Tag Archives: United Nations

Axios reports: The United Nations Security Council was preparing to meet Sunday, as the aerial bombardment between Israel and Hamas between entered a seventh day. Four Palestinians died in airstrikes early Sunday, as Israeli forces bombed the home of Gaza’s Hamas chief, Yehya al-Sinwar, per Reuters. t least 149 people have died in Gaza and 10 others in Israel since …

Politico reports: President Joe Biden is preparing to name Republican Cindy McCain to a coveted ambassador post in Western Europe in what would be his administration’s first Republican appointee to a Senate-confirmed position. McCain is undergoing vetting to be nominated for U.S. ambassador to the U.N. World Food Programme, a mission based in Rome, according to two sources with knowledge …

The Guardian reports: A senior Saudi official issued what was perceived to be a death threat against the independent United Nations investigator, Agnès Callamard, after her investigation into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In an interview with the Guardian, the outgoing special rapporteur for extrajudicial killings said that a UN colleague alerted her in January 2020 that a senior …

Reuters reports: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Monday that white supremacy and neo-Nazi movements are becoming a “transnational threat” and have exploited the coronavirus pandemic to boost their support. Addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council, Guterres said the danger of hate-driven groups was growing daily. “White supremacy and neo-Nazi movements are more than domestic terror threats. They are …

TIME Magazine reports: The Biden administration is set to announce this week that it will reengage with the much-maligned U.N. Human Rights Council that former President Donald Trump withdrew from almost three years ago, U.S. officials said Sunday. The decision reverses another Trump-era move away from multilateral organizations and agreements. U..S. officials say Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a …

Reuters reports: U.S. President Donald Trump’s pardon of four American men convicted of killing Iraqi civilians while working as contractors in 2007 violated U.S. obligations under international law, U.N. human rights experts said on Wednesday. The Geneva Conventions oblige states to hold war criminals accountable for their crimes, even when they act as private security contractors, the U.N. experts said. …

Reuters reports: World leaders should declare states of “climate emergency” in their countries to spur action to avoid catastrophic global warming, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in opening remarks to a climate summit on Saturday. More than 70 world leaders were due to address the one-day virtual gathering aimed at building momentum for much steeper cuts in planet-warming emissions …

The New York Times reports: A United Nations commission voted on Wednesday to remove cannabis for medicinal purposes from a category of the world’s most dangerous drugs, a highly anticipated and long-delayed decision that could clear the way for an expansion of marijuana research and medical use. The vote by the Commission for Narcotic Drugs, which is based in Vienna …

CBS News reports: President-elect Biden is expected to announce that he’s chosen longtime diplomat Linda Thomas-Greenfield to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, two sources confirm to CBS News. The announcement could come Tuesday. Thomas-Greenfield is part of Mr. Biden’s transition team and is expected to focus on helping to restore trust and professionalism to the State Department, with …

The Washington Post reports: China said Friday it will join Covax, an international effort to distribute covid-19 vaccines to about two-thirds of the world population by 2022, in a reversal that makes the country the biggest player in the vaccine development race to join the initiative. China, along with the United States and Russia, previously declined to join the World …

The Washington Post reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brought his campaign to redefine and prioritize human rights to the United Nations on Wednesday, declaring that such protections around the world are in “crisis.” Pompeo delivered his remarks via videotape during a U.S.-hosted event at the United Nations General Assembly. He quickly pivoted from the 1948 U.N. declaration that is …

Bloomberg News reports: President Donald Trump will assail China for the coronavirus pandemic in a speech Tuesday to the United Nations General Assembly aimed squarely at U.S. voters, calling on the international body to punish Beijing. “In the earliest days of the virus, China locked down travel domestically while allowing flights to leave China and infect the world. The Chinese …

Politico reports: White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows ended the “Will he? Won’t he?” intrigue surrounding President Donald Trump’s possible in-person appearance at the U.N., telling reporters aboard Air Force One Thursday night that the president will not go to New York next week to give his speech to the assembly. Diplomats are even more reticent than usual when …

Mother Jones reports: Two months after a controversial State Department commission elevated religious freedom at the expense of LGBTQ equality and reproductive rights, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is planning to promote its findings at the United Nations, Mother Jones has learned. During the UN General Assembly, which begins on September 15 in New York, Pompeo is expected to lead …

Politico reports: How financially sustainable is an industry if it is distorted by $5 trillion in annual subsidies? That’s the challenge laid out by United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who is taking direct aim at government subsidies for producers and consumers of fuels such as oil, gas and coal. “Fossil fuel subsidies must end, and polluters must start paying …

The Associated Press reports: Africa could see 300,000 deaths from the coronavirus this year even under the best-case scenario, according to a new report released Friday that cites modeling from Imperial College London. Under the worst-case scenario with no interventions against the virus, Africa could see 3.3 million deaths and 1.2 billion infections, the report by the U.N. Economic Commission …

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres: “Now is a time for unity in the global battle to push the COVID-19 pandemic into reverse, not a time to cut the resources of the World Health Organization (WHO), which is spearheading and coordinating the global body’s efforts.” American Medical Association: “During the worst public health crisis in a century, halting funding to the World …

Axios reports: The novel coronavirus pandemic is the “greatest test” the world has faced together since the formation of the United Nations just after the Second World War ended in 1945, UN chief António Guterres said Tuesday. Guterres said at the launch of a UN report on the potential socioeconomic impact of COVID-19 that the pandemic could bring a global …

CNN reports: Almost a third of the Earth will need to be protected by 2030 and pollution cut by half to save our remaining wildlife, as we enter the planet’s sixth era of mass extinction, according to a United Nations agency. The UN Convention on Biological Diversity released a draft plan on Monday, which sets global goals to combat the …

The Associated Press reports: The past decade has seen a backlash against human rights on every front, especially the rights of women and the LGBT communities, according to a top U.N. human rights official. Andrew Gilmour, the outgoing assistant secretary-general for human rights, said the regression of the past 10 years hasn’t equaled the advances that began in the late …