On 10 August, the United States Senate approved the $1 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Bill that had been proposed and supported by President Biden as the first phase in his Build Back Better agenda. The bill will be the largest long-term investment in American infrastructure in nearly a century, and is expected to make the American economy ‘more sustainable, resilient and just.’ The White House stated that …
Quick summary During the 75th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), the Third Committee, tasked with addressing human rights issues and concerns, ran from 5 October – 20 November at UN Headquarters in New York, and online (due to the COVID-19 pandemic). This year’s Third Committee featured presentations by a number of senior UN officials, including Ms. Michelle Bachelet, the High Commissioner for Human …
As part of the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly, both the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the President of the Human Rights Council gave statements to the Third Committee. Statements, and the interactive dialogues with member States that followed, were conducted virtually and not without the occasional technological hiccup. Nevertheless, a higher number of states participated than …
The United States has always had a somewhat contentious relationship with the international human rights project. It has never ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (which today has over 150 states parties) or the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (which has 185). It became the sole holdout on the Convention …
October 21, 2020 Over the past four years, the Trump Administration has slowly abdicated its role as a leader in multilateralism and as one of the top promoters of human rights at the UN specifically. At this year’s UN General Assembly (UNGA), President Donald Trump touted a narrow view of human rights, citing priorities of “religious liberty, opportunity for women, the …
Human rights analysis of high-level speeches during the general debate of the UN General Assembly Each fall, world leaders descend upon New York to speak at the general debate of the UN General Assembly (GA). This year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic , world leaders were invited to send in pre-recorded videos of their speeches which were broadcast ‘as live.’ The …
Hoy, el Secretario General (SG) de la ONU Antonio Guterres lanzó un informe sobre cómo los derechos humanos pueden y deben guiar la respuesta a y recuperación del coronavirus. El informe debe ser leído conjuntamente con el “ Llamado a la acción por los derechos humanos” del SG (lanzado en febrero) y otros informes y declaraciones del SG relacionados con la pandemia de COVID-19, incluidos …
Surgido en el período posterior a la Guerra Fría, el concepto de “Grupos de Amigos” representaba una fe y creencia recién descubiertas en el poder del multilateralismo como un medio para la resolución global de problemas. Los Grupos de Amigos son coaliciones de Estados Miembros de las Naciones Unidas (ONU), que se unen para promover y actualizar objetivos y resultados …
El 13 de febrero, el Consejo de Seguridad celebró su primer debate sobre Justicia Transicional como una cuestión temática, con Estados de todas las regiones ofreciendo informaciones de primera mano y pidiendo a la ONU que desempeñe un papel de apoyo. Bélgica, que preside el Consejo de Seguridad durante el mes de febrero, inició y presidió el debate abierto sobre …
Quick summary During the 74th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), the Third Committee, the UNGA Committee tasked with addressing human rights issues and concerns, ran from 1 October 2019 through 21 November 2019, at UN Headquarters in New York. This year’s Third Committee featured presentations by a number of senior UN officials, including Ms. Michelle Bachelet, the High …
