German Ambassador Peter Witting The UN human rights committee unanimously passed a ‘right to privacy’ resolution sponsored by Germany and Brazil that protects the right to privacy against illegal surveillance, following revelations about NSA spying. The resolution states that surveillance and data interception by governments and companies “may violate or abuse human rights.” This... 

The United States is silently watering down the text of an anti-spying UN resolution introduced by Germany and Brazil in order to ensure any extra-territorial violation of online privacy remains legal, according to a document obtained by The Cable. According to a government document obtained by the publication, the US has circulated a confidential communique entitled “Right to Privacy in the... 

The United Nations says Europeans throw away 90 million tons of food every year, while a significant number of people continue to go hungry in other parts of the world. A recent UN report revealed that millions of households across Europe are throwing out a colossal amount of edible food, while millions of people around the world do not have enough food to eat because they are too lazy to work, Press... 

Putting quality education at the heart of development. Since its creation in 1945, UNESCO’s mission has been to contribute to the building of peace, poverty eradication, lasting development and intercultural dialogue, with education as one of its principal activities to achieve this aim. The Organization is committed to a holistic and humanistic vision of quality education worldwide, the realization... 

Brazil and Germany have formally presented an anti-spying draft resolution to the UN General Assembly amid the US surveillance scandal. On Thursday, the jointly sponsored Brazilian-German resolution was introduced to the UN General Assembly’s human rights committee. “Today, there seem to be hardly any technical limitations for accessing, storing or combining personal data. But should everything... 

San Antonio, Texas Mayor Julián Castro is currently negotiating with the United Nations to designate the Alamo as a UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site, meaning that a blue UN flag may fly above the historic shrine of liberty once it falls under UN control. UNESCO, a specialized agency within the UN, created the World Heritage Site status out of a 1972... 

In an overwhelming UN vote, 188 countries have called on the US to lift its 53-year trade embargo on Cuba. Havana has slammed the financial sanctions as a flagrant violation of human rights and said they are tantamount to genocide. The recording-breaking opposition to the embargo saw Israel isolated as the only country to vote in support of the US. Palau, the island nation that got behind the US last... 

The rebels used chemical weapons in north-eastern Syria near the border with Turkey on Tuesday, a Lebanese TV channel Al-Mayadeen reported. The toxic shell exploded near a Kurdish defense forces’ checkpoint close to the border with Turkey in the city of Ras al-Ayn al-Hasakah. The attack was reported by Kurdish defense forces who are conducting military operations against the rebels in the region. They... 

The UN confirms chemical experts in Syria destroyed missile warheads, aerial bombs, and chemical mixing equipment on Sunday as they started eliminating the country’s chemical weapons. “The process of destroying Syria’s chemical weapons program began today,” said a statement released by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The experts supervised... 

The United Nations Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution condemning the use of chemical weapons in Syria and calling for their destruction. The resolution adopted by the 15-member council on Friday envisages a plan to eradicate Syria’s arsenal of chemical weapons. However, it does not call for automatic punitive action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government... 

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff lambasted US spying on her country at Tuesday’s UN summit, calling it a “breach of international law.” She further warned that the NSA surveillance, revealed since June, threatened freedom of speech and democracy. “Meddling in such a manner in the lives and affairs of other countries is a breach of international law and as such it is an affront to the principles... 

White House spokesman Jay Carney White House spokesman Jay Carney has talked about the possibility of a meeting between US President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in New York next week. “It’s possible, but it has always been possible,” Carney said at a press conference on Thursday. “The extended hand has been there from the moment the president was sworn... 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov talking to US Secretary of State John Kerry in Geneva, Switzerland, on September 14, 2014 Russia and the United States reached a deal on a framework that will see the destruction or removal of Syria’s chemical weapons by mid- 2014. Under the plan, the Assad government has one week to hand over an inventory of its chemical weapons arsenal. Russian Foreign Minister... 

One-third of all food produced globally remains uneaten and gets thrown away, making the wastage the world’s third-biggest source of carbon dioxide emissions after industry in the US and China, a new UN study reveals. A total of 1.3 billion tons of food a year, worth $750 billion, is thrown away, emitting 3.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide, according to data collected by the UN’s Food and Agriculture... 

Russia says the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) has confirmed that the videos and photos purporting to show the victims of a chemical attack near the Syrian capital, Damascus, were fabricated. The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a Tuesday statement that international experts as well as Syrian public and religious leaders presented their evidence to the 24th session of the UN Human Rights...