United Nations

UN Agents Warn France on Counter-terror Plans

November 30, 2017

The Guardian reports that a September letter from UN human rights mandate holders warned the French government that its plan to exit its "state of emergency" while providing for stronger counter-terrorism measures could violate the country's international human rights obligations through a vague definition of "terrorism" and by encouraging religion-based discrimination.
UN Chief Supports Global Pact on Environment

November 30, 2017

At an event on the margins of the annual leaders' summit at the UN General Assembly, UN Secretary-General António Guterres offered his support for a French proposal seeking an "international legally binding document on the environment" that would consolidate national environmental laws into a single "pact."
UN Agency, EU Bank Boost Funding for SDGs

November 30, 2017

The UN Development Programme and the European Investment Fund recently signed an agreement to boost financing to achieve the comprehensive social and economic targets contained in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
UN Agents Push for Environmental Rights Treaty in Americas

November 29, 2017

A group of UN human rights mandate holders has published a statement calling on Latin American and Caribbean government officials meeting in Chile to agree to a legally binding treaty recognizing "environmental rights" throughout the region and requiring governments to perform broad "environmental impact assessments."
Pence Calls for Reforms to UN Rights System

November 28, 2017

In recent remarks to the UN Security Council calling for human rights reform at the UN, US Vice President Mike Pence asserted that the UN Human Rights Council "doesn't deserve its name," as its members include "many of the worst human rights violators in the world" and it has become a mere "invective against Israel."
Israeli Leader Criticizes "Anti-Semitism" at UN

November 28, 2017

In his September speech before the UN General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced anti-Semitism in the decisions of the world body and its agencies, including in the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) recognition of the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron as a Palestinian World Heritage Site.
UN Chief Commits to Reforming Bureaucracy

November 28, 2017

At an event in September hosted by US President Donald Trump, 120 countries supported a declaration supporting UN reforms that UN Secretary-General António Guterres said would purportedly cut bureaucratic red tape and provide "value for money while advancing shared values" at the international organization.
UN Report Seeks Redistribution to Achieve "Sustainability"

November 27, 2017

A recent report from the UN Conference on Trade and Development expressed concerns about a slow-growing world economy and, as a solution, called for a 21st-Century "global new deal," which it defined as an "ambitious and collaborative effort to tackle the inequities of hyperglobalization to build inclusive and sustainable economies."
UN Observer Decries Violations of "Right to Development"

November 27, 2017

A warning from UN Special Rapporteur on the right to development Saad Alfarargi that climate change and economic crises are violating the "human right" of impoverished people to development demonstrates the widespread efforts in the UN human rights apparatus to embed the concept of social and economic rights throughout the UN system.
WHO Laments Lack of Progress on NCDs

November 27, 2017

A September report from the UN's World Health Organization (WHO) on government measures to address noncommunicable disease (NCD) risk factors such as unhealthy diets and smoking warns that the world is not on track to meet the UN targets on NCDs and pushes for "bolder political action" by governments in the face of "interference by powerful economic operators."