the US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley on how to maintain and even increase the cuts she helped secure in the UN budget, arguing that the five percent budget cut is not enough to ensure "a more efficient and effective UN."
UN Agency Seeks Comprehensive Global Migration Data

January 30, 2018

The UN's International Organization for Migration Global Migration Data Analysis Centre launched a report at the recent World Economic Forum calling for comprehensive, data-based analysis to encourage more effective management of migrant flows across the globe.
UN Chief Seeks to Increase Pressure for SDGs

January 29, 2018

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has outlined a broad set of reforms to the UN system designed to help fulfill the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the year 2030, whose achievement he identified as a "fundamental human right," including by producing more effective teams to place pressure on specific countries to ramp up their action on the SDGs.
UNESCO Develops Tool for "Sustainable" World Heritage Sites

January 29, 2018

The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) World Heritage Centre has convened an expert group to help develop a global "tool" guiding managers of UNESCO World Heritage Sites to administer their responsibilities in line with a set of "sustainability indicators."
World Bank Sets out Priorities in "Universal Health Coverage"

January 29, 2018

A press release from the World Bank congratulating a set of countries for their "pro-poor" policies aiming to provide universal health coverage emphasizes government schemes in these countries based on a redistribution of resources, such as through the creation of public insurance plans, over the lowering of prices through competition and deregulation.
Critics Point to Political Motivations in World Bank Index

January 29, 2018

An article in The Economist highlights how, egged on by a recent, "misleading" interview answer by the international institution's chief economist, some observers view the World Bank's "Doing Business" index as an exercise in politics and an encouragement of a "race to the bottom" in regulations that make it more difficult to set up and maintain businesses.
World Bank Calls for More Tax Revenue in Dominican Republic

January 29, 2018

The World Bank has published a report calling on the Dominican Republic to maximize the revenue it gains from tax collection, including by expanding the country's tax base, "to pursue more active social policies and a more inclusive growth."
Scholar Points to Merits of US Decision on UNRWA

January 24, 2018

Elliott Abrams of the Council on Foreign Relations writes that the Trump Administration's decision to cut funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), charged with handling Palestinian refugees, is the correct one due to UNRWA's troubling association with radical groups like Hamas and its perpetuation, rather than resolution, of Palestine's "refugee" problem.
US Withholds More Funding from UNRWA

January 24, 2018

The Times of Israel reports that the US State Department has announced its withdrawal of $45 million more in funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) days after the US withheld $65 million as it undergoes a "fundamental re-examination" of its contributions to the agency charged with financing institutions for Palestinian refugees.