United Nations

US Remains in Talks on UN Refugee Pact

January 05, 2018

George Russell reports that, despite pulling out of talks on the development of a Global Compact on Migration, the Trump Administration is still engaging in the negotiation of a separate global agreement on the treatment of refugees in an effort to streamline and modernize the UN refugee system's approach to dealing with asylum seekers.
UN Agencies Plan Center on Rights in Sports

January 05, 2018

The International Labour Organization (ILO) and other UN agencies have announced that, in cooperation with nongovernmental organizations, businesses, athletes, and trade unions, they are launching a Centre for Sport & Human Rights in 2018 focused on efforts to implement the global human rights agenda in the sports industry.
Local Officials Sidestep US Policy on Migration Pact

January 04, 2018

Foreign Policy reports that local government officials in the US are seeking to circumvent the federal government policy by petitioning UN officials for inclusion in the international organization's plans for a global compact on migration in 2018 following the Trump Administration's decision to withdraw from talks on such a compact.
UN Rights Chief Opposes Mexican Security Law

January 04, 2018

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein has called on the Mexican Senate to reject proposed legislation on internal security reform providing for an expanded role of the country's armed forces in law enforcement, arguing that aspects of the law strengthening the military's role in domestic security affairs violates international human rights standards.
Canada Reports Compliance with UN Climate Agenda

January 03, 2018

The Canadian government has summarized its most recent biannual report to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to show that it is abiding by the UNFCCC's agenda on combating global warming through measures including carbon taxation and phasing out all coal-fired electricity.
Commentator: US Must Use Funding to Rein in UN

January 03, 2018

Fred Fleitz of the Center for Security Policy writes that the Trump Administration must hold the UN accountable when it serves as a forum for anti-US and anti-Israel resolutions and rhetoric, including by bringing back US government scoring of foreign countries on UN General Assembly votes to determine the aid they should receive.
Former US Adviser Criticizes UN on Jerusalem Vote

January 03, 2018

Former adviser to the US Ambassador to the UN Hugh Dugan asserts that the UN General Assembly has cemented its reputation as a "hopelessly biased anti-American and anti-Israel debating society" in singling out the US for criticism over its recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel while ignoring rights violations by authoritarian regimes around the world.
UN Sponsors Human Rights Education Conference

January 03, 2018

The UN recently sponsored an International Conference on Human Rights Education at Concordia University in Montreal to encourage schools around the world to teach young people the international organization's broad human rights agenda.
UN Agent Praises Canada's "Rights-Based" Housing Plan

January 03, 2018

UN Special Rapporteur on the right to housing Leilani Farha recently lauded Canada's decision to adopt a "national housing strategy" as the government's acknowledgment, in line with the global economic, social, and cultural rights agenda, that housing is a human right, though she criticized the government for failing to commit to ending homelessness by the year 2030.
Schaefer: US Must Force Broad Reforms on UNHRC

January 02, 2018

Brett Schaefer of the Heritage Foundation argues that, if the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) refuses to adopt US demands for stricter membership criteria and a reduction in the disproportionate number of resolutions on Israel by the end of 2018, the US could easily justify a decision to leave the body.