United Nations

Amendment to Montreal Protocol Targets Drastic HFC Cuts

April 05, 2017

As part of the UN’s comprehensive agenda to fulfill its 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Environment Programme has announced the beginning of the ratification process for an amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer that targets a global reduction in the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by over 80 percent over the next 30 years.
US Halts Funding for UNFPA

April 04, 2017

The US State Department has announced that it will end funding for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), an agency that promotes family planning and is often associated with advocating abortion services, because the US disapproves of the organization's support for a "program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization."
UN Body Reviews "Comprehensive" Approach to SDGs

April 04, 2017

The UN Committee of Experts on Public Administration has announced that it will hold a meeting in April exploring how governments must engage in a "multi-stakeholder approach to comprehensive policy integration" across local, regional, and national levels to implement the UN's comprehensive Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
UN Agent Criticizes Australia's Treatment of Indigenous People

April 03, 2017

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, has listed the high incarceration rate and crowded living conditions among indigenous people in Australia as human rights concerns facing the country's authorities.
UN Official Lists Next Steps Under Climate Deal

April 03, 2017

In a recent interview, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Patricia Espinosa outlined the next steps the international organization will take to promote adherence to the UN's Paris climate deal, including agreeing in 2018 a "rule book" on how countries must prove their contributions to emissions reductions under the agreement.
Schaefer: US Should Demand UNHRC Reforms

April 03, 2017

Brett Schaefer of the Heritage Foundation has released a report arguing that the US should withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) if the body refuses to implement certain reforms, including requiring “competitive elections” for members and eliminating items from the UNHRC’s agenda that lead to a biased review of Israel.
UN Agents Criticize “Undemocratic” US Protest Bills

April 03, 2017

UN human rights mandate holders Maina Kiai and David Kaye have warned of what they see as an “alarming” trend of proposals from US state legislatures restricting the conduct of protesters, arguing these proposals violate international legal protections of the right to peaceful assembly and that there is “no such thing in law as a violent protest.”
IPCC Chief: Climate Action Leads to "Equitable Development"

March 31, 2017

In an address to an event at the UN General Assembly "to invigorate political momentum on climate change," Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Hoesung Lee warned there can be no disputing that human activity is responsible for global warming and predicted positive impacts of global climate action on "inclusive and equitable development."
UN Agencies Call for "Sustainable" Use of Wood

March 31, 2017

A recent report from the UN's Department for Economic and Social Affairs and Food and Agriculture Organization calls on countries to implement policies encouraging sustainable charcoal production and forest management as part of the global organization's comprehensive "sustainable development" agenda.
UN Agency Issues Global Ethics Guidance on TB

March 30, 2017

The UN's World Health Organization has issued global ethical guidance on the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) in order to encourage governments and health providers to fulfill the UN Sustainable Development Goals by respecting the "human rights, ethics and equity" of TB patients.