United Nations

UN Agents Demand Broad Policies for Transgender Minors

August 07, 2017

On the occasion of the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, a group of UN mandate holders issued a call for countries to protect the human rights of "trans and gender diverse" minors through such broad measures as creating "safe and affirming spaces," "depathologizing" such identities, and embracing "human diversity."
World Bank Funds Pacific Climate Change "Resilience"

August 07, 2017

As part of the global development bank's "Pacific Resilience Plan," under which it will fund "a broad range of climate resilient initiatives and investments" to Pacific Ocean countries, the World Bank has announced its approval of a grant to the Marshall Islands to improve the country's adaptation efforts to the future, catastrophic effects of global warming.
Schaefer: UN Produces Inadequate Whistleblower Policy

August 07, 2017

Brett Schaefer of the Heritage Foundation writes that UN Secretary-General António Guterres's whistleblower policy, announced earlier this year, fails to provide adequate protection for whistleblowers in the UN system because it does not refer to the possibility of external arbitration in cases of alleged retaliation against employees who point out improper conduct.
Schaefer: Enforce US Caps on UN Peacekeeping Funds

August 07, 2017

Brett Schaefer of the Heritage Foundation writes that the Trump Administration must enforce legal caps imposed by the US Congress in the 1990s on UN peacekeeping operations to help remedy its disproportionate contributions to the UN budget and to give other countries the incentive to provide stricter oversight of peacekeeping efforts.
UN Chief: Embed SDGs in "One Belt, One Road" Project

August 07, 2017

At a recent forum in Beijing, UN Secretary-General António Guterres sought to persuade officials from countries that are participating in China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative to embed the social and environmental principles from the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their work on the massive infrastructure project intended to connect Eurasia.
UN Agency Issues Climate Planning Guide for Agriculture

August 07, 2017

The UN Food and Agricultural Organization has released global guidelines on how governments should balance the nutritional and occupational needs of their citizens against the need to limit and adapt to global warming as they seek to fulfill their obligations under the UN's Paris climate agreement.
UN Chief Combats Trend Toward "National Sovereignty Agenda"

August 07, 2017

In a speech in London in May, the UN's new Secretary-General António Guterres spotlighted factors including ecological and economic inequality issues as drivers of global conflict and warned that the global human rights agenda is ceding ground to the "national sovereignty agenda."
WHO Issues Global Guidance on Traffic Speed

August 04, 2017

In line with the UN agency's shift in focus from managing contagious diseases that cross national borders to giving guidance on an array of domestic policies, the World Health Organization (WHO) has published a report calling on governments to limit "excessive or inappropriate speed" on roadways to prevent traffic accidents and make cities more "liveable."
UN Institute Launches Course on Sustainable Energy

August 04, 2017

As part of the international organization's work toward advancing education on its comprehensive "sustainable development" agenda, the UN Institute for Training and Research has announced its launch of an online course on how developing countries can use renewable energy to further global sustainability targets.
UNESCO Supports Global Campaign on "Cyberbullying"

August 04, 2017

The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is supporting a "global campaign to address cyberbullying," defined as "mean, unwanted or embarrassing text messages, emails, pictures or videos" or "more subtle forms such as exclusion," to supplement its current work toward achieving the education targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.