United Nations

US Withholds Funds from UNRWA

January 10, 2018

The Los Angeles Times reports that, after US President Donald Trump threatened to cut off aid to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which distributes aid to Palestinian institutions, for objecting to the US's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the US government did not make its latest scheduled payment to UNRWA.
UN Refugee Office Objects to Israel's Migrant Relocation

January 10, 2018

Reuters reports that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has objected to an Israeli plan to pay for a group of African migrants, whom Israel treats as having illegally entered the country to pursue economic opportunities, to return back to their home countries in sub-Saharan Africa, calling for Israel to develop "legal alternatives" to the relocation.
UNSC Demands Climate Action from Peacekeepers

January 09, 2018

In the midst of myriad global security threats and a sex-abuse scandal engulfing the UN peacekeeping system, the UN Security Council (UNSC) has announced in a press statement that UN peacekeeping forces "will continue to consider ways" to reduce their carbon footprint to comply with the UN's Paris climate accord of 2015.
UNESCO Course Promotes "Gender-Sensitive" Teaching

January 09, 2018

The UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning has published highlights from its online course on implementing and measuring "gender equality" programs in national education systems around the world and promoting "gender-sensitive" teaching in schools.
World Bank Touts "Social Protection" Program in Philippines

January 09, 2018

In a recent press release, the World Bank holds up its work on the development of a comprehensive "social protection" reform scheme in the Philippines, including a "conditional cash transfer" initiative targeting poor households, as a model for national redistribution schemes in countries around the world.
Israel Joins US in Withdrawal from UNESCO

January 09, 2018

Noa Landau reports that Israel has announced its decision to join the US in withdrawing from the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), asserting that many of the international organization's decisions were "polluting its noble basic values with politicization and diplomatic terror that sometimes bordered on anti-Semitism."
UN Agent Blames Venezuelans' Suffering on Foreign Sanctions

January 09, 2018

UN Independent Expert Alfred de Zayas has praised the government of Venezuela for releasing some of its political prisoners and called on "all men and women of goodwill" to help relieve problems in the country "resulting in part from sanctions and boycotts against Venezuela that have only aggravated the suffering being endured by Venezuelans of all social classes."
UN Mandate Holder Criticizes Polish Judicial Changes

January 09, 2018

UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Diego García-Sayán has published a statement characterizing Poland's most recent judicial reforms - some of which give political officials the authority to remove judges - as "a vicious attempt to place the whole judicial system under the control of the executive and legislative branches."
UN Agent Cautions US Court on Implications of Privacy Case

January 09, 2018

UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy Joseph Cannataci recently submitted a brief to the US Supreme Court in a case involving the validity of a search warrant demanding information stored in an Irish data center, advising it that the Court should issue a narrow ruling to avoid "unintended but adverse implications for the protection of the right to privacy worldwide."
UN Agent Critiques Peruvian Road-Building Bill

January 08, 2018

UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples Victoria Tauli-Corpuz has warned that Peru may be threatening the "fundamental human rights of isolated indigenous peoples" through legislation promoting road-building in remote jungle areas of the country.