United Nations

UN Rights Observer Critiques EU Sanctions Regime

August 24, 2017

UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures Idriss Jazairy has issued a report criticizing EU due process protections in the implementation of unilateral sanctions as "insufficient" and calling for the bloc's institutions to commit to recognizing the "economic, social, and cultural rights" of populations affected by its sanctions regime.
UNGA Refers UK-Mauritius Island Dispute to ICJ

August 24, 2017

AFP-JIJI reports that the UN General Assembly (UNGA) recently adopted a resolution calling on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to give an advisory opinion on the sovereignty of Mauritius over a set of islands on which the UK and US maintain a joint military base, dismissing UK arguments that the ICJ should not rule on what is a bilateral dispute.
China Claims Victory with UN Resolution on "Development Rights"

August 24, 2017

Reuters reports that an editorial in the official paper of China's Communist Party claims victory over a Western "monopoly" on human rights principles - based mainly in civil and political rights and freedom - by citing the recent passage of a UN Human Rights Council resolution declaring that development efforts contribute to the realization of economic and social "human rights."
UN Critics Take Aim at US Racism Accusations

August 23, 2017

Ben Evansky writes that UN watchdogs are criticizing as "disingenuous" a statement from UN rights observers warning that "racism and xenophobia are on the rise in America" in the wake of violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, in light of what they say is the UN's biased approach toward Israel's alleged human rights violations.
US Resists Nontraditional Rights Declarations at UNHRC

August 23, 2017

The Guardian reports that US representatives to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) have refused to support provisions in resolutions on issues ranging from climate change to migration, including by rejecting a provision of a resolution calling for countries to provide "quality comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care services" such as abortions.
UNESCO Forms Partnership on Global Education Data

August 23, 2017

The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has agreed with the Global Partnership for Education to pressure national governments to develop Education Management and Information Systems to produce data through which UNESCO can monitor their fulfillment of education targets set out in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
UN Agent Promotes Global Minimum Income

August 23, 2017

In a report to the UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Philip Alston called for a "Universal Basic Income," guaranteeing a minimum level of income regardless of work, as a path toward fulfilling the UN’s economic, social, and cultural rights agenda.
US Criticizes UN Report on Murdered Investigators

August 23, 2017

The New York Times reports that US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has criticized a UN report that absolves the organization of culpability in the death of two UN investigators in the Democratic Republic of Congo, amidst concerns that the report is incomplete and inaccurate.
UN Agency Pushes Global "Rule of Law" Principles

August 22, 2017

The UN Development Programme's Annual Rule of Law Meeting in June highlighted UN efforts to support its comprehensive "sustainable development" agenda by advancing "rule of law" and global human rights principles in countries around the world, particularly through the work of its Global Focal Point on providing "rule of law assistance" in crisis situations.
US Cuts Global Climate Consulting Office

August 22, 2017

The New York Times reports that the Trump Administration recently eliminated the US Department of Energy's Office of International Climate and Technology, whose role was to prepare global meetings on clean energy and to provide advice to other countries on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with global climate change efforts.